Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Two dads, Troy Munson and Daniel Berk, dive into the world of software with the wit of seasoned tech veterans and the subtle chaos of raising kids. From the industry's hottest trends to the awkward questions no one asks at standups, they tackle it all with dry humor and a dash of relatability. If you’ve ever wondered what tech dads really think about software, this is the podcast you didn’t know you needed.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:02:13
Unknown
Who is that boy?
00:00:02:15 - 00:00:06:00
Unknown
Now, let's not cut this part out. This is how we start. Hot and hot and heavy.
00:00:06:02 - 00:00:10:18
Unknown
This is the behind the scenes. Aaron Rhodes is joining us today as our guest on today.
00:00:10:20 - 00:00:15:21
Unknown
Happy Wednesday, Aaron Rhodes I said, Aaron. Let's do it again.
00:00:15:23 - 00:00:24:20
Unknown
It's. It's Jody's. Jody's, Jody's. Jody's added.
00:00:24:22 - 00:00:27:09
Unknown
What?
00:00:27:11 - 00:00:46:08
Unknown
Yeah. Just. You're telling me how to pronounce my own last name. Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Jody's. Jody's. You know, you can call me. You can call me whatever you want.
00:00:46:10 - 00:00:51:16
Unknown
It is spelled Hodes, but we've been told by insiders that it is pronounced Hodes.
00:00:51:18 - 00:00:55:04
Unknown
It is. Thanks, guys.
00:00:55:06 - 00:00:59:09
Unknown
Where? Well, we pick this guy up.
00:00:59:11 - 00:01:06:13
Unknown
Ha ha ha.
00:01:06:15 - 00:01:34:19
Unknown
It's it's it's juicy.
00:01:34:21 - 00:01:54:13
Unknown
No. What call it holds. I'm going to actually officially change it to Hodes, and I'll just tell my dad, and it'll be. I'll be good. So, it's all good. After the recording stops, I'll tell you when my friends call me, because it's not, it's not podcast appropriate. It's up.
00:01:54:15 - 00:02:30:17
Unknown
Eggs. Exactly.
00:02:30:19 - 00:02:34:16
Unknown
For sure. Thank you guys, for for having me on. Yeah. I mean,
00:02:34:18 - 00:02:41:11
Unknown
it's very interesting to listen to guys who are, you know, around my age in sales,
00:02:41:13 - 00:02:42:23
Unknown
had built their own businesses,
00:02:43:01 - 00:02:44:23
Unknown
and it was just very relatable to me.
00:02:44:23 - 00:02:46:09
Unknown
yeah, a little bit about my background.
00:02:46:12 - 00:02:50:09
Unknown
Born and raised in Chicago, live up in the Chicago suburbs with my wife.
00:02:50:11 - 00:02:54:11
Unknown
I have two young kids, a three year old son and a eight month old daughter.
00:02:54:13 - 00:03:00:11
Unknown
Me and my wife met at Indiana University. Go, Hoosiers, where we are national champions.
00:03:00:13 - 00:03:01:15
Unknown
We are national champions.
00:03:01:17 - 00:03:04:12
Unknown
Now. Met our sophomore year at Indiana University.
00:03:04:12 - 00:03:06:04
Unknown
And, you know, college sweethearts,
00:03:06:06 - 00:03:07:19
Unknown
We're supposed to get married in 2020.
00:03:07:21 - 00:03:11:23
Unknown
That didn't happen. Had a punt for for a year. Got married in 2021.
00:03:12:01 - 00:03:26:15
Unknown
Yeah, I don't know. There's just there's just this little, I don't know, this little thing that happened in the world. So we effectively had a planned two weddings, which was fun. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like morbid humor, so, that's fine with me.
00:03:26:15 - 00:03:38:15
Unknown
you know, me and my wife have built just like a really, you know, a tight knit, you know, family, great family support system, and I think one of the most interesting things about becoming a dad,
00:03:38:18 - 00:03:44:07
Unknown
has I don't think the thing that people really talk about is, like, kind of like your, your changing identity,
00:03:44:09 - 00:03:48:09
Unknown
or loss of independence, I would say,
00:03:48:09 - 00:03:50:14
Unknown
it was more so for my wife, like with our first kid.
00:03:50:14 - 00:03:56:23
Unknown
Right. And there's just so much that, that my wife does for our family. And she's just like the absolute rock,
00:03:57:02 - 00:03:59:11
Unknown
carries our family in so many ways.
