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🎙️ Get ready to unlock the ultimate power of gratitude in "Perfect Mode" with JClay and Troy Washington. Join us as we reveal the transformative secrets of "Gratitude Alchemy" - your very existence depends on tuning in!
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Creators & Guests
What is Perfect Mode?
"Perfect Mode" invites you on a transformative odyssey to discover the extraordinary within the ordinary. Hosted by the dynamic duo of JClay, a rapper with a spiritual twist, and Troy Washington, a realtor with a mindset of abundance, this podcast is a sanctuary for those seeking to elevate their existence. Together, they explore the realms of personal growth, mental clarity, and spiritual enlightenment, offering unfiltered insights into living a life unchained by societal expectations. Tune in for your weekly dose of inspiration and embark on a journey to align with your highest self.
If I reminded you that you are perfect, would you argue me down or step into your perfection? Welcome to perfect, welcome to perfect, where there are no excuses, no expectations, and we explore the world without limitations. I'm Jay Clay, rapper, and spiritual teacher, with my co host Troy Washington, your friendly neighborhood realtor. Let's be real. So let's be perfect.
JClay:Let's be perfect. Everything. Anything. Anything. Anything.
JClay:Anything. Anything. Perfect. Everything. Anything.
JClay:Anything. Anything. Perfect. Everything. Anything.
JClay:Anything. Anything. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect.
JClay:Perfect.
Troy Washington:Welcome to perfect mode. Welcome to perfect mode. And first off, let me start by telling y'all that we love the opportunity to be anywhere, sharing our thoughts, hopefully, and helping you realize that you are perfect.
Troy Washington:And the reason why I can say that unapologetically is because I know that you are one of 1. Numero uno. You cannot be replicated, duplicated. And the only reason, and I mean the only reason, Jay, that you would think that you're not perfect is you'd be looking at this person next to you and saying, I'm not them. But guess what?
Troy Washington:You are you, and that's all you need. And, you know, just just let it sink in for a little bit. But, of course, it's yours truly Troy Washington, your friendly neighborhood realtor. And I have my boy, Jay Clay, the rich rapper and teacher. And we're about to get on here and talk about gratitude, alchemy, turning everyday moments into golden opportunities.
Troy Washington:Yeah. Man, listen to me, bro. That's what I'm a tell you right now about that topic. And it it it just it it just brought me all the way back to a conversation we had. But what up, Jay?
JClay:What up? Happy Sunday. I'm a perfect people. Perfect world. Perfect land doing perfect things at the perfect time.
JClay:The perfect place. Let's get it. Happy to be here. Ready to to to fill this day with extra energy and be filled by it, literatively and figuratively. Yeah, man.
JClay:Happy day. Was
Troy Washington:hey. Now real quick real quick, though. Bro, like, I never realized it until today, but for whatever reason, the the intro will be making me wanna crump. Like, I I started. Pow pow.
Troy Washington:I was in there. I was getting here getting crump, but that's that's a whole another topic. But, you know, onto the topic, gratitude, alchemy. Gratitude, alchemy. What what does that mean, Jay?
Troy Washington:What does that mean?
JClay:Gratitude. Like, peep people don't, like, people don't really understand gratitude. And I I can't even honestly say I fully understand it. And and I don't use it nearly as much as I should, but I know that when I do, like, great things happen. Great.
JClay:Like and and it it it makes sense too. So so so okay. Just to break down what it is.
Troy Washington:I'm a tell you.
JClay:To alchemy is just really appreciating everything worth appreciating. Like and what I mean is, like, you don't gotta appreciate the the napkin that's on your desk or something if you don't want to, like but but make sure you really appreciating that what you really appreciate. Don't worry about everything else. Everything else will take care of itself, but just just worry about not a reason to worry, but appreciate what you truly appreciate. And it it it works in a magical way that it attracts more appreciation for things.
JClay:It puts you in in in more situations where you can be more appreciative and and gain more from it. It is not it's not just about gaming, but it's really being in the flow of, like, man, I I really appreciate where I am. I appreciate this house. I appreciate this platform. I appreciate all of this.
JClay:And when you're focusing on it, like, you don't have any time to focus on anything negative or or below, and you're just in this state of of creation and flow.
Troy Washington:So I wanna go back to the napkin, though. You know what I mean? And so so so two things here. Appreciate what you appreciate. I love that.
Troy Washington:Like, if, of course, if you say you are happy about something or you appreciate something, you need to appreciate that thing to the fullest. But going back to the napkin, I would also even say appreciate things that you haven't realized that you appreciate. And, you know, the fact that you there is a napkin to be used, whether you use it or not, like, there's so much around us that we just kinda take for granted because we don't we've I I don't wanna say that we've taken the value away from it because we would still grab a napkin and use it. So we understand that there's value there, but we don't understand how, not having this, how much of a luxury it is to have anything that we have, or how much is is of a luxury it is to be in any situation we are to have a luxury it is to have anybody in your life. You know, sometimes you look at people and be like, well, I don't even really wanna deal with them.
Troy Washington:But everybody's here for a reason. So I'm I'm I'm I'm of the mindset of appreciate everything because sometimes you might not even remember or recognize. But go ahead, Jay.
JClay:Right now, I I agree with you wholeheartedly. But I guess what I'm saying, like, some people might not even be in the mindset where they can even grasp to appreciate everything because they could have been focusing on hating everything. Like, oh, I hate this situation. Hey. Hey.
JClay:Hey. Hey. Hey. And so it's hard to appreciate. But even in that, everybody appreciates something and just make sure that you are really appreciating whatever that something is.
JClay:Because it it'll lead to you then appreciating the microphone, appreciating Nicole. Shout out to Nicole for for jumping on here. Appreciate that. And, yeah, just just appreciating everything and and everybody, but but I really want people to start and not and not say, well, I gotta I gotta start with this knocking.
Troy Washington:So so just kinda, you know, insert a little story. And the the or another reason why I love this topic because it was right online. But, just to kinda I know we're gonna get into the alchemy of it, you know you know what what all that is, but, you know, this weekend, I have an investor that I work with, and, he has a house that's gutted out. It's empty. Right?
Troy Washington:And, I asked him. I was like, hey. You know, I know I work for you to sell your house, but do you mind if I can actually start coming to work on the house with you so that way I can learn the process and I could, you know, kinda replicate this later on down the line? And he was like, man, Troy, yeah, you come through. I'll I'll teach you everything I know.
