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- [00:01]
Ed Mylett
So good, so good, so good.
- [00:03]
Commercial Announcer 1
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- [00:28]
Commercial Announcer 2
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- [01:03]
Ryan Kalish
This is the Ed Milan Show.
- [01:07]
Ed Mylett
Welcome back to the show, everybody. Listen, when I started the show about eight or nine years ago, I had a purpose with doing this show, which was to change people's lives, to inspire people to make their dreams come true or make a change in their life and then give them the strategies to do it. And as the show became more and more successful, like many shows, you can get guests on anytime you want. You can get more and more famous people on. And I started to do a lot of that. And I. I felt like we were missing the mark sometimes, just having a famous person after famous person on. And I want to introduce you to people that stimulates something in your heart and your soul, maybe your mind to get you to make a shift in your life. That's really what I want to do and then hopefully teach you some of the strategies to do it. And I found somebody today that's going to do that for you. You're going to hear a story today like you've never heard before. Let me tell you where I found him. And I know this is not my normal intro, everybody, because it's so meaningful today to me that you listen closely or watch if you're on YouTube. I'm scrolling through YouTube or, excuse me, Instagram, several months back, and I see this clip of this man. And I didn't know where he was, but it looked to me like maybe he was in a foreign country. He was a fit dude. He looked like an athlete to me. He's walking down the street and he comes up to this man who was homeless, and it ends up being that I watched him get, basically bathe this man and give him a haircut and clean him up and help him and put a little food in his belly. And I thought, my gosh, what a beautiful moment. Who is this person? And then I looked into him and his story and I said, I want this dude on my show. I want to introduce him to the world. And so we're going to do that today. Let me tell you about him. First, former major League baseball player. He played for the greatest baseball team in the history of the world, the Boston Red Sox. And then he played for another team called the Chicago Cubs. I'm just kidding. He played in the big leagues, though. Known for his athleticism, had a good career. Just guys, tons of injuries, 14 surgeries. It just that dream was going to end. His career ends. And I'm sure, like anybody, his identity is a little bit lost. What's he going to do with his life? And through a process we'll go through today, this man ends up stepping away from pro baseball and went through this transition. And now you know what he does? He's a global humanitarian. He basically helps the most underserved people in the world. And by the way, he's done the majority of this so far on his own dime everywhere, from Indonesia to Thailand, Uganda, India, Jordan, Tanzania, Egypt. He's helped orphans, refugees, vulnerable people just out of his heart. And he's personally funded a lot of this. And so I. If you're at a stage of your life, everybody, where maybe you're ready for a change, maybe your dream's not to own a Lambo and a mansion, but you want to make a difference in your life. And maybe your identity's been attached to a relationship you were in or a business you did or money or something, and that's gone. How do you find the new you? I got the guy for you today. Ryan Kalish, welcome to the show.
- [04:10]
Ryan Kalish
Oh, man. What? I appreciate the intro. I feel humbled and blessed to receive all that love. And, yeah, it's been a journey and I'm excited to get into it with you today.
- [04:20]
Ed Mylett
I'm proud of you and I'm just meeting you, but I'm proud of you, brother. I really am. And by the way, he has something called the Hope of Life Fund, which we'll talk about a little bit. And I'm going to give you the website, even though if you're driving, you probably won't remember it. But it's givebetter.com hope-of-life-fund in case you end up wanting to help Ryan change other people's lives. Okay, here we go, brother. So if you're watching on YouTube, you can tell it's a Big jacked stud athlete, career ends. Your whole life. I know what this is like. You grew up wanting to be a baseball player. You became it, and then it was sort of taken from you. So now you're at this spot in your life. Who the heck am I? And I think there's a lot of people listening right now or watching that feel the exact same way. Take us through that period of your life and how you ended up landing on. I'm gonna go to Indonesia or Thailand and help vulnerable people. How the heck does that happen?
- [05:15]
Ryan Kalish
Oh, wow. Okay. I'll do my best. So obviously, retirement, it was a choice. 14 surgeries. I was trying to keep playing, but my right knee was really not doing well, so I stepped away. And it was this period of two or three months where at the same time every day I was gonna cry, right? Like it was just gonna come out of me. And I started having, you know, some really deep, deep dark thoughts about, you know, maybe not wanting to be here. So I ended up out in California and I was like, I have to try. I have to do something, anything. So I signed up for a Pilates teacher training course. So I'm actually a certified Pilates teacher as well, although I don't really do that. And then, you know, it was really nice to get me going through. Through the process, make, try something new. And then, man, actually, you know, just to be completely vulnerable, it, like, you know, I kind of started abusing substance a bit. Marijuana was kind of the thing. And then psychedelic drugs was in the mix.
- [06:25]
Ed Mylett
Okay.
- [06:26]
Ryan Kalish
And it was. It was very powerful. And I got carried away. And kind of what came through was the spirit of Jesus, which was so interesting because it wasn't something. I'm not religious. I never really liked religion. It wasn't my thing. And all of a sudden, here I am, I'm like, why am I thinking so much about him?
- [06:50]
Ed Mylett
You know? Oh, wow. I didn't know that. Okay.
- [06:53]
Ryan Kalish
Yeah, it was like a. It was a really soul touching experience. And I don't really know, like, but the way I was expressing it wasn't because I was on all of this substance. It wasn't really grounded and it made people worried. And, you know, long story short, I went through a long mental health battle even with that spirit kind of coming down into me. So over time, I kind of felt lost in America. I decided, I need a change. I'm going to. I'm going to leave. I went over to Indonesia right around 2020, and this spirit of Jesus kept coming in, but I couldn't figure out, like, I couldn't ground it. I was not behaving perfectly, you know, like, my mental health was just unstable. And then ended up getting clean, you know, clear and clean. Especially in Indonesia. It's not a place where marijuana is legal. So it was really good for me to go there.
- [07:47]
Ed Mylett
Right.
- [07:48]
Ryan Kalish
I ended up meeting my wife, you know, along the way, I was. I became an entrepreneur out there, started a business.
