Suicide Prevention Sat - What are you Grateful for?

Um, that's what we get for ta-da, just like that. It says you are live. Uh, so hi everyone, this is Charlie. Hi Charlie. Hi. Hey, um, I am Brooke and I am tired because it's been a long day, but it's always a long day. Oh wait, and I always have to do the, um, That thing, I gotta do the mute thing. Yeah, so there's that. So anyway, welcome everyone. Let's see what we got. So DJ, I apologize, I thought I sent you so you could come in here, but apparently I spaced that. Moo is here. Miss Tara is not here because she doesn't feel well. And G-Webs with the first comment and the first thumbs up said the dead because I said, what are you grateful for? And so the Grateful Dead. And now I have to share with G Webs that the Grateful Dead was actually the very first concert I ever attended in Saratoga Springs at like 13 years old.

And you didn't even get his joke.

Oh, well, but so here's the thing. I was supposed to go see Phil Collins.

And I got a big difference.

I did not know it was possibly the contact high outdoors. So, all right, so my unicorn is here, and my unicorn has actually found the unicorn icons. This is Fiona. Everyone wish Fiona good luck. Uh, next Saturday she's coming— Friday or Saturday, next weekend she's coming to do her instructor tryouts. Um, we won't tell you how it is if she, if she passes her— well, if she passes Or not. We'll tell you she did. So anyway, yeah, she will pass with my great tutelage. That is it. All right, so, uh, welcome replay viewers. Actually, normally that's all that ever sees the beginning, but you know, I had people waiting, so there's that. All right, so why are we here? Because it is Suicide Prevention Saturday. And why do we do Suicide Prevention Saturday? Because— to— oh wait, that's horrible. I lost my fingernail. 2 out of every 3 gun deaths are a suicide. So if we are looking to save lives, which is what all the anti-gunners always say, which proves they're anti-gunners and not pro-life. But anyway, that's a whole nother question. 2 out of every 3 gun deaths are a suicide, and no one wants to talk about suicide ever because it's a mental health issue. It has tons of stigma around it, and if you need a counselor, you are broken, and 5 million other things. So we all hop on here. Well, a lot of you hop on here Saturday nights and we talk about random stuff, whether it's just so people know that 2 out of every 3 gun deaths are a suicide, whether it is working on your physiology, whether it is working on your mental game, whether it's thinking about other people in crisis. This is a very random show. So that is perfect that I have Charlie as a guest.

Very random.

Um, so Charlie and I have been friends for a few years now, and I really don't know how long that is because I don't have that kind of memory, right? But I'm one of his— I'm, I'm pre-100 of your shows, so it's obvious.

Yes, the first 100. Uh, yeah, so, uh, we filmed a show in 2020. Okay, and it was— I think it was the summer of 2020 because I, I just purchased a new-to-me car, uh, which I call the Stagecoach. And I had, um, oh my gosh, I had some Lead Slinger's whiskey. Oh yes, sorry, Lead Slinger's hand sanitizer.

Yeah, we did not have whiskey that day. I would have remembered that.

And, um Yeah, and, uh, so I had some of that that I was able to give you a bottle of Lead Slinger's hand sanitizer. So that was, that was in 2020.

Yes, yes. And I got you lost because I forgot where we were going. It was great because, yes, riding random. Oh God, sorry, uh, to live more, right? I'm reading what he says. See, this is why I normally have DJ in here and I ignore the, the things because it gets very random here. Um, so yeah, so, uh So I followed— I mean, we've been friends for a bit now, and also I follow Charlie on Facebook. And on Facebook, he— I often catch his grateful list. And one of the most important things that we talk about here is taking care of yourself and having a positive mindset, or at least being aware of your mindset, is definitely one of those things that can help you. So So I'm bringing him on to talk about why he started his grateful list and what the changes are, or what he's noticed, and how long he's been doing it, and fun stuff like that. So with that, I'm really just going to disappear and you're going to talk.

Great. So, uh, so here's what happened. Um, in the late aughts, my, um, my life changed, right? My marriage fell apart. I got divorced. I ended up getting demoted.

Wait, what is an aught?

In the 2000s.

Okay, I'm like, I don't even know what you're talking about.

In the aughts. Yes, in the zero. Yes, uh, it's 2008. Things, uh, things in my life started to take a, a bad turn.

Gotcha.

