← Living Your Legacy
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People are wrecked in every capacity of life. They're lost, man. And I believe that God's given me a clear voice. You know, what I found is there's a lot of talking heads. I don't want to just be another talking head, man. I really believe that God has given me a gift, man. And I've seen him do it through me. And I just want to be able to have the opportunity to bring the kingdom of God back to where it belongs, into the hearts of people, man. Steve Russo is a dynamic entrepreneur, speaker, and former law enforcement officer with over two decades of investigative and ministry experience. Experience. He's the founder and CEO of Watchful Eye Investigations where he applies deep expertise in security, crisis response and leadership to help organizations and individuals navigate complex challenges. You can have talent, but not have any anointment.
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How does one build their kingdom from within?
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I think that, you know, it spans.
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The globe like a super high cold Internet Elvis.
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Ready for free. Today, Apple is to reinvent la. It's not over until I win the Living your Legacy podcast. For those who live to leave a legacy that's extraordinary.
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The impossible has been.
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Oh, that is sensational. Jordan Open Chicago with the lead Usain.
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Paul is the fastest man on the planet.
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You can live your dream foreign.
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Welcome to another episode of the Living your legacy podcast for Inside Success. I am Ray Gutierrez. Joining me today is quite the thunderous personality. Thunderous voice, to be precise. Steve Russo is in the studio today. Steve, how are you?
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A
Good, man. How you doing, man? Appreciate you having me.
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B
Fantastic. A little bird tells me that you just finished filming your episode for Legacy Maker.
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A
I did, I did.
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B
How do you feel?
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A
I feel good, man. I feel like I wrote a book and.
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B
Right on. Good thing. We videotaped it so you can transcribe it and throw in anything. Go export four books.
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A
Yeah, exactly. That'd be fantastic, man.
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B
What are we going to learn about you in your episode?
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Oh, man, I, I come from a diverse background, man. I, I mean, I, I went from a full time minister as a young man to a law enforcement officer right now. I started my own PI business and then now I'm back to doing ministry again.
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B
Does that explain the voice of thunder?
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A
Yeah, voice of thunder is something the Lord gave me. Back in 14. I saw a vision of a mouth screaming and I wrote, I drew it on a napkin that was next to my bed and. And I was inspired to, you know, voice of thunder came to me and I. The catchphrase came to me. Shaking the foundation of a dying generation. That's kind of where I'm at.
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B
Well, what generation is dying, sir?
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Well, I mean, you know, I think that, you know, it's a good question, but I think that probably the generation that we have now, this generation period, I mean, I mean the. I, it's not really a specific generation, just kind of generation in general.
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B
I've, I've spoken to a lot of folks that talk about generational trauma. Trauma that's kind of like in the DNA. I feel like there's been quite a peak up in the trauma, especially in the last decade or so.
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Very much.
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What, what, what with your thunderous voice. What, what movements are you making? What, what cages are you shack shaking and rattling? What movement have you begun?
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I started out, like I said, I was a preacher as a young, young guy, 17 years old man. I got, I got pulled out of a demonic, you know, lifestyle that I was in. I was doing some crazy things. And, and so I, I feel like the Lord, you know, called me to preach. And I'm a real bold guy. I speak real bold. I come from, I'm a full blood Italian from Chicago. You know, I'm a pretty, you know, my dad was a marine. Like I said, I, I came from a real bold, you know, kind of background, but sure. And really the voice of thunder really is really just a, just a direct way of just, you know, speaking to, you know, to, to people. The. Whatever platform I go on, you know, I go, I've done conferences. Youth, you know, I was speaking youth like schools, high schools, junior highs, college campuses. I mean, I was really doing a lot of the stuff before, you know, Charlie Kirk was even born. I mean, I was doing that kind of thing. So I understand it's kind of. But you know, it's, it's, I think it's, it's, it's needed more so now than ever before to really get out there.
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B
I completely agree. We, we have multiple shows here that we work on. Legacy makers, women in power. But you are, sir, a kingdom creator. And as a, as a Christian that kind of defines the already the precursor. What the. Your episode is all about. How does one build their kingdom from within? Or does your kingdom come from out? And what, what is your story?
