11: Defining Moments: Turning A Setback Into A Comeback with Tim Storey

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Welcome to the Becoming Bulletproof podcast. I am your host, Tracy o'. Malley. I'm a mom to millennials, an author, Enneagram expert and multi million dollar entrepreneur, and master performance and business coach. I've gone from rock bottom to building a bulletproof business and life. If you're looking for the unfiltered transparent truth and even an extra kick in the ass, you will discover that here. Each week I'll be bringing you success stories of high level entrepreneurs as we discover how they became bulletproof and created their empire. You'll learn the story behind the glory along with Enneagram inspired truths so you can ignite your own purpose profits and build your legacy. It's time for you to become bulletproof. Buckle up. Let's go.

Okay, so welcome to another episode of the Becoming Bulletproof podcast. This is probably in all the podcasts I will do from here, moving forward and all the ones I have done. The most special one I can do.

Oh, I'm getting choked up just thinking about it.

Hands down, one of the top five most important and influential people in my life. I met Mr. Tim's story two years ago at a time I was coming out of a season of silence and wasn't quite sure what it was all about. I knew it was important and if you've known me at all or listened to me, you know I don't like to be quiet very often. But after a year long season of silence, it was no surprise to me that this beautiful human being dropped into my life about two years ago. I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but I knew I needed a mentor, I knew I needed a coach. But I wasn't going to settle for anyone that couldn't walk his talk that hadn't been places that I understand. And the day that I met him. I'm going to give you a quick story because it's so important of how just important it is to be so present and not be so hyper focused on the end game all the time. Because you're going to miss miracles. And had I been unpresent or not willing, I would have missed this opportunity completely. So I met him through a friend of ours. I'm in a mastermind group and I hadn't heard of him before, believe it or not, and which is ironic. I'm sure that was divinely placed in my life that way too. Because had I had a preconceived idea, who knows? I may not have been open.

But we were sitting there at dinner and he was our guest speaker that night. And before he even walked in the room, I felt his presence. And I knew. I was kind of like, okay, that something good's about to go down. And I have no idea what that was. And the minute he walked in the room, it's like the entire room got quiet. You know those cartoons where everybody is, like, frozen except you and one other person? And that is exactly how that moment felt when Mr. Tim Storey walked into that room and there was this divine light that came down in the. The center of us. And I was sitting a few tables back. And the minute he started talking, I knew that he would understand me on levels that most people don't.

And I didn't talk to him that night, but I listened intently. I took a piece of paper that was handed to me, and I knew that I would revisit him at some point. And it was just a few weeks later that we made our first connection. And I'll never forget, he coaches people all over the world. He's been in 75 countries. He has coached some of the most impactful, influential people in the world. And here I was sitting across from Mr. Tim's story. And I'll never forget the very first moment. So before we got on our call, I had to fill out a questionnaire. And I don't like doing those things, typically because I like to fly by the seat of my pants. But I knew that this was an opportunity, and if he was going to take the time with me, I needed to respect his process too. And so I took three hours to fill out the questionnaire that was given to me before a call. And I'll never forget, as we got on our zoom, you know, the video conference, he looked down at his paper and he looked up at me, looked back down at his paper, looked up at me. He goes, you took a lot of time on this. And I said, I did. I said, this is an important moment for me and I want to respect you and your time. And. And so, yeah, I took three hours on it. And he said, nobody ever does that. And he had read through some of the things. Obviously he always does his homework before he hops on a call. And he had this big binder of his curriculum that he takes people through. And I had gotten like part one of his curriculum in the thing and did the work. And he looked down at his big, huge, probably 5 inch binder, and he lifted it up and pushed it aside. He goes, we're going rogue with you. He goes, you've already done this work. And that's where our journey began. And that was almost two years ago. And since then, I'm honored to call this man my friend.

He is my divine counsel. Other than God, he's a beautiful human being and his life is one of love, service and just heart and hope. And so Mr. Tim's story, I am so honored to have you here today. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Wow. I mean, you could feel God's presence.

In what we're doing, for sure.

So I think one reason I was so drawn to you is that we're both wounded healers. And you know, we've been called to heal people, to change people, but we both wish we had not had to go through so many doggone wounds. And so when I, when I saw you come up on the zoom, it was like, wow, it takes one to know one. So that's why I had to push the curriculum aside because the curriculum is fantastic. But sometimes you got to go rogue when you meet somebody that is of like mind and like spirit. And so our journey began.

