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Hey folks. This episode is sponsored by ChatGPT. ChatGPT plus is free for college students now through May. That means you have no limits on how many ways you can prompt ChatGPT to help you through the worst part of the school year. There's many ways you can do this, like uploading your class notes and having ChatGPT quiz you on them. Or asking ChatGPT to take a complicated concept and try to explain it to you in simpler terms to help you understand chat. ChatGPT free for college students through May. Restrictions apply let's be real. Life happens. Kids spill, pets shed and accidents are inevitable. That's why you need a washable sofa that can keep up. Our sofas are fully machine washable inside and out, so you can say goodbye to stains and hello to worry free living. Made with liquid and stain resistant fabrics, they're kid proof, pet friendly and built for everyday life. Plus changeable fabric covers let you refresh your sofa whenever you want. Need flexibility? 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That's AdamAndEve.com code IHEART for 50% OFF PayPal lets you pay all your pals like your graduation gifters. Who's paying for the mattress topper? You mean the bean be? Aren't we getting a mini fridge? Can we create a pool on PayPal? It lets us collect the money before we buy. Ooh, yes, that's smart. Glad we can agree on something easily. Pool split and Send Money with PayPal. Get started in the PayPal app. A PayPal account is required to Send and receive money. A balance account is required to create a pool. Hello, we are here in Washington Square Park. I have been. I have traversed not a. I mean, I've traversed a fair amount of places, and one of my favorite places on the earth is Washington Square Park. It brings together a diverse range of people. There's old people, there's young people, there's all kinds of people. Those are the two kinds of people. But there's a lot of people here. There's a lot of activity. There's a lot of life, and I love it. I feel like I'm at the center of the universe right now, here in Washington Square Park. I don't know why I'm talking like I'm an announcer. Let's talk to some people. That's why we're here. We're here to be a gecko and talk to people about life. Do you want to talk to a gecko about life? No, he doesn't. Do you want to talk to a gecko about life? Have a seat. Have a seat. What's your name? My name is Charles Peralo. How you doing? Charles Peralo. We got a first and last Charles Peralo. First and last name Peralo Parallelo. What's up, Charles? How's life? I'm pretty good. I'm sitting next to a guy with face, like, face paint on and dressed as a gecko. This is exactly what my parents envisioned for my life. They wanted me to get an investment banking instead of doing this. Okay. How's your relationship with your parents? They both passed away. I'm sorry to hear that. Yeah, that's kind of. That was kind of a rough segue there. I'm sorry. I had to give. You do that or did you have a good relationship with them, like, growing up? I got good enough. Yeah, I guess so. I mean, you know, I had a. Like a. Kind of a rough relation, my dad, until like a few, like, like, I'd say the year before he passed away. Okay. So it's kind of nice. We actually got along for that final year. So that's not. When you guys were getting along. Like, what kind of stuff would you, like, do together? You know, I don't know if we would do. I mean, we would just hang out, you know, just like eat dinner, things like that. But I think it was just like, you know, I didn't have the best career for, like, years, and then it kind of picked up, you know, and then I was like. There was some kind of pride there. We had some fun. But yeah, it was kind of cool. Did you, like. Did you learn anything about, like, in that, like, little window of time, did you, like, learn anything about him that you, like, didn't. Didn't know during your life that maybe, like, surprised you? So, I mean, occasionally, like, because, you know, my mom passed away years earlier, and he had another girlfriend, and he'd occasionally get drunk and talk about sexual things. So I learned some weird fetish. I. I learned he liked feet. Yeah, he had that Dan Schneider thing going on. Yeah. So I don't, you know, I don't, you know, that's gonna be broadcast now. But, hey, you know, doctor kids. Dr. Perala, like, fee. Yeah, you know what? You know, this actually brings up an interesting subject because it's like, if your dad starts talking to you about sex in a weird way, it's like, you know, you only have one. You. You know, your parents are your parents, and, you know, I. You want to know about them because they're your parents, but also because they're your parents, you don't want to know about their sex life. Yeah, there's a little. There's also a weird thing where it's like, you know, I don't know. There's a. There's a. Like, your dad telling you that he's in defeat. There's, like, a vulnerability in there that does kind of a lot of alcohol, too. That was involved a lot of alcohol. But there's a vulnerability in there that is, like, kind of. Even though it's like, oh, that's my dad, I don't know if I necessarily wanted to know that. It's like, oh, I'm kind of glad that I'm getting to know my dad more. Is that. Yeah, we never really talked about sex or anything. He never gave me the talk. When I was a kid, I learned about sex from Jerry Seinfeld. Just watching Seinfeld. In fact, I remember the only time he tried talking about sex. I already had it. I was 16. We were watching the movie the Ninth Gate, and it was kind of crazy because there's a scene where Johnny Depp is having sex in front of a burning church, and there's some woman who's. Who's actually the devil, and her face is turning into a horse face for some weird reason. And that was the moment. My dad's like, you know, you gotta use protection. And I'm like, wait, are we doing. And he's like, no, seriously, seriously, pregnancy. That could be taken care of. But, you know, astds are a thing. And I'm like, Wait, are we seriously having a moment right now? Is this what we're doing it. He said, pregnancy that can be taken care of. You know, it was weird. I was going to Catholic school at the time, but we were. We were like, like a kind of a liberal household in that respect. Okay. You know, we were. We were the family. We had that, like Herschel Walker thought, like, hey, you get someone pregnant, you put $400 in a get well card. Takes care of itself. Might not be the best joke for everybody around, but, hey, it's, you know, work for them. I mean, you can abort chlamydia too. Yeah. I mean, yeah, you can. You can get rid of chlamydia. Can't get rid of some of the other ones. I mean, I kind of was wondering at age, like 15, 16, who my dad thought I was hanging out with. Like, I mean, I. I don't think, like, the clap was a thing that was spreading around, like, with sophomores in high school. I mean, but maybe it was. Maybe I just wasn't active enough. Like. Like, no. So you said. Okay, you said that you're. You're kind of. When your career started picking up, your relationship with your dad started to give it. What was your career picking up? Looking. Looking like, what is your career? I'm a YouTuber, TikToker, actually, like, myself. And I would say, you know, like, originally my dad kind of doubted because I always tried working in startups and other projects. It didn't really go, like, the best. And there's a lot of failure, a lot of false hope, like, oh, hey, this is going to work, and it doesn't. And then the money really starts coming in, especially from the Snapchat shows. But I think, like, the best moment was, you know, the Mark Cuban interview. I interviewed him back in the day. I had him on for, like, almost two hours. Cool. And my dad never watched any of my interviews before because he said I was interviewing has been celebrities, which a little bit true. And then he, like, watched the whole Mark Cuban interview on tv. I went out to like a club and then like, I came back home actually, and he was like, hey, I just want to say you did a really great job with. That was a really nice thing. And I actually, I actually told Mark after he passed away, I spoke to Cuban again. I mentioned that. Yeah. And like, yeah, Mark Cuban, that was a. That's a really cool dude. I mean, there's two guys I can say I've met in this business that are like, you know, like, doing this, that are Just ultra nice people. Mark Cuban's like, exceptionally nice. The other one, and this is the coolest thing is Mr. Beast, actually. Yeah. Like, you know, end of last year, he followed me on Instagram and messaged me and like, he really enough wanted a phone call. And I was like, almost crying afterwards. Like, I told people that. And you probably get a little yourself. Like, that's almost like being like an actor on like a regular TV show. And then DiCaprio shoots you a text. Great job. Like, that's. That was like. It was like a tear moment. You get that feeling all. You know, it's fine. I actually, I met Mr. Beast once a while ago. I was at some, like, I was at VidCon. Oh, you go that too. I went in. I was either 2022 or 22. 3. It was 22. At 22. I. I've been the last couple, but not 2022. And I was there and I was in this like, room or like, tick tock. Had a little like, room where they was like. Was like Brent Television. The SpongeBob Popsicle guy there. By the chance, there's a SpongeBob Popsicle. I was just watching a. I was just watching an hour long YouTube video about the Spongebob. Yeah, popsicle. Yeah, I was. I was there and I. Mr. Beast walks into the room and dude, like, snap, dude. Immediately all these people just start like swarming him. Like, camera first. Yeah. Being like, hey, Mr. Beast, let me like, show you a magic trick. Hey, Mr. Beast, let me be in my video. Because they want to, like, get his face. And I felt like, bad forum. It's kind of like this. When I was. When I was a kid, like, Pope. The. The pope before the current one visited New York. And I was watching it just on TV and there were tons of nuns jumping, like, saying, oh, we got to get close to get close to. Like, they're almost like groupies and it's the Beatles. Yeah, that's kind of what it's like. It's like you could have 5 million subscribers on YouTube and you're jumping to see Mr. Beast. Like, you could be you. Because there's like, there's kind of like a level where I feel like, you know, you and I might sort of be on it, where people sort of know us. Like, you know, we get recognized. I mean, how did that happen when you were setting up? Like, one guy came to you, a bunch of people came up to you. One guy came to me. But. But then there's like, then there's the Megas. And it's like, there's like, Like God Tier. It's like. And that's. That's what he is. And it's kind of, that's what. It's kind of sick to be noticed by that. That's cool. You know, I always wonder about Mr. Beast. Cuz, like, he keeps going. Yeah. And he's really young. He's. He's younger than me. You know, he. But he just, he keeps going. And I always wonder with dudes like that. I'm like, how do you keep going? Because you get to a certain point where you're like, you know, like. Like what? Like, after you achieve like this, like, your massive success, you're number one. Like, you can't. How do you be. How do you keep being, wanting to be more than number one for like, infinity? So I've had a few conversations with him about that, actually. Yeah. And I think at this point he has reached the number one status on YouTube. And I think now his big dream is to be someone like Walt Disney. Like, I really think his vision is. Because he told me how many. I, you know, I don't know if I can say the number on camera, but he told me how many candy bars they're selling. It's. They're competitive with Hershey now. They are. This is a billion dollar company. Oh, I know. I'm a large portion of that pie. Buying those Mr. Beast bars. I think they're just okay. And I, I told them that, I told him that I respect. I gotta just tell him to his face. Oh, yeah. I, I told him, I said I'd give the chocolate. I gave him a B. I gave him a B. I gave him a B for Beast. Yeah, they're okay. I mean, well, they're, they're specifically not meant to have as much like, sugar and crap in them. Right. I don't know about that. It's like, I think they're fine. I just think there could be some better chocolates out there. But he's a really cool guy and I think he will build a company worth $10 billion or more. Like, I mean, it's already, I think, valued at a billion dollars. So wait a minute. So back to you. Sure, back to me. What were you saying? Oh, yeah. Okay. So you interviewed these celebrities and you're like, so how. I guess I'm curious about this. Like, how do you, how do you feel about your career and life? And I think we're at a little bit of a plateau right now. It's like there's nothing Like, I mean do you ever get that feeling yourself as a creator? Like I've been getting, that's 2025 has been for me about, about like oh, I have that plateau. Yeah. Cuz it's like you could. People don't realize it as a creator. It's like you get to that point like the growth numbers aren't the same. You get to. Because people always think like, you know, you get a million subscribers, you're going to have 10 times as many views. 