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A
I mean, for me, the kingdom is, you know, Jesus said, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. I mean, the kingdom of God is, is just knowing Jesus, man. It's knowing the Savior. And I, you know, like I said, I came to the Lord at 17 and you know, I preached my first sermon, my first message that I preached was in front of the whole student body, you know, back in the day, you know, 1980. I think it was in 1989 or 88. And it was my. It was 1986, really. It's. Man, I'm old. But when they would have a fire drill.
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Sure.
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Do you remember when they would all go out on the stage, on the field? And that was my first time that I ever preached was in that field. I stood up on a railroad tie and I just tell my story about what happened, what God did. And so that's. That was when the kingdom was established in me, you know, as a young, young man. And then I went through a lot of turbulence, you know, in my life, you know, just after I got married and was in ministry, I was traveling around, speaking and, you know, went to Mexico and preached all over Mexico and throughout Texas and did a lot of stuff. And then, you know, I got went through a divorce, man. You know, and that kind of wrecked me a little bit and put me on the side, but the kingdom's still there, you know, God, even though I went through a lot of different things in my life, you know, God always knows that it's. It's all about how you finish. Right. It's not about how start. So.
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B
But it's also about the journey.
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It's absolutely the journey. Yes.
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And all the dips and valleys of anything else about the good old book, that. There's a lot of great moments in there and there's a lot of dark man, for sure. But all lessons to be learned.
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Yes.
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So talk about personal ministries, how folks are connecting or reconnecting God or finding God for the first time or Jesus Christ in his name.
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What.
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What. What are you seeing out there? What is the. The common thread? Are folks lost or are they in need of a voice like yours more than ever?
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Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, with everything that just happened with Charlie Kirk. I know I ha. Bring. But bring his name up, but I know that he was a big figure with what he was doing, and I feel like I was kind of. I kind of catapulted that, you know. You know, back in the day, whenever it was, it wasn't popular to go on school campuses and doing all that. I was doing that, you know, back in the. You know, back in the mid-90s and stuff. But I think that, you know, everything is still this. I mean, they're still the same. I mean, we people are wrecked in every capacity of life they have. You know, there's. There's a Lot of lost, you know, broken people, you know, and, and whether they're. They're in high school, whether they're in college, whether they're married with two kids, I mean, they're, they're just. They're lost, man. And I believe that God's given me a clear voice and he's, you know, there's a lot of people. You know, what I found is there's a lot of talking heads, right? There's a podcast, and every five minutes you turn on TV or you turn on YouTube. But I don't want to just be, you know, another talking head man. I really believe that God has given me a gift, man, and, and I've seen him it through me, and I just want to be able to have the opportunity to, to bring. Bring the kingdom of God back to where it belongs into the hearts of people, man, and see them get free.
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B
My correlation connection that I would try to make with you, especially with, with ministries, is how do you update. We're battling folks that are on TikTok. We're battling folks. We're battling a lot of negative energies. How do you update the word and make it relevant? Relevant without sounding like a, you know, a super church that's clearly making ton jet money or a tiny mon pa or. Or that one personal minister that's, you know, speaking to a couple of few on his YouTube channel. Yeah, like, what's, what's the sauce there?
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I think for me, man, it's just being. It's being, you know, authentic, you know, and the stories that I tell, the things that I've been through in my life, I think it's relatable to a lot of people, you know, and I think it's just being straightforward. I think most people want answers that answer and statements that state yes, you know, and they can. And they can sniff, you know, I'm Italian, I grew up, you know, fugazi, you know what I mean? And people can. They can smell when you're not.
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I'm a video gamer. Totally the same.
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Yeah. I mean, you could probably smell them out, right?
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We're cynical as hell.
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You are. Like, my son is that age, so I, I know that. But, yeah, I think it's just really being. To be relevant, you know, to, to just present it in a way that's just. And I, I could bring, you know, I could be kind of humorous sometimes. You know, it just depends. Depends on the situation. The message is the same.
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Yes.
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The results are the same. You know, you're gonna, you're gonna get Free from. From the darkness that you're living in. But the message sometimes, you know, Paul said I became all things, all people, that I might win some. It's like, you know, learning how to pick a lure out. You know, that lure didn't work, so I gotta put it. Let me try this lure.
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Sure.
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You know, and so that's kind of. Kind of what you do.