00:03:59:13 - 00:04:00:18
Unknown
And when we had my son,
00:04:00:18 - 00:04:04:05
Unknown
at the end of 2022 and, and, you know, the early part of 2023,
00:04:04:05 - 00:04:05:18
Unknown
think she felt like she was losing her independence.
00:04:05:18 - 00:04:08:18
Unknown
So I didn't necessarily feel like that because I, you know, she was,
00:04:08:18 - 00:04:12:16
Unknown
she's a teacher and she's a mom, so she I mean, she's taking the emotional labor of the house
00:04:12:19 - 00:04:19:07
Unknown
in addition to working a full time jobs, she teaches biology and chemistry, so it's,
00:04:19:09 - 00:04:27:07
Unknown
Former Teacher where it really? Teachers are more than a full time job, and so we're so we're being parents. So I feel like she's juggling, like, three jobs. If you add it all up.
00:04:27:09 - 00:04:27:15
Unknown
The
00:04:27:19 - 00:04:31:08
Unknown
teachers don't get enough appreciation. This country. I mean, she probably works like 80 hour weeks.
00:04:31:08 - 00:04:41:05
Unknown
Like, like like, no joke, man. She comes home and. Yeah, it really is.
00:04:41:06 - 00:04:45:01
Unknown
It's.
00:04:45:03 - 00:04:49:14
Unknown
The most annoying thing I love when people are like, oh, well, teachers get their summers off, and I'm like, dude,
00:04:49:14 - 00:04:55:07
Unknown
tell me, you know, less about education. Because if you think, yeah, exactly.
00:04:55:08 - 00:05:02:10
Unknown
No. And then, you know, I going back to like, kind of like the independence piece. I didn't honestly really feel that,
00:05:02:10 - 00:05:03:05
Unknown
until we had our daughter,
00:05:03:08 - 00:05:04:16
Unknown
the change from 1 to 2.
00:05:04:21 - 00:05:06:17
Unknown
Personally, for me, it's very difficult.
00:05:06:17 - 00:05:11:10
Unknown
Yeah. Everyone says, you know, you go from, like, zone defense to man to man, and it's like, it's so true.
00:05:11:10 - 00:05:14:04
Unknown
It's so true. And I and I would be remiss to say, like.
00:05:14:07 - 00:05:21:04
Unknown
It takes a village to raise children. And, me and my wife are so, so, so fortunate
00:05:21:07 - 00:05:26:07
Unknown
to have my folks, her mom, aunts and uncles, like, they have really all pitched in,
00:05:26:07 - 00:05:35:05
Unknown
and it's like it has allowed me to, like, have, like, an appreciation and a deeper relationship with, like, my loved ones than I ever thought I would because it's like
00:05:35:07 - 00:05:37:06
Unknown
when a kid gets sick, I have to go in the office
00:05:37:06 - 00:05:43:16
Unknown
like my mom. You know, my parents just retired, like last year, and like, my mom is going to come and, you know,
00:05:43:19 - 00:05:48:07
Unknown
I didn't really. Everything was so,
00:05:48:09 - 00:05:57:21
Unknown
pre-scheduled? Like, like everything had to be, like, pre-scheduled now with, like, kids and everything was very, like, always like we had to fit everything into, like, a perfect time block.
00:05:57:23 - 00:05:58:11
Unknown
And
00:05:58:13 - 00:06:05:19
Unknown
it was just there was just like this loss of both. We're scheduling our lives around our kids now, which is a good thing.
00:06:05:21 - 00:06:14:01
Unknown
But I think I it's been difficult for me to come to terms with,
00:06:14:03 - 00:06:17:20
Unknown
It.
00:06:17:22 - 00:06:19:20
Unknown
Yeah, it's a good question. How did I build it?
00:06:19:23 - 00:06:21:01
Unknown
I don't think it was intentional.
00:06:21:02 - 00:06:22:09
Unknown
I think I just have to,
00:06:22:09 - 00:06:24:16
Unknown
loving parents and loving in-laws,
00:06:24:17 - 00:06:25:11
Unknown
00:06:25:11 - 00:06:30:16
Unknown
They love us and they love our kids. And they want to make sure that, you know, everything is good and there and they're willing to pitch in.