Troy Washington:So for the past few weekends, I've been going to this house. But yesterday, I was at the house, and we were doing a subfloor in the house. So I'm in nailing and hammering and carrying all of this stuff, and he would just sit back and watch me. Right? And I so first of all, I have no problem with that.
Troy Washington:Right? I I I I can't even tell you how many times I told him I appreciate him while I was working my fingers to the bone. Yeah. But, the thing is, man, the funny thing is I I could imagine on any other day me not wanting to do that and somebody asking me to do it, whether I was learning or not. You know, it's always a learning opportunity.
Troy Washington:But when I was down and I was hammering, I was kneeling, I was so gracious. So I had so much gratitude. I had so much appreciation. It no longer felt like I was doing anything hard. Even though, from the outside of it, I know that anybody looking in were like, man, he's sweating like a his shirt closed out soaking wet.
Troy Washington:But I told myself a couple days ago that I'm gonna have ultimate gratitude toward anything that's in front of me. And I told him at the end of yesterday's session, I know it might not look like it because of how I look, but I am so happy right now. I'm so grateful. And he just looked at me and laughed, and he was like, for real? And I and I made it a point to speak it out loud because I felt like I needed to hear it, but I also want that same type of energy to transfer to other people because, again, we take for granted any opportunity that that's in front of us that allows us to expand who we are.
Troy Washington:But go ahead, Jay.
JClay:Yeah. I I I love that too because, like, it it it does a lot of things by by you acknowledging that for yourself and, you know, sharing that with someone. Like, it it it one, it it makes you more fun to be around. Like, you you love being around appreciative people because it puts you in a certain mindset. Like, you you can't help but see things from the positive when you're appreciative of things.
JClay:And the the more you share it, it's almost like the more people wanna do stuff for you because they know that you are truly appreciative of it. I'm I'm sure, like, we've all given to somebody before and they said nothing for it. And he's just like, oh, that's that's weird. You can say thank you or nothing, but but that's not why we give. We give because we just wanna give.
JClay:It it doesn't matter what they do with it or not. But, but there is a point that it, it, it makes it a little more. I don't know. It's just, it's just something about gratitude. Like you give to people who appreciate more like, like you have kids, kids can't really bottle emotions.
JClay:Like we have learned too as adults. So you see that unfiltered joy when they receive something, anything that they're grateful for, and it just makes it easier to give more like, oh, man. Yeah. Here you go. Here's here's more.
JClay:And we we all do that. Like, we've all been the recipient of that, and we still can, but we don't always appreciate the things that we're appreciative for.
Troy Washington:Now now funny that you say that we we we give more or we will actually gain more when we appreciate things because people can sense that energy. And I'm gonna use my son as an example. My oldest son, he's a basketball player. Right? And me being the dad that I am, you know, a lot of times kids, they wanna get into their own way, and I get it.
Troy Washington:You know, I wanna go play video games all day, but I make it a point to get up every single morning, and we've been going out and shooting shots every day. We've been shooting 500 shots every morning for the whole summer. Right? And every some of the mornings, I can sense he's like, dang, man. Can I just sleep in?
Troy Washington:And, you know, if I'm not a person that's tied to him and have the ultimate goal in mind, you're right. I would literally just be like, well, you sure you don't wanna deal with it. I don't wanna deal with it either. And that lack of appreciation and I know it's not really lack of appreciation from him. It's him being a kid.
Troy Washington:You know what I'm saying? But that lack of him does rub off for me because I kind of approach the situation when I talk to him like, hey. I'm here for you. You're not out here by yourself. You could be out here by yourself or not out here at all.
Troy Washington:And, no, just trying to teach him, look. I always take advantage of every opportunity you have. But, again, you know, when you bring that back to us, it's something so small as just your body language. Like, appreciation goes a long way, but go ahead, Jay.
JClay:Yeah. I I I'll share a story that happened last week. So, I I I recently started taking back taekwondo just because missed it, got talked to it. It's fun. I love it.
JClay:I appreciate appreciate it. And then I get I guess because of the 4th and stuff, I I was just feeling the relaxation mode of it all. And so I I almost didn't go to class, Friday. I was like, man, I don't really wanna go to class. I was like, nah.
JClay:Just show up. Just show it it I think it's gonna be a easy day any day because of certain circumstances. Wasn't an easy day. But I I got to learn, like, some new stuff, some new skills that I didn't have before. And even though I was looking tired, I told the instructor, I was like, thank you.
JClay:And I was like, I thought today was gonna be an easy day. I'm glad it wasn't. Thank you for this. He was like, what you mean? He's like, man, I'm I'm happy.
JClay:Like, I'm I'm I'm having the time of my life. And it and I'm sure, like, a part of him wants to even teach me more because it's like, man. Okay. Even though he's, I can see it in his eyes that he's done. He, he he really do does appreciate this and it's it is and it's a different feeling.
JClay:Like, I'm I'm excited to go, which is why I said just show up because I don't wanna not show up to something that I'm excited to do. And that's what often happens when we don't appreciate the things we appreciate. We don't show up to the things that we do appreciate, but we'll show up firsthand for the things we hate. And and that's that's backwards. And and if we want a a more meaningful and fun filled life, we need to make sure we go to and show up for the things
Troy Washington:we appreciate. The other part to that, bro, is like because it's it's kinda like a chain reaction, I'll say. Like, I and I would tell you over the past, I don't know, 2 weeks, bro, I I again, I'm not rich, bro. I'm not I'm not I don't just have money just to go do anything that I wanna do all the time. Go ahead.
Troy Washington:You're right. You're right. You're right. Let me let me go ahead and correct that. Yeah.
Troy Washington:But when I say it's a chain reaction, you no longer have that that sense of lack when you start to appreciate. So just to give you an example, again, I just told you I was working on a house hard as hell the other day. Right? But, the the night before we were at AT and T Stadium for Copa America, like, is a big soccer tournament. You know what I'm saying?
Troy Washington:Yeah. And number 1, this was one of the most amazing events that I was I've ever been at. Right? But the craziest part about it is the level of joy that I felt there in comparison to me being at the house was no different. Like, I was extremely happy both places, and I can't even quantify on either account anything that I've ever experienced like that before because I never would have thought me hammering a nail would feel as good as me being in a stadium full of people.