100,000. But you know, I don't know if you're more of a shorts or longer form or both, but I actually told people it's like oh, my most viewed month ever on YouTube was 85 million views and I had under 50,000 subscribers. Yeah. Now it's like I have a million subscribers, I can get like a quarter of that. So it's like there's a little bit of plateau. So it's trying to break the plateau and doing things like, you know, I hired a guy to do an animator, we're going to try to do an animated videos new app I'm trying to launch. So there's so many new things to try to do because if you, because if you do have plateau, you just have a regular job like everyone else. That's you're 100% correct. The thing though is that like, you know, I've experienced posting a video on Instagram or TikTok or whatever and having it get a million views or whatever. And I, you know, I look at my YouTube or whatever and I'm like, I don't know if it's like views that I'm chasing more so than it is like, I don't know, a novelty in like, like, like I don't know if the plateau is necessarily about like a number more than it is about like, you know, what you're actually doing. It gets the point. I feel a little bit more almost about money sadly because it's like, because the thing is when I first, when I first went viral on TikTok and like because you send. You did this for five years, right? Yeah. So around the same for me as well was like I started like, I really started going viral like 2021. And I remember the first time I did a video I was living my brother and what have you been doing? Went viral. It was about Adam Sandler. I posted two videos that day I made the night before. The first got eight views in two hours, which eight likes in two hours and then the second one got 17,000 in two hours and ended up getting three and a half million views. And that's when I was like, okay, the celebrity stuff is really starting to sell. And I did that and I was really, you know, happy with how things were going. But. But then it's like, you know, and I wasn't even making money for first six months because there was that rumor, tick tock, they wouldn't pay you if you monetize. And I believed it. And yeah, I was more into getting that 2 million view a day number than I was making money. And I didn't, you know, so I went like, you know, six months. Yeah. I remember there was a rumor that if you join the creator fund because they don't want to pay out. Yeah. Which was false. And, you know, so I didn't monetize, but it was more important to get the views. Now it's like, oh, hey, whoopty doo. Get. Get a million views. It's like, I've done that hundreds of times. So now it's like, okay, the money, but it's got to stop doing that. So it's like now about long form content. Now it's about new projects because you, do you like. Well, do you like, do you like covering celebrities? You know, so the thing is this. There's a line in Hollywood because they say with directing, one for me, one for you. And I think the big example of that is Tim Burton. Tim Burton did the movie Alice in Wonderland. He did not want to direct that movie. He didn't direct the sequel. He didn't care. He did it just so they would fund Frankenweenie, which was one of his early projects. It was a one for me, one for you moment. So with me, there's some videos I really love covering when I get to do celebrity financials and movie financials and there's some cool stuff. But then there's other times where, yeah, it's not. It's like, it's like just a video. Like, like, like I mentioned you earlier, I did one about Haley Jo Osmond today about him getting arrested. And at the end of the video I said, hey, we all deserve to be forgiven. Like, and that was like kind of the message there. But then again, I like to sprinkle some stuff I'm interested in because, you know, he got paid 150k for 6th cents. Bruce Willis got 112 million. I think that's a fact that should be known because it shows how child actors, I think, are getting ripped off. So I think so, yeah, I am, I am happy with the work. But it could be better. I think that's. I like the application of the one for me, one for you thing to, you know, the Internet universe. And also a little bit about, like, life, you know, I mean, in general, if you want to pursue some kind of creative thing, you know, everyone has to make money and feed themselves. And it's like, you know, look, you go to your job, you do one for. Yeah, yeah. You give one up for capitalism, and then you do one for yourself. You know, it's. It's. You can do both. I think it's a lot of careers. My dad was a doctor, and one thing he told me was he loved doing surgeries. Surgeries is fun. Pretty much every surgeon loves surgery. They hate seeing 80 patients in one day, having them complain, getting the BS. But it's like a one for me, one for you. You do those days so you can do the days you like. Yep. Yeah. Maybe there's some interviews you don't love doing, but some videos do. Well, I'm having fun doing. I like being outside. This is cool, you know? Now I gotta ask you a question. Okay, go ahead. What's the craziest interview you've done so far? Craziest or craziest location? Craziest location I. I've done. I mean, I've done this in Thailand, I've done this in Japan. I've done this in Guatemala, Mexico. I want to do more of that stuff, but okay, you know, I don't know. Right now, right now I'm enjoying being in. In New York. That's pretty cool. It's a cool world we live in. What's your name again, brother? Charles Peral. Nice to meet you, Charles peral. What's your YouTube channel? I'm gonna check it out. My name, Charles Perro. Oh, you have a card. I'll give you my card. It's a car. I gotta get a car. I gotta get a gecko card. I can have my illustrator make you one of these. Okay. Oh, crap. Hold on. Here. Hold. Okay. Oh, I love this. It's a Pokemon. I'm going to show this to the camera. This is pretty cool. It's a po. It's a Pokemon business card. It's pretty sweet. Viral rush. The ability to make any topic viral and turn it into a million views. This is cool, man. Yeah, that's got a cool pole, boy. I'm known for, like, the YouTube polls, too, and now I'm wondering if people are going to watch that and start calling me because my own number's on it, but it's pretty cool. Charles, man, thanks for sitting out with me. Is there anything else you want to say to the people of the Computer. Computer before we go? 20, 25. We're 1/3 into the year. Enjoy the rest of the two thirds and have fun. Charles, nice to meet you, man. What's your name? My friend? Terrence. Terence. Pleasure. What's up with you, man? Do you have people in your life? Are you alone? Yeah, I got people right here. Just. That's great. Oh, these are homies as well. Yeah, homie. He's from Italy. Nice. Yeah, nice. And that's my girlfriend. These are her friends from Italy. Oh, cool. My friends. Are you from Italy? No, no, no. Just my girlfriend is. Oh, okay. Okay. I'm not that interesting. I'm from South Jersey, so. Nice. What's. What's got you here in New York City? Work. What do you do for work? Finance. Okay. Yeah. So they brought me a lot of money. You don't have to say if you don't want to. Actually, I make. Yeah, it's not bad. You know, it keeps. Keeps me in an apartment, you know. Nice. Yeah. What do you like about life? Possibility, Opportunity. Yeah, basically. Yeah. Doing. Trying to, you know, survive. Getting by. Nice. Art, I guess. Yeah. Art and culture. Great thing about life. I don't know if they can hear it on the microphones, but there's a guy over there playing the violin. Oh, yes. And it's very beautiful. Very talented. I wish I was a half as talented. You know, I want to say. I want to say something about. Because I actually. I do this a lot. Not to. I don't know why I'm making what you said into a whole thing, but I. I'm projecting right now. This is therapy. I'm projecting right now. But I'll, like, if I see somebody, like, doing something cool, I do. I do kind of have this, like, ego thing that I do. I bring everything back to me. Like, I'm like, oh, I wish I was that good, or, I wish I was this. I wish I was that. And I. I've been lately trying to catch myself and just be like. Just appreciate that this. This thing. That this is part of life. Yeah, that's part of it. Yeah. I guess. Yeah. Maybe I am selfish. Maybe. I think that's. I think I am. No, I don't have to steal bros, you know, talent. Like, I don't. Like. I don't know. You ever, like. You ever on Instagram or. Look at that, Doug. You ever on, like, Instagram or Like. Like, I'll go to a comedy club or whatever. I'll see someone perform something, and I'll be like, oh, that person's so good. I wish I was, like, this talented at something. And sometimes I. I try to knock myself in the head and be like, just appreciate that you lit. You can't. You can't be God. You can't be the best thing at everything and all things at all. There's a reason that there's more than one person creating the entire planet that we live in, you know? And that's what sucks. Like, damn, I can't be a violin player. I can't be, you know, a therapy ka. Like, I guess I'm just me just doing whatever I can do. That's pretty good. What is it. What is. What is being you? Music producing. Really? Okay, well, that's my passion, but, yeah. What. Who do you like in the music universe? Music universe. You got to say, like, Pharrell. MF Doom is kind of like. Everyone's like, back to MF Doom. Tribe Called Quest was like, my biggest. My biggest thing. Great picks. Yeah. De La Soul. I mean, I love. I grew up on, like, 90s rap, so, like, I love all those guys. Like, do you know. You know King Ghidorah? King Ghidorah. Yes, yes, yes. The JJ Doom and Victor Vaughn and all them. Yeah. I have. I have many memories of over 10 years ago. Smoking weed in a car parked on the side of the road in a random neighborhood. Listening to. Listening to King Ghidorah. Take me to your leader. The best great shit. The best times can't really beat that. What's your. What's your ultimate dream in life? Be a music producer. Yes. Yeah, for sure. Produce for some of my favorite artists. Meet. Just really meet some of my idols. Really? That's it. Who would you want to meet if you could meet anyone? Well, I could check you off the list. Okay. Hell, yeah. Like Dave Chappelle or Larry Bird. Not Larry Bird. Larry David. And then. Yeah. Pharrell. Or Q Tip. Did you. Did you. Is Q Tip alive? Yeah. Five dogs. Fife. Fife Dog. Don't quote me. I think he's the one that passed away. Yeah. What the hell was I gonna. Was I gonna say? Oh, I forget. I was about. It was about celebrities. Larry David or Dave Chappelle? Larry David. Dave Chappelle. Dave. Meeting people. Meeting people. My brain's not working right now. Why do I not know what I'm talking about? Comedy shows. Comedy show. Do you like comedy? Who do you like? Love comedy. Me and. Me and my girlfriend actually have a kind of an addiction of going to the Comedy Cellar, so. Oh, yeah. Who do you see at the Comedy Cellar? One of the biggest surprises was Andrew Schultz. Like, he just. Cool. He just pulled up. Cool. Randomly hit us with a couple jokes. We saw Apatow. Apatow. Oh, Judd Apatow was there? Yeah, yeah, yeah. When was he there? He put up randomly. Shoot. I'm asking, like, for validation. I didn't know he still did stand up. Yeah, he pulled up randomly, and I was kind of. Was this in the last five years? Yes, this was within the last year, I want to say. Yeah, no, that's cool. He's still doing stand up. And I started freaking out, and I tried to tap her, like, hey, that's. That's Judd Apatow. She's like, who's that? And I was like, oh, that dude. You get to a point where you're like, nobody knows who you know anymore. The door keeps revolving. Yeah. Yeah. You know, Nobody knows who you know. You don't know who anyone else knows. Yeah, I mean, you know, it's crazy. I mean, I was freaking out when I saw you, so she was like, who's that? How'd you and your girlfriend, you know, mate? High school. