← De-Influenced with Dani + Jordan
De-Influenced with Dani + Jordan
Dani’s TV Appearance, AI Actresses, and Celebrity Reinvention
01:15:04
Loading summary
Transcript1 lines
- [00:00]
A
Foreign. The following podcast is a dear media production. Hello, and welcome back to your favorite podcast, de Influenced. It's me again. Just me. I know some of you guys hate this. I know a lot of people miss Jordan, and trust me, I do too. Especially after today. I'm gonna miss him, like, exponentially because I did a deep dive on something that is so out of my territory. And Jordan is such an expert in. And he would be great, like, in this episode. But like I said, y', all, he is pursuing other things that he's been working on, and so it's really hard for him to do it all. So, you know, when I took my two months off, this is, like, Jordan's month off or so. We'll. We'll see. We'll see. We'll see what happens. But, yeah, so I guess we'll just do, like, a little recap. You guys really liked the friendship episode. I was really happy about that. But, yeah, what's happened since we last got together there? Honestly, a lot has happened. I went to New York. They were like, would you like to go on the View? And I was like, yeah, sure. Let's give it a shot. Like, why not? I don't usually watch the View, but I was like, this will be a great opportunity to share Divi, to just, like, put ourselves out there to meet new people. And honestly, like, really good practice for being. For. For just doing anything on tv, because it's so different. I have to say, I had the time of my life. I was like, I loved it because, first of all, I was on stage or on. Yeah, on camera, on stage with, like, four or five other entrepreneurs, female founders, and we were all, like, hyping each other up the whole time. Like, we got really close. It was, like, so fun. And we were all super supportive of each other, which has made it great. Everyone from the View was so kind, like, so awesome. And also, it's, like, a little not competitive, but, like, you have 60 seconds to share your product, and so you have to fit in, like, all these talking points and, like, sell it as much as. Like, as fast as you can, but as being as, like, natural and authentic as you can, which was, like, the challenging part, which made it so much more fun. Like, I told my team afterwards, I was like, anytime y' all want to do anything on tv, because basically the Divi team was like, hey, like, if you want to do this, like, if it makes sense in your life right now, like, you can. But, like, if it's too much with pregnancy, like, it'll Be okay. And I was like, no, no, I want to go. I basically told them I was like, me in more. Like, I had the time of my life. It was so fun. But I did get a little push back from that, which, like, we'll go into later on in this episode. The founder of Lily Lashes was. Was there, which I didn't realize. Her name is Lily Gi. She was on Shaza Sunset, which is like, I don't watch a show, but my mom. My mom is obsessed with that show. What was so fun about her is she owns Lily Lashes, and she. I found out she went to ut. Like, she was a UT Longhorn, and then she went to law school, and then she became, like, a reality TV star and this amazing, like, female entrepreneur. The company you should was there. Mara Beauty, and then Stitchy. So all those women were, like, awesome. And I'm just so happy that I got to meet them. Sunny. Sunny and Sarah Haynes Hines were both the. The. What do you call them? The host. Super cool, really nice in person. But, yeah, I did get a little push, a little bit of pushback. And I did kind of make, like, a little statement about the pushback, I think, because a lot of, you know, like, different shows are for different people, and, like, I understand that. And, you know, but a lot of people were like, okay, why are you going on the View? Like, they felt like the View was, like, hateful and didn't align with my values. And I totally. I'll be honest with y'. All. I haven't watched the View in, like, years, but I do. I've seen, like, clips and stuff of, like, what has been said. And. Yeah, I mean, I think sometimes, like, definitely, like, things. They probably say things that I do not agree with. But I don't know. I've always felt. What I said in my statement is I've always felt very called to, like, put myself into situations with people that, like, around people that don't necessarily always have to believe the same things that I believe, because I feel like that's when I can use, like, my kindness and personality and conversation to, like, get to know people and, like, hit a deeper level. Like, and that doesn't even mean just like, the host on the View, but maybe it's the people behind the stage or the people in the dressing room or whatever. And maybe that's because, like, I went to. I grew up, like, in a Jewish community where, like, most of my friends were Jewish, and I was, like, the only Christian, really. Like, we had very few people on my street that like, celebrated Christmas. And so I've just always been, like, used to that and very accepting of just being in those type of environments. But I do understand, like, politically, everything is so charged right now. But I was really surprised that they gave me the opportunity to go on their platform, because if you really think about it, they were supporting me and, like, my platform, and I was like, okay, cool. Like, if they want to put me on their show, like, I. I would love that. And so, yeah, I just felt like it was a really. Got a good opportunity. I did have some, like, awesome conversations with women. And, you know, it's al. It's also one of those things, like, you just never know sometimes, like, how God is going to use you. Like, I don't go into those opportunities being like, who can I evangelize? And who can? And maybe I should, but I. I don't usually. I usually just, like, go into it and I'm like, I just want to be myself and just, you know, see what happens. And I love having, like, deep conversations with people, and sometimes it's just like, maybe that's the starting point of the relationship, and then you see them again and you talk to them more, and then you earn each other. I don't know. You just never know how God can, like, use you. And so for me, I've always felt very called that. Like, my faith shouldn't isolate me into being in bubbles and being in. In rooms with only people that believe the same thing that I believe. And. But I think it's also, like, maybe a personal conviction thing, because maybe there are times in life where it's really challenging to stand up for your faith or you feel like you're going to be tempted or you feel like, you know, and so maybe God is calling you not to go around those circles. And so I think it's kind of personal conviction for everyone. Like, for me, I feel like I'm, like, very strong. And what I believe. I am not afraid to say what I believe. I think I'm really. I think I can be, like, very loving and saying what I believe without being, like, really judgmental or anything. And so for my personal life and my personal, you know, family and my personal journey, I felt like it was a really good idea, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea for everybody. You know, I think that's why, like, having personal conviction and, you know, just entrusting your gut and doing what is best for you is so important. But, yeah, so I would definitely do it again. Honestly, they were so Nice. And it was so fun. You know, they didn't ask me about, like, climate change or anything super controversial. I literally had like 30, 40 seconds to just share Divi. And, you know, I think Divi could. It helps a lot of women out and we all have scalps. And so another thing is, like, we have to remember Divi is a business, and I want to serve everyone. I'm not gonna, like, only serve people that believe exactly what I believe. In fact, like, our team doesn't even, like. Like we're. We all believe different things. And so I respect everyone. And Divi is a business, and I want it to be successful. Like, I want people to know about Divi. I want to be able to pay, you know, for our office and our employees and grow it and get into, like, you know, more opportunity and. Yeah, so that's like a whole other side of it. But I don't know. I had a great time and maybe one day we can go on Good Morning America too. That would be awesome, because I do. I love that show. I had a weird thing that I googled right before this, actually. I use chat GBT because, you know, that's like, that's a new thing. I. I really hope that my chat GBT search history never makes it outside of my phone. Like, that could be really bad. Like, so bad. It's bad. But I did chatgpt. Why are my areolas so itchy? This pregnancy, which is something I've definitely never chat GBT before and come to find out it's actually pretty normal. But, like, I have to be honest with y', all, like, just the little girl talk here, like, they're so itchy. Like, so itchy to the point where. But like, they don't look any, like, different. They look normal. So there's nothing like, there's no, like, rash or any, like, dryness or nothing. It's not. Sorry. I. I hope y' all are not envisioning picture in my AIs right now. Just