Troy Washington:But, again, when you give when you appreciate things in this proper sense, it kinda just it's a domino effect. The next thing that I had after me, working on the house, I went to hang with some friends, and I was extremely tired. Right? But I told myself, you know what? This is as good as me doing that.
Troy Washington:And it's it literally just made yesterday just it it was it was out of this world, Beau. You know what I'm saying? And, again, it's it's it's a practice. And and that's why I said it makes it hard to separate yourself from anything else at that point. Go ahead.
JClay:Right. And that's what makes it cool, like, in that that flow, that that creative flow. Like, we don't know what today holds. We don't know what tomorrow holds. All we can do is just take take the cues and and and go toward the things that we appreciate, the things that we're joyful for.
JClay:But it leads to all kinds of stuff. It leads to all kind of interactions and opportunities that we couldn't have planned and that we wouldn't have planned. Like, we we like doing great stuff. We don't always wanna plan it. Like, man, I was somebody else to plan it this time.
JClay:And and the the world does, God does if we allow it. But sometimes we'll instead of appreciate something, we'll judge the level of appreciation. So it's like, I'm not appreciating, but I well, I would I might like that more than this. So I might like, nah. Just just jump jump in if you like it.
JClay:You like it. Like like, really live it. Live that appreciation. It it it it leads us to to so many new things and so many lives that we wouldn't have known that we could live, that we were even worthy of living, that we we were even capable of living, and just just things.
Troy Washington:So yeah. So this will be my question for you now. So we're talking about appreciation and gratitude
JClay:Yeah.
Troy Washington:And being thankful and how it elevates you. So the outcome and I'm gonna tell you what came to my mind. Yeah. Because, again, you know, me and you had a conversation this week, and, you know, you were talking about Sprite. Right?
JClay:And Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Troy Washington:You know what I'm saying? And and, again, even me, going to work on this house, like, you know, we always see the finished product. We always see what the outcome is of whatever the work was done, you know, the work that was done. And, like, you don't realize that the process or the beginnings or the origins of something provides you as much joy. Yeah.
Troy Washington:And when I think about the alchemy of things, I'm thinking about the process or where it came. And if I've ever even thought to even look go ahead. What you what do you say to that? Well, so
JClay:but one process is everything. The reason I say that I mean, it is also how appreciation works. So appreciation in the sense is a math term. You know about appreciation because you deal with real estate all the time. And so, like, houses appreciate in value.
JClay:But what makes a house really appreciate? And in in simple terms, it's just a lot of people appreciating the house and the property and the neighborhood that it's in that it goes up in value. Like, there's no real ticker or anything. It's just you can tell that a neighborhood is appreciated because they take care of it. They they make sure it looks nice.
JClay:They make sure, you know, that the lawn is is cared for. The the roofs are fine. The you know, just whatever it takes for the whole land to to go up in appreciation. And that's the same thing. Like, when we appreciate stuff, we take care of it.
JClay:Like, we'll we'll take care to maybe fold our our nicest garments. We'll take care to put love into the foods that we make. And so it's appreciating in value. So it gives us just as much as we put it into it. And so the alchemy of it is, like, you can literally live in a house of full of gold.
JClay:And it it it might not look like gold right now, but to you, it can be worth just as much. Like, I don't wanna go bar. I want this this nightstand is in my house. This is worth way more. And that, like, you could you could such make your where you are and the people in your life, you could you could appreciate them so much that it is like you're in heaven.
JClay:You you won't be able to distinguish the 2 because it's like, man, this is I I I'm happy for this. I'm grateful for this. And and it's all about the process. Like, the the care you put into it, no matter what it is, if you put together a puzzle, if you're you're whatever you're doing, like, that's that's one in the
Troy Washington:same of that appreciation for it. So I'm a say this. So let's I'm I'm I'm gonna go to the external. Yeah. But I'm gonna start with the internal.
Troy Washington:Appreciating yourself and the process of that. Appreciating yourself and the process of that and, living in the house of gold. Like, I I I love I actually love that turn, and that was, similar to what I mean when when I say there's a domino effect with appreciation. But let's start with you first or with me first and the things that I take for granted. I have woke up, bro, and my back was hurt before.
Troy Washington:I'm sorry. We you know, we've had this before. I've woke and my knee was hurt before, or I I I I woke up and I was tired, or, you know, I woke up and I didn't feel, energetic and all of these different things. And there is a process for appreciating yourself. There's a process of taking care of your own yard and your own body.
Troy Washington:There's a process of doing the things even when it comes to how people perceive you. I'm not saying that you have to do anything specific to your hair, but I I will tell you, where I grew up at in the hood, peep some people will look back at the hood and say, oh, these people are ghetto, which I hate that term number 1. I'm I'm gonna say that. But what I would tell you about that is, shout out to him. My bad.
Troy Washington:But what I will tell you about that is whenever I see somebody step out, whether I agree with the way that they look or not, if I see that they appreciate themselves, automatically, the way that I feel about them changes. It it it's it's something that we call swag. It's something that we call aura or essence. Like, no matter where you come from, like, if you can if you can appreciate yourself and you want you wanna talk about it it it it affects everything else around you. It changes the energy of everybody around you.
Troy Washington:And I think that we have to make sure we we continue to look at ourself and think of different ways to appreciate yourself. And I and I told you the the very first thing that I do every morning is tell myself that I'm amazing, whether I believe it or not. Because I'm trying to work on the process of appreciating myself on a level that everybody can feel. Go ahead, Jay.
JClay:Yeah. So I I I wanna talk more about, like, the alchemy of this and and something that cool that that happened today, but also ties into something that happened a few days ago. So I I walk every day. Like, I I try to get out, and walk for, like, a couple hours a day just because I like being in nature. And, on this particular day, like,
Troy Washington:I was I was sore, so
JClay:I was walking slow, like, as slow as can be. And it was a lot of birds out and stuff, so I'm mimicking the bird sounds. We're having bird contests and stuff. And there was this one bird, he just looked like he was mad and he was just making this sound. And he was looking at me making the sound.
JClay:So I started looking at him making the sound, and I'm walking slow. Then he was like, what? And then he flew toward me. So that made me, like, laugh and bust out running. Now the the interesting thing is, like, I was I was walking so slow because I was so hurt and so tired, but this the act of me mimicking bird sounds and then having something with this one bird and him chasing me made me have a burst of energy to run and laugh while I'm running.