- [07:56]
Commercial Announcer 3
Okay.
- [07:56]
Ryan Kalish
So kind of stabilized my life, you know, had my daughter came along, which is, like, just such a blessing. And then we ended up moving four years. Right. We have, like, a pretty normal life, and we go out to Thailand. You know, we moved to Thailand, and this was where again, you know, actually now in Thailand, the marijuana is legal.
- [08:23]
Ed Mylett
Yeah, yeah.
- [08:23]
Ryan Kalish
It's like, fully legal there.
- [08:25]
Ed Mylett
Yeah.
- [08:25]
Ryan Kalish
So it kind of came back into that a little. And here comes the, like, spirit of Jesus. And I'm like, this is so. I'm like, no, I don't want this. Don't mess around with subs. You have a family. Like, relax. So it's been over. I want to say it's been 16 months since I haven't had anything like that. But the spirit was still with me. And I was like, what am I to. What am I to do with this? But this feels like a calling, you know? And I'm like, okay. I went out to Austin, Texas. I was trying to connect with certain people. Didn't quite work out. And I was sitting by this river, and I was feeling anxious and was like, this spiritual calling of, like, the reason that you don't feel good yet is because you're not really walking with Jesus yet. And I was like. And I, like, somebody mentioned, like, hey, if you really want to, like, do this, you need to go, like, serve the people. And I was like, that's what I'm supposed to do. That's what I do. And so, you know, as a baseball player, when you get admission and you get that calling like I got when I was 5 years old for baseball, now I have this new one, and I'm like, let's go. So I flew out to. It started in Egypt on Easter last year. Wow. Went to a church with these underprivileged kids, started serving, and I just started moving. And I. I've been doing it once a month ever since. I met, like, another humanitarian, but he was really good at content creation in Uganda, and he taught me some of the stuff. And I started to think, like, well, how can I raise money and get my message out if I'm not recording this. I don't really love it.
- [10:13]
Ed Mylett
I can tell because you're kind of
- [10:15]
Ryan Kalish
putting people, you know, people's lives out there. But we ask everyone and if somebody says no, we don't show it. Of course, most.
- [10:24]
Ed Mylett
Let me jump in. I want to say that first because I want you to keep going, but I want to just pull kind of some clues out of what you said rather. And that is, number one, you did to change your life. I think like when identity like that ends, whether you're divorced or business fails or you're just like chasing something in your life and I've just occurs to you midway through, I don't want this anymore.
- [10:44]
Ryan Kalish
Yeah.
- [10:45]
Ed Mylett
Whatever it is. Right. Success leaves clues. A couple things happened that I want to make sure that people know you did. Number one, you did take some time.
- [10:55]
Ryan Kalish
Yeah.
- [10:56]
Ed Mylett
To like listen to the voice on your heart, which you say is Jesus. Right. But like just to get quiet and just not maybe not go to the next thing right away. Maybe take a moment to yourself and listen to your soul, listen to your spirit. And so I just think that success clue number one. Okay. That I want everyone to pull out of this from Ryan. Number two, God uses imperfect people. So I'm so grateful that you're vulnerable. Hey, man, I'm smoking a lot of weed, doing some psychedelics, you know, and you're self soothing is what you were really doing during those times.
- [11:29]
Ryan Kalish
Yeah, for sure.
- [11:31]
Ed Mylett
But the second part of it is when you're feeling helpless in your life, get helpful. Get helpful. And that's really what you did. Now I can't imagine when you sign your deal with the Red Sox that you're like, you know what? In whatever amount of years, within the next 10 years, I'm going to be in Uganda giving some dude on the street some or isn't life amazing? So how does this service start? How did you know who to serve? Or, you know, I'm saying, like, people always think, well, how did he get started? Did you just like go? I don't know, but I'm going to take some action next. What happened to get it going?
- [12:06]
Ryan Kalish
Yeah, no, I mean, it was just. Well, a quick story. When I was six years old, my mom told me we were in Washington D.C. and she told me I got angry and she's like, why are you mad? And I was like, well, why is that guy on the street sleeping and that building so nice? Wow. So it was kind of potentially always there for me. And once, you know, even during my baseball career, you know, one of my Dad's friends or my. Sorry, my best friend's dad said, you know, if you want to be close to God, when you see somebody really struggling, throw them $5. And that always kind of stuck with me. So I always had the eye for seeing vulnerability. And so, you know, especially in Uganda, when it came down, like, my friend was already doing this for many years. Such an amazing story. Congolese refugee starts, you know, gets over into Uganda and starts feeding kids on the street when he was 15, and he started, you know, kind of doing that. So that was where I, like, I already could have the eye for the, you know, for the vulnerable. But now I'm starting to mix in. Like, how do I build this message? Build it into whatever it's going to do. You have to share it. So that was that moment there. And then, you know, I've been to India four times. I've done it in Thailand, you know, all over the place. And I just figure out a team, you know, I find people that kind of, you know, the path it leads itself, if you're willing to walk it.
- [13:41]
Ed Mylett
Yeah.
- [13:41]
Commercial Announcer 2
What about.
- [13:42]
Commercial Announcer 1
What's it.
- [13:43]
Ed Mylett
What it feel like the first time or what's it feel like? By the way, it's amazing to me, this has only really been a year or two. I didn't realize that.
- [13:49]
Ryan Kalish
One year.
- [13:49]
Ed Mylett
It's crazy, Ryan. I mean, the amount of places you've done. I love that you use the word vulnerable people. Tim Tebow is a good friend. He's been on the show a bunch of times, and we live near each other. We speak at a lot of similar engagements. And he said, I always wanted to be an MVP when I was playing football. And he said, I do now, but it's a different thing. It means I want to help the most vulnerable people.
- [14:08]
Ryan Kalish
Yeah.