please don't. But they're just constantly itchy. And so, you know, I did try putting lotion on them last night. Didn't work. Like, nothing works. So I found out. I think it's cuz it's just like your boobs are growing and sometimes that causes. And like the hormones sometimes, like, cause your boobs to get bigger and then they just itch from getting bigger, which is very interesting. Cuz now I'm assuming, like, stretch marks will follow, but whatever. I mean, what can you do, you know? So if you See me scratching a boob, itching a boob in the middle. Just ignore it. They get so itchy. It's kind of like. It's kind of like this is tmi, but like, you know when you get like a little, you know, a little something down there and it gets a little itchy, like, you know, some something infection or something. It's kind of like that, but on your nipples. It's just awful. Okay, I'm doing it now. Okay. So, yeah, I looked up and then there was also something really funny that happened. Like, the TV team is so funny. Like, sometimes I just wonder if I should, like, just quit. And there's like, go work for the Divi team full time. Because they're literally so funny. We looked like, on our ring camera, or like, we don't have a ring, but, like, our camera, security cameras. And while we were in New York and our entire Divi team was on my front porch and I was like, what are they doing? Like, it was like, maybe are they here for my birthday because my birthday is coming up. No. And they're just all kind of walking around my house. Apparently they had, like, a team retreat where they. They reviewed the history of Divi. Like, so they drove all over, like, town researching the history of Divi. And so, like, we got home and there were like, all this, like, did you see the. The sidewalk talk? Talk was like, divi was here. I was like, what are these people? It's like a big team. Like, what are they doing in my front yard? But it was cute because this is where Divi was born in. They're hilarious. That was like, so funny to see. I was like, is something going? Is something wrong? Let's see what else has been happening in life. So we went to Nashville for, like, 24 hours last weekend, and it was a very, like, last minute trip, y' all know, because Jordan's trying to convince me to move to Nashville. We looked at Franklin and Leapers, which is like 45 minutes outside of Nashville, and it was so fast. We looked probably at like four. Four different houses, three different lots. If I wanted to build this Franklin Lever's fork is kind of like a dream. Like, if you think of, like, Heart of Dixie or something like that, it's like, everything is so cute and quaint and the people are so nice, and it was so beautiful with hills and trees, and I loved it. We. We visited our friends the Beth Keys, Jefferson Bethy and Alyssa Bethy, and had so much fun. I met all of their friends. I met so many Moms, like, they all had kids, like, the same. Same age. The one thing was like, it's. It is pretty far out. Like, you do feel like you're. You're in the country, which. It's so pretty. So there's like, half of me that's like, oh, I want to do it. And then half of me is like, no, I need, like, at any given time in Dallas, I can go to, like, five different malls. Not to say I'm like a mall girl. It's just like, being able to go to, like, events at, like, reading things at the mall, or I have, like, there's just stuff always going on in the city for your kids. And I love being able to meet Central at a place like that. Instead of, like, I was asking, like, what do y' all do? Like, what do you do whenever you want to hang out? And they're like, we all just go to each other's houses. And I don't know if I want people at my household. I'll be honest. I don't know if I want. I like the fact that sometimes we can go to, like, a movie together or a nice lunch together or. I don't know. I don't know. We'll. We'll see. We're still thinking about it, but it was a really sweet trip. We watched Texas Ou and then that's whenever we came back, like, literally that night repacked, and then left for New York the next day. So we did the View. Woke up super early. I had my makeup done by Kellyanne, which. She's so, so good. I like. Actually, she was in my sorority, but if you don't follow her on Instagram, she's super talented. So we had. I think they came exactly like 6am so we had an early morning call. We went to. It was funny because we went to, like, four or five years ago when I first made the Forbes Top Creator list. We went to, like, this Forbes event. And then afterwards, we went to this restaurant called Loring Place, and it was just, like, right next door. It was random that we went there. Well, I became obsessed with that restaurant that night, even though I've only been there once. I got the. I got the short rib at this restaurant, and it was, like, the best thing I ever had. And so for the past four or five years, I have been talking about this restaurant, but we just haven't been able to spend a lot of time in New York. So Jordan took me, and he surprised me with my favorite, quote, my quote unquote favorite restaurant. And like, no offense, but it was subpar, and I was like, what the heck? Like, I remember this place as being so good. It's fine. But we ordered pizza, and we asked the wait waitress, like, what's the best pizza here? And she was like, the corn pizza. And, oh, my God, y'. All. They brought me a pizza with corn on it. I was like, this is not okay. I, like, I don't understand why I'm eating corn on the pizza. I don't like it. It was just. It was like, literally think of taking, like, a pizza and then just putting corn on it. Like, that's what it tasted like. I was. I was like, I don't understand. And I should have understood because she did say, you should get this because it's about to leave the menu. Well, now we know why it's about to leave the menu. It's corn on a pizza. I was just so disappointed. They did have really good, like, mocktails and stuff like that. What did we get for. Oh, we had the burrata for just for starters. It was good. No, I'm sorry. It was the ricotta. It was okay. Like, you know, I mean, I don't know. I just feel like New York has so many good restaurants. But it was very sweet that Jordan surprised me with that. The next day, after we shot the view, we went to the Plaza for lunch, had a yummy salad with truffle fries, maybe some of the best truffle fries I've ever had. And. Oh, my God, like, you walk into the Plaza and, like, you literally think you're, like, a criminal walking in. Like, they just have, like, so much security, and they're like, what are you here for? What are you. And they're like, well, are you a guest? Like, if you're a guest, like, you need to leave. And I'm like, no, I'm not a guest, but can I have lunch here? And they're like, let's go. We have to go ask. I'm like, what you mean if you go ask? I've had lunch here a million times. They just really know how to make you feel a certain type of way, you know? I think. I think they let me in because I got my hair done that morning. But, you know, if it was in the other day, probably would have. I don't know. Oh, I have to tell you about the. The hotel that we stayed at. It might be one of my favorite hotels ever. It's called Phuket's. It is a. Which I always remember that because it's like, Phuket. It's almost like, you know, But I. It's all pink and green. It is so cute. But the pink is not very confrontational. Like, it's not like, a really annoying pink where it's, like, super girly. It's like a fun pink and green. The rooms were so adorable. It was all. It's like a French hotel like this. The people that built it are, like, literally, like, from France. And a lot of the employees there are also French, so they speak French. Like, it was so cool. And when I was leaving for the view, I was leaving, and they had, like, we had called an Uber, and, you know, they all have these, like, black SUVs. Ours was like a Lincoln Navigator. And then there was, like, an Escalade waiting. So there were two Escalades next door to each other, and with the doors open, with the driver waiting, and I was like, which one is ours, babe? And I'm like, we're. I'm confused. I'm trying to figure out, well, this little blonde chick, like, scurries past me. It was Reese Witherspoon, y'. All. She was so little. I was a little shocked. I was like, whoa, she's so much smaller than I thought she was gonna be. But she was so cute, and she was walking so fast, and I was like, that girl is going places. Come to find out, she is it. She was in New York promoting her. She wrote, like, her first novel. It's called Gone Before Goodbye. And yes, she's kind of, like, on a media tour for that. I. It's so crazy to me that, like, someone like that is so. She's a powerful, like, strong, little smarty pants, you know? Like, she has got it going. She sold that her media company, I believe it's called hello, Sunshine for, like, over a billion dollars. I remember hearing about that, and it was like, wowzers. And she's still out there because, like, guys, think about it. If I sold a company for a billion dollars, you. I like to do that and to, like, be writing novels. And, like, you just have to be super passionate. And Jordan and I