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Some pretty good high school life. Yeah. Just had a crush on her. Took me a while to get there, but we made it happen. Yeah. You seem like you're living a nice life. I'm doing all right. I'm trying to appreciate or count my blessings, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to do the same thing. This is a good place to do that, this park, New York. Yeah, yeah. Artist park. Yeah. A lot of stuff going on. This guy's killing it, like. Yeah. I wish I. I wish this camera was 360 degrees. Yeah. Just show off. I can't wish for a unicycle right now, but you can wish for whatever you want. I would love a unicycle right now. One of those guys right now. What's your name again? Terrence Terence. Is there anything else you want to say to the people, the computer, before we go? Yeah. Follow my music page. Skateboard T. Yeah, Skateboard T. Yes. Follow skateboard dude. Producer. Producer Life. Yeah. Thank you very much, Skateboard. See you around the universe, bro. How much this means? Oh, thanks, man. Thanks, man. Good luck on your dreams, my friends. You as well. Hi. What's your name? Oh, can you hold your. Yeah, there we go. My name's G. Yeah. Like, if Mike Tyson said gays. Gaith. Gaith. Oh, oh, okay. Okay. Got it. What's up, G? What's your actual name? My name is Lyle. Lyle, yeah. Nice to meet you, Gay. Nice meeting you formally. How's life? You look cool. I like this jewelry that. You look a lot cooler than me actually, but a little more confident. Oh, look at this King Kong. I'm look, I'm looking here. Look at the King Kong ring. Yeah, I actually just found it today. It's the first day I've worn it, first couple hours I've worn it, so. I'm glad you enjoy it. So, Gate. What's up? Tell me everything. Tell me nothing. What's. What do we. What do we. What do we do? Just what. What do we do? I'm looking. I'm at the park. I'm looking for answers, man. Do you have any answers? Answers or not? They don't have to be the answer. But what are your answers? Do you have answers? I'm basking the sun while we. I guess we don't really got as much. It's kind of cloudy out, but it seems like a really beautiful day. Everyone kind of knows what they're doing. They're all finding their time to just enjoy themselves. Yeah. That's why I like walking through parks like this. It's just doesn't seem like anyone's in a rush. You ever get freaked out how many people there are? Sometimes, yeah. Not like overwhelmed, but like the idea of how many variables of people there are so many variable. And it's weird because it's like you only get to be. There's 8 billion people. You only get to be one person. You only get. You get to be one of the 8 billion people. The more, the older I get, the more I'm like believing more and you know, like, you know, like somebody like be on ayahuasca and start talking about shit and you have no idea what they're talking about. Right. The more, the more I think about it, I'm like, those people are probably right. There is. God, there's got to be something underneath. They're delving into the. Yeah, yeah. They're delving in areas that people aren't used to. So I think that we usually. To think they're crazy. Yeah. But. Yeah, it's just all about perspective, isn't it? Yeah. Everybody's entire personality. Where you're born, where you see things. Do you know this word? I think. I don't know if I'm pronouncing it right. It's Solipsism. It's like the. The theory that. It's kind of a. It's a very egoful theory. It's like the idea that your consciousness, it. Like the whole world is. Just exists in your brain because your consciousness is the only verifiable one to you. So, like the idea that the world is a simulation for you, and that's the only thing that you can verify because, again, you can only physically exist in your own consciousness. It's kind of a spooky thing to think if you really get wrapped up in it. I don't know if it's the same thought, but. Or a school of thought, but someone was telling me about how they believe in the idea that the afterlife is what we deem it, in a sense that if you lived a life that was good or bad, you would know more than anyone. You would be your own judge. Yeah. And then your moments of death, no matter how long it would be, would be either heaven or hell for you. For what you deserve. You would know, like, your brain would go, this is where I'm going. I just have an idea. I know, I know. I'm going here. But is that true? Like, because. Is it because, like, classically, like, villains in, like, you know, movies or whatever, they think they're right. Good guy. Right. So, like, you could do, like a bunch of crazy stuff, and then when you're about to die, be like, on our way to heaven, baby. Life's gonna be awesome. I guess that's the idea. The whole part of the brain being the simulation. The. I guess they really truly believed it was their way. I mean, you could be a whole disgusting person, a vile person, and think you're the greatest person and wow. I guess you beat the system. Yeah. Kind of terrible thinking that way. I don't know, I think about. I think about evil. I. I don't know. I. I'm always getting fucking existential. But I've been thinking about good and differently because good and evil, you think are like, kind of like there is good people and evil people. But I do feel as though this sound. This sounds like it's like ayahuasca hippie, but it feels very, like, real to me that we are in, like, a collective consciousness. So any evil committed is evil committed by the fucking collective consciousness of humanity. And same with any good, you know, like we're all each other, that kind of shit. I mean, that's how I think when I'm, you know, in a. In a heady mood normally. I'm actually lately I've normally been in a heady mood, but, you know, I mean, then sometimes you're just, you're just, you're eating food and you're not thinking about anything. You're watching Roman. Really? I've been really into. I love watching. I watched a fucking hour long YouTube video that did a, A deep dive into the special features on all the different SpongeBob DVDs throughout the years. And I was like, this is awesome. I never want to think about death again. I want to watch a standout moment. I'm trying. Oh, there was a VHS tape called. I think it was a VHS tape called A Day in the life of SpongeBob. And I think it's like about a kid who hangs out with spongebob, but like, it's like Lost Media or whatever. So I was watching that. Like a human kid. Yeah, human kid on land. I think he goes under the sea, but it's a lot. It's lost. I didn't like the. No, no, no, you got the right idea. You got the right idea. What's your life like? I just moved out here about a month back. I visited a lot in the past, like five years. Cool. I was raised in a restaurant, so I want to be a chef. I am a chef. You're raised in a restaurant? Yeah. Like, like you grew up like. Yeah. Age five, cutting onions. Yeah. Like you, like you slept in the oven. Like you. I would sleep in the booths whenever I was a busy week. Yeah. My mom. I was a job before I worked. They would be like, oh, put a PlayStation and a little chair upstairs for him. He'll pass out and things. So cool. But yeah, I love food, I love creative things. What kind of restaurant was this? It was an Indian restaurant run by a Middle Eastern family because there was already a Middle Eastern restaurant in the area and they weren't allowing a double down. So. So my mom was like, I need to pay rent. And she picked up a Indian cookbook from the thrift store. Who are they? Like, it's. I'm from Kansas City and there's a like a river market, city market. And they don't want just like five of the same thing. So their idea was to cater or like curate a diverse. Oh, okay. So this was like, you know what Reading Terminal Market is it was that like that kind of vibe? I don't know. It's vibe is this like. Like, did you have. Was it like a booth or was it like a standalone restaurant? We had a standalone restaurant with a garage door that was always Open within a hallway and we had like a produce spot next to us within a hallway. So it's a restaurant as part of a complex of a bunch. Yeah, like a giant L shaped hallway with a big farmers market. You got the Amish people, all that people selling stuff on the outside and that. And you're in this restaurant, you're like whole life. Yeah, no, at least until since early elementary school. Well past graduating high school. It's. I just started like catering and doing my own thing outside of it. And it's always been a beautiful safety net of mine because it's a guaranteed job. But I feel like the safety net kind of became a hammock. I was just sitting. Oh, I've never heard that before. I like filming. Did you come up with that? I guess, yeah. That's the safety net becomes a hammock. Yeah, just like. I feel you just lay there too long. That's something that I would see on like a business success. Instagram. It's yours. That part out. Just say it again. So what was I going to say? So you cater stuff now? Yeah, more like fusion dining, quick events. When I would travel, I would sell T shirts and art prints and whatnot. And then I would also like the last time I did lamb birria, like Palestinian focused with like a fusion of like middle like Mexican birria. It was delicious. It was great. I had a great time. But lately more for friends. I've been trying to find work out here. Try to work somewhere that can learn. Like I was looking at just different restaurants, pizza spots, whatever. Something I can. Something different. So why'd you come here from Kansas City? I had a friend who was doing great for themselves that told me it was either this or Jordan. I was gonna go to Jordan and stay with family or I was gonna come out here, which I did. And I stayed with a friend and I. I'm lucky. I don't pay rent, I don't pay utilities. I just live here now and try to work. Yeah, cool. Is your friend cool with you just not paying rent and living with them? Yeah, they miss me immensely. They wanted me to come out like five years back and they just simply wanted. They're not the most social person. They're very friendly and amazing person, but they're a bit of a hermit. Dude, what a homie. Just being like, I'm lonely. Just live in my house. I'm very fortunate for them. That's awesome. How do you know this guy? It's actually a friend. I knew her. I knew her from Middle school. And we've been friends since. We were close in all types of ways. And after they moved out here, we just missed each other. And they gave me the option, yeah, this is like a. Like a romantic thing. It was briefly, but I'd say at least like 75% of our relationship was more platonic than it was romantic. It was one of those, why would you date your friend? Because you're both attractive and you like each other. It's not enough, you know? Is that not enough? I don't think it's enough. You like, I feel like not to comment on your life, but what you just said was fascinating to me. You're one of my best friends, and we're both physically attracted to each