- [14:08]
Ed Mylett
And Tim does that. He's the real deal on it. And. But I think sometimes with Tim, and I can say this, I think people look at him and he's like, almost perfect, you know, and what attract any. And. And frankly, he is. And what I love about you is like, you're like, no, I'm imperfect. And yet I'm still making a difference. Because most of us as humans, we look at ourselves and go, I'm not qualified. Nobody. I can't help anybody. I can't even help myself. Why should I be helping other people? And that's not the truth. I'm wondering. Compare the two feelings. Hitting a jack in baseball in the big leagues, and you're circling the bases, and be honest. Compare that feeling to, like, the first time you fed somebody who had no
- [14:50]
Ryan Kalish
food on the street, they're exactly the same. They have this. And then like my. My dad, I'm saying with my parents, this moment here, being able to talk about my journey with such a man as you, if they're all like the same, they're all. They all have that, you know, just that, like, adrenaline rush. But there's also this thing that you like me. And even my dad, he's never done this before. He's 70 years old. He's starting to it when we go out there. He's my cameraman. He's my cameraman right now.
- [15:22]
Ed Mylett
Come on.
- [15:23]
Ryan Kalish
Are you serious, brother?
- [15:24]
Ed Mylett
It's.
- [15:24]
Ryan Kalish
It's real special right now, what's happening in my life, man. Like, we've been. We've been through a lot. You know, I've. You know, I've had a. I had a struggle mentally. They see me through a lot. And so for him to be here on the journey, wow. Like, feeling it, you know, he's taking. It's a spiritual richness, that giving back and helping people and just seeing like, wow. Like, you know, a lot of people all around the world are in a difficult position and, you know, it's like, I don't know where it's all leading. Wow. But I'm like, I'm here and I want to be a leader in this world now. You know, I feel like the time, bro, it is.
- [16:12]
Ed Mylett
And. And, you know, I think often in life we think we're not qualified. And. And I often say I think you're most qualified to help the person you used to be. And if you're lost in your life, you're helping people that to some extent are lost or have been left behind, in your case. How beautiful, bro, that your dad. I didn't know your dad was the cameraman.
- [16:31]
Ryan Kalish
Well, yeah, this trip, you know, it always varies, but this one is like extra special, bro.
- [16:38]
Ed Mylett
No question. Tell your dad thank you for the work he's doing, and God bless him. I'm sure you weren't easy and going through your mental health stuff, and they probably stood through you through some tough times.
- [16:47]
Commercial Announcer 3
For sure.
- [16:48]
Ed Mylett
Yeah. You know, it's exploding right now, online shopping and let me tell you where. Whatnot. Listen, I've seen shows, I've seen the rankings and I've seen the revenue numbers and the number of sellers making over a million dollars a year on whatnot has doubled in the last year. Can you imagine that? A million dollars a year. So if you're selling online out of a storefront, maybe full time or a side hustle. You already know the challenge. You're hoping for people to find you, know you exist, buy your stuff. Whatnot flips that on whatnot. You go live and you sell directly to people in real time. They see what you got, they ask questions and buy. Here's the hook. They keep coming back. It's something I've never seen before. Sellers are building real thriving businesses. So whether you're starting up or you got a big one already, I can tell you something. Whatnot's what you need to look at. What not buyers spend more than an hour a day in the app, bidding, buying, and coming back. And I got to tell you, I've seen the buzz. You've seen the buzz. Go check it out for yourself firsthand. So here's what you do. Go download the whatnot app today and get free shipping on your first order. Just search w h a t n o t whatnot in the app store and start scoring amazing deals. You know, when I coach people one on one, the main question I get asked that we work on as well is scaling. And if you're going to scale a business, it takes the right expertise at the right time. That's why I love upwork. Upwork helps growing teams quickly. Bring in specialized free freelancers so you can move faster and take the business to the next level. When you're hiring people, it shouldn't be a big headache, and you shouldn't have to look forever to find the right people for a specific type of work or niche. And upwork makes it easy to hire specialized freelancers quickly so you can get the expertise you need now without waiting or all the recruiting or all the back and forth or even having to hire somebody full time. The fastest growing businesses aren't doing more. They're delegating smarter. Upwork helps you bring in freelance experts really fast. We've done it in a couple of hours, including this podcast. Go check it out. Trust me. And so by the way, it's free to sign up. And posting a job is easy. Visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free to connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. That's up w o r k.com upwork.com you know one thing, I want you to picture everybody before I get into some more questions. When you see his work now, you're like, oh, there's this man. He, you know, cut his hair on the street and it's beautiful the way you care for people, bro. It's this big, strong dude. You know, he's walking up to people on the street and. But now it's being filmed because you got to raise money for it and all that. But just remember this when you're watching these videos, guys, that's not how it started. It started with just with a man that's like, I just feel like I need to help people. There was no camera. There was no plan. There was no idea of what it was going to be. He wasn't promoting anything. He was just doing it. And so not everything you do has to be on Instagram the minute you do it. And maybe nobody will ever know you've made this difference. That doesn't mean it doesn't count. God's watching you, the difference you're making every day. And so when you do that, what. What do we. What have you learned? You know, sometimes you walk by somebody who's on the street and you can feel bad for them or something, maybe, and. Or judge them or what happened to their life or whatever it is. What. What do you now know about people that are vulnerable like that that some of us that have not done that work don't know, meaning how you look at them, how you view them, how they. Their life status. Like, what do you see and know about them? We don't.
- [20:08]
Ryan Kalish
All right, so this is a great question. In India, I cut about 50 people's hair that can't afford it. People might not even accept to cut their hair. You know, they're living on the street, and yes, some of them are. They're drinking. Some of them start cutting people's hair, and you see scars, like, big scars, like surgical scars. And potentially, you know, maybe they had a bike accident early in their life. Maybe they were abused. Like, so the. The whole point is that we don't know how they got there. And so to, you know, what with the spirit of Jesus, with you, the having compassion for these people and like, you know, you know, we just don't know how they got there. And even if they did get there on their own doing, like, I feel like they deserve more chances than whatever it is that they've had, because some of us are privileged and some of us are just born into. They're never going to have anything. And so, like, for me, I really know, try and just always keep that in mind with everyone that I meet, because it's real, man. Like, I would say 70% of those guys that I cut that hair had some sort of significant head scar, which would, you know, be a head Trauma,
- [21:26]
Ed Mylett
potentially indicate a lot of abuse, probably in their life, more than likely.
