March 12, 2026

Why Humans Are Wired for Connection (And What Happens When It Breaks) with Jackie Hallberg (Audio)

Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
Overcast podcast player badge
Castro podcast player badge
PocketCasts podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
Amazon Music podcast player badge
Audible podcast player badge
iHeartRadio podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconOvercast podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconPocketCasts podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconAudible podcast player iconiHeartRadio podcast player icon

What if the biggest problems in dating, leadership, and workplace conflict all come from the same place?

In this episode of Learnings & Missteps, Jesse sits down with Jackie—romance coach and consultant who works in crime reduction and reentry—to explore why humans are wired for connection and what happens when that connection breaks down.

Jackie argues that the common advice to “leave your personal problems at home” is unrealistic—and often harmful. When resentment, trauma, and poor communication go unaddressed, they don’t stay contained. They show up in our relationships, workplaces, and sometimes escalate into serious conflict.

Together they unpack:

• Why dishonesty and venting can quietly destroy relationships
 • How dating apps can reinforce unhealthy communication patterns
 • The difference between romance coaching and therapy
 • Why small “baby-step” breakthroughs can transform intimacy and trust
 • How leaders can support the whole person without sacrificing boundaries

Jackie shares how her work in relationships, family reunification, and personal development all connect to one mission: helping create a happier, healthier, and safer world—one honest conversation at a time.

Get the blueprint to Plan, Commit, and Execute your way into optimal performance: https://www.depthbuilder.com/time-management-webinar-sign-up-page

Download a PDF copy of Becoming the Promise You are Intended to Be
https://www.depthbuilder.com/books

00:00 - Setting The Stage: Why Romance Coaching

02:33 - Negativity, Violence, And Human Connection

06:25 - Resentment, Boundaries, And Trust

10:39 - Home Life Energy At Work

15:45 - Being One Human Everywhere

20:34 - Leaders Supporting The Whole Person

25:44 - Office Dynamics And Belonging

28:45 - Listener Shoutout And Impact

31:20 - Why Jackie Chose Romance Coaching

37:30 - Growing Apart, Expectations, And Honesty

43:18 - Communication, Change, And Touch

48:58 - Trauma Patterns And New Responses

53:33 - Breakthroughs That Belong To Clients

58:28 - Micro-Habits: Hugs, Cues, And Safety

01:04:04 - Intimacy After Stress And Aging

01:09:38 - Don’t Crowdsource Your Relationship

WEBVTT

00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:01.600
Relationships are complicated.

00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:02.319
Yeah.

00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:06.240
And when we try to pretend that they're not, they get even more complicated.

00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:18.800
Or if we don't trust talking to somebody about it, it becomes so much worse because then we're we're feeling guilty and shame and confusion, all while we're experiencing the just the chaos in general.

00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:24.960
What is going on, LMM family?

00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:28.960
Glad you're back because I got some energy.

00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:34.960
So be ready for some contagious, positive, and some like heartfelt type energy.

00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:41.600
Our guest today is a mental health hype woman, which I love because y'all know.

00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:51.840
Well, if you've listened to any of the shows before, you know mental health is a thing that's important to me because I've struggled with it and suffered through some real personal things with addiction, et cetera.

00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:56.079
And so anybody that is an advocate for mental health, you know they're on my team.

00:00:56.320 --> 00:01:02.399
The interesting thing is we were connected before we were connected through an anthology.

00:01:02.479 --> 00:01:07.680
And so maybe we'll talk a little bit about this anthology thing, which is super cool.

00:01:07.920 --> 00:01:14.239
Her name is Jackie Halberg in Michigan, coming down from like the cold states right now.

00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:22.799
She is a consultant on all things crime, conflict, victimization, family reunification, re-entry.

00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:29.200
So, folks, if you can't tell by that list, she's a very empathetic person with a lot of compassion.

00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:35.359
And so we're gonna do our best to tap into that and glean any of all that goodness that we possibly can.

00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:54.480
And if this is your first time here, you are listening to the Learnings and Missteps podcast, where we get to see amazing human beings just like you tell the stories of how they're sharing their gifts and talents to lead this world better than they found it.

00:01:54.719 --> 00:02:00.799
I am Jesse, your selfish servant, and we are about to get to know Miss Jackie.

00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:02.000
Miss Jackie, how are you?

00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:04.319
Always great when I'm around you.

00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:06.159
I love your energy.

00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:07.280
Thank you.

00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:12.159
It's super like I we might have a problem here too.

00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:15.919
Can you imagine us in person at the same time in the same location?

00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:17.360
Oh my goodness.

00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:19.520
Yes, I I can.

00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:24.080
I think we'd have a lot of fun and maybe freak some people out, but in a good way.

00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:30.000
So I like to start off with the simple question to kind of get us warmed up.

00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:31.599
So I got one.

00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:32.800
Here it is.

00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:37.120
What is a romance coach, and why does it matter?

00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:39.759
It is not going to be a simple answer, Jesse.

00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:44.560
Oh my gosh, that is like hit me with the big one.

00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:58.639
First of all, it matters because when we are not happy with ourselves, if we're trying to connect with a partner, whether we're married in a longtime relationship, we're newly dating, maybe we want to date, but nobody's interested in us.

00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:10.080
If we give that negative energy out to our partner in home or on our profiles or any of that stuff, and we don't get positive back, we get more angry and more sad and more ick.

00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:11.919
And then we take that out into the world.

00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:18.240
And then there's violence, and there's violence in the home, there's violence on dates, there's violence at the workplace, there's all this stuff.

00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:28.800
So I feel very strongly because I work so much with crime and victimization in my day job that coming down to the basics of really making sure humans are mammals, Jesse.

00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:36.800
We are meant to connect and to populate and to feel all the feels and do all the things, but we are not meant to be solo.

00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:38.960
We can be solo for a very long time.

00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:43.599
I mean, I don't mind being solo for a while, but we are meant to be surrounded by other humans.

00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:51.120
And if we're negative and we're angry because we're not getting any, or because we're not dating, or because our relationship sucks, we can put that out for the world.

00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:56.960
Yep, you know, real talk, like real talk.

00:03:57.120 --> 00:03:58.479
So let's just go there.

00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:03.039
I've I've been accused and I've also experienced withholding.

00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:04.560
I've been accused now.

00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:07.360
Apparently, they were right.

00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:18.000
Like a friend of mine told me, she's like, Jesse, you are really great at figuring out what people want from you, giving it to them, and then resenting them for it.

00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:19.519
So that's deep.

00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:22.639
What do you think about that, Jack?

00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:31.360
Well, I think it means different levels if you're talking about a potential partner, if you're talking about a business relationship, if you're talking giving pro bono work, all the things.

00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:36.399
And if you do have that rinse resentment, they they won.

00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:37.519
They won.

00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:40.639
Something from you, and they got a negative emotion from you.

00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:46.399
And then our brains and our bodies hold on to that and we start feeling icky, and then we might not trust other people.

00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:52.959
So then our walls go up a little bit more, and we're like, I'm never dating, I'm never doing business with them, I'm never gonna talk to them again.

00:04:53.120 --> 00:05:00.240
And we kind of lose because we could be shutting out somebody that is so amazing that could be so different and so powerful for us.

00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:00.800
Yeah.

00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:01.680
Oh, I love it.

00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:02.160
I love it.

00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:07.600
And for clarity, we're talking about like friendships and romantic relationships.

00:05:07.839 --> 00:05:08.959
Because you're so good at the work.

00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:10.800
You wouldn't be doing what to do if you don't.

00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:20.800
But some people might not understand that because I know some great people that have gone through some like relationship changes that it changes who they are in the workforce.

00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:22.319
They bring it to work.

00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:40.959
A lot of people don't show up to work, not just because they're sick, but because something crappy is going on inside the house, whether it's their kids, their partner, whether it's their emotional response to what the fight that happened last night, or if there is violence, or if there's threats of I'm gonna leave you or something like that, there's no way it can't come into the workforce at times.

