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<v Speaker 1>Hi, and welcome back to SOS Stories of Survivors. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>your host, Serena Dansker, and today it is my absolute

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<v Speaker 1>pleasure to introduce you to the man who is the

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<v Speaker 1>founder and builder of empower Change. Roderick Alamania is here

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<v Speaker 1>in the studio and he's joining us today and he's

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<v Speaker 1>got an incredible story and he's going to talk about

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<v Speaker 1>his journey through grief, how it inspired him to build

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<v Speaker 1>this platform, and where he plans to take it. So

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<v Speaker 1>thank you so much, Roderick for joining us today.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a pleasure to be here.

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<v Speaker 1>I can't tell you I'm so excited. I I just

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<v Speaker 1>want to start and dive in and ask you, you

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<v Speaker 1>know who, where did you come from? And in your

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<v Speaker 1>background and and we'll start there.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. I'm the youngest of five boys. So my parents

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<v Speaker 2>were incredibly crazy. I have two kids of my own,

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<v Speaker 2>both boys, and I'm just thinking, what the hell was

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<v Speaker 2>my mom thinking? Having five boys two is like crazy?

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<v Speaker 2>And I was, you know, it was just it was

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<v Speaker 2>insane group in a small town. We were like one

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<v Speaker 2>of the few Filipino families in that town. I went

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<v Speaker 2>a private, you know, parochial school, a private Christian brothers

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<v Speaker 2>school called Delsau and Concree, California. And then I went

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<v Speaker 2>to u c LA. Wow, Yeah, which was fun.

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<v Speaker 1>That's awesome. And what did you study at UCLA?

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<v Speaker 2>And took a ton of accounting classes. And the interesting

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<v Speaker 2>part was I was supposed to go into public accounting

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<v Speaker 2>and eight weeks before graduation I called my parents said

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<v Speaker 2>I'm not going to do that. By the way, I

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<v Speaker 2>got a drop at Club Med. So I'm going to

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<v Speaker 2>be in Nassaklahamas working working at Club Med. Oh my god.

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<v Speaker 2>It was super fun. It's very much in line with

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<v Speaker 2>kind of the theme of how I lived my life,

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<v Speaker 2>which is very Carpe dm esque.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, so talk to us about that. What did your

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<v Speaker 1>life look like before grief entered your story?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you know, I just graduated from from UCLA and

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<v Speaker 2>so I was at Club Med and I only did

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<v Speaker 2>it for like maybe two months. And it was New

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<v Speaker 2>Year's of nineteen ninety three. I remember sitting on a

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<v Speaker 2>dock overlooking Nassau Harbor and thinking, oh, this is a waste.

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<v Speaker 2>I need to go back and find a real job.

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<v Speaker 2>And it was, and it was really serendipitous. I ended

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<v Speaker 2>up like literally kind of was a very compulsive decision

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<v Speaker 2>or impulsive I should say. And I went home, and

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<v Speaker 2>you know, I'm so grateful that happened because I got

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<v Speaker 2>to spend the last nine months with my dad before

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<v Speaker 2>he passed away, and had I had an amazing time there,

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<v Speaker 2>I probably would have continued on doing that.

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<v Speaker 1>So I think you just came in and was given

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<v Speaker 1>you those signs.

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<v Speaker 2>Man, you know, oh crazy, I'm super super fortunate. So literally,

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<v Speaker 2>I came back. I worked as a customer service representative

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<v Speaker 2>at Bank of America. Wow. And I coached both boys

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<v Speaker 2>and girls volleyball at the high school.

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<v Speaker 1>My daughter played volleyball back in high school.

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<v Speaker 2>That's so funny, super fun I don't play anymore, but

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<v Speaker 2>I used to play a time.

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<v Speaker 1>That's awesome. That's awesome. So so talk to me about law.

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<v Speaker 1>So you came back, You spent you know, the remaining

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<v Speaker 1>time of your father's life with him. You're able to

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<v Speaker 1>do that. How did that impact you?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah? I mean, like you know, it was one of

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<v Speaker 2>those things where I remember he used to wake me

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<v Speaker 2>up at six because we didn't you know, we only

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<v Speaker 2>had effectively one or two cars. I think we had

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<v Speaker 2>like maybe two cars, and if I wanted the car,

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<v Speaker 2>during the day. I would have to wake up super

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<v Speaker 2>early and drive them to the train station, the park

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<v Speaker 2>station here, and you know, it was typical of a

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<v Speaker 2>college graduate, just kind of, you know, doing whatever, figuring

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<v Speaker 2>out what my next thing was. While living with my

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<v Speaker 2>mom and dad. And my dad started getting sick, and

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<v Speaker 2>I remember we went up to we go up to

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<v Speaker 2>the mountains and he was a great cook, and I

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<v Speaker 2>remember he ended up burning the stakes and it's like,

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<v Speaker 2>kind of that doesn't happen. Didn't help either. I also

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<v Speaker 2>got food poisoning on that trip, but.

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<v Speaker 1>I hope it wasn't from his stakes.

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<v Speaker 2>I was not from his stakes. It was probably maybe

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<v Speaker 2>partying too much, as he said. Yeah, but the long

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<v Speaker 2>story short, you know that kind of this was July September.

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<v Speaker 2>She started it's not being well, yeah, and you know,

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<v Speaker 2>he'd go into the hospital and they were trying to

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<v Speaker 2>figure out what it was. And finally when you went

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<v Speaker 2>to the hospital and this was I think it was

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<v Speaker 2>September or late August, and I had just gotten off

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<v Speaker 2>of work. My mom would pick me up and we

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<v Speaker 2>were in the room and we found out he had

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<v Speaker 2>terminal cancer.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh my god.

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<v Speaker 2>And it was like the biggest gut punch. Yeah, it was.

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<v Speaker 2>It sucked, yeah, and it was. I remember being in

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<v Speaker 2>he was sharing a room with this younger kid who

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<v Speaker 2>was in for something that was probably innocuous relative to

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<v Speaker 2>what we're going through, and they have this privacy sheet

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<v Speaker 2>and the doctor hears breaking the news, telling him that,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, he probably have three to four months to live,

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<v Speaker 2>and we're like, it's this crazy moment, and his kid's

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<v Speaker 2>probably on the other side going jeez, what thell it's crazy,

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<v Speaker 2>It is crazy. It is crazy. So we found out

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<v Speaker 2>and the long story short, I remember it was so

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<v Speaker 2>hot that summer and we didn't have air conditioning, and

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<v Speaker 2>we were going to bring him back home and they

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<v Speaker 2>talked about moving him on hospice. I don't really know

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<v Speaker 2>what that meant, but that whole next week we were

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<v Speaker 2>preparing the house and move him back in, and he

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<v Speaker 2>ended up dying a week later.

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<v Speaker 1>The house. What did you do?

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<v Speaker 2>We had, you know, we hired someone to put in

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<v Speaker 2>like a portable ac into the house.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, that was good.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, so it was kind of.

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<v Speaker 1>Hospital bed and all that our stay in his own bed.

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<v Speaker 2>Was he able to No, he was in the hospital.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean the night we took him to the hospital

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<v Speaker 2>that he he he, I recall he came home, yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>and then we were preparing the house because it was hot,

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<v Speaker 2>and then he just got really really sick, and I

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<v Speaker 2>remember carrying him into the car like he was a baby.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh no, I oh, so kind of kind of full

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<v Speaker 2>circle moment, so to speak.

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<v Speaker 1>It's hard. It's hard to see our parents get older

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<v Speaker 1>and especially become ill. You know, our heroes, right, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and he was young.

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<v Speaker 2>He was only sixty one, wow, super super young. And

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<v Speaker 2>I mean the tragedy and all this is that he

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<v Speaker 2>and my mom sacrificed so much. They didn't make hardly

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<v Speaker 2>any money, and he put us through all these private schools.

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<v Speaker 2>I have no idea how they did that. And literally,

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<v Speaker 2>like as soon as his life was begin to turn around,

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<v Speaker 2>I was going to they were going to be empty nesting.

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<v Speaker 2>It started doing some empty and nesty things like we

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<v Speaker 2>finally had some money where they could actually do some travel.

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<v Speaker 2>And you know, he ended up passing away at a

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<v Speaker 2>at an early early age, and so kind of it sucks,

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<v Speaker 2>it does it sucks?

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<v Speaker 1>And how did that? How did his death impact you?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I know you know you were living at

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<v Speaker 1>home with your mom, your were your brother's there too?

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<v Speaker 1>Was it just you?

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<v Speaker 2>I'm trying to remember. I think it was just me

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<v Speaker 2>and maybe one of my other brothers. The rest had

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<v Speaker 2>you know, they're graduated in adults, so I think actually

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<v Speaker 2>I actually don't even remember it.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and you know, I'm sure you know your mom

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<v Speaker 1>was leaning in on you guys, you know, trying to get.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, you know, it was like more we had to

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<v Speaker 2>be there for her because it's like they were, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>they were super close. I mean, they raised five kids,

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<v Speaker 2>they sent us all off to college. I mean like

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<v Speaker 2>this was supposed to be the time when they were

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<v Speaker 2>going to enjoy kind of the fruits of their labor,

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<v Speaker 2>so to speak. And you got felt a pretty shitty hand.

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<v Speaker 1>Well that that's that's what it's all, you know, you don't.

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<v Speaker 1>Life is crazy, right, It's a journey. But not everybody

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<v Speaker 1>gets to live to be a hundred. Right, these plans

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<v Speaker 1>with your spouse, especially if you're married. Family years where

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<v Speaker 1>they married, they must have been married a long time.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Okay, I came from one of those families where

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<v Speaker 2>like we had so many relatives. Yeah, Like when I

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<v Speaker 2>remember introducing my wife and I would tell her if

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<v Speaker 2>I am introduced you to this person because I don't

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<v Speaker 2>know what your name is. By the way, she's an aunt,

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<v Speaker 2>but she's not really an ant.