00:06:30:16 - 00:06:34:00
Unknown
And so I try not to forget, like, kind of like the theme of the last year is like,
00:06:34:04 - 00:06:39:05
Unknown
just reflecting and being thankful for for what? I have
00:06:39:07 - 00:06:44:05
Unknown
and I'm really fortunate, like, I, you know, a lot of people don't have what, you know, I have,
00:06:44:05 - 00:06:48:21
Unknown
and I'm constantly reminding myself that and like, moments of, like, reflection,
00:06:48:21 - 00:06:51:17
Unknown
in the shower, like, I bought the home gym last year.
00:06:51:18 - 00:06:59:06
Unknown
It's. I know you're an early morning guy. I'm a I'm a weirdo for for 30 guys to. Man. It's, it's my it's my peace.
00:06:59:11 - 00:07:02:01
Unknown
It is. It's my
00:07:02:03 - 00:07:04:12
Unknown
And,
00:07:04:14 - 00:07:11:17
Unknown
I'm a runner. They know it's, I got my. I'm a big Brooks guy. Yeah. I've run through, so I've run through some.
00:07:11:19 - 00:07:15:05
Unknown
Oh, you did.
00:07:15:07 - 00:07:27:04
Unknown
With,
00:07:27:06 - 00:07:29:16
Unknown
Really?
00:07:29:18 - 00:07:32:13
Unknown
Wait. Hot tub time up, and
00:07:32:18 - 00:07:37:07
Unknown
tomorrow you have a size 15 shoe.
00:07:37:09 - 00:07:39:22
Unknown
How tall are you?
00:07:39:23 - 00:07:55:00
Unknown
Whoa! Holy moly. I. Yeah. Oh, damn. Dude. Yeah. I'm like 511. Yeah, I got, I got, like, I'm like. I'm like a ten and a half. 11 a 15. Hold it up.
00:07:55:04 - 00:07:56:11
Unknown
yeah yeah.
00:07:56:13 - 00:07:57:18
Unknown
Now. But,
00:07:57:20 - 00:07:59:18
Unknown
Yeah, sure. Brooks, I love my
00:07:59:20 - 00:08:03:08
Unknown
Brooks. If you're listening, I'll, I'll, I'll take, I'll take the new pair anyhow.
00:08:03:10 - 00:08:10:14
Unknown
like, right now is like a perfect moment. It's the, it's frozen tundra outside.
00:08:10:14 - 00:08:20:22
Unknown
I have tried to make it through flu season. I literally have two sick kids at home. My wife is also not feeling well and so it's it's it's just trying to like, make it through, like the daily life and,
00:08:20:22 - 00:08:23:08
Unknown
I joke that, like, sometimes it feels like Groundhog State,
00:08:23:11 - 00:08:27:12
Unknown
and then like, you just do the same stuff over and over and over again and
00:08:27:16 - 00:08:33:14
Unknown
the reason why I like, reached out in the beginning is just because like that vulnerability podcast and just the podcasts in general are just like so relatable
00:08:33:14 - 00:08:39:12
Unknown
to me as a dad. I have a really close knit of guy friends, you know, 5 or 6, but really only one of them has,
00:08:39:14 - 00:08:39:23
Unknown
kids.
00:08:40:01 - 00:08:46:03
Unknown
And so he's been like my best friend since I was, you know, sixth grade, you know, 20, 20, plus your friendships.
00:08:46:07 - 00:08:48:11
Unknown
But they don't have that, they just don't have kids.
00:08:48:11 - 00:08:48:19
Unknown
And so
00:08:48:19 - 00:08:52:19
Unknown
they can be sympathetic. I don't think they can necessarily be empathetic,
00:08:52:21 - 00:08:53:21
Unknown
if that makes sense.
00:08:53:23 - 00:08:54:09
Unknown
It does.
00:08:54:09 - 00:09:03:14
Unknown
And so trying to find a community of dads it gets are you have like dads and then you have
00:09:03:17 - 00:09:07:23
Unknown
dads who are like in sales or like entrepreneurs. It's like the circle gets much smaller.
00:09:07:23 - 00:09:14:09
Unknown
And so like whenever I'm listening, I'm just like, oh yeah, that's my retro listen, you guys, I'm like, oh yeah, that's me, that's me, that's me.
00:09:14:10 - 00:09:33:00
Unknown
And like, so I just yeah. So.
00:09:33:02 - 00:10:27:02
Unknown
Yeah, yeah.
00:10:27:04 - 00:10:33:01
Unknown
No I'm really fortunate that I have like two great pair. Just cute kids. They're so great.