00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:50.399
And the more we're aware of it and the more we're willing to go there, the easier it is for our staff, our colleagues, our business associates to feel like Jesse, I can wait.

00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:52.000
Jackie, I need a break on this.

00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:53.360
You know, there's some stuff going down.

00:05:53.519 --> 00:05:54.399
Can we reschedule?

00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:56.959
Can I have a little bit more grace this time?

00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:05.439
And when we think about what makes us truly happy, every one of us is a little different, but we're so biologically the same.

00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:11.439
I don't care how age difference, I don't care the gender, I don't care the race, the religious beliefs, any of the things.

00:06:11.759 --> 00:06:15.920
Biologically, we as humans want to be wanted.

00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:20.959
We want those responses, like your person that attended your session wrote that great thing.

00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:23.680
We want to get the likes on on our social media page.

00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:26.800
We want people to say, Oh my gosh, I never knew that until you shared that.

00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:31.040
We want that, but we also want somebody to say, Jesse, I want to spend time with you.

00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:32.879
Jesse, I want to learn from you.

00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:37.600
I want to, I want to be in your circle because you you just light me up, you make me feel good.

00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:39.279
That's what humans want.

00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:44.800
And when we say, I don't need anybody, I can do it by myself, I I'm done with relationships.

00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:47.600
We're literally lying to ourselves.

00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:52.160
So, what are your thoughts on the on this statement?

00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:56.399
We're here to work, leave your personal crap at home.

00:06:56.959 --> 00:06:57.920
Can I swear on here?

00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:04.800
Oh, I didn't okay, but so yeah, I mean, we are not again, we are a mammal.

00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:07.759
We cannot just compartmentalize all day long.

00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:11.759
We can play it for a while, we can definitely play it for a while.

00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:21.360
But this beautiful thing up here that not one of us ever taps into enough is going to come out at a certain time and it's gonna say, Oh my gosh, I thought I could handle my stuff together.

00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:22.879
I didn't think I'd have to take time off.

00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:24.720
I didn't think I'd have to come get help.

00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:29.759
I didn't think I was getting cranky to that person, but your home life is going to affect you.

00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:52.959
Your personal mindset, your personal happiness, whether it's a confidence level or whether it's a self-esteem level, whether it's internal hate that you have for yourself because of something you did in the past, if you can't grow through that, you're going to bring all the negative to work or to a conference, to a training, to a business proposal, but you're also going to bring the good stuff.

00:07:53.120 --> 00:08:04.319
If things are rocking at home and you have very little stress, love you, they're they're cheering you on, they want to come to your conference, they're telling people to sign up for you, they're showing off your book you wrote.

00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:05.920
You know they're in your corner.

00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:11.680
You are going to just be elevated because that positive energy is going to trickle out, and we want that to come into the workforce.

00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:12.639
So don't believe that.

00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:14.160
Good juju home.

00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:18.000
I love that.

00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:28.399
That's actually, I've never heard anybody talk about it from that perspective because we want you to bring all your great stuff, the great energy from home.

00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:32.399
We just don't want the stinky human stuff from home.

00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:40.639
And I also like that you pointed out that we can do that, but it's not a sustainable approach, right?

00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:45.679
Like there are times where we got to, and I'm this way, it's time, it's focus time.

00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:46.559
And what does that mean?

00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:50.240
That means I'm ignoring everything and everybody else.

00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:51.759
And that feels good.

00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:55.120
Like I love those times, but it's not sustainable.

00:08:55.279 --> 00:09:01.600
Like after a period of time, it starts getting dark, it starts getting cloudy, it starts getting you know less than than amazing.

00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:11.519
And then on the other side of it, I'll say it this way I used to be an abuser of that language of leave your personal crap at home, we're here to work.

00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:19.840
What I've learned is trying to live that way took so much damn energy, it was exhausting.

00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:33.919
And when I finally decided to just be the same human I am all the time, like you said, I was able to bring a different level of connection, a different level, like a richer level of connection and energy because I wasn't separating the thing.

00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:41.679
And if I had a funky day and I had two or three nights of like bad sleep without my CPAP machine, I let people know.

00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:48.799
Or the guys, I remember I was marathon training for years and years, and my guys knew when I didn't run.

00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:49.679
And I didn't know this, right?

00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:51.840
It was kind of like a running, like, oh, Jesse didn't run.

00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:54.000
And I'm like, whatever, yeah, I did.

00:09:54.240 --> 00:10:00.240
And then finally they kept, they were like a hundred percent every time I skipped the run, they would call it out.

00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:01.440
I'm like, how do you know?

00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:03.840
And they're like, because you're a pain in the ass when you don't run.

00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:06.399
I'm like, oh, it was my therapy, right?

00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:09.360
And so they could pick on that energy, anyways.

00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:12.080
Main point, LM family out there.

00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:18.240
If you're still playing the I'm a I'm this person at work and this person at home, it's a little easier.

00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:21.679
No, it's a lot easier if you just be a human being.

00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:26.879
Now, Jackie, you've mentioned a few times about bringing it to the workplace.

00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:38.000
What I'm hearing or taking from that is that there is business value for leaders and decision makers to engage, support, and accept the whole person.

00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:39.120
Am I hearing that right?

00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:47.440
Yes, because we are not robots, even though we're in the land of AI these days, we are not computers, we are not robots.

00:10:47.679 --> 00:10:52.240
Like you said, we can sustain for a little while and pretend everything's roses and butterflies.

00:10:52.399 --> 00:11:01.679
Now, I'm not saying free Pasco bitch to every single co-worker and don't do your job, you know, because you've had a bad day at home or because your partner is blah, blah, blah.

00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:03.919
It means acknowledging it.

00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:09.120
Sometimes I will literally I'll tell a staff in the morning or something, I've got to focus.

00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:11.919
I I was up all night thinking about this.

00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:15.519
If I can't get this out right now, I'm gonna be distracted.

00:11:15.679 --> 00:11:16.559
I can't even say hi.

00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:17.360
We'll talk later.

00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:18.399
You know, that's okay.

00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:19.919
They don't need to know all my business.

00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:25.919
Oh, I didn't sleep because of this or because I ate this, or you don't need to go into different, but just say today is a rock star day.

00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:28.080
I've got a couple hours that we can brainstorm.

00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:29.679
If anybody wants to come in, that's great.

00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:33.840
Or it can be today is high impact day, and I need to really focus.

00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:34.960
So the door's gonna be closed.

00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:37.200
It's not that I don't care about what's going on in your life.

00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:40.240
Let's circle back after lunch or something like that.

00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:42.240
Yeah, yeah.

00:11:42.480 --> 00:11:51.600
So guarding your time, what I'm hearing here is boundaries and awareness of where your energy is and how to guard it so that you can elevate performance through the funkiness.

00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:55.679
That's that's like each one of us have different personalities.

00:11:55.919 --> 00:12:07.919
And one thing that I notice is people that do live alone or they don't have a big social network, they're not on social media, they're not dating, they're not in a relationship, they need to talk when they come to the office.

00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:18.480
And I don't know if that in some of your workshops, your construction sites, but in an office, you become almost like family because you're you're kind of stuck together for sometimes six to 10 hours a day.

00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:23.919
And the ones that don't always have people to vent to to talk to, again, we want to be wanted.

00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:27.039
We want somebody to say, Jackie, did you have a great day today?

00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:29.279
Jackie, is there anything I could do for you?

00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:29.919
We want that.

00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:36.639
And if we don't get it outside of the office, it's coming right in and it could suck out 45 minutes of productivity.

00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:38.960
Oh, a hundred percent.

00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:42.000
Oh, I've seen that so many times.

00:12:45.440 --> 00:12:59.600
I'm gonna do the LM Family Member Shout out, and this one goes to Miss Gillian Bryant, who recently sat through some training with me, the communication capabilities training, full day of torture.

00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:01.279
And she left this review.