- [21:30]
Ryan Kalish
Yeah, exactly. And so, you know, you know, being here in America, too, like, I mean, I haven't cut people's hair yet. It doesn't seem necessarily like something everybody wants, but I see souls pretty well now, and I. I could feel that, like, so many people just, they. I don't know, man. They didn't have the. The luck and they didn't have, like, I don't know, like, the David Goggins mindset of being able to push through everything. And that's like, not everyone can be David. And we. We need to have that compassion to, like, have systems in place to be able to do. I think we. I think we can do better is what I'd say.
- [22:11]
Ed Mylett
Well, you are, bro. And when I was younger, I used to use the term weak and strong. And as I've traveled the world, you know, I don't necessarily believe in that all the time, meaning just because somebody's in a difficult situation or they're down on their luck doesn't mean they're weak. Maybe they just made a bunch. By the way, you've acknowledged you've made bad decisions in your life. So have I. Just for the grace of God, I've been able to land on my feet many different times. And so, you know, your work gave me perspective in the sense that. Let me tell you what it did for me, and I'll have you speak to it. I think I do a pretty good job. But, like, how many people do I walk by in a given day that I don't even see? Meaning? And I'm not just talking about someone who's on the street. I'm talking about someone in the grocery store, someone at the airport. You know, we have a lot in our lives where our heads are in our phones and we don't even see each other anymore. And what I love about what you're doing is especially people on the street. You know what most people do, they keep their head up and they walk right by them. And if I don't look at them and I don't see it, I don't have to deal with it. But I think that's a metaphor for life. I think a lot of us walk by each other every day and don't see one another anymore like we should. Do you feel that way, too?
- [23:28]
Ryan Kalish
Absolutely, man. I. I seen it all. It's all over the world. It's not specific to any one country. And, you know, I also have compassion for. This is the society that's been created. It's hap. Life is happening fast, and so it's easy to get swept away. And I think that I can do, you know, all this good to, you know, just step back and, and try. Because, like, I mean, I wasn't always doing this either, so it's like, I'm not. If you haven't done it, it's not like, hey, you know, come on. There's a little bit of like, come on, I know. You could, we could all do a little more. But it's like, it all light. I mean, life is short, and so we're only here for a short time. So if you haven't got there yet, it's not like a knock on you. It's just like, it takes, you know, time and life circumstances to get you to that place. But, you know, man, I was listening to your podcast with Pete Holmes, and you were talking about your dad. Yeah. It's like, what am I gonna leave behind? You know, I'm not gonna leave my, my car. You know, it's like, what impact am I gonna leave behind? That's what I'm after now.
- [24:40]
Ed Mylett
Yeah, bro, you are. I, I actually was thinking while we were talking, this is no joke about my conversation with Pete while we were just talking and. Because he and I have talked about this off camera too, and, you know, I, I, you can't, you know, if you're a Christian, you don't earn your way into heaven. Right? That's, that's been earned for you if you're a believer. But whatever your faith, belief is, set that aside even for a second. Today a buddy of mine gave me a compliment one time, and it's just, I, I kept the message and it was after a speech I gave. But here's what he said to me. This is where I think about you and I want everyone to think about this. He said, bro, you can't earn your way into heaven, but what you did today. And it was a speech that I gave, and he said it makes me emotional. But he said, he said, I just want you to know there's going to be a long line in heaven when you get there with people there to thank you for making a difference in their life. And whether that's true or not is immaterial. I've not stopped thinking since that day about, you know, what can I do to make sure that I've helped somebody. And you made me think that, truly. Like, try to describe for it, like, what does it feel like? You get back to the hotel and you just help three or four people that day on the street. And you, by the way, spent your own money so far. Mainly, I want everyone to understand that. Do you get back. Is it lonely? Is it fulfilling? Is it emotional? Do you cry? Like, when you make a difference? I want everyone to feel for a second like they're sitting there going, does my life have meaning? I don't feel like I'm probably ever going to own a Lambo or a mansion and I don't even know that I want one anyway. What's my life mean? That's what most people daily. And it causes depression by the way they. They conclude it. Most people, subtly, slowly, bro, if we're being honest. That's why I'm so glad we're doing this today. I think most people are reaching the conclusion, I don't matter. My life doesn't really matter much. And I think this causes a sense of depression in people that they don't feel like they have meaning in their life or that they matter and. Or that their life matters. And so does this give you a sense of that a little bit in your life when you get back to the hotel afterwards? Or what are you feeling?
- [26:53]
Ryan Kalish
Oh, absolutely. Well, I would say to anyone who I know, even for me still, you know, when you're going to go step out of your normal, like, take care of myself only routine, it's uncomfortable. The feeling is there for me almost every time I go do it in the morning, I'm, you know, oh, I could just go to the sauna. I could just go to the gym. No, no. I know what feeling I'm gonna have after I do this. And the feeling at the end is like, at the end of the day when I'm sitting back, it's just like this pure, like, I'm a very anxious person if I'm out of alignment with my truth. And at the. At the end of the day, it's like. It's just so like, ha, I did it again today. And like. But it is also, at least for me, because I'm an athlete. Like, I have a pretty, you know, I guess, major league goal for all of this. Like, I want to go further. I.
- [27:51]
Ed Mylett
Let me ask you this. Are there moments where you're like, I'm totally not the person that should be doing this. Like, do you feel inadequate often?
- [27:59]
Ryan Kalish
No, no, no, not anymore.
- [28:02]
Commercial Announcer 1
No.