got in the elevator, like, later on, and we were like, man, these people, like, actually hustle. Like, they. They're not just, like, famous because they're famous. They're famous because they have a different threshold than the average American. Like, they go harder than anyone, and that's why they're so successful. Like, I. I couldn't do it. I really couldn't do it. I don't even know if I want to do it. But it was just, it was wild. Like I went there for like the view for like 30 minutes and she was like on a media tour going to like a new interview every single second. It was just. Oh. And not only that, she sold her company for a billion dollars and she still runs it. Just saying. It's pretty amazing. How are we already talking about the holidays? It feels like school just started, but here we are, holiday mode in full swing. And honestly, I kind of love it. There's something about pulling out the cozy blankets, planning for guests, and making the house feel warm again. But it can also be a lot. From all the holiday decorations out of the attic to decorating the tablescape for holiday meals. That's why I've been shopping on Wayfair. It's seriously the easiest way to get everything done before the chaos begins. I just ordered the prettiest pieces for our holiday tablescape. Some textured placemats and a few cozy decor accents like taper candles and a linen runner that makes the whole space feel effortlessly festive. And now I'm eyeing all the holiday decor. Wayfair has everything. Christmas trees, wreaths, garlands, even the big inflatable Santa Jordan swears we don't need, but secretly he loves it. Their huge selection makes it so easy to find something that fits your style, whether you're into classic cozy or full on sparkle. But like I said, Wayfair is awesome because they really do have it all. Like I'll be shopping for fall decor, but then they also that's where I got Stella's mattress for her bed and it was on major sale. And honestly, it's probably one of the best mattresses in our house. Plus, delivery is always free and fast, even on the big stuff. No more renting a truck just to bring home a dining table or sofa. Wayfair makes it easy to get organized, refreshed and ready to host without spending a fortune or your insanity. So get organized, refreshed and ready for the holidays. For way less, head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. That's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com Wayfair Every style, every home okay, moms and dads, tell me if this sounds familiar. It's 6pm the kids are melting down, everyone wants something different, and somehow the only thing in the fridge is half a yogurt pouch and a slice of bread. That used to be my life until we discovered Nurture Life. Nurture Life is a meal delivery service that makes Nutritious meals and snacks kids actually want to eat without having to spend hours in the kitchen and desperately pulling out the processed foods. Their menu is Perfect for ages 10 months to 10 years with fresh, fully cooked meals ready to serve in just one minute. Here's what sold me. They're the only kids meal brand that tests every meal for heavy metals. As a mom, that peace of mind is priceless. And my kids, they're obsessed. A favorite in our our household is the Mac and cheese with hidden carrots. No lie. Someone's eating this downstairs, like right now when they get home from school, starving. I can pop one in the microwave and boom, dinner in a minute. Meltdown avoided. I love that all their meals are made fresh, eat every week, never frozen, and designed by registered dietitians. So I know my kids are getting the right balance of protein, veggies, and nutrients. Honestly, it's taken so much stress off my plate, literally. So head to nurture life.comdinfluence and use code D influence for 55% off your order plus free shipping. That's right, 55% off plus free shipping. Once again, that's nurture life.com d influenced. And make sure you use my promo code D influenced. Even if you aren't a parent with young kids, you probably know someone who is. So share our code and make sure our show gets the credit. Remember, put your little ones first with healthy meals from Nurture Life. You know that moment when the weather finally cools down and suddenly all you want to do is live in cozy layers and soft sweaters. Literally always. That is my happy place. And that's exactly why I'm obsessed with Quince. If you're looking for quality essentials that feel cozy, look refined, and don't blow your budget, you need Quince in your life. Think 50 Mongolian cashmere premium denim that fits like a dream. And those classic wool coats that make you look instantly put together even if you're running late to school drop off. Also, I'm obsessed with their socks. I just got, like, my fourth package. I think I'm wearing. Oh, no, I'm not wearing them now, but I do love them. Lately, I've been eyeing their sweaters. They're known for being buttery soft, timeless, and honestly feels like something that should cost five times more. And don't even get me started on their outerwear. It looks totally designer, but at a fraction of the price. I actually just ordered some fall loafers from Quince. They're so cute and look designer. The best part? Quince Partners directly with ethical factories and cuts out the middleman. So you're getting the same luxury quality you'd find at high end retailers, but at about half the cost. It's one of those rare brands that actually makes you feel smart and stylish when shopping there. So if you're ready to upgrade your fall wardrobe without overspending, this is your sign. Find your fall staples at quince. Go to quince.com Danny for free shipping on your order and 365 date returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com Danny to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com Danny so then we went to a musical. Oh my goodness. If you're in New York, you have to see this musical. It's called Maybe, Maybe, Maybe Happy Ending. And it is, they keep saying it's kind of like it won't. It won like six Tonys, like and it, it also won like best best musical like of the year. And the reason why it's so interesting, it's based in the future and it's about two helper robots, like robots that are assistance to people. Because, like in the future, like, we probably will have robots that look like humans that are assisting people. And the whole thing is about these helper robots. I'm just giving this synopsis, I'm not giving it away. These helper robots are retired because they have like, they basically, it's kind of like the iPhone and they're like the, you know, retired. Like they've upgraded and now there's better robots. So they're like the older robots that are kind of just put away in storage and they end up finding each other and they try to figure out if they can fall in love or not. It's so cute. What was so sweet about it was. Well, obviously, like the storyline is so sweet, but the, when I say sweet, I mean like cool about it was the design, like the set design. It's so futuristic. And like the only word I have for it is it was neat. Like it was really neato. Like super cool and very futuristic. And everybody keeps saying that this is kind of. It only had, I think, like, like five or six people, like within the cast. And they all had different. Because there were so many projections that they used and so many. Like, if they had a memory they would just like project it like a big massive projector onto the screen. It was just amazing. So highly recommend. Jordan said he didn't really like the music and I was like, whatever. I don't feel like he really knows. I thought it was really good, but he's probably right. Like, there isn't. It's not, like, Wicked, where you have, like, that one or two songs that just, like, stick to you, that give you the chills, that make your, like, you know, like, when you hear a song and, like, you feel it from within, like, there's no songs like that. But the storyline is so sweet. I did cry at the end, so, yeah, I guess that was pretty much it. We did our Nashville trip. We did our New York trip. Tonight I'm staying in and doing nothing. That's why I didn't do my hair and makeup for this podcast for you guys. But. But I do love you. Just so you know. I do care, but I figure that maybe y' all like me for who I am, too, not for what I look like. And the last thing I want to share with y' all is we had a really big moment on Thursday, which was yesterday, and Divi launched their jumbo dry shampoo. And we've been working on this for so long, and I'm so excited because dry shampoo is quickly rising to almost like our number one product. Of course, we have scalp serum, but dry shampoo is one of those. Like, Ulta, like, sent us all the data. And it's like, when people try our dry shampoo, they never go back to their old ones, mainly because they like the scent. They like how fresh it feels on their scalp. They like that it's a clean formula, and it just works really well without making your hair feel, like, sticky or gritty. So we've been working on this jumbo for a long time. It can last you, like, six to eight months, which is amazing. But I launched a really cool bundle for y'. All. I don't know how long it will be live. Do