00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:09.840
She says, Jesse helped me realize what I wasn't doing my best at and how I could improve in those categories.

00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:15.679
Lots of teaching points I can implement personally and professionally.

00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:20.320
And Gillian, thank you, sister, for leaving such a thoughtful comment.

00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:26.879
And I love that the stuff we went over touches you personally and professionally, because that's the whole point.

00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:32.320
We're one freaking human being, and my goal is to make life better for you on and off the clock.

00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:33.360
Like that's the deal.

00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:37.519
And folks, the rest of the family members out there, you know, I love attention.

00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:38.960
I love to know that you're out there.

00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:57.519
So anytime you take a chance to leave a comment, leave a review, do a share, do a like, all the things, any of the things, one or none, it makes me feel good, but more importantly, it gives me an excuse to shout you out in the future time.

00:13:57.919 --> 00:14:04.960
So you you got a lot, a lot of really deep insight about this the relationship.

00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:10.960
Well, well, maybe, maybe a little around the block attention, right?

00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:12.720
What was it that helped you decide?

00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:13.519
You know what?

00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:18.639
I am gonna focus on this romance thing because there is some business.

00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:19.679
Like, how did you get there?

00:14:19.840 --> 00:14:24.159
Because that's that's uh I would say it's a risky very risky.

00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:36.159
So it's also even riskier because I still am a full-time day job employee, and I have a very big presence in my community with the kind of work I do because I run a nonprofit.

00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:39.519
And again, I've lived in my community my entire life.

00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:57.919
So having this kind of after-evening and weekend persona is a little different than saying, hey, I have a side hustle that I do the same type of work or that I do something that might be, I use words like intimacy in romance and a few other words that I'm not gonna use on your show that people don't know me.

00:14:58.080 --> 00:14:59.759
Did you almost spin out your water?

00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:01.120
I'm sorry.

00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:05.600
Um but a lot of people don't see that side of me in my day job.

00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:09.759
But I went to school to be a social worker thinking I was gonna help little tiny kids, Jesse.

00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:12.080
I wanted kids to be happy and not be sad.

00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:20.559
What I ended up getting thrown into about three months after I started working with little kids was saying, No, you need to work in the court system with kids that are breaking the law.

00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:23.120
And I'm like, no, I don't do that.

00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:23.919
I don't.

00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:36.480
And from there, I learned because it wasn't just sadness, it was actually behavior response, people breaking the law, harming their siblings, doing stuff at school, threatening their teachers, all the things.

00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:44.240
It really showed me that relationship dynamic more so than just one-on-one therapy can really show you because you actually see the all sides of it.

00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:59.200
All the work I did for those that many years working with people involved in the court system, whether it was juveniles or adults, or going into the prison system or working with people after they get out of jail and prison, every issue tied back to some person.

00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:14.320
It was either the way their parents treated them, the way their boyfriend and girlfriend did, their best friend, one of their old friends smeared stuff on social media, my baby mama did this to me, my this person, all the things came back to that relationship.

00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:17.360
And I am always a relationship's first person.

00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:20.159
And the world does not go around without relationships.

00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:20.799
You know that.

00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:23.440
Nobody go to your trainings if they didn't like you.

00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:28.000
They're not coming just because of the training, they come for Jesse's training.

00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:46.559
And when you have negative relationships, if you've grown up in a household that modeled negative relationships and you think that's all you have, that's what you're gonna put into the world, and it's gonna eat you up, and you're gonna start self-medicating, you're gonna start doing self-harm behaviors, or you're gonna hurt other people.

00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:56.559
So I decided at first when I wanted a kind of a night job type of second hustle, I was trying to do fun things like helping people travel because that's my therapy.

00:16:56.720 --> 00:17:05.119
I've been to all 50 states and I did 26 all by myself because you I was able to, but people weren't really buying into that.

00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:11.839
So then I was trying to be just a re-entry consultant, just talking about people getting out of jail and prison and how I can help the family.

00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:15.839
Well, again, people weren't buying that too much because I can do it.

00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:23.279
You know, I got my probation officer, I know how to deal with my wife, I know how to deal with my husband, whatever, my the guy I'm dating, whoever.

00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:23.599
Yeah.

00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:32.240
Well, when I started flipping to the romantic side of interactions with significant intimate partners, whole different ballgame.

00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:32.640
Okay.

00:17:32.799 --> 00:17:42.480
Now people are still a little scared to talk to me because they think I'm gonna start talking about things they don't want to share with a private person, but yet the most natural thing to talk about.

00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:49.359
And in my my generation, we grew up thinking that the only happy woman is somebody that's married and has kids.

00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:59.599
We weren't talking about what quality bedroom time looked like or what it meant to possibly have to deal with maybe running a different partner or kind of getting bored with yours or frustrated.

00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:02.400
We were just taught you need to get married, stay married, and have kids.

00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:03.680
That's your role.

00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:20.640
And once you once you run into relationship issues, if you don't understand how to grow, how to communicate, how to maybe talk to a counselor or a coach or talk about the important things, those walls go up and the wide gets wider.

00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:26.000
And pretty soon you don't even know who you're freaking crawling into bed with at night and you're hoping they don't even touch you.

00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:36.960
And how can we function and how can we be productive at work and how can we learn new things and how can we emulate happiness to our kiddos when we're absolutely miserable in our relationships?

00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:39.680
You didn't know where we were going today, did you, Jesse?

00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:41.200
No, I'm so glad.

00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:46.960
There's this is important because there's very few people that spend this much time in this area.

00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:53.759
You've got tons, and you've got you really care about it because you see how it affects the whole person professionally, personally, etc.

00:18:54.160 --> 00:18:57.519
And you're not tiptoeing around like the real real, right?

00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:03.440
Like the the scenario you just described of like I'm going to bed with this person, I just hope they don't touch me.

00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:07.440
I remember feeling that, and I'm sure she felt that too.

00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:08.400
Yep, right.

00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:13.920
But I remember feel like, oh, but yes, but again, what was the the formula, right?

00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:18.960
Graduate, get a job, get did we wait until it got so bad we felt that way?

00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:25.920
If we could have seen the little signs a little bit earlier and figured it out, we might have had way better differences.

00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:58.319
So because I kind of was already an adult in the social media boom when it first started, I don't know if I was lucky or not lucky, but every social media profile I've had, and I don't know if gentlemen get the same response, I get very interesting messages, and I always have some are so inappropriate, some are just kind of out there, some I really think just want to be friends or be cordial, and then they dump on me about how miserable they are in their marriage, how they haven't had intimacy in forever, how they don't know how to talk to their partner.

00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:04.960
And they have literally used probably thousands of my hours for free for days now.

00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:11.519
And I'm like, wait a minute, we need to talk about this because he needs to pay for more vocations, but I also got to pay for my likes and all that stuff.

00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:15.920
Why can't why can't you spend money on talking to somebody with me?

00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:24.480
Now I'm not gonna force you to stay in that relationship, I'm gonna help you if it works, but if it's appropriate to get out, I'm not gonna say, Oh my gosh, you can't get divorced, you can't leave them.

00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:46.079
But we're gonna do it in a way, we're gonna be as safe as possible with both you and those that person's feelings and emotions because they might they might not want to be touched by you by you, but they are scared to death of that word divorced, or they're scared to death to be alone, and so it's a very even though I'm not scared to go there, it's a very delicate situation, and every family is unique, every relationship is unique.

00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:50.160
Some relationships have multiple partners, and that's every everybody wants that.

00:20:50.319 --> 00:20:55.119
Other people have multiple partners that the one partner doesn't know about, and so it's a different discussion.

00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:57.279
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:20:57.359 --> 00:20:59.599
That's hard, that's very hard.

00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:06.319
You know, I'm thinking back the two times, two of the three darkest times in my life.

00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:31.759
I was married both times, and after ending those marriages, it was extremely difficult because well, one, I was all up in substance abuse and self-medication and all that, but it was the way I lived through it was it was just a complete, utter failure on my part of being able to be a man.