other and we like each other a lot. Not enough. What more do you need? We weren't compatible. It wasn't compatible emotionally, and it wasn't compatible where we were at the current moments in our lives. And because of that, now where we're at, we just. It doesn't work like that. Are you date. Are you dating around? I do date around. Yeah. I'm definitely a bit of a whore, but like. Okay, so being a bit of a whore, is it. Do you bring girls back to your place? Because I bet I was about to say that would be like, hey, I live in a complicated situation. I live rent free with Quasi X. Well, I don't even bring girls, but I don't bring that many homies back because they don't. Again, they're not social. They don't want random people they don't know, and they don't like being introduced to new people. They're very happy with stuff. But no, I. The idea of like, someone like in their spot is a little nutty to me. I would. I always tend to just like, either go to someone else's place or I'll get a room or I'll do something else, you know? Okay. But more often not. My dating situation is more back home out here. It's been more just meeting people hasn't been as flirty for. So you're telling me. So you were slutting it up around Kansas? Yeah, around Kansas City. It's a bit of a smaller pool. Let's go. I'm very curious. What the. What's the Kansas City dating scene like? How's it compared to New York? Cuz, cuz people. Cuz, you know, the whole New York dating scene thing is like this infinite people here. And so some people feel like that makes it a bad place to date. Some People makes it feel like it's a good place to date. How's that compared to Kansas City? KC has like five good spots once every other week that are like popping off that people can meet and hang out and do things. Oh, so you're not an app guy? I am. Oh, no, actually, no. App thinking don't work for me. I always. I'm so much better in person. I. I sound like a loser. I feel, I sound. It doesn't really like feel natural texting and messaging, but when I'm in front of somebody, it feels so much more genuine. But no, compared to kc, everybody knows everybody, literally. It's. It's like small town stuff. It's the biggest small town ever and it's a very small pool compared out here. I think out here you're actually going to meet someone unique. You're actually going to meet someone. The, the variables are all over. And it being a walk in city, you never know when the next corner might have someone you know might be next. Conversation. Interesting. So are you. Do you. Have you ever, like, seen someone that you thought was attractive on the street or at the park and just struck up a conversation with them? I tend to respond more than initiate because I feel like, I don't know, I feel weird approaching people too much in the city or in general. I don't want to bother. The most I'll do is say, hey, you're beautiful. Just wanted you to know that. And I'll leave it alone at that. And if it was meant to be, they might hit me up again. I don't even ask for, like information. There's. I remember when I was a kid, there's an episode of Drake and Josh. Do you know the one I'm about to talk about Drake and Josh, where like, they're at the movie theater and Josh goes up to this. Josh goes up to this girl and he's like, I like your shoes. Oh, is this with the deep voice? I think so. He goes up to her and he says, I like your shoes. And then she says, thanks. And. And then he walks away. And then she. I mean, obviously this is all a sitcom, so I don't know if this actually, this would not happen in real life. I don't think. Right. But he walks away and the girl goes up to. This is like someone's fantasy. They. They walk. The girl walks up to him and goes, you're not hitting on me. You're just gonna compliment my shoes and walk away. That's so cool. Let me get your number. Yeah, I Don't think that's gonna. That's not what I'm expecting at all. I think. I think it's more one of those things where I'm like. I feel like such a lame for not saying something too because I'm like, wow, that person. They elicited something that like made my heart flutter just briefly. I want them to know that even slightly. And yeah, I think that's the satisfaction just knowing that I made them smile, you know. Yeah, nice. But yeah, more often than not, someone is. My most flirtatious thing is a woman will go up to me and tell me they like me. And I will. Well, in general, like wherever in the world. Like it could be in the streets. It could be. It could be like more meeting friends and whatnot or random events. But yeah, if they show me they have some type of interest in me and I feel it back, then I will, like, I'll initiate it back. Tell me about Jordan. Like, what's. What's the city that you do you have. You hung out there a lot in your life? I got to go there. When in middle school and in high school and when I went the first time, it was meeting a bunch of people that I've never met before that look just like me and seeing the whole side of my father's family and completely, completely being shell shocked. But it was beautiful. I missed my. The cities would be like, man was the capital. Agabe is beautiful. It's on the ocean. Sea is a phenomenal thing to see. I didn't get to go see Petra Wadi Rum. But my favorite things about Jordan were my grandma's courtyard. She had a lemon tree and it was serene and I miss it immensely. She passed and that's not really something I experience anymore. I think it's more family than is Jordan. But it's, it's. I mean, you've traveled so much. I've been to. I've traveled a bit. Like I've been to Japan and whatnot and no use. It's really interesting to be into a whole complete different culture. It makes me feel like I'm space traveling. Makes me feel like I'm on a different planet. I love it. What? Fuck. I think I might hold on. This year. The sign is for those listening on audio. The sign just got fucked up. But that's fine. I might just get rid of this. Wait, hold on. I need to get a new one of these. It's this. That. That's good enough. What was I guessing? So would you. Are you planning. Are you planning on making any trips back to Jordan anytime soon, because it was between here and there. I'm. I'm fortunate enough my family has earned enough money and security in their lives that they're able to be like, hey, if you want to go, Jordan, we will buy your ticket. We want you to experience your culture and your family again. Cool. That's great. But, yeah, just this New York thing seemed a little more. The timing was a little more now. I mean, you got a good setup. Yeah. I'm like, how often I get a chance like that? A little summer and a little five months in New York and experience as much as I can compared to my family saying, my mother being the sweetheart she is, saying, whenever you want to go, I will let you go see her. My sisters. So you okay? But you moved here. You said. A month ago I moved here. I was born in America, and I moved here a month back. I used to travel all the time because I enjoy the city. But, yeah, I was just at a point in my life where, again, the whole handmaking, I wanted to just change the environment entirely, see what I could do. So Geef gave. Gay. Gay. What's your. What's. What's the dream? I kind of want to have, like, a Bob's Burger set up, but no family. Like, no kids, you know, Zane. Yeah. Well, I guess that's. That's because you grew up in the restaurant. Yeah. I want to be able to live above a restaurant, feed people and play the music I like and do the things I want to do while having my own space to curate. And then, you know, if a family happens, it happens. But the idea of closing up the shop and going upstairs and knocking out just sounds like a dream. It does sound like a dream. You know, Gaith, it was really nice talking to you, man. Is there anything else you want to say to the people at the computer before we go? Peace for my people, freedom for those who are oppressed. And honestly, I'm very happy to have a conversation with you. You're entertaining me on occasion. So surreal to have. Thanks, man. It's great to talk to you, too. This is a great interview. Thank you, man. Thank you. Have a good one. You too. Sup, Gekko? Hey, what's up? Hi. What's your name? I'm Julia. Julia. Nice to meet you. Are you Gecko? I'm. Am I Gecko? That's a loaded question. I am. I guess I am. Gekko. Congratulations. I'm really proud of you. Thank. Thank you. It didn't. It didn't take that much work, anyone could buy this costume on Amazon. No, this is you. This is the real you. Is this. Is this the real me? What's up? How's life? Tell me everything. Tell me nothing. Life is. Life is insane, bro. Figured my shit out. I was homeless for like eight months. I'm not anymore. Beautiful city of New York now. I'm a hardcore activist trying to help the people out here. Homeless for eight months. Do you want to talk about that? No. Okay. Things get better though. Can I ask how things got better? Determination. You have to get your. You have to get in your mind state that like anything is better than where you were before. Gotta keep moving forward. If you keep the aspects in your head, that's like, I deserve better, I want better. Things will get better for me. Then you keep pushing yourself to. Till you reach like a state in your mind where you're like this, this can. This can get better. And this will get better. And then things end up doing get better. Were you. Were you homeless here in New York? I was in New Jersey. Oh, okay. Figure stuff out. Got an apartment lined up for May 1st. Very nice. Very. Feeling good. Very nice. What was so like, if. I guess. I guess like. Like, let's say somebody's listening to this that maybe is like in. In a similar struggle or something like that. Like what. What is it that. That got. That got you out that, you know, you feel like other people could learn from. If you can't do it day by day, just take it minute by minute, hour by hour, minute by minute. Just keep breathing. You got to keep moving. That's all you need in times like these. Yeah, I like that. Time doesn't heal all wounds, but determination does. Oh, I like that. Do you have a. Do you have a gig? You have a job? You do? I'm a full time nanny right now, but I also do live music, photography, cool stuff like that. Cool. Yeah. Cool. Who was. Were you. Were you like crashing with friends? Oh, crap. Oh, shit. Someone's talking about creer. Believe in Jesus. Good Friday, fella. That's cool. Oh, today's good for stay. Good Friday. I think so is. When's Easter Sunday? This Sunday, Right? I don't know. Is it really Christians? Are you Christian? Are you Jewish? No, I'm just me. I like that. It's good. It's good to be you. Yeah. Let's see. Julie Julia. Yeah. What's. What, what's. What's. What's your dream in life, Julie? My goal, my dream in life is to just spread the energy Spread the positivity. We need it. Yeah, we need it so much. So much. Especially the way our world's going. Got these pins on my bag. Keep loving. Keep fighting. None of us are free until all of us are free. And our struggles are connected because they are. They really are. Struggles are connected. How so? How do you. How do you. How do you mean? When it. When it comes to the end of the day, everything dials down to the same thing. So the fact of the matter is, is that the patriarchy, the 1%, they're gonna keep getting richer, and we have to. Sure they will. And we have to understand that it's all of us against. Against the 1%. It's all of us together. We need to stop fighting each other. Well, I don't know. Okay, so I'm curious what you think about it, because here's the thing. It's like, I. There's nothing. Because, like, all right, like, I'll be on Reddit or whatever, and. And Reddit is like. Like, Reddit's like, here's this new thing. Elon Musk is doing all right. Fuck Elon. And I'm just like, well, yeah, but I'm just like. At a certain point, I'm just like, yeah, but what if I. You know, what can I. I'm not. What can I. What can you do? Yeah, keep talking. I've been. I don't have any on me right now, but the past few days, I've been passing around know your rights cards so