you know? No. Okay. Well, if you miss it, I'm sorry, but at least I'm telling you about it. I'm really excited for y'. All. If y' all are, like, wanting to try a new dry shampoo or if you've never used dry shampoo, it's the best way to, like, extend hair washing days. Like, for example, I didn't do my hair wash day. Also, you can spray it on your hats and, like, cowboy hats or anything like that. You spray dry shampoo on there, and it actually helps with the creases. So you don't, like, crease your hair from a hat? I would take mine off, but you don't want to see that. You just don't want to see it. Let's talk about some crazy things. I actually learned about this in. In Nashville, and this is definitely a topic that makes you go, have y' all heard of the actress name Tilly Norwood? So she is an AI actress. I wonder how. I wonder what Reese Witherspoon thinks about this. So Tilly Norwood is an AI actress who's making Hollywood really question reality. That's a good one. Created by AI Studio. I can't pronounce it. Sorry. Zo Show. Okay. She has a growing Instagram, a role in a film, and even a talent agency interested in signing her. But is this seriously the future of entertainment? Basically, Tilly was developed by. I'm just going to call it Zyosha. It's a division of particle 6 led by Aline van Der Walden. Wow. Lean Vander Walton. It's. She sounds like she would come up with, like, AI people. She gained 50, 000 followers on Instagram in May of 2025. She's. She's featured featuring AI generated modeling shots in film scenes. She starred in AI Commissioner, a comedy sketch created using AI tools and written by ChatGPT. Wow. This is kind of cool. So then we have, you know, obviously, Hollywood, like, I want. I'm. I want to know. So Value of Hollywood's reaction was to all of this. Talent agencies like CAA, WME and UTA have expressed concerns over AI generated STAR. Some agencies argue that platforms like OpenAI Soros 2 could infringe on intellectual property rights by using real people's likeness without consent. Also, if y' all have not played around with OpenAI source to, like, oh, my God, Jordan, I. I need to show you all the video that we made. It was so crazy. I. We had, like, Jordan put his face in and we had. I, like, asked Soros to make Jordan, like, do it like an Abercrombie try on haul, y'. All. It was so realistic. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen that I didn't. It kind of icked me out so much that I was like, I don't want to see this because it looked so real. It like, I was like, ew, I don't like you. And try and hold number one. Like, please don't ever do that. But the crazy thing is, like, he was so good at it. Like, his AI version was so good. I'll post that video, like, on my story so you can see it. But here's the thing. It's getting a lot of backlash, obviously, A lot of people in Hollywood are very skeptical about AI replacing human actors. It's saying that AI generated performances lack depth and off authenticity of human actors. Okay. Wouldn't you say the same thing of, like, AI doing anything, though? Like, AI, like driving cars? Like, it lacks like. Like, I don't know. I just feel like every job is gonna lack that now. So why are we only upset about the actors? Hollywood, like, you know, it just seems a little. I get it, I get it. But AI is taking over everyone's job. Like, you. I don't know why y' all are safe and we're not. Like, there are AI influencers. Like what? Like, I. It just is what it is. So. Some viewers find the idea of AI actors unsettling, questioning the ethics of replacing real people with digital operations or creations. Okay. People really need to get with it. I just feel like, hot take. But when people complain about technology advancing, it's kind of giving. I don't know. I don't want to be, like, super negative, but it's giving, like, a little naive because, like, this is how everyone felt with the computer. This is how everybody felt with anything evolving. Email, you know, the printing press, the. We all freaked out about all the jobs when, like, robots, you know, started taking over building cars for Ford. It just happens. And I feel like there's nothing you can do to stop it. But if we're gonna stop it, then let's stop it for everyone, not just Hollywood actors. Like, you know what I mean? I agree that, for example, if they're gonna have these, like, robots growing babies over in China, I agree. Like, yeah, it might be safer and it might be more efficient and easier for the moms, but you are missing that, like, emotional connection that you build with your child by carrying them. Now. It's fine, and if that's what you decide to do. But I. I do think that people are going to appreciate, you know, real actors and real influencers and real people. But hey, like, if it costs you so much extra money to have, you know, these side roles or these side, you know, people. What do you call the people acting in a movie in the background? Extras. Why not just use AI, you know? Also, I do feel like AI should always be a disclaimer, though. Like, I do feel like when you're using AI, like, there should be some type of, like, hashtag AI on the photo or on the screen or, like, it should be very. We should know that it's AI. I personally, like, I think it would be interesting at first to watch shows where they use AI people. But, like, I agree that half the fascination is I want a Wikipedia the person and see, like, exactly. Many times they've gotten divorced, how many kids they have, who are they married to, where do they live, where are they from? Like, that's what makes Hollywood and that's what makes watching a movie so fun for me. So I think I'll always want to watch, like real people. But I don't mind if, like the extras in the background walking around are AI. But yeah, so my just my biggest thing is, like, fine, if we don't want to AI, then stop it for everybody, you know, and if actors don't like it, you just need to act better. Honestly, like, just be better at your job and offer people. It's just becoming more competitive. Think about it. Okay, I think I know where this is headed. So I think where this is going to be headed now is like, if actors now have to be a person off screen so that people want to watch them, they might have to have more of a presence on social media or a presence offline. You know what I mean? Like, they can't just be like, Jake Gyllenhaal. You show up for the role and then you are never seen again until you show up for your next movie. Because now it's going to be so competitive with AI actors that people want to know who you are. Because, like, we don't know anything about Jake Gyllenhaal besides the fact that he did dated Taylor Swift and kept her red scarf. Like, we don't know anything else about him. And so, but we, but to stay competitive, we're gonna need some more information, you know what I mean? And so because otherwise, what's the difference between watching an AI Jake Gyllenhaal and the real one? There's nothing if we don't know more about him. So maybe actors, actresses will have to put in a little bit more work into like, who they are off screen. I don't know. I don't know. I'm for it because I really like innovation and I really like when things change. And I do feel like it is painful and it hurts at first, but it makes it like more efficient and just like increases the competition and the demand for certain things and it just makes everything better, I feel like. But like, for example, if I feel like AI is coming from my influencer job, I have to get more creative and I have to think outside the box. And if I didn't have that coming for my job, I wouldn't evolve. You Know what I mean? It's the same thing when, like, a new social media platform comes out. It's. It's overwhelming and it's scary. Don't get me wrong. Like, when Tick Tock came out, but, like, we all built our careers off of blogging, YouTube and Instagram, and we all had to, like, there was this fork in the road and it was like, are we just gonna keep doing what we're doing or do we need to try Tick Tock and evolve? So I started doing dances on freaking Tick Tock. Like, because I was like, I don't want to get left at the dirt. Thank goodness it, like, evolved from the dancing because I was never gonna make it there. I mean, that was really hard for me. Even Jordan was like, dancing on Tick Tock. Like, we were like, oh, we're like, we have to. This is when Jordan hired a coach to help him with hip hop classes because we were so cr. We were so concerned about our careers because it depended on whether we could dance on Tick Tock or not. Like, that's the type of thing that has to happen. We have to evolve and change. And you have to hire a hip hop coach. Like, so I don't know. I like AI. I use it literally every day of my life. But like I said, I think it needs to be disclosed. We need to know. And it does scare me. There's. It should be, like, illegal to use people's images for AI without their permission or without disclosing that it's AI like that. I don't know how we're going to manage that one, but we got some smart people out there. We'll figure it out. It should just be, like, a really, really bad consequence if you do that, you know, like, you should go to jail