275. Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino Part 2: Life after Prison, Staying Sober, and Opening Archangel Centers, How He’s Rebuilt His Life and Proving the Comeback is Greater Than the Setback Episode Description:

Summary

Trading Secrets: Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino Part 2 – Life After Prison, Staying Sober, and Rebuilding (Ep. 275)

Podcast: Trading Secrets
Host: Jason Tartick (Jay), with co-host David
Guest: Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino
Date: January 26, 2026
Episode Focus: Mike’s comeback story post-prison, sobriety, financial rebuild, Archangel Centers, and lessons learned

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Episode Overview

In this gripping follow-up, Jason Tartick welcomes back Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino for part two. The conversation dives deep into Mike's life after prison: how he rebuilt his finances and career, his unwavering commitment to sobriety, opening Archangel Centers for addiction recovery, and the guiding principles that have enabled his comeback. Raw, vulnerable, and loaded with practical advice on life, love, and money, this episode is a testament to resilience and redemption.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Life After Prison: Financial and Career Rebuild

• Rebuilding from Scratch

  • Mike candidly shares that after his prison release, he had "really didn't have much" and was "in the rebuilding process" ([07:06]).
  • Fortunate that MTV followed his story during and after prison—continuing Jersey Shore meant steady work and increasing pay.
  • “My success can be carefully mapped from my sobriety. My 10 years sobriety is pretty much saying I have 10 years of amazing decisions.” — Mike ([07:37])

• Transparency in Love and Money

  • Mike and his wife Lauren (college sweethearts) have no prenup and share complete transparency.
  • “She has all of my passwords for all of my social media... Life is so much easier when you’re not trying to hide anything.” — Mike ([09:01])

• Financial Lessons from the First Rise and Fall

  • Early career included a lot of untracked cash from bar appearances ($30k–$50k per gig); not realizing tax and legal obligations contributed to later legal troubles ([10:33]).
  • Be proactive: “The first thing I did [post-reality show] was get an accountant. Because I saw what happened to you.” — Jay, referencing learning from Mike’s mistakes ([10:01]).

• Earnings Then vs. Now

  • Recent years: six figures per episode for Jersey Shore: Family Vacation; with ~30+ episodes/year, checks keep rolling in ([12:51]).
  • “We eventually fought for six figures an episode. Okay? And that is where you want to be.” — Mike ([12:51])

Entrepreneurship and Giving Back: Archangel Centers & More

• Founding Archangel Centers

  • Inspired after prison, Mike wanted to dedicate his influence toward helping others plagued by addiction ([14:18]).
  • “Maybe one day I’ll have the resources and the influence to have my own center to help people write their comeback story. And here we are.” — Mike ([14:18])
  • Archangel Centers: first opened in Tinton Falls, NJ, with a second launching soon in Princeton, NJ. Mike is present daily and finds the work the “most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.” ([15:15])

• Vision and Impact

  • Goal is to expand Archangel Centers nationally and globally, using his celebrity status for positive influence.
    • “With great power comes great responsibility. And now I’m using that love to help people and save lives… I feel like I can't lose.” — Mike ([16:10])

• Book “Reality Check”

  • Memoir sold over seven figures, rare even among celebrities ([16:58]).
  • Plans for a documentary with ITV — creators of Love Island — in the works: “We’re trying to take what’s on those pages and bring it to life because…the stories in that book…It’s like The Wolf of Wall Street with a better ending.” — Mike ([17:28])

• Other Ventures

  • Bang Cookies: Organic cookie company with growing locations across the U.S. “It’s all about cookies and comebacks right now.” ([17:54])

Managing Finances Today & Lessons Learned

• Team and Delegation

  • Now employs a deep financial team: accountant, lawyer, publicist, manager, financial advisor ([20:21]).
  • Mike intentionally stays out of day-to-day money handling due to legal PTSD: “I haven’t stepped foot in a bank in 10 years.” ([20:35])

• On Transparency and Lawsuits

  • “It’s very, very hard to sue someone that walks around…with accountability, transparency, honor, and integrity. I keep my side of the street clean.” ([21:26])

Sobriety as a Superpower & Rock-Bottom Moment

• Guiding Principles for Life and Business

  • “The honor, integrity, transparency and accountability. And that’s a foreign language for people not living right.” ([22:39])
  • Mike’s sobriety is the foundation for every decision and relationship — personal and professional.

• Most Powerful Moment – The Realization & Turning Point

  • [24:16] Mike details his lowest point: financially and emotionally decimated, contemplating trying heroin for the first time.
  • “And as I did that, my phone rang. It was my mom. On one hand I had the heroin, which was the devil, and on the other hand was an angel. It was my mother…That’s when it really hit me. This is a come-to-God moment. Someone is trying to speak to me.” ([24:22])
  • Mike went on to flush the drugs, admitted his problem, and went into rehab the next day. “Long story short, I’m now 10 years clean and sober and I own my own centers now.” ([28:13])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Success Post-Prison & Sobriety
  “My success can be carefully mapped from my sobriety. My 10 years of sobriety is pretty much saying that I have 10 years of amazing decisions…Let go and let God handle the rest. And that is my superpower.” — Mike ([07:37])

• On Love, Marriage, and Money
  “If you carry [accountability, transparency, integrity, honor] in business, in marriage, in friendship, you’re going to be very, very successful.” — Mike ([08:18])

  “Life is so much easier when you’re not trying to hide anything.” ([09:23])

• On Building Back
  “I walk around like I have no money, and I’m hustling all day long to get another deal.” — Mike ([20:50])

• On Giving Back and Purpose
  “Now I’m using that love to help people and to save lives. It’s just, I feel like I’m walking in my purpose right now. And I just feel like I can’t lose.” ([16:10])

• On Hitting Rock Bottom
  “I had a come-to-God moment in 2015. My lawyers had informed me I’d spent $1 million on their fees and they were leaving me…$600,000 on drugs. The landlord sent [an eviction] letter... I had let my dreams slip through my fingers due to decision indecision, and I was just depressed and in a really bad spot.” ([24:22])

  “...I just said, you know what, I gotta listen to the Almighty. Someone’s trying to save me. And so...I flushed the drugs down the toilet...I told my pre trial officer...I have a problem. I went into rehab the next day...I’m now 10 years clean and sober and I own my own centers now.” ([28:13])

• Trading Secret Takeaway
  “My superpower is my sobriety. Because of my sobriety I carry around these principles…in love, in money, in business: honor, integrity, transparency and accountability.” ([22:39])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [07:06] – Life right after prison: rebuilding, sobriety, and renewed MTV deal
• [08:18] – Love, marriage, and financial transparency
• [10:33–10:45] – The reality of cash flows as a reality star and crucial early tax mistakes
• [12:51] – Comparing current earnings to Jersey Shore’s peak
• [14:14] – The creation and vision for Archangel Centers
• [16:58] – Book sales success and planned documentary
• [17:54] – Bang Cookies and entrepreneurship
• [20:21] – Assembling a professional financial team
• [20:35] – Avoiding direct money handling after legal trauma
• [22:39] – Trading Secret: Sobriety and four guiding principles
• [24:16] – Mike’s lowest moment: the near-miss with heroin, pivotal family intervention, and entry into recovery
• [28:13] – Ten years sober; using his story to inspire and help others

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Tone and Takeaways

Mike is candid, self-reflective, and energetic, blending humility with pride in his transformation. The episode is both inspirational — “The comeback is always greater than the setback” ([24:13]) — and actionable, laying out practical lessons on sobriety, transparency, business, and the long road back from the brink.