people can know their rights if I swear to try and come down to them without a warrant. Elon, he's among money hungry. There's a child. He's among you hungry pig. Oh, that guy's got a Nintendo bag. See, that's what I do when the world gets. When I get to. When I get too freaked out about the world is I play video games. That's a way I go out and talk to people and also go out and talk to people. Going out and talk to people is fun. Do you have a lot of friends around the city? Not yet. Okay. Did you just, like. I've been here a month. Okay. How's your. How's your month here been? Oh, amazing. I've never. I came here for the first time yesterday. I'm like, fuck it, I'm coming back. The inspiration is incredible. I've never felt so much creativity in my life to just be me. It's great. Yeah. Have you been meeting a lot of people? Oh, yeah. Met some guy that works for, like, Vice magazine. Yesterday, just like, on a whim, I smoked a J with him. Was pretty cool. Smoking a J with a guy who works at Vice magazine is a very young New York thing to do. Yeah, I think so. So New York. Well, Julie, is there anything else you want to say to the people at the computer before we go? People on the computer. I care about you. I love you. You'll be okay. And you matter. Don't give up. Later, dude. Thank you so much. God bless. What's your name? I'm Sam. Sam, what's good? Nice to meet you. Like your. I like your outfit today. Oh, thanks. I like yours, man. What's. What's up? How's life? Oh, it's been okay. You know, like your cowboy hat shirt. It's not a cowboy. Was. Was this. Oh, no, I'm sorry. Not the shirt. The. I was going to burp the keychain. Oh, yeah? Yeah, my dad got this from Honduras. Nice. But how's life been treating you, man? How's life been treating me? I'm a big fan of yours, by the way. Thanks, man. Yeah, you can get. You've shown up occasionally. I'm on the Internet, you know, my phone. Thanks, man. Life. Life right now is good. I like being outside. It's nice, actually. Yeah, I need to get out more. Like, I feel like I. I coop myself up in, like, at my house or in, like, a room, bro, you can really loot today. I was like, I. I might have spent, like, two hours just, like, rechecking the social media refrigerator. And you go on Twitter and then you go on Instagram and you go on the. I'm only. I'm only on, like, Instagram, maybe Reddit, you know? Yeah, it's like. It's like an endless cycle. It's an endless, like, dopamine cycle killing your. My dreams. And I'm like, what am I. Yeah, I get some. I get some real dopamine. For once in. I'm like, wow, I forgot how good this feels. Yeah, it's not some fake shit. Yeah. Yeah. What's. What do you believe in? What do you think happens after we. We die? Yeah, I don't think anything happens. Yeah, we just kind of fizzle out, you know? So are you excited about that? Are you nervous? Yeah, I am. You know, hopefully I get to keep a couple, like, fragments of, like, my life on earth, but, like, if. Even if I don't, I mean, I'm not gonna exist, so what am I really gonna be thinking about? Nothing. I was hang. I was talking to my best Friend on the phone a few months ago because I was. They fucked. The sign. The signs. The signs fucked. I can hold. Oh yeah, we'll just hold it all. And I was talking, I was talking to him and I was like, yeah, I'm fucking depressed. And he was like, oh, really? You know, well, cuz I was depressed about. I was thinking I like death a lot. And he was like, well, the thing is, like death is a zero, but depression is negative. He was saying, that's a good observation. I thought that was fascinating. Like death is like a zero. Like you're not anything. You're not depressed. Like depression is worse than being dead. It's like the opposite of love is indifference, you know? Yeah, well, that's probably a bad thing to say actually. Why? That depression is worse than being dead. Oh, I mean, if there were right people, it'll be. To certain people. It'll be a bad idea to suggest, but. But I got. But it makes sense. Well, okay, no, hold on. I was. For those of us who are alive. I think it's a good point. It's an optimistic way of. When he said that, I was like, yeah, you're right. Why don't I. Why am I so afraid of death? Why? Like I'm afraid of death to. Here's what I was like, I'm afraid of death to the point where it's making me depressed. But then it's like the depression is. Make is worse than the fear. So just stop. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah. You know what I'm saying? You know, I guess you don't want to get a point where you're just so sad you don't feel anything, you know? Yeah, because then that would be like, what's the difference between that and death? Like, I don't know what makes you. What makes you. What makes me sad? I was gonna say the opposite. Not like achieving my dreams, you know? What are your dreams? One of my dreams. I want to be a jazz musician. Okay, cool. Yeah, I play the bass a little bit. Guitar, played the drums. You know, I kind of. Maybe I'm spreading myself a little too thin. But I'm hoping maybe one day I'll. I'll be there. I'll be somewhere, you know, performing some cool jazz music or just music. Would you ever busk? Like how these people. I was gonna mention that, actually. I've seen plenty of people. I don't know, maybe if I. Maybe if I like try, like shoot for the stars and don't make it, maybe I'll Just end up a busker. But I think I'd be content for that, you know? It looks fine. I mean, look, this guy, like, we're. I'm looking at. We're looking at a guy right now. He's just playing the violin. People like playing drums, you know, they like. They have. Some people don't even have instruments. They just bring like. Like egg shakers and stuff. Look, here's the thing. Whether you're this guy or you're playing in, like, the Manhattan Symphony Orchestra, you're doing the same thing. You're playing the fucking violin in front of people. That's. That's the whole point of music. The whole point of music, yeah. Even if I, like, play a show and there's like three people, I don't give a fuck. Yeah. I'm as long as. Hey, if they dig it. If they don't, then I'm doing it for myself at that point, you know? Do you play any video games? Yeah, occasionally. I used to be a big gamer when I was a young boy, you know, probably should have been focusing on the books, but, man, you know, I had a PS3 and. What else did I have? I had a GameCube, actually, when I was a little kid. I think it was a little. I don't think that was the right console for me at that time, but. What did you play on the gamecube? I had a Superman game that was really sick. Oh, yeah. There's this one level where you had to beat like you were on a timer. You had to save a damn from getting blown up. And that shit gave me really mad anxiety. I would always freak out on that level, and I never beat the game. Unfortunately. I think I'd be able to do it now, now that I'm older. But, you know, a lot of things were scary when I was a little kid, you know, like dams exploding and. And then you realize that a dam exploding is if. Well, depending on who you are, the responsibility that. I was supposed to be Superman. So, like. Yeah, like the dam exploding. If Superman let a dam blow up, that's kind of disappointing. You know, you expect him to be able to do it. Depending on who you are, the fear of a dam exploding is not going to be quite relevant to your life. That's true. But it was to me, because I was Superman. Being Superman probably sucks probably too. It's. I mean, I'm sure it's probably fulfilling, but he has the capacity to handle it. But if I was Superman, I would be freaking out every day, but. But that doesn't make sense. Because if you were Superman, you would have the capacity to handle it. Okay. Yeah, maybe. Maybe I just don't have the mindset to be Superman. Maybe that's why I'm not Superman. Well, I don't think anyone could be Superman because he's a fictional. Yeah, he's a fictional character. Character. He's also an alien. If he was really wouldn't be human. So do you like superheroes? Do I like superheroes? Yeah. What's your favorite superhero? Well, probably Spider man because he's relatable. He's just a kid. Right. So it's like you can see yourself being. I've been bit by bugs before, you know. And you didn't turn it. No, it just makes your skin red. Yeah, it just makes me really itchy, you know. It's unfortunate. What, were you bit by a gecko or something? Are you just a gecko? No, I just bought this on Amazon. He's about this Amazon. What's your name again? I'm. Is there anything else you want to say to the people at computer before we go? Sam, learn an instrument. Oh, it will make your life better, but that's about it. Thank you very much for talking to a gecko. Thanks for talking to me. Of course. I hope you achieve all your dreams. I hope you achieve all your dreams. I've already done it. I've achieved all my dreams. Achieve more than your dreams. Thank you. Thank you. Have a good one. Man. High five. It's tax season and by now. I know we're all a bit tired of numbers, but here's an important one you need to hear. $16.5 billion. That's how much money in refunds the IRS flagged for possible identity fraud last year. Here's another 20%. That's the overall increase in identity theft related to tax fraud in 2024 alone. But it's not all grim news. Here's a good number. 100 million. That's how many data points Lifelock monitors every second. If your identity is stolen, LifeLock's US based restoration specialists will fix it. Backed by another good number, the million dollar protection plan. In fact, restoration is guaranteed or your money back. 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If you're not absolutely in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping or restocking fees. Every penny back. Upgrade now@washablesofas.com Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. Does this podcast make you happy? Of course it does. That's why you're here. But it only comes out once a week for happiness. Every night. You need Adam and Eve. Yes, I'm talking about sex toys. It's cool. It's cool. You have earbuds in, right? Adam and Eve, America's most trusted source for adult products, has been making people very happy for over 50 years with thousands of toys for both men and women. Just go to AdamAndEve.com now and enter code IHEART for 50% off. Almost any one item plus free discreet shipping. That's AdamAndEve.com code IHEART for 50% OFF what is your name? My name Is Isabelle. What's yours? Isabelle. My name is Lyle. Nice to meet you. How's life? What's going on? Life is going great. Just got off of work right now. Okay. What do you do for work? Well, I'm a student at university and I also am a waitress and host. Oh, okay. Where do you. Where do you wait? Or I mean, not where do you waitress, but what kind? Well, what kind of food? Mexican restaurant. Okay. So I work around this area. Okay. It's a beautiful day outside. You know, I don't really have any problems. You don't need to have problem. Who told you you need to have problems? No one needs problems. Right. You don't need to have problems. You don't have. Oh, actually this is kind of. You don't have. Wait, hold on. You don't have any problems. I don't think anyone has no problem. I'm getting. Hold on, hold on. I'm getting rid of this sign. The sign's fucked dynamic. You were talking about how you have no problems. That's not exactly what I said. I was like, I don't have that many. I mean, finals are coming up. I just solved my biggest problem, which was unemployment. Great. Well, my. The old restaurant I used to work at, they decided to sell and gave us four day notice. Yeah. They told us on April 9th that we had four days to go find a new job because they were closing the store. Store, April 13th, so. But that's all figured out. We got a new job, we have money coming in the bank. I'm trying to keep my blessings and. Great. Be grateful. What about you? What about me? I am. I'm enjoying life in this very moment. You come out. Yeah. You come out to the park and you're like, oh, everyone's here. I feel like it's overstimulation central right now