JClay:And I was like, what the heck just happened? Not only that. Today, when you came on here, you looked at me. You was like, how you sleep? Even my wife was like, you got 30 minutes to get it together.
JClay:Because I was because I feel like I played I got played basketball today. And, man, I'm I'm I'm not gonna lie. Like, I I have some tiredness in me. But, like, just the the act of doing this, like like getting into it and and because I actually love this and appreciate it, it has given me energy. Like, it's it's self sustaining almost, which is why, again, we talk about enthusiasm a lot on the show.
JClay:You can stay up hours. You can stay up all night if you're doing something you're enthused about, and if not, it does not affect your next day in any, in any way.
Troy Washington:Yeah, man. So it's funny because, again, just going through my weekend, Friday night, I was up until 3 in the morning. I got up early Saturday, and I was working on a house. And then immediately immediately after that, I went to a party. And I I knew I felt tired.
Troy Washington:I I knew I did, but the reality of it is my being I'm not gonna say my body. My being wouldn't allow me to not appreciate what was going on, so I still had fun. And, again, I I I just I just think it's a beautiful thing. And I also know that if I had I can imagine I put like this. If I did not have the amount of gratitude that I had, that I completed completed.
Troy Washington:But even now when I look back and think about what my my world was over the past weeks, it makes me want to appreciate things more. There's it's just there's a level of energy that's riding with it before I started talking about it. But when I started to think about it, it's like, right now, I feel the energy. Right now, I feel like much till I I could do. And, again, when I when I, again, when I think about the alchemy of it, it's it's the the origins.
Troy Washington:Like, what was it that drove me to to do this and decide to appreciate it? And I think that's what we gotta figure out, which, again, I I that's the reason why I like to start back with us. But even if you look outside of yourself oh, go ahead, Jay.
JClay:Well, no. No. I I was gonna say to to what you're saying, Hemla put the 4 a's of gratitude. I've never heard of this. So please share because that's good.
JClay:Because it it gets to my next question, which sound like yours too. Like, how do you get to this space of gratitude if you're, like, farthest away from it? Because, you know, sometimes we're we're sometimes we get caught in a a downward spiral, and we don't wanna I don't know. It it it sounds stupid, but we don't wanna be happy in that moment. Like, now I may not refuse to be happy in this moment.
JClay:But, like, for why you you should wanna be happy. But, like, how do we get back into that, which I wanna explore? And I'm curious about the 4 a's of of gratitude, but, but we'll go ahead.
Troy Washington:No. No. No. I I I'm curious as well. But you said something.
Troy Washington:Sometimes we just wanna be mad. Uh-huh. And, the funny thing is there are some situations that have happened over this gratitude field couple weeks of mine Yeah. Where there was a level of, I'm gonna say, nongratitude in my area. And the funny thing is because of it it's just it's it's funny when you just look back when you're actually having a conversation on them.
Troy Washington:And, again, I can see how it was still offset. I did not even allow it, bro. I I wouldn't and it wasn't it wasn't purposely it wasn't like I was doing things, to purposely offset it. It was just my body would not accept it. Like, so this is where we're all at?
Troy Washington:Well, that's not where I'm at because this is where I'm at. And right now, I'm feeling good. You know what I'm saying? Go ahead.
JClay:Hey. And I exactly. One of my days in walking, right into one of my neighbors. And, like, usually, we just we just talk and pass him, but we actually had a conversation. And he was he was in, like, complain mode.
JClay:He was just talking about all the stuff he ain't like. He was just and, you know, I I could go back and forth, but I got I did I did put it in his mind that I was like, what what things are getting better, before I left. And I but I could go back and forth on me and then try to fine tune everything. But I knew that that could possibly take me out of my state of gratitude that I was in because I was happy to be walking, happy to be on the in a beautiful sunny day, and just felt good. And and it was just like, It's not worth it.
JClay:It's him or me. Like, I'm not I'm not gonna give up my appreciation and gratitude, to to to like I mean, of course, I want to help people, but it's like, you know, you know yourself and, you know, if that'll take you out of it, it's not worth it.
Troy Washington:So I'm I'm a read with him what I said, but I also wanna before I say read it, I want to I I like the fact even though I said this like, we're we're you you chose to say, you know what? Gratitude over none. Right? But he said appreciation, approval, admiration, and attention. And, man, I love that.
Troy Washington:I never heard that before either. And, again, me just thinking about what we're talking about, it literally hits it hits all of those. But but, specifically, I like the approval because we always wanna justify always want to give reason. And what justification do you need to be heavy? You know what I'm saying?
Troy Washington:Like, it's your what justification do you need for that? Go ahead, Jay.
JClay:Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and and you shouldn't you shouldn't need any, like, you should just be happy. And the only reason we're not really happy all the time is because we don't we don't really believe either we don't believe we can be, or we don't believe we're worthy of it. Like, we're holding on to guilt and we're focusing on things that we feel guilty for instead of just letting that go.
JClay:And and and and again, like, which is why I I said to appreciate whatever it is you appreciate. Even even if you appreciate one thing in your life, like, fully, fully, fully appreciate it because it's gonna spill over to other things and you're gonna realize like, oh, I appreciate this too. There's a book. I know we talked about it on the show before, but it's called like the the life changing art of tidying up. And pretty much what it's like.
JClay:It it just has you go through inventory. Like, I can have a system for it, but you go through everything in your house and you say, does this spark joy or not? And if it does, you keep it. If it doesn't, you let it go. And, and it's funny because doing this, it was some stuff that I was hesitant to let go of because I've had it for a long time, but it doesn't necessarily spark joy.
JClay:And again, if you want that house full of gold, why not have everything in your house? Everything you look at like, wow. Wow. I'm appreciative. And even though I have not done this in a long time, as I look around this room, there is so, so, so much that I'm just happy is in this room right now.
JClay:And it's and it's a peaceful place to work and have podcasts and create music in. And and get we can all have that, and it's not hard at all to have it.
Troy Washington:You know, the funniest thing, when you say it, when I look around, you said you don't you you see so much that that bring joy. And I looked around, and I saw a whole bunch of stuff that didn't bring me joy. Like, literally, it's it's funny how how how things kinda work themselves out. But, I want you to tell the story about you wanting a Sprite. And but before you tell it, wanna tell you my thought process, what I was going through when I was listening to you.