Final takeaway:
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino’s story is one of vulnerability, courage, and relentless honesty. His journey from fame to rock bottom and back, grounded in sobriety and service to others, makes his comeback a blueprint for anyone seeking redemption and purpose.

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Where to Find More

• Mike the Situation:

  • Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok: @mikethesituation
  • ArchangelCenters.com — for treatment info

• Book: “Reality Check: How I Overcame Addiction, Loss in Prison” — available wherever books are sold

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Next Episode Preview:
Upcoming guests include Amanda Batula, Jesse Solomon, and insights from Netflix execs and more. February 17th: special JTA episode anticipated!

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“Peace is being in the present, anxiety’s in the future. Let’s go.” — Jay ([52:56])

Transcript

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Foreign.

[Jay]

Welcome back to another episode of Trading Secrets. This is part two with the one, the only Mic the situation. I gotta say, we have had more compliments on this episode than I can remember in a long time. And please remember to give us a review on Apple and Spotify. Five stars. Give us a review and a guest and or theme you want us to think about as we come into these upcoming weeks. And I have some things to give away, some sweet merch. Now in December, we gave gift cards away. All those have been shipped out. So we got the goods to be given away. Give us five stars, David, before we get into this episode, how's life? How you feeling?

[David]

Well, life's great. We're in the middle of the storm of the century. It feels like it's going to hit differently for, for where you are listening to this. If you're in beautiful California, if you're in beautiful southern Florida, you're laughing at us right now. Us, Us, people in the storm. Maybe it's the Mike situation episodes that just bring a little chaos to the intro and recaps. You were boarding a plane live, recapping last time. This time I can't even see you. You're in the dark. How's it going for you over there in Nashville?

[Jay]

I'm freezing my ass off. You know, I was chirping. My mom, she was acting like, this is not a drill. Life is over. Get ready, get pre. And it snowed like 2 inches here. I'm like, this is a joke. The problem is that the weather kept changing. So the snow melted. And then it got really cold and it was a frozen tundra, so the power lines completely froze. This morning. Driving around, all the trees froze. And then the weight of the ice on the trees had them collapsing. So, David, this morning, it sounded like everywhere outside it was like this, like, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. And it was all these trees literally, like exploding and falling over. So we're here. Catherine right now is in a dog bed by the fireplace warming up. Teddy loves the cold, so he's thriving. Moose does not like the cold, so he's not thriving. But it's cold, man. I'm. I'm like. I mean, you think about all the things that you need power for, for. For cooking, hot water to shower like your chargers. I mean, it's. It's cold. It's going to be a battle to get through this night.

[David]

It's one of those things. Power went out for me like a month ago. It was for like two and a half hours. I thought to quote Jim Carrey, my pet's heads were falling off. I didn't know what to do. And the amount of times I'd walk into room knowing the powers on and flip the light switch and it not work. It's like, oh, yeah, you idiot. You need power for that. You need power for this. Oh, the food's gonna go bad. There's no power in the fridge. Oh, I can't. It's like, oh, hot water. It's just like ridiculous. So we are very dependent people on power. I hope you get it back very soon up here in western New York, Jay. I'll just say it's almost like the Benefactor is like, it's really, really, really cold here. But that just means we only just get snow. We're not dealing with the rain, we're not dealing with the ice. We're just getting a lot of snow. I've shoveled the driveway a couple times, get my steps in, and it's just, it's business as usual a little bit around here, so.

[Jay]

That's nice. That's nice. Hey, while you're in this like little snowstorm phase, is there anything you're doing? You watching any shows? Anything exciting going on in the world?

[David]

No, we, we're doing very. Some very non exciting things. We are going like, what do you guys like?

[Jay]

The, the, you know what, you're snowed in. What are you doing?

[David]

Ash is in this weird, like, I think she's buying a little. The hysteria of like the, like, it's a snowstorm and like power's gonna go out. She has like lanterns. Like, she's praying the power goes out so that she can like, put these arts and like, she's lantern. She has candles. She has.

[Jay]

I could use a lantern so bad right now.

[David]

Was buying these snacks. She's like, well, the power goes out, we gotta eat. I'm like, yeah, we don't need 44 slim Jims from the dollar store.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Like, we're.

[David]

We're go be okay. So that's a little bit about that. But we're taking a little bit of quiet time today and tomorrow because school's already canceled for tomorrow. So we're going to stay home from work. We're. We're doing weird things. We're like going through all the old folders of important paperwork and cat like getting our birth certificates and social securities and our tax. Like, we're doing some weird stuff like that. We're trying to clean through some storage and stuff, so.

[Jay]

Oh, that's crazy. Well, we're, we Just watched the show. I feel like that was kind of normal, his and hers, right? Really good show. Okay, we need Netflix, number one trending show right now. It's, it's, it's, it's really good. It's a crime, it's a thriller. It keeps you on your toes. The other one that we went to the red carpet premiere for was the Rip. That was with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. That was really interesting. I heard Matt Damon do an interview. He was saying that so many people are on their phones these days while watching a movie that they now have to re. Explain the plot four or five times in a script. He, like, so he would read his script. He's like, why do we bring this up again? They're like, well, the attention span of the consumer is so low right now. We have to continue to reestablish the plot. Isn't that crazy?

[David]

It's disgusting. And it might be really hard for someone like that who's like, life is in the film industry. And it's like, I'm really. It's like I got to cater it to, to. To these people now. These people who can't even lock in for two hours.

[Jay]

So, yeah, wild stuff. I actually saw something the other day. Brooks Nader and, and Ben Affleck. We're having a little. How do you do? Yeah, you see that?

[David]

I did see that.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yeah.

[David]

Interesting what goes on on our TVs and our. In our. And our Tik Toks and our movie theaters. And someone who should be in a movie theater with a lifetime doc. Mike, the situation. Mike, the situation.

[Jay]

Mike, the situation. That's a good, good transition. I'll tell you what, the people are buzzing about episode one. And I would say you guys will hear in the recap, we'll talk about it. But I would tell you that part two is even better.

[David]

I agree 100%.

[Jay]

Yeah. All right, well, David, the last thing I got is jta. People are dying to know when we're doing jt. I'm getting DMS every single day about it. Here's what I'm gonna say. It's always better when David and I do it in person. So we've been working really hard to try and schedule in person. It doesn't look like that's going to come to fruition. The only time that can come to fruition is if you can come to Miami this week is I'll be down there for a work event and potentially Tyler Cameron's charity event. And then the week after the Super Bowl. I'm actually going to be. I got a. I got a photo shoot, so more to come on that, but I'll be in New York City, so if you can do that, great. If not, we got to do a virtual.