So grateful for it. And you talk about the wounds and we've talked about them a lot over the last two years. And you know, it's, it's not ironic. And it is that age 10 for both of us was a very pivotal moment. That is when I know for me, I was trying to make sense of why this bad stuff was happening in my life. And I know for you that was the pivotal moment where little Timmy's story knew he was going to be Tim freakin's story one day. Even at 10 years old, you knew.

You know, for those that don't know your story or even have heard you talk about it, like I know how I felt that like at 10 years old I knew, I knew that this was going to be used for something much greater than me, yet I didn't know how to process that. As 10 year old Timmy, Timmy, little Timmy story, what was happening for you and what was that moment you knew, like you could feel that presence of God to know that this is going to be okay one day. But there's going to be some.

Rough paths along the way.

And I like how you just said that this will be okay one day because I think that everyone that's watching right now, we've all faced similar things, that you have momentum in your life and then out of nowhere comes a life interruption. So I was playing baseball, Little league baseball at that age. I loved football, I loved basketball. I was a good athlete. I was happy, go lucky. I loved to dance, I loved soul Train and American Bandstand.

Me, too.

And then, you know, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Tracy, a life interruption hit my family, and that was that. My father went out to get some food for my mother and himself, and a man ran a red light as my father went through the green light hit him and took his life. And so, you know, my mother had five children, and so she had to raise four of them because my older sister was married, but she had to raise four of them working at Winchell's donut Shop, and many times a shift and a half. So my house went from happy go lucky. A lot of energy, a lot of creativity, to a lot of mourning. I never heard my mother cry in my life, and now I had to hear it on a nightly basis, which she did not know that we were hearing, but we could hear it. And it was a sad, sad, sad time. And it was at that moment, like you said, little Timmy became Tim the little man, because I felt the responsibility, you know, come to me. And it was very, very difficult time.

You know, it just hit me in my heart as you said that, because it just hit me that my son was 10 years old when I got divorced, and my little Joey became Joe, the man of the house, too. And it's so. It's hard to make sense of it when it's happening. And, you know, you're the youngest of those five, right?

Yes, I'm the youngest by several years. Yeah.

So when you're in that moment and you're hearing mom cry and, you know, as kids, we can kind of take on that because we don't know how to process it all. And you realized in that moment that you need to figure out how to be a leader in your home, right?

Yes.

How does that happen? I know that my son did. I know I did. Like, we have this moment where we make the decision that I have to take charge of this situation somehow.

I think, first of all, Tracy, it was a glimpse. It was like a knowing that there would be a time. It's almost like the biblical character of David. Even while he was taking care of the sheep, he knew there was a king inside of him. So even though I was just Little Timmy at 10 and then 11, 12, 13, I knew there would come a day that I would really help lead the story family into a new level. You know, my older sister was very strong, very powerful. All my sisters were powerful, my brother. But I knew I was gonna play some kind of role, but I didn't know it was gonna be a role that would, you know, touch millions and millions of people and speak to crowds as high as 85,000 people at a time. And take the name story from kind of an unknown name to a name that, you know is connected to change and turning setbacks to comebacks.

So you have such a background in helping people through addiction recovery, all sorts of addictions, and you even have recovery centers. You're very passionate about helping people heal and breaking those cycles.

Yes.

You and I both know that when a child is put in a situation like you and I and many, many others, that there's a fine line between being a leader in your home and being codependent and taking on the way to the world and dismissing your own stuff. And I know that, you know, through our chat, through this, this conversation, we'll kind of touch on some of those areas where maybe you were kind of blind to some things. But.

Yes.

How do you. With people, whether it's 10 or 50, how do you explain to people how to decipher between, you know, taking control and being a leader versus that codependent kind of.

Feeling that happens or that codependent behavior that happens?