for life. I'm just kidding. Apparently, if you, like, throw gum on the sidewalk in, like, Tokyo, I think, like, no. Is it Tokyo? No, Singapore. Singapore, you go to jail. So maybe we need stricter gum laws. I mean, when I say gum, I'm G U m gum. Chewing gum. Loss. Okay. Anyway. Okay, honest question. Could you name every financial account you have right now? Like your 401k savings, mortgage, investments, even those old accounts from past jobs? Because I definitely could not. And honestly, just thinking about it, it used to stress me out. I'd tell myself I'd organize it one day, but that day never came. I was feeling a little out of the loop on our finances, so that's when I started using Monarch. Feel organized and confident in your finances with Monarch. An all in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface on your laptop or your phone. Once I linked everything, I could finally see the big picture. How much we were actually saving, where money was slipping through the cracks, and how our spending lined up with our goals. It's wild how much easier it is to make smart decisions when you have all your accounts, budgets and goals in one place. What I love most is that Monarch feels built for people like us, busy juggling kids, work and life. It does all the heavy lifting for you. Links every account in one in minutes, giving you beautiful charts and spending breakdowns. And my favorite part, you'll never have to touch a spreadsheet again. It's also amazing for couples. Jordan. I can both see everything. Spending, savings, goals. So there are no surprises, no stress and no wait, we spend how much moments. It's honestly one of the few tools that made managing money feel simple and even kind of fun. Also, side note, my mom always told me that when I got married to make sure that I stay involved in our finances. And I do a pretty decent job now. So don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use your code danny@monarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50 off your first year@monarch.com with code DANI so lately I've been learning more about our immune systems and how they work and. And sometimes they can actually turn against us. Autoimmune issues are much more prevalent than we realized. And what I didn't know is how early signs can start showing up long before a diagnosis. Things like unexplained fatigue, joint pain or inflammation that just will not go away. That's why Jordan and I chose Function Health. It's the only health platform that gives us access to data most people never forget, never get, and the insights to actually do something about it. Inside function. You can test over a hundred biomarkers, everything from hormones and toxins to markers of heart health, inflammation, and stress. For an additional fee, you can even access MRI and CT scans, all tracked securely over time. It's a near 360 view of what's really happening in your body. That's why top health leaders like Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and Dr. Jeremy London are all behind it. The amazing part is that function lets you look at early indicators of autoimmune activity. Things like things Most routine routine checkup, checkup, skip. There's even tests that can detect when your immune system starts attacking your own cells with function. You don't have to wait for symptoms to get worse before you take action. You can track your data, protect your energy energy and stay ahead of your health with real insight, not guesses. Learn more and join by using my link function is a near 360 view to see what's happening in your body and my first 1000 listeners get a 100 credit towards their membership. Visit www.functionhealth.com Danny or use gift code Danny100@ sign up to own your health. Okay, can we talk about how hard it is to find time for self care that actually fits into your real life? Between work, kids and let's be honest, trying to remember to drink water, spending half a day at a spa is just not happening. That's why I'm obsessed with Face Foundry. It's an open concept facial bar that makes skin care approachable, affordable and actually doable. You can literally walk in on your lunch break, get result results driven facial in under an hour, and walk out glowing without blowing your budget. Their whole vibe is a modern and relaxed no robes, no cucumbers, just efficient and effective treatments that actually work. They tackle everything from dryness and acne to aging and puffiness, and they offer services like cryo and dermaplaning that make you look sculpted and refreshed. I'm actually going next week and ooh, Mama is so excited. I told them to give me every treatment possible for a pregnant person. This is true. I'm doing a hydrafacial, a scalp massage, some gua sha, and even a Hungarian massage. It doesn't get much better than that. And if you want to take it up a notch, their lash lifts, tints and brow laminations are the perfect, low maintenance finishing touch. What I love most is that Face Foundry helps make facials part of your routine, not a rare indulgence. With affordable pricing, flexible hours. Yes, even on weekends and over 65 locations nationwide, they make glowing skin actually realistic. Visit face foundry.com and use code Danny at checkout for 20% off your first service. That's F A C E F O-U-N-R-I-E.com and use Danny for 20% off your first service. Between kids, work, travel, and, you know, life, it's nearly impossible to carve out the time for a workout. Honestly, sometimes the stress of getting to the gym outweighs the workout itself. I've always been a big fan of finding ways to work out at home. Well, also because I literally have to because I'm gonna have four children. It just makes it so much easier as mom and means there's no excuse to get your workout in. That's why tonal is incredible. They've completely reimagined what at home workouts can be. You might know tonal as a smart home gym that revolutionized strength training. You know, the futuristic looking workout screen. It's seriously so cool. I used a tonal for years and I've never seen anything like it. Now they've taken it to the next level with Pilates on Tonal. No more giant reformer machines or confusing spring levers. Tonal uses personal resistance that automatically adjusts as you get stronger, so every movement feels perfectly tailored to you. And the guidance From Coach Kristen McGee is amazing. She helps refine your form so you can actually feel a difference in your posture, strength, and mobility. Pilates on Tonal will tone and strengthen you in ways you don't even think were possible. And it's the perfect compliment to to strength training. Plus, there's a whole library of over 3, 000 workouts from yoga and cardio to recovery sessions. So I never get bored. Right now, Tonal is offering something special just for my listeners. You can go to Tonal.com and use promo code Dani to get $200 off your Tonal purchase. That's Tonal.com promo code Dani. This kind of goes into what we were just talking about. And so on our next things that make you go, I want to talk about the reinvention Olympics. And basically this is where people or celebrities feel like they have to consistently rebrand themselves, which is so true and so challenging. Sometimes I do feel like, luckily for me, it has been super authentic because, like, once you have children, like, you're just, just automatically rebranded. Like, it just is what it is. Like, you are now a mother. And if you are sharing your life every day, it just evolves into motherhood. But it was. It's super interesting because it seems like every celebrity comeback has to involve either getting naked, nostalgic or. Or both. The one that I think of that, like, the biggest, like, comeback I can think of lately is the Lindsay Lohan comeback. Like, she came back looking better than ever. That girl just killed it with class. She came back with, like, a freaky Friday number two. She's doing all these commercials and she's like, hinting to her nostalgia and, like, hinting at her, you know, past, but, like, doing it in such a funny, classy way. I just love her. So we have the rebrand trap where it seems like every pop girl who is over 35 is now getting labeled as reinventing herself. But is it reinventioned, or is it just repackaged nostalgia? So, for example, you have Christina Aguilera's burlesque era. You have Kim Kardashian's businesswoman era. You have Miley Cyrus's sophisticated era. The issue is, is that I think a lot of us, because of the Internet, have, like, shock fatigue. Like, we've seen it all. Nothing really shocks us. Us anymore on the Internet. Nothing is crazy because it's all been done. So artists keep upping the ante, but the audience is just numb to most of it. That is so true, I think, about Miley Cyrus in her Wrecking ball era. Like, we all were like, oh, my gosh, she's going down the Britney Spears path. And that's like, that type of thing happens all the time. Like, Doja Cat, right? Is that her name? Like, she's crazy. Like, the stuff that she wears is crazy. And it's just. Yeah, you're right. It's just like another Tuesday. So another way that it seems like a lot of celebrities will reinvent themselves. Oh, I've seen this so much is owning your sexuality. Like, a lot of people