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<v Speaker 1>Well that's yeah, they're friends of the family because your

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<v Speaker 1>parents must have a long time. And then it's so

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<v Speaker 1>hard because as you're losing your significant other anyway, you

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<v Speaker 1>have all these plans, right, and then you have to

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<v Speaker 1>pivot and you're broken hearted. So I can't imagine you know,

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<v Speaker 1>what that was like for But thankfully you were there

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<v Speaker 1>and to support her and help her.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, absolutely, And so you know did that and like

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<v Speaker 2>literally my life changed pretty dramatically. I got a grill job,

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<v Speaker 2>not that a CSR is not a fake job, but

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<v Speaker 2>I got a career job working in media, and I

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<v Speaker 2>was an early employee of the search engine info seue wow,

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<v Speaker 2>And so you know, I you know, you know, quite frankly,

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<v Speaker 2>I was one of those people in the Internet back

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<v Speaker 2>in you know, nineteen ninety five ninety six who had

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<v Speaker 2>this amazing windfall financially just because you know, I was

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<v Speaker 2>working for this really successful company who went public, and

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<v Speaker 2>you know it was kind of nice. I was able

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<v Speaker 2>to kind of like do stuff with my mom that

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<v Speaker 2>we never could have dreamed of doing.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow.

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<v Speaker 2>Like I remember she loved Phanoma of the Opera and

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<v Speaker 2>I remember I bought her front row seats.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh my god, you are a good son.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks. Yeah. But unfortunately this fun story turns dark. She

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<v Speaker 2>got diagnosed with a plunge cancer and I think it

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<v Speaker 2>was like nineteen ninety six, ninety seven ish, and so

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<v Speaker 2>you know, we just made we made the best of it.

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<v Speaker 2>And you know, was her caregiver and I was there

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<v Speaker 2>when she passed away. Wow. And so you know, just

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<v Speaker 2>like that, by nineteen ninety eight, I had lost both

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<v Speaker 2>my parents. Oh and I was you know, wasn't even

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<v Speaker 2>thirty yet.

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<v Speaker 1>We how did that hit you? I mean we did

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<v Speaker 1>you go through a time of darkness when losing them both?

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<v Speaker 1>Or you bury yourself in work? How did you deal

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<v Speaker 1>with that? What did you do?

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<v Speaker 2>I probably buried myself in work. I mean, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>it was it was the internet heydays, so like, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>there's a lot of work to be done. I definitely

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<v Speaker 2>was not productive, although I mean during at the time

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<v Speaker 2>of my mother's death, and you know, thank god my

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<v Speaker 2>boss gave me a pass on that. Yeah, but you know,

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<v Speaker 2>I kind of have a pretty much a type a personality,

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<v Speaker 2>and I think I have a really strong will and

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<v Speaker 2>I'm very focused on perseverance. And you know, I'm actually

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<v Speaker 2>a distance athlete. I was a triathlete or yeah I was.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't do it anymore, but I it's like I

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<v Speaker 2>kind of, you know, looking back on my kind of personality,

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<v Speaker 2>but I try to do things that people feel are

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<v Speaker 2>hard to do, and in many ways, it's kind of

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<v Speaker 2>my way of saying, Hey, if I can get past this,

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<v Speaker 2>I can get past anything.

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<v Speaker 1>You know. It's so, did you find that this loss

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<v Speaker 1>that you're you know, losing with your parents, that it

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<v Speaker 1>had a profound impact on you? What changed in your life?

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<v Speaker 1>Did anything?

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<v Speaker 2>Or it's just you know that kind of as you know,

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<v Speaker 2>when you lose someone you unfortunate, life has to go on. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>and many days, await, many days you just survived the day. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, and you make the you try to. I

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<v Speaker 2>see it myself as being a very optimistic person. So

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<v Speaker 2>I've always tried to make the best of the situation.

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<v Speaker 2>And I mean I've gotten some great cards and some

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<v Speaker 2>shitty cards too, And losing both your parents, it really

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<v Speaker 2>gives you the perspective of like what's important?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, Yeah, it sounds and you know, and at that point,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I think you're almost like you're you're you're

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<v Speaker 1>on your you'really an adult, you're on your own. You're

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<v Speaker 1>you know, you you don't have the strings attached any longer.

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<v Speaker 1>And and it's hard. I think it's it's it's hard

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<v Speaker 1>to you know, to get used to that fact. But

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<v Speaker 1>you can't just pick up the phone and be like, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I need advice on blah blah blah. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's difficult. What what What in your life did

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<v Speaker 1>you realize that that your story or what you've gone

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<v Speaker 1>through could help people? You know, you're here, you are,

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<v Speaker 1>you're in the internet, you're doing all this crazy stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>When did when did you pivot? When did you change?

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<v Speaker 1>And what was the catalyst for that?

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<v Speaker 2>You know, what actually happened recently?

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<v Speaker 1>Really?

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<v Speaker 2>I wash, Yeah, I was just kind of going on

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<v Speaker 2>with life. I had a you know, been pretty fortunate

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<v Speaker 2>in my career. I've had some pretty good successes. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>my wife is very successful also. And it was when

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<v Speaker 2>I kind of semi retired back in nineteen or twenty

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<v Speaker 2>twenty three. Nineteen twenty twenty three was when I kind

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<v Speaker 2>of really started taking a deep breath on kind of realizing,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, just taking a step back. You know, when

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<v Speaker 2>you're working in the startup space, it's could be pretty intense.

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<v Speaker 2>So like, I never really thought, quite frankly about my

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<v Speaker 2>grief journey at all. It was like, you know, it's

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<v Speaker 2>like life is. I'm just going to live my life.

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<v Speaker 2>Like literally, in many ways, what I did is kind

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<v Speaker 2>of a tribute for my parents. It's like I'm going

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<v Speaker 2>to go get these wins that they couldn't experience. I'm

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<v Speaker 2>going to be able to travel and you know, I

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<v Speaker 2>had a couple of fancy cars, like eat it cool places,

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<v Speaker 2>do really interesting things and in many ways, sorry, oh.

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<v Speaker 1>That's okay, I can take a breath. It's it's a lot,

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<v Speaker 1>you know.

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<v Speaker 2>It was it was like it's a win for them.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I love that. You know, it's it's your parents

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<v Speaker 1>are you know, you want to make the proud, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's you want to you know, do things for

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<v Speaker 1>them that they couldn't do and hope that they're watching down.

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<v Speaker 1>And I know your parents are watching down, and you

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<v Speaker 1>know they're so yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Loud, I say, you know, maybe this started back in

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<v Speaker 2>twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen. I also lost my older brother

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<v Speaker 2>a couple of years ago. He had a long pow

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<v Speaker 2>of diabetes and I'm so sorry he passed. He passed away. God,

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<v Speaker 2>that day was so surreal. I was after my kind

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<v Speaker 2>of like, I've worked a whole bunch of different Silicon

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<v Speaker 2>Valley startups, and in twenty sixteen or twenty seventeen, I

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<v Speaker 2>decided that I was going to become a startup ounder

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<v Speaker 2>and I founded my own company Wow. And I remember

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<v Speaker 2>being in a when my brother died. He was in

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<v Speaker 2>I think Colorado, and I got to say basically goodbye

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<v Speaker 2>to him on the phone. I mean he obviously wasn't

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<v Speaker 2>isn't really there, but I got to say goodbye to him.

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<v Speaker 2>But it was such a surreal day because I went

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<v Speaker 2>straight from that into a pitch meeting with some investors.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh my god.

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<v Speaker 2>And it was just like, so, Surrell.

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<v Speaker 1>How do you you know you pivot from that? I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>that's that's crazy. You just put on the game face

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<v Speaker 1>and you just go into work or yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean literally I just said, hey man, spiritful disclosure.

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<v Speaker 2>I just got the phone my brother he passed away,

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<v Speaker 2>so to share with me, And they were super cool

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<v Speaker 2>about it, and actually some of them ended up investing,

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<v Speaker 2>not because they felt sorry, it's a pretty cool idea. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>but that was just a really surreal, surreal day. And yeah, crazy,

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<v Speaker 2>that's crazy, quite frankly. I've had a lot of loss

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<v Speaker 2>in my family, some through tragedy that kind of two

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<v Speaker 2>nieces that I do effectively violence, which is horrible. Unfortunately,

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<v Speaker 2>We've dealt with a lot of loss, but I've just

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<v Speaker 2>kind of always kept the mindset of, you know, it's

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<v Speaker 2>like story from Finding Nemo, just keep swimming, Just keep swimming.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, yes, that's that's what you have to do. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's a journey, right, And I don't know why

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<v Speaker 1>why so many young people are, you know, pass on

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<v Speaker 1>and for all various reasons, but it's it's it's hard.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, losing a sibling is is you don't

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<v Speaker 1>you know your parents who expect you know, although it's

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<v Speaker 1>at a young age, is difficult, but you expect your

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<v Speaker 1>parents to go. It's a natural order of things. But

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<v Speaker 1>to lose a sibling or a child or a niece,

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's so so hard. So let's let's talk about

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<v Speaker 1>you know, how you how you use your grief to

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<v Speaker 1>pivot a little bit, and and and what happened in

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty two or twenty twenty three when you decided

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<v Speaker 1>to retire. I guess it was kind.

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<v Speaker 2>Of wake up call. This was right around COVID, right,

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<v Speaker 2>and you know, running a startup, which I ran for

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<v Speaker 2>six years. We've raised several million dollars. And that is

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<v Speaker 2>not being a startup founder, especially a first time founder.

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<v Speaker 2>It's not a job for the faint of heart. It

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<v Speaker 2>is I can't imagine, it's right, It's really and hard. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>I could just imagine.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh my god.

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<v Speaker 2>In twenty two was particularly a very challenging year for me.

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<v Speaker 2>I got a injury skiing which set me back big

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<v Speaker 2>time my uh torm a CEO, I fractured my pelvis,

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<v Speaker 2>caught COVID in the hospital during this whole thing. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>it's like just was like the ship show year, like,

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<v Speaker 2>oh my.

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<v Speaker 1>God, that you were challenged on every level.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean I had had these heart palpitations. So in

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<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty two, in addition to dealing with a startup

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<v Speaker 2>and you know the pressure around that and these injuries,

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<v Speaker 2>I had a heart ablation at aco surgery. I'm keeping

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<v Speaker 2>this startup Alive unfortunately became the largest investor, and right

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<v Speaker 2>at the end of twenty two twenty two, we found

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<v Speaker 2>out my wife had breast cancer.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh like one bad heart after another. Oh my god,

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<v Speaker 1>how much could we make Roderick take the universe? Let's

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<v Speaker 1>see how much before he came? Did you?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh?