00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:33.519
Like that's how it felt for me.

00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:34.319
It's heartbreaking.

00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:35.440
Fast forward, right?

00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:37.519
10, 15, 20 years now.

00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:41.359
I recognized, yeah, I contributed to the problem, but I wasn't the only one.

00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:49.039
Like, it wasn't just me, but I'm gonna tell like those years, it was it was a dark time because I didn't have anybody to talk to.

00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:50.000
Like, who do you talk?

00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:51.440
You don't like I'm a dude, right?

00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:56.160
You're not supposed to talk about that stuff, and so I was numbing and suppressing all of that.

00:21:56.400 --> 00:22:02.240
Now, I know what my upbringing and my religion or my mom's And says about it, it's not a good thing.

00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:08.799
But I know a hundred million percent for me and them, it was the best thing.

00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:24.720
Like we needed to do it because the the path that we were on may not have been like may not have been violent and abusive, but we absolutely would not have grown into the individuals that we are today.

00:22:25.119 --> 00:22:30.000
And so it was almost a necessity to make those end those relationships.

00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:33.359
I and I often wonder like, could we have worked through it?

00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:35.119
Looking back, my answer is always no.

00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:41.599
It's like no, like we we could have saved the marriage, but sacrificed who we could have been.

00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:44.000
Like that, that's kind of what do you think about that?

00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:48.640
Am I just you you are 1000% right in so many areas, Jesse?

00:22:48.880 --> 00:23:08.079
One of the things is, I mean, I know you said it wasn't for religious relations on why you stayed or anything, but the fact that we grow up as kiddos hearing what relationships are supposed to look like, and then if ours doesn't, we don't want to tell somebody or ask for help because it does make us feel like a failure before the the divorce or separation even happens.

00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:15.119
Like, oh my gosh, I'm not fulfilling what I was supposed to, or they don't like me anymore, or oh, I get so angry, and I never thought I'd be an angry person.

00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:26.720
So that all plays into us, and when we start doing those mental games to ourselves, it's so easy to turn to substances, it's so easy to message this pretty little lady on social media that's going to be so nice to me.

00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:30.400
Oh, she shouldn't treat you like that way, and it happens.

00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:31.680
Tell me I'm wrong.

00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:35.279
Oh yeah, no, I know friends.

00:23:35.440 --> 00:23:36.640
I'm like, Why are you so dumb?

00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:39.519
Don't like why why can't we go to our partners?

00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:40.960
And I've screwed up a lot, Jesse.

00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:42.559
And that's one of the reasons I do this.

00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:47.759
It's not just the work with I've had with clients over the years, it is literally learned experience.

00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:55.279
I would, if I was perfect in relationships, I would still be married, and I'm not, you know, so it's a lot of life lessons that I've learned as well.

00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:58.319
I have not had roses and butterflies relationships ever.

00:23:58.480 --> 00:24:05.119
I've gotten played probably more times than I care to talk about, um, taken advantage of, been lied to, all the things.

00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:10.960
But if I dwelled on that, I would literally probably never come out from under a rock.

00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:15.759
I would not have fun, I would not be able to enjoy my kids, I wouldn't do the kind of work I do.

00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:22.400
I wouldn't even want to probably get dressed during the day because we are our worst enemies at times.

00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:30.079
And I want you to think about it, you know, just because we heard those stories that you got to get married or you're a failure if you can't provide for your whatever.

00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:32.400
How many mammals mate for life, Jesse?

00:24:32.640 --> 00:24:34.160
I think penguins, right?

00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:43.519
Birds are probably the biggest kind of critters that do, like I know eagles and I think swans, I think mate for life.

00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:49.920
I think elephants may, but other than that, there are very few mammal species that mate for life.

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:53.200
Now, I am not saying go ditch your partner so you can go booty somebody else.

00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:56.799
What I'm saying is those feelings are going to surface.

00:24:56.880 --> 00:25:07.359
And if you don't have a solid foundation, if you can't talk to your partner and say, Oh my gosh, it has been a while, and all of a sudden I started feeling these feelings, and I'm kind of freaked out because I don't want to go outside.

00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:08.640
How can we work together?

00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:13.440
I mean, can you imagine how strong you have to be to look your partner in the face and actually say that?

00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:24.720
It's a lot, and so trying to figure out how to adapt to I do want to be your only mate for life, but I need to know how to make you satisfy.

00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:28.240
Well, I'm not disregarding what I need as well.

00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:29.680
How can we work through this?

00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:35.920
Because Jesse, I don't care if you are the exact same age when you date, I don't care if you think they're the love of your life.

00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:39.440
When you're in a relationship, you're both gonna grow differently.

00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:46.079
You're gonna have different successes, your bodies are gonna change, you are going to think about other things that are important to you.

00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:51.759
What was important to you in your 20s is not always gonna be in your 30s, in your 30s, it's not the same as your 50s.

00:25:52.160 --> 00:26:07.200
And if you grow way faster and you want to get involved in all this stuff and have these businesses and do all this stuff, and your partner's just like, let's just sit on the couch and watch TV and wait for the grandkids to come, especially if you got ADHD like me, you're like, come on, we gotta do stuff.

00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:09.200
Yeah, no way.

00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:11.039
Yeah, I'm gonna explode.

00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:26.480
So communication and if in talking about expectations and changed expectations, two of the easiest ways to fix what's broken, or it's the easiest thing to break what might have been able to stick together if you don't do it.

00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:27.119
Right.

00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:37.519
Okay, so what I'm am I wrong in when you're doing this romance coaching, you're doing it with women, you're doing it with men, you're doing it with coaches.

00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:39.519
Whatever is appropriate.

00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:41.279
So, a couple things I won't do.

00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:47.039
I will not work with somebody that is manipulating their partner or there's domestic violence.

00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:54.640
I will give resources if somebody was to reach out to me, but I am not going to be living where they're living because this is all virtual.

00:26:54.799 --> 00:26:59.119
I may do some pop-up events when I travel or maybe in my hometown, but right now it's all virtual.

00:26:59.200 --> 00:27:01.200
So I can't be your safety person.

00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:02.480
I am not your therapist.

00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:05.119
I do have a degree in counseling, but this is so different.

00:27:05.279 --> 00:27:07.839
You're not gonna get analyzed, you're not getting therapy from me.

00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:15.119
We are talking down and dirty and figuring out what you can do differently or how can you look at your partner differently if it's one-on-one.

00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:20.400
If it's group, you're gonna have some homework and they're gonna have some homework and we're gonna work together.

00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:26.000
And we might do it one-on-one for one session, and the next session we're both all three together, or however many people.

00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:32.960
It is most men tend to reach out, but they don't always want that actual session.

00:27:33.119 --> 00:27:39.599
They want some advice, they want somebody to be nice to them and tell them that their woman is, you know, really the problem or something like that.

00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:48.319
I implore you, whatever your gender is, whatever your age is, don't think you have to deal with it alone, and don't think you are meant to be miserable.

00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:55.920
Because if you are miserable in your relationship, there is at least probably about an 80% chance your partner is miserable too.

00:27:56.079 --> 00:28:01.119
Two miserables cannot cannot fix that on their own without some intervention.

00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:03.279
Agreed, agreed.

00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:04.559
You know, it's interesting.

00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:06.799
I think I know I have two, I have a bunch of exes.

00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:15.839
Two of them have gone to therapy and came back and said they were pissed off at their therapist.

00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:18.400
You know, like, why are you pissed off at the therapist?

00:28:18.559 --> 00:28:24.319
And both of them similar answers were because they said it wasn't you.

00:28:24.880 --> 00:28:28.720
And I'm like, yes, yeah, yeah.

00:28:28.960 --> 00:28:35.200
Every one of us hurt, every one of us have our own issues before we get in that relationship.

00:28:35.359 --> 00:28:39.039
And this beautiful brain of ours, it responds at different times.