will come back and they're like, I'm lesbian, or I now identify as a frog, or I. You know, like, you have all. Typically, you have all different types of, like, how people are now kind of owning their sexuality, which sells empowerment. So I don't know. I've always wondered sometimes, is it authentic or is it more of, like, a PR strategy? Like, I remember when a lot of people on YouTube, probably back in 20, I want to say this is, like, 2016 were coming out, and, like, there were some people that came out that, like, are now married with children. And so I always wondered if it was, like, authentic or if it was just helping them get clicks. I don't know. I see how people like it. That was a really easy way to just get more attention. But then I think it was authentic for some people. But I do know how, like, it is true, especially for influencers. Like, when you move, when you have a baby, when you get married, when you buy a new house, Those are always, like, little spikes in your engagement because it's something fresh. And I think that's why I've seen a lot of influencers, like, move into houses every two or three years or build houses because they're like, that'll be great content, and it will get me a year's worth of content. I feel that because I've been in the same house for five years. And sometimes I'm like, I don't know else to share. Like, we've exhausted all of our resources, and I can just share this again, you know? But there's so much more to talk about when you are constantly, like, reinventing yourself and doing, like, pushing boundaries and saying, like, okay, who I am in the past is not who I am now. I guess I did reinvent myself more into motherhood. That's probably, like, the one that I really clocked into. I think, like, launching Divi and becoming more of, like, a businesswoman was kind of, like, a reinvention, but not really, because I always feel like that's been at my core. And I've always. I think before I even shared Divi as a business, I feel like I always showed shared, like, the influencer business, the business of influencing, like, behind the scenes. I always love sharing the business side of things. But I don't know, I always think about. I'm like, if I ever reinvented myself, like, who would I be? Because I always loved Kesha. Like, Kesha always branded herself as I. Like, when she would talk about her style, she would always say, trailer trash chic. And I always loved her outfits. So I was always like, okay, that's what I would want to be if I ever. She just dressed so sparkly and fun. But, yeah, who else? Like, if I ever had, like, an alter ego or something, I don't know. I kind of feel like my alter ego is, like, really gross. It's kind of just who I am, actually. Not, like, gross personally, but, like, not getting dressed up, wearing sweats every day. Like, not trying. Like, that's where my alter ego probably. But, yeah, it is hard. It's really hard to stay relevant these days. I find there are some influencers that do it so well. Like, Tank do it really well. Micah and Sarah, they're really good at staying super relevant. Oh, Alex and John, they're so funny and, like, oh, Cat stickler. She's always relevant with the times. Like, it's hard, though, especially when you have kids. I'm like, I don't have time to watch every Love is Blind episode. You know? Like, I'm just trying to survive here and get through bedtime. Like, bedtime is like my Olympics every day. And so. So it's definitely harder. And if fame now is so 24 7, like, you can't really fade it out anymore. You get burnt out by constantly pivoting and constantly, you know, rebranding yourself. If anybody knows what I Should rebrand myself to just let me know. You know, I've thought about the rebrand of me on a farm, but I just. I don't know, it might be authentic to me one day. I think I could start with chickens because we did the math and we use 12 eggs a day in my house. Like, 12 eggs? Is that a whole container? Yeah, like, we use 12 eggs a day. Like. Like we need probably chickens. Like. Like actually, like, just need them. I think it's a financial. It would be a great investment. I heard have heard they stink, but apparently they, like, really take care of themselves and, you know, they do their own thing. So I would say if I started somewhere, I would rebrand myself to just being a chicken owner. And that's probably my first step. So anyway, a deep dive, because that's what I've been doing lately. And I so badly wish Jordan was here to just fact check everything that I say, because Jordan will know everything I'm saying by heart. And he would have known all of this three months ago. But I'm just now learning it, and I'm like, wow, mind explosion. So the main reason I wanted to learn about this is because taxes. I get so confused about where the money goes when we pay our taxes. I mean, you'll ever think about it. You probably maybe don't think about it as much as I think about it, but I feel like there's always these problems in every city, and I'm like. Or, you know, in our country, and I'm always like, where's the money, the tax money and where is it going? Well, I was really like, when I learned about Doge, which is like that thing that Elon Musk started, which is basically, it's an office in the executive branch where they go in and they, like, audit everything and they try to figure out where all the money is going in our government. When I started, like, researching more about that, my mind started to explode. I was. I could not believe. Like, I don't mean to be rude, but I cannot believe how incompetent, like, our government is. Like, you just, you know, like, whenever you're like, but the government will fix it or the like. Like. And I think I also started thinking about this because of education, because I am like, so. I have always been, like, so pro public school for my children because I went to public school. And, like, I'm like, any of the morals or values that you want to teach your child, like, you can teach them outside of public school. Like, I remember when my teacher taught me that. The Big Bang Theory. And I remember being like, screw that. Like, I'm not gonna believe that, because my parents taught me that, you know, God created everything. And so, like, I don't know. I've just always loved it. And then Jordan is like, we gotta homeschool our children. And I'm like, you are so extreme about things. Like, I would. Like, I could never. Literally. But maybe I will if I move out on a farm in Franklin. But. So, anyway, I started doing more research about this, and there was this really cool podcast I've told you guys guys about. It's called Modern Wisdom, and it's by Chris Wilkinson, which is so funny because, like. Like, he used to be on Love island, which is so weird. And then he runs this, like, one of the most popular, most, like, intellectual podcasts ever. It's. I need to watch, like, one episode where he's on Love island because it. It doesn't really add up for me. But, yeah, he is very, like. He's, like. He's, like, pretty hot. So it kind of does add up. Like, I get it. But. So, anyway, they had this guy. His name was Sam Corcos, or maybe it's Sorcos. I don't know. C. Jordan would probably know. And he is the Chief Information Officer in the Treasury Department. Okay. And he did an interview with On Modern Wisdom, basically talking about his experience working in the. The Department of Treasury and working in the government. And what's cool about this guy is he's, like, our age. Like, he's, like, 32 probably, and. Or maybe 34 or so. Like, so he's, like, a young guy, and that never happens. Like, typically, you don't have people in their 30s being hired to work for the government. So they originally brought him on because they wanted him to come and, like, modernize the irs, because the irs, we all know, is a disaster. Like, my biggest prayer in life is like, please don't ever audit me, because, well, first of all, like, for the first five years of my business, I literally would, like, just keep all my receipts and, like, file them in a cabinet. And, like. And then I got married, and Jordan was like, there's a better way to do this. But, like, I literally would just, like, highlight my bills and be like, okay, this is what I owe in Texas. Like, it was just a disaster. And so he's there to kind of modernize the irs. He works, like, in tandem with Doge, which is all about, like, trying to save money in the government, which is nice. Doge. I. I hope I'M hoping. I really hope this is not, like, a political conversation I'm happy having. Like, I. If it is, I don't even know that, because I feel like it's bipartisan. That we would all want, like, the government to be run more efficiently. Like, I don't think anybody would. I think everybody agrees on that. But Elon Musk did leave Doge, which. He's the one that started it, so hopefully. I don't know why that would be tied into politics, but, you know, sometimes these things are over my head. So basically, his job is also to kind of look at the national debt, which has reached 37 million. No, I'm sorry. I think it's 37 trillion. Yeah, I think I had a typo. $37 trillion. Like, we're $37 trillion in debt. But, like, my thing is, it's like, okay, like, what are we gonna