And, um, you know, personal life, career, all that stuff. And 2010, 2010 I got divorced, 2011 everything was official. And I spent a lot of time not really knowing what to do with myself. I was a gun instructor, but I started teaching at a shooting school in Massachusetts as a part-time, part-time job.. And yeah, things just weren't really good. I had one of my really good friends. I don't call her my oldest friend. I call her my longest friend because you're smarter than that. Because I've known people, I know people that are older than she is, but she's one of my longest friends. And she started doing this grateful list. She was going through some tough times as well. And so she started doing this grateful list. List. And I'm like, what is this? She's like, it's 3 things that I'm grateful for that, that happened in the previous 24 hours. And she's like, it's, it's all the little things. And I'm like, okay, you know, the little things in life that mean something, and you can find something in every day that you're grateful for. And it's, it's, it's all of the small things in life. So I started doing this, and I thought it was a little ridiculous. I also started around then when people ask me how I was doing, I used the phrase "live in the dream." And of course, everyone says that sarcastically, but I would say it and be like, "Hey man, I'm living the dream." They're like, "Are you really?" I'm like, "I have a job. I have a roof over my head. If you take a look at me, you'll see that I'm full-figured, so I still get an opportunity to eat. So, you know, things aren't as bad as as you really think they might be. Maybe they're not what you want them to be, but they're not as bad as they could be. And I started doing the grateful list, and like, I didn't know what to put on it. I would put things like, I opened a new jar of peanut butter and I got to put a knife in a brand new jar of peanut butter. I would put things like, I got to, you know, have dinner with my kids. You know, I had— I didn't have a horrible day at work. And these are, these are things that just started to, you know, it was these little things where, you know, I get to talk to one of my friends on the phone and that was something to be grateful for. Not, you know, like I said, not having a bad day.

Here's something like the peanut butter that could be like a TikTok video now, that whole brand new. I did it because it brings people joy, like for real.

Yeah, oh, totally.

Like, maybe— I don't know if that felt like it was not like a big deal, but I'm like, no, I can totally get the peanut butter jar.

Oh my God, it's a brand new jar of peanut butter. You just put the knife in there, scoop it. Oh my God, I did this one time, um, my son, uh, opened up the jar of peanut butter and he took out like this much peanut butter, and I took a picture of it, and then I took what I put on, on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And I'm like, this is me. This is what my son takes out. This is what I take out. Like, I don't even know if we're related, right? So, um, anyway, so, uh, yeah, that's what the grateful list is about. And, um, I didn't do it, uh, I know that, um, I know that people like to, you know, live fake lives on, on the internet, um, I wasn't doing it for any of that. I was doing it because I needed to, uh, I needed to bring some sort of positiveness to my life. Um, you know, getting divorced and not knowing where you live, um, not knowing what kind of games you're, you know, your ex is going to play with the kids, uh, getting demoted at my job, like all this stuff was really kicking me in the, in the tail. And, and I was finding joy in opening a jar of peanut butter.

Sorry, one of my students the other day, I'm like, yeah, pick it up by the bullets. And so that's our new thing. You're getting kicked in the bullets is what I was thinking.

Absolutely, absolutely. So, um, so yeah, so I started doing this and, um, and then I, I, I changed I did something else and I've certainly told people about this. I joined this thing called Toastmasters.

Oh yes, I love Toastmasters.

Yeah. And Toastmasters was a place to go work on your speaking skills. And I thought it was— I was such a curmudgeon. I would go. I went the first couple of times. I'm like, these people clap an awful lot for somebody just to walk up before they even talk. Like, this is ridiculous.. And everybody in Toastmasters seemed to be happy, or at least for an hour and 15 minutes every week they were in a good mood. And, and I would, I would have a bad day at work and I'd go to Toastmasters and I'd be around these people that have good attitudes about things, and then I'd leave an hour and 15 minutes later and I'm like, hey man, I'm in a better mood. And, um, that was, that was something else that really helped because I started hanging out with these people that were setting goals in their life and trying to make changes and trying to get out of their comfort zone. And that is exactly what I needed. And it really— being around people that were positive and being around doing the grateful list really put me in a much better mindset. And it took a while, but it did. And it was really good.

And you guys who don't know what Toastmasters is, It's how to put your thoughts together so you can actually talk. It's also every person who's ever been in corporate wish that people would learn from Toastmasters how to run an actual meeting because they have time limits for each of their subjects. So it is a great public speaking skill because what is one of the number one fears in life? It's public speaking. Yes, exactly. So for those of you who've never heard of it, that's what it is. I found it when I was in corporate life. We do it on lunch hours. And it's just, it is kind of fun.

