← Living The Next Chapter: Candid Conversations with Authors and Writers for Readers Searching for a New Read
Living The Next Chapter: Candid Conversations with Authors and Writers for Readers Searching for a New Read
E536 - Julie Riga - Stay on Course The Life and Legacy of Ennio Riga, Chef to the Stars
00:38:55
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- [00:00]
A
He, he stayed there and it wasn't like an easy journey. Like, let's, let's, let's get this straight. You know, like he was a dishwasher and he was a waiter. And then he worked his way up slowly and started cooking in the kitchen. And then he became the, the maitre d. Because my father's skill was with people. So it wasn't behind the scenes cooking per se. It was in front of the camera. It was face to face with those celebrities because he had the flair, the personality to do it. And so later on, he had a talent agent and he did a TV commercial. He was on David Frost and Johnny Carson. And so he was like the celebrity chef before there were celebrity chefs. And so I think that was the most fun thing. And we tried to get him on the Food Network, but they thought he was a little bit too old. So it was like, you know, and I got gotta tell you, it was like between him and Emeril Lagasse, like at the time, and like Emerald beat him out because he was younger, you know, but my father could have been the, you know, if, if the Internet and TV were as fluid as it is now, my father would have been one of those people. But it was, he was a little before his time.
- [01:24]
B
Everybody, welcome back to Living the Next Chapter. I have a new friend here on the screen with me for recording today. Julie's with me today. We're going to be talking about her book in honor of her amazing dad, the singing Chef. We're going to spice things up. We got a great recipe for everyone today here on the podcast. We're going to share it with you. Julie, welcome to the podcast. Nice to have you here.
- [01:47]
A
Thank you, David, and thank you for having me today.
- [01:50]
B
This is exciting. I watched, I went down a wormhole of watching videos of your father cooking for people and singing his heart out. And I loved every minute of it, watching it. Can you tell me about your dad? Let's start with that because that's the, the story behind our discussion today. Tell me about this gentleman and tell me what inspired you the most when you watch back videos and stuff of your father.
- [02:19]
A
Well, my father began his journey in Italy. He was born in 1938 and during the war, so World War II. He was a young boy. And so what happened is, is his family was a bit hungry. They were, they were starving. They didn't really have enough food. They were poor. And so when my father went to town, he used to see people in restaurants and he would look at the window you know, from the outside, he was a. He was a voyeur of the restaurants. And he thought to himself, wow, if I could just be in there, I will never starve again. And that was the thought and the message that he had as a very young boy. And so what that did was it kind of gave him a hunger for and a passion for cooking. And even in the very beginnings of his life, during the World War, During World War II, there were. There was a Nazi occupation in Italy. So they were hiding. They were, you know, had Nazi prisoners in his village that he was in. The Jews were hiding, actually, not the Nazis. The. The Nazis were in having an occupation in the town that he was in. But there were Jewish people that they were hiding. My family was hiding Jewish prisoners. And so what they would do is they would give them food. And so my father would take some of the food that he had to eat and gave it to them because he was starving, and they were starving, but they were hungrier than he felt that because they were hungrier than him, he wanted to feed them. So this kind of fueled my father to really lean into wanting to work in the. In the restaurant industry, because that's. That's only new. It's all, you know, when. When you're in pain and you're hungry, you know, you always have that in front of you. And so my father's big message was, I just want to help the starving kids in the world. That was really what he wanted to do. And so went on to leave Italy because there was not enough work there. He went to Switzerland and then found himself on the Orient Express. He worked on the Queen Elizabeth, and then he made his way over on the Queen Elizabeth. It's like one of those love stories where he met a woman on the Queen Elizabeth who brought him to the United States, and he was going to live happily ever after. But then he had a twist of fate and, you know, a lot of bumps in the road. So the story goes, that's how he got to America. And so the book is called Stay on Course the Life and Legacy of Any Origa Chef of the Stars. And what happened was my father, and I'm leaving out some of the story. I will go back to the story. But what happened was, is when my father found out that he was dying, he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. He was like, oh, gosh, I have to finish my book. Because he had started to journal his life when he started to have a stint with celebrities. So the next round of events in his life Were when he would go to Switzerland, the Orient Express. Later on, working at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, the CBS building. And then he worked at the Resorts International from 1980 to 1984. For some reason, my father's theming of his life were celebrities. So he would run into celebrities or royalties or whoever. It was just amazing to see how many people my father interacted with. And in the book, I list out all of these names, and there's like 82 or 85 celebrities that he connected to. And so that is the excitement part of the book. And like you said, my father was made famous for this thing called the fruit flambe. And so he would cut up fruit, sing and do a dance. And this was what he did tableside for these celebrities. So what you saw on that video, he did tableside for Frank Sinatra and Liberace, Tony Orlando and, you know, Tom Jones, and the list goes on and on. And so that was what he was journaling, his pictures with those celebrities, the stories and so on. And so here we are.