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Well, what you. What you said, you. You'll learn to understand the old winsome, but you also understand to learn that you're going to lose a lot more than the ones that you're going to win.
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So, yeah.
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You're ready for battle concept?
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Absolutely. Battle. Battle. That's my middle name. I mean, it's. Spiritual warfare is really what it all boils down to.
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Exactly.
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And that's one of my biggest things that I've been preaching all my life, since I've been preaching, you know, for. Since, you know, 17 years old. I'm 55 years old now. And really, spiritual warfare has increased. Oh, yeah. Yeah. You know, that's kind of what I.
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Want to land on. You can just kind of feel it in the frequency The. The war in the fifth dimension is still very, very turbulent, and that the. The fight for our soul, say, depending on what. What Bible you read, is still very, very active. Let's talk about family. Let's talk about you being Italian, like, how important that is for you. I, I'm. I. I didn't have much of a family. I was adopted. But when I'm obsessed with Ferrari and I love Formula one and I. I love the culture of being an Italian and, like, how far back that goes, even through the losses.
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I thought you were Italian.
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No, Cuban. Nicaragua. Okay, well. But I was saved at 9. I understand what it is to. To walk in his name and understand what the Holy Spirit is, but I also walk among entrepreneurs and folks that are on their own journey, and I kind of giggle to myself and be like, you know, what you're doing on stage is quite literally what they do in churches on Sundays. And quite literally what's being done in churches, what Jesus Christ did when he's speaking to the masses. That's the thing that I want to land on with you, Bubba, is just like, you're up, you're. You're fighting an uphill battle, but you've got a loud voice and people react to that these days. You're quite Andrew Tate, but you're also not quite, you know, a lamb, a victim. You are quite down the middle that, you know, what you're Saying with conviction, talk about folks like myself that are about to leap into personal ministries. Wear these stripes and go, hey, hi, I'm a conservative Republican Christian. This is what we look like now. Be afraid, because we come with love, and you can shoot us down, you can do whatever you like, but here we are. And, and, and to say that is powerful as a Christian, especially on a podcast for entrepreneurs, a lot of folks don't have the balls to do that. Why is that?
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I think it's because we're so used to just the way things always have been.
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Yeah.
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You know what I'm saying? And it's like, people don't understand that, you know, times change, people change. As long as the message is the same and, you know, you can't change the message. I think that's the problem. A lot of churches, they try to change the message always. And, and it becomes, like I said, inauthentic. And then people don't want to have that. They don't want to hear it and stuff. So I think it's great. And I related to, you know, when Jesus, when he, when. When they told Jesus that Lazarus was dead, you know, Jesus waited, like, the third day to go there. You know why he did that? Right. He wanted to make sure he was dead, because in the Jewish law, three days was considered dead. So he wanted to make sure people knew he was dead, but then he was going to raise him up. But one thing I, I. A lot of people don't get from that story, when Jesus said, lazarus, come forth, and the reason why, he didn't just say come forth, but he said, lazarus, come forth. Because if he just would have said come forth, everybody would have come.
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Yep.
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Right. Yep. So, but, but when Lazarus came out of that grave, what was he wearing? What did he smell like? He was wearing grave clothes, man. Right. And he probably smelled like death, and he came out of that grave. And so I think sometimes you look like death. This generation, this, this, you know, people that look different, they want to act different, they want to wear different things. It's. It's what I call their. Their, like their death clothes. They're coming out of their death clothes. Right. But, I mean, you can't reject them because they're coming out wearing death clothes and, you know, Latin. So I related to that story. I think it's important for people who are coming up and who are trying to be an influence to speak for the Lord. You know, you need to recognize that. I think it's important.
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B
Steve, what are we going to learn? I Want to continue and talk about your kingdom creators specific episode? What specifically will we learn about you and how can folks follow your ministries, your message, your thunderous voice?
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A
I mean, you know, you'll learn that my, my story is very dynamic. Like I said, I've come through a lot of things in life. You know, I've got experience working as an entrepreneur. I've been 23 year law enforcement. I've got a lot of stories about, you know, what I went through being a cop and, and then being in ministry. And I just think that, you know, without tooting my own horn or whatever, but I just think that my, the things that I, it's very refreshing the things that my, my message, the way I present it and the difference that I bring, you know, to the table to, you know, to other, you know, churches or whoever's going, me to come speak or whatever. I just think it's, it's, it's, it's different, you know, and, and, and I know probably people say that all the time. Right. Well, I'm different. I have different platform. But you know, I, I liken it to, you know, you know, you can have talent but not be anointed. Have you ever heard that phrase before?