- [28:03]
Ryan Kalish
I mean, Jesus was a carpenter, apparently. So it's like. I mean, I don't have a degree, but I have the heart. And I feel like I could be A really good leader here on Earth for connecting back to the message of Jesus, which isn't that different from what Muhammad was saying. It's not very different from Krishna. You know, I think all these guys are, you know, I'm. I'm connecting a lot to the Lakota nations, their profits. It's kind of all about, like, taking care of the planet, taking care of the people. And you said it just on your last podcast with Pete as well. It's like with politics is like, where.
- [28:45]
Commercial Announcer 2
Where.
- [28:46]
Ryan Kalish
Sorry. Using the word Sorry. Using the word love, like, where. I'm like, where is that right?
- [28:54]
Ed Mylett
Right. Humility is not. Humility seems to not be rewarded in the world today. You gotta always be right. I have this thing I want to ask you about. I. Yeah, sure. How much of your old identity had to die for this to happen? And what I mean by that is this. Tell you an interesting story. I have this. I bought this property, and on the property there's these bald eagles. We called them Fred and Wilma. They were this married couple and they lived there about 15 years before I bought the property. Anyway, long story short, Fred passed away and now Wilma is a widow. And the people from the bird sanctuary place come out and they're like, well, she's probably going to pass in the next year or two as well. And I said, okay. And they said, just, you know, at her age. And plus, when they lose their loved one, they usually. They lose their will to live. Anyway, like, six weeks later, I hear this, like, pecking noise at the. In the mornings on, like, these rocks. I'm like, do we have woodpeckers? Like, what's going on? And I find out it's Wilma hammering her beak against the rocks. I'm like, is she trying to kill herself? What's happening? Then the next time I saw her, she looked like she'd lost all her. A lot of her feathers. And I'm like, oh, my gosh, she's dying. So I call the people at the bird sanctuary, the caretaker, my island did. So I said, you know what. What's going on? I think she's in this process of killing herself. And the. The bird sanctuary people got so emotional, like, oh, my God, that's not what she's doing at all. She's remaking herself. She said 2% of these eagles go through a process where they remake themselves. What she's doing is she's sharpening her beak and she's plucking all the feathers off of herself that no longer serve her.
- [30:32]
Ryan Kalish
Ah, yeah.
- [30:34]
Ed Mylett
And she's going to remake her life and she could extend her life by double. And guess what? Wilma is still alive. She's remarried, she's had a baby and she's flying strong now. And what she did is that old identity had to die. She had to pluck out of herself all these things that didn't serve her anymore. And I think that's a metaphor for life. Old identities, old beliefs, maybe some old relationships. You have to pluck them in order to make room for the new. Did you have to do some of that being an athlete?
- [31:05]
Ryan Kalish
You have no idea. It's like it's happened multiple times and, you know, even to the point where sometimes my phone is very quiet. But since I'm so like in touch with me and I know the path is unveiling itself that like I used to, you know, crave, like people that text me all the time and stuff like that. And now I'm just like, there's a. It's good, like enjoy the peace. Because I don't, I, I don't think it's going to last forever. It's, it's a season of the life where you're like, trying to build something. I mean, year, you know, April 20th will be year one. Easter was, you know, 4 20th last year.
- [31:42]
Commercial Announcer 3
So.
- [31:42]
Ed Mylett
So you, so you changed your life smoking all this weed on 4 20?
- [31:46]
Ryan Kalish
No, not last year, but in my past, yes.
- [31:49]
Ed Mylett
Yeah, but it was, but it was 420. That's an ironic day.
- [31:52]
Ryan Kalish
420 was Easter and I was at the church in Egypt and that was a huge shift.
- [31:56]
Ed Mylett
But like, gotcha.
- [31:58]
Ryan Kalish
Obviously it was kind of funny. I'm like, huh, that's interesting that Easter is 4:20 this year, by the way.
- [32:04]
Ed Mylett
Just to tell you I want you to keep going. That's the day my dad got sober and my dad celebrated that day. But all my life I thought only my old man would get sober on 4 20. So anyway, keep rolling though. Keep going.
- [32:15]
Ryan Kalish
Well, I mean, I kind of. We were talking about like my, my. Jesus was a person who lived a life, you know, he didn't really talk about any teams. He didn't talk. He didn't say the word Christianity, Catholicism, Islam, but he's in all of them. How did he do that? Because he just took care of people. He loved God and he loved thy neighbor as himself. So the more that we can connect back to that message, you know, I'm not saying like the religions are, are bad. I'm just saying like the person that lived the life is like what I'm focused on. And the more of us that feel connected to that spirit, no matter your religious belief, because that archetype is in all of them, the caretaker, the bridge builder, the peacemaker, like what Jesus was, he's everywhere in the world in different forms. And so the more that we connect back to that and then obviously, let's just be honest, the modern day Pharisees are still here. They haven't gone anywhere.
- [33:24]
Ed Mylett
Look at you. I'm so impressed. What if was there one thing though of the former you that had to go away? You said one was like need for attention. Right, Sure, I relate to that too. Like as I became more well known, I think there's an addiction to that. Like, oh, people know me. Oh, I walk in a room and as I've purposely sort of tried to shrink my public profile, it's a navigation I have of I'm enjoying the piece of it. But there's still this thing like I'm not quite that I'm not, I'm not getting the attention. So was that the main thing you had to peel away or what? What had to die or get what feather had to be plucked? That was the biggest thing with you for you to remake you. Hey guys, as a lot of you know, I've been taking Im8 for, you know, a couple of years now. I've been talking about it on the show for a long time. Here's what it is. IMA is the way to simplify your supplement routine. Like once and for all. It's what it's done for me. Sixteen supplements replaced 90 ingredients across nine major organ systems in one drink. Im8's Daily Essentials has 16 supplements in that drink, like I said, for $2.61 a day. It was founded by David Beckham and a bunch of other people. It's built by leading doctors and researchers. I feel great on im8. I can't emphasize that enough and I really believe you would as well. So go to im8health.comed right now or click the link in the description and use code ED for a free welcome kit. Five free travel sachets plus 10% off your order. That's code ED@IM8Health.com ED code ED@IM8Health.COM ED these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Hey guys, we're sponsored by RO and I got to tell you, a lot of people assume GLP1s cost a fortune and that's the assumption that keeps them even for looking into the treatment. But the reality is there may be a more affordable option, way more affordable than people realize. Roe helps people find the low cost path to FDA approved GLP1 treatment, whether that's through insurance coverage or just cash pay options that are more accessible than expected. I Gotta tell you, GLP1s have become known for the results, but also for like sky high prices. So there's just a certain class of people that can afford it. And that's not right and it's actually not true. What I love about RO is they want to help people lose weight, bottom line. And that's why they have the lowest cost options out there, whether you're paying with insurance or cash. Like I said, and here's all I can tell you guys, I use this and I think you should too. So go to RO company to see if you qualify. That's RO company To get started on ro, go to RO forward slash safety for box warning and full safety information about GLP1 medications.
