#35 Life Lessons From a Week in Cuba

Gentleman, welcome to the Be The Man podcast.

I'm your host, Greg Denning.

I wanted to just share the story and the lessons I learned from the opportunity.

I had really, honestly, it was a privilege and opportunity and I feel like a moral responsibility for all of us to serve and give back where we can.

And I have a chance to go down to Cuba after Hurricane, Ian, the eye of the hurricane went, right?

Through the western part of the island and the little we knew before going down is they had no power and no running water, no electricity.

And other than that, man, we just could not get much information or many details of Cuba.

This just, which is kind of, kind of normal from what?

I understand.

It's hard to get a lot of information so we are excited to get in there and wanted to go down.

We knew there, it was kind of a medical Mission and we were going down to, to offer help with medications and treatments.

So it was it was a team of three we went in there to to try to see what we could do, what the needs would be and we were watching in real time.

What was happening in Florida?

So we anticipated some some real challenges and so I was excited and we said some messages out to a few friends and got some generous donations for, which I'm extremely grateful, and, and you'll here and there in the report today, like that money, went to good use in it, it went Wrecked lie to the people.

One of the things I want to say is I'm working with an organization called aerial Recovery Group and I can wholeheartedly recommend them.

I've been working with nonprofits and humanitarian organizations now since 2007-2008, lots and lots of them from India, through Central America, and to Morocco, and across Europe.

And in Asia, Asia and the Paw live all over the place and I've been able to work inside them officially and see what's going on.

And unfortunately, you know, there's it's hard.

It's hard to run a big organization.

It's hard to manage all the funds that come in and do good and and they with with big hearts and great intentions is really awesome, they aren't always very efficient and they don't always get the money directly to people.

There's often a lot of big admin costs and a lot of waste in a lot of inefficiency and Activeness.

And and I've, you know, I've with many others, have felt the frustration of of that.

But I can wholeheartedly now having worked with with Ariel and I can recommend them with with a total clear conscience and a huge recommendation.

So, if you're looking for an organization to support and you want to throw some of your your donations, you're giving back, right?

I hope at a minimum, I hope all of us are paying a tithing right at tenth of a tenth of all.

Our income is going back to do, good and more.

If you can higher percentage, if you can to to do good and if you've been looking for a place and you want to make sure your dollars, go, right to the people and are being used to their, you know, stretching that money as far as humanly possible to help the most people for the longest amount of time and in the most effective way, right?

Because there's there's definitely a part.

We're helping hurts and giving handouts is demoralizing.

And that's not at all what they do.

So, man, I Couldn't couldn't be happier to be working more and more with this organization.

And in fact I'm going to a training again this weekend, next level high level training, right?

That's the other thing is they bring in their volunteers and I said look if you're going to if you're going to volunteer with this super going to work we're going to train you.

We're going to get you really skilled across the board so that you can be a greater asset and do greater good.

So I'm going to another pretty pretty hardcore training this weekend.

And then another one, hopefully Soon even internationally right?

Yes.

Awesome.

So we went down there with team of three of fluid Miami and with generous donations just fill duffel bags with medical supplies tarps to cover roofs.

Because we knew that you know, typically hurricanes has yank roofs off homes and took out some supplies.

We knew there was no power.

So we took in, you know, our own portable batteries and solar panels to charge our stuff.

So we can have some communication down there.

We took in it.

What blows my Mine.

And I want to point this out because it'll be important is how easy it was for me to go in and spend like, $1500 on just over-the-counter medication just the Benadryl tribe, education medication and like over-the-counter pain medication acetaminophen which is like a Tylenol or Ibuprofen or cold and flu medications and stomach stuff.

Because usually there's waterborne illnesses and stomach stuff after after that and it was so Easy like it was so abundant I just walk into Costco, walk into Walmart, won't get all kinds of stuff, you know, creams for itches and bug bites, because there would be a lot of that and for athlete's foot because of feet are getting wet, always in the in standing water and things like that.

It was just all there.

I mean there were so much of it there just pallets and pallets of it and I was able to just get so much to take down, which is amazing because when it here in a minute, the story you realize that that's not anywhere near a reality in And so we went down there and and, you know, it was a little bit challenging to get in, we had to get special letters and approvals have to get the visa and then we got to the airport.