[David]

I think we're going to deadline it. Maybe. If we can. If we can't, since it's my episode. It's jta, but it's your. But I'm the host. I'm thinking if we can't do it by my birthday, we do A little birthday JTA, 39th birthday. February 17th. Hit the record button. I think that's a good deadline for this.

[Jay]

I like that.

[David]

Yeah.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Okay.

[Jay]

Yeah, February 17th. All right. February 17th is a deadline. But enough of our deadlines. In our talk. Let's ringing the bell to the one, the only, part two with the mic. The situation. The who?

[David]

The mic situation.

[Jay]

The who, this is situation. You ever see that clip?

[David]

Yes.

[Jay]

All right, let's ringing the bell. You get through it all, you're out of prison. We're going down the timeline now. How much money do you have, like, to your name once you're out of prison?

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Oh, my God. Yeah, I really didn't have much. I was really in the rebuilding process when I got outta prison. Luckily, MTV was following my story the whole time. So there were some concerns that if the ratings weren't good, you just don't get another season. But fortunately for me and all of the cast at Jersey Shore, our ratings were always good. Yeah. So you're gonna get another season. You kept getting another season. You kept getting another season. And the pay just kept going up. The pay just kept going up. And I kept, you know, building myself, essentially. My success can be carefully mapped from my sobriety. My 10 years of sobriety is pretty much saying that I have 10 years of amazing decisions. Makes sense. Yes. 10 years of amazing decisions and being my best self. And at the end of the day, let go and let God handle the rest.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

And that is my superpower.

[Jay]

So you're making all this money, you go to prison, you start fresh, you get sober, and now you're. I mean, everything is moving in the right direction. I want to talk quickly about you, love and money with your marriage. You talked about the fact that it's one of the biggest business decisions.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

It is make.

[Jay]

Tell me your take on the idea of how you manage love and money. Are you. Do you. Are you for or against prenups? Just your overall take on love.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

And me and my wife have known each other for over 20 years, and we don't have a prenup. She's my college sweetheart, and she makes me a better person. We've been now married over seven years now in a happy, healthy marriage, and we have three beautiful children. And I couldn't be prouder of. Of everything that encompass that when it comes to love and money, it really comes from my sobriety, my principles of my sobriety, which I also carry through in every aspect of my life, which would be accountability, transparency, integrity, and honor. So if you carry those four principles in business, in marriage, in. In friendship, you're going to be very, very successful.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

And my wife, she has all of my passwords for all of my social media. So if someone is messaging me, my wife is getting it, you know? You know, you know what I'm saying? And early in my career, you know, risque photos would be sent. They'd be sent to my wife.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

You know, now not so much because I'm this family man.

[Jay]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

You know what I mean? And I have, you know, these various businesses, but in the beginning of my career, it definitely was an adjustment, but I wouldn't change a thing because life is. Life is so much easier when you're not trying to hide anything.

[Jay]

Yeah, for sure.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

You know, so, you know, my wife can go through my Facebook, my Twitter, you know, X or everything, and, you know, I have nothing to hide.

[Jay]

So I think that's one of your money rules with love and money is transparency.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yes.

[David]

Right.

[Jay]

If there's transparency, there's no gray area. If there's no gray area, there's just pure authenticity, which is the state you.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Live in at all times. Even in business. Any contracts, we come through any. Any partnerships. Those are the principles that we preach.

[Jay]

I want to talk about your businesses at Current before I get there. When you look at your earnings, you think about, like, athletes. Like, so with. When I started, actually, it's so fun. 2018, I go on my first reality show, and the first thing I did was get. I couldn't really afford the accountant, but I was like, I don't care. I'm getting the accountant. Because I saw what happened to you, and I was like, I don't know, like this, you know, especially. You do bar appearances. They give you cash.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yeah.

[Jay]

Random.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

I didn't even.

[Jay]

Like, I don't. And I was in finance.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

I didn't even know about it. I didn't even know that, you know, all that stuff is tracked.

[Jay]

Actually, let me ask you, while I'm on the bar, appearances, and I was.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Getting like $30,000 you know, an appearance. I was going to ask you sometimes 50 on New Year' so you get.

[Jay]

Like 50k on New Year's cash to show up to the New Year.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Well, they give you half up front and sometimes they wire the other half.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

But, yeah, it was just ridiculous. You know, for at least from 2009-15, probably even when I was starting to get sober, I was the face of Suboxone, which is, which is from a drug company. I believe it's Merck.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

And, you know, the, the endorsement on that was a cool, easy half a mil.

[David]

Right?

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

You know. Yeah.

[Jay]

It's crazy. I mean, these are the things that you're on top. But, like, the accountant would be like, let's, we're going to manage you kind of like a manager, like a mini athlete. Like, we'll probably have this short window of high earnings and then it's going to go away. So, like, that's how we're going to manage it. My question, and then you see some athletes like Rob Gronkowski, his earnings probably right now are higher than they've ever been because his popularity and things. So you're getting into a new year and it begins and you're trying to get your business opportunity operations together. And honestly, having payroll, benefits and HR handled in one place makes everything feel so much better. So if you are trying to get organized and get settled and you are just getting your business off the ground, let me give you a trading secret. You want to make sure that you are outsourcing in the places that you have to outsource. Gusto is an online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. It's all, all in one remote, friendly, and incredibly easy to use. So you can pay, hire onboard and support your team from literally anywhere. Automatic payroll tax filing, simple direct deposits, health benefits, commuter benefits, workers comp 401k, you name it. Gusto makes it simple and has options for nearly every budget. Take the things off your plate that don't need to be on your plate as a small business owner. Try Gusto [e-mail] trading secrets and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll. Just go to Gusto.com trading secrets one more time here. Just go to Gusto.Com trading secrets when you look at your career, how do your earnings compare today to like, when literally Jersey Shore was the number one global rally show in the world?

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Well, the earnings the last couple years have been amazing because we eventually fought for six figures. An episode.

[Jay]

Let's go.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Okay. And that is where you want to be. But our episode count every year was, like, around, I think, like 30.

[Jay]

Oh, shit.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yeah, they would do it. They would do two seasons a year. Right. And so you would have an A and B season, and each season would be about 15 episodes. And so now if 30 episodes, and then you have probably a reunion and then maybe a special. Right. So you're on TV. Right. 32, 32 weeks out of 50. That's like 80% of the year. And I'm just saying maybe it's 75 or 80 of the year and the checks just keep rolling. But listen, myself in the cast, we've worked hard, and everyone did favorite nations. Now, for the. For most people that put the work in, that's good. And for people that don't put the work in, you know, it's, you know, not the best.

[Jay]

So you having converse, like, if someone's not bringing it for ratings, are you guys behind the scenes, like, step your up?

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Some of. Some of us are. Yeah. Some. Some of the bigger personalities are. There are some. Some bigger personalities. We are, but at the same time, we're family, too.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

So it's just like, you know, you know, there's. There's a fine line to, you know, upsetting somebody.