I think that when you have a setback in any form or fashion, whether it be like you talked about Joey having become Joe at age 10, or my setback at age 10, or challenges that you've been through, that what happens is you have to be careful because you could have what I call a carnal comeback rather than a core comeback. A carnal comeback is, let me do it by myself. I'm going to figure this out by myself. And I think that's what most people do, Traci, is they have this carnal comeback because they don't really know the tools that they can use to get out of this setback. But we believe that you can have a core comeback and that while you're feeling the sting of your setback, God is preparing your comeback. And how do you have a core comeback, Tim? Story number one is God breathed, God inspired, and God endorsed. And if God before you could be against you. And so when you get into a core comeback, that's God's life coming into you. God super on your natural. That gives you the strength that you didn't have before.

That's a powerful explanation. And you're right. Most people do have that carnal comeback because they're. I mean, quite honestly, they're operating.

On survival at that point.

Right.

They just.

100%. And you. You can't blame people because many times they just don't know about these tools. And many times they don't know how to get through. And that's one reason I'm so excited about your style of coaching, is that, you know, people like you, you can't just play in the pretty.

You would think because you're so pretty, you could just play in the pretty. And I never use that word. You should start using that phrase. But you can't play just in the pretty. You've been called to some of the challenging, sometimes ugly places of people's lives to help them have a core comeback. Because if you have that core comeback and we get that sucker out by the root, we could change it for life.

So true. And I think so many people are afraid to explore the roots. Cause it is. It's grueling work.

It can be unforgiving sometimes and brutal on all things. And you have to make hard choices when you choose to have a core comeback rather than just the slap a band aid on it kind of 100%.

You know, one of the interesting things is that life brought me some very tough leaders into my life. My sixth grade teacher that I give a lot of credit to, he is one that introduced me to reading and books, but he was also kind of a nice teacher, but a tough one. My little league coach when I was 12, he was nice, but he was tough. Other teachers were nice to me, but yet tough. And I think that what happens many times is that we want things easy, but life will sometimes bring you tough mentors and teachers to train you to be the person that you're supposed to be.

Ironically, when you mentioned 12 years old, the teacher, the coach.

It was about when you were introduced to those tough teachers and mentors in your life. And that also. That was also the age where you were delivered. Another hit at 12 years old.

Yeah. And great, great understanding of my life. And that is the fact that my sister, who we have an older sister than my middle sister, whose name is Viola, she was driving, feeling good, feeling good about life, trying to get over my father's passing. She was about 20, 21 years of age. Her friend was driving with his sister. They're going up north to San Francisco in the fog. And her friend thought she saw an off ramp and didn't and went over a cliff and started rolling. My sister hit her head. And after eight days passed after being in a coma, so holy shmoly. I mean, for my mother, for the whole family, to have my father pass and then my middle sister pass, that was a lot. I mean, that was a lot. But the Interesting thing is in this. This is a deep understanding. Is it the first blow? My father's passing somewhat prepared me for the second blow. I mean, you never want these things to happen. But it was amazing how I understood the process a little more, but very, very difficult.

It's interesting because I'm listening to you. And every hit that came from me, even though I didn't enjoy any part of it and sometimes was like, why is this happening?

Yeah.

I knew it was always preparing me. And that's how I know that we're supposed to be doing what we're doing for sure.

Yes.

So that happens. And I'm sure, like you said, the upheaval in the family and grief, I mean, grief. Grief is not pretty, but it's a process that is required to really move through and live. So that happens. You're still kind of navigating being a leader in your house. And you go through high school and when does Tim's story know what he wants to do with his life? Because my son, who's 21 now, when he was 18, he. He's very, you know, driven all the things, and he's like, I don't know what the calling on my life is yet, so what do I do? I said, you just keep loving, serving and caring for people. Be a good human being. Contribute, and it will come on you what the next step.

I told. I totally agree. See, some things that you were saying to him, you decide and some things you discover. I think sometimes we so are caught up in the decision that we miss the discovery. So discovery for me was seeing people that were hurting and realizing I wanted to help them. And it's an interesting story. I was running in PE one day and we were doing a long distance run and there was a guy by the name of Don who used to beat me most of the time, probably 7% of time because he had super long legs and he was very good in. And those long legs would just like get the best of me at the end. But this day, I don't know what happened. Maybe there was a lot of vitamin C in my body. I passed on and I had his butt. I was whooping him. But I noticed that there was a young guy, his name was Freddy, and he was bowled over and we had lapped him and he was still over and it looked bad. So I remember I was winning and I stopped and I just stopped without thinking, like my heart stopped. I went to Freddy and I said, are you okay? He goes, no, I'm having an asthma attack. So I understood asthma because one of my sisters had asthma. So I took Freddy by the arm. I took him to the teacher. I said, freddy's having an asthma attack. We're able to get his inhaler. And he got fixed. So it's an interesting thing that I was winning finally, but yet I stopped for Freddy because he was having an asthma attack. That's the story of my life. That is the story of my life. I mean, I'm not caught up in the stuff. I will stop for Freddy that's having an asthma attack. Yeah. I'm drawn to the hurting.