- [06:45]
B
That's amazing. Okay, so tell me more about the man at home. What was he like? What do you remember about dad? That, growing up was that thing that just kind of. We all kind of look up to our fathers, but there's something special about this man. Tell me what that was for you.
- [07:04]
A
Yeah, I mean, and I think that that's a really good question. My father was like, working a lot.
- [07:08]
B
Yeah.
- [07:10]
A
So there was very, very little time I had with him. Most of the times we spent were around the kitchen table or the dining table. Like, that's where we spent our time. So Sundays were big days for eating at my house. My mother would cook all week, but on Sundays was my father's day, he would make brunch and he would make dinner for us. And, you know, just like that was a special time. Like, he just had this amazing flair to just make whatever we wanted. And it was always so delicious. And so just his passion around food and. And also parties. We did a lot of parties, so we had specific parties that we did through the year. So that was a big deal. Like everyone remembers, like on Christmas Day we had a party. And it wasn't just like, you know, five people coming over. It was like the whole worlds coming over. And it's like buffet style. And this party would go on for hours and hours into the nighttime. And then every year we had a barbecue on my birthday. That was the other big event. So every year I had a barbecue on my birthday. But yeah, it's just my father around, service, hospitality, food. And, you know, later on I got to know him a little bit better. I would say after I graduated college is when I really started to get to know my dad. He had a restaurant that I used to go to on the weekends because that's where he was. So I would spend like a full Saturday night there and just like, you know, being around him. But he really had this mantra that if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life. And so my father really loved what he did. That was his passion. It was his purpose to serve others. And so he really was serious about that. And I think that's one of the things I carry with me still.
- [09:01]
B
Amazing to go back and when you said that as a boy, looking through the window of the restaurant, that if I could just get in there, that's where everything's going to be for me. That's where my spot is. And then he found that spot. And he stayed there. And he stayed there. Amazing. Amazing.
- [09:17]
A
He stayed there. And it wasn't like an easy journey. Like, that's. Let's. Let's get this straight, you know, like he was a dishwasher and he was a waiter. And then he worked his way up slowly and started cooking in the kitchen. And then he became the maitre d. Because my father's skill was with people. So it wasn't behind the scenes cooking, per se. It was in front of the camera. It was face to face with those celebrities because he had the flair, the personality to do it. And so later on, he had a talent agent and he did a TV commercial. He was on David Frost and Johnny Carson. And so he was like the celebrity chef before there were celebrity chefs. And so I think that was the most fun thing. And we tried to get him on the Food Network, but they thought he was a little bit too old. So it was like, you know, and I gotta tell you, it was like between him and Emeril Lagasse, like, at the time. And like, Emeril beat him out because he was younger, you know, but my father could have been the, you know, if. If the Internet and TV were as fluid as it is now, my father would have been one of those people, but it was. He was a little before his time.
- [10:39]
B
So tell me, at what stage was his. His journaling and his. The book at when you kind of came in and took it to completion. How far had he written? Did he. Did he leave lots of work for you to fill in the blanks? Kind of give us an idea of what you were given to start with.