Troy Washington:Now mind you, before you, told me this, and I kinda mentioned this when I re replied back to you, I have been having the same feelings about creating. Like and and so when you were telling me the story of making of of what you're gonna tell anyway Yeah. I got I was happy. I was smiling. I was like, yeah.
Troy Washington:I know we can do that. Like, it it brought a certain level of energy to me just to hear it, and it also was a reminder that, there can be joy in all aspects of it, and the shortcut is not always the way. But go ahead, Jay.
JClay:Yeah. So okay. So I I was, because, you know, it's summer and you'd be hot sweating. You want, like, a refreshing drink. And I remember when I was little, when I was a kid and used to go to, like, Red Lobster, they had something called a kitty cocktail, which I think is a Shirley Temple or something.
JClay:But it is like cherries mixed with a Sprite, basically. It's like a or a cherry limeade. And so I was like, man, I want a cherry limeade because I'm always blending fruits and stuff. So I looked up how to make it. And, you need you pretty much need, like, cherries, and a lemon lime soda and maybe, like, some agave, you know, to to make it sweet.
JClay:So I was like, I got most of that except for lemon lime soda. But let me look up how to look up how to make my own lemon lime soda. And it says you needed, like, carbonated water or or some kind of carbonation drink and, lemon lime, like a certain ratio. I was like, that's it. Like, it can't be it.
JClay:Like like, for real. And I looked it up, and it was just like, no. That's that's all you gotta do. So I was like, okay. Well, why stop there?
JClay:Can I make my own carbonated water? And it said, really, you can't. Like, because I thought you needed some machine. It talked about baking soda and water. Now I haven't tried this yet, but it said, like, when you have baking soda and water, like, it carbonates the water.
JClay:And what's interesting about that is I heard that, baking soda is very alkaline. So if you ever wanna get, like, your body to a level of alkalinity, you should drink, like, a certain amount of, water with baking soda in. I think I did it once, but I haven't, like, done it regularly. But that shocked me because, you know, we we might think of a pop or soda as a as a bad thing or a sugary drink that we shouldn't eat. But if you were to make it yourself with fresh ingredients, it's one of the the greatest things ever.
JClay:And and it's it's it's the alchemy of it all that we're talking about. But but but go ahead because I know you wanted to make a point about it.
Troy Washington:No. No. No. No. But but see and here's the deal.
Troy Washington:So even the story now, and this is about appreciation because I think that along the journey, which is a part of the conversation as well, as you were digging deeper, the only reason you dug deeper because you were appreciative of what you found out. True. You literally was like, for real? Okay. Cool.
Troy Washington:And then you went a step further. Okay. Cool. And then at the end, you said, I gotta tell somebody.
JClay:Yeah. And then you hit me up.
Troy Washington:And it is it it it it and and the so that way you can see how it transfers. Yeah.
JClay:You
Troy Washington:told me the story the exact same way you just told it now. And along the journey of you telling me the story, I found appreciation in it as well, and I was excited so much so that I even brought it. Right? And so it just goes to show you, number 1, number we don't appreciate soda the way that we supposed to anyway. That's number 1.
Troy Washington:You know, we don't we don't when you appreciate things let me go back to it. One of the one of the things that were was in Hemlao's note was attention. That means, to me, paying attention, looking at the detail, observing, and, you know, looking at something at its core. And I think that when you appreciate and you look at things that way, there's another level of appreciation that comes with it, and it just continues the transfer. And, again, me listening to you, you never knew that I was happy until I'm telling you now.
JClay:Yeah.
Troy Washington:But I was excited about it so much so that it made me think of what else can I make? And I'm pretty sure you thought the exact same thing because of the way our conversation went. But it just goes to show you, you know, how gratitude can change your life. Those were life changing moments and nothing even happened. Go ahead, Jay.
JClay:Yeah. And that's true. Like, because I I I did I did get hyped just from that. I was like, yeah. Well, I can make like, I I still am.
JClay:Like, I'm still hyped to just try it out. And, you just reminded me of a conversation I had with someone recently. Shout out to, Keisha. She was talking about, how she she's in that flow state. Like, she's just, like, where it's it's the state where you might do something that could be taxing to you physically, but you feel nothing.
JClay:Like, you're just ready to to go. And she said she's been riding that. And, and the question she had asked me was like, how much do you need to stay grounded? Like, how much did you back off of it? And I was like, well, as someone who is not in as high of a state as you are, but I know that state, I'm I'm I'm, like, I guess appreciative would be that word that word.
JClay:Like, I'm I'm appreciative that you're there. And I say ride it till you can't anymore. Like like, ride that all the way through, because because that stops our that's that stops our joy sometimes by thinking that this is too good. Like, something we I gotta stop this because I'm having too much fun with life. And it's like, no.
JClay:Have too much fun with life. Like, you're you're supposed to be here to have fun. You're an adult now. You get to dictate your own life. Why not have it so that you are always joyful?
JClay:You get to always be in this this fun flow state. And, and and she reminded me too about it that it's like, man, I'm I'm not in the state. Like I, I like I wanna be, I wanna be in the state like that. Like, what do I need to do to get back into that state? And the simple thing is just be appreciative of what you're doing, especially when you're doing it.
JClay:Like how many times are you do you find yourself in the midst of doing something you appreciate and you're attuned to it so much? Like, man, I'm I'm appreciate appreciating this right now. Like, this is this is a beautiful experience. I I've had that before with this. I I I definitely have whenever I'm I'm performing on the mic and I and I it's like I step outside of myself and I see me.
JClay:I see everything that's going on. Everybody, I'm thinking of my next lyrics. I'm thinking about the breakdown that's coming. And it's it's like you're you're in a in a zone of appreciation where it's just like, I can't believe this is happening. This is so cool.
JClay:Let me jump back in this moment. So yeah.
Troy Washington:And so I'm gonna say this too, and this is gonna border on the the the topic of doing what you love to doing versus doing what you have to do. But I don't so I I'll say this first. Always do what you love to do. But in the the the the the, I guess, the tone of this show, I always appreciate what you're doing no matter what. Now I wanna go back to when I was actually working in corporate America, and I'm just gonna tell you, there was no gratitude or there was a lack of appreciation from my part.