There are people that are drawn to the hurting because misery loves company. And then there are people like you and me drawn to the hurting because somehow we have the compassion maybe that the world hasn't dealt them. And also, there's this wisdom that comes because we don't enable it. Right. But there is a level of tough, loving, compassionate stuff that you do so well. I know I do very well. And, you know, how do you end up, you know, because the thing that really locked me into you was I could hear in some of the language, I could hear God, obviously. But I also heard talk that most of the people that were in that room with me didn't catch on to, but I did, and it was recovery language.

And it was like, oh, my gosh, this person gets it. Like, gets it. You know, we're sitting in this fine dining restaurant with, you know, popping bottles, and here I am with my water, and you at the front of the room, and I'm hearing you speak language of recovery. And, you know, you and I have talked about. We believe everybody is addicted to something in some way, even you, even me. And how do you end up doing this strong recovery work with people when, you know, on the surface at least, it's not creating the wreckage in your life like it did mine? Yeah.

It goes back to my father.

He struggled with alcoholism. His type of drinking was more of a weekend drinking where he worked at a steel factory. And his whole thing was, you know, on Friday after work, he'd get a paycheck, hang out with his buddies, get really, really drunk, and then do that Friday, Saturday, at least half a Sunday, and then go back to work sober. And this continued most of his life until he really got strong with God the last few years. But I remember the feeling of living with somebody who struggled with alcoholism.

It was challenging because you never knew when he would implode or explode. And that was a very difficult thing because you knew that your happiness was a little Bit temporary because you could be laughing in the house, but you knew he was going to go off or your mother was going to go off. So I remember this thing, this feeling of being on edge, but yet we had to mask it. We had to act like everything was okay. There was never any discussion at that time about my father's challenge or my mother's challenge with handling a man that was challenged. And that opened me up to try to understand this addiction.

Same like you and I had very similar situations and I became that kind of drinker myself. But when you said that, like you were open to learning more about it, I know that I wasn't. I mean, because I was different. I was like, well, that doesn't apply to me. And I know that you haven't necessarily struggled with alcohol, but when you say you're open to learning more about it, I mean, you've gone way. I mean, you have recovery centers. I think you have like five, six or seven of them, right?

Yes.

You're very passionate about helping those that struggle with it. Is that based on that short experience that you had with your dad?

Yeah, it's based on that. And Traci, based on exposure, that once I was open up to my father's pain, I started to pay attention to other people that had similar pain, whether it was with drugs or alcohol. And so the disease kind of hit my brother. He began to spiral even as a teenager. His friends, who had a lot of potential, they begin to spiral. And you know, as they say, the story, because I was younger than them, I was always trying to give them words of encouragement, words of wisdom. So Even as a 13, 14, 15 year old, I was already Tim's story. It was funny, but, you know, you're right. I jumped full into the space. We have what's called ARC Recovery center in Tucson, Arizona. And people can find out about that atjust@timstory.com but we're helping, you know, a lot, a lot of people just not just get sober, but stay sober, but not just be sober, but to live life. And you know that that's possible because it's happened for you. So we're not just trying to get sober. We're trying to live our life in the sobriety.

Yeah. The substance or coping mechanism or even toxic bonding is just a symptom of a deeper thing. And I'm so grateful that you do that work because you and I both know the statistics on those of us that stay sober the rest of our life. And it's very, very, very, very small.

Very small.

And so I think it's really important that there's more of us out there speaking that language so that we can, even in the darkest of days, offer people some hope. And that's what you do. So you end up, you know, doing some coaching. You're meeting people in the entertainment industry. So I'm guessing you were maybe late 20s when that was happening.