- [10:58]
A
Oh, I love this question. Okay, so I was given a hundred pages in a word document. Okay, well, maybe it was like, it was a hundred. Like, it was like just huge letters. Like, maybe it was 20 point font hero. And I think it was like a hundred pages or something. I don't know. He gave me stories. So he, I, he. I did get stories, and I did get his journals. When I say journals, I mean like picture journals. Like, he took the things that people wrote about him and put them in a. In a photo book. So I had photo books, I had photos and the stories. And so what happened was, is when my father found out he was sick, he was working with his nurse. And so every day she would come over and they would sit at the dining table. She was from Brazil, so they both were not native English speakers. And so my father would tell her the stories and she would type them. And then in October 2015, I got an email that said ennio's book. And so I was like, dad, what am I supposed to do with this? I'm like, what am I supposed to do with this, dad? He's like, I don't know, Julie. You fix it. You finish it. You do whatever you want. And I'm like, okay, all right, whatever you say, dad. I'll do what you want me to do. So I ignored it, and I ignored it, and I ignored it. And at the time, my father's dying, you know, so I'm in no headspace to start writing a book. And so it. Fast forward to February 12, 2016, is the day my dad passed away. And I was just like, okay, I have to pick this up again. And so I had this, like, full conversation with myself, like, what am I going to do? How am I going to do it? I'm not a writer. I'm not equipped to write a book. But what is the first thing I need? And the first thing I thought in my head is, I need money. If I have money, I can write a book. Anyone could write a book if they have money, right? They just hire people to help them. So I quickly put a GoFundMe page up. I sent this GoFundMe to everyone I knew that knew my dad and said, listen, in lieu of flowers, donate to this fund to help his lifelong dream come true.
- [13:18]
B
Nice.
- [13:19]
A
And so I got about $4,000 from people that donated to the book. And then I was on my journey. I was on the way. The book was paid for. I mean, I paid A couple thousand dollars, but that wasn't like, you know, that bad. And so I was able to then hire people. I hired two book coordinators because we had to take pictures, match them with the stories. We had to fact check a lot of things because it's a biography. So we did a lot of fact checking. And then I hired another person who helped me, like, read out loud the stories because we had to make sense of them. And like, you know, you sort of have to do that with a person, like, out loud because you're. It's somewhat. Some of those stories are dialogue, so it's just helpful to read it out loud. So we did that together. And then after that, I had another editor who was like a real professional editor that helped me with that, and then a line editor and, you know, all those other things that go along with the book. But it was quite, quite a journey. It took me two years. And I did it on the side. I did it after my job and, you know, having a kid. And I was just newly married as well, so it was two years of that and. And we did. We got it done.
- [14:32]
B
And the one thing we talked about before Hit Record is you celebrate Father's Day in a unique way around the book. Can you talk a little bit about what you do?
- [14:39]
A
Yeah, sure. So every. Every Father's Day, I try to do something to honor my dad. I try to honor him on. On the special days. And so this particular day, Father's Day, I try to do a book signing or talk about the book. It just re energized the story of my father because I feel like if you keep people's memories alive, they are still alive with you. So I want to carry that momentum forward and knowing that although he's not here, he lives in my heart. And, you know, it is just the way that I celebrate his life. So on Father's Day, I try to do something. One time where I was working, we did a big luncheon and they used all my father's recipes and we had the videos playing up on the screens and it was just so much fun. I did a talk with the staff of the restaurant about the book, and I gave away the book. And so things like that I do to remember my dad and keep him alive.
- [15:37]
B
Great. It's great. So in the book, what are we going to find? We're going to find stories, we're going to find photos. What else is included in the book that we might not be expecting?
- [15:47]
A
Sure. I mean, those are the lessons and reflections for me. So the lessons that he taught me are in the book I teach about presence. Some. Some things about gifting, but they're like the leadership lessons that he taught me. And, and his quotes and the famous. Any Auriga quotes. You know, if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life. And if the world falls down on your shoulders, brush it off and keep going your way. Stay on course.
- [16:16]
B
I love it. And that. Okay, so stay on course. That now makes sense as well, because I'm looking at your website while we're talking, and there it is. Stay on course. It's right there in front of me. So is that the correlation then? Is that. Is that is.