do? Like, that's. I think they were doing the math, and that's like, every year, like, each person is a hundred thousand dollars in debt. Like, I'm like, what are we gonna do about it? And, like, it just seems like this arbitrary number now that. Does it even really matter? Like, it. It's like, is it gonna, like, crash and then really hurt all of us one day? I. That I really don't understand. It's like, a genuine question. So his biggest thing that he uncovered, he's kind of like, like an undercover cop, you know? The biggest thing he reported that he uncovered was that the majority of people working in the government and in the Treasury Department and in the IRS don't know how to work computers, which is crazy. He said that they are not tech savvy, that they are losing billions of dollars that no one can account for. Like, they literally don't. They will have, like, this constant payment that just pays, like, 20 million a year. And, like, nobody knows where it goes because it just. It was set up, like, 15 years ago, and it's just, like, on auto pay. Like, they have so many payments that are on auto pay. And I thought this was so interesting. You cannot fire people. So, like, if people. Well, you kind of can, but, like, I'll get into that. But, like, if there's incompetent people working in the government, like, you can't get rid of them. So he's like, the best way to get rid of somebody on your team because they're incompetent is to promote them. So that just gives them more power, but they're, like, least, like, less competent. It's crazy. So this is what's so funny. I think the reason why I related to this episode so much is, like, I love you, dad. But, like, he still faxes everything. And maybe he's emailing nowadays. I don't know. I mean, I know five years ago he was still on the fax train. And, you know, it works for my dad's business, though. Like, it's always worked for him and he's still. But I've always. I. I remember sitting, like, in college or whatever and trying to, like, help him write emails and, you know, help him buy tickets, like, for a concert online. It was a whole thing. And so, so it, you know, it was. What's crazy is what he was saying is a lot of these people, like, joined working for the government like, 10 years ago, and now their role. Role, Role. I can't remember. Their role in the government has changed so much, but they don't know what they're doing because, like, everybody, like, they don't know how to, like, work a computer. So basically his first point is they're not tech. Tech savvy. His biggest problem that he's working on right now, he said, is that that the IRS uses facts for. For everything, like, because they believe that it is the most secure way of communicating and, like, sending documents, which was probably true, like, 20 years ago, but now it's not true. And he is, like, he was telling the guy on this podcast, he's like, I have been trying for like a year to figure out who to talk to to change his policies so that we could be more digital and, like, less paper. And he's like, I cannot get through to anyone. Like, nobody knows who makes that decision because it's just all been, like, lost in process. So they're selling using faxes. They receive 60 million faxes per year, which is crazy. He was saying that they have these, like, paper piles in. They have a warehouse in Kansas City where, like, literally paper is just, like, stack to the top of the ceiling because, like, there's so much paper. It's. It cost half a billion each year just processing all the papers, which is like a million dollars a day to just keep the paper, like, process going, which is just wild. It really is wild. His other biggest point was that there's so much money being wasted. Like, nobody. Nobody really cares. They. The IRS is $15 billion over budget. And he was like, the thing is, is that everybody is always like, oh, my gosh, the budget in government are so tight. They're so tight. His whole point is, like, they're not tight. Like, basically, people in government, like, will just waste money because they have, like, endless supplies of it. So they don't really care where it goes because they always have more coming in. And there's no, like, checks and balances to the system to make sure that, like, money is being spent in the right way. And this was what's so wild. He was talking about, like, the contractor bloat, because there's usually like, I guess, 8,000 people working for the IRS. Or I think he said that he's gotten it down to 6,000, but then there's like, 6,000 contractors that they hire because the people within the government don't know how to do it. So they outsource basically all of their jobs. And there's this thing called contractor bloat where they will hire a contractor, and because the contractor knows that it's the government hiring them the first year, they'll say, okay, we'll do the job for 2 million per year. And the government will be like, okay, great, like, 2 million a year. Like, you're not going to change your prices. You're not going to do anything. And they're like, yeah, 2 million per year. Well, the next year comes around, and then they'll spike their prices to $100 million per year. And because the person that works for the government has no checks and balances, because they're not going to get fired and they don't really care. They'll just say, okay, so if you are a contractor for the government, you have hit jackpot because you can make up an arbitrary number. Even though your services are only worth $2 million, you can charge $100 million. And no one's gonna fight you on it because there's no even. A lot of times they don't even know what the qualif. The qualifications or, like, the quality of what they're hiring you for because they don't understand how to use computers. You know what I mean? So you tell them 100 million per year, and they're like, okay. And nobody's gonna fire them. Nobody's gonna get them in trouble. So that's why Doge is trying to come in. So this was super interesting. So they have a cyber security team at the irs, and they were spending, like, hundreds of million dollars a year on cyber security, which is great. Like, we need cyber security. So he had Sam, had everyone on the cyber. Cyber security team kind of like, run an audit of all their contractors. He was go. He was like, go, look at all the money that we are seeing, are spending and, like, sending out to other contractors come back to me with only the mission critical, you know, services that we need to, like, keep everything safe. And because everybody, like, there are no engineers, very few engineers working on this cyber security team, which is so crazy, because cyber security, they all came back and they were like, yeah, we need a hundred, one hundred of these services. And so then he put them all on leave. He put the whole, like, department of Security on leave, and he brought in actual engineers, like normal engineers that just were, like, trained in engineering, know what they're doing, and he had them run an audit. And over 30% of what our government was spending on cybersecurity was basically to services that had never been used before. Like, never even been touched. So millions and millions of dollars being sent out. Not even, like, it's like you're paying for a contractor and you don't ever even use any of their services. Some vendors were being paid 20 to 30 million dollars per year, and, like, yeah, never been touched. And this is where it gets even crazier. This is where it gets, like, super, kind of like. Like, sketchy, scammy sometimes. There were fraudulent contractors, so a lot of times the government was sending out 20 or 30 million dollars to some service that they were never using. And he actually, like, brought up an actual example of this, and then you would find out that the service they were paying it to was somebody that used to work in the government. So that's kind of sketchy if you think about it. It's like people that worked in the government left, and they're like, why would I work in the government? Make minimum, you know, not minimum wage, but, like, your salary is. Is pretty low. They're like, I'll just start a new company, pay myself. I'll have somebody, you know, hire me as a contractor, and I'm just gonna put myself on auto pay. Like, there were. There are contractors that have been on auto pay $20 million a year for, like, 10 years, and nobody knows what their services are for. Like, that's wild. It's so crazy. They also have this, like, really sketchy thing called. This is, like, really breaks my heart, but it's called small business disadvantage Program Program. So basically, if you hire a contractor that's like a small business, which a small business actual, like, the definition is if they're paid $25 million. So, like, small businesses, a lot of people think it's always like, oh, a mom, PA shop. Like, a small business is a business like, that brings in about $20 million. If you make, like, more than that, then you're not a small business. But so their. Their limit was under 25 million. So if you use. If you hire a small business, one of the advantages of the program is you can skip the procurement process, which basically is the process where, like, you audit