Exactly, yeah. So early 20s. At 20 years of age, I started traveling the world speaking. But even as a spiritual man, kind of like a motivational pastor, before it was so popular as it is today, I was using the Bible, usually Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. And then I would then motivate people through using the Scripture. And then it was later in life that I started noticing entertainers in my meetings. I'd look out, I'd say, wow, that's wild. There's Denzel Washington, there's Stevie Wonder. And this became something that happened a lot. And then little did I know that just around the corner, when I was about 30, that this would become more of a major part of my life, that I started life coaching entertainers.

You know, it's something that you and I have talked at length about and, you know, with my son, because he's probably going to go into the space that you and I are in maybe at some point, and him watching me navigate, you know, a strong spiritual life and recovery and, you know, even watching you, and he looks at both you and I and he goes, you both do something that's very special that most people maybe aren't catching on to. And it's not a manipulation by any means. But early in my recovery, Joey asked me, he said, mom, why, like, in recovery? Why is it not, like, just about God and Christian base? And same thing with, like, what you do as a pastor. You lead a congregation. You obviously have a strong recovery background. And I think you and I both made the decision. We understood that we had to tell people what they wanted to hear so we could build trust in their hearts, so that we could come in the back door and really give them what they needed, whether it was the spirit of God, the truth of recovery. And when I said that to him, I said, sometimes you just need to deliver the message in a way that people can digest it. So they're willing and open for the miracles and the promises.

And I know that. I mean, the Bible does that.

Yeah, you are literally defining the Jesus style. So there's different things Jesus did. Number one, he preached. Secondly, he prayed for people. Thirdly, he helped them Prosper. And so one of the things that we do is that we are storytellers. And so that would be our preaching and is the way in for me was telling stories, and people were interested in my story. So that's why little kids always come up to me and say, is Tim story? Is story really your last name? Or they just called you that because you're a good storyteller. Well, storytelling is what got me in the door with so many of these people because they didn't really want to hear religion, but they would hear a story about somebody's life changing. And so, yeah, I think you've defined that well.

Yeah, I think stories are what connects all of us. And I know growing up in an alcoholic home myself.

I didn't talk about the stories that were happening in my house. Most certainly. In fact, I was covering those stories up for so long. And when we cover our own story up, we really start to believe that we're the only one in it. And I think that's where addiction can go spiraling out. I think that's where all the things that go sideways come from, is we turn into isolation, and we think we're the only ones. And the art of storytelling that you do and I do, it really connects people to believe that, oh, my gosh, I'm not the only one. I'm not the only one. And that's such a powerful first step in exploring where you need to go to have that core comeback and core transformation. So you've worked with people at the lowest of lows. I mean, it's no secret, you know, Robert Downey Jr. And you. I mean, you're the one who goes to the jail when he is there. And, I mean, you can't get much lower than that, right?

That's true. And that's an interesting thing about life, is that, you know, I said to you before, when I was in my house with my family, there was that combination of being happy but knowing that something can go wrong. And even when I got into Hollywood, you would have thought that that would be like a glamorous life, because I was coaching the biggest stars in the world and still do. But I kept being drawn to the hurting again. But I like the balance that you said earlier. I never even thought about that, that some people are hurting because they're hurting, and then it just goes bad.

But I'm drawn to hurting people just because I love them and I understand pain. But, yeah, with dealing with Robert and Charlie Sheen and many other people like them.

But the great thing about the pain and being willing to process the pain, how I was able to then help people that were hurting more than me. And that's what I would say, Tracy, somebody's hurting worse and more than me. You know, right where I would think it was the deepest, there's somebody in a deeper place.

So I want to touch on you for a second with that because I feel that way too, like somebody's hurting more than me. And I did that for a long, long time in a not so healthy way where I would dismiss my own feelings or minimize my own pain and not ever get to mine clearly. So I mean, you're a human being and you hurt too, even though you're Tim freaking story, right? And you live a beaut loving, amazing life and you still hurt. And so even in your hurt and you know, people are hurting more than you. What is your own personal process for navigating pain today?