[Jay]

I love it. Well, we've gone through majority of your story. One of the coolest things of your story we've mentioned a lot in this episode is Archangel Centers.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yeah.

[Jay]

You tell us a little bit about how you got involved and what it looks like.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yes. When I first got out of prison, I had a meeting with my team, and they said, all right, now that you're back out, you got your freedom. What do you want to do? What's on the vision board? Give us anything. And I was like, I want to open up my own treatment center. I want to help people that might be still sick and suffering or maybe they're in need of a second chance like I once was. Maybe one day I'll have the resources and the influence to have my own center to help people write their own comeback story. Wow. And here we are. Wow. It's amazing.

[Jay]

And where are those centers? You're in New Jersey.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yes. We just cut the ribbon on our first center, the Archangel Centers in Titten Falls, New Jersey. And our second one should be launching in about 90 days in Princeton, New Jersey. And I'm at the office every day, Man. I couldn't. I haven't wore. I've never had my own office because, you know, I just never had A real job, I guess, as per se.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

I love going to the office with a tie and my trench coat, and we're just saving lives. It's the most rewarding thing I've ever done.

[Jay]

You can't beat it. And we talked a little bit about before this episode, but with the speed that you've been working for so long. What else? Like, I think when you start to burn out, you got to find things that really.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yes.

[Jay]

Putting new gasoline in an engine and like, what better way to do it?

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yeah. Well, what happened was we launched that book right there, Reality Check, How I Overcame Addiction, Loss in Prison. And it was a bestseller. Okay. And we had seven figures in sales. And we're like, oh, my God. And we had so many people reach out and say that your story inspires me to be better. And then I'm like, wait a second. I think we're onto something. And then that's when I decided to launch the center.

[Jay]

That's awesome. When you look in the future and, like, predict what's going to happen with the center. What's the goal? What's the. What's the vision?

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

The vision is to spread Archangel Centers across the United States and maybe globally.

[Jay]

Let's go.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yeah. Every single person that I run into contact with, either a professional, they want to collaborate, somebody wants to donate, someone wants to work there, someone wants their sister or their mother or their brother to meet me because I have this influence that no one else has. I've been in America's living room on their TVs for 16 years. And I take that, that love very seriously. And with great power comes great responsibility. And now I'm using that love to help people and to save lives. And it's just, I feel like I'm walking in my purpose right now. And I just feel like I can't lose.

[David]

I love it.

[Jay]

It's such a refreshing, powerful energy you carry with you. It's unbeatable. Now, let's quickly talk about the book. You gross over seven figures, million dollars.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Plus, but you couldn't believe it.

[Jay]

That's unbelievable. First of all, we've talked a lot on this podcast with other guests about the hardships of selling books. To sell seven figures in a book is unprecedented.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

I know it's outlying.

[Jay]

It's very unconventional. Some of the biggest, biggest celebrities, biggest, biggest politicians, they don't sell a million bucks.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

I was surprised.

[Jay]

Crushed it. Now you're talking about doing a documentary with it or a potential show.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yes. We have a deal.

[Jay]

Congrats. That's sweet.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yes. We have a deal going into 2026 with ITV, the makers of Love Island.

[Jay]

Yeah. Oh, sick.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

And we're trying to take what is on those pages and bring it to life because the stories in that book is just. They're just. It's like the Wolf of Wall street with a better ending.

[Jay]

I love it. ITV guys stay tuned for that. Then we got Bank. I mean, your. Your list just doesn't end. You're a machine. Bang Cookies. Six locations right now, Right? Tell me about how you got in the cookie business and where people can get the bang cookies. I'm gonna try one while you're telling me.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yes, those cookies are amazing. They are organic. And they're called bang cookies because they're banging. Yeah. We have six. We have six locations. And our seventh is on the way. I believe in Oklahoma. And over the past couple years, I guess people have been watching me and, and seeing the work, and we ended up partnering with Bangkookies. And now it's just growing across the country. And I couldn't be happier.

[Jay]

Quick break from Mike the situation episode. You started a business you didn't expect to become the head of literally everything. Now you're doing everything. Marketing, customer service, and it with no support staff. Well, stop doing everything because that is not contributing to what you're doing. That's the most important, which is driving your business. So instead of spending weeks sorting through random resumes and here's what you can do, you go to Upwork Business Plus. It will help you get a short list of expert talent to your inbox in just hours. Trusted top rated freelancers vetted for skills and reliability and rehired by businesses like yours. The top quality freelancers in marketing, design, AI. This is the top 1% of talent on Upwork, and that is with Upwork Business Plus. Right now, when you spend $1,000 on Upwork Business plus, you'll get $500 in credit. Just go to Upwork Upwork.comSave Go right now and claim your offer before 131, 2026. Again, that's Upwork.comSave Terms apply.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

So it's all about cookies and comebacks right now.

[Jay]

Cookies and comebacks, baby. Social media monetization. If you had to look at the last couple of years, how much money are you making on social media? If you're.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

We used to have a Facebook deal and we, we used to get, I don't know, like $15,000 a month just to let them use the Facebook. But now we don't really necessarily need to do that, we have a lot of good numbers on all of our platforms. We have 4.2 million on. On Facebook. We have 3.5 on Instagram. We have roughly around 600,000 on threads, 1.2 million on TikTok. And then, actually, so funny, I just jumped on LinkedIn. And it's probably. I'm probably more excited to jump on that than anything else because I've never had a real job before, and now that I own these centers and Bang Cookies and all these businesses, I'm constantly trying to link up with the professionals, which is really, really cool.

[Jay]

I love it. You got a million things going on. So back then, obviously, you know, if your team was a little light, that's why you ran into some of those issues. What does your financial team look like today?

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

I got a pretty deep team right now. I have the accountant, I have the lawyer, publicist, manager, also the. I have the financial advisor, which is very important. And I don't even touch the money now. I haven't stepped foot in a bank in 10 years.

[Jay]

Wow.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Because that was one of the nails in the coffin for my case. Maybe many, many years ago, they said that I came into the bank and.

[Jay]

The structuring the structure.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yes, sir. He did his homework. He did his homework.

[Jay]

That was like the last little leg.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

That was the nail in the coffin when they sent the superseding indictment to me. So maybe it's PTSD or maybe it's superstitious. I don't step foot in a bank. It goes from, you know, my wife and the advisor and then attorneys, and I walk around like I have no money, and I'm hustling all day long to get another deal.

[Jay]

I. Do you ever find that you talk openly about your finances in your book? Everywhere you're doing it here. I've seen you do another podcast. Do you ever worry about, like, people, like, suing you or trying to find ways to get.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Oh, well, I mean, listen, right now, I. I keep my side of the street very clean.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

So it's very, very hard to sue someone that walks around right in these streets with accountability, transparency, honor, and integrity. It's very, very hard. I mean, how can you get somebody that wears one mask all the time, you know? And again, people are willing to try to get you. They're trying to pull you down. They will. I know if I was in a candy store and I walked out with a Snickers, I'd be on tmz, you know, So I just keep my side of the street clean and if you keep your side of the street clean, it's hard for bad things to happen to you.