00:10:33:03 - 00:10:35:08
Unknown
the thing was the moment after my daughter was born,
00:10:35:12 - 00:10:38:13
Unknown
like the day after she was born, I threw my lower back out
00:10:38:16 - 00:10:44:08
Unknown
and I was in like so much pain. Yeah, I, I had never
00:10:44:10 - 00:10:50:11
Unknown
I do I never throw my back out before and like I exercise time like I do, I like to do like mobility work and like
00:10:50:11 - 00:10:54:02
Unknown
I had never been like so incapacitated like basically like bedridden for like a week
00:10:54:04 - 00:10:56:20
Unknown
and like in the moments where, like my wife need to meet the most, I
00:10:56:20 - 00:10:57:18
Unknown
like, wasn't there,
00:10:57:18 - 00:11:03:14
Unknown
Oh. It's true. Dude, I had back surgery,
00:11:03:16 - 00:11:07:08
Unknown
Oh my God.
00:11:07:10 - 00:11:13:08
Unknown
Well.
00:11:13:10 - 00:11:18:11
Unknown
Yeah.
00:11:18:13 - 00:11:23:11
Unknown
Yeah, yeah.
00:11:23:13 - 00:11:31:11
Unknown
Oh, wow.
00:11:31:13 - 00:11:36:02
Unknown
Oh, yeah. I mean, I, I was like a 4 or 5 out of town, like, I couldn't, like,
00:11:36:04 - 00:11:42:15
Unknown
I was gonna, like, muscle spasms, like the diaphragm. You know, they clearly don't need surgery, but, you know how to take steroids and take a steroid, but
00:11:42:17 - 00:11:51:10
Unknown
I think it was that. And, you know, at the time, I was at a seed stage startup company, and I just had a lot of both personal and professional responsibilities.
00:11:51:10 - 00:11:57:20
Unknown
And like, the weight of that felt like mentally crushing.
00:11:57:22 - 00:12:00:07
Unknown
To me. And so,
00:12:00:10 - 00:12:09:12
Unknown
I don't know, I think it was just like that moment where I was like, Holy cow. Like, I, I am in charge of keeping two kids alive, making sure that they are
00:12:09:12 - 00:12:10:21
Unknown
taking care of,
00:12:10:23 - 00:12:18:14
Unknown
you know, trying to, you know, be there for my wife, taking care of my own physical and mental health, which is still a struggle
00:12:18:14 - 00:12:19:12
Unknown
at times.
00:12:19:12 - 00:12:21:17
Unknown
And, I don't know,
00:12:21:17 - 00:12:27:09
Unknown
like, our son was just like, easy. Our daughter is easy, too. But it was just something about the entrance of a second kid where it's like,
00:12:27:09 - 00:12:34:09
Unknown
oh, okay. Like the things that I thought I could do, like, independently. I just care, like, I just I just have to.
00:12:34:11 - 00:12:36:13
Unknown
I have to wake up at 4 a.m.,
00:12:36:15 - 00:12:40:04
Unknown
exercise so that I could not go mentally insane,
00:12:40:06 - 00:12:40:22
Unknown
throughout the day.
00:12:41:00 - 00:12:45:16
Unknown
It's not funny.
00:12:45:18 - 00:12:58:22
Unknown
Yeah.
00:12:58:23 - 00:13:17:10
Unknown
Yeah.
00:13:17:12 - 00:13:33:14
Unknown
Yeah.
00:13:33:16 - 00:14:36:04
Unknown
Yeah.
00:14:36:06 - 00:14:42:03
Unknown
Yeah.
00:14:42:05 - 00:14:57:14
Unknown
Yeah.
00:14:57:16 - 00:15:14:16
Unknown
But then others like you change life stages and you kind
00:15:14:18 - 00:15:17:13
Unknown
Wow. That's a really good question.
00:15:17:15 - 00:15:20:18
Unknown
like I said, like my core group of, like six guy friends, like I've literally
00:15:20:18 - 00:15:23:17
Unknown
guys I have so many friends, like I have like six friends.
00:15:23:19 - 00:15:29:22
Unknown
I've, I've literally, yeah, yeah.
00:15:30:00 - 00:15:34:18
Unknown
I brought like half of my I've been friends since like, middle school. Some since like 20, 2010.
00:15:34:18 - 00:15:41:12
Unknown
And two of the guys that don't have kids where I live with them in, in downtown Chicago for like two and a half years.