00:28:39.119 --> 00:28:44.559
So if we grew up in trauma, if we have a lot of grief in our life, we may think, oh, I got through that.

00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:49.359
And all of a sudden, six months later, two years later, boom, our brain kind of changes.

00:28:49.519 --> 00:29:03.599
And if we can't communicate, we're gonna put all these wheels up and we're gonna complain and compare and do all the things that push our partner away instead of have them bring them in when it's our toughest time and we need their support and we need them to understand what's going on with us.

00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:05.359
Oh man, okay.

00:29:05.519 --> 00:29:06.720
So you're bringing up all kinds of things.

00:29:09.440 --> 00:29:18.880
Well, I think it's important because I had therapists state mandated and some that I elected on my own to get, but now it's bringing up memories, right?

00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:40.319
There was one relationship I was in, amazing, and all of the women I've been freaking amazing, had no business being with them, but one of them we we split up because I had to focus, had a really bad project, and when I focus, I'm an expert at focusing, but like I said earlier, what that means is I ignore everything else, and so I absolutely ghosted on her.

00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:46.079
And in my brain, I told her, like, hey, I need to focus on this thing, so I'm not gonna be as available.

00:29:46.160 --> 00:29:48.559
So, and what I yeah, I know what that meant.

00:29:48.720 --> 00:29:52.000
That meant it's gonna be a few weeks, maybe a couple of months.

00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:55.839
No, yeah, in my brain, that makes sense.

00:29:56.000 --> 00:30:00.240
Now she's thinking, okay, we're gonna hang out on Saturday, right?

00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:08.960
And that was not like I'll work for seven days, so, anyways, after the the project cleared, I knew I'm like, oh god, I can't just not, I gotta call her.

00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:15.039
And it way it was ended up being like four months, and I was hoping that she would pick up the phone and hang up on me.

00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:19.119
She didn't, and yeah, I'm like, oh god, this is gonna be hard.

00:30:19.279 --> 00:30:20.400
And she's like, you know what?

00:30:20.559 --> 00:30:21.359
Let's meet for lunch.

00:30:21.440 --> 00:30:22.960
And I'm like, Oh god, this is getting harder.

00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:25.200
I gotta face it, right?

00:30:25.279 --> 00:30:28.880
And but I, you know, I understood how stinky it was, and so we met for lunch.

00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:32.160
She was amazing, and she's like, Jesse, here's the thing.

00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:34.640
I like you, you're a good guy.

00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:45.039
We we had a lot of fun, and she's like, but for us to continue going forward, I need you to share that pain with me.

00:30:45.200 --> 00:30:50.799
I want it to be there to comfort you and hold you and and and walk with you through it.

00:30:50.880 --> 00:30:54.880
I wasn't gonna solve it, but you didn't even share it.

00:30:55.440 --> 00:31:00.960
And I swear, like in that moment, my brain said, Hell no, I ain't sharing it.

00:31:01.039 --> 00:31:01.920
That's mine.

00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:05.440
And I knew I'm like, and so we talked a little bit more.

00:31:05.599 --> 00:31:06.559
She's like, So, what do you think?

00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:12.079
I said, Well, I gotta be honest, like I don't want to share that with anybody.

00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:24.799
Like, I know it's sounds sick, but I need that all to myself, and then it's like, Well, Jesse, you got some work to do before you go and you know hurt other people's feelings.

00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:40.079
And so, point being, right, we would have needed, but at that point in my life, I was like, Oh, I it was like, okay, I gotta work on this, which again is another one of those things that led me to like, I need to get a therapist because there's stuff like I I need help, I gotta unpack the stuff.

00:31:40.160 --> 00:31:49.920
Like, I was functioning on the outside, everything's great and beautiful, but there's some weird stuff that had going on, and I like I'm glad that we're talking about this because relationships are complicated.

00:31:50.160 --> 00:32:21.200
Yeah, and when we try to pretend that they're not, they get even more complicated, or if we don't trust talking to somebody about it, it becomes so much worse because then we're we're feeling guilty and shame and confusion all while we're experiencing the just the chaos in general, being with somebody, even if they're the best partner ever, even if you are super attracted to them, even if they take really good care of you in whatever way you want to be taking care of, it is always going to be confusing you chaos because you were made to have your brain, Jesse.

00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:29.839
I was made to have my brain, they were having to have theirs, and we cannot, even if we want to, we can't read each other's thoughts in their brains.

00:32:30.640 --> 00:32:35.119
Agreed, agreed, and women are really bad on that, Jesse.

00:32:35.279 --> 00:32:36.720
And I've done it so many times.

00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:44.240
We want you to just be able to look at us and know exactly what's on our brain and just take care of us, hold us, make us feel good, or whatever.

00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:45.519
Men sometimes too.

00:32:45.599 --> 00:32:49.119
You should have known I was having a bad day, and you shouldn't have came and asked me that right now.

00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:51.279
You should have given me a few minutes for women.

00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:59.279
I think me specifically, I'm like, I gave you the non-verbals, I told you earlier it was a rough day, and you didn't even come in, want to help.

00:32:59.359 --> 00:33:01.519
And so then I get cranky too, you know.

00:33:01.599 --> 00:33:06.480
And I'm like, if he can't read my brain and says it's up to him to come and make amends, I'm not gonna remind him.

00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:07.440
Yeah, yeah.

00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:22.960
Oh god, I'm pretty dense, and then there's this thing that I do where if you're not gonna communicate to me and you're like expecting me to read the tea leaves, I have us like an extra dense switch that I can turn off.

00:33:25.119 --> 00:33:33.839
Which is I know it's I was gonna say, yeah, it doesn't make it better, but and I know where it comes from.

00:33:33.920 --> 00:33:34.799
You mentioned earlier, right?

00:33:34.960 --> 00:33:35.519
Trauma, right?

00:33:35.680 --> 00:33:43.200
Came up the tone of communication in the house when I was a kid was passive aggressive, and so it's always trying to interpret what that means.

00:33:43.279 --> 00:33:45.039
It was that a compliment, was that a stab?

00:33:45.119 --> 00:33:58.880
Like and and so my density in my head is a like self-preservation mechanism for me to like protect myself and like not get my feelings hurt on every statement, which I miss a lot.

00:33:59.039 --> 00:34:08.400
I miss so many signals, but then there's this thing I do, and I don't know what like I can't really put my finger on what what triggers it, but I will get denser.

00:34:08.719 --> 00:34:13.280
It's like, oh, you don't want to be clear, I get dumber now.

00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:15.039
And and that's just a spiral.

00:34:15.119 --> 00:34:16.000
It doesn't, it doesn't help.

00:34:18.639 --> 00:34:29.119
Because if you do go forward, you know, you are putting yourself on the line because it's not common for you, it's a new response for you.

00:34:29.440 --> 00:34:36.880
And so you're it's almost like a self-preservation by being denser means I don't have to get as involved because that would be very vulnerable.

00:34:37.039 --> 00:34:38.719
And here I go trying to help.

00:34:38.800 --> 00:34:45.679
And if she shuns me or pushes me away or I said the wrong thing, then I don't want that reaction or response either.

00:34:45.840 --> 00:34:49.840
So it's normal, even though it doesn't sound normal, if that makes sense.

00:34:50.159 --> 00:34:51.840
No, no, that's accurate because that's it.

00:34:51.920 --> 00:34:55.199
Like, okay, I'm gonna play your game and then I'm gonna get in trouble more.

00:34:55.360 --> 00:34:57.440
Screw it, I'm just gonna be in trouble.

00:34:57.599 --> 00:35:00.400
Like, I'm not even like why expend any energy?

00:35:00.559 --> 00:35:02.079
Yeah, just be mad.

00:35:02.159 --> 00:35:02.800
You're mad already.

00:35:03.760 --> 00:35:08.639
I'm fine, like I'm working over it, which is you know, callous, but that's the way I function.