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<v Speaker 1>No?

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<v Speaker 2>What's an interesting is you know when you go through this,

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<v Speaker 2>knows it's like that that's my parents and my brother,

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<v Speaker 2>and it's like prepares you for Hey, it's actually not

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<v Speaker 2>that bad. Like even although remember being incredibly stressed out

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<v Speaker 2>running this company and making this are we going to

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<v Speaker 2>make it or not? Decision? I realized I made the

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<v Speaker 2>decision in January of twenty twenty three. I'm done. We're

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<v Speaker 2>done with this. I take care of my wife, Like

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<v Speaker 2>there's more to life than you know, running this trying

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<v Speaker 2>trying to build a startup, and so shut it down.

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<v Speaker 2>And you know, luckily my wife got amazing treatment and

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<v Speaker 2>right around June of twenty twenty three. People will probably

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<v Speaker 2>last this. I'm old school. I still go to the

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<v Speaker 2>Yahoo homepage. Actually like how they lay it out. And

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<v Speaker 2>this isn't a non seculary story. I read a story

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<v Speaker 2>about that Congress, who was the founder of Elizabeth Smiles,

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<v Speaker 2>and he was building the equipment of like a social

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<v Speaker 2>network for kids who were about to lose a parent.

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<v Speaker 2>And obviously I was like, Wow, that's pretty awesome. And

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<v Speaker 2>I know how even being in a villa, I know

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<v Speaker 2>how shitty it is to lose a parent. And so

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<v Speaker 2>I literally went to their website, saw the info, send

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<v Speaker 2>him an email. Hey, my name is Rodrick Alamannia. Here's

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<v Speaker 2>my LinkedIn. I've done some really cool stuff on the Internet.

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<v Speaker 2>I've built businesses. I see what you're trying to build.

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<v Speaker 2>How can I help?

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<v Speaker 1>Wow?

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<v Speaker 2>And Jeff Kimball, who's my co founder, who you also

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<v Speaker 2>has also been on your show, responded to my email.

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<v Speaker 2>And the sad part of the story, I never got

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<v Speaker 2>an opportunity to meet Nick, like within two weeks he

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<v Speaker 2>passed away. It was crazy. Wow. But I was helping

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<v Speaker 2>Jeff with Elizabeth Smiles and when wounded down, Jeff and I,

381
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<v Speaker 2>you know, Jeff had been trying to get me to

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<v Speaker 2>engage full time with them, and I said to them, Hey,

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<v Speaker 2>why don't we just create our own nonprofit focus on grief.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow. That was the start of empower change.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, And that was the start of empower Change.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, how did how did? How did you feel about

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<v Speaker 1>like starting this you know, new endeavor at this you know,

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<v Speaker 1>at this juncture.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. Well I told Jeff, hey, we're going to do this.

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<v Speaker 2>And by the way, Lisa's smiles was my first real

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<v Speaker 2>experience working with the nonprofit. I basically said, hey, you know,

392
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<v Speaker 2>like we need rock stars working here, like, you know,

393
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<v Speaker 2>I want to run it like a real cup, like

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<v Speaker 2>a like a startup. Basically, I don't want to be

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<v Speaker 2>continuously fundraising because I felt like the nonprofits that I

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<v Speaker 2>did I have visibility to and as I learned more

397
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<v Speaker 2>about the nonprofit space, I feel like probably the majority

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<v Speaker 2>of them spend about eighty to ninety percent of their

399
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<v Speaker 2>time fundraising and about ten percent of their time actually

400
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<v Speaker 2>focus on their mission. Yeah, which absolutely sucks. Yeah, And

401
00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:21.240
<v Speaker 2>having fundraised for the last six years from my startup,

402
00:24:21.279 --> 00:24:23.640
<v Speaker 2>I said, okay, we're going to do this. We need

403
00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:27.559
<v Speaker 2>to figure out, like how can we make whatever we

404
00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:34.160
<v Speaker 2>build scale? And cann't have a business model beyond gaining donations. Wow,

405
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<v Speaker 2>So what we did was we spent you know, Jeff

406
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<v Speaker 2>was working at another nonprofit luckily, since I was kind

407
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<v Speaker 2>of retired I took all the mechanics of starting a

408
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<v Speaker 2>business and everything I learned in my career, and I

409
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<v Speaker 2>tacked grief and solving grief the same way that you

410
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<v Speaker 2>would try to solve for a problem at a tech startup. Wow,

411
00:24:56.799 --> 00:25:01.519
<v Speaker 2>what's the market opportunity, what are the pain point? You know,

412
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<v Speaker 2>what is your solution? How are you going to make money?

413
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<v Speaker 2>How you're going to get in the hands of customers?

414
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<v Speaker 2>You know, who are you users? All all those things.

415
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<v Speaker 2>And we spent eighteen months really kind of looking at this,

416
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<v Speaker 2>and I quickly came to the conclusion that there's a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of brief resources out there. But when you start

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<v Speaker 2>looking at the statistics, what's interesting is that seven out

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<v Speaker 2>of ten people who are going through grief don't do anything,

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<v Speaker 2>don't get any sort of help or support. And that

421
00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:34.359
<v Speaker 2>doesn't necessarily mean that you need to see a therapist, no,

422
00:25:35.400 --> 00:25:38.759
<v Speaker 2>But you know, then there's the other thirty percent who

423
00:25:38.839 --> 00:25:41.519
<v Speaker 2>luckily are strong willed. But that's seventy percent. That's an

424
00:25:41.559 --> 00:25:43.359
<v Speaker 2>amazing that's incredible.

425
00:25:43.400 --> 00:25:47.039
<v Speaker 1>That's an incredible number. Seventy percent of people who are grieving,

426
00:25:47.880 --> 00:25:51.079
<v Speaker 1>you know, just just swallowing that in that and that

427
00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:52.559
<v Speaker 1>that that darkness.

428
00:25:52.799 --> 00:25:54.960
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so Jeff and I started looking yea, Jeff and

429
00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:58.960
<v Speaker 2>I started looking at why yeah, And so I started

430
00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:00.680
<v Speaker 2>looking at what are the reason verses that are being

431
00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:04.720
<v Speaker 2>offered to them. And we started looking at that not

432
00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:07.640
<v Speaker 2>only what was being offered, but how it was being offered.

433
00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:12.039
<v Speaker 2>Our go to market for what we're building is hospice.

434
00:26:12.359 --> 00:26:15.519
<v Speaker 2>You know, I've experienced hospice both times. And you know,

435
00:26:15.519 --> 00:26:17.759
<v Speaker 2>as an example, we look at what are the support

436
00:26:17.799 --> 00:26:21.079
<v Speaker 2>systems that hospice offers a lot of times they might

437
00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:26.200
<v Speaker 2>give you some material, they'll make phone calls, but when

438
00:26:26.279 --> 00:26:30.200
<v Speaker 2>you are going through grief, you're like not operating at

439
00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:33.960
<v Speaker 2>the same capacity, Like you just want to isolate. You

440
00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:36.960
<v Speaker 2>want to you know, you don't want to you need

441
00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:38.440
<v Speaker 2>to be around people, but you don't want to be

442
00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:39.839
<v Speaker 2>around people at the same time.

443
00:26:39.960 --> 00:26:42.000
<v Speaker 1>Well because you feel bad because you feel like you're

444
00:26:42.039 --> 00:26:45.279
<v Speaker 1>a downer. You know, you walk into a party and

445
00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:47.400
<v Speaker 1>you know it's like, oh, there's the woman who lost

446
00:26:47.400 --> 00:26:52.319
<v Speaker 1>her son. You know, it's immediate like party goes you know.

447
00:26:52.559 --> 00:26:55.160
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, and plus you know you're just kind of

448
00:26:55.160 --> 00:26:59.279
<v Speaker 2>this whole grief mindset, like you don't really process information

449
00:26:59.319 --> 00:27:03.440
<v Speaker 2>that well. No, and when I started looking at kind

450
00:27:03.480 --> 00:27:07.680
<v Speaker 2>of how we are trying to get people to get help.

451
00:27:08.440 --> 00:27:12.440
<v Speaker 2>It's totally broken. Like you can have the best briefing

452
00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:16.759
<v Speaker 2>coordinator at a hospice and they have the best heart,

453
00:27:17.319 --> 00:27:20.359
<v Speaker 2>but if you're not ready to talk to them because

454
00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:23.440
<v Speaker 2>where you are mentally, they're never going to break through

455
00:27:23.440 --> 00:27:25.839
<v Speaker 2>to you. And I mean, look at the context. They

456
00:27:25.839 --> 00:27:28.720
<v Speaker 2>don't know you. You know you're there to help them,

457
00:27:28.759 --> 00:27:31.440
<v Speaker 2>but like you're having a hard time helping yourself. If

458
00:27:31.480 --> 00:27:34.200
<v Speaker 2>you're given information. A lot of times, the information that

459
00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:36.720
<v Speaker 2>I've seen can be very clinical. I'm not saying all

460
00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:37.119
<v Speaker 2>that is.

461
00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:42.240
<v Speaker 1>It can be information too, because I can't tell you

462
00:27:42.279 --> 00:27:45.039
<v Speaker 1>how many times, you know, with my mother, you know

463
00:27:45.079 --> 00:27:48.319
<v Speaker 1>who's going through stuff right now, they give you like

464
00:27:48.359 --> 00:27:51.160
<v Speaker 1>a packet. I don't have time to sit there and

465
00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:55.319
<v Speaker 1>read through everything. I don't have the mental capacity to

466
00:27:55.920 --> 00:27:57.559
<v Speaker 1>understand everything i'm reading either.