It was, it was quite a, quite a task to get out of the airport.

They were scrutinizing, us thoroughly and scrutinizing what we were bringing in Thoroughly and they they were very, very thorough about it.

Took us took a good chunk of time to get out of there and then once you get out we got in this awesome you know.

And it was Just loved it.

Like all those old cars from the 50s and it's it's pretty sad.

The vast majority of the cars are from the 50s and their beautiful, right?

You go down there and just saw some absolute stunning old cars.

It's like the whole line is classic but it's also because a lot of things just stopped in the 50s, they stopped progressing and a lot of the old buildings or just crumbling, they were built in the 20s and 30s and 40s and 50s and and they're just crumbling.

They don't, they don't keep them up.

Unfortunately, in and there aren't a lot of new cars and Not a lot of new anything in there, which was, it was pretty interesting.

Now, I've been to almost 50 countries I've been in some of the poorest places on the planet and some of the toughest places on the planet, some of the most remote places on the planet but Cuba is different in so many ways and life-changing for me again, just a total paradigm shift in a reality check.

But that was kind of for seen you leave the airport and like all these old cars and then, you know, Russian cars Russian Vans for the ambulances and then these kind of Oh, boxy, Russian cars there.

And then all these cars from the 50s and they're still running and running great.

And then all these little like, variations, they've made their the creativity.

They take, they take an old car and they turn it into some kind of Jeep looking thing and, and they create whatever.

And then there was horses and carts all around.

And then we got in the countryside, almost every farmer had had a pair of oxen pulling his plow.

It was beautiful.

So it really felt like you stepped into a time capsule and I have to emphasize here.

I have literally have nothing but respect and admiration.

The Cuban people, they were friendly, man, they're hard-working, and had had a great attitude for what what they're facing after the hurricane, and what they're facing in their reality, their in the country.

And they are resilient and Innovative and creative and I was inspired genuinely inspired these great people and so we start heading west from Havana and it was miles and miles and miles.

Of mangled power lines.

And so, as far as far as I know, still no power down there, they might get little pockets of power.

They were talking about setting up massive generators in like Parks or fields and kind of getting power to schools hospitals, and like, those primary locations, but we drove literally for you guys hundreds of miles and that all the power lines were Tangled Up in the trees.

Trees were down everywhere.

Huge trees, just toppled, And their power loans into houses and bent over and busted.

And I didn't see anybody the whole time.

We were there for a week.

I didn't see anybody working on power lines.

They were quick in the cities that we went to.

They had already made piles of all the trees because I can't, I can't even start even comprehend.

How many trees came down, it just leveled everything.

And the people were just hard working, they just get all the trees.

All branches, put in the streets, and then the military was coming through.

In these huge trucks and just picking up all the junk.

So these teams of soldiers were just going through everywhere and just picking up all the debris that was in the streets and in the week that it was there with, I mean we were driving around piles and trying to make our way down streets to get in to help people.

And and there were so much debris everywhere, but they had most of the streets cleared.

By the time we were leaving.

It was, it was really impressive.

But there there was no power and I don't think there is still an out in the countryside.

There won't be for a while and There was no running water where they're pumping in entering the pumps and so that was that was difficult there.

Luckily, we brought while their water filters since we were able to get access to some water and filter it and, you know, we had our solar and our battery chargers who are able to keep our phones charged in our gear and Equipment, charged and stay in comms.

So we went in there and we didn't know what to anticipate.

We thought there might be a lot of casualties, maybe been a lot of deaths.

A lot of injuries and we get in there.

We went to the clinics and they said, no, we no casualties.

At all.

None.

Like what about injuries?

All the people that got hurt.

Nope, there weren't any fuck.

What in the world?

Okay, what about waterborne illnesses and all these things are like well there's there's an increase in Dengue, but dang.

It was already happening right?

From mosquito-borne stuff but like we're monitoring the the what?

Drinking water like they're good and we found out what had happened.

Is like, before the hurricane hit.