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B
I have not. I've, I've. Please continue.
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A
Okay. Anointed. Anointed means where God puts his hand, really?
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With anoint men, sir. Yes.
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Okay. Anointment.
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Yes.
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You can, you can have talent.
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Correct.
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A
But not having any anointment.
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B
Yeah, that's, yeah, right.
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You can sing good. But some people really have anointing to sing. Yeah. And so I think sometimes, and for me it's like, I, I, I, it's not just, it's not talent for me, it's more of God's anointing. It's his presence that's completely, I know it kind of sticks on you.
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B
Oh yeah. And, and because of that anointment, sometimes it's difficult to operate in this reality and be like I. All I can do is praise him and, and speak highly of his name. So you can feel the great happiness I feel at this moment. Yeah, it's almost like a selfish, like I, I'm happy, but I also see my, my fellow brother and sisters unhappy because they're in this mindset.
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A
Yeah.
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B
So it all comes down to mindset. Before we wrap up, can you kind of just name some, some similarities between the journey of a Christian soldier and an entrepreneur and how the similarity is of their convictions?
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A
Well, I mean, as an entrepreneur, you know, you have to have faith. You have to you have to have those same principles because, you know, that's what helps build your brand or, you know, if you have a. If you have a clientele. You know, in my business, I work as a private detective, man, and I. And I. I hear all kinds of stories and. And I, you know, and. And if you don't have that core faith, you know, it can. It can sway you. Like, you know, being married and constantly hearing stories about people cheating every day, you know, it can. It can take a toll on your real life, you know, so you have to have that. That encounter with the Lord to. To keep you from. From going down that road yourself. You know what I mean?
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B
Oh, no, for sure.
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A
So I think it's. It's important to. To parallel the two, you know, and. And that's kind of what I've been doing, you know.
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B
How can folks find you, man?
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A
Man, I mean, you can find me on. I mean, voiceofthunder.org is being. Is. Is out there. You can go to that. My website there and. And you can have me come, you know, speak whatever, and your. Whatever you got going on available for. Whatever, man, whatever. Whatever platform comes my way.
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B
Give me kind of like the preview. What happens on stage or, you know, are you theatrical about it? Are you more of a. Like a monologue person?
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A
I juggle bowling balls.
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I was gonna say. You juggle bowling balls? Like, I'm like, are you like one of those dudes that were on stage lifting, like, 2100 pounds and ripping, like, catalogs back in the 80s? I remember those ministers.
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It's so funny.
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They're awesome. Did you really?
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I actually did. No way.
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Did he?
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I sure did.
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B
You were one of those on stage.
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When I saw these cinder blocks, it reminded me. Yeah. When I would. When I was doing school assemblies, we would go and we would put. We would break bricks. We light them on fire and break the bricks. Blow up.
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B
The hot water bottles are awesome.
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The phone book. Yeah, we did all that, man. Oh, man. And it was fun, man. It was. It was a good way to. It was kind of a gimmick to get in there.
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Oh, no, totally. It's like wwe. It's kfab.
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Yeah.
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Completely sell it and be like, this is what it's like, Powers. Yeah, I was all about it.
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So now it's just me just telling my story manager. Just. Just having the opportunity to. To. To bring. To bring the word man. And. And it's different, though. It's not like, you know, your average Joe going to speak at a church with a tie and a suit, you know?
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B
Right on, dude. Well, it's different. Well, Steve, I'm really curious to learn more. I'm, I'm. I'm. I'm really eager to watch your episode, and I'm actually going to jump on your website and, and follow this voice, this voice of thunder of yours, my friend.
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A
Yeah, I appreciate that, man. I appreciate it. And it's good to be. To be here at this. This podcast, and, and I hope to do more in the future here.
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B
Thank you for being such a Kingdom creator and an inspiration, my friend.
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A
Appreciate it, man. No problem. Thanks for having me.
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B
For Inside Success, this is Steve Russo, and I am Ray Gutierrez. Thanks again.