I wish I would have taken more self care in my 20s and in my 30s because by not taking self care it created challenges in my life. And the thing is, I got so caught up in helping people, healing people, that I didn't take care of myself. And I think because of that you start to make decisions you probably would not have made from a healthy place. I was too busy. I was a human doing, not a human being. So it took a few things. Blowing up like a marriage, it really, really stopped me in my tracks, but made me say, I need help. So I say this as you know, you could be the right person with the right plan, but you better have the right partners. So I was missing the right partners in my life. So I went and got a phenomenal psychologist who's now in heaven, who taught at USC and wow, that lady helped change my life for 25 years.

So yeah, I did the same thing. Like I knew I wanted to help, but it was at the expense of my own kind of stuff too. And it's kind of like that holy shit moment like that. Like I won't be able to do what I am here to do at the expense of myself. And so there's that fine line and balance. And I know people that are listening hate the word balance. I believe there's a beautiful dance you can have with it in some way.

I do too.

I do, I really do. I do believe that there is some kind of way that you can have, you know, and that comes with self awareness, right? Like I know that you have to be so hyper aware and self aware. So do I. Because as we listen to the pain of people, and we hold space for them. There has to be some real strong spiritual maintenance and hygiene on ourselves to be able to take that on without taking it on physically. And I know you've worked really hard at that, and so have I. So you and I both know my story about Oprah and the impact that she had on my life. And I know that you. She's made quite the impact on your life as well.

Yeah, we're real friends. You know, that's. That's an interesting thing for me, watching her early on in her career, starting. She started around 1985, and to think that we're, like, real friends, so it's kind of wild.

So you end up on her couch in her backyard, which, you know, it's. I know I'll end up there one day somehow.

There's no doubt.

Even if it's just playing with all her golden retrievers. And.

How does that happen? And when you're walking down to that beautiful couch and under that tree, are you going like, holy shit, this is really happening right now?

Yeah. There was an awesome lady that was part of my Hollywood Bible study who then moved to Miami, and she then introduced me to Oprah's executive producer, who started coming to some of my studies when I do them in Miami, because we do this Hollywood Bible study also in Miami at times. And from there, this lady thought that it was a smart idea to introduce me to Oprah, which she doesn't do very often. And Oprah and I really hit it off. And she said, I want to put you on Super Soul Sunday. And Super Soul Sunday changed my life because I'll never forget my book Come Back and Beyond had done relatively well, but it did not shoot through the roof. But I'll never forget coming out, and Oprah had the book out. It was on her lap, and she says, oh, I love what you say in page 59. And I went, oh, my gosh. Every minute she keeps that book on her lap, my cells are going up and up. And then she just kept it on her lap for the whole hour. And it was like a whole shift took place from so many people inviting me to speak around the world, people who had never heard of me asking me to coach them, celebrities chasing me down. It was pretty surreal. And then that gave me, like, a VIP pass to all her parties. So that was cool.

That is cool for somebody like you and me, that even at an early age, we could discern that even through pain, there's going to be growth of some kind. Right? Like, every Hit that we took. There's growth of some way. And I know for myself, there were times that I, you know, obviously a few decades ago, that I would almost, like, looking back, I can see this. I would blow shit up or sabotage or just to have the growth. Like, I didn't know how to grow without the pain. And I know there's a lot of people listening right now that are addicted to the drama and the cycle of pain. Because, yes, you can't grow without pain. So let's not get blindsided by pain. So let's stir up the pot and create the pain ourselves and try to force the growth. And I know I did that for a long, long time. And, yes, you do grow, but you create a lot of wreckage along the way.

Yeah, you're saying great stuff.

Wow. So when you're working with somebody like me or like the people that you work with, because this is probably the hardest part for me is to learn how to grow when things are great. Because I can be like, okay, either I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Yeah.

Or I don't know how to grow without my back against the wall.

Okay, so perfect. So my answer to that, and that's great intro by you, is that you are so connected to the familiar. So the familiar was the drama, the familiar was the mess. Familiar was sometimes the madness for both of us. Okay. So now when. When life becomes magical, sometimes the mess and the madness tries to knock on the magical door and say, hey, come back to where you belong, to the familiar. But what happened for you that you just have to own, is that you went through new doors.