They had everyone go to safe houses, either to community safe houses.

These one of these concrete homes or off to family members who had Fully concrete homes, and it was incredible.

I mean, a lot of them lost their homes and especially lost the roofs off their homes, but they all went to safe houses.

It was amazing.

Everybody did.

And then it was her after Zoe went out and we were able to talk to him and hear their stories.

I talk to a lot of different families and their stories and hear from them.

And one gentleman, he was in his 80s.

He told me.

This is the fourth one.

He's been through.

He's lived through and it was the worst one by far and they were right in the eye of the storm.

Warm.

And so, I think, you know, somewhere around 130 mile an hour winds, and then they said for an hour and 20 minutes, it was just blue skies and perfectly calm inside the eye of the storm.

And then it came again, when dr.

We talked to said he saw, he saw a huge rocks flying through the air.

Me twice the size of a microwave just flying through the air.

He was he was peeking out and saw an entire roof yanked off a house and carried off into the mountains and we're Let you know, they had just mowed down their crops.

So all the banana trees, of course, were toppled all the avocado trees and palm trees were over coffee Fields, just leveled, you could Fields window to help this one farmer and hit the UK feels were just completely plowed over.

And they, man, they lost a lot of food which is a big deal here as well here in a minute.

So it was, it was fascinating to see that drive drive all that distance and see the destruction of the trees and the Crops and the homes any of you know all they do a lot of tobacco there and all the tobacco sheds are just kind of these wood big tall wooden structures and everyone every single one we saw was just topple over just demolished and better.

There was a lot of Destruction, but the people were up and resilient and, you know, cleaning up and going about their lives.

It was amazing to see him especially towards the of the week.

They were starting to gather again in the town square.

And they were out trying to, you know, if they had some guts.

Had a little generators that they were running and so they play a little music and have a light on and and which was really awesome.

They were gathering anyone who had a vehicle and not.

Not very, very few people owned Vehicles.

The government and thus as that are, the state may call it owns, most of the vehicles but whoever had vehicles or generators, it was just this community Gathering there ever.

Hey, come over, charge your phone charge, whatever you need to, and gather round me just just real community support and they're helping each other, which was absolutely incredible.

We had the privilege to go around, we wanted to see, especially the rural clinics and the, in the clinics in the city, where there were most affected, want to see what was going on.

And what was so impactful to me as we went into these, these larger clinics and then kind of the big the big clinic and we ask that, you know, what kind of medication they had available and gentlemen, they had little or nothing.

And as far as pain management, none of them and we're talking clinics that are responsible for well over 20,000 people did not have any pain management medication and and just think about that for a minute.

Think about how often and how easily in our family, we go in our, your family, my family, we can go pick up some some Tylenol or some ibuprofen.

And if I mean anything from from a headache, to some inflammation, to a small injury to a cut and or I mean heaven forbid, something worse, a broken bone, sprained, ankle or wrist, or or you have to have a surgery.

Let me something really bad goes wrong.

Just some severe severe pain, there was no pain medication available.

And that man I Hit me hard very very few if any antibiotics available one Clinic that was responsible for about 1,000 people he had zero sutures nothing, it was out in a farming Community there you know there's going to be cuts and he literally had no way.

He didn't even have the the needle drivers to put the sutures in.

And he was like, oh man, it we're asking, what would, what would help you out because?

Okay, here's the other thing, I want to point out, they were very, very well educated and very skilled.

I didn't heed our skills down there.

Their doctors are our top notch.

We were very impressed.

They're very knowledgeable, very skilled.

So it wasn't a lack of Education, wasn't like skills.

It's like a resources.

And they didn't have any and and this is what it sounded me having travelled as extensively.

I have, you know, I've seen all kinds of different economies and different societies and civilizations, they didn't have pharmacies.

You can't just go to the corner Pharmacy.

Like you go, you go through Central America, South America, Asia, there's Pharmacy everywhere, especially in Mexico and Central America, South America, man, there's there's pharmacies on every corner and it's so inexpensive.

You can get access to medication.

Easy often, without any kind of prescriptions, you can just go right in talk pharmacist and get what you need.

It's incredible.

There weren't there.