because there's just so much going on. We got skaters over there. We got like, people selling, like there's just everything. Everyone's here today because it's a nice day out. Also, the. Whenever the weather hits above 70 degrees, nobody knows how to act, so. Nobody knows how to act. Yeah. Wait, like, wait. When the weather. Hold on. When the weather hits above 70 degree, nobody knows how to act. Like. And what, what makes you feel that way? I don't know, Maybe just be. I don't know. People just tend to be a little bit louder. I'm not trying to say that as a bad thing. I'm trying to say that as, like, you know, everyone wants to enjoy the nice day out and they aren't very. They are less considerate than they were when it's colder out because everyone's trying to get home. Do you know what I mean? Well, this is, like. Okay, like, it is a very public park. I'm not saying nobody knows how to act. Everyone's very respectful here. But. But I guess the thing about, like, New York City is that, like, there almost is, like, there's very little expectation. Like, if some guy was just, like, on a. On a nice, quiet. Like, this isn't, like, a quiet park for, like, if some guy came through with, like, a giant, like, boom box and was just blasting music. That's pretty typical, actually. Yeah, it's like, so, you know, you look at it, you wouldn't bat an eye. It's. You're not gonna be like, oh, how rude. It's like we're. It's, you know, New York City. It's New York. Yeah. Yeah. But. But did you see someone where you were, like, that little. That's a little out of line. No, honestly, today everyone's being chill today. I honestly appreciate it. Thank you. We should keep it up. Just the, you know, being with your friends and keeping at a normal level. However, I did see some people pie each other in the face, and that was kind of funny, but they were a little scary. You where they scary, Were they clown people? No, they were just, like, p each other in the faces and, like, running around, but that was really it. That's none of my business, though. What's your name again? Isabelle. What's your dream? Isabel. What do you want to do with. With your fleeting existence in this universe? My sweet existence in this universe? Oh, sure. Well, if I said fleeting existence. But your sweet is better. Oh, okay. Well, I want to be a lawyer one day. Specifically with intellectual property, AI and cybersecurity law. Whoa. Okay. Do you know a lot about AI? I'm a computer science major, so yes. Oh, no. Okay. Are you scared or are you optimistic? Quite terrified with the way that job prospects are going right now and, like, the job market, but other than that, trying to stay positive because I do graduate next year. Oh, I guess I meant, like, it. Like, are you optimistic about the future because. Because we are on. I've talked about this before. Like, we're on, like, the chat. We're on the iPhone. One of chat GPT right now. Correct. And so it's only going to get crazier. I mean, people are right now writing, like, breakup letters through chat GPT. So, I mean, I. I don't. Something that happens to you really? To happen to me? No. At least I don't think so. Okay. I mean, I. It happened a few, like, acquaintances, I guess, but like, you were. What were you say, like the last thing you just said. Like, are you optimistic? Okay, because you study this stuff. Yes. And you study AI. Are. Do you. Are you afraid of what's happening? I am. I do think that a lot of people are using artificial intelligence in a way to benefit them and profit off of it rather than use it as a tool. Isn't that. But isn't that what we've been doing with technology for the profit off of it instead of using it as a tool? I mean, yeah, but, you know, there's a difference between profit and then capitalistic greed. At the point, like, you're using AI to replace like, like, what's one example? I'm being put on a spot right now. Let's say you're using AI to cut this part out. Because I'm thinking so hard right now. I'm better. Okay, I got it. We're leaving it in. Shut up. No, no, look, look, look. You got. Look, that's life. All right? Sometimes. Okay, you know what? Life can't go my way. It's fine. Artificial intelligence, when it comes down to, like, there's. You use so well, if you're using it for homework, it's one thing, but if you're using it for, like, to write off, I guess, Tara. For tax plans, that's something completely different. But I really can't think of a single, like, right now. My brain is so farted out. I'm so sorry. Otherwise, I'm promise I'm better at talking. All right? Do you think we'll eventually get to the point where, like. Because here's. Because here's the thing is, I don't like the new seasons of Family Guy. I think Family Guy used to be better. And I want. And when is chat. When is chat. GPT gonna be able to write Family Guy like they used to in the. In the, in the. I don't, you know, 2000 family guy could be recreated. I think those minds are brilliant and they cannot be recreated. Created by AI, unfortunately. But. But AI is going to get to a point where it can write better Family Guy than the Family Guy writers. Right? Because if. If it's not, then I guess, I mean, to each their own. Everyone has a different, like, opinion about, like, how about, like, Family Guy? Yeah. So if they think the most recent seasons are better than the old seasons, there's always going to be someone who thinks that there's also someone's going to think that the old seasons are better than new. But I personally think that AI cannot outdo the old ones. Do you use CHAT GPT a lot for stuff? I do use it to explain my calculus homework because my teachers aren't that great at explaining stuff. So yes, I do support using Chat GPT when you need stuff explained. However, maybe you shouldn't be writing your entire essays with it. Literacy skills are important. Oh my God. If I had. Dude, if I had Chat GPT in high school and college, I would use it for every. Now I would never, ever write an essay in my entire life. That is so fair. Yeah, that is so fair. Have you. Have you used it to write essays and. No, I've used it to write out my outline style. Okay, so I'll use. I'll take an outline that the Chat GPT has made and then base my essay off of that. The funny thing is, is that they say that there's like, software that you can run the through to like tell you if it's been AI generated, but there's no way that it can do that. It's all boof. It's all like, stupid as well. There's like this AI generator that you put the Declaration of Independence in and it said that there's AI. Yeah, right, right, right. So I don't think it's like, yeah, no, it is completely. Because there are some people who genuinely write their papers and then they get flagged for plagiarism with AI and they have to go, you know, talk to the deans about it, and then it revokes their students status if they found. If they're found, like guilty or whatever. It's kind of crazy because AI Checkers aren't even that great in first place because I can sound all professional and smart as I want on an essay. If I sound too professional or too smart, they're going to be like, oh, AI wrote this. What? But why not let AI do stuff that we don't want to do? Feel like then we'll just start getting lazier and lazier and lazier, you know, are we. Are we not already pretty lazy? Who? I mean, we. We order $30 burritos to our house. You order $30 burritos to my house. I do not. You've never. You've never ordered a $30 burrito. A $30 burrito is kind of insane. You've never. You've. Okay, look, we all know you've never. You've never Uber eats food before in your life. I've never said that. I said I'd never Uber eats the 30 burrito. If you've Uber eats anything, it's been $30. I use DoorDash. What did you do, dish? I haven't used that app in, like, honestly, two years because I needed to cut it out. Yeah, okay, but so if you use doordash at all for anything, like. Like, if you doordashed anything, it was probably $30. I mean, the most expensive thing that I doordash was a space heater to my apartment because I didn't want to go to Lowe's, and the Lowe's was too far from me, and that was more than $30. But I think it's kind of crazy to spend. I. Let me just. I live next to good restaurants, so, like, there's, like, so many, like, little mom and pop shops that are, like, up and down the street that I live from. It's. I can just walk. If you're a doordashing a space heater to your house, I don't think you can claim to be above door dashing a $30 burrito to your house. I am not. I am above that. Why are you spending $30 on a burrito? Why? Why. Why not just go by the space heater? The space heater was like, you see, Brooklyn trains suck. I would have to take the queue to downtown Brooklyn, and then I would have to take the R down to Sunset. Or what about someone who asked if they take a. I don't have a car. Nobody here has a car. I mean, they do. That's why they have streets. What's your name? What's your name again? Isabelle. How many times I asked you that? I'm not good with names. This is the third time. Isabelle, is there anything else you want to say to the people at the computer? Guys, I hope we all find jobs. It's rough out here. Isabelle, nice to meet you. God bless. See you around the universe. Apologize for nothing. See you around the universe, Isabelle. Hi. What's your name? I'm Lily. I'm Scarlet. And what's. What are you guys doing out on the town today? Oh, my God. Everything. I just saw you, and I had to come over. I was like, I know that guy, dude. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. John Cena to me. Really? Yes. I hold. I hold you all. I like the same regard as, like, Jack Black Tanner from Love on the spectrum. I like, have, like. Y'all are, like, my favorite. Who's. Who's Tanner from Love on the spectrum. He's just as tanner. I don't. I've never seen it. She's from Georgia. He's a wonderful man. He. Wonderful. He's like. Do you want to know everything? I like. I like donkeys. I love chickens. I don't like pigs. Is this you, or is this him? No, that's Tanner. Okay, what do you like kind of tanner a little bit. Okay. I like to listen. I like New York. I love New York. I love the city. Did you guys just move here three years? Yeah. So pretty new. What do you guys do here? You students? Yeah. What do we. What do we study? You go first. I study journalism. I'm child psych, so hopefully that's lucrative. I don't think it will be, but. Okay. What. What do you. What do you guys hope to do with. With your future? I would like to talk about culture, because my entire. The reason I hesitate so much on my major is. My major is communications and media studies and journalism and digital storytelling. Okay. But I say journalism, but I have to talk about culture. Okay. If I'm being completely honest, like, I totally don't want to go into psychology. If I could be anything, I would just, like, this is so stupid, but I would love to be rich. Like, no talents, no job. I just want, like, money to, like, travel. And, like, I want to be a fashionista. Like, that would be great. Or like, a socialite, but kind of Nepo babies. Yeah, exactly. Nepo babies. Like, really? You wouldn't get bored? I grew up, poor girl, so I feel like I would never get bored. Like, they've experienced things I've never experienced and probably won't ever. So the idea. Who's. Who's they? The rich. Like what? Like, traveling, bro. I can't just drop money and go to England. Sure. Like, I would like the, like, fake jobs they have. We're influencer. Well, influencer. And they're like, my job is to, like, try the Erewhon strawberry. I want that job. Yes. Or, like, take photos for, like, clothes. Yeah. Like, but, like, on your Instagram, so it's not even, like, good. Yeah. I mean, I. I have a fake, funny job. Yeah. Yeah, but yours is like. But you're better. Yeah. Yeah. You're out here. You got a gimmick. You got a gimmick. You got a thing. Like, it makes sense. Like, I'm just so tired of seeing, like, a blonde white girl be like, come with me to Pilates and New York City. I'm like, that's actually not what we Have. But the thing is, that's what I