[Jay]

Profound. I mean, it's unbelievable, your story, Mike, I appreciate you coming on and telling us all about it. The ins and outs, the learning lessons. I feel like, you know, you said that the curious cat gets killed, right?

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yeah.

[Jay]

I feel like you're a cat in the fact you've lived nine lives. But each of these nine lives have been for a purpose.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Like a purpose for you.

[Jay]

And now a purpose for the millions of people that you're impacting. And it doesn't get better than that. And that's why you got the platform. You did because you deserve it and you're making great change. But we gotta wrap with the trading secret. Something specific to you can't learn from a professor, can't read in a textbook or TikTok tutorial. Only from Mike. The situation. What can you leave us with?

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

I would have to say that my trade secrets or my superpower is my sobriety. And it's because of my sobriety I carry around these principles in every area of life. In love, in money, in business. The honor, integrity, transparency and accountability. And that's a foreign language for, for people that are not living right, you know.

[David]

Yeah.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

So, you know, and, and my sobriety or you know, the type of person, personality that I had. Addiction almost killed me. Right. But I turned it all around.

[Jay]

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[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Because the comeback is always greater than setback.

[Jay]

One quick follow up. Do you remember the moment you realized like, like I have a serious problem. I need help?

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yes, yes. I. I had a. Come to God moment in 2015, my lawyers had informed me that I had spent $1 million on their fees and they were leaving me. I spent $600,000 on drugs. The landlord sent the letter and said, you're three months behind on your rent, and I'm evicting you. I had let my dreams slip through my fingers due to decision indecision, and I was just depressed and in a really bad spot, and so I wanted to get out of that spot, right, mentally. So I called up a friend and I said, hey, can we score some pills? And so he's like, listen, we sure can. We're going to Newark. I said, all right, cool. I don't think I can go to Newark. I Mike the situation. And he said, don't worry. Stay in the car. I said, listen, if a cop sees me in Newark, they're going to arrest us really quickly, because they. Everyone knows who I am. We went. Anyway, I was there for about two hours. I'm sweating bullets. And he comes back to the car. He said, we're good. And I had a sigh of relief, like, okay. All this time was not to waste. And then he throws something on my lap, and I caught it, and it wasn't pills. And I looked at it, and it was a bundle of heroin. And in that moment, I was like, oh, no, I'm gonna try heroin for the first time. And I always told myself that I was never going to do that. And you always heard stories about people that tried heroin and never came back. You heard stories about people overdosing and dying, right? I get home, I see my girlfriend, and she knows I was up to no good, But I was able to escape and go into my room. I locked the door, and now I'm like, you know what? I'm just going to try this. Because if I don't try this, I'm going to go through withdrawals, and withdrawals means you're going to get sick, right? So I go in to try it for the first time, and I had a little bit of shame there, you know, I can't believe I'm doing this right now, but I got to. So I go in and I try the first bump, right? A little bit. Because I've never tried it before, and I don't want to die, right? I try it, and I didn't like it. I'm like, wow, I don't like this. But then there was a devil on my shoulder who said, you know what? You might like it if you try a little bit more, but really put some more on that key, right? So I'm like, okay, I go in to try the second one. And as I did that, my phone rang and it was my mom. And I just couldn't believe that it was my mother because on one hand I had the heroin, which was the devil, and on the other hand was an angel. It was my mother. And I just couldn't reconcile that this was happening in the moment. So I stopped what I was doing with my right hand and I picked up and I said, hello. And my mom had this urgency in her voice and she said, I know something's wrong. Are you okay? And that's when it really hit me. I was like, oh my God, this is so crazy right now. This is a come to God moment. Someone is trying to speak to me. You know, my eyes and my ears were open just enough to receive the message from the Almighty. And within a split second, someone is banging on the door. It was my second angel. That was, that was my girlfriend and she was trying to break down the door. And at that moment I just said, you know what, I gotta listen to the Almighty. Someone's trying to save me. And so I said, mom, I gotta go. I love you. And I went to the bathroom and I flushed the drugs down the toilet. I had a tear coming down my eyes and I opened the door, I embraced my then girlfriend who's now my wife, and I told her that I had a problem. And then, and that moment she hugged me and she said, okay. I called my pre trial officer the next two minutes. Within a minute I didn't wait and I told the pre trial officer or the government, I have a problem. I went into rehab the next day. And long story short, I'm now 10 years clean and sober and I own my own centers now.

[Jay]

Unbelievable, right? Of the most, like, powerful stories ever told on this podcast. And thank you for sharing that. And I think you know the trading secrets I continue to learn from you is vulnerability creates connection.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yes, sir.

[Jay]

And then that connection allows people to tap within and look in the mirror and be true to themselves. And everything you're doing every single day is going to impact so many people from the living rooms that they were watching you in. And you just also think about like your kids, like they're going to be able to be like, that's my dad. Like, I'm so proud of that, man.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

And what dad's an inspiration.

[Jay]

It's awesome. Well, man, thank you so much for being here on Sharing Secrets. This was beautiful. It was awesome. You got so much going on. Where can people find everything?

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Yeah. You guys can go to Mike the Situation on Facebook, Mike the Situation on Instagram. It's the Situation on X, it's the situation on TikTok. And also check out archangelcenters.com this new treatment center that we are going around and saving lives. And if you or someone that you know is suffering from the disease of addiction and please reach out to me, we can help. I love it.

[Jay]

Don't forget LinkedIn too.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Oh my God. I'm all over LinkedIn, bro.

[Jay]

We got a signed book to give away. Give us five stars. Your biggest takeaway from this episode and we will ship it to you. Mike Situation. Thank you so much. Secrets. You killed it.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

I wasn't, I wasn't sure that I was going to break down like that, but it was a really powerful story.

[Jay]

Oh, it was beautiful.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

It's very special too.

[Jay]

It was beautiful and it was authentic. So thank you.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Thank you. Thanks for having me, guys.

[Jay]

Ding, ding, ding. We are closing the bell to the Situation episode. So much action, two parts, millions and millions of impressions online, tons of comments. People were just absolutely buzzing. David, one of your favorite episodes. We just ended with the tears, that heartfelt story from the Situation. How you feeling? What are you thinking? Talk to me.

[David]

I mean I, I gotta double down because it was like I said, it was the favorite episode that I we've ever had. And so I'm reiterating that if you haven't tuned into the first recap, that was a little rushed in the airport. I'm glad we get to just kind of dive little bit here. Yeah. Like you said, it ends with a tear jerking moment and, and story. And the thing I love about that, Jay, you were ready to sign off. That's, that's very rare. Do we get the story like that after the training secret and the little bit of substance there. Just a. What a way to cap it off. An unbelievable episode. And what I will say too, to speak to Mike and where he's at and he's got to be the person who's collabed, shared on posts and getting, helping getting his story out there in this episode. I just. All around he's just, he's just been. His is. The episode was awesome and he's been awesome since. That's my biggest takeaway.