00:15:41:12 - 00:15:42:07
Unknown
And
00:15:42:09 - 00:15:47:13
Unknown
now that life gets, like, super busy, I made a concerted effort to try to,
00:15:47:16 - 00:15:57:05
Unknown
one of them works downtown. So we actually just got lunch, like, the other day, and then I'm actually going to an event that he's putting on for some, like, charity thing that he's doing in middle February.
00:15:57:05 - 00:16:02:09
Unknown
And so I think just trying to be more intentional with my time because.
00:16:02:14 - 00:16:13:13
Unknown
If you I have found that if you don't prioritize things, life just moves quickly. And,
00:16:13:15 - 00:16:22:17
Unknown
I really cherish my friendships, and I and I, and I want to. Like, I'm, I think I'm, like, deep down, like, I'm, like, scared of, like, losing things,
00:16:22:19 - 00:16:26:03
Unknown
and I like stability in my life. And so, like, I don't.
00:16:26:03 - 00:16:32:20
Unknown
always like, I'm quick to communicate, but I'm not one to, like, quick like, hey, are you like, I need to be better at hair. You free
00:16:32:22 - 00:16:35:18
Unknown
like eight weeks from now. So I feel like. So for us to hang,
00:16:35:21 - 00:16:37:03
Unknown
All right.
00:16:37:05 - 00:16:41:01
Unknown
you know, I'm actually free the last week of March. If you're free, can you, like, put that on?
00:16:41:01 - 00:16:42:14
Unknown
Your calendar is like. Yeah, sure.
00:16:42:16 - 00:16:44:20
Unknown
A topic
00:16:44:22 - 00:16:46:12
Unknown
Or braids.
00:16:46:14 - 00:16:48:20
Unknown
No, I think it's just being more, more intentional.
00:16:48:20 - 00:16:49:15
Unknown
Yeah.
00:16:49:17 - 00:16:52:12
Unknown
you know, with it and just trying to be more proactive with how you communicate,
00:16:52:12 - 00:16:57:21
Unknown
with them. And it's just it's important to and like that, that that goes back to,
00:16:57:21 - 00:17:04:07
Unknown
if I go to see like it's an important part of my life and I've made it,
00:17:04:07 - 00:17:08:16
Unknown
clear to like my wife and she like, and she gets out like, it's just, like, working out,
00:17:08:16 - 00:17:09:15
Unknown
like I need to work out.
00:17:09:15 - 00:17:11:16
Unknown
Like I need to see my friends, like, once a month,
00:17:11:21 - 00:17:18:08
Unknown
and trying to, like, if I'm going to go. I live out of, like, the northwest suburbs of Chicago.
00:17:18:08 - 00:17:27:00
Unknown
Like, if I'm going to go see my buddies in the city, it's a schlep. Yeah, it's like it it's a it's a whole thing. Right? So.
00:17:27:02 - 00:18:39:17
Unknown
Oh, cool. Yeah. You're right. It's it's like six hours. It's like you're going to. It's like two hour to 2.5 hours of driving. Plus you're gonna, like, chill with your friends for three, three, three. Yeah, yeah. Right. But just being intentional.
00:18:39:19 - 00:18:45:10
Unknown
Yeah.
00:18:45:12 - 00:19:21:15
Unknown
Yeah.
00:19:21:17 - 00:19:54:11
Unknown
Yeah.
00:19:54:13 - 00:20:02:04
Unknown
Yeah.
00:20:02:06 - 00:20:19:05
Unknown
Yeah.
00:20:19:07 - 00:20:31:07
Unknown
Yeah.
00:20:31:09 - 00:21:45:13
Unknown
No idea what the past tenses strike. If a strike is the strike if, it's it's tough. It's, it's, it's yeah. It's really hard. Like I'm not going to sit here and be like oh I'm so great at like all of it. It's just like it's like such a. No.
00:21:45:15 - 00:22:35:04
Unknown
times, whether it's weekly or bi weekly or monthly
00:22:35:06 - 00:22:39:06
Unknown
Yeah.
00:22:39:08 - 00:22:47:07
Unknown
Yeah.
00:22:47:09 - 00:22:48:22
Unknown
Yeah
00:22:49:00 - 00:23:15:20
Unknown
I would say so.
00:23:15:22 - 00:23:19:00
Unknown
Therapy.
00:23:19:02 - 00:23:26:11
Unknown
Yeah.