It is fun. And it, um, it led to, uh, it led to me entering speech contests. It led to, uh, doing stand-up comedy. I mean, it's, it's led to a lot of things. And one of the things that it led to— funny, uh, it's not just my looks. Yeah, exactly, not just that, right? Um, and it led to, um, uh Going to Toastmasters led to me working on this manual called Communicating on Video. And I was hanging out with some of my Toasties and I said, you know what, I was a gun instructor and I went from teaching at a shooting school to teaching classes on my own. And my attitude was I taught a class for 20 people. I'm up there. I'm the guy that's up there singing and dancing for 4 hours. And, uh, everybody paid $100. So I'm bringing $2,000 for the boss, and the boss pays me $150. I'm like, man, how can I bring in $2,000 for Charlie? Like, that would be really cool.

That's way better. Yeah, since G-Webs also knows you now have the perfect slice of toast.

There we go. Uh, so, um, uh, yeah, so I ended up doing this manual called Communicating on Video, and I had to interview somebody um, you know, for 7 minutes, and I had to be interviewed by someone. I had to do a couple of other projects, and I, I wanted to, uh, I, I would watch James Corden doing Carpool Karaoke, and, and I wanted to, I wanted to do something like that but, uh, but with gun stuff and talk to gun people. I had no idea where it would, uh, certainly where it would lead me to, um, but I started, I said, I'm gonna, I'm gonna start a show and I'm gonna interview people in the car, we're gonna talk about guns, and I'm gonna call it Riding Shotgun. And then I found out writingshotgun.com was taken. So I'm like, I'm going to call it Writing Shotgun with Charlie. Because Charlie is very important, right?

Because as Amanda—

but we'll leave that for a little bit. Well, my mentor, my mentor would say, well, you've got to inject yours, you got to inject your personality into stuff. I'm like, okay, I don't know, I'm just gonna add my name. And, um, that put me in, uh, doing the grateful list. Going to Toastmasters, hanging around with people that were setting goals and working on things, trying to make themselves better. It was a great group of people to be around. And that's kind of what led to writing Shotgun with Charlie and how I started the show. And it's, yeah, it's been great. And I was better prepared from doing the grateful list, from doing Toastmasters, when the opportunity came up to interview people in other parts of the country, I had to get out of my comfort zone. And I would email some, you know, some guys that were instructors down in New Jersey and DC and stuff, and I'd reach out to them and I'm like, hey, this is— I'm trying something, and would you be interested in being on my show? And they're like, yeah, sure, that sounds cool. And, and all of that, like, all of that together was, uh, was kind of what got Riding Shotgun up and going, doing The Grateful List hanging out with positive people and getting out of my comfort zone.

Yeah. And it's— I can't imagine you not comfortable talking to people, right? Who are watching this live on November 19th, 2022. It was only yesterday that Charlie realized that he's gonna talk, right? We had that conversation off air prior to this.

Right. I, I had someone, uh, someone called me wanting to take clarinet lessons, right? And but it's somebody that's, that's, that's an adult and they've been playing for a long time. So I said, look, there's nothing I could do for you. And, uh, so we just, we just got to talking and she's like, are you sure? I'm like, look, I teach kids how to play hot cross buns. Like, I don't, I don't work with anything that's, uh, musical necessarily. I work with kids and, you know, kids, kids will play and squeak on their saxophones and clarinets. And they're like, my, my clarinet doesn't make any noise. And I'm like, your clarinet makes a lot of noise. And, um, uh, yes, so this woman called me yesterday and wanted to talk about taking clarinet lessons. And I'm like, I, I, I can't help you, but I'm gonna— I know someone who might know someone. And I ended up spending 55 minutes talking to this complete stranger And after I get off the phone with her, I'm like, you know what, dude, you can talk to people, even if you don't know who they are.

And he's been doing this for a little while now.

Right.

But it just— so back to just the grateful list. And I think one of the things that's super important for people to understand about this is the littlest thing, the smallest change, just doing one itty-bitty thing consistently can make such a huge difference. Because Charlie and I would not be talking right now if he hadn't got a divorce, gone through all the crap in his life, and decided he had to start a grateful list. And it's the butterfly effect or the chaos theory, however you want to discuss it. But it's just like, because all the crap happened, he had to come up with something. And the something— the first something was a grateful list. 3 little things, not like 30, not like 100 a day, but 3. And something as simple as sticking my knife into a brand new jar of peanut butter counts. Um, oh yeah, so last week you weren't here, but I have like little things that make me happy too. Um, and everyone's like, oh, you're already decorating? Like, no, it never got put away. Um, that's the kind of person I am. So, but it's just like when people ask me about being an instructor, because they come into my school, they look around like, oh my gosh, you must be doing this for all your life. I'm like, no, not really. It is not. But people ask the story and it's just so much fun to me to be like, nope, didn't plan any of this. But it's all these little things. So it's like when you're having a bad day, remember, you're not having a bad day, you're having a bad moment within that day. Like the really bad clarinet lessons. Because you know this too shall pass, right?