00:35:08.800 --> 00:35:16.159
Now, how fulfilling is it when you have a breakthrough with an individual or with a couple?

00:35:16.320 --> 00:35:17.440
How fulfilling is that?

00:35:17.599 --> 00:35:22.480
So I like to make sure that it's their breakthrough and not what I want to see for them.

00:35:22.639 --> 00:35:33.599
And so when you're looking at possibly even a marriage therapist or a romance coach, relationship worker, you have to make sure that they're not more vested in your relationship than you are.

00:35:33.920 --> 00:35:47.360
So that in helper people like me, I've been a helper my whole pretty much since probably the day I was born, you know, because there was a lot of stuff in my family that I I had to be involved in too, which I think most of us are to some capacity.

00:35:47.599 --> 00:35:55.679
But if you own it more as the therapist, as the coach, you you almost not you almost set them up in a rough way.

00:35:55.760 --> 00:36:03.280
And I do know some coaches that really have a power control dynamic and they want you to do what they say because I know Jesse, what's going to work for you?

00:36:03.440 --> 00:36:06.719
You you answered a couple questions, I know what it's gonna work for you.

00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:13.519
No, so yes, fulfilling, but it has to be fulfilling because they decided you do that self-reflection.

00:36:13.679 --> 00:36:15.440
I can give all the tools and trips.

00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:21.760
If you follow me on TikTok or my Just Jacks Advising LinkedIn page, I'm doing a tip every single day in February.

00:36:21.920 --> 00:36:23.679
I did, and that's more on love.

00:36:23.760 --> 00:36:27.280
And then in January, I did a tip every day on strengthening your relationship.

00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:29.679
Both stuff you can do differently or start.

00:36:29.840 --> 00:36:38.079
You can't become a new person overnight, but you can do baby steps how to try to do things a little different or being more aware or trying to talk different.

00:36:38.239 --> 00:36:43.440
And if you're not willing to do that, don't waste my time, you know.

00:36:43.519 --> 00:36:53.280
Don't waste time saying, Oh, yeah, I really want to make it better with her when you really want to go jump in bed with this person, or you can't wait to be solo or single or something like that.

00:36:53.440 --> 00:36:54.000
Be real.

00:36:54.159 --> 00:37:04.239
So come to me and just say, I have been in a relationship for 25 years, and everybody's gonna get so mad at me when I divorce, and I don't want to break her heart or his heart, what do I do?

00:37:04.480 --> 00:37:13.840
I can help you through some of that process to make it a little smoother, but I'm not gonna say, Oh, you're right, Jesse, you definitely need to divorce her, or oh my you you can't do that.

00:37:13.920 --> 00:37:15.599
I I don't want you to break her heart.

00:37:15.679 --> 00:37:17.360
I'm that's that's too much.

00:37:17.519 --> 00:37:30.320
So when you say kind of that rewarding, fulfilling type of thing, every human I interact with, no matter where they are, no matter it's my day job, my side business, the romance stuff, my friends, my family, I want them to succeed.

00:37:30.480 --> 00:37:32.000
I want them to be happy.

00:37:32.239 --> 00:37:34.480
We have one life, one life.

00:37:34.559 --> 00:37:56.400
And if you are literally miserable at home, you're miserable in your career, you're miserable in your physical body because you don't know how to get energy, or you don't like yourself because you're not doing the work medically or emotionally with therapy, you're you're not gonna enjoy this one life that we are given, and you're gonna self-medicate, or you're gonna self-harm, or you're gonna get to that violent level.

00:37:56.559 --> 00:38:00.239
So every interaction I have, I try to be as positive as possible.

00:38:00.400 --> 00:38:01.760
I am not Pollyanna.

00:38:01.840 --> 00:38:06.079
I know people are gonna trick me and trick other people and hurt people because they're so pretty.

00:38:06.639 --> 00:38:15.840
But to see even a little breakthrough, even saying, wow, I have never been able to talk to my partner when they were crying because it makes me mad.

00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:19.840
But now I go up and I just hug them and say, When you're done crying, I'm here for you.

00:38:19.920 --> 00:38:22.079
That's a huge breakthrough right there, you know.

00:38:22.159 --> 00:38:32.159
So it doesn't mean that they have to stick together, it doesn't mean they have to start having, you know, the best bedroom time ever, but it means whatever works for them, they feel that there's some kind of growth.

00:38:32.239 --> 00:38:35.920
And I can't say you're gonna meet with me twice and this is gonna happen.

00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:39.199
You're gonna meet with me after 10 minutes and boom, you're gonna be a different person.

00:38:39.280 --> 00:38:47.039
No, it's gonna be different for everybody, and we can start very small and have significant progress in our relationship.

00:38:47.360 --> 00:38:48.719
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:38:48.880 --> 00:38:49.440
100%.

00:38:50.320 --> 00:38:53.199
But again, another flashback you're having.

00:38:53.599 --> 00:38:59.920
I have a thing about touch that I was not aware of until there were there were two points.

00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:07.440
There was one, I was on a bachata dance team, like it's uh Latin, and the choreography.

00:39:07.599 --> 00:39:13.519
At one point in the choreography, the lady would rub their hand on the face of the guy, right?

00:39:13.679 --> 00:39:19.679
And so when we're working through that, my partner, she would go to do that, and I would flinch and I would pull away.

00:39:19.760 --> 00:39:20.800
I didn't even know it.

00:39:20.960 --> 00:39:24.239
And they would we would watch the video and they're like, Jess, why you you're screwing it up?

00:39:24.320 --> 00:39:24.960
Like, what's wrong with you?

00:39:25.039 --> 00:39:25.920
I'm like, What are y'all talking about?

00:39:26.239 --> 00:39:26.480
No idea.

00:39:27.039 --> 00:39:28.800
I was like, No, I don't, I had no idea.

00:39:29.039 --> 00:39:37.840
We watched the replay, I'm like, Dad, and it was it was like, I mean, pronounced, and it took me a lot of work for me not to flinch in that moment.

00:39:38.000 --> 00:39:45.119
That was the first time, and this was you know, maybe 10 years ago when I became aware of like, oh, there's something there.

00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:54.480
Fast forward, this was maybe five years ago, a friend of mine, and this is all to the point of like small things can make a big difference.

00:39:54.719 --> 00:40:20.239
She pointed out, she's like, Jesse, a friend that I totally she's the first woman that I had a friendly non-sexual relationship, which was a big thing like for me when we we connected way, way back when, and she's another amazing woman, but we never crossed that line, and so she's very special to me because it's like a growth thing for me, right?

00:40:20.400 --> 00:40:22.000
Anyways, and she's amazing.

00:40:22.159 --> 00:40:36.800
She pointed, she's like, you know, Jess, when we hug, you never hug with both hands, like like the R like Discord, and she's like, I know you trust me, and I know how you know we've cried together and blah blah blah.

00:40:36.960 --> 00:40:39.280
So all the things are extremely vulnerable with her.

00:40:39.440 --> 00:40:51.039
She's like, I don't understand why you can't hug me that way, and she's but sometimes you do, and she's like, but you're not it still doesn't feel right, it feels off.

00:40:51.280 --> 00:40:54.639
And I'm like, Oh, I know when I do both hands.

00:40:54.960 --> 00:40:56.960
Well, because I lock my fingers together.

00:41:45.799 --> 00:41:49.159
And she's like, Why do you she say she's why do you do that?

00:41:49.239 --> 00:41:56.039
I was like, because it's less energy than trying to hold my hands up independently, and she's like, Man, you're a freaking robot.

00:41:56.119 --> 00:41:57.079
It's like, yeah, I know.

00:41:57.319 --> 00:42:00.599
And she says, Well, Jess, I am and beautiful, right?

00:42:00.679 --> 00:42:08.039
She says, I'm gonna ask you from now on when you hug me, I want to feel the palm of your hands on my back.