And that is your past. We learn from our past, we grow from our past. But now you're in the present and you've moved into new divine doors that are many times unfamiliar. But that's just beautiful life of faith. You know, there's a scripture in the Bible that says that God will take you from new dimension to new dimension. So another translation from glory to glory. So that's what's happened to you and I as we got taken from new dimension to new dimension because it used to throw me off. I'd walk into to the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel and the guys would say, Mr. Story, your table is ready and Videl is waiting for you. Vidal who? Videl Sassoon or Mr. Story, Charleston is waiting for you. Charleston Heston, who also played Moses. So I started living this crazy life, like at 29, 30, 31. And there was almost a side of me, like Dorothy, that Wanted to go back to Kansas. Wanted to go back to the mess. Wanted to, you know, clip my heels and go back to the familiar. But now I had to embrace the new things and that it was the divine doors.

Mmm. I'm not gonna lie. That magical place that I've hit from time to time is beautiful and glorious and the most uncomfortable. It's still, like, just listening to you right now. I'm like, oh. Like, I know. Like, I'm. I know the mess and madness like the back of my hand. And that's easier, even though it's hard, you know, Even though it's harder in a lot of ways. Yeah. How do you encourage people? Because, I mean, I'm not immune to messing with the madness a little bit. Because the magical is really scary. Because, you know, growing up the way that you and I did, flying under the radar sometimes is. Is what kept me safe. And, you know, as we move into these magical places, and, I mean, somebody like Robert Downey Jr. And these guys, like, they're most magical places yet. Maybe they grew up like I did or you did, where flying under the radar, you're better seen than heard. Do as I say, not as I do. Like, how do you keep people on that path?

So thank you for your transparency, because I think that's one reason you are connecting to thousands and it will head to millions of people. Because, Traci, I think not only are you transparent, but you have answers to the dilemma that we both faced. So here's the deal, is that on our own, we might stay in the mess. On our own, we may have stayed in the madness, but it does take a village. So in this case, you know, I brought in a therapist, a phenomenal one. Spirituality was a big place in my life. Other people that came into my life, so they started giving me tools to work my way through the madness and the mess. And so I think the reality is, is that we just have to come into this understanding that maybe we don't deserve this magic, but this magic has been bestowed upon us. And that's that message of grace, the grace of God. And the Bible says this, that he does not treat you as your sins deserve. So I think a lot of us, we almost try to punish ourselves for our past, and then by the punishment, we'll begin to paralyze ourselves in the past. So you and I have decided to take this Amazing Grace, Psalms 103, and just say, thank you, God. Maybe I don't deserve all of this, because this is pretty freaking overwhelming and magical. But I'M gonna go ahead and ride the ride anyhow.

Thank you for that.

Yeah, I'm riding the ride anyhow. You know, I mean, I have a new book coming out with HarperCollins, which is number one book publishing company in the world. I have a new movie coming out called Tim storian friends for 2021. And it's a good possibility. The lady that we mentioned earlier is gonna host it. I got Randy Jackson from American Idol who's doing all my music as a producer, bringing in the biggest acts in the world. Spencer Proffer, who's an award winning producer, is executive producer who also told the John Coltrane Story it'll be all over AMC theaters. Like come on a book deal. The AMC deal, new show with Yolanda Adams coming out, 2021 on BET. Another show on the homeless coming out next year. So that's a lot of magic in the midst of messing with my mess at the same time.

That's pretty magical. One of the things that I heard in my early days in recovery that really hit me, there were two things. There are three things. The first thing that hit me like right in the heart was no matter how far down the scale we have gone, we'll see how our experience will benefit others. And I remember hearing that and it, I was like, how is that possible for somebody like me? That was the first thing.

Yeah.

The second thing that I heard that has stuck with me is like, we are not immune. We are not cured. What we have is a daily reprieve that is contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. So like, that comes. But the last thing, like those, I was like, okay, yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense. I don't understand how that's possible for somebody like me yet, but it will happen. The last thing that stuck with me, that scared me more than the others was to stay in the center of the pack. And that scared me because I was a lone wolf and any kind of pack I had around me wasn't safe. And so I know that for a lot of people, for me included, I had to wipe out the pack I'd been running with and find a new pack that I felt safe enough to be in the center of, to allow them because, like that reinforcement when we want to go mess with the mess and the madness, because that's familiar, that pack is going to keep you away from that and keep you in the magic. And that was really hard for somebody like me who doesn't trust easily. I mean, I still, it's still a battle that I face and thank goodness the right people like you and a few very key people in my life make sure it keeps shoving me back into the center. Like, you belong there. You belong there. You're safe there. We got your back. And I know there's a lot of people listening right now, and I know you probably at some point in your life, as the magic keeps happening, you're looking around. I was like, can I trust this pack? Can I trust this pack?