want. That's true. Yeah. Well, then why don't you do it? Why don't you do. Why don't you do. Come with me to Pilates in New York or whatever your version of that is? That's also, like, an issue. I'm just, like, so incredibly lazy that I'm like, I have to work for things, and it's just, like, I want to have fun. Like, life is always work, work, work all the time. I want to go out. I want to see things and see people and, like, do, like. I don't know. Yeah, I would be rich. That would be great. Like, to not have financial burden. Yeah. Like Pookie and Jet a little bit. Like, I don't agree. Who are Pookie and Jet? Oh, I'm just dropping all the people. Pookie and Jet are this Southern couple, and then Jet is kind of like, a little bit of a bad guy, unfortunately. Like, he works in dental insurance and, like, actively takes away people's dental insurance, but they're so happy, and they're like, we're going to Aspen for five. Well, how do we know these. Who are these people? How do we know them? Talk. Okay. Yeah. Are they rich? Very, Very. Why don't you guys do a Po. Pookie and Jet thing? Actually, yeah, I'm actually. We're actually going to steal their content. Do what I do your version of Pookie and Jet, you know, why don't you. Because, like. Well, I don't know. You could. You guys could be influencers. Why not? Oh, honestly, I was thinking about it, but I think I'm, like, too disliked to, like. I don't know. I feel like my. My. Too disliked? Yeah. Like, my personality is abrasive, I've heard. Or, like, polarizing is a good word. And I feel like you'd either really like me or really not like me on the Internet. But that. I mean, that. But isn't the Internet full of, like, abrasive personalities? Aren't the most famous people on the Internet people who, like, everyone hates? Yeah. What type of reputation. Reputation is that, though? I don't want to be like that. For who? H3. They're like a podcast that's always been kind of controversial. Idubbbz just did, like, a content cop. Oh, yeah, no, sure. I know. I was on the H3 podcast a couple times. Yeah? Yeah. Really nice in person. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm from Shout Out. My boy Cam. Oh, my God. I used to, like. I used to like watch the podcast and stuff. So yeah, I always was like should call me on. Let me on the. What would you talk about if you're on. If you're on there. I love the way he argues. Like I love the way H3 argues and like I just want to see if like I could outsmart him. Cuz sometimes like I watch just. Just poy things debate and that one got me like I hate her with every fiber of my being. I hate that woman. So seeing him absolutely destroy her like intellectually made me really happy. You guys use the Internet a lot? Media studies. Yeah, media. I'm bored. I love the Internet. I think it's great. Like what a fantastic thing that has been created. I don't know. Sometimes. I don't know, man. Sometimes by the. You know also that was out of pot because I also use the Internet a lot. I just don't know. I mean look, these people doing right now like we're. We're on the Internet. So. Yeah. Yeah, I guess that's true. But how joyous is like I think all we were born in 2004. You like being born in. We were right before like neither of us I believe were given iPads as babies. I had my DS and I was in it. What would you play on the ds? I played Mario. I played a lot of Pokemon. Pokemon, Sapphire and oh what was it? Cooking Mama. I played Monster High and that was great. Yeah, we did have different engine. Very different people. Are you guys gonna get the Switch two? Absolutely not. Thank you. What a money grab. I can't believe that like it is like 90 to buy like the game to teach you how to use like the Switch. I heard it is kind of funny that it's 90 to get the game. That's incredibly insane. But they look cool like the. The new Mario Kart does look sick. Where you can like drive. I do quite like I had. Wow. And multiple friendships. Start through playing Mario Kart. But like the little app. The little app. Uh huh. I was always bad at Mario Kart, so I literally don't play any Mario games. I'm a Sonic girl. Well, what's your guys's names again? I'm Lily. I'm Scarlet. Is there anything else you guys want to say to the people the computer before we go? Stay good and distrust the government. Play Mario Kart. Hey folks. This episode is sponsored by Chat GPT Plus. ChatGPT plus is free for college students now through May. That means you have no limits on how many ways you can prompt ChatGPT to help you through the worst part of the school year. There's many ways you can do this, like uploading your class notes and having ChatGPT quiz you on them, or asking ChatGPT to take a complicated concept and try to explain it to you in simpler terms to help you understand. You can even use it to help design a diet and exercise plan that optimizes your energy for studying. You can use the voice feature to practice interviewing for jobs post graduation. You can use it to practice a new language for a summer trip abroad. And hey, if if you get bored of studying, you can just start asking it weird questions like what's the meaning of life? Or how many popsicles do they eat in North Dakota every year? The possibilities are endless. ChatGPT plus free for college students through May restrictions apply. Time for a Sofa Upgrade Introducing Anabe Sofas where designer style meets budget friendly prices. Anabe brings you the ultimate in furniture innovation with a modular design that allows you to rearrange your space space effortlessly. Perfect for both small and large spaces, Annabe is the only machine washable sofa inside and out. Say goodbye to stains and messes with liquid and stain resistant fabrics that make cleaning easy. Liquids simply slide right off. Designed for custom comfort, our high resilience foam lets you choose between a sink in feel or a supportive memory foam blend. 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That includes our introductory five piece system, free gifts, free shipping and a 60 day money back guarantee. All that available@meaningfulbeauty.com. hello sir. What's your name? My name is Adam. What's your name? Adam. My name is Lyle. Hi, Lyle the Gecko. How's it going, Adam? How's life? Life is excellent. Really excellent. I'm so. Oh wait, Adam, can you be a favorite? Hold the mic like a little. Thank you, Adam. Got your. Life is excellent. I want you to know. So I. And I'm not saying I'm not blowing smoke up your ass, but looking at your face and the way that you say that life is excellent, I can tell that you're telling the truth. And that excites me because, you know, I don't know. Life is filled with lots of like uncertainty and fear and weirdness and so to look at someone's face and have them say that life is excellent, it fills me with a lot of joy. So I'm. Why is life excellent? Excellence. Tell me more. That's, that's a longer answer. But life, life is excellent. Life is fun. I'm having a great time. What's. What's having. What's causing you to have such a great time? What's that? Cause I mean, I see you have your family here. I'm sure that that's a big part of it. Huge, huge. I, I love my work, I love my family. I have a wonderful wife. I have a fun life. Tell me, what's your, what do you do for work? I own a guitar company. Cool. How long you been doing that? About 30 years. And it's been exciting for all. 30 years. That. Exactly. Wow. Wow. What is it that Makes it so exciting. That's an interesting question. Why is it exciting? I get to do what I love first. I work with a lot of exciting people, a lot of guitar players that are fun to be around and exciting to work with. So I enjoy what I do every day. I've never once gotten up and said, oh, I got to go to work today. Wow. I love it. Has that been your whole life? No. Okay, tell me about before. Well, that wasn't as much fun, and that wasn't as excellent. You have to go through that till you figure out where you want to be. That's what I want to hear is. I want to hear about when it wasn't so excellent and then how it became excellent. That's not a good story. What do you mean? That's not a good. That's a great story. What do you mean? That's not. That's a wonderful story. That's the story I want to hear. Everything is great all the time. That's not a good story. Everything wasn't so great. And then it becomes pretty amazed by that, though, because no one else says that. No one else does say that. Right. You were amazed by that. So stay with. Stay with the good part. Okay. Because the. The boring prequel to Amazing. Yeah. Was the same as everyone else's story was terrible. And then how did it become not terrible? I decided it was time for it not to be terrible. Was there something. Was there something that happened, or did you wake up one day or what. How. What made you decide for it? I don't want this to be terrible anymore. I decided that I wanted to do something I love every day. And then I decided who I wanted to be with. That's when I met my wife. And you put those two together, and that's when it became amazing. When did you meet your wife? About five years ago. Four or five years ago. How'd you guys meet? She's a photographer shooting pictures for me of guitars. Cool. Yeah. That's how we met. And how old. How old is your son? That. That's the grandson. Oh. Oh, that's your grandson? You believe that? Can you believe that's my. Wow. That's the grandson. Wow, that's awesome. How. How. How old are you? So how many kids do you have? She has two girls, and I have two girls. Those are her two girls. Cool. Cool, man. Yeah. Wow. 23 and 20. Wow. 23 today. And are those. Are those 24 today? 23. You're 24 today. Oh. Happy birthday. And so the. Are these your wife's kids or your kids? Those were her kids. Cool, man. What are your kids up to? My kid, I have two girls, too. One's a psychologist, one is a flight attendant. Wow. Everyone's happy. All good kids. Good fun. We do what we love and we're here. Can I. So if I. Can I. Can I ask you some questions? I'm. I'm curious if you're willing to answer. So you said things before, like, you seem. Correct me if I'm wrong, but as I'm interviewing you, it seems as though one could separate your life into distinctly. Like when things you say were terrible. When things you say were great. Not terrible, but not as good. Can I ask how old you were when you felt like things started to become good? There was always pieces of good things, but I never had the whole package until recently. Until recently? Yeah. What was it about recently where you're like, I have the whole package? I thought when I got remarried and the business was already going, that was good. That was only half of the package. Only, you know, it's not enough. Well, I like hearing these stories because a lot of people think that, like, oh, if, you know, I don't have this by a certain age, or this isn't, or, you know, you know, you break up with your first significant other and you're like, I'll never find love again. This will never happen again. This will never happen again. I'm dying, you know, whatever. And then, yeah, that's not true. So it's cool to hear stories of that not being true. How did you end up in Washington Square park as a gecko, asking questions? Well, today, how I ended up as a gecko in Washington Square park asking questions is I wanted to get out of the house, but. Right. I mean, I've been doing this for like 5 years, just being a lizard and talking to folks. Why a lizard? What. What was it about a lizard that made you go in that direction? I just had the costume, so it could have been anything. Could have been anything. Could have been like a giraffe. Yeah, I kind of fell into this, weirdly enough. And how is it, the lizard business? Asking questions. It's. You seem to enjoy it. Cuz I do think this is enjoyable. This is enjoyable. It's not. I'm. I'm out. I'm in light. I'm in real life. I meet people I would have never met before. Right. And what do you do with the content? YouTube. I put it on YouTube. I put it on tick tock. How is the YouTube and tick tock Business for you. It's good. It's nice, it's fun. It's good to be. I mean, I do. I