00:42:08.519 --> 00:42:27.960
That is, and I said, I could do that, and like it was mechanical for me, like because to me it was a hug, but the I could feel the depth and the connection and how it and it was just a little tweak that I've made since then to like, okay, make sure your palms touch the back, right?

00:42:28.039 --> 00:42:36.920
Because that's a that's a better hug, and it made a big difference for me, and and it it gotten me comfortable with the touch thing and and whatever growth, all that to say.

00:42:37.239 --> 00:42:40.839
I love your growth, that's huge, yeah.

00:42:41.639 --> 00:42:42.759
But little things, right?

00:42:42.839 --> 00:42:47.559
It's it's just little things can transform our relationships.

00:42:47.719 --> 00:43:10.519
And I also I want to applaud you for saying, look, it's not about what I want for them, it's about their awakenings, it's about their experiences of growth, because it's very easy, even in just you know, the type of coaching I do, to get hyper-focused on an outcome and and distract from helping the person build capabilities and learn and grow.

00:43:10.679 --> 00:43:24.839
That's the goal all the time, whether they have the big giant six-figure outcome or not, is irrelevant, but it's very it takes a discipline to like suppress my agenda and focus on the person.

00:43:24.920 --> 00:43:36.920
So good on you for being able to do that because relationships like romantic relationships are just my clients, and so they they had to understand it is on them.

00:43:37.159 --> 00:43:41.159
I can tell you what works for me, but it may not work for you or your partner.

00:43:41.480 --> 00:43:57.639
So we have to be vulnerable together and we have to be open to exploring new things because you know, when you talked about the touch, Jesse, it really hit me because um I do this thing called friend zoning, which it's a nice thing, uh, but you only get a couple chances with me.

00:43:57.799 --> 00:44:03.079
And if I I don't care how handsome you are, I don't care if you do all the right things.

00:44:03.400 --> 00:44:10.039
If if you fall into my friend zone category, you're not coming out, it is not going to happen.

00:44:10.440 --> 00:44:16.679
I don't want you to come up and hug me a certain way that you maybe you did in the past, or the way I want somebody else that I'm not friend zoned with.

00:44:16.839 --> 00:44:20.440
And I do hate that term friend zone, by the way, but it's the only way I can describe this.

00:44:20.920 --> 00:44:28.440
I have been told by hundreds of people, both men and will women, that I give some of the best hugs ever.

00:44:28.599 --> 00:44:31.400
And it's it's an energy thing for me.

00:44:31.639 --> 00:44:44.360
But if I don't trust you, if I'm friend zoning you, if I feel like you're shady or we don't have that connection, you are gonna get this kind of little side bump hug and I'm gonna be pulling away.

00:44:44.920 --> 00:44:46.199
I and people don't.

00:44:46.759 --> 00:44:47.319
Always read that.

00:44:47.400 --> 00:44:48.679
I'm like, could you leave me alone?

00:44:48.759 --> 00:44:50.679
You know, this is not your body to touch.

00:44:50.839 --> 00:45:01.480
And if we get that way with our partners and their touch literally irritates us, and we're not able to communicate with that, it's not going to get better on its own.

00:45:01.639 --> 00:45:07.000
So if you were to come to me and talk about that touch thing, we would start very small with that.

00:45:07.079 --> 00:45:15.880
You know, if you really do not want your partner to touch you physically or the sexual parts of you, when was the last time you guys held hands?

00:45:16.119 --> 00:45:18.119
People don't want to ever hold somebody's hands.

00:45:18.279 --> 00:45:21.960
Some people are against rubbing feet, other people are wanting to lick the feet, you know.

00:45:22.119 --> 00:45:22.839
Where can you?

00:45:23.319 --> 00:45:24.759
Yeah, I did say that, didn't I?

00:45:24.920 --> 00:45:25.559
Oh, I'm sorry.

00:45:25.719 --> 00:45:26.519
Where can you go?

00:45:26.599 --> 00:45:44.360
That's a happy medium where you can try some different touch that you both enjoy or that you're both willing to try to experience without you forcing it and them hating it or them not feeling anything good that tingles and makes them happy and they're just doing it because they're your spouse.

00:45:44.519 --> 00:45:45.960
Now I'm gonna go here a minute.

00:45:46.119 --> 00:45:52.440
A lot of people think a lot of people think women's bodies are not meant to enjoy sex, especially as they age.

00:45:53.079 --> 00:46:16.519
No, it means that you are not stimulating us or you are driving me crazy, or I have friend zoned you, or I do not get the touch and the mental stimulation at the same time that I expected out of you, or that you used to give me, or that I feel that my body needs at this point in my life, especially when you have a career and you have kids or you have these kind of responsibilities.

00:46:16.759 --> 00:46:31.079
If you're super stressed because of money, or because of this, intimacy is going to change in your relationship, but it does not just one day be wonderful and then it's gone the rest of the day, unless there's a physical or mental cognitive change in that person's body.

00:46:31.319 --> 00:46:34.519
There are things that change for that now.

00:46:34.759 --> 00:46:36.119
Menopause is different.

00:46:36.199 --> 00:46:47.960
Sometimes your body literally doesn't even know who you are and it wants to fight you, but there's ways to be intimate that may not be the same, but could be just as rewarding or maybe even better, you know.

00:46:48.119 --> 00:46:50.679
But you have to be willing to experience and explore.

00:46:50.759 --> 00:46:55.159
But it I get these men that'll tell me, Yeah, we haven't had sex in three years.

00:46:55.239 --> 00:46:56.920
I don't think I'm ever getting it again.

00:46:57.159 --> 00:46:59.719
I think she wants me to have somebody on the side.

00:46:59.960 --> 00:47:01.719
Have you really talked to her about that?

00:47:01.799 --> 00:47:11.559
Because I don't think she's gonna be type of relationship, then please go take her on tonight and let me sleep, type of a thing, whole different mindset.

00:47:11.639 --> 00:47:20.119
But if you guys win into your relationship, we are the only people forever, and you are not satisfied because you just think she doesn't want to give it to you anymore.

00:47:20.279 --> 00:47:22.440
Y'all are way past the talking point.

00:47:22.519 --> 00:47:26.599
We need to go baby steps and start working on what to that point.

00:47:27.000 --> 00:47:43.960
And so I want to challenge anybody that's listening to not just blame your partner, not just blame yourself, but say, I want to learn something new and I want to try or I want to figure out what is best for me and best for my partner, whether or not they want it or not.

00:47:44.119 --> 00:47:45.480
You can't change your partner.

00:47:45.559 --> 00:47:48.440
You can't say, honey, I'm gonna go to a romance coach and I'm gonna be better.

00:47:48.519 --> 00:47:50.519
You're gonna love me and want me to touch again, right?

00:47:50.759 --> 00:47:51.079
No.

00:47:51.559 --> 00:47:59.000
But you may learn different opportunities that might make it easier for them to start feeling like maybe I kind of am back into him.

00:47:59.159 --> 00:48:12.920
Or maybe if you guys both come together as a couple, just because you both heard the same things, you did the same maybe exercise with me or something, does not mean you're both gonna enjoy it or grow at the same time or want to ever do it again.

00:48:13.079 --> 00:48:15.880
And that's okay, but it's the way you communicate about that.

00:48:15.960 --> 00:48:18.759
And it's like, oh, I was so excited to try that and you'd hated it.

00:48:18.920 --> 00:48:19.799
Yeah, but you know what?

00:48:19.880 --> 00:48:32.279
If you could have done it this way, maybe I would have liked it, or if we would have had the dishes all washed before we started touching that I wouldn't have thought about how I got to get up and do the dishes after this, or before the kids get up in the morning because the dishes are always done.

00:48:32.519 --> 00:48:37.719
We got to think about that stuff before we just focus on just that intimate time.

00:48:37.880 --> 00:48:41.000
What else happens the longer you're in a relationship, the older you get?

00:48:41.079 --> 00:48:42.679
It's not just that our bodies change.

00:48:42.920 --> 00:48:43.159
Yeah.