[Jay]

Absolutely. I mean he's been sharing everything. Nice guy. Been sharing dms. Unbelievable. That was a heartfelt moment at the end of the podcast. Obviously he got into it. You know, David, I was going to talk about how I got completely screwed over In Jersey Shore with. I mean, I was playing in a charity. Charity event football game. After the game, they're like, hey, you played great. Everyone here is gonna sign the contract because we're just filming. You're cool with that or whatever, right? They just kind of shoved this iPad in my face, and I was like, is everyone signing this? They're like, yeah. So I was just like, okay, sure. Then I found out they made a freaking storyline about it. I was gonna get into it, but with that heartfelt story, I was like, I couldn't.

[David]

He.

[Jay]

And he. But I talked to him after. He's like, oh, yeah, you got cooked. They literally made nothing. Got something out of nothing. It's like the absolute.

[David]

You think Mike, the situation has. Has any sympathy for you? That guy's. That guy's had to sell his life. He's like, come on, you step in my. You step in my ring. That's what you get. You know, Come on, we're Jersey Shore here. That's what we do.

[Jay]

Unbelievable. Just complete nonsense.

[David]

But I would much rather hear his story than yours than your story anyway.

[Jay]

So, yeah, mine was. Mine was insignificant. Stupid course to sign a piece of paper. Had no idea what the hell was going on. It aired nine months later, and it.

[David]

Was all, there's a trading secret. Don't sign iPads when they get put in front of your face. I don't care who they are.

[Jay]

You never sign a contract unless you have someone review it. That's the lesson I learned. Back to this, part two, though. What'd you think? I mean, like, what. There is a lot here. You know, there was. There is a lot of. Obviously, in episode one, we talked a lot about the contracts and how much they were paid and all of that. In this episode, we talked a lot about, you know, his time in prison. We talked about his lawyer fees. We talked about, you know, his addiction and how he stared it dead in the eyes. And he references the. The devil and the angel. I mean, talk to me about some of your takeaways.

[David]

Yeah, I mean, my biggest takeaway from the whole episode, and I think I even mentioned this in. In the first recap, was his four principles of sobriety that he has in his life of accountability, transparency, transparency, integrity, and honor, because everything in his life goes back to that. But I. I think for. For this. I mean, how do we not touch on the prison? The fact that he was, like, thriving in prison, the fact that he talked a little bit about, you know, how to move in prison, the fact he'd give us A little bit of insight in how currency works in his trade in prison. Again, like, why. It's my favorite episode. We got some of everything. We got like a full. We've never had a drug dealer on a stripper on and someone who's been to jail and then someone who's made millions off reality TV and then someone who told the story about when he was trying heroin for the first time and, you know, divine intervention came in on his shoulders and his mom. I mean, this is the best episode we've ever had. So I don't know where to start. I always know where to start, Jay. I don't know where to start. I just want to talk about the whole thing.

[Jay]

It's the thing. I mean, I could. I was so curious about all of it. I could have been a four hour episode. But yeah, like, that you think about. It's really interesting to see like how his life has gone in these like very distinct chapters. But like each of the chapters connects to one another. It's like, it's like so prolific. Like when he was a drug dealer, his skill sets as a drug dealer allowed him to navigate the works of prison. And his time in prison and through addiction allowed him to create these recovery centers and take ownership the way he does. And the idea that's really stuck in my head, like when you think about this concept of trust, just like trust and confidence, it reminds me a lot about what you say with choices. But also it's like, like, it's like if you don't trust yourself, you'll never trust anyone. If you're feeling imposter syndrome, you need to be like more disciplined with your choices. Like if you just look within, you're open and honest with everyone and yourself, all those things will come together.

[David]

Well, don't. Isn't it so beautiful to know and see someone like Mike's situation who's had. Some people could say he's had, he's had it made, he's had it great. But also people can look and be like, that guy's had it worse. He's had it the worst, right? In so many situation. Even how he's portrayed and his name and how his name was being spoke on. It's just so amazing to see him so prideful like he is. He is proud. That is a proud human being. He is proud of himself. He is proud of people in his life. He is proud of his wife, he is proud of his kids. He is living a life of pride. And if you are, if you are God and you are looking down on people in this world. Like, not everybody is perfect in everything they do. They are sinners. But he is repented and he is like, like he's a proud member of society who is shedding light and grace on and trying to make himself and others better. And I just think that like the whole, my feelings of this whole episode, I just came back like, enlightened of, of him and proud of who he is and wanting to feel that a little bit about that in, in my life and take some things that maybe I can do better and, and we all can do better because I don't think anybody listening hopefully was in a rock bottom position like his. And look where he's at, man. It just, to me that's, it's just, it was really inspiring.

[Jay]

Yeah, that story too. Inspiring is probably the, the number one word I think about it. But that story, man, he's such a good storyteller. Like when he's talking about how he's like, I needed drugs and my buddy's like, we gotta go to New Jersey. You're like, yeah, I can't go to New Jersey, man. We're gonna get caught. And like, even him telling the story, like, I pulled my hat out, I'm gonna get in the car. I'm like, he's gonna get caught. Didn't get caught, but then he got it and it was heroin. He didn't know what to do. It's. I mean he, it was, it's just the guy's, the guy's an entertainer, man.

[David]

So itv, the creators or the network that does Love island is doing his documentary. Did that surprise you at all from that, from like, of all the documentaries that could be done and, and itv, which is really, I feel like it's not very well known in the United States.

[Jay]

Yeah, he's the production company. Kind of like with Bachelor production companies, nzk, they have these different production partners and then those production partners will work with the networks. Here's the deal. When you say it out loud, out loud like that, does it surprise me? Maybe, yeah. When you look and listen to the part one and part two of this podcast, does it surprise me? Hell no.

[David]

Oh, hell, I think it. No, it has to be a documentary. I just for me, maybe this is a good question. Like itv, I, I'm thinking that that airs and it goes international. It doesn't even hit like, like in North America. Because I think of ITV is like, like an international TV production company that only does like Australia and the uk.

[Jay]

Yeah. No, I think it's No, I think they're US based. I think they do a bunch of different production. I think they have a bunch of show. A lot of these production companies too, they'll just like do a ton of productions and then they'll see which one pops.

[David]

So is it gonna be like on Netflix, you think?

[Jay]

It will probably be sold to one of the. One of the networks they work with. I don't know who, itv, if they only have contracts with certain networks or if they'll pitch it out to everybody.

[David]

Peacock. Well, I. You know what's weird about Love island is it's on multiple different networks. Like it's on Hulu and Peacock and then maybe even Netflix too, depending on this.

[Jay]

We should do an episode like on all the networks because there's so much like behind the scenes intertwined of who owns what. And it's very, it's. It's con. It's relatively convoluted.

[David]

Like ESPN owning Disney, right?

[Jay]

Exactly, exactly.

[David]

Yeah, that'd be interesting. Yeah, it'd be interesting. A little Instagram tutorial.