them, you interview them, you negotiate prices. You do. It's like, within the government, if you hire a small business, you don't have to go through any of that. You can just hire whoever you want because they're a small business and, like, support the small businesses. So they found out that they were paying $80 billion a year to small businesses. And when they looked over, like, all the small business businesses, they were paying each one of them was, like, $24.9 million, which is just below 25 million, just below that cap that if you go over that, you're not a small business anymore. So basically, we don't know who these small businesses are. But you're helping a lot of people, just a very small subset of people get rich. So a lot of people are probably saying they're small business. They probably used to work for the government, and they're doing all this because they know they can take advantage of the government process. It's just there's so many, like, loopholes and crazy things. But the. The craziest part about it is there's just no feedback loop. Like, you know, like whenever. You know, whenever. Like, Southwest or you have, like, all these people, they join unions, and then they will protest because they're like, we're not getting paid enough, and, like, you're not treating our employees right. That's like, a feedback loop. And then the company can either respond and change or they can say no. And if all of the employees quit, then the company's gonna die. And that's just, like, what happens in the free market with the government. That doesn't happen. First of all, if somebody complains, the government will probably just be like, okay, here, have more, because nobody cares, and nobody's gonna get fired. And there's no, like, integrity in their job. I'm not saying. Sorry, I shouldn't be saying, like, nobody. But overall, this is what he found. The majority are just like. Like, they're too scared to say something. And they're just so used to, like, just, you know, paying whatever, to just get the problem done and just, you know, solved. And then the last thing that he, like, really honed in on was just how incompetent, like, we've been talking about, like, how Incompetent the teams are. So basically, you cannot fire you. You can, but it is so much work, he said, to fire people on your team. And the reason why is because this goes back to like, a long time ago, but it's basically people that are civil servants. Like, you can't fire them. And it's, it's a whole process to fire them. So you just want to keep them. And it goes back to. I did some research. It goes back to 1880. Just stick with me. When Andrew Jackson was president, basically he implemented the spoil system. So it was like Andrew Jackson got into presidency and then he was like, hey, everybody in government, you're fired. I'm bringing in all my buddies, everybody that just believes exactly what I believe, and we are going to run the country. And what happened was you had a lot of, first of all, like, just this. The people that like, were hired from Major Jackson, they didn't know what they were doing. There was no, like, consistency in running the programs and running anything that it just became like a huge disaster. So in 1883, they established a permanent civil service reform act to make sure that in government, each position was based on merit and not affiliation. So it made it illegal to fire or demote federal employees for political reasons. Basically. That's just to keep, like our government running, like, fairly. So you have people like, that way, like when Trump is elected, he just like fire everybody and bring in like, people that only believe what he believes. Like, you want, want different types of people working. That's a good thing. But the bad thing about it is, is like, like, how do you get rid of like, incompetent people if you can't fire them? And his whole point was like, the, the leadership is just so hard because you have people that don't even know how a computer works. But they're hiring all these people that. To run computers and do this stuff. But they're getting like charging $100 million an hour, like urban an hour. That'd be crazy per year. It's wild. So they, he said they have about 1 million civil servants today. Most of them, whenever he went through and like, interviewed them, most of them didn't know what their jobs were because their jobs have changed so much because of technology. They've been around for so long that they can't even explain to him, like, what they do on a daily basis. And he said that most tech companies, like, let's say Walmart, like Walmart.com, like it's a tech company, basically. He said most Tech companies have five engineers for every non engineer. And at the, in the IRS department, which the IRS is a tech company, it's the opposite. So for every engineer you have five people that are not engineers. When like, it shouldn't be that way. That just makes it to like where most of the people working for the IRS like don't know what's going on. Another hard part is he was saying that like you can't be competitive whenever you're hiring for the government because they cap your salary. So the most you can pay someone is $225,000 a year, which is a lot like it's competitive, don't get me wrong. But when you're trying to hire like a VP of engineering from Walmart and they're making 500, $600,000 a year, why would they leave and come to the work for the government where they have to publicize all of their earnings, they have to publicize all their finances. It's just like it's, it's just not competitive. So then you, you get like C level talent working for the government when we, we need the best of the best. You know, he, Sam, this guy who's the chief information officer, he said he could be making waking, making way more if he went to work for a corporation. But most people, you know, that are working still in the government, they, they just like have a heart for it and they really want to be there. But he was like, there's no way I could do this long term. You know, this is like another loophole he was talking about. A lot of times if they wanted to hire someone that like was, let's just say the cap is 225000 but they, their salary or their rate they're asking for is 250 000. A lot of times they will hire a contractor for 500000 and they'll ask that contractor to funnel the remaining 250,000, like pay the contractor 250 and then take the extra 250 and funnel it to who they want to hire. So they kind of like arbitrage it off of the top, which is probably not legal, but you know, maybe a loophole, I don't know, a lot of sketchy things happening. And then he talked about how hiring within the IRS is also like so challenging because when, okay, so if Jordan wanted to hire, let's say somebody to like run our ads for Divi. Well, we already have something running our ads, but like Jordan, I mean he knows like a lot about Running ads. But if we were going to do an interview, Jordan would probably take his person that runs our ads now and to sit in on the interview, because that person would know if this other person is qualified. Like, that's not Jordan's expertise. Right. So when engineers. Like, when Sam is trying to hire an engineer to, like, join the irs, he is not allowed to be involved in that process. So the only person that's allowed to bring new, you know, potential employees is hr. But HR has no idea. They have no idea, like, what makes someone qualified or not, because they're not engineers. So it's basically left up to hr, which is just. Just they bring in all these unqualified engineers, and they're forced to pick someone, and then you just have, like, less qualified people. So the cool thing is Doge is known for hiring young people, and, you know, they're doing, like, a lot of cool things. Like, people were saying. He was saying that, like, people that are working within the irs, the tech department, like, the treasury, are saying, hey, like, we don't know if this is good or bad, but it's the most different that it's ever been. So I do think, like, Doge is doing cool things. They're uncovering all of this. They're, like, bringing it to life. They're trying to fix it, but it goes so deep that it's going to take so long, and, like, we have to stay on course with fixing it. Otherwise, it's just, like, going to keep on. I don't know. I just find it fascinating. Like, I know that that topic was probably so not relevant to a lot of people, but I could not believe it. I. I want you all to go listen to this podcast. I will link it down below so. So that y' all can check it out. And if not, he has so many other, like, like, great people that he's interviewing. But these are the things that I have been, like, learning about and deep diving in, and especially when it comes to politics, I'm not, like, actually looking at, like, the. The mean sides of politics. Like, I'm actually just trying to learn more about, like, the Senate and how decisions are made. And I'm like, should I run for president? Is my question. That's my only question. If not, maybe the Chief Information Officer of the Treasury Department. I'm just kidding. I could never handle it. It's too much pressure. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.