00:23:26:13 - 00:23:31:03
Unknown
Yeah. I've been in therapy for six, seven years now.
00:23:31:03 - 00:23:41:02
Unknown
Work with someone in therapist that we do like called like CBT. I can't remember what it stands for. Yeah. Yeah. Cognitive behavioral therapy.
00:23:41:04 - 00:23:41:16
Unknown
Yeah. There you go.
00:23:41:17 - 00:23:43:11
Unknown
Well, look,
00:23:43:13 - 00:23:45:03
Unknown
Yeah. So I'm not Nabi.
00:23:45:03 - 00:23:50:01
Unknown
it has helped me, try to like, unpack and like decouple.
00:23:50:06 - 00:23:51:08
Unknown
I think, like most people,
00:23:51:08 - 00:24:00:02
Unknown
or at least. And I shouldn't say most people. Well, they actually maybe most people, but a lot of people in sales, I tie my self-worth to my, my quarter performance and,
00:24:00:04 - 00:24:00:23
Unknown
Talk about
00:24:01:01 - 00:24:02:11
Unknown
Yeah, it's like
00:24:02:13 - 00:24:03:16
Unknown
how I'm doing it work.
00:24:03:19 - 00:24:04:19
Unknown
Really impacts me,
00:24:04:19 - 00:24:07:04
Unknown
and how it like the energy that I bring, like, I'm at home today.
00:24:07:06 - 00:24:13:02
Unknown
And, you know, prior to, to Covid, I was in the office five days a week, and then I had a five year stretch
00:24:13:04 - 00:24:14:18
Unknown
of working at home by myself.
00:24:14:21 - 00:24:18:17
Unknown
And as you can tell, I'm a little bit of a Chatty Cathy. And,
00:24:18:20 - 00:24:22:02
Unknown
am was lonely.
00:24:22:04 - 00:24:22:12
Unknown
Till
00:24:22:12 - 00:24:27:00
Unknown
I didn't really recognize, like, kind of like the slow burn of being alone.
00:24:27:03 - 00:24:33:07
Unknown
And so when I took this job back in October to work at Amazon, it was a, it's a five day a week,
00:24:33:07 - 00:24:39:14
Unknown
like, in person, in downtown Chicago. So I commute like two and a half, three hours a day round trip.
00:24:39:16 - 00:24:43:17
Unknown
And a lot of people are like, you're nuts. Why would you do that? And it's like,
00:24:43:17 - 00:24:47:11
Unknown
I think at this point in my life, like, I, I need it.
00:24:47:13 - 00:24:51:21
Unknown
And so, yeah, I think that, going to therapy.
00:24:52:00 - 00:24:56:13
Unknown
You know, maybe for like, our parents generation talk about it was taboo. I don't think it's taboo. Like, I clearly don't care.
00:24:56:15 - 00:24:57:08
Unknown
I don't either.
00:24:57:10 - 00:24:57:19
Unknown
need it.
00:24:57:21 - 00:24:58:08
Unknown
want it,
00:24:58:08 - 00:25:00:18
Unknown
I think it ultimately will help me.
00:25:00:20 - 00:25:02:16
Unknown
I've seen therapist my whole life.
00:25:02:18 - 00:25:11:15
Unknown
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
00:25:11:17 - 00:25:24:21
Unknown
Yeah.
00:25:24:23 - 00:25:40:04
Unknown
Yeah, yeah, that's that is I couldn't I couldn't explain it or sum it up better than that. Yeah.
00:25:40:06 - 00:25:45:04
Unknown
Oh, no, I had a I had a panic attack at work. Yeah.
00:25:45:07 - 00:25:46:23
Unknown
Just subscribe. Had like, a panic attack,
00:25:47:00 - 00:25:48:17
Unknown
I want to talk to us about that.
00:25:48:20 - 00:25:49:09
Unknown
Yeah, sure.
00:25:49:11 - 00:25:53:00
Unknown
I was. And how old was I? 23,
00:25:53:00 - 00:25:57:10
Unknown
yeah, I wasn't sick. Well, I'm 34. That was a long time. It was like a decade ago. It's like right after,
00:25:57:10 - 00:26:00:08
Unknown
Sometimes I forget how old I am.
00:26:00:10 - 00:26:04:06
Unknown
Yeah. I think it must have been, like, 2015. Yeah.