Weren't any nothing.

You couldn't get it.

If you had money, you couldn't get it.

And it was, it was astounding to me.

And so, we were so excited because we had brought several duffle bags, just packed full of pain medication and other kinds of medications, antibiotics, and some suture kits.

And, you know, other other resources that our team had brought in.

It was you guys who so amazing.

And so, those of you who donated your money went, To a place that needed it.

So desperately to situations and people who genuinely desperately needed it.

And and what's interesting that wasn't necessarily an effect of the hurricane.

It's just an effective of how things are going there.

And well, let me let me go to.

So we went in and I just want to give you a picture here.

We went into this one multiple places and they literally had almost nothing You probably have more in your own personal bathroom cabinet, as far as medical needs than they did in these clinics you you and I we can go pick up all kinds of awesome bandages, splints and creams, and medicines.

And you can walk into any grocery store.

And pick up cheaply and abundantly grab way more than they had access to.

And it was interesting.

I mean, they're tough.

Those guys are tough people and they, they make do with very little.

So it was, it was so exciting and so inspiring to see them and and to leave that stuff right?

Really, really cool.

So that, I mean, it went to very, very, very good use there and yeah, just I couldn't couldn't be more pleased with the the ability we had to leave.

So Whole much because you just walk in like Costco has a little to set.

You've grabbed two pills, that's 1000 capsules, 1000 capsules of pain medication to them that will last.

They were telling us like, this will be months.

It'll last month's because they preserve it and protect it and use it.

So sow sparingly man, it was awesome.

So that was really great, great aspect of that.

And and again, driving home.

Two two, gigantic takeaways from this trip and number one is a deep deep gratitude for things, we take for granted and I've had that before.

I've been in the shanty towns in Casablanca and I've been in the colonies of the people affected by leprosy in India and been in the tiny remote just poorest Villages, Guatemala and Peru.

And into orphanages in the Dominican Republic and etcetera.

Etc, etc.

But here it wasn't that there's so I keep telling people it wasn't that there was a shortage in the stores.

It was that there are no stores.

And so, I'll switch to another story to illustrate this, even farther.

We after we had kind of get that settled.

We had one evening were like, and I brought some tarps down and so, I'm and let's, let's go, let's go put some some coverings on some roof, some people had lost their roofs and, and they were just exposed to the sun and the wind and the rain.

So, we went over to this one, gentleman's house that there was a contact with our guide and If we went up to help and offer in and he said, you know, it was, it was awesome.

It's really inspiring.

As I know, he's like, look my house needs it, but I'm young, and I can do this myself.

I can take care of it.

I'll make this happen.

Let's go find someone else who's not, who needs help more than I do, which was so inspiring.

And so he led us through these fields, that were all the trees were blown on the crops were destroyed.

And let us down the hill.

And we went to this little, this little little farm down there with a couple of houses and the roofs were blown off and there was It's pretty sad.

He was actually said of his poignant and telling there was a dead puppy.

The sitting on the porch, body was still there and which was, which was telling right and just that was symbolic of a lot of things.

And so I went down there and this older gentleman Was he he was 85.

No, he was turning 83, right?

And we went down there and we walked down.

Introduce them said, hey, they have starts.

I want to help and he's like, wow!

Wow, wow, man, that would be great.

I just on the money like no, no, it's a gift.

And you should have seen his face just light up.

Like, what what?

And you can tell like, this doesn't happen often and understandably, right?

This is because there's just such Your gigantic lack of resources and he was blown away like they're just going to give it to me like okay thanks you know and I quote school put it on he's like whoa wait like right now like yeah we'll go do it he's like I can't do that is I know we're going to do it and he again his face is like that.

Like what you're going to get on my roof and cover it for me, it was, it was incredible.

And so we actually start asking for tools again thinking the way we think because you can you can get hammers and tools and crowbars anywhere everywhere for so.

A cheap and and he went and pulled out some tools that he had made made made a, it made their own hammer and their own crowbar.

And so, I climbed up on the roof.

It made their own ladder out of wood out of, you know, out of tree branches because actually pretty incredible.

And and so I climbed up on the roof and we pulled out the old nails.