Right, because the saxophone players are coming in a half hour.

Yeah, exactly. Oh wait, we gotta put up PNW Woods things.

Look, see, see what he said.

That's awesome. I don't have to say hi. Hey. Um, so yeah, it's, it's like, it's the little stuff, and we all need little stuff because we don't always want to climb the mountain. Sometimes if we can, I don't know, get over the anthill, we're, we're doing well for that day. Um, cause it's one of those things where people don't get it. It's like, if you're dealing with depression, sometimes getting out of bed is an accomplishment. And then actually getting dressed is yet another accomplishment that is the equivalent of try getting up to the top of the mountain. Um, so your little thing, whatever it might be, is going to be unique for you. But remember that little things can do that.

The, uh, one of the— you know, you— I, like I said, I didn't do this— I didn't do this to, like, people think I was cool or special or better than them or anything else. You're so special. I know.

Yeah, special.

Yeah. Yeah, I drive the short bus. Yes. Um, I did it because it was something like I needed to, I needed to see that these little things were, were, were good things. And the things that I've probably had, probably had a half a dozen friends that have started doing grateful lists as well. And only one of them has really stuck with it. The friend that, that turned me on to the grateful list, she stopped doing it years ago. Um, but I'm like, every day, man, every day. What is like, what happened the previous day? I'm like, oh, you know what? I talked to a couple of my friends on the phone. That counts. And then, then this is the really cool thing. When, um, I've had a couple people that are like, all right, so hey, you know, it's good talking to you. I don't know how to say this. Um, am I going to make the grateful list tomorrow?

Leaf peepers randomly. And I get it. I wasn't even trying.

I'm like, that's awesome. Um, but yeah, it's, uh, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's nice just to, to, um, what did you call it, the butterfly effect? Yeah, it's nice to see the butterfly effect where other people are, you know, I've had, I've had so many people message me, they're like, hey, you know what, really, those, those grateful lists are really cool, I look forward to seeing those every day. And I'm like, you know, you can start your own. Yeah, it doesn't, it doesn't take anything special. You've already got a Facebook account, account.

So just, um, yeah, well, and here's the thing. So let's say you do it today but you don't do it tomorrow. You can still do it the next day because it's sort of like dieting a little bit, where it's like, oh, I failed, I think I'll just stop now. You don't know who you're gonna reach. It's like, at, let's see, uh, probably 7:30 this, this evening, I'm like, oh, I'm done with my, my EMT class, which was 8 till 3:30 today. I'm done teaching, which was 3:30 to 4:30. I've had dinner with my husband. I'm going to jump in my pajamas. And he looks at me like, you've got a 9 o'clock. And here we are.

Here we go with the consistency.

Yeah. And it's just like, and it's because of people like G Webbs who every, every week, I gotta go up here. Says something like this, thank you for hosting the series each week, whether I have a guest or not. But like little things like this, just saying thank you to someone you don't necessarily know, or, or even Tara Smith, she's not here right now. But the idea that whatever I'm doing is interesting enough for her to watch later is like, this is the whole thing that we just don't no, right? It's like I had a friend of mine come over who I never see. I— it's like she used to live in our town and she's on the other side of the state. And she came in, uh, she was at my house for— we were having coffee and stuff. And she's like, Brooke. And I'm like, yeah. She's like, don't stop doing what you're doing. And I'm like, what do you mean? She's like, I don't know, I don't listen to you every Saturday, but last Saturday you said something. And she told me what I said, which I still don't remember right now. And I'm just like, oh, okay. Because that one thing that you put out, your grateful list, and people love to see the grateful list because people like cheering you on, right? And it's just like, it's a two-way street.

Yeah, it's, uh, you know, there's some— I don't know, there's some meme and I forget exactly what it says, but it's like, I don't, uh, I don't necessarily see myself in competition, but I want to see all my friends doing well, you know, it's something, something like this. And, and, and that's what it is. You know what, I'm— when, when my friends are out there kicking, uh, kicking bullets in the tail, or kicking life in the bullet, right? When my friends— when, when I see my friends are doing well, I'm like, oh man, that's great, I'm so happy for them. Maybe there's a little bit of jealousy, but, um, I'm happy for them too, right? Like, and seeing, seeing all the things that people do You know, it's not a competition. It's a journey. And seeing what other people do, say, make me say, maybe I should try that. Maybe I should do that. Maybe, you know, I've had some people say they appreciate the grateful list. And I say, you know, you can start one too. And they're like, oh, you know what? I just do one in my mind. Okay, that's cool, man.