467
00:27:58.279 --> 00:28:03.119
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that's exactly. It's too much information for the graving mind. Yeah,

468
00:28:03.400 --> 00:28:06.839
<v Speaker 2>it really is. So what Jeff and I decided was,

469
00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:09.599
<v Speaker 2>you know, what our mission is is to effectively make

470
00:28:09.640 --> 00:28:15.039
<v Speaker 2>brief support more approachable and accessible. And you know another

471
00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:17.480
<v Speaker 2>thing when you look at count grief support is look at,

472
00:28:17.480 --> 00:28:19.799
<v Speaker 2>for example, if you're working for a company, you have

473
00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:24.079
<v Speaker 2>an employee Assistance program in EAP, and I looked at

474
00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:31.799
<v Speaker 2>the EAPs grief counseling services and sometimes there are PDFs

475
00:28:31.799 --> 00:28:36.119
<v Speaker 2>that are just they're just poor. It's just poor execution

476
00:28:36.200 --> 00:28:40.039
<v Speaker 2>at the end of the day, like poor, poor, poor execution.

477
00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:42.799
<v Speaker 2>And so the problem we're trying to solve and and

478
00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:45.160
<v Speaker 2>a lot of times it's only meant for a person

479
00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:48.079
<v Speaker 2>working where there might be a family member who needs this,

480
00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:51.880
<v Speaker 2>And so accessibility is the other issue. It's like main

481
00:28:51.920 --> 00:28:54.240
<v Speaker 2>point with hospice, main point of contact. Well, if you're

482
00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:55.880
<v Speaker 2>coming from a big family, there's a lot of people

483
00:28:55.920 --> 00:28:57.160
<v Speaker 2>grieving that need to be served.

484
00:28:57.680 --> 00:28:57.960
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

485
00:28:58.319 --> 00:29:01.240
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's not like I'm going to say, hey, dude,

486
00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:04.319
<v Speaker 2>check out this. Uh hey broke, here's a pamphlet.

487
00:29:04.759 --> 00:29:10.240
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, right, exactly. It's it's hard. Wow. So, so how

488
00:29:10.279 --> 00:29:13.119
<v Speaker 1>do you support people? How? What is how does empowered

489
00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:17.839
<v Speaker 1>change change the way the world is working right now?

490
00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:20.599
<v Speaker 2>Well, the crazy part is a lot of the grief

491
00:29:20.640 --> 00:29:22.240
<v Speaker 2>support is being done. I mean there's a lot of

492
00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:25.559
<v Speaker 2>stuff being done online, but nobody's going to it. We're

493
00:29:25.559 --> 00:29:27.519
<v Speaker 2>fixing the problem that nobody's going to So we're not

494
00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:32.079
<v Speaker 2>actually creating the support services themselves. But what we're doing

495
00:29:32.200 --> 00:29:34.880
<v Speaker 2>is we're creating almost like the catalysts so people actually

496
00:29:34.920 --> 00:29:38.599
<v Speaker 2>start using them. And the way we're doing that is

497
00:29:38.640 --> 00:29:44.759
<v Speaker 2>basically guiding someone through kind of the bereavement process, whether.

498
00:29:44.599 --> 00:29:47.240
<v Speaker 1>It's I got chilled, wow.

499
00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:51.160
<v Speaker 2>You know, before the person enters hospice, they could be

500
00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:53.519
<v Speaker 2>in palliative care. I mean, it's part of our vision,

501
00:29:53.559 --> 00:29:56.400
<v Speaker 2>which there's a lot of absolutely a face or they're

502
00:29:56.440 --> 00:29:59.200
<v Speaker 2>just entering hospice or even post hospice. A lot of

503
00:29:59.200 --> 00:30:02.079
<v Speaker 2>brief characters have until the person's died. But as you know,

504
00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:07.759
<v Speaker 2>when someone is like your mother, like you know she's going,

505
00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:11.319
<v Speaker 2>Like when you find out someone's on their left, you know,

506
00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:14.319
<v Speaker 2>if in hospice, you've already started grieving.

507
00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:17.480
<v Speaker 1>Yes, yes, you grieve as soon as they're not the

508
00:30:17.480 --> 00:30:20.119
<v Speaker 1>person that you that that they're raised you, that you

509
00:30:20.279 --> 00:30:24.000
<v Speaker 1>know they're they're they're they're not them, you know, And

510
00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:26.640
<v Speaker 1>and it's it's heartbreaking. I got to tell you about

511
00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:29.359
<v Speaker 1>every time I visit I visit my mother every day,

512
00:30:29.559 --> 00:30:34.000
<v Speaker 1>and these hospitals and nursing cares and it just breaks

513
00:30:34.039 --> 00:30:38.400
<v Speaker 1>my heart. You know, it's it's just devastating, it really is.

514
00:30:39.160 --> 00:30:44.359
<v Speaker 2>Yeah. Yeah, So what we're trying to build is really

515
00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:47.160
<v Speaker 2>kind of think of it like a media company, okay,

516
00:30:47.319 --> 00:30:51.119
<v Speaker 2>where we're personalizing the grieving experience. We're starting with hospice.

517
00:30:51.400 --> 00:30:54.359
<v Speaker 2>So hospice we know someone's going to pass away, we

518
00:30:54.440 --> 00:30:56.440
<v Speaker 2>know what their family, you know, if they have family,

519
00:30:56.480 --> 00:31:01.799
<v Speaker 2>if they have kids. The hospices know this, We probably

520
00:31:01.799 --> 00:31:04.519
<v Speaker 2>have some knowledge of like what are their religious beliefs

521
00:31:04.599 --> 00:31:11.160
<v Speaker 2>or their values. And the idea is instead of engaging

522
00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:13.640
<v Speaker 2>them on our time, which is hey, I'm a breeven

523
00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:17.680
<v Speaker 2>counselor you want to talk now, let's just put it online.

524
00:31:17.720 --> 00:31:21.119
<v Speaker 2>Most of the stuff isn't online, and if it's online,

525
00:31:21.119 --> 00:31:23.480
<v Speaker 2>it's not done in a very kind of native fashion.

526
00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:28.039
<v Speaker 2>Like our vision is, if we know that the person

527
00:31:28.519 --> 00:31:32.640
<v Speaker 2>is a Asian man who lost his wife, who has

528
00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:36.319
<v Speaker 2>two kids, we're going to create. What we've done is

529
00:31:36.359 --> 00:31:38.359
<v Speaker 2>we've mapped out the journey of all the things that

530
00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:40.920
<v Speaker 2>you need to do, not just around bereavement, but around

531
00:31:42.440 --> 00:31:44.039
<v Speaker 2>what're all the things? What are the things? How do

532
00:31:44.119 --> 00:31:45.920
<v Speaker 2>I tell work? How do I tell my kids? All

533
00:31:45.960 --> 00:31:49.599
<v Speaker 2>those things? We basically kind of created the journey, and

534
00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:52.559
<v Speaker 2>what we're creating is almost like a video tutorial, except

535
00:31:52.599 --> 00:31:54.079
<v Speaker 2>for the person who's going to take you through the

536
00:31:54.119 --> 00:31:57.960
<v Speaker 2>video tutorial kind of not your circumstances. It's like, hey,

537
00:31:59.000 --> 00:32:00.960
<v Speaker 2>if it's an Asian man, deally, it's an Asian man

538
00:32:01.039 --> 00:32:03.839
<v Speaker 2>who's basically saying, hey, dude, I've gone through the same thing.

539
00:32:04.240 --> 00:32:08.119
<v Speaker 2>Yeah suck, Yeah, I mean, And our first thing isn't

540
00:32:08.119 --> 00:32:10.400
<v Speaker 2>about giving you advice. We you know, we say greet

541
00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:13.640
<v Speaker 2>doesn't begin with advice and begins with feeling understood. So

542
00:32:13.720 --> 00:32:16.480
<v Speaker 2>step one is to tell the person, hey, man, we

543
00:32:16.559 --> 00:32:19.559
<v Speaker 2>understand you. We're giving you this personalized experience. We understand you,

544
00:32:20.039 --> 00:32:22.599
<v Speaker 2>and you know this sucks, but you are going to

545
00:32:22.599 --> 00:32:24.680
<v Speaker 2>get through it, and let me give you all the

546
00:32:25.119 --> 00:32:26.960
<v Speaker 2>you know, they'd we give you kind of all the

547
00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:29.599
<v Speaker 2>things that you need to do. So we're creating really

548
00:32:29.720 --> 00:32:34.680
<v Speaker 2>short form almost think like TikTok videos, short form video modules,

549
00:32:34.720 --> 00:32:38.680
<v Speaker 2>walking people when they're ready, on their time, with someone

550
00:32:38.720 --> 00:32:42.119
<v Speaker 2>who's kind of looks and feels like them taking them

551
00:32:42.119 --> 00:32:44.920
<v Speaker 2>through the process. And we're not hiring actors. We're finding

552
00:32:44.920 --> 00:32:47.039
<v Speaker 2>people from the community who have been through this. And

553
00:32:47.079 --> 00:32:49.559
<v Speaker 2>one thing that's amazing about the grief community is that

554
00:32:49.720 --> 00:32:52.119
<v Speaker 2>people have gone through grief that are further down that

555
00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:54.519
<v Speaker 2>path want to help the people that are just starting

556
00:32:54.519 --> 00:32:55.039
<v Speaker 2>down the path.

557
00:32:55.519 --> 00:32:57.720
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely, that's that's why I do this. This is a

558
00:32:57.759 --> 00:33:01.279
<v Speaker 1>platform to help people. And that's but you know, your

559
00:33:01.359 --> 00:33:08.160
<v Speaker 1>story is amazing. It's so cutting edge and really really

560
00:33:08.279 --> 00:33:12.359
<v Speaker 1>needed in this community for people. I mean truly, Roderick,

561
00:33:12.440 --> 00:33:13.759
<v Speaker 1>this is this is brilliant.

562
00:33:13.839 --> 00:33:18.799
<v Speaker 2>I mean, thank you so much. Yeah. The thing that

563
00:33:20.279 --> 00:33:23.759
<v Speaker 2>I think that's been amazing about this whole experience. I've

564
00:33:23.799 --> 00:33:27.119
<v Speaker 2>sold advertising on the internet and I've worked for different

565
00:33:27.480 --> 00:33:31.440
<v Speaker 2>sas companies, and this is the first time in my

566
00:33:31.480 --> 00:33:36.440
<v Speaker 2>whole career where we connected two people who had similar

567
00:33:36.519 --> 00:33:42.039
<v Speaker 2>experiences with grief, and never before in my life I said, Wow,

568
00:33:42.079 --> 00:33:45.319
<v Speaker 2>what I did actually is meaningful to someone, like really

569
00:33:45.359 --> 00:33:48.079
<v Speaker 2>really meaningful. It's pretty cool.