- [36:08]
Ryan Kalish
Well, like I would say that in baseball, you live a very selfish life.
- [36:13]
Ed Mylett
Yeah.
- [36:14]
Ryan Kalish
You know, it's all about you and the now and what you're doing. And now I feel like I'm living for something greater than myself. Although it's still, you know, it's a, it's a balancing act. Like, I do want to be seen. I have that, that same want. But not just for, I think, and like, not just so I can make it to the big leagues in the here and now. It's like, well, I have a daughter, you know, Like, I don't. Like, I'm a little nervous about what I'm seeing. I want to, like, try and be the change that I would like to see in the world for like her kid and their kids and beyond. Like, I, I have a video I'm going to put out today. I, I said that I don't think Jesus was just living for, like, his life. He was trying to show us how we grow a society based more on love and harder rather than the greed and, and the service to just power and money. So I want to be a bridge for that.
- [37:15]
Ed Mylett
Did you have to let go of that? You know, one of the things that comes with being a big league baseball player is money.
- [37:21]
Ryan Kalish
Yeah.
- [37:21]
Ed Mylett
And a lot, potentially. Just reading what Ohtani's making, I was like, wow. He's like, in a world economy, all of himself and the attachment, by the way. I don't think there's anything wrong with making a lot of money. If that's what you want to do. But. But was. Did you have to detach from that? Because you basically went from making money to do what you're doing to now giving it away. You give your time, your focus, your attention, your energy and your money to this cause. You give a lot. And I know you don't want to take a lot of credit for it, but there's a lot of giving. And, you know, today I'm going to try to help a little bit with you receiving because I'm going to make you promote your site. But did. Was that one of the things you had to sort of abandon is this attachment to, I don't know, stuff, Physical, material stuff?
- [38:08]
Ryan Kalish
Well, yeah. I mean, seven years ago, even before I got into the service, I started, like, kind of selling material possessions. It was kind of naturally. It's naturally happened to the point where I literally have a suitcase of items. I have my daughter, I have my wife. Those are the treasures, you know, and getting back to Jesus, he says, like, you know, kind of. He says, sell your treasures now here on Earth, and you'll have treasures in heaven, you know, so I'm really into his message. And so it was kind of just like, naturally a part of me. But I, to be honest, and I kind of wanted to bring this up with you, is I struggle. Like, I don't really. I. I don't love money. I just feel like there's a balance that could do us a bit of favor where we, like, really. So I'm still like, I want to get money because I want to do good with it. And of course, I want more and more safety for my family, which right now we're fine. But honestly speaking, like, I. At some point, I need to make this bigger to keep it going. And, like, I want to do more sustainable stuff, so money is necessary.
- [39:21]
Ed Mylett
Great, Ryan, great answer. Because I have to tell you, feel like I think today's one of these shows where, like, people are just listening to two dudes talk, you know, about life, one making an unbelievable difference in the world, and then one interviewing him, which is me. But I've struggled with that, too, because I've accumulated a lot of money and I've pursued it now. I've pursued it at the. In my mind at being rewarded for doing good for others. But it is a unique nuance of I want to give and make a difference. I also want my own family to be safe. Because you said your two treasures are your wife and your daughter. Well, that means one of your obligations is to Care and protect them. And likewise, they'll care and protect for you. And so I tell you an interesting thing. This is a little bit different level, but I'm recently doing like estate stuff, like because I'm 55 and I've had some health issues. So I have to think about this world in my life. Post me, you know, and one of the things they ask you when you have a couple bucks is like, well, how much do you want to leave to your family and how much do you want to leave to the causes that you want to have? And I'm in the midst of making those decisions right now and it's difficult. It's difficult to. I don't want to feel selfish when I'm making money or leaving it to my family. At the same time, I want to make sure they're cared for and protected. And so I very much relates why I admire you so much. You've decided kind of on faith to go. I'm going to go into service.
- [40:47]
Ryan Kalish
Yeah.
- [40:47]
Ed Mylett
And I'll figure the way and the path to also care for my family. I think that's sort of what you're doing.
- [40:55]
Ryan Kalish
I have, I have a business. It's kind of a break even thing right now. And so. But yeah, it's like, okay, why can't I grow this into something more? I feel like with the world the way it is, like it's, there are people doing it, you know, like the MD motivator guy, I don't know if, yeah, he's like, he's grown a huge thing and like, you know, I'm just. And consistency as a, as a former athlete, like, I know how that grows things, you know, you know that as a businessman, you know, consistency, action, faith with a, you know, for me this is definitely like a bit of a divine calling. And you know, I said, even my friend Chase Iron Eyes in the Lakota nation, I was telling him like my old story recently. He's like, this is in our world, this is divine calling. Like, so there's a little like, it's like that balance between fear and love, you know.