That's cool. Well, so here's the thing though. If you physically write it, I know you're typing it. But if you physically write it, you're actually creating pathways within your brain when you physically write it, and it actually imprints better and longer. Oh, absolutely. So, but the other part of that is even if you just type it, you've added a physiology thing to a thought thing, which gives it more power. And yeah, this is one of those things where one of my favorite just do this every morning is I don't know if everyone's seen it or not, but it was pretty famous for a while. Just make your bed. And it's a commencement speech, right? And it's about how important it is to do one thing. And so the idea, the short version of that awesome speech is do one thing every day, make your bed. So when you're done with the day, regardless of how your day was, you come home to a bed that is made and you know you accomplished at least one thing. And like, there's certain people, Amanda, that have to do like building houses for the day. But it's just like, each one of us can have something simple and easy. And, you know, PNW, I hope I have this right. He works with challenged kids. And so like, I'm thinking he's one of those guys that definitely gets the whole idea that sometimes it's just one, one simple thing, one simple thank you, one simple bit of encouragement, or seeing someone do something that, oh wait, I can do that, or maybe I should try that. So we never know what our ripple effect is, or a butterfly effect, or the chaos theory, whichever one you want to follow.

But yeah, I, uh, I think writing it down is, is, is a is a good thing. So when people say they— oh, I come up with something, I'm gonna write it down. Like, keep a little journal or whatever, you know?

I was actually looking for one of mine, but I— oh yes, I have one actually, for real.

Ta-da! Nice.

Wow, that's really bright. I'm like, on the cam— it looks way brighter on the camera, but it's like, it's super, super duper simple. And it gives me 3 things: priority 1, priority 2, priority 3. And I have automatically, I appreciate today, I will avoid— like, I will avoid being negative or something, and today I will get to enjoy, and today's theme is. And so that's it. That's like the whole day. And it's— when I did my 75 Heart Challenge, I loved having that task list, right? Just that simple read, exercise twice, drink your water. Um, I don't remember what the rest of it, but it's like, I love having that. And so it's like having that little mark in the sand or something. But I think it helps us to encourage each other and to be encouraged. And I think that's what I love the most about the gun groups and gun people. Oh, I don't know if it— I looked for it, but it's not out there, but we need t-shirts that say gun people are fun people. Nice. And now Charlie can't hear us.

No, I still got one here. Uh, yeah, I try to tell people with all my— with all the stuff that I do, I'm like, I, I want to bring fun ownership to gun ownership.

Yeah, well, I mean, it's, it's one of those things where, um, I really— it's like so many of us, I think, are happy with our gun friends. Friends. And I think part of it is it is the most equal group ever. We have one thing in common, and it's firearms. And we like people— well, we may— that are safe with firearms. So these are very two important things. And that's kind of it. Other than that, we see people for who they are. It's like I shoot with people all over the country. I don't know where most of my friends live because I see them at matches, and yet I love them so much because I don't care where they came from, I don't care what their jobs are, and we're just there to have fun. And it's just like, I— every time I go to testify, I'm like, y'all are mean and cranky. You got to meet some gun people because gun people are fun people. So I don't know, I just, I, I just, I love our gun community. Um, I'm trying to read what G-Webs said.

Um, I know, like, since my screen—

oh my God, hold on. All right, so point of view: the influence you create has obvious ripples. I'll watch your shows and hear others mention the points in live chats. Others hear that and later repeat it.

So, um, Thank you, G-Webs. Yeah, I'm just, I'm just trying to keep up, man.

Uh, well, yeah, well, we're never gonna— we pre-show, I'm gonna like send this one to Amanda. Like, yeah, we were talking about Amanda pre-show. For those of you don't know who we're talking about, we're talking about Amanda Suffocool from— what is it?

Live on the—

Eye on the Target. I'm like, oh my gosh, she's gonna kill me. Um, no pressure. So we were talking about my friend Annette, and she wrote this book, The Dry Fire Primer. And the reason I'm bringing this up is because she's on— like, because G-Webs was talking about seeing other chats and seeing stuff like that. And there's a competitor, Mason Lane, who's a pretty good shot in the USPSA world, and he injured— he had an injury, so he had to shoot one-handed. And he— she was on a, um, a message board, and they're like, I'm not Mason Lee and I can't do that. She's like, you know, I got this friend Brooke who's a D USPSA shooter, and she shot an entire season one-handed, so get off your— you know, just stop using it.