570
00:33:48.359 --> 00:33:51.960
<v Speaker 1>It is so frigging cool. It really is. Because you

571
00:33:52.079 --> 00:33:55.079
<v Speaker 1>need that. You need community. I mean, I think in

572
00:33:55.319 --> 00:33:59.240
<v Speaker 1>all of the struggles throughout my life, what has gotten

573
00:33:59.319 --> 00:34:04.079
<v Speaker 1>me through them is my community, my friends, the people,

574
00:34:04.160 --> 00:34:09.639
<v Speaker 1>my my my twe my church. You know, those communities

575
00:34:09.800 --> 00:34:12.960
<v Speaker 1>are who help me get back up and wipe the

576
00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:17.280
<v Speaker 1>dirt off my knees and make that movement forward one

577
00:34:17.360 --> 00:34:21.360
<v Speaker 1>step at a time. Because I had support, I had community,

578
00:34:21.400 --> 00:34:26.280
<v Speaker 1>and it's it's so important for resilience to how do

579
00:34:26.360 --> 00:34:28.440
<v Speaker 1>you know, how do you bounce back when you've been

580
00:34:28.519 --> 00:34:31.679
<v Speaker 1>knocked down so many times in your life? You know.

581
00:34:32.519 --> 00:34:34.639
<v Speaker 2>And that's the strength of what we're building. I mean,

582
00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:38.440
<v Speaker 2>online by definition is all about community. And you know,

583
00:34:38.719 --> 00:34:41.760
<v Speaker 2>the reason why the social media networks are what they

584
00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:44.199
<v Speaker 2>are is because people find people who are like minded.

585
00:34:44.760 --> 00:34:45.079
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

586
00:34:45.119 --> 00:34:49.880
<v Speaker 2>And you know the interesting thing about from the business

587
00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:52.159
<v Speaker 2>side of what we're building, I don't really need to

588
00:34:52.239 --> 00:34:56.519
<v Speaker 2>build the services. I just need to build basically that bridge.

589
00:34:56.719 --> 00:34:59.719
<v Speaker 2>It's people using the services, like I have to start

590
00:34:59.760 --> 00:35:02.559
<v Speaker 2>an online community. The communities are out there, people just

591
00:35:02.599 --> 00:35:06.199
<v Speaker 2>need to find them and be connected with them. Yes, yes,

592
00:35:06.679 --> 00:35:10.119
<v Speaker 2>so that's what we're doing on the product side. But

593
00:35:10.760 --> 00:35:12.599
<v Speaker 2>you know, as I mentioned, we have to build a

594
00:35:12.639 --> 00:35:16.960
<v Speaker 2>product that can someone wants to pay money for, right, right,

595
00:35:17.519 --> 00:35:21.679
<v Speaker 2>And this brought up the interesting question is why we

596
00:35:21.719 --> 00:35:25.159
<v Speaker 2>spent so much time on building this business. It's who

597
00:35:25.199 --> 00:35:28.320
<v Speaker 2>is our user versus who is our customer? Oh and

598
00:35:29.400 --> 00:35:34.000
<v Speaker 2>you know our user is anyone grieving, yes, but our customer.

599
00:35:34.119 --> 00:35:36.800
<v Speaker 2>And this is one thing about running, you know, about

600
00:35:36.800 --> 00:35:45.039
<v Speaker 2>building a business. We need customers. Yeah, business small, and

601
00:35:45.119 --> 00:35:47.880
<v Speaker 2>that's that's the hard part about nonprofits, you know, they're

602
00:35:47.920 --> 00:35:53.199
<v Speaker 2>reliant on donations all the time. We spend a lot

603
00:35:53.199 --> 00:35:55.800
<v Speaker 2>of time looking at the business side of the equation.

604
00:35:57.280 --> 00:36:00.519
<v Speaker 2>Take Hostage for as an example, grieven coordinators are a

605
00:36:00.559 --> 00:36:03.360
<v Speaker 2>cost center. And given everything going on in the world

606
00:36:03.440 --> 00:36:07.079
<v Speaker 2>right now around every business is typening, it spelt no

607
00:36:07.119 --> 00:36:09.920
<v Speaker 2>one wants to invest, if anything, they want to cut.

608
00:36:09.960 --> 00:36:12.000
<v Speaker 2>I mean that's the whole thing about an AI, you know,

609
00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:14.519
<v Speaker 2>it's like, how can I cut head count? And so

610
00:36:15.320 --> 00:36:18.920
<v Speaker 2>in building solving this human problem that I just talked about,

611
00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:22.199
<v Speaker 2>we also had to solve a business problem. And knowing

612
00:36:22.199 --> 00:36:26.239
<v Speaker 2>that hospices probably will not invest in briefing services because

613
00:36:26.280 --> 00:36:29.440
<v Speaker 2>they don't make money, we had to solve a business problem.

614
00:36:29.920 --> 00:36:32.400
<v Speaker 2>And so this is where a lot of my kind

615
00:36:32.400 --> 00:36:37.400
<v Speaker 2>of startup experience and mentality came into play. And it

616
00:36:37.440 --> 00:36:40.079
<v Speaker 2>took us made a step back into the hospice space

617
00:36:40.119 --> 00:36:43.079
<v Speaker 2>and say, okay, this is a cost how can we

618
00:36:43.119 --> 00:36:49.679
<v Speaker 2>give them a financial incentive to to adopt what we're building.

619
00:36:49.800 --> 00:36:54.400
<v Speaker 2>We're building almost like a software platform, right and when

620
00:36:54.440 --> 00:36:57.679
<v Speaker 2>we start looking at how hospices acquire customers and they

621
00:36:57.719 --> 00:36:59.920
<v Speaker 2>call it census, you know, we call the Customer Act.

622
00:37:00.119 --> 00:37:03.679
<v Speaker 2>Then they call they call it census growth. The service

623
00:37:03.719 --> 00:37:08.960
<v Speaker 2>we're building can actually aid them in acquiring new customers

624
00:37:09.039 --> 00:37:12.039
<v Speaker 2>because now they can start offering services before someone's even

625
00:37:12.039 --> 00:37:14.719
<v Speaker 2>a customer of theirs, Like, hey, if you're if you're

626
00:37:14.719 --> 00:37:17.760
<v Speaker 2>going through REEF, here's a free resource that we have.

627
00:37:18.239 --> 00:37:21.400
<v Speaker 2>So now we're directly tying the support that we're building

628
00:37:21.880 --> 00:37:26.480
<v Speaker 2>to a business objective. The other interesting component about this,

629
00:37:27.119 --> 00:37:30.960
<v Speaker 2>and not to sound like an to capitalist, but there

630
00:37:31.079 --> 00:37:35.559
<v Speaker 2>is a boatload and there is a massive market for

631
00:37:35.760 --> 00:37:41.960
<v Speaker 2>afterlife post life services, whether it be state attorneys, funeral homes.

632
00:37:42.400 --> 00:37:46.440
<v Speaker 2>Obviously you've been through that. You know there's different services,

633
00:37:46.480 --> 00:37:51.880
<v Speaker 2>and you know, again looking at this obtusely, in many ways,

634
00:37:51.920 --> 00:37:55.039
<v Speaker 2>I had to compartmentalize this. It's like, if I'm able

635
00:37:55.039 --> 00:38:00.599
<v Speaker 2>to build a distribution through these hostices, there's some there's

636
00:38:00.599 --> 00:38:04.760
<v Speaker 2>a media monetization opportunity where we can sell sponsorships, those

637
00:38:04.800 --> 00:38:09.519
<v Speaker 2>sorts of things, and they can effectively fund the platform. Wow.

638
00:38:10.599 --> 00:38:13.880
<v Speaker 2>So for the hospices, I'm giving them something that gives

639
00:38:14.159 --> 00:38:20.039
<v Speaker 2>their patients better care to help them acquire customers. They

640
00:38:20.039 --> 00:38:23.000
<v Speaker 2>don't have to hire additional headcount, and the thing is

641
00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:25.880
<v Speaker 2>effectively what I'm building is an old school and media

642
00:38:25.920 --> 00:38:30.159
<v Speaker 2>company online. So financially speaking, what we're building is not

643
00:38:30.239 --> 00:38:32.639
<v Speaker 2>expensive to build. It's very cheap to build, and we

644
00:38:32.679 --> 00:38:33.320
<v Speaker 2>can scale it.

645
00:38:34.400 --> 00:38:37.480
<v Speaker 1>That's it's just brilliant and and and but more than that,

646
00:38:38.039 --> 00:38:41.440
<v Speaker 1>you know, it's you're helping people, and you're you're you're

647
00:38:41.480 --> 00:38:45.960
<v Speaker 1>building a community, and you're you're educating people you know

648
00:38:46.039 --> 00:38:49.440
<v Speaker 1>what what's out there, and and and also you're able

649
00:38:49.480 --> 00:38:54.239
<v Speaker 1>to make a business and make a profit or you know, uh,

650
00:38:54.239 --> 00:38:57.199
<v Speaker 1>help businesses invest in your platform.

651
00:38:57.480 --> 00:38:59.760
<v Speaker 2>Yeah. Well, interestingly enough, you know what start offs a

652
00:38:59.800 --> 00:39:02.880
<v Speaker 2>non profit. We spun out a public benefit corporation that

653
00:39:02.960 --> 00:39:06.159
<v Speaker 2>the nonprofit is an owner in, and it is built

654
00:39:06.199 --> 00:39:10.000
<v Speaker 2>specifically so it can do for profit deals and we

655
00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:12.800
<v Speaker 2>can let the nonprofit. You know, it's still focused around

656
00:39:12.840 --> 00:39:15.800
<v Speaker 2>the nonprofit, but this entity allows us to work with

657
00:39:15.960 --> 00:39:19.480
<v Speaker 2>for profit companies and the way that we're structuring it,

658
00:39:19.800 --> 00:39:22.960
<v Speaker 2>this will be the business model that sustains the nonprofit

659
00:39:23.480 --> 00:39:25.920
<v Speaker 2>and ideally I won't have the fundraise.