Troy Washington:And so because of that, it it's difficult for me. And the reality is there were many things for me to appreciate, but lack of appreciation multiplies. And it makes, it it minimizes appreciation to what the smallest thing that you could ever think of. Right? Because, again, just as an example, the best thing about work was going to for me was people.
Troy Washington:But because I had such a lack of appreciation, sometimes I couldn't even appreciate the people that I work with. But I wanna go back to a time where shout out to my boy, Jesse. When we were working at Chase Bank at the time, we were working in a call center, and Jesse is one of the funniest people in the world. You know, he he's just cool dude. Just if you're ever around him, his energy is always top level.
Troy Washington:And there was this, stint of time where they were offering us unlimited overtime at our job. Right? Now I mean, when I say unlimited, me and Guy was working, like, 80 to 90 hours a week, morning to night, every single day. And in that, him and I had so much fun. It wasn't even work to me because the person that I was doing it with was so hype and so appreciative of just being able to do it with a partner.
Troy Washington:It eliminated. It overpowered the the the the lack of appreciation because of how much he appreciated, and it made that that period of time, I probably worked more than I've worked any other time in my life, but it don't feel like it. Because there are times when I did the work way less, and I felt like I worked way more. So I said to say this. You know, again, I'm always gonna advocate for people doing what they love to do.
Troy Washington:And no matter what situation you end up in because of what you, choosing to do, appreciate that situation. But, if you are in a situation that, like I said, where I was working, figure out what you appreciate and give it your full attention. Go ahead, Jay.
JClay:Yeah. And and it sounds like one of the ways too. Because I I'm trying to think of, like, to formulate a formula for this for so anybody can use it. And one of the things is find a buddy to be appreciative with for a common thing. And the thing is is, like, once you once you realize you're appreciative of so many things, you can have that many friends, just based on your your interests.
JClay:Like, I code. So sometimes, like, I I've joined Facebook groups on coding and certain things because I am interested in some of that stuff. And that's just one of the many aspects that that you can do that, with. And it does make it easier. Like, if if you wanna start a business, get with other business owners that are starting, and they you can all go through that that piece together and be enthused about it.
JClay:Because it because because it is easy to go down the other spiral. Like you said, when you're not appreciative of something, the things that you're unappreciative of are so loud. Like, yeah, bro, it's crippling. You don't want to do anything. And then when you do get in the situation that you appreciate, all you could do is think about, man, it's not gonna last long or is is is weekend almost over?
JClay:I gotta go back to work. It's like, no. You you're in here. Right? You're in the situation that you wanna be in.
JClay:Appreciate this. Don't even worry about that. That doesn't exist right now. Be in this state in this while you can, and then when you when you can't find something new to appreciate.
Troy Washington:So I'm gonna give you a little more detail about my weekend just so that way you can know. And, again, just show you how it transfers. So mind you, again, for everybody that just joined, I was working I'm helping remodel or rehab a house. And no. So before I even get to the rehabbing of the house, doc, there are always things that I need to do at my own house that need to get done.
Troy Washington:And, you know, whenever you wanna get stuff done on your house, you'd be like, who who know this person? Who know how to fix this? Because somebody gotta hook up on, like you you always asking these questions if you got your own house. Right? You always find find they can do something.
Troy Washington:Yeah. I can never find peep every once in a while, I can find people, but a lot of times, I can't find people. So I just go to, you know, I go to corporate America and go through the normal process of everybody else. Now, again, yesterday, I worked my tail off rehab in this house. And when I left there, there was a party goo that I was supposed to attend, so I still had all my rehab clothes.
Troy Washington:So I showed my rehab clothes. Right? My wife had my my clothes that I changed into there and everything. So I get there, and everybody was like, man, Troy, you was out there working. Right?
Troy Washington:And I'm like, yeah, man. Just getting it getting it in. I'm rehabbing the house. Now here's the deal. I coulda came in like this.
Troy Washington:Yeah, man. Tough streets, man. You know, we're just rehab. You know? But my energy was like, yeah.
Troy Washington:This is the opportunity that's presented to me. I'm just taking full advantage of it. I'm happy about it. Right? So the end of the we we all kick it.
Troy Washington:So shout out to my to my, my extended family, TJ Lee and and and Nicole Lee. But another person that's there, he actually rehabs houses. He's been doing it forever. And and I knew it, but I didn't know it. Right?
Troy Washington:But he doesn't say anything to me about it the whole time. And then at the end of the party, we're just sitting down talking. He's like, okay. So, Troy, you're rehabbing, Well, let me tell you. If you ever need anything, I got you.
Troy Washington:I got people that could do windows. I got people that could do this. I got people that could do this. I could And if you need me, I got you. Now think about this.
Troy Washington:I'm telling you a time where I have wanted things done in my house, and I haven't been able to find it. And, you know, there's a bit of frustration that comes along with that, but it translate to people. But I think that the level of gratitude that I showed, it it it and it could've just been the excitement of me just sharing because I have gratitude, put people in a position to know what I got going on, put me in a position for other doors to open up for me. And by the end of the night, he was just like, just know I got you no matter what. Trust me.
Troy Washington:And and and it just you have the amount of gratitude had that that could have been so hard equates to me furthering my business along in a way that I would want to if I was really prepared in this moment. Right? But go ahead, Jay.
JClay:Yeah. And, first, let me let me read what, Hemla said. Gratefulness, a powerful emotion. Yes.
Troy Washington:Yeah. For your top.
JClay:And and this kinda reminds me it's a little off topic, but it's on topic. But, well, yeah. Because it's appreciating people. Right? Because you brought up the the idea of, like, you didn't even know this person.
JClay:I mean, you knew this person, but you didn't know this person did that and has all this access. And, when I was driving back, you know, back home from basketball, for whatever reason, I was just thinking I was like, you know, there there are people that are are suffering, but they're one person next to somebody who isn't who or who knows how to whatever they're trying to figure out. Like, this person is in their circle, but they could never see that or know it because they're not in a certain mind frame or or state. Like, you know what I mean? Like like, you we we think we gotta go far and right wide to find somebody for something when like right next to you is probably somebody that has anything.
JClay:I mean, not one person has everything, but, you know, different people have the different things or the different pieces that you might be looking for. But it's, we have blinders to it when we're not fully appreciative even of the people and their capabilities because, you know, sometimes we put people in a box. We say, oh, they're only capable of this. They came from where I came from. They can't do this if I can't do, like, all these things.