Get off your bullet.

And I'm like, oh, is the best story ever— is one of my favorites, um, just because it's one of those things where I was shooting one-handed. I'm at a club match. It's the first stage of the match. They go through the, uh, stage description, and my coach was the one leading our squad and running it. And so we've got like 15 guys on our, our squad, and nobody ever wants to go first. I'm like, yeah, I'll go first. And so it was a very simple stage. I'm sitting there in a box, and I have to shoot these guys, reload, shoot these guys, reload, and that was kind of it. So he brings me up, I go, I'm like, I really am shooting one-handed. So I'm like, one, two, you know, go through here, unload, show clear. I turn around, my entire squad is looking at the stage description to figure out why did she do this weak hand only. So it was, it was so much fun. And I was just like, that was the best. I mean, people were surprised I shot one-handed the whole season, but I'm like, I need shoulder surgery. I'm not getting my shoulder surgery till after. We get through this, the season. So, but anyhow, all right. So, hi, Gertrude. We have lots of support. We do. We love it. Oh, but see, now, see, this is so sweet, Charlie. It's stuff like this, right? Because he does work with kids with behavioral disorders, which I should have done that in first, right? And the fact that I can help him work with them is really, really awesome.

It is.

That's great. And I love what people were saying before, what you and I were talking about before. It's like, if you're wondering who the activists are in the Second Amendment community— wait, this way— um, watch his shows because that's who he interviews with. Riding shotgun. And who said that to you?

Who was it? Jeff Knox. Jeff Knox commented that on a Facebook post. He said, he said something, he's like, I don't think enough people watch this and we certainly don't share it enough, but if you want to find out, you know, who's doing things in the community, you should check out Writing Shotgun. And I mean, it's the most, you know, this is one of the most flattering things. And I, you know, I hate saying this is the most flattering thing. No, this is the most flattering. No, this is. This— when you— when, when the people you have a lot of respect, uh, that have, that have been in the gun community doing things for a long time say nice things about you, you're like, oh man, maybe I'm doing something right.

Exactly. So wait a second, this is where I ask— wait, are we going to make the grateful list, me and all the people watching? Of course. So everyone that is still on Facebook, go check out Charlie's post tomorrow to see whether or not he really includes us.

Look, I'm not going to remember everybody, but, um, yeah, today, today was a lame day. I, um, what did I do?

I, uh, you got ready to be here, so that was—

I did get ready to be here. I spent the day editing a video and, um, I went—

yeah, and yet you got to relish in the fact that yesterday you realized you can actually talk to people.

Right, I did. You know, the funny thing is, it made the grateful list today that I talked to a complete stranger for 55 minutes.

Well, we got first-class tickets when we were in England for a train ride because of that. Not because it was nice, but because I was talking. But, you know, it's like, that's true. I did. So I don't know. See, people like Mike who say he doesn't have any friends because they're all dead. Yeah, that's like, no, really? What am I, chopped liver? I do—

I just don't even know. It's right. So there's, there's a ton of, uh, there's a ton of things people don't like about, uh, what Facebook and social media and all this stuff that we have going on. Um, but it— I think it, it connects us to the people that we wouldn't normally be connected to in our, our day-to-day lives.

And, um, I wouldn't know I wouldn't know you. I wouldn't know Ghost. I wouldn't have all these people that I like. Any of these stuff. Yeah, I know them now.

Yes. And, and so, uh, you know, so we, you know, yeah, we have all these— we have a— we might not have the, uh, our long friends, uh, but we have these other friends. And, and even though they're online and we don't know them know them, um, we, we still can connect It's true.

All right. So Saturday after Thanksgiving, I'm having a bonfire. Y'all can come over. There we go. And for real. But yeah, it's, it's one of those things. So to wrap all of this in a neat little bow, the grateful list. If you don't have one, start one. If you don't think you have anything to be grateful for, you're an idiot because 6 feet above is still better than 6 feet under. And even if you're only 5'2", you know, there's still that.

So I don't know if I'd say they're idiots. I'd say maybe— let's see, Brooke called me an idiot, so I don't know if I can put that on the grateful list.