[Jay]

Yeah. Get a little executive on. Yeah, yeah. I was just actually recently in the Netflix office with the head of Unscripted. Had a meeting with him and like I would love for someone like that to come on to talk about all those things. Did you see that? The climber. Did you see the climber this past week? The guy who went. I mean, like what? Yeah, there's just not an adrenaline gland in his body. Right?

[David]

I funny you say that. I was actually reading about the climber. Apparently they did a bunch of tests and studies on him.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Him.

[David]

And like he actually doesn't have the fee. Like whatever makes us like feel fear. He like doesn't possess it.

[Jay]

There's. You can't.

[David]

So yeah, like he. They did some tests where they would put like, you know, did you ever get tested back in elementary school? And it's like abstract photos. It's like, what do you see here? And if you see like something then you're like a genius. They put a bunch of like images and things in front of him and during testing and like all the fearful images like didn't register with him at all. Like apparently he has like. Like he's not. He doesn't know what fear is.

[Jay]

We should get him on the podcast.

[David]

Well, we have to get him on the podcast, cuz I. Did you see the part where he was fourteen, fourteen hundred or thousand feet in the air and he was, he went no hands.

[Jay]

Yeah, like just for fun.

[David]

Just, just for funsies. Like now you're just showing off.

[Jay]

Do I would like to see the Vegas odds? What do you think the Vegas odds were that, like, it didn't work out?

[David]

Well, I got another question. I. That's a good point. Like, is it 1% or is it like, 50?

[Jay]

Yeah.

[David]

Are you, like, are you going to that? Because the people who go to that and watch that are sick. Like, because you're going. I'm sorry. Like, you're. You're not going to see him do it.

[Jay]

Like, no, you're going to watch. It's like, you know when the house is burning and you stop to walk? Like, you're like, you're going.

[David]

You're not going there to, like, you're going there to see something.

[Jay]

You're going to see some. And the thing is, is when you're like, a normal human response is when you see it online. I'm like, turn it off. I'm getting sick. I can't watch this. Like, you care. Like, it's just like an empathetic compassion. I can't. I'm gonna, like, I'm gonna puke. If one gust of wind comes this guy's falls, I'm gonna like one. I can't. I can't. So, like, yeah, yeah.

[David]

No, he. He was nuts. And now, unfortunately for the guy, or maybe fortunately, it's like, all right, what. What's next? What's the. The next tallest building? And eventually.

[Jay]

It's crazy. It's crazy.

[David]

Do you have anything else? I got one line in the mic, the situation that it's highlighted here. And it was a. It was a. It hit. It hit me, this line.

[Jay]

Okay.

[David]

Not because it really hit me because it resonated, but it hit me because we've all kind of been there before.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[David]

He said, life is so much easier when you're not trying to hide something. Right. I mean, I think we've all been there, man. Like, we've all been there as a kid where we're hiding it from our parents. And is that stressful? Maybe it's that you didn't. Maybe it's you. You failed a test in this or, you know, big picture stuff. Like, I mean, we've all done it with friends, We've all done it with our co workers, We've done it with our spouses to some degree. Right. And when you're not and you could tell with how open and upfront he is, the one thing I really respected was like. Like, I truly don't think that guy has any secrets that he hasn't told his wife.

[Jay]

Oh, 100%. Zero. And I think that goes back to what I was talking to you about, trust and that whole idea of trust. We actually had a leadership coach shout out to Laura, come into our agency and talk about this theme of trust. I think people use the word trust a little too seriously. And the fact that, like, there's like, oh, I don't trust you. That means I don't. Like, I don't have any faith in you, or like, you're a liar. No, that's not like, what the theme of this trust was. Every day, in every instant, things happen, actions happen where there might be like, a rope and there could be small breakage in trust, right? Like something like you tell one of your operations people to get something done for a tournament, and let's just say it gets done like, 70%. You don't distrust them as human, but you start to learn. You start to have, let's just say, some negativity aligned with their trust in that. That execution. And this idea of, like, how do we get people to trust us? And then what do. What makes us trust other people? And we, like, wrote it down and just got really honest with it. And it was just an interesting exercise to think about. Like. Like, trust to me means, like, consistency and accuracy and, and detail and being thorough and follow through. Right? But trust to someone else can mean something else. And then it's like, well, how do you show up to your peers with trust? And if you have breakage and trust, how do you get connected with it? So I thought that was kind of cool. And it does just align a little bit with the situation. And what he's saying is, like, if you can't be honest with yourself, then you're going to always have trust as an issue with yourself and with others.

[David]

I love that. I love that activity. My eyes were closed there, thinking about how I look at trust and ways that we've talked about trust on this podcast a little bit. As example, I think trust for me is obviously, it's a, A, it's. It's an action, not a word. I think for me to be able to trust you, you have to prove to me that you've listened to not just something that I've said, but something that other people have said and you've reacted at, not just in that moment, but a given time in, in the future where you care. Like, for me to trust you, I have to know that you care genuinely for me or somebody or the thing that has been, you know, talked about or, or shown as Important before. I think that's how you earn my trust. And I think we've talked about trust, like, you know, on this podcast in terms of, like, love and money, like, financial mistrust. And, you know, you've talked a lot about, like, different forms of, you know, cheating and with cheating with money. And I think that those things as well are come up in relationships all the time. Like, you know what. What husband doesn't have the cash that is in an envelope that the wife doesn't know about so that you can go to the casino, right? Like that. Like, I have one.

[Jay]

That's trust.

[David]

Don't hope Ashley doesn't hear this episode.

[Jay]

Right?

[David]

Like, I have that right. Let's just talk about it. So it's just like, should I. Like, I. I'm spinning here. It's like, mike, Mike, the situation's not hiding something, and I'm hiding something.

[Jay]

So I'm like, yeah, go. She'll ask you that envelope.

[David]

I gotta.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[David]

Or I got to go like, yo, what am I going to do now? I'm guilty because I have the envelopes. I got to go buy our bag. Like me, right? So it's like, you know, so that's just these things. I listen to these podcasts, Jane. It hits me. And that thing just hits me now.

[Jay]

Well, it's interesting how you. How trust shows up for you, right? Like, what I heard was you to. For you to trust someone, you have to know they're listening. You have to know they care about your interests and, like, what's. What matters to you. And you have to know that they're willing to take accountability. Like. Like, they're willing to show up and take accountability if it's not right and hear you and then also really care. So that shows up different for people. Like, what? Trust me. And shows up different for people, and.

[David]

It'S not even me. Like, it doesn't have to be like, you.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

I.

[David]

You have to listen to me. It's like, I can build trust from you by my observation of you from other. From others. Right. Sometimes that's almost a better way where it even allows me to know that I could trust you without even having to do the experiment myself.