JClay:But in reality, like, we we we know we all know our own capability. Well, may maybe not. Some people might not know yet, but you are very capable. Everyone is very capable of so many things. And just the act of of starting to appreciate people, even just for their potential too, will shine a light on all the the the stars in your life.
JClay:Like the the the the celeb, not celebrities, but, you know, like akin to celebrities in your life. Like, man, I'm I'm around some dope people on a regular basis. But we again, we don't always allow ourselves to see that. And so we miss out on so many blessings. We miss out on so many opportunities and we miss out on the life we wanna live because we're not appreciative and we start blaming those closest to us.
JClay:Even to the point that, what you said when you went to the party, you could have been like, oh, I'm like this. It made me think about when I first got on here before behind the scenes, I was kinda like that. I was like, man, why would I show that to my good friend? Like, why like, he's worthy of of seeing high energy me. And it it it's just a interesting thing that we don't always think about.
Troy Washington:Now so here's the thing that you you say it so much, bro. Like, patience of others, appreciation, even what you would show to me or and and this and this is the crazy thing. Because of the level of appreciation that I think that you have for yourself. Because, again, we can sense other people's appreciation of themselves, which is the reason why a lot of times it doesn't translate to people being in your corner or coming to help you. But because of the level of appreciation that you've shown me through history that I believe that you have for yourself, if you come on like that, the first thing that I'm gonna think is that you're just playing.
Troy Washington:That's the first thing. I can't even believe it. You know what I'm saying? I'm just I'm just telling you this is the truth. Like, I can't even believe that you're that tired or I I I might not gonna think you're playing.
Troy Washington:But to for the sake of you might not be playing what what you do? You was hooping? You got the hooping? I I bet you're tired because because you hoop. You're like, that's the I I can only give it so much energy.
Troy Washington:Right? But even getting still and this is what's funny about it. When I note when when you're a person that appreciates yourself enough where people can feel your appreciation, When somebody comes on and shows you something like that, you're gonna out of react to help them appreciate or bring the energy level up to where it's at.
JClay:Yeah.
Troy Washington:When our theme song came on, I was extra hype. I was extra hype because I was going to bring you up to where I knew. And I knew if I got crunked on a on a on the intro, you was gonna get crunked too. And it's it's it's funny because that's all about the appreciation for you, not the appreciation for me. And, I I just the the craziest part about it is and and, again, I appreciate you being you all the time and not minimizing, who you are and appreciating things that even I can't understand.
Troy Washington:And I everybody else to say that, you you have to understand that you're a gift. You have to understand that you are special. And though sometimes, like, on Christmas, you might get a book, like, a kid get a book, like, oh, a book? There's always something in it for you. You know what I'm saying?
Troy Washington:Like, you have to give yourself the appropriate appreciation so it can translate to others so that way they can help you when it's needed. And and shout out to another friend of mine. And, again, you you should never minimize what you go through because it's always a jewel for somebody else, number 1. But a friend of mine from the party yesterday, he recently had a liver transplant, and he went through one of the most traumatic times that his but in telling his story,
JClay:you You froze a little bit.
Troy Washington:Be able to be there, just to be able to be around and and and and be involved with people. And in him appreciating it, there was a sense of me saying, Troy, there's no excuses for you. It's no you you have to be the best version of yourself. And, again, something traumatic that he went to through where you would think that what is there to celebrate in this other than him just being here? The story in it, the whole process in it was enough to change me still.
Troy Washington:And that's why I say, like, a big part of this, when we talk about turning everyday moments into golden opportunities is that we still find ways to minimize or depreciate who we are. And I'm telling you, ultimately, it's hard to appreciate yourself all the time. I I get it. It's hard to appreciate things that you feel like you didn't want even though you got them all the time. But when you put forth that effort to make it happen, there's always other people that's coming along for the with you.
Troy Washington:Go ahead, Jay.
JClay:Yeah, but I wanna read what what him loud said. Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field. Love it. His gratitude knew no bounds.
Troy Washington:Yeah. Real talk, though. Yeah. I
JClay:like what was funny that when I was thinking about too, like, just appreciating people and seeing things in a new light. So, like, again, we we've all had those strict teachers or, like, you know, classes we hated and stuff. But then when we look back on it and we talk about it with other students that had that teacher or something, like, we'll laugh at it. We'll point out these things from a place of gratitude and joy. And and the thing is that we don't always realize it when we're in it, but that stuff is is funny.
JClay:Like, if it's funny later, it's funny then, but we we don't see the humor in it. Like, we take ourselves too seriously in these situations. Thinking that what's on the surface is what it what is. And it and it's never that, like, every again, we talk about this all the time. Every situation has joy in it.
JClay:If you would look for it, if you will find it, if you would see it. And, like, even those people those tough people to work with, when you look at it, when you removed from it, it's the funniest thing in life. Like, work wouldn't be the same without these types of people in your office. You even tell your friends about it and they laugh at these people because they're not directly tied into it. They they they're not taking that seriously.
JClay:And if we can just always remember that in every situation, like, we could appreciate the person that's just our polar opposite that we don't agree with anything, but it's hilarious. Because it's just cool to see, like, man, I can't believe somebody is has this viewpoint, but they're appreciative of this viewpoint as much as I'm appreciative of this this other opposite viewpoint.
Troy Washington:And and I I would say too, you know, again, bringing it back home is that the live growth in every single moment. Every single moment, there's growth. Bro, when I was working in corporate America, I I I I I got said, I absolutely hated it. I was a manager, and they used to make us do these CBTs, like, online trainings, and I hated doing them. They talk about fizzing and spamming and money laundering and then just how businesses operate, and I absolutely hated all of this stuff.
Troy Washington:Now it's funny that, I didn't have the the proper level of appreciation at that time, but I was still able to retain the information. Because I would tell you now, I've been running businesses since I left corporate America, and my entire business acumen that I you know, everything that I have came from work in corporate. Like, me experiencing what I experienced through there, I was able to come back and and recreate and help me run the businesses that I run today. Right? And it's funny.