Uh, well, but it's like, if, if I, I'm, I'm— yeah, it's one of those things where it's just like The world sucks. There is lots of horrible, horrible garbage that is out there every single moment, and we all could wallow in despair and horror with everything that is around us on a daily basis. And unfortunately, our news usually tries to make us drag down into all of that. But the truth of the matter is, think about your actual day. It's like It's like, did you get up and stand up? Do you know how many people wish they could do that because they don't have legs anymore? Did you wash your face? Do you understand how many people don't even have hands any longer, or maybe their face was burned and they can't feel stuff anymore? It's like just taking a breath without the assistance of a machine is something to be grateful for. And for those who have the machines that have to help them breathe, they're grateful for the machine. So no matter where you're at, because I have a friend of mine who's dying and she's just like, here's the deal, none of us are promised tomorrow. So if you wake up tomorrow, I highly suggest that you're thankful for it because some people know that their tomorrows are ending soon. So I may call people idiots or jerks or not very smart because there is so much and it doesn't take that much to look for it. It might be hard to build that habit over time and understand if it really sucks right now, it's so much more important to figure out what those things are. All right, I'll get off my soapbox.

Charlie, go ahead. All right, so, uh, so here's some things that make— that have made a grateful list, um, maybe once a year. Um, it seems like ever— uh, my, my apartment is heated by propane, and the, um, the hot water heater used to run on propane. I think it's electric now. And when I would forget to, uh, get propane, I would end up with a cold shower. And the, the propane only gets delivered to my area like once a week or something. Right? It's one of those sorts of things. So I would take 2 days of cold showers and then I would take a hot shower, and I was unbelievably grateful for a hot shower. I was at, um, oh my gosh, I think I was at, uh, I don't know where it was. It might have been SHOT Show. I can't remember. It might have been the Rod of Iron. I was, I was so somewhere with Rob and Amanda, uh, I think it was the Rod of Iron last year in 2021, and they, they booked us in this hotel. And Amanda's like, make sure when you check in, tell them you want, uh, one, one of the rooms over in this area, because in the other area of the hotel they don't have hot water. So I ended up getting booked in the cold water area because that's where they had rooms.

Yeah, it's really good for you though, it's very healthy.

It's okay. Like, right, I don't get the whole Wim Hof thing, and I like cold showers, man. But anyway, um, I, uh, I got up the next day, we had hot water, and I wrote the grateful list on the steam in this— on the mirror at the hotel. It just was a big sign in finger.

I'm grateful for hot water. Yeah, yeah. And, and it's like, um, after After long, hard days at work, one of the things I used to do is build fire pits for the Tony Robbins UPW experience where you actually walk on fire. And we used to call it the orgasmic shower because you've been working since like noon the day before to like 2 or 3 AM that morning, maybe sometimes later, because you're walking, you know, thousands of people over coals, and you've been building and sweating and building and sweating and cleaning up afterwards. And I was just like, yes, we call it the orgasmic shower because it's just like, oh, just having the soot off of you was like really, really awesome. Oh, that's cool.

But anyway, so how many, how many times have you firewalked?

Oh, a lot. A lot. That was a funny— Robin's Junkie in the '90s, 2000s. And somethings. Yeah. Um, yeah, we traveled all over the country with him. I helped do AV and we did fire walking. And so it was, it was fun. We've been out to Hawaii and stuff like that. So that's the fire eating and, you know, that sort of thing.

That's something I want to do. I, I, it's not that hard.

I— okay, if you want, next time together we'll, we'll do it in the car. No, let's not do it in the car. The best places to do it. But, um, yeah, so anyway, that's all I got for tonight. Usually I go 15 minutes, we've gone 40. I said we might be going an hour, a little longer. I don't know, you got anything else? Grateful list?

Makes sense. So right over— oh God, where's it at? Right over here, right over here. These two little guys behind me, these— yes, these are little vials of ashes from when I have fire walked. Oh. I've done it 3 times with my buddy. I have my mentor, and I feel weird saying that, which is why I use the voice, but my mentor studied with, um, the same guy that Tony, uh, Tony Robbins learned firewalking from. And, uh, so my, uh, my, my buddy's done this. He used to do it twice a year, but then it went down to once a year. It's been a couple years since he's done it, but, uh, but yeah, so it's, uh, it's, it's a pretty cool thing. It's a lot of mind over matter. As you know. Yeah, we did the, um, God, what else we did? We broke arrows on our neck, we had rebar on our neck, and of course, you know, we started off with the, um, you know, breaking, breaking wood with your hands, breaking the, uh, yeah, the board breaking thing.