- [41:51]
Ed Mylett
So I'm gonna ask you one of the hardest questions I've ever asked on the show. You're gonna hate this, but I want to ask you it. So there's this idea that a lot of people believe, which is like, we need to care for our own country first before we go care for the world. There's a political ideology that says that. I think a lot of people nod their head when they hear it. Then I've got other friends that go, bro, there's poor in the United States. That's one type of poor. And then there's poor in some parts of the world, and that's a different poor. And because I haven't traveled that much, I've not been exposed. I really don't know. And so help us, those of us that have not traveled the world and seen poverty in other nations or other places, what is there?
- [42:37]
Ryan Kalish
There is a bit of a difference. I mean, I guess it's such a. It's such a. In the United States, it's such a contrast because most of the terrain is really nice. Streets are paved. Well, sidewalks are nice. And then, you know, there's these forgotten people by the system. Now, I'll say there's a lot more of a drug problem here than there is overseas. You know, people might be into the. Into the alcohol on the street, but you don't have the same erratic, you know, kind of like drug problems where you kind of see people talking to a wall like you do in the United States. Like, people are. I guess they're. I don't know, they're on the streets. You know, in Africa is just so. It's just so poor and it's sad. And I have so many, like, things and about to say about that in my life. But it's like, for the most part, you know, people are sober. They can't even get to, you know, pharmaceutical drugs and opioids and all the things that are on our streets. So. And, you know, it's kind of like Africa is just overall more. Has more poverty. Same with India. It kind. I guess it blends in a little bit. Like, whereas here, it's just like, so stark and. And drastic when you see it, because, like, you could just see this amazing businessman or woman walking with a nice suit and a Louis Vuitton bag. And then there's this just poor person, like, picking dirt out of their. Out of their feet. I, you know, I'm down here in Phoenix. I had no idea what the situation was. It's really bad here. It's really hurts me in my soul because I can just. I can just feel that we are not attentive to those things. Which again, kind of leads me back to, like, you know, we're a Christian nation. That's Jesus territory, man. Like, we gotta step up our game. That's what this guy said. What you do for the least of these, you do for me.
- [44:43]
Ed Mylett
Gosh, so good. You're so unique.
- [44:46]
Ryan Kalish
I have. I have like a. I'M like a little sad and mad a lot of time.
- [44:51]
Ed Mylett
I could see it. I can see that in you, by the way. I actually, I think for me anyway, that's coming across. I can see this kind, giving man, but he's still a little bit pissed too.
- [45:01]
Ryan Kalish
Yeah.
- [45:01]
Ed Mylett
And there's a. That the world has got to this extent. Help me understand something. I'm like really going there with you today. As I've traveled and most of my travels are us I travel internationally to speak, but usually when I do it, to be really honest with you, I'm there a day and I'm gone. So I've not spent time like what you have. I've done some missionary work in my life in the world. I'm not going to talk about that on the show today, but. But for the most part when I speak, I travel in the US and certainly the last 10 years, the major cities that I go to, whether it be Austin, Texas or San Francisco or la, or Phoenix, Arizona or Portland, Maine, where I have a place or wherever the growing population of people that are unhoused or homeless is just dramatically exploded. Right. And a lot of the times when I see folks take us into what you see, educate us. I do see a lot of drug use. I have to say that, like, I see a lot of needles, I see a lot of drug use. I see a lot of heroin, a lot of meth. I do see that. And I started to form that picture in my head and then I went, okay, they're drug users or mental health issues. Then one morning I was going to get a cup of coffee and I watched a woman come out of a tent in a business suit and I watched her walk out of the tent. This was in Portland, Maine, to the bus stop. Sure. And I watched her get on a bus. I thought that was interesting. And so about two weeks later, I saw the same woman and I asked her and she's like, well, my husband left, I had a drug problem, but I'm completely sober. And she appeared to me to be completely sober. And she said, I work at a bank. I just got the job there part time. And right now I'm so down on my luck. It's just easier for me. It's the summertime. I'm living here to save money because I cannot afford my own house with what I make. Rent here is so high. And she's really making a minimum wage income when she started. And it changed my heart a little. I'm like, wow, there's different profiles. There are people who are using drugs. There are, there is mental illness.
- [47:05]
Ryan Kalish
Yeah.
- [47:06]
Ed Mylett
But then there are people like this woman who's just fallen on such difficult times and she actually is working and could not afford a place to live just yet. And I know there'll be people in the comments right now go, ah, that's. No, I'm telling you, there's such a dire split in our country between rich and poor.
- [47:24]
Ryan Kalish
Poor.
- [47:24]
Ed Mylett
And certainly this must be the case in the world. This woman's trying to change your life and work and she cannot afford a roof over her head currently. Do you see a little bit of that when you travel and help people? And I know that's the exception, not the rule, but who do you see on the street? When you're on the street, who are they?
- [47:42]
Ryan Kalish
Oh, man. Well, I see yesterday I talked to a guy who, he was, he was talking about his education background, but mainly it's not, I would say it's like 50, that drug, mental health problem and just a lot of people who have gotten kicked and kicked and kicked by the system, veterans all the time, you know, which is really sad because like those guys have been through something in like service to the country. Obviously I don't agree with war, but they've gone overseas for their country and come back and you know, their mental health for killing people overseas can be at risk. And the programs are very bad. I say this to people. The United States dollar is a strong dollar everywhere except the United States. And so when you're been kicked and kicked and you might have made a few mistakes, man, you can get down quick and then it's like your spirit is down and you know, I don't know, man, I. I go back to Jesus. He says, you can't serve God and mammoth, which means money. So the spirit of God seems to be getting kicked down out of people because circumstances, choices, currency, power, especially at home, you know, you make a few bad choices, man, and like, and you make a few mistakes or you just have a tough time. It's. There's a lot of things stacked against you right now in this system, bro.