00:26:04:09 - 00:26:11:13
Unknown
Had really just, like, just entered the workforce and, just had, like, a bunch of responsibility and I. Yeah, at a job
00:26:11:16 - 00:26:18:19
Unknown
where it was just really stressful and, like, I had, like, a really, like, bad call with, like, a client.
00:26:18:19 - 00:26:23:07
Unknown
And I had, like, literally went to the bathroom and, like, started, like, hyperventilating. And,
00:26:23:07 - 00:26:33:01
Unknown
I had never had a panic attack before, and then like, dinner, like, like. No, I was going on, came home and like, I just, like, started, like sweating and like, couldn't like, really, like, catch a deep breath
00:26:33:01 - 00:26:40:17
Unknown
yeah, it was like, kind of at that time where I was like, all right, like, I had never really had, like, anxiety in childhood,
00:26:40:20 - 00:26:44:15
Unknown
in high school, college and like, got to the workforce and hit me like a
00:26:44:18 - 00:26:45:20
Unknown
ton of bricks.
00:26:45:22 - 00:26:49:12
Unknown
It was really tough. So.
00:26:49:14 - 00:26:56:12
Unknown
Yeah.
00:26:56:14 - 00:27:09:09
Unknown
Yeah.
00:27:09:11 - 00:28:52:12
Unknown
Yeah.
00:28:52:14 - 00:29:01:16
Unknown
Yeah.
00:29:01:18 - 00:29:06:03
Unknown
Yeah.
00:29:06:05 - 00:29:09:23
Unknown
I don't think about my own. I think about my parents.
00:29:10:03 - 00:29:14:20
Unknown
I lost three out of my four grandparents before I was six years old.
00:29:14:23 - 00:29:17:15
Unknown
I never really, like, got a relationship with my grandparents, to be honest.
00:29:17:17 - 00:29:20:14
Unknown
Exception. My mom's dad and.
00:29:20:17 - 00:29:21:16
Unknown
I don't know, like, it's,
00:29:21:16 - 00:29:23:16
Unknown
You know, growing up, you think your parents are invincible
00:29:23:16 - 00:29:24:16
Unknown
and then you realize they're just
00:29:24:16 - 00:29:27:15
Unknown
normal people just trying to figure it out, and then,
00:29:27:20 - 00:29:29:01
Unknown
you know, you see your parents get older.
00:29:29:04 - 00:29:31:10
Unknown
know, my parents are in their late 60s now,
00:29:31:10 - 00:29:36:12
Unknown
a good buddy of mine, his dad passed away 4 or 5 years ago. And I was just like, holy shit.
00:29:36:14 - 00:29:37:07
Unknown
I don't know, like
00:29:37:07 - 00:29:41:12
Unknown
There's a thing in, in in therapy that I fought done their second exercise called, like,
00:29:41:12 - 00:29:42:10
Unknown
leaves on a stream.
00:29:42:13 - 00:29:43:22
Unknown
It's like an exercise where you let,
00:29:43:22 - 00:29:48:23
Unknown
thoughts kind of, like, just pass by, you know, and don't let it, like, really consume you.
00:29:48:23 - 00:29:54:15
Unknown
Because I'm bad at that. Like, I let things really consume really the forefront, like, of what I'm thinking about.
00:29:54:17 - 00:29:57:05
Unknown
And I let it take up too much, like, mental space
00:29:57:09 - 00:29:59:09
Unknown
then actively just, like, trying to work on
00:29:59:11 - 00:30:02:05
Unknown
that and like, why I was making, like, a joke earlier about morbid humor.
00:30:02:05 - 00:30:03:18
Unknown
It's like, oh, yeah, you guys here, we all die.
00:30:03:19 - 00:30:13:11
Unknown
I talk about, like, the support system that I have, like, I like, worry about all of, like, the parents who like going to pass away, like and, like won't be here and like, what the, like, figure, like, get all out and, like, I just, like, love them so much.
00:30:13:11 - 00:30:15:10
Unknown
Like, I can't imagine, like, a world without them.
00:30:15:13 - 00:30:16:06
Unknown
I know it's just
00:30:16:08 - 00:30:17:04
Unknown
tough and, you know,
00:30:17:06 - 00:30:22:00
Unknown
that had a, you know, a small health scare my mom had, you know, a small little thing,
00:30:22:02 - 00:30:25:01
Unknown
and it's like that my parents aren't invincible.