- [16:32]
A
It is. And that's the thing my father. I, you know, I racked my brain about, you know, how am I going to name the book? What is the name going to be? And my father had survived and thrived through many different adversities in his life. And. And so. And I had two. And so my father, as I got older, became my coach. And so I would call him almost every day, who is. He was a really great coach. My father became my best friend as I got older. You know, that's just the way it kind of happened. And so, because he said to me, you know, Julie, I live my life through you now. Like, when he retired, he lived vicariously through me and my adventures at work because he was like, so into work and, and all of those things. He just loved hearing about it. So I would call him and tell him what would happen, and he would give me advice and things like that. But it was definitely something that he was passionate about.
- [17:33]
B
Amazing. Are there any recipes hiding in this book?
- [17:36]
A
Of course.
- [17:37]
B
Oh, okay. Any ones that you're like, if. When you buy the book, I would really recommend this particular recipe. Anything stand out to you? That's one of your favorites.
- [17:47]
A
I mean, the fruit flambe is in there.
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B
Okay.
- [17:50]
A
That, that. I. I don't know what he. I mean, you know that, like, when you start flambeing fruit, it's just. And then you put it over ice cream. There is nothing better than. It is so good. It is so good. So, yeah, I mean, the stay on course thing, it was a. A play on words. Right. So I used it as courses, meal courses. So we, we do a whole thing in here about meal courses. And then it also is about, you know, what he would say to me. And he would say to this to me all, all the time, Stay on. Stay on course. Stay on course.
- [18:26]
B
I love when you do his voice. That's great.
- [18:28]
A
I have to. I have to hear it. That's what he sounded like. You got to know, like, what the man sounded like. And, you know, in the book, I try to leave his voice. So, like, when you're reading the book, you. You almost hear that accent. Yeah, but that was also a point of funniness. You know, when he would say something and we would be like, what did you just say, dad? Like, what? And for some reason, because he was so funny, that we would just laugh and. And there were so many times where we. We had a lot of fun. We had a lot of fun.
- [19:07]
B
Amazing. Amazing. So now that the book is out there in the world and people are reading it, people are loving it, what does that mean to you as a daughter, honoring your father with this project? Do you feel like you've met the expectations you set for yourself for this.
- [19:25]
A
For this particular project? Yes.
- [19:28]
B
Good.
- [19:28]
A
Yes. Yes. And, in fact, my mother was very funny. She was so funny. She said, you know, Julie, a lot of people say they're going to write a book, but not a lot of people write a book. And I kept asking my mother for money to help me. I'm like, mom, can you just, like, throw me a little money to help me write the book? And she kept saying, no. She's like, no, no, no, no, no. And that was the reason why. That was her why. Because a lot of people say they're going to write a book, and not a lot of people write a book. So in her head, she didn't believe me that I was doing this. And she said that the entire family was betting against me that I was actually doing this.
- [20:11]
B
Wow.
- [20:14]
A
Yeah, that. That was the support. So you see what happens when my father dies? That's the support system I had. And so the thing is, I was like, mom, first of all, people donated money to me. Like, I can't let them down. That was never, never even an option in my head. I'm glad she didn't tell me that until after. Yeah, she did not tell me that until after because that would have really thrown me off because I was working so hard to get this thing done. And, you know, when I got it done, everybody was, like, amazed. They're like, no way. She didn't really do this. And I'm like, yeah, I really did it. Like, I really had the goal, and I really completed the goal. And so it does take grit, and it does take a big why. But my father's legacy was why enough for me to do this.
- [21:05]
B
So Days after your father passes away, you start to get voices and emails and messages from people from wherever, commenting on your father, telling you stories, or reaching out to you, you know, to give wishes to you. In that moment, you start to. You kind of step back as a child, and you just kind of watch people gather around your father, and you really don't even know who some of these people are, but he had. He had a way of touching them in a special way. Right. And they want. They feel like they need to share the story to you about how your father impacted their life. And the one thing I find is that we, as humans seem to do that after the person is gone, and very rarely do we hear those kind of thoughts about how we impact people while we're still here.
- [21:59]
A
Oh, I like that. Yeah.
- [22:00]
B
Right. And I just. I would love to see people celebrate each other while they're still in the room and still able to hear how much you mean to me. Right.
- [22:11]
A
Wow.