Yeah, yeah. And well, and so here's the thing, the first time I went firewalking, I didn't know that that was part of the program. And so I'm like, we're doing what? And I did it and I'm like, huh. I didn't feel anything. So I'm like, the second time I did, I'm like, is this really real? So then I burned myself just enough to know that it was real, right? Because it is, it is a lot of mindset, and it's one of those things like, huh, you can— yeah. So anyway, but this is also sort of the whole thing of you don't know what you're capable of doing. You have endless potential, and I know people hear other people say that and like, oh, not me, that's not who I am. And I'm like, yeah, it kind of is. You are an amazing, blessed being that has come down from God or whatever your belief system is. You are a miracle in action. It's like, if you think about who or what you are, it's like, well, let's see, I'm water, 80% of me. I have electric electricity running through all of this, just happening every day. And my little muscle in here is going to beat possibly a billion times or more without me thinking about it before it stops beating. So if that's not a miraculous thing, just that alone, I don't know what is. So try to be childlike. Try to be an adult male. No, just kidding. Um, Ouch. Well, I just, I had a very juvenile father, so, you know, he likes blowing things up. So have fun. For those of you who go to the Facebook side, my profile picture says, everything's gonna kill you, so choose something fun. So nice. That's kind of, that's definitely my dad throwing, showing through on that. But so yeah, make life fun. Realize it's totally gonna suck because part parts of it really do suck and are hard or miserable, but it's the picking yourself up from that. This is what is the accomplishment. And then falling back down and then picking yourself up from that. And the idea is each time you fall down, you learn a new way to pick yourself up. And each time you fall down again, you build on that. So the more times you get knocked down, as much as they say God never gives you what you can't handle, and you're like, okay, God, I've handles enough, leave me alone.

God thinks I'm a badass.

Exactly. Um, it's just, it's, it's have faith in yourself. Know that you are destined for great things and that it really is true. So that's what I got for tonight. Any parting words, Charlie, before I hit the end broadcast button for twice?

Uh, no, no.

I—

so one of the things with me is, and I was thinking about this when you were talking is, um, uh, success is on the other side of your, uh, it's on the other side of your comfort zone. So all of the things that I'm doing now, I, I do because I got out of my comfort zone and I expand my comfort zone. And then there's other things that make me nervous and scared, and I need to accomplish those, and then my comfort zone gets bigger, and then, you know, it just, it just grows from there. So, um, I, I I look at the things that I do that people think are amazing, and I'm like, yeah, I used to not do this, and I used to think it was for other people. And I know how much work I put into it. I know how much time and energy and effort. It's not, you know, it's not sorcery. It's not— it's sitting down and doing some work, whatever that work may be, whether it's writing a book or playing an instrument, editing videos, learning how to shoot, dry firing, whatever it is. Uh, well, it's more like a pamphlet.

Okay. Oh, that's the video thing.

Yeah, sorry, right. No, it's, uh, no, it's, uh, I haven't written a book, but, um, yeah, I've had people say you should write a book. I'm like, it's more like a pamphlet is what I can say.

Yeah, I have like—

yeah, me too. Yeah. So, but it's— I mean, it's— it doesn't matter what it is, whether, you know, learning how to, uh, how to ride a motorcycle or Whatever, whatever, whatever.

You can always do more.

You can always learn something new.

Get on your— sometimes what you have is what you're enough. Also, you don't always have to be doing more, which is the lesson that my husband and family are trying me to get to learn, is that I don't have to keep doing more.

I'm working on that one though. I like these people that say that they, um, uh, when, when the new year comes along, they, uh, they say no to things before before they say yes to other things. So how do you do that?

Actually, we were just talking with my husband about that. I'm like, yes, I'm trying to put like one thing in each month, and then I'm gonna turn the month off, and that'll be it for the, the year. There you go. I'm trying anything. You never know what's going to actually stick and make a difference.

So indeed. Well, this is awesome. Thank you so much for having on, uh, having me on. I'm I'm always flattered to talk about The Grateful List and to hear that people like to see it and maybe it has some sort of an impact on them. And it's not why I do it, but I appreciate that.

And it did make me realize I will have to go and edit the comments thing because I forgot to put your links in. So for those of you watching who would like to know want to know more about Riding Shotgun with Charlie, I will edit the links and put them in there. They are in the chat right now. But, um, yeah, so good night all. Sleep well. Happy Thanksgiving, because I won't see you until next weekend. Uh, eat lots of turkey and have fun with friends and family, whether you like them or not. Smile and do the Disney thing. Hi! And you can think other things in your head. That's my advice for Thanksgiving. Perfect. All right, good night everybody.