[Jay]

Right. I love that through observation. That's good. Another one that we did in that leadership thing I thought was really cool was one word check in. So, like, before we start the podcast, like, give me one word. How you feeling? And based on that word, whether it's like, sad, lonely, happy, energized, dialed, frustrated, angry, whatever, like, we're Gonna adjust our working. Like, we're gonna customize how we work and how we communicate. Like, so if I'm having a feedback session or I'm having a coaching session with someone, like, one word. Just want to check in how you're doing. If they tell me they're sad, my delivery is gonna be a lot different than if they show up and they're like, I'm so focused. Give me feedback. Right? So just like, one word check ins. Like, how you feeling? One word.

[David]

I've been saying the same two words for the last three months, and I hate myself for it.

[Jay]

What are they?

[David]

Busy and tired. How's it going?

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Busy.

[David]

I'm tired. Well, now I have reasons, right?

[Jay]

Two kids.

[David]

Got the two kids. Promotion changes, leadership changes, middle of hockey season. Those make me very busy. Those make me tired. You know what else they make me?

[Jay]

Huh?

[David]

Fired up. Most motivated I've ever been. Productive. Like, staff management. Like, cohesiveness. Talk about trust. Like. Like, I go to work every day. I've been at the office the longest I've ever been out. It's by choice, and everyone else is by choice, and we are fired up. So sometimes it's so cliche. It's like, busy and tired. But really it's like, I don't know, sometimes we say busy and tired because we don't actually want to talk about what's going on. That's just like an excuse of, like, don't even ask. Because if I was like, how are you doing? I'm like, I'm so fired up.

[Jay]

Yeah.

[David]

People are gonna be like, why? Tell me more.

[Jay]

Yeah, yeah.

[David]

Sometimes we don't want to open the door to a conversation.

[Jay]

Yeah, yeah, I get it. I will tell you, the older I get, the less I am open to small talk. Oh, it's so unproductive.

[David]

But I even said on this podcast recently, something I need to do a better job of is, like, someone checks in and asks me how I'm doing. It's like, I need to start, you know, how are the kids? Oh, you know, my kids are great. It's like, how are your kids? Or. Or how's this? Or what? You know, like, making sure you take the time because you don't like small talk. Just to rebuttal and find out how. How people are doing as well. That's something that as I've gotten busier in life, I've done a worse job of, and I hate that too.

[Jay]

Interesting. Last thing I got for you.

[David]

I'm just being the out of myself this episode.

[Jay]

No I think that's good. I think that's good to be like, listen, if I'm going to engage, the only thing that's worth engaging is in the present. Staying present. Right. Like, I saw this. It's these. There's this thing on my algorithm that's showing up a lot. And it's pictures worth a million words. And the picture was a dad and a son on the back bench. And the bubble of the dad was thinking, and there's a car. There was a house. There was money. There was a desk. There was work. So he's on the bench, his kids next to him, and it's like what he's thinking, right? And then what? This. The son is just smiling ear to ear, and his bubble, what he's thinking is just his dad next to him and him on the bench. And it's like these. These things are worth a million words. So it's like, if you're gonna be present, if you're gonna have those conversations, like, be in them. So. Yeah. Yeah, I think.

[David]

I think that hits home.

[Jay]

Home.

[David]

That hits home, right?

[Jay]

It was great. I saw that one today. It was that one. Yeah, that hits home. Stay present.

[David]

Right.

[Jay]

All right. I think that's all I got. We've been going.

[David]

Yeah, we have. That was a good. That was a good stretch.

[Jay]

Good stretch. Mike, the situation, you're bringing the best out of us now in intros and recaps. What an unbelievable episode. One of the best trading secrets we got. Amanda Batula, we just recorded with. We are working on that. Getting that approved and out. Jesse Solomon, we have some other Netflix stars coming on. Hillary Musser and just have a really good lineup here scheduled. We had the president of the Chicago Fed, so a lot of action, a lot of good guests, but we got JTA coming up, too. David, anything else before we wrap?

[David]

We got a deadline. February 17th, out before that. Or we'll. We'll find a way to do it in person. But what do you. What's your plan tonight? How are you gonna stay warm, babe?

[Jay]

How are we gonna stay warm tonight?

[David]

There. You just answered the question for yourself.

[Jay]

We're gonna have a little cuddle sesh there, David. You know what I'm saying?

[David]

Are the dogs in the bed or do the dogs. How do you guys do the dog thing?

[Jay]

I think now, typically the dogs will go in their crates, but I think today it will take all the warmth in the bed. They're for sure sleeping in the bed. Yeah, it's too cold. We'll cuddle. Little cuddle. Session here. Oh, I want to say list last.

[David]

Yeah, yeah. What?

[Jay]

I'm. One of the things I've noticed with dry January is socializing. I. My window for socializing has become a lot smaller. Okay. So I will. So, like, we'll do dinners. I'll go do all that, right? And I'll do like three. Like, we were at dinner the other day. I was like, three at dinner for like, three, four hours. Typically after that, I would go out for a drink or, like, nightcap that when I'm not drinking, I'm so down socialized. And I'm gonna bring everything I would normally bring. But my. Once I hit my window of, like, I'm done, I'm done. Where when I'm drinking, I'm. I can socialize for, like, I don't like, a full day. You know, I could do like a bar day, go to dinner. Da, da, da. But like, when I'm. I'm like, okay, well, this is great, but my cup's full. I'm good. I'm out. I don't know what that is, but I know we were talking about socializing earlier, but. Yeah.

[David]

Yes.

[Jay]

I don't know what that means.

[David]

So is Us Weekly talking about your. Your dry January, which I don't know how that makes any headlines?

[Jay]

Yeah. Well, there we are.

[David]

You're still doing. You're still doing that dry January.

[Jay]

Still doing it, man.

[David]

Are you. February.

[Jay]

You didn't see the Tommy John photos? You didn't think I was pretty dialed?

[David]

That's all Tommy John photos. That's all Tommy John photos. Not bad.

[Jay]

Not bad.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Not.

[David]

Not some of your best work. I'm not. I'm like, I'm. I'm.

[Jay]

Oh, man.

[David]

I don't even know what kind of January I've been having. Not. It hasn't been dry. It hasn't been clean. It hasn't been. It's not been great.

[Jay]

But if you had a theme for this year that you were going to.

[David]

No.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

No.

[Jay]

Okay, let's start with February. Let's get a theme.

[David]

Okay, I'll work on that.

[Jay]

Work on a theme, guys. Give us a theme. We got stuff to give away. I got merch. I got some stuff from the PR closet. So give us a theme in the comments. Nuts.

[David]

Yeah, I like that.

[Jay]

Okay, theme it is.

[David]

I. No, I'm just. I'm just going to be that guy in your photo, and I'm going to be not thinking about work, and when my son's thinking about me, I'm just going to grab the mini stick and.

[Jay]

Just rip it with him. I like that. But think about when he's playing the mini stick. All his bubble is you and the mini stick.

[David]

That's it.

[Jay]

And he's happy.

[David]

I just had to. I just had to cut him out of this podcast. Because you want to play baseball.

[Jay]

That's right.

[David]

That was it.

[Jay]

Peace is being in the present, anxieties in the future. Let's go.

[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

Love it.

[David]

Love it.

[Jay]

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[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

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[Jay]

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[Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino]

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[Jay]

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