- [22:12]
B
So, yeah, when you're kind of gathering around in that. In those early days after losing your dad, did any kind of story or anything kind of surface to you that you didn't know or surprised you or.
- [22:25]
A
Yeah.
- [22:26]
B
You know, or affirmed that you're on the right path to write the book, was there any kind of story that jumped out for you?
- [22:32]
A
Well, there were a bunch of them. Because, you know, part of what happened was I got to know a different side of my father that I never knew. Like, it just was like, you know, my father used to say to me, julie, I raised all of these children. I'm like, what do you mean? I never understood what that meant. Like, dad, you raised me. Right. But, no, he raised up chefs. Future chefs.
- [22:55]
B
Right.
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A
And he raised up future restaurant leaders is what he was talking about. He was like the father to them. And so I got to understand what that meant after he died, and the stories that people would tell me. Like, so. Oh, my God, there's so many stories. They're all in the book. But one particular person said to me, well, they found me somehow on Facebook and said, listen, I heard about your father. I wanted to reach out to you and let you know that he meant. He meant so much to me. Every time he came to this hotel in Baltimore, this was somebody from Baltimore that he would teach us, and we would get so much from him. And so, like, people reached out to me that I didn't know. And. And then also, people were telling me stories about what his method was when he would go somewhere, and they sent my dad in as the Rescue squad. So like, kind of like bar rescue.
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B
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
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A
So my father ended up becoming. Because at the last stint of his career, he worked at a company called Prime Hospitality, and he was there for 20 years. He was the executive corporate chef for Prime Hospitality. And it was in that job that he really became the mentor, coach, and trainer of all of the chefs that were rising up into their careers. And so there's a lot of those individual men, and I don't know how many women at the time, but mostly men that. That I had conversations with, and I. I understood, like, what my father meant to them and what they learned from my father, because a lot of those people learned some of their cooking skills from my father. A lot of those chefs didn't even maybe go to college for this, but my father taught them, you know, what it is they needed to do, taught them about hospitality. And so we did a lot of trainings. And. And then, you know, there were two individuals that I spent more time with than some others because they knew my dad so well. And so this one guy, he tells me this story, and he's like, julie, your father used to get up in front of the room, and he used to wear the glasses. He said, just like this. And he said, he's like, everyone, it is so nice to meet you. My name is Annie Auriga. He goes, I am a humble man. And then he would do this until I. He would do this. He said he would pull down his glasses, but he would be like, but I am a national treasure.
- [25:36]
B
I love it.
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A
I'm a humble man, but a national treasure. And that, like, you know, that phrase ends up in all my marketing material and all these things because, you know, my. That's what. What he was. He was a. He was a national treasure. Like, that was his whole thing. And so, you know, you. You need to be humble. What he was saying is like, you need to be humble, but you also need to believe in yourself.
- [26:04]
B
Nice. Nice balance to.
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A
To. To get to the place. You need to be amazing.
- [26:12]
B
Okay, so. So, Julie, there's someone listening, and they have a box in front of them of notes from someone who is no longer with us. A journal, something that would just make a great book. But they're sitting through boxes of papers and notes, and they want to do what you've done. They just don't know where to start. And they're looking for some advice. Any suggestions on where to begin turning all of this, all these memories, into something that you can share in a book form. Where would we start.
- [26:44]
A
I mean, I think first of all, you need to read all of that. Take a minute to read it. And when you're reading it, I would start looking for themes. I think you want to look for themes and write those themes down and see if the themes start to pull a thread through the story. And so that's. That's really what you're looking for. You're looking for what is the thread that pulls it all together. Because at the end of the day, if you're writing a book and you want to market a book, you need to have that messaging. And so you want to start. Start with that kind of beginning with the end in mind. And so my father's theme and thread was all these celebrities that, you know, kept appearing in the. In the. The content of the book. And I'm like, wow, this is really, like. It's almost like these celebrities are following you through your journey, and every. Every place you were, we can see a common theme. And so I would start there. And then from there, from the common themes, you can begin to flesh out an outline. And like, that becomes your table of contents. Once you have the table of contents and the outline, you can fill in the blanks for the chapters. But I think it's that very first moment in time where you really want to start to get the essence of what this is. What is this project called? What is the theme and thread? And if you can say what that theme and thread is in 15 words, you have a book.