00:30:25:01 - 00:30:28:12
Unknown
And this is, like, such, like, a classic,
00:30:28:14 - 00:30:32:01
Unknown
thing that happens to many, you know, people, but it's like,
00:30:32:01 - 00:30:34:16
Unknown
you may or may not have a good relationship with your parents, like growing up.
00:30:34:16 - 00:30:40:10
Unknown
then, like, I went to college, it's like, oh, mama, can you just, like, send me more money to. And then, you know, you realize
00:30:40:12 - 00:30:44:17
Unknown
after, like, we moved to, like, me and my wife moved,
00:30:44:20 - 00:30:48:01
Unknown
to the suburbs, like, 15, 20 minutes away from from my parents.
00:30:48:01 - 00:30:53:08
Unknown
And that was definitely, like, intentional because I have recognized the importance of seeing my parents
00:30:53:10 - 00:30:55:16
Unknown
and seeing my in-laws more like it's
00:30:55:16 - 00:30:57:13
Unknown
is really important.
00:30:57:15 - 00:31:05:23
Unknown
To me.
00:31:06:01 - 00:31:09:17
Unknown
think both. So I'm one of three, I have,
00:31:09:17 - 00:31:13:22
Unknown
two younger siblings who are twins. They're going to be they're 29. And
00:31:13:22 - 00:31:17:18
Unknown
my when I look back at at what my parents did,
00:31:17:18 - 00:31:20:00
Unknown
within, I think like a span of, like, I think,
00:31:20:03 - 00:31:23:20
Unknown
Yeah. Like, my mom had me and my two siblings, so I was like five
00:31:23:22 - 00:31:27:04
Unknown
and my siblings were like two.
00:31:27:04 - 00:31:31:00
Unknown
And then my mom's mom, I passed away. I got like a long battle with leukemia.
00:31:31:02 - 00:31:36:17
Unknown
And I didn't know that, like, my mom was like. Like how it I was five, you know, like, but my mom was, like, struggling.
00:31:36:19 - 00:31:40:21
Unknown
And it was really, really, really tough on her. And I think, like, having kids, like, really brought it all together.
00:31:40:21 - 00:31:46:20
Unknown
And, you know, things have happened to me this year personally, professionally. And just like you really don't know what like unconditional love
00:31:46:23 - 00:31:49:19
Unknown
is until like, shit hits the fan.
00:31:49:21 - 00:31:53:20
Unknown
And I'm just really fortunate for people in my corner.
00:31:53:20 - 00:32:02:23
Unknown
that's like kind of the theme of 2025 was to, and really pour into this year is like, be fortunate,
00:32:02:23 - 00:32:05:13
Unknown
show appreciation for your loved ones.
00:32:05:15 - 00:32:06:18
Unknown
Because in an instant,
00:32:06:18 - 00:32:17:20
Unknown
you know, it, it could it could change. And I hate to like, say it like that because, like, it's such a drastic way, but I like, think it's I think it's kind of true. Yeah.
00:32:17:22 - 00:32:43:12
Unknown
Yeah.
00:32:43:14 - 00:33:00:16
Unknown
Don't be afraid to love people really hard and whatever way that you think that that is whether that's being loud, rambunctious like myself, whether that's being maybe more quiet, love your kids hard and loved your loved ones as hard and hold them tight.
00:33:00:16 - 00:33:05:16
Unknown
And, it's okay to be vulnerable and it's okay to cry and,
00:33:05:16 - 00:33:08:17
Unknown
showing up every day and being there for them is.
00:33:08:19 - 00:33:20:01
Unknown
It's the biggest blessing of my life. So, yeah.
00:33:20:03 - 00:34:56:12
Unknown
And seen.
00:34:56:14 - 00:35:18:08
Unknown
Yeah.
00:35:18:10 - 00:35:23:10
Unknown
Oh, man. You can find me online. I'm a weird serial poster on LinkedIn,
00:35:23:13 - 00:35:26:05
Unknown
so I try to post, you know, 4 to 5 times a day.
00:35:26:05 - 00:35:30:23
Unknown
Anything about the ecom logistics? You know, third party logistics stuff?
00:35:31:02 - 00:35:39:05
Unknown
And the up there supply chain and Aaron Hotels.com. That's my, my work email and, yeah. Thank you guys for for having me on.
00:35:39:05 - 00:35:39:18
Unknown
Pleasure.
00:35:39:18 - 00:35:40:08
Unknown
And an honor.
00:35:40:08 - 00:35:41:02
Unknown
Thank you. Aaron,