660
00:39:26.760 --> 00:39:29.800
<v Speaker 1>Wow, but how does the privacy come in? Like, because

661
00:39:29.800 --> 00:39:33.119
<v Speaker 1>they're so strict about the hip and the privacy and

662
00:39:33.239 --> 00:39:35.199
<v Speaker 1>all of that, does that come into play here?

663
00:39:35.280 --> 00:39:37.159
<v Speaker 2>Yeah? Absolutely, So the way that we thought about it

664
00:39:37.320 --> 00:39:41.159
<v Speaker 2>was that what we build will live on the hospices domain.

665
00:39:42.119 --> 00:39:44.599
<v Speaker 2>So I'm like a software as a service, so I'm

666
00:39:44.679 --> 00:39:48.679
<v Speaker 2>not sending anyone to my website where I'm collecting the data.

667
00:39:49.119 --> 00:39:53.039
<v Speaker 2>It lives effectively on the hospices cloud, so to speak.

668
00:39:53.239 --> 00:39:57.239
<v Speaker 2>So it's their data. And you know, I have zero

669
00:39:57.280 --> 00:40:03.840
<v Speaker 2>interest in and like having ownership or even partial ownership

670
00:40:03.840 --> 00:40:07.039
<v Speaker 2>on the data. I mean, like still, ultimately this is

671
00:40:07.119 --> 00:40:11.840
<v Speaker 2>driven by the mission, which is to make grief support,

672
00:40:12.119 --> 00:40:14.079
<v Speaker 2>you know, approachable and accessible.

673
00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:20.039
<v Speaker 1>Wow, it's it's absolutely incredible. All right, I'm going to

674
00:40:20.079 --> 00:40:21.559
<v Speaker 1>shift skiers a little bit. I'm going to do like

675
00:40:21.599 --> 00:40:28.280
<v Speaker 1>a little around kind of a one word Uh, I

676
00:40:28.360 --> 00:40:30.480
<v Speaker 1>have a little fun, you know, but all right, let's

677
00:40:30.599 --> 00:40:33.440
<v Speaker 1>let's try one word that describes your grief journey.

678
00:40:33.679 --> 00:40:39.119
<v Speaker 2>What do you think ongoing? Really ongoing? Yeah, I mean,

679
00:40:39.199 --> 00:40:43.119
<v Speaker 2>like you know, like I didn't realize I was going

680
00:40:43.119 --> 00:40:45.760
<v Speaker 2>through this grief journey all these years and kind of

681
00:40:45.840 --> 00:40:50.360
<v Speaker 2>you know, since then, it's gone going.

682
00:40:52.360 --> 00:40:54.760
<v Speaker 1>Well, depend on the same token. One word that describes

683
00:40:54.800 --> 00:40:58.280
<v Speaker 1>your healing right, because you are you're healing from from

684
00:40:58.320 --> 00:41:01.159
<v Speaker 1>doing this right with one one describes.

685
00:41:00.800 --> 00:41:04.760
<v Speaker 2>That It's called transformational.

686
00:41:06.199 --> 00:41:09.440
<v Speaker 1>I love that I do, because it's true, you are

687
00:41:09.599 --> 00:41:12.360
<v Speaker 1>we we do. We change when you go through something

688
00:41:12.559 --> 00:41:15.280
<v Speaker 1>trauma from where you were to you don't even see

689
00:41:15.360 --> 00:41:19.440
<v Speaker 1>the change happening, and all of a sudden you've become

690
00:41:19.679 --> 00:41:22.920
<v Speaker 1>a whole new person. Not that there was anything wrong

691
00:41:22.960 --> 00:41:26.119
<v Speaker 1>with you before, but it's like the caterpillar into the butterfly.

692
00:41:26.679 --> 00:41:29.920
<v Speaker 1>You know, you just want you transform, you emerge, Right.

693
00:41:30.679 --> 00:41:36.000
<v Speaker 2>It's really interesting. One of our investors lives in Asia

694
00:41:36.239 --> 00:41:40.840
<v Speaker 2>and he talks about the seasons of life, and you know,

695
00:41:40.920 --> 00:41:43.639
<v Speaker 2>I'm kind of, you know, for lack of a better word,

696
00:41:43.719 --> 00:41:45.400
<v Speaker 2>in kind of be giving a season of my life.

697
00:41:45.519 --> 00:41:49.960
<v Speaker 2>I've been fortunate enough to get a lot out of it,

698
00:41:50.679 --> 00:41:53.119
<v Speaker 2>been through a lot, but I've also gotten a lot.

699
00:41:53.280 --> 00:41:57.039
<v Speaker 2>I'm fortunate enough to retire at a really relatively young age.

700
00:41:57.760 --> 00:42:03.320
<v Speaker 2>And you know, like what's really fun about this, which

701
00:42:03.320 --> 00:42:06.719
<v Speaker 2>was weird to say about working in a grief grief company,

702
00:42:07.199 --> 00:42:10.000
<v Speaker 2>is that I've been able to take something I'm super

703
00:42:10.039 --> 00:42:15.440
<v Speaker 2>passionate about and combine it with my background, which is

704
00:42:15.480 --> 00:42:21.320
<v Speaker 2>around kind of technology and startups. And you know, it's

705
00:42:21.519 --> 00:42:24.320
<v Speaker 2>innovation and technology, it really is.

706
00:42:24.400 --> 00:42:27.679
<v Speaker 1>I mean, it's just like, you know, all the pieces

707
00:42:27.679 --> 00:42:32.159
<v Speaker 1>of the puzzle just came together, which is amazing.

708
00:42:32.760 --> 00:42:37.559
<v Speaker 2>Really, what's interesting about our business is that the really

709
00:42:37.559 --> 00:42:41.000
<v Speaker 2>interesting opportunities when we go after corporations and their employee

710
00:42:41.000 --> 00:42:46.079
<v Speaker 2>assistance programs because you know, the business problem or solving

711
00:42:46.360 --> 00:42:48.440
<v Speaker 2>and as had mentioned that companies lose over one hundred

712
00:42:48.440 --> 00:42:51.800
<v Speaker 2>billion annually in the US, the empathy dot plump due

713
00:42:51.800 --> 00:42:58.079
<v Speaker 2>to grieving employees and incredible and you know, obviously there's

714
00:42:58.119 --> 00:43:01.519
<v Speaker 2>the altruistics set of a company, but like we're also

715
00:43:01.599 --> 00:43:04.400
<v Speaker 2>dealing with, these companies are in the business of making

716
00:43:04.440 --> 00:43:07.639
<v Speaker 2>money and being profitable, and so if we can give

717
00:43:07.719 --> 00:43:10.239
<v Speaker 2>them something that not only helps from plays but helps

718
00:43:10.280 --> 00:43:15.239
<v Speaker 2>their business. Yeah, and it doesn't cost a lot, it's

719
00:43:15.280 --> 00:43:17.239
<v Speaker 2>a win win. Yeah.

720
00:43:17.280 --> 00:43:22.920
<v Speaker 1>Wow, that's that's just oh my gosh. All right, let's

721
00:43:22.920 --> 00:43:23.400
<v Speaker 1>go back.

722
00:43:23.280 --> 00:43:25.800
<v Speaker 2>To my one, the speed Rone.

723
00:43:26.440 --> 00:43:29.400
<v Speaker 1>What's what's what's a song? A song that brings you comfort?

724
00:43:29.559 --> 00:43:30.079
<v Speaker 1>How's that.

725
00:43:32.159 --> 00:43:35.079
<v Speaker 2>Dropped to Jupiter from train? You know this batory on that?

726
00:43:35.840 --> 00:43:38.360
<v Speaker 1>Yeah? Well it was with his wife, right there was.

727
00:43:38.679 --> 00:43:40.440
<v Speaker 2>His mother, his mother?

728
00:43:41.119 --> 00:43:43.960
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, tell me tell me because.

729
00:43:43.719 --> 00:43:49.000
<v Speaker 2>I yeah, well, train was I was watching VH one

730
00:43:49.000 --> 00:43:51.360
<v Speaker 2>behind the music a couple of let's go on it,

731
00:43:51.719 --> 00:43:53.760
<v Speaker 2>and train was trying to find this hit song, and

732
00:43:53.840 --> 00:43:57.719
<v Speaker 2>he had just lost his mother, and you know, the

733
00:43:58.039 --> 00:44:01.159
<v Speaker 2>songs about like his his mother being in the atmosphere

734
00:44:04.559 --> 00:44:09.440
<v Speaker 2>and you know, they made this amazing hit song, but

735
00:44:09.480 --> 00:44:11.760
<v Speaker 2>it was you know, basically part of its kind of

736
00:44:11.760 --> 00:44:13.119
<v Speaker 2>whole healing journey.

737
00:44:13.840 --> 00:44:20.440
<v Speaker 1>I love You know, so many people artists that have

738
00:44:20.440 --> 00:44:24.679
<v Speaker 1>have written songs about grief. They're they're just they're so powerful.

739
00:44:24.920 --> 00:44:28.360
<v Speaker 1>You know, you don't even stars go through the grieving

740
00:44:28.440 --> 00:44:31.840
<v Speaker 1>process like we do. It's just it's it's and it

741
00:44:31.920 --> 00:44:34.360
<v Speaker 1>comes out in there in the words and the lyrics

742
00:44:34.440 --> 00:44:39.400
<v Speaker 1>and in the rawness and the tenderness when they sang

743
00:44:39.480 --> 00:44:42.760
<v Speaker 1>I Love Love Train and one of my favorite favorite groups,

744
00:44:43.000 --> 00:44:43.320
<v Speaker 1>what I.

745
00:44:43.239 --> 00:44:45.800
<v Speaker 2>Love about that. Also, there's also this whole element of

746
00:44:46.000 --> 00:44:47.960
<v Speaker 2>hope around it too, Whi's that's not not about the

747
00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:53.280
<v Speaker 2>doom and gloom of grief, which which is really kind

748
00:44:53.280 --> 00:44:56.480
<v Speaker 2>of you know, part of what we're trying to do

749
00:44:56.639 --> 00:45:02.320
<v Speaker 2>is show people, yeah, give me someone it sucks, but

750
00:45:02.400 --> 00:45:04.719
<v Speaker 2>it doesn't It doesn't mean it has to be the

751
00:45:04.840 --> 00:45:08.159
<v Speaker 2>end of your life, like you'll still be sad, but

752
00:45:08.199 --> 00:45:10.559
<v Speaker 2>it doesn't mean that you can't find still can't find

753
00:45:10.599 --> 00:45:13.400
<v Speaker 2>you know, it's just as like can be both beautiful

754
00:45:13.440 --> 00:45:16.199
<v Speaker 2>and brutal at the same time when you're grieving and

755
00:45:17.360 --> 00:45:20.719
<v Speaker 2>you know you can. It really is you know, you

756
00:45:20.760 --> 00:45:23.440
<v Speaker 2>can still have a fulfilling life, even it will never

757
00:45:23.559 --> 00:45:25.679
<v Speaker 2>be the same, but you can still have a.