- [28:08]
B
Great advice. Perfect. That's exactly what I was hoping to hear. I love the thread. I think that's one thing people might not be thinking about. They just have a pile of stories and they're trying to make it make sense. Yeah, look for that thread. Look for that thing that ties everything together. And. And you probably know that relative better than anyone, so you can probably add some of your stories and kind of complement what's already been written by someone else. Right. From your recollection, which is kind of an interesting way to tie that together, too.
- [28:34]
A
Yeah, and that's. That's where I come in, into the story. Because, you know, at the time, my father had been discussing this book for a long time. It wasn't a new scenario that all of a sudden this book arrives. My father wanted to do this for years and years, and he said he wanted to do it. And I said, dad, I'll help you with it. I kept telling him, but I'm like, but you have to, like, put some money into it. Like, even if I were to help him. You still have to pay money to write a book. It just doesn't. You can't just write a book, you know? And so nobody was willing to give me any money at any point in time. So I decided to take the reign on my. On myself. But. But now that the book is done, my father's not here to tell me exactly how he wanted it. I did it as best as I could because I also want to be able to carry the story and be able to talk about it also from my perspective. So I did add in the lessons that he taught me in here. Nice. And. And so the reflections from me at the end of the book, I give reflections from others. So I did interview people to get another perspective from certain individuals that were very close to him. There's, like, all kinds of pictures here. This is from all the staff that he had from Prime Hospitality that worked with him, and a little bit about the television commercial that he did when he was on Chef. Chef Boyardee. And, like, here's the little. This is the thing with Regis.
- [30:02]
B
Yes.
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A
I love that video.
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B
That was amaz.
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A
Yeah, Regis was really fun. And some of the things I don't really have, like, I don't have. I don't have the Johnny Carson tapes. You know, some of those things were really before we really had access to videotape things. So, you know, and it's funny because I can remember the day my dad was taken to New York City to go do that Chef Boyardee commercial. We have that Chef Boy D commercial, but that Chef Boyardee commercial was played in every single state in the United States. And that ran for quite a long time. People knew my father from that commercial. People say, like, if I talk to people, they'll be like, oh, my God, I remember that commercial. Yeah, I remember that commercial. And, like, the other thing was, is in our house, we had this thing called the wall of fame. And so in my basement, I had all these pictures. There were so many I. In. In my mother's house now we have the pictures of all the celebrities that he was with. So this was, you know, when people would come to my house and be like, oh, come see the wall of fame with my father. And what happened was, is that the company that he worked for, prime hospitality, eventually did a restaurant with his theme. It was called Ennio's Riga. It's an Italian trattoria, was the name of the. The restaurant. And so when you walked into that restaurant, there were all the pictures of all the celebrities. Nice as well, so.
- [31:39]
B
What a great thing. That's amazing. I love that. So, okay, again, I'm on your website, stayoncourse IO. Can you tell people how this kind of complements the book and compliments what you do? Because I'd love to send people over here as well. Can you talk a little bit about that?
- [31:55]
A
Yeah. So I am an executive coach, trainer and speaker. Professional speaker. I do professional speaking events throughout the country and I talk all about staying on course, being present, focusing on your purpose, and just being persistent and persevering through the storms of life. So I do all different kinds of workshops and trainings on that. And then I was also a TEDx speaker, so I did definitely get on the TEDx stage. And of course, the talk was discover your purpose and stay on course. And I really just lean into the struggles that I've had in life in connecting into my father's purpose as well. And a few years, actually, not a few years ago, last year, I started a podcast called Stay on Course Ingredients for Success. And so you can get to my podcast by going to StayOnCourse Studio. And so I interview thought leaders across the globe on their specific ingredients for success. And that's been super fun to learn from all of those different thought leaders.
- [33:08]
B
And as we're talking in the background, you have a nice little setup there, a little shelf with some books. I see a book off to the side there from our mutual partner in crime, Julie. Let's give her a little shout out here at the end as well. Yeah, great book there.