So I was just there was some some old rusty nails have been holding down the it's just the corrugated tin, the tin roofs.

So I was pulling those out.

So we could put the tarps And then we got it all covered the tarps fit perfectly and it was just huge to see them just lit up and saying oh they were you know, they're like how we can we can sleep in here tonight again and and get out of the sun and the rain and I'll get in there and all their stuff was just blown everywhere just wet and they lost a lot of stuff.

It, some of the house we went in the hurricane.

It just sucked, their belongings, their Furniture.

The kids toys their clothing.

Just gone.

Just pull it, right out of there.

So what was left was just Is scattered everywhere, just filthy and wet and ruin their beds, and their furniture, and all their things.

And so to be able to cover up what was left and help them, you know, get straightened up and we and some of the group just pulled out brooms and swept and cleaned everything up and started organizing.

We were able to cover it up.

Well the hold told the roofs down, we needed to nail down some boards over it to hold the tarps down.

And so I said I turned to him I said hey work where can we get some nails?

I don't think I'll ever forget this.

Look, He just looked at me and he's like, there are no nails.

Almost like he's like, what are you talking about?

Like, duh.

Idiot.

There are no nails and I was like, and again I couldn't wrap my head around, like, wait, what do you mean?

We're like what where's the hardware store?

He's like there's no store like okay, do we need to do?

We need to ask for some order some from the from the capital.

Doing you have somebody bring us out some Nails.

We can get this going.

And he looked at me, he's like, hey man, you don't get it.

There are no nails.

And that's when it sunk in deeply.

If they get any resources, it'll be because the government trucks come around and sell it to him.

And if they don't come around There's no resources.

And I started to hit and hit hard and then we got talking about, they were just so hungry.

And even our guides they didn't, they didn't eat or drink.

Nice kept noticing, I'm like what's going on?

And we're sharing our food and like, they don't eat it.

I'm like what tell me about the food situation and as far as I could gather understand, there's no grocery stores.

You don't, you can't just go to the store and get whatever you want.

You go to the warehouse is what they call it and you have one week of the month that your is your assigned week and you can go You go once during that week to go pick up your bucket of supplies?

And they give you what, whatever they give you you don't get to go in and pick and choose and say well I like a few of those and a few of those and some of that you go in and they give you that and you pay for it and you go home and and that's what you have to have until next month until your week next month.

And if you they told me if you miss your week, that's it too bad.

You can't go back, can make up nothing.

You got to wait till the following month to your week and they hand you out some grains, some simple things.

And some vegetable oil, really interesting Lee things that are Really, really not good for your health, which was also interesting was.

We were going around visiting the clinics.

There was a lot at an exorbitant amount of diabetes and high blood pressure.

Not the people were overweight and there's not an overweight obesity problem, but it was the, it was those vegetable oils and the grains who was really fascinating and insightful.

And so there's there was very little food resources which makes it even worse because the storm level Old and ruined so so many crops and so there's a, there's a real food problem and then when you can't even get simple, things like tools and Nails even that that one just hit me so hard you guys.

Like it's, I don't know.

Like there's a lot of things.

I like, okay, I've come back from trips and things like, oh yeah, I'm not taking that for granted anymore like toilets, right.

Oh man, when we were on our trip trekking up to the base camp of Everest and my son was We should get.

He got a, he got, it was he puked a couple times and then I got diarrhea and we're like, oh man, you never, and I did that in Peru to, when I was younger.

And never, ever going to take a toilet for granted or running water or hot water.

All these good things we have in drinking water, right?

But nails.

Or even just hit variety at a grocery store.

But now, this is the case, even a store.

Because almost everywhere else I've been in the world, there's been some kind of store there.

So then some kind of Commerce, some kind of economy that the people involved in.

But out there, It was, it was unbelievable. so then again, so I'm just deep deep gratitude, and I want to pass this along to you because it was so had such an effect on me is like Everything everything within your touch right now, wherever your listeners.

If you're listening your car, or in your kitchen or out on a run, look around, everything from the clothes you have on to, you know, I'm sitting here at my desk and my microphone on my, my iMac and my camera, and my iPhone, and all these books I have.