758
00:45:25.639 --> 00:45:28.719
<v Speaker 1>Fulfilling Yes, but it can be still be beautiful and

759
00:45:28.760 --> 00:45:32.000
<v Speaker 1>it's you're forever changed when you go through this. Yeah,

760
00:45:33.360 --> 00:45:41.639
<v Speaker 1>how about one word that describes and power change?

761
00:45:42.440 --> 00:45:43.039
<v Speaker 2>Authentic?

762
00:45:43.679 --> 00:45:45.280
<v Speaker 1>Oh? I like that.

763
00:45:45.880 --> 00:45:49.599
<v Speaker 2>You know this isn't about you know, my condults and

764
00:45:49.719 --> 00:45:52.960
<v Speaker 2>thoughts and prayers. This is about us saying hey man,

765
00:45:53.039 --> 00:45:55.079
<v Speaker 2>this sucks, but you know what, let me get you

766
00:45:55.119 --> 00:45:59.159
<v Speaker 2>through it. Wow, I'm going through just what you. I've

767
00:45:59.199 --> 00:46:02.159
<v Speaker 2>already got through what you And yeah, it absolutely sucks,

768
00:46:02.360 --> 00:46:03.880
<v Speaker 2>but let me tell you all the things that you

769
00:46:03.960 --> 00:46:05.920
<v Speaker 2>need to think about. But we tell you about it

770
00:46:05.920 --> 00:46:08.840
<v Speaker 2>in a way where you can digest it and if

771
00:46:08.880 --> 00:46:11.000
<v Speaker 2>you forget it, you can go back to it and

772
00:46:11.039 --> 00:46:14.960
<v Speaker 2>it's done in just like a way that's just totally approachable.

773
00:46:15.719 --> 00:46:18.119
<v Speaker 1>That's so crazy, so awesome.

774
00:46:18.840 --> 00:46:22.360
<v Speaker 2>I think this is going to be really important for men. Yes,

775
00:46:22.639 --> 00:46:27.320
<v Speaker 2>as men, you know we you know men or men,

776
00:46:27.400 --> 00:46:29.159
<v Speaker 2>we have this machisimo bullshit.

777
00:46:31.159 --> 00:46:35.119
<v Speaker 1>You don't show you vulnerability. I mean, that's that's the thing.

778
00:46:35.440 --> 00:46:38.280
<v Speaker 1>You haven't been raised that way. You guys all hold

779
00:46:38.320 --> 00:46:41.880
<v Speaker 1>it all in, whereas women, you know, we're allowed to

780
00:46:41.920 --> 00:46:45.320
<v Speaker 1>be vulnerable, we're allowed to let let it out. You guys,

781
00:46:45.400 --> 00:46:49.039
<v Speaker 1>I feel it's detrimental to your health because your shoulder

782
00:46:49.159 --> 00:46:50.599
<v Speaker 1>so much and you hold it all in.

783
00:46:51.599 --> 00:46:54.840
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, obviously it's gotten lot better. People are

784
00:46:54.960 --> 00:46:59.679
<v Speaker 2>a lot more forthcoming, Like I don't stress out telling

785
00:46:59.719 --> 00:47:02.679
<v Speaker 2>people I see a therapist. Before it'd be like, oh,

786
00:47:02.679 --> 00:47:04.639
<v Speaker 2>why are you seeing a shrink man? Now it's like

787
00:47:05.199 --> 00:47:05.800
<v Speaker 2>who doesn't.

788
00:47:06.320 --> 00:47:12.920
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yes, exactly exactly. That's I know men need this,

789
00:47:13.039 --> 00:47:17.320
<v Speaker 1>men need that support. It's it's it's we all need support.

790
00:47:17.400 --> 00:47:22.480
<v Speaker 1>But I think you know the men need it more

791
00:47:22.559 --> 00:47:24.079
<v Speaker 1>right now, you know, Yeah?

792
00:47:25.400 --> 00:47:29.400
<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, And I always applaud you know, when people who

793
00:47:29.719 --> 00:47:33.280
<v Speaker 2>are kind of famous, whether it be an entertainment athlete,

794
00:47:33.480 --> 00:47:37.599
<v Speaker 2>when they show that vulnerability because you're just like, man,

795
00:47:37.639 --> 00:47:41.159
<v Speaker 2>that that person, that dude or that woman, and who's

796
00:47:41.440 --> 00:47:44.440
<v Speaker 2>amazing is going to you know, they're all going through it.

797
00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:49.920
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it's it's you know, grief affects all of us,

798
00:47:49.960 --> 00:47:51.920
<v Speaker 1>every one of us. I don't care who you are,

799
00:47:52.719 --> 00:47:55.199
<v Speaker 1>what you do for a living, you know, and it

800
00:47:55.199 --> 00:47:58.880
<v Speaker 1>doesn't matter how old you are, It doesn't discriminate. It

801
00:47:59.079 --> 00:48:03.480
<v Speaker 1>just affects all of us journey, right, it's part I

802
00:48:03.480 --> 00:48:05.800
<v Speaker 1>think it's all part of our journey. You know. We

803
00:48:05.800 --> 00:48:08.679
<v Speaker 1>we go through some of us go through more than others,

804
00:48:08.840 --> 00:48:11.199
<v Speaker 1>but but we all have our crosses to bear.

805
00:48:11.840 --> 00:48:12.039
<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

806
00:48:12.119 --> 00:48:16.599
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely, What do you wish people understood about grief?

807
00:48:20.599 --> 00:48:21.360
<v Speaker 2>It's cyclical.

808
00:48:22.000 --> 00:48:22.480
<v Speaker 1>Mm hmmm.

809
00:48:22.920 --> 00:48:25.920
<v Speaker 2>It comes and goes. It's not like, all right, your

810
00:48:26.119 --> 00:48:28.239
<v Speaker 2>mom or your dad or your brother passed away and

811
00:48:28.480 --> 00:48:32.039
<v Speaker 2>six months you're going to be like, No, Like, it

812
00:48:32.079 --> 00:48:36.360
<v Speaker 2>doesn't work that way, and you can't feel guilty if

813
00:48:36.400 --> 00:48:43.039
<v Speaker 2>you have great days. No, Like, it's unfortunately, life goes on.

814
00:48:43.559 --> 00:48:49.880
<v Speaker 2>Life's for the living, and yeah, take advantage of it. Yeah,

815
00:48:50.039 --> 00:48:52.119
<v Speaker 2>because you're fortunate that to still be alive.

816
00:48:52.280 --> 00:48:56.440
<v Speaker 1>Yes, exactly exactly, And and keep their memory alive, you know,

817
00:48:57.000 --> 00:49:02.280
<v Speaker 1>stories about them, you know, keep their their spirit alive

818
00:49:02.320 --> 00:49:05.199
<v Speaker 1>because I believe their spirit surrounds us always, that their

819
00:49:05.360 --> 00:49:09.679
<v Speaker 1>energy is still here, and you know, it's just uh,

820
00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:14.599
<v Speaker 1>it's just in a different form now. And if someone

821
00:49:14.719 --> 00:49:18.519
<v Speaker 1>was listening right now that feels broken by grief, what

822
00:49:18.559 --> 00:49:20.039
<v Speaker 1>would you want them to know?

823
00:49:22.519 --> 00:49:25.960
<v Speaker 2>You can still live a fulfilling life. Mm. You know.

824
00:49:27.760 --> 00:49:28.760
<v Speaker 1>That's so true.

825
00:49:29.480 --> 00:49:36.400
<v Speaker 2>You still can live a fulfilling life. You know, I

826
00:49:36.440 --> 00:49:40.960
<v Speaker 2>still don't know if I properly morened. My first advisor,

827
00:49:41.000 --> 00:49:42.519
<v Speaker 2>who was one of my close friends, a guy named

828
00:49:42.519 --> 00:49:46.280
<v Speaker 2>Carl Lipstum, passed away last year. He was he was

829
00:49:46.480 --> 00:49:48.400
<v Speaker 2>he's on my board of the Power Change.

830
00:49:48.840 --> 00:49:49.320
<v Speaker 1>Oh wow.

831
00:49:50.559 --> 00:49:55.360
<v Speaker 2>And he had the biggest personality. Oh my god, this

832
00:49:55.400 --> 00:49:59.119
<v Speaker 2>guy had such a massive personality like you'd alta say

833
00:49:59.199 --> 00:50:03.199
<v Speaker 2>stuff like on like Donkey Kong. I mean, he was

834
00:50:03.360 --> 00:50:06.239
<v Speaker 2>just amazing. He worked in the video game industry, and

835
00:50:06.320 --> 00:50:09.800
<v Speaker 2>anyone in my video game friends, uh, hear me talking

836
00:50:09.840 --> 00:50:13.519
<v Speaker 2>about this. I like that Carter was. He was just awesome.

837
00:50:13.880 --> 00:50:20.440
<v Speaker 2>And it was a tough loss for all of us. Yeah,

838
00:50:20.519 --> 00:50:25.239
<v Speaker 2>but even with his passing, life's gone on and there's

839
00:50:25.239 --> 00:50:29.960
<v Speaker 2>been some good things that have actually happened. So it's

840
00:50:30.400 --> 00:50:32.039
<v Speaker 2>you know, going through grief doesn't mean it's time to

841
00:50:32.079 --> 00:50:35.880
<v Speaker 2>throw him a towel, say anything. It's it's get your

842
00:50:35.880 --> 00:50:37.239
<v Speaker 2>ass up and start living your life.

843
00:50:37.840 --> 00:50:43.480
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Yeah, because yeah, life. You know, there's no guarantee

844
00:50:43.519 --> 00:50:44.880
<v Speaker 1>that tomorrow is coming, right.