- [33:24]
A
That, that book is Hustle Smart. And that is a coach's guide to starting and a great coaching business. So that's one of her books, but she does have a bunch of other books as well through the media casters. So check out Mediacasters. And they have an amazing community and all different kinds of other resources to help podcasters and. And authors. They, they do help authors get their books off the ground as well.
- [33:53]
B
And I'm part of that community. My hands in the air. I love it. Great interaction, amazing people there. Really, really great. If you're looking for a community around content creation, highly recommend it. And I'm not paid, but I love it and I think it's really adds value to anyone on a journey. And having you to hear today, Julie, to talk about your journey has been so helpful and I love celebrating your dad. I'm going to release this episode in and around Father's Day to honor your father and to go along with the celebrations of what you're Doing to remember him every year. So thank you for writing this book. Thank you for doing. Picking up a task that he gave to you unfinished, and you were able to take it across the finish line. It's exciting and I hope that inspires people listening and say, if you know, hey, Julie did this, I can do this, or hey, Julie, I have a question. I'm going to go to your website. I'd love to talk to you, love to reach out to you and get your feedback. I'm sure that would be okay for them to do that.
- [34:51]
A
Absolutely. Yeah. And if anybody wants to grab a copy of the book, it's on Amazon. Stay on course. You can also get to some information on the book from my website. Stayoncourse IO and yeah, I mean, if you are looking to leave a legacy, what better way to do it than create a story of the people you love in a book? Because this will be here for generations to come.
- [35:17]
B
And the one thing that should bring us all together, Julie, is food. As we gather around the table and have family time and celebrate together. And that's what I love about your father as a young boy. Looking into the restaurant, turning that into a career, and then helping other people do that. What a story. And the fact that food brings us together. I'm so. I'm so happy to have met you and to feel like I know your dad through your storytelling about him and his journey. He sounds like such a great guy, and I wish I could have met him, but I get to see him live on through the book. So thank you for writing this book.
- [35:56]
A
Thank you so much, David, and thanks for having me today. I'm really grateful for you and your podcast. And one of the things that I want to leave the audience with that you said, I think that really touched me today, was let's celebrate the ones we love while they're still here. And let's. Let's have that time where we can really tell people how much they mean to us and what their strengths are and how they're really making an impact of the world. And so we can celebrate people while they're still alive and. And then after they pass as well. So I just want to wish everybody a happy Father's Day to celebrate those fathers that are here and. And the fathers that are not. So thank you so much.
- [36:41]
B
Amazing. So he has a little bit of homework for everyone, please. When you look in your calendar and your next meeting that's coming up, and it's that person you talk to multiple times a week, and you've never actually stopped to say, listen, I want to let you know at the beginning where we get into our business stuff, I really appreciate you. I really admire you. This is what you do to me, and this is the value you bring to me in my life. I wanted to let you know that you really matter to me. And I don't say it enough, but thank you. If we can add that piece of homework to our week this week, I think you'll see a little difference in your. In your life and in their response. You're going to shock some people. And if we can all do that, I think it's going to help our weeks and our days. And again, let's not wait till somebody's gone like you talked about before. We recognize how amazing people are in our lives. So. And Julie, thank you for being amazing on this podcast. Really appreciate it.
- [37:34]
A
Thanks for having me.
- [37:35]
B
Awesome. Okay, well, thank you for being here on Living the Next Chapter. I hope you enjoyed this episode. We enjoyed having you here on the podcast. Our authors are amazing. I hope you appreciate their time, their effort to make this possible. If you know an author, if you want to recommend an author, that's a good idea. Hey, if there's an author that you really would love to hear about or hear from, if you tell me, if you send me a message, you speak pipe on our website, livingthenextchecker.com. send me an email. Go over to livingthenextchapter.com, send us a message. We will forward your message to that author and say, listen, you are being requested to be on Living the Next Chapter. Our audience can't wait to hear from you. You can help shape the show. Yeah, yeah. You. You could do that right now, actually. You got a minute, right? Okay. How about you do that? Livingthe Next Chapter dot com. I'll see you over there. Recommend an author. Yeah. See you. Thanks.