And my hat and photographs I mean in in journals and paper and pens and chocolate.

We we pulled out some jerky and we said hey you want some too are one of our guides and he was like what's that like that's like wait what?

You don't know what a jerk he is and he's he was looking at it weird like what is it?

Like it's meat.

It looks weird and he was giving us this weird glass as I try it.

It's amazing and he took a bite and then he you just see him his face.

Just light up.

And he looks at us and says in English, it's amazing right?

Like, wow, the first time in his life, he didn't even know what it was.

First time in his life, he's sitting in his van with us and tried some jerky. and, you know, I've taken jerky for granted and not only drink, we're not just eating any older.

If you were eating this with the nice grass fed jerky and it just it just blew my mind, all these little things in close.

I mean, everything you think of the things that are so easy for us to get things, we just get throw out.

We have so much abundance.

If something breaks or cracks or is a little less effective or gets old or worn down, or a little little frayed or whatever.

In the garbage, it goes, they don't they don't have that luxury.

They keep it and make it work and fix it up and make it last.

Who is inspiring and humbling?

Very, very humbling.

And so I started asking I want to, you know, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a very curious person and a sponge for Learning and education understanding.

And so I was just asking all the questions I get asked and try and understand every bit of it.

I could in a short time and talking everyone I could and trying to get as much information as I could, and I wanted to understand and their economy in their jobs and I found out University is free to included.

Anyone who wants to go can and education is good.

And then I started asking about careers and started asking Right, when I got there, I started asking about, you know, what do they earn?

And if you have a college degree and a decent job, you make about thirty dollars a month. $30 a month for the good jobs and I just like trying to wrap my head around that and then asking a lot about who's the highest paid, what's the best career was, you know, where's the money?

How do we get the money in here?

I'm just thinking, you know, my entrepreneurial mind like how to get the money out of a husband who's got the best career in like, well I think it's the doctors, the doctors get paid the best, I'm okay great.

How much, the how much did doctors make?

You know, they go to school for eight or 12 years how much the doctors make he said 60 bucks a month.

Physicians Specialists, even surgeons.

These doctors who are sharp and are serving it and we just found a genuine love and concern for the people.

They really wanted to help the people that are serving for all those years of study and sacrifice and service.

And and they they have their clinics.

You know, they're, they're accessible, they come and wake them up in the middle of the night.

Anytime they catch him walking down the street.

Whatever.

Hey, doctor, help me with this.

Help me that $60 a month.

I think we can't get the earn more.

What can they do to earn more in the lying?

The cake and I'm like, okay, hustle, K, open a business.

Can't get stuff.

He's like, well, yeah, you could.

But where are you going to get supplies, where you going to get your materials, if you open a store, what where you going to get stuff to sell.

You can't get it.

No.

Now they have a black market, they've set up a black market kind of underground Secret market there.

These guys are hustlers in the innovators man.

It's awesome.

So they have a black market but everything is extremely expensive and kind of sneaky, right?

They have to it that the kind of stick it in there.

Again thing else there's not a just an inflow of importations and other things going on.

There's not there's not a big flowing economy and commerce there. and I'm like, well who's make any money is like, well if people start making extra money, It, whether it, whether somebody from outside of the country sending money in, or they figure out some way to earn some extra money or something.

He says, they have this program every year, they go around and kind of, they, they level level down the rich people, anyone who seems to be making extra money, like hey, what's going on here?

You seem to have more money to remodel your house and fix up your thing and buy more stuff, what's going on and they go around and they they level the playing field.

And bring you back down, it's just don't progress.

So, so as much, it was beautiful.

As one lady said, I was praising them and she said, yeah, the Cubans are made of hardwood.

That's so true.

It's awesome.

They really are just wonderful, resilient.

Tough people.

But there was some other people also said, yeah, it's almost impossible to progress here.

And so, that was the the second thing.

I came home with gentleman and I want to pass along that you and I, we have a moral obligation to rise and succeed, simply because we can if for no other reason we have to rise in succeed, we have to win because we can, there are places in this world and it's like 90 miles off, our Southern border.