845
00:50:45.360 --> 00:50:51.199
<v Speaker 2>No, there's none whatsoever, none whatsoever. And you know, what like,

846
00:50:52.440 --> 00:50:59.480
<v Speaker 2>focus on what you can control. Like when I look

847
00:50:59.519 --> 00:51:02.800
<v Speaker 2>back on and Carter, I think, oh, man, I should

848
00:51:02.800 --> 00:51:08.199
<v Speaker 2>have done this with him. I didn't. Yeah, we were

849
00:51:08.199 --> 00:51:11.199
<v Speaker 2>both he was traveling and yeah, I didn't get a

850
00:51:11.280 --> 00:51:13.599
<v Speaker 2>chance to connect with them before he passed away, because

851
00:51:13.639 --> 00:51:16.559
<v Speaker 2>obviously I didn't know he was going to pass away.

852
00:51:17.400 --> 00:51:21.360
<v Speaker 2>But you can't live with the ifs. It's not going.

853
00:51:22.599 --> 00:51:25.039
<v Speaker 1>Rabbit hole, man, it's a rabbit hole that there's just

854
00:51:26.199 --> 00:51:30.079
<v Speaker 1>you just bury yourself in that. There's there's no shuitar

855
00:51:30.119 --> 00:51:34.360
<v Speaker 1>cut of woods. You just gotta You can't change the past,

856
00:51:34.719 --> 00:51:38.960
<v Speaker 1>and dwelling in it does nothing for you. Yeah, from

857
00:51:39.000 --> 00:51:42.719
<v Speaker 1>it and and and live for today. I mean even

858
00:51:43.159 --> 00:51:46.000
<v Speaker 1>even sometimes I see the younger people, my kids included,

859
00:51:46.039 --> 00:51:49.400
<v Speaker 1>they're so focused on the future they forget to enjoy

860
00:51:49.519 --> 00:51:54.719
<v Speaker 1>the moment, the presence and uh, these are important times.

861
00:51:54.920 --> 00:51:57.360
<v Speaker 1>Especially customer is not guaranteed.

862
00:51:58.239 --> 00:52:00.199
<v Speaker 2>It's like the people who are stressed about about the

863
00:52:00.400 --> 00:52:05.599
<v Speaker 2>Christmas is a holiday meal, It's like enjoy being around

864
00:52:05.639 --> 00:52:08.800
<v Speaker 2>with pop are Yeah, you know who gets up. You're

865
00:52:08.800 --> 00:52:11.039
<v Speaker 2>eating on fine china or a paper plates. Just enjoy

866
00:52:11.079 --> 00:52:11.719
<v Speaker 2>the people.

867
00:52:12.159 --> 00:52:16.039
<v Speaker 1>Find china every day for my everyday place. Why and

868
00:52:16.159 --> 00:52:21.760
<v Speaker 1>why not. I put them in the dishwasher and it's

869
00:52:22.119 --> 00:52:28.400
<v Speaker 1>a holiday every day. Oh my god, Roderick, thank you

870
00:52:28.639 --> 00:52:33.159
<v Speaker 1>so much for your honesty, your courage, your your wit

871
00:52:33.440 --> 00:52:34.920
<v Speaker 1>is just incredible.

872
00:52:35.719 --> 00:52:36.119
<v Speaker 2>Thank you.

873
00:52:36.679 --> 00:52:40.440
<v Speaker 1>I usually close out every episode with a poem that

874
00:52:40.480 --> 00:52:44.079
<v Speaker 1>my late son has written, and I try to gear

875
00:52:44.159 --> 00:52:48.559
<v Speaker 1>it a little bit towards our talk, and I just

876
00:52:48.639 --> 00:52:52.639
<v Speaker 1>I know what a loving community empower changes. And my

877
00:52:52.760 --> 00:52:58.239
<v Speaker 1>son wrote a poem about camp and how you know,

878
00:52:58.320 --> 00:53:02.519
<v Speaker 1>empower change makes people feel that warmth kind of relates

879
00:53:02.519 --> 00:53:04.800
<v Speaker 1>to this. So if you bear with me, I'm going

880
00:53:04.880 --> 00:53:10.000
<v Speaker 1>to read through this poem. As I look around myself,

881
00:53:10.079 --> 00:53:13.920
<v Speaker 1>I feel so compelled to smile and hug. The vibrations

882
00:53:13.920 --> 00:53:18.000
<v Speaker 1>and energy coming off others cause a chain reaction that

883
00:53:18.079 --> 00:53:22.719
<v Speaker 1>factions the result of happiness. Happiness is different for everyone

884
00:53:22.960 --> 00:53:27.039
<v Speaker 1>and anyone, but all people conjugate you, the source of

885
00:53:27.159 --> 00:53:33.000
<v Speaker 1>power that people associate love, kindness, smiles, and hugs. Even

886
00:53:33.039 --> 00:53:36.280
<v Speaker 1>though there are so many bugs, Camp is a place

887
00:53:36.360 --> 00:53:40.360
<v Speaker 1>where anyone can be anything, but most are true to themselves.

888
00:53:41.280 --> 00:53:44.599
<v Speaker 1>Camp is a place where people's true colors are shown,

889
00:53:45.039 --> 00:53:47.440
<v Speaker 1>where people accept others for who they are, not for

890
00:53:47.519 --> 00:53:50.519
<v Speaker 1>who they know. Camp is a place to learn from

891
00:53:50.519 --> 00:53:54.760
<v Speaker 1>others and not just stick to yourself. The concept of

892
00:53:54.800 --> 00:53:59.320
<v Speaker 1>acceptance is easy to grasp, but not to execute. Most

893
00:53:59.400 --> 00:54:03.000
<v Speaker 1>people to reboot, go back to the lines that society

894
00:54:03.079 --> 00:54:06.679
<v Speaker 1>draws for them. Most people can't comprehend how a few

895
00:54:06.760 --> 00:54:11.679
<v Speaker 1>nice words could mend a broken soul that almost feel

896
00:54:11.960 --> 00:54:15.599
<v Speaker 1>off the deep end. Can't people know this? And now

897
00:54:15.679 --> 00:54:19.320
<v Speaker 1>you do, too, Spread the word to stop the impending

898
00:54:19.400 --> 00:54:24.679
<v Speaker 1>doom that so many souls see so soon. So he

899
00:54:24.840 --> 00:54:27.960
<v Speaker 1>was fifteen years old when he would write his heart

900
00:54:28.000 --> 00:54:28.480
<v Speaker 1>out and.

901
00:54:28.559 --> 00:54:32.280
<v Speaker 2>This is oh my god, when he wrote that exactly

902
00:54:32.320 --> 00:54:32.800
<v Speaker 2>for a boy.

903
00:54:33.000 --> 00:54:38.639
<v Speaker 1>Wow, yeah, yeah, yeah, he was. He was a deep soul.

904
00:54:38.679 --> 00:54:41.360
<v Speaker 1>He was an old soul. I like to think, and

905
00:54:42.559 --> 00:54:45.719
<v Speaker 1>I just I love that this episode that we're sharing

906
00:54:46.360 --> 00:54:50.079
<v Speaker 1>is showing you that grief is not the end of

907
00:54:50.079 --> 00:54:52.920
<v Speaker 1>a story. It's the beginning of a new one. It's

908
00:54:52.920 --> 00:54:57.159
<v Speaker 1>the beginning of hope, you know. And I'm so grateful

909
00:54:57.199 --> 00:54:57.519
<v Speaker 1>for you.

910
00:54:58.239 --> 00:55:00.920
<v Speaker 2>Oh, thank you so much for having me. I really

911
00:55:01.000 --> 00:55:03.360
<v Speaker 2>appreciate it. And it's such a pleasure talking with you.

912
00:55:03.960 --> 00:55:06.079
<v Speaker 1>Oh my god, thank you so much. And to our

913
00:55:06.199 --> 00:55:10.440
<v Speaker 1>SOS listeners, please check out Empower Change. And that reminds me.

914
00:55:10.800 --> 00:55:13.679
<v Speaker 1>Fader tell people how they can go on your site.

915
00:55:13.800 --> 00:55:15.039
<v Speaker 1>I almost mess this up.

916
00:55:16.480 --> 00:55:19.119
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, if you go to empowered Change one word dot

917
00:55:19.239 --> 00:55:22.719
<v Speaker 2>org you can find out what we're doing. We have

918
00:55:22.760 --> 00:55:27.559
<v Speaker 2>it broken out for we have our business customers for hospices,

919
00:55:27.679 --> 00:55:29.440
<v Speaker 2>so we have a whole area talking about what we're

920
00:55:29.440 --> 00:55:32.039
<v Speaker 2>doing with hospices. But we're also building out an area

921
00:55:32.119 --> 00:55:35.039
<v Speaker 2>right now for someone who just might want to start

922
00:55:35.119 --> 00:55:38.480
<v Speaker 2>using our service. It's kind of at an alpha stage

923
00:55:38.559 --> 00:55:41.840
<v Speaker 2>right now, but we've put up a ton My co

924
00:55:41.880 --> 00:55:44.360
<v Speaker 2>founderd Jeff is put up a ton of videos. He's

925
00:55:44.400 --> 00:55:47.480
<v Speaker 2>in charge of all the programming. As you've seen with Jeff,

926
00:55:47.480 --> 00:55:52.840
<v Speaker 2>he's just an amazing, amazing person. But empowered change dot

927
00:55:52.920 --> 00:55:55.519
<v Speaker 2>org and if there's any really wealthy people there, we're

928
00:55:55.519 --> 00:55:57.679
<v Speaker 2>all looking for donations right now until we can take

929
00:55:57.719 --> 00:56:04.880
<v Speaker 2>the since spinning so very podcast fundraising fundraising for my my.

930
00:56:07.719 --> 00:56:10.119
<v Speaker 1>That's that's what you should do and s O S

931
00:56:10.119 --> 00:56:13.239
<v Speaker 1>Stories of Survivors. Thank you all for joining us today

932
00:56:13.440 --> 00:56:16.079
<v Speaker 1>and I will look forward to seeing you next week.

933
00:56:16.679 --> 00:56:17.039
<v Speaker 1>Thank you