You are so onto something, because, you know, I like to do plays on words. So as I was thinking about what you're saying, which was phenomenal, is that the pack will help you to stay packed. What I mean by that is the pack that you run with will pack you up, almost like in a suitcase, and they will tie you up in your. In your. In your past. And you chose to take the high road, and that was to, you know, get away from those people. Again, I got to go to the Proverbs. It says if you spend time with fools, you become foolish yourself. But if you spend time with wise people, you'll stack up more wisdom. So as you stayed in that pack, your life was unraveling. When you got around the wise, you stacked up more wisdom. But to get out of that, to get entangled, was not easy, was it?

No. And it was very humbling because, you know, that was the result of my decisions. Right. They wouldn't hold me accountable, so I chose that they were good people. Like, obviously, they're good people, but not good for me. And it's a very humbling moment. And, like, you start questioning yourself, like, is my discernment good in this department? Do I know the difference between who's a good person to have in my pack versus not? And it's again, back to the being present with, you know, the divine source God, and really listening to that. And I'm so grateful that you are leading the charge in my pack, around me. Like, what a great gift I was given in meeting you.

Thank you. And what a privilege, though, just so you know that, you know, it's like I look at someone like yourself, and I saw this amazing gift that you've used for a lot of things and even in your current business that you had and you still have. You know, you were put on big stages. Everywhere I go, people love you, but now you're that. But you're also this. You are back to what we said at the beginning. You are the wounded healer. So I felt like, as a person that went through the door before you, that I can at Least turn around and say, hey, just so you know, around this bend, let me tell you what you're facing around that bend. This is what you might face. And so it is a privilege to help mentor somebody that's going to take it to the next level. And so that's how we think about life from where we come from, our background. I believe that you can have as much or more impact that I've had and not have to go through some of the crap that I went through at certain stages of life. Because you're younger than me. Don't forget that.

Not much, but.

I have about five more minutes because I have to coach somebody I know.

And I want to end with that because I know there's a lot of people listening right now that want to take in your wisdom. I know that you have so many free videos. I mean, YouTube, Tim's story, and you could go for weeks, just a long time. You'll get that residual wisdom from Mr. Tim's story and take in everything that he says. But what's the best way for people to find you?

I think Tim story.coms t o r E Y and then you'll find information on arc.arc. if you know somebody that's struggling with addiction, drug addiction, or also alcohol addiction, we also deal with mental health. So arc, it's in Tucson, Arizona. That's our main base, but we have them in different parts of the nation. You can find that information@timstory.com and find.

Him on Instagram, too. He's fun. You catch him with the Soul Train out there, and he listens to great music and let me know how I can help with that. Recovery center. I'm just an hour and a half drive from Tucson, so if there's anything.

So I'm saying yes to that. So I would like you to share with your followers as much as you can.

Okay.

And the other thing is, I'd love you to go there and talk to everybody, because we have about 100 people there at all times. So it's a larger facility. It's about a $20 million facility in Tucson. And we do things at a very, very high level. So I'm saying yes to your offer.

Beautiful. Well, thank you for our friendship, your wisdom, your love. Thank you for your heart to serve and the hope that you just give every single person that you touch, whether it's through a screen, a phone, in person, through a hug, or just our friendship. So thank you for everything that you are. And in this world, it's. You're magical.

You're very welcome. It's great, great, great to be your friend.

I love you.

Love you too.

Thank you for tuning in to the Becoming Bulletproof podcast. If you learned a thing or two from our show today, it would mean a lot to me if you shared it and tagged me so I can hear exactly what landed on your heart. This will help me to bring you even more episodes with the topics and guests you want. Please head over to itunes and leave an honest and loving five star review. If this made an impact on you, you can find me on Instagram at traceyomalley and I have tons of free resources for you@traceyomalley.com as always, if you are wanting to ignite your purpose, profits and build your legacy, it's time to stand on the front line of your life and do the work. Let's Become Bulletproof. Sam.