- [49:16]
Ed Mylett
I'm so wonderful to talk with you. I hope, I hope for the audience too. I hope I've asked the questions that you would want asked and I've asked them respectfully. I hope, I mean, I want to learn and understand more too, so that I can make a bigger difference in the world. And I also want to understand the mindset of somebody who's gone from him just miraculous, world class, top 1% of 1% of 1% of athletes on the planet. How to set back. Started behaving in ways he didn't like. He's like, no, I want to turn my life around, and I'm going to do it by helping the most vulnerable people in the world. I just think it's. It's beautiful. And you've really made me think, too, about myself. And I know you're doing that for a lot of other people and a lot of you that are looking for a change in your life. Maybe it's not just to start a business. Maybe it's to start doing something where you just care with your gift or your heart for people that need you in whatever way that means. Maybe that's your path. Maybe it is a business. Maybe it is to make more money. Maybe it is to take care of family. But also, maybe it's not. Maybe it's like, what Ryan's doing, and maybe it's your own version of that. I have a friend of mine who left a business, and she still has her. Her. She took a job, but basically what she does now is she rescues animals. And she went from making $200,000 a year, and she's like, I don't want to do this anymore. I'm going to downsize my life. I'm going to sell my house. I can live in a smaller place. She's making 80,000 bucks a year now, and she rescues animals, and she. She's never been happy in her life. And I want to at least expose people through this show from time to time to people that have taken a different path. It's not all about scaling a business. It's okay. I can have the guy who ran Tesla on a few weeks ago, and I can have you on today, and you guys can get exposed to both of those views of the world. And I very much admire what you're doing, bro. Very much. I still have one more question for you, though, but before I do it, because you won't promote it, I'm going to. We'll put this in the show notes. If you want to give to help this guy continue his work, go to give better.com for forward/hope-of-life-fund. Or you can follow him on Instagram, which is, I am Ryan Kalish, and that's K A L I S H. Okay, last question, stud. Someone's listening today, and they're like, I'm kind of emotional, and, you know, I want to start down some path of making a difference in the world because I know my life has some Meaning, and I'm not. Maybe I feel like I haven't lived up to quite what I'm capable of. What would you say? Because you're going to run into these people, especially after this interview, bro, right? You're going to run into these people, like, hey, and they're going to ask you that question. That'll be one of the questions you get. So for the millions of people who won't ever run into you, they're running into you right now. What would you say to them?
- [52:09]
Ryan Kalish
Well, first of all, like you said, if you're feeling that way and like, you know, a little bit emotional and like, damn, I wish I'm doing something, like, give yourself a hug.
- [52:19]
Commercial Announcer 1
Be.
- [52:20]
Ryan Kalish
Be compassionate to yourself. Because I wasn't always here, you know, it was. It took me 37 years to get here basically before I've been doing this particular work for a year. So be gentle. And then, yeah, I would say, like, obviously, you know, it doesn't have to be at the scale that I'm doing it, like, but make it a part of your routine to where, like, maybe you just volunteer somewhere locally. Like, there are people suffering outside of everyone's homes all over this world. And the more that we can connect, like you said, to the fact that our lives actually do matter and we can make a difference and connect to, you know, that's kind of like there's a separation between the prophets and us, like Jesus and you. But when you read the Bible, he talks a lot about how actually I am in you and you are in God and all this. Like, he's talking about oneness. So maybe we can't all heal people's, you know, blindness on their eyes, but we can all take a step towards helping someone in a small way here or there. And the more of us that do it, you know, our collective consciousness turns up and. And all of a sudden, you know, I don't know if that, like, you know, I don't know when or if, like, the leaders of our world are going to get that heart, but they can, like, the more of us that do it. Because maybe it's not this generation, maybe it's your kid or their kid who finally makes their way into politics and, and brings the world together. So, you know, we are powerful. We are not that separate from God. I don't think so. That's it, bro.
- [54:06]
Ed Mylett
So good. I. You use the word collective consciousness there at the end, and that makes me feel like it's confirmed. I was supposed to have you on because for years I haven't in a long time I've talked about that. And I really believe this is just one dude's opinion. But that is what needs to change in this world is the frequency and the collective consciousness of our culture. We're getting the leaders, you guys, that we deserve, and we need to ask more of them, and that means raising our consciousness. And I think every single day it's just finding a way to make the world better in your way, and you are qualified and you're not an imposter, and it's not too late, and you've not screwed up too much, and you're not too old and you're not too young. And here's the biggest thing Ryan's taught me. You don't have to have it all figured out. No, he's figuring it out as we're doing the show today. What's the business model going to be? How's he sustain it for his family? He just started making a difference and finding a way to serve. True.
- [55:02]
Ryan Kalish
Yeah.
- [55:02]
Commercial Announcer 3
Yeah.
- [55:02]
Ryan Kalish
And I, I don't have all the answers today. Like, yeah, we might never. This is just one lifetime of a plant, of a space rock that's been floating for however long it's been floating. Like, if we get 80 years here, we're lucky. And I, I joked with my, my, my wife there the other day. I said, do we ever really become adults? We're just like kids, you know, forever.
- [55:28]
Ed Mylett
By the way, the happiest people don't. The happiest people spend their life at play as much as they can and in service? And by the way, as I'm looking at you, this is a funny thing to say at the end. Most people are listening on audio, but everybody, if you're watching, he kind of looks like Jesus. At least our picture that we've been shown of him all these years. So anyway, I just had to say that at the angst has been on my mind the entire time. Ryan, I'm really glad I had you on, and I hope that, I hope I've given everybody exposure to just, just for today, man. Just look at your life a little differently. There are people. Even though Fox News and CNN and whoever else you watch doesn't report on it every night, guess what, everybody. There are people in the world doing good and making a difference, and you can and probably already are one of them. You could just maybe do a little more after today. So, Ryan, thank you.
- [56:22]
Ryan Kalish
I really appreciate you having me on such an honor.
- [56:25]
Ed Mylett
Oh, bro, the honor is mine. Stop it, everybody. This is one you share. You hit the share button, you say, you know what? You want to feel better. You want to make a difference in the world. Listen to this conversation that was on the My Let show with Ryan Kalish. Love you all everybody. God bless you and Max out.
- [56:44]
Ryan Kalish
This this is the Ed and Mylan show.
- [56:51]
Commercial Announcer 1
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- [57:21]
Commercial Announcer 3
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