Troy Washington:And I and I think that it had I'm appreciative of being able to remember. I'm appreciate of being able to apply what I've learned. But I imagine had I had the proper level of of appreciation at the time, how much more I would would have been able to gain. And, again, that's because I didn't see every moment in those times as golden opportunities as we say in the in the topic. And, you know, even, you know, having small, a small son, sometimes my son can run me up the wall.
Troy Washington:You know, sometimes he can emotionally get me in a place that I don't wanna be. And, you know, me trying to grow the the way that I grow, I even try now to find appreciation and figuring out a way to overcome it or figuring out a way to bring him down or or figure out in a way to make him better, which in turn does all the same things for me. And versus allowing it to be something to be like, man, I just hate this situation like this. No. I love the fact that this situation is like this because look how much growth I have as a person, whether it be my temperament, whether it be my fortitude, whether it just be my focus or my my attention to detail.
Troy Washington:All these things are opportunities that are that are golden opportunities that happen in every moment if I choose to look at them their way. And I think, you know, what I what I'm trying to convey for everybody when we're talking about some type of pathway in order to do it, what you have an, an adverse vision for, what you look at in a negative light, stop and say, I don't want it to always be about gain, but stop and see why is this such a golden opportunity for me. Go ahead, Jay.
JClay:Yeah. And and sometimes too, because that that work like, that works wonders. I can attest to that. Sometimes if you're not ready to do that, like, you're in a situation that you feel you need to overcome or something, Just direct your redirect your attention to something completely different that you appreciate. And what ends up happening is, like, it generates that energy where where you, like, you'll get a thought about the thing that you need to overcome, but you have it in a different mindset.
JClay:You have it at an elevated viewpoint. And you're like, oh, I could just do that. And then and then, like, you you slip into what you talked about. You're like, oh, this is a golden opportunity. This this is this.
JClay:This is that. And I've done both ways because sometimes I I haven't been strong enough to do this. But in in many times, especially we're talking to you, we'll remind each other like, oh, just look at it like this. You're right. Why did I say that?
JClay:Why do I I don't need even saying why did I say that is is directing me toward what I don't want. Don't even ask that. Like, just accept it. Like, yes. I this is the mind frame I wanna be in.
JClay:Thank you for this. I appreciate you reminding me and and and stay in that mindset.
Troy Washington:And, I wanna shout out him loud real quick because he's been so active today on the on the on on the feed. And, you know, I wanna just do a callback real quick, and we we talk about golden opportunities. And, you know, I asked myself a question, you know, when we were talking to, him on the previous show, and, you know, the a situation that was explained, you know, what he went through, I haven't found appreciation in it, though I know it wasn't that's some necessarily something that he appreciated. And I the thing that I I it reminded me of was I always no matter what anybody else thinks, no matter how anyone else feels. And the the the funny part about that golden opportunity of learning from me because him now taught me last week or the week before whenever it was, it put me in a situation this week, like I told you, where there were some adverse situations in my life.
Troy Washington:And my response for everybody was, I love you, and it changed everything. So, you know, you know, I I again, I I said that just a shout out as a callback, and I also give respect for and that and it's respect for everybody that always joins us. But, I I definitely agree with Jay when he say turn your head to something that you appreciate, but I'm also gonna tell you that just take a second and breathe. And I promise you I promise you, there's always something in it for you. That that this show is turning everyday moments into golden opportunity, and you don't wanna miss this moment if you have a chance and an opportunity to turn it into that.
Troy Washington:Go ahead, Jay.
JClay:Yeah. Because I mean because, really, this moment is only this moment. Like, it is every moment is golden, but the last moment is gone as quickly as it came. And the idea is to is to tap into that golden stream of moments, where where again, your house is gold. Everything is gold or whatever you consider valuable.
JClay:Not because you might not consider gold valuable, but you get the the sentiment. Again, man, it's it's a it's a beautiful thing to be appreciative of of people. Like, we are appreciative of everyone that joined the show today. I'm appreciative of you, Troy. Like, I I can't stress how tired I was before this, and I don't feel that level of tired anymore.
JClay:And it's only because of the show, or it's only because I I I double down on something I appreciate.
Troy Washington:No. That's that's real dope. And, I I know we we're pretty much at the end. Again, I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna stress. Just take a you're gonna take your moment.
Troy Washington:Shout out to Loretta. You know? Check you out. He's all days, anyway. You know?
Troy Washington:So, but I I I stress, just take just take a moment. Take that moment. Take that specific moment. And no matter what it looks like, the one thing I'll remind you is that you have a in for a moment to even consider. And I I don't know if that if you get it or not, but some people don't even have that.
Troy Washington:You know what I mean? And so, you know, take that moment and and and appreciate there being adversity. Appreciate there being a hurdle. Appreciate there being, open, you know, open space. Just give yourself a moment just to appreciate it and see what it feels like because you'll never know until you try.
Troy Washington:You never know until you see what it really looks like on the other side. And, you know, take that moment. You know? That's what I I'm gonna leave you out with, and I and I'll I'll say this. I appreciate everybody that joins our show.
Troy Washington:I appreciate everybody that comes back and looks at it, later. I appreciate everybody that's been sending us messages in our inbox later just to let us know how they feel Because,
JClay:no.
Troy Washington:I would rather have you here live, but I appreciate you when you come. And, you know, just to let y'all know that we're grateful for y'all. Without y'all, we wouldn't be doing perfect. Might we definitely be doing something where we wouldn't be here? And, we encourage everybody to, you know, continue to be a part of the conversation because y'all help us to realize that we're perfect too, and we hope we do the same for you.
Troy Washington:Go ahead.
JClay:Yeah. And if you found this helpful and you appreciate it, go ahead. Hit that share button, like, comment, subscribe. Feel free to check out our Patreon to join that. Again, we got new search coming.
JClay:It's coming soon. Coming soon. We're working out the details for it. So we we allow everybody to get their shirts as well. And, yeah, just remember, you're a perfect creation made by a perfect creator.
JClay:So you might as well accept your perfection and enter perfect mode. Yeah.
Troy Washington:Hi, look.
JClay:If I reminded you that you are perfect, would you argue me down or step into your perfection? Welcome to perfect, where there are no excuses, no expectations, and we explore the world without limitations. I'm Jay Clay, rapper, a spiritual teacher, with my co host Troy Washington, your friendly neighborhood realtor. Let's be real, so let's be perfect. Perfect.
Troy Washington:Perfect. Perfect.