do this version of it and then I do a version of it where I talk to people on the phone. You know, this version's fun because I get to be face to face with people. It's interesting. So how many followers do you have on the. On your platforms? Several. Several. Several. More than. More than a hundred? More than. Less than. Less than. Less than a billion? More than a hundred. Okay. What's your guitar company? Fu Tone. Fu Tone. Do you play? Yeah. You have to. Are you in a band? No. Okay. But I. I have to play. You haven't stopped smiling since you sat down. I'm a happy guy. You wake up like this. Yeah. Go through your life really? Wow. This. This is. This is cool, man. It's cool. It's cool seeing someone enjoy their life so much. Most people miserable. Do you think most people are miserable? Yeah. Or most people not. Maybe not miserable. Unhappy. Why do you think most people are unhappy? Just my experience in dealing with people. Most people are unhappy that I come across. What about. Okay, so you're in the. Let me ask you this. Yeah. You're in the music industry. I bet you meet a lot of hot shots. You meet a lot of, I'm sure, like rich artists people or whatever. Do they seem happy or do you think, like, what do you think the correlation is? Believe it or not, it doesn't equate to happiness. Okay. Super famous, super rich, anything you want. Some pretty unhappy. Why do you think that is? Because the truth is that money doesn't buy happiness, which is what we were just talking about. But it does give you freedom to pursue your happiness. Of course. Yeah, of course. Big difference. I agree. It gives you the freedom to pursue things, but it's completely in and of itself. Pursue your happiness, though. Sure. If all. If all things were said, if you had whatever amount of money it is that you think would make you happy, that you didn't have to do anything, what would you do with the money? I think. I think it. I think it can free you from a lot of misery. Do, though. If you had it. So. Right. So everyone has a number. I have a number. You have a number. If. If you had that number, would you be out here interviewing me? I think I would, yeah. That's a great answer. Yeah. Because I always tell my wife, if I hit the. The mega millions. Yeah. And if I. If I hit the hundred million dollars, all I would do is build a Bigger guitar company. Because you like doing it? Yeah, yeah. And just do it bigger. Yeah. And that's it. So I do what I love because I love it, but I would still do it if I didn't have to do it. Most people have to go where they go every day, and if they had a choice, they wouldn't. One day I made a choice and said, I'm going to pursue what makes me happy instead of what makes me the most money. And because when I made that move, I was making a lot more money to risk it all for. For next to no money. And those first few years when you were building the guitar company and making much less money than you were making, what was that like? And sometimes no money, what was that like? Scary at times, but I was happy every day. Really? Yep. Where was that? Is this all in New York City? No, right outside of Philadelphia. Oh, cool. Cool. How long did it take you before you started, like, making money and feeling like, okay, this is a stable thing? That's a good question, too. I don't know. It wasn't. It wasn't horribly long, but it wasn't an overnight thing either. It's. It's a long road and it wasn't a straight line. I was all over the place. Do you feel like. What's your sense of peace been like throughout your life? Do you feel like you've been peaceful for most of your life, or is your piece a recent thing? Completely not recent. You seem. You seem extremely at peace. I am. And that's recent. Five years. Wow. Out of. Out of my entire life, that's not a lot of time. No. Now I have to live a very long time to get even. Can I ask you how old you are? 58. 58. I'll be 58 this year. 57. And in the past five years is when you've felt the most pace. Five, six years. That's really cool. That's right. I'm very. I'm very. I like, on a personal level, I'm very inspired by that. That's great. Yeah. This was worthwhile. If you're inspired and feel good. Yeah. Be happy every day. But, like, have you found pockets of peace throughout your life? Yes. What gave you those pockets of peace? I would say small pieces of the puzzle that I have now, just in smaller doses and as not, is not a concentrated level. So the moments of happiness, moments of good things, you know, not constant. Now it's just. Now it's concentrated. Because of. Because of your family? Yeah, because of everything. But it's Everything. Yeah. My wife, my family, my business, and my friends. I have a nice little balance circle. And it took you until it took you a lifetime to get to figure it out. To figure it out. And I didn't figure it out before, and there was times I was very young where I actually made a lot of money at a very young age and was miserable because. Why, why were you so miserable during the. That time? I was young and maybe not clear on what happiness was. I thought money was happiness. And it's like a band aid. It's almost like a drug fix. It's just short term happiness. So you finally get it, or you buy something you wanted, or you do something you want, then it's over. Wasn't true happiness, it was just stuff. Let's say if somebody's looking for peace out there, what would you tell them? I don't know if I'm the best person to give advice, but. Well, look, you're peaceful in this very moment, and so I declare that to mean that you would be good at giving that advice. My advice would be do something you love every day to start. And if you're not doing something that you love or you're passionate about, you're. You're on the wrong path if you want to be happy. I got, I got this question for you. How'd you know you were ready to become a father? How do I know? That's also an interesting question. I was 26 when my first daughter was born. And I knew that I wanted to be a young father. Really? And I was. So it was great. How'd you know you wanted to be a young father? That's a deep question. Because I had such a shitty father, so I thought I could do a better job and I wanted to prove it, and I did. That's awesome, man. Was it hard being a young father? Because I'm. I'm. I'm 27 now, right. And I, I. You have little geckos. No, no, I don't have kids, but I want. I don't have. I don't have kids. But like, when I imagine I don't have kids, but when I imagine, like, you know, my. The latter half of my life, I imagine wanting to have a family, but I'm like, I don't know if I, like, if I fight a kid right now, I think that kid would be fucked, you know? Why? I don't know. Just because it's like I don't feel. I don't feel ready right now, but I'm like, responsible gekko. I think, like, right now, like, my. Right now, I'm, like, wrapped up in, like, my own life and figuring out myself that, like, if you handed me a baby, I'd be like, oh, you know, I don't know. You don't want to be too old. You don't want to be there. Did you have any friends when you were younger that had the old dad? Like, it was like an old guy, like an old man. I mean, my parents are in their, like, late 60s. 60s. So they were. My dad, 30s. Yeah. My dad. My parents had me when they were, like, mid, late 30s. Yeah, that's on the. That's on the. The back end of, I think of having kids. Interesting. You know, you want to be able to be the dad down on your hands and knees. Yeah. Playing with the kids. Yeah, I was just playing on the monkey bars with the grandson. I still love it. Yeah. That's awesome, man. But was It. Was. It must have been hard at 26? No, no, no, it was. It was. I considered an accomplishment, and I enjoyed it. That's awesome. And when I look back on it, I don't regret that at all. I set out for that. I got that, and I think it was good. Do you regret anything? I regret lots of things. Tons of things I regret, but I wouldn't give that up. I can't give it up. I'm just happy now. It's great. Look at my wife smile. Like, okay, she's happy, too. Are we happy every day? I tell her every day. We got. No, no. His wife. His wife just said. For people who can't hear, his wife just said, tell him about win the day. Win the day. What's win the day become? My motto years ago. My. My one daughter is heavy into it with me, too. At the end of every day, I keep score to see if I won the day. And what do I mean by winning the day? What do you mean by winning the day? Was I happy that day? Did I have a good day? Do I. Did I feel good about myself? Did I accomplish things I wanted to accomplish and was I happy? As opposed to losing a day where at the end of the day, you're miserable, you're regretful, you're like, today sucked. I don't want to do this again. And it has nothing to do with money because there's been plenty of days where I make great money, where I lost the day where I was unhappy, but I made a lot of money, I was unhappy. And there's been plenty of days where I've Lost money and. Or made no money and been happy with myself, my relationships in my day. And at the end of the day, I say to myself every night, did I win today? And most days now, I say, yeah, I won today. My goal is to die with a winning record where you won more days than you lost. Right? I'm still behind. Still behind. Oh, way behind. But I'm on a major win streak. I'm on a great dynasty type win streak, but I've got years to go to break even. Too many years wasted on the wrong people, the wrong things, the wrong ideas, wasted time. You know what I'm talking about? Yeah. Yeah. You know exactly what I'm talking about, man. Talking to the gecko, you know? That's awesome. That's awesome. What's your name again, man? Adam. Adam, a great pleasure to meet you, man. It was a pleasure. Where can I see this? It's on YouTube.com Lyle Forever. Lyle Forever. Is there anything else you want to say to the people of the computer before we go, Adam? This was a great experience talking to Lyle the Gecko. I had a blast here in New York today with my wife, having fun. Happy birthday to Maddie. We're having a blast. This was great. And if one person got a positive message from me, I'm glad I stopped. I got a positive message for you. So you got the one person. We won the day. We won the day. Nice to meet you, Adam. See ya. Thank you very much, ma'am. Whoo. That was awesome. This was a great Gekko session. This was a lot of fun, folks. Just goes to show if you're fucking feeling insane in your house, just go outside, try to talk to people. You'll feel better. I'm saying that from my personal experience, it was great talking to that guy, cuz I don't know if you listen to the podcast. You know that I've been talking about all kinds of existential crazy bullshit, but isn't it so cool? Does it give you so much hope when you meet someone who's like, I. I fucking kept fighting for my fucking peace and I eventually found. It took until he was goddamn 53 years old, but he found the piece. I don't know. It's cool, man. It's cool. It just makes you want to not give up on finding peace. So that was cool. Shout out, Adam. Shout out, New York. Thank you guys for watching on YouTube or listening on the. On the podcast. My name is Lyle. I am a gecko, and I will. I will see you all around the universe. Maybe at some point in the future. GEK bless. See you around. Thanks for listening. Hey folks. This episode is sponsored by ChatGPT Plus. ChatGPT plus is free for college students now through May. That means you have no limits on how many ways you can prompt ChatGPT to help you through the worst part of the school year. There's many ways you can do this, like uploading your class notes and having ChatGPT quiz you on them, or asking ChatGPT to take a complicated concept and try to explain it to you in simpler terms to help you understand chatgpt Free for college students through May. Restrictions Apply there's nothing like sinking into luxury. Annabe sofas combine ultimate comfort and design at an affordable price. Annabe has designed the only fully machine washable sofa from top to bottom. 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