Where no matter how much effort and how much education, how much hustle, and how much Ingenuity and creativity.

We can't rise.

You can't win.

You can't really thrive.

And so we have to we have to because we can right now, I'm sure there's a lot, I don't understand.

I was there for a week.

I asked many questions I can.

I met with a lot of people but you'd have to live there to really understand it.

We met a lady who she created this documentary years ago because surfing was illegal for a very long time.

And from what I understand, it's it's still it's not quite recognized as a sport yet, it's not quite legal, but they don't enforce the Ality anymore.

But before they used to chase it down and bust you.

And the secret police are active, they followed us around, they were watching what we were doing.

And it's it and it's a beautiful place.

I want to go back.

It's absolutely stunning.

I loved the countryside and we will obviously we were out of the beaches and it's sandy beaches and we didn't go to the beautiful places but man just driving around.

I saw some stunning stunning Landscapes and then hot saw some videos and pictures I want to go back and loved the Cuban people and the whole vibe the whole experience.

And in the even the the whole time capsule aspect of it was just so so picturesque is so beautiful and and such a Experience, I want to go back when I take my family back, it was it was amazing.

And again, I have nothing but respect and admiration for the people but it was a reality check and it was a reminder to be deeply deeply grateful for what we have.

And to step up with that, moral obligation, we have to rise and succeed, we have to do our best gentlemen. and we take things for granted and we allow ourselves to be lazy and slack off and settle for less and acquiesce When a, you think, man, the sum of people are working so hard.

And so diligently, doing everything they can to survive.

What would they do with our opportunities?

What would they do with our privileges?

Somebody who has so few opportunities?

What would they do if given a chance to step into our shoes and have access to almost unlimited, almost infinite opportunities that you and I have?

And how, how often are we squandering those?

Because our lives are so easy and so comfortable.

So abundant.

So there was a lot there was a lot to learn a lot to think about and I hope I hope you'll rise and I hope you'll be extremely generous, and I hope you'll develop your skill set and your knowledge and your resources.

So that you have more than enough to give to give of yourself to give of your time to give your money and resources, your talents and skills and abilities at.

Hope you'll look for opportunities to serve and make a difference and lift those right around.

You and your neighborhood and abroad.

And if you don't go yourself, at least, you know, fun and support those.

Those organizations who do are taking those resources in and getting on the ground.

I fully plan on doing this for the foreseeable future where where there's a disaster either man-made disaster, a natural disaster.

I want to be boots on the ground first thing, helping people who are in great need because, you know, people have helped me.

I've been had so many blessings in my life and so many resources, so many opportunities and so I feel I'm A obligation and a responsibility to take advantage of these opportunities and privileges to go make a difference, go serve.

So, and again, humanitarian efforts happen across the board from the very poorest people to the very wealthiest.

There's extremely wealthy people who need they need philanthropy as well.

Whether it's emotional or mental or disasters happen in their lives as well.

That money doesn't fix.

And there are pains and illnesses and, and hurts that aren't just physical, but emotional, or spiritual or social, or whatever.

So, philanthropy happens at every Every level of life.

And let's let's be a great force for good in the world.

Gentlemen, that's that's a model for our family.

And it particularly important aspect of Our Lives to be a great force for good, and we can do it all the time.

And let's, let's take on this responsibility and opportunity to prepare ourselves to be a great force for good and go out and make a difference.

So love you guys.

Thanks for listening.

Thanks for carrying, thanks for for being a, for being great men, and With the caliber of men, you are that you can make a positive impact in the world and leave every place, and every person better than you found them.

So let's make this happen because if you haven't subscribe to the podcast, please do that.

If you enjoy this episode, go leave a review up to five stars.

Share this with friends, family colleagues people who need it.

He need to hear this, get these reminders.

So so as a group, as a community, as a Brotherhood, we can literally be Des force of nature in the world to do.

Ooh, good.

And create good, and be good.

I think, just think if the combined effort of all of us in doing a little bit each day to make the world a better place, it has a gigantic effect for all the crap that's happening on the planet, we can do a lot of good so let's get out and make it happen.

Love you guys.

Thanks for being here.