00:48:43.239 --> 00:48:44.039
Oh, beautiful.

00:48:44.519 --> 00:48:45.639
I mean, that's reality, right?

00:48:45.719 --> 00:48:52.519
Like there's so many things that each individual has bouncing around in their head that could be the block.

00:48:52.599 --> 00:49:04.519
And then because we don't talk about it, we just let years of baggage build and build and build and build, and and we think like, well, we just need to go somewhere else.

00:49:04.679 --> 00:49:24.440
Like, you're gonna have the same outcome eventually, because the the problem is getting clear and and rather going to the conflict and clearing out the clutter so that you can stay connected, or so that you can get clear that we do need to separate instead of just letting it build up and hide behind all of those.

00:49:24.920 --> 00:49:26.279
And then let's take it to another level.

00:49:26.440 --> 00:49:47.000
So, say you're having all these issues and you're just not where you want to be with your partner, and you go to the bar every Friday night with your buddies and you bitch about your partner, and then they're complaining about theirs, and then you start thinking all women suck and you're stuck here, and there's you should be treated better in this and this, or you're a woman, you go out with your sister, and all you do is complain about your partner.

00:49:47.159 --> 00:49:50.759
He wants to do this, he tells me I don't do this, he compares me to this person.

00:49:50.920 --> 00:49:54.360
Then you're hearing that person say, Yeah, I never really liked how we did that to you, too.

00:49:54.679 --> 00:50:03.559
Then you're getting extra people's area in your brain that gives you almost double reason not to want to be intimate or love that partner or work on your relationship.

00:50:03.799 --> 00:50:09.239
Why don't you come to something that's not going to judge you, that is not vested in your relationship?

00:50:09.400 --> 00:50:13.639
That's like I said, it's not my, you're not with your bias, you know.

00:50:13.880 --> 00:50:31.559
And so, how can we have you focus on not complaining about your partner, working it out, or talking directly with your partner, or talking with somebody like a coach or a therapist that isn't going to slam you, slam them in a way that pushes you guys even further apart.

00:50:31.799 --> 00:50:33.159
Yeah, a hundred percent.

00:50:33.639 --> 00:50:38.119
Again, the I mentioned I've had several therapists in my life.

00:50:38.279 --> 00:50:41.799
The last therapist I had was by choice.

00:50:42.119 --> 00:50:46.199
And when we started working together, she's like, Okay, what do you want?

00:50:46.279 --> 00:50:47.079
Like, why are we doing this?

00:50:47.159 --> 00:50:47.719
I said, good.

00:50:47.960 --> 00:50:49.000
I said, Here's the deal.

00:50:49.079 --> 00:50:49.559
It's very clear.

00:50:49.719 --> 00:50:51.319
And it was it was this specific.

00:50:51.480 --> 00:51:02.759
I said, Look, I am content, fulfilled, I love my life, I have no yearning, hunger, appetite, want to be in a relationship.

00:51:03.639 --> 00:51:08.759
I don't, but everybody I talk to is like, oh, what's wrong with you?

00:51:08.920 --> 00:51:09.400
It's okay.

00:51:09.799 --> 00:51:13.079
Like, all and I'm like, is something wrong with me?

00:51:13.319 --> 00:51:17.880
Am I a bad guy for not wanting to be in a relationship?

00:51:18.039 --> 00:51:20.679
And she's like, Oh, see, that's pretty clear.

00:51:20.759 --> 00:51:21.880
I said, That's what we got.

00:51:22.039 --> 00:51:25.880
And so they of course I was massive workaholic.

00:51:25.960 --> 00:51:28.440
I still am just healthier than I used to be.

00:51:28.679 --> 00:51:33.480
We've made a lot of progress in a lot of ways in terms of me taking care of better care of myself.

00:51:33.719 --> 00:51:44.119
And the conclusion, like, I couldn't talk to a friend because when I did, they would say, like, wow, it's just, you know, dating today sucks, or or you know, what's wrong with you?

00:51:44.199 --> 00:51:45.239
And you blah, blah.

00:51:45.400 --> 00:51:48.360
Like, just they were there was a biased perspective all the time.

00:51:48.519 --> 00:51:51.960
Getting my therapist was very objective perspective.

00:51:52.039 --> 00:51:56.839
And we did a lot of work and a lot of different things, practices, and whatever to kind of sort through it.

00:51:57.000 --> 00:52:01.719
And in the end, she's like, Jess, these were not her exact words, it was what I remember.

00:52:01.799 --> 00:52:04.199
She's like, Look, you're not a bad guy.

00:52:04.679 --> 00:52:14.839
If you were out there, I remember she said this if you were out there diddling around and saying you don't want to be in a relationship, then I would say that's not okay.

00:52:15.639 --> 00:52:21.000
But you're not, you're like hyper-focused on your things, on your objectives, your goals, and all the things.

00:52:21.319 --> 00:52:30.599
And you've been in relationships, so maybe you're in a season of your life that and it's like, and you just need to give yourself permission to not feel bad about it.

00:52:30.759 --> 00:52:42.440
I remember what she said, I was like, I just felt all the weight come on, like, oh my god, like, yeah, like, yeah, it's listening to every other pressure, the society pressure, your friends, family, maybe family.

00:52:42.679 --> 00:52:58.039
You know, that's the thing is like some of us are in places we want to be in a relationship, and that is great, but we're gonna find people that are out to play us, and all I want if I'm looking for a relationship, I just want your honesty.

00:52:58.199 --> 00:53:01.159
Tell me you want to call, tell me you want a companionship.

00:53:01.319 --> 00:53:07.159
I don't even want to be intimate with you, but I do want somebody to occasionally go to a ball game with or out to dinner or something.

00:53:07.559 --> 00:53:09.880
That's okay as long as you're honest.

00:53:10.119 --> 00:53:25.319
And that's one of the things that bothers me the most about dating apps because I've had some I've met some great humans through dating apps, some that I spent time with in person, some that I will never talk to again, some that I only talk to through the phone, you know, texting.

00:53:25.400 --> 00:53:35.000
I never got level, but it's so easy to lie and think it's okay because you're not necessarily the real person on a dating app.

00:53:35.239 --> 00:53:50.839
Don't do that because there are other people that are going to believe you, and that is gonna put them 10 steps behind because you're gonna either confuse them, break your break their heart, or they're going to think that they are such a bad judge of character, they're never gonna have the person.

00:53:51.159 --> 00:53:53.480
So that is when I do a little bit of shaming.

00:53:53.559 --> 00:54:01.000
I don't usually judge people, but if you are intentionally lying to somebody, now it's okay to say, Oh, you're beautiful.

00:54:01.079 --> 00:54:02.679
I would love to go out to dinner with you.

00:54:02.759 --> 00:54:08.199
I don't even know if I want a relationship or if we will ever see each other again, but how about we meet and just see what's there?

00:54:08.360 --> 00:54:11.239
Oh my gosh, yes, please, because I feel the same.

00:54:11.400 --> 00:54:14.519
I don't know if I'm person, but why don't we do dinner?

00:54:14.599 --> 00:54:16.199
Why don't we go for a walk at the beach?

00:54:16.360 --> 00:54:21.319
Why don't we, you know, just do something to see in person if it's different?

00:54:21.480 --> 00:54:30.199
Because you can get instant chemistry off of a social context, you can get all these releases of all your endorphins, and it just feels like because what did I say?

00:54:30.360 --> 00:54:35.719
Humans want to be wanted, and you get you are the most handsome guy I've seen in forever.

00:54:35.880 --> 00:54:37.880
Oh my gosh, you actually listen to me.

00:54:37.960 --> 00:54:40.839
Oh my gosh, you like going for finding waterfalls too?

00:54:41.000 --> 00:54:41.480
I do too.

00:54:41.639 --> 00:54:42.679
You want to go to Thailand?

00:54:42.759 --> 00:54:57.880
Oh my gosh, it just spurs all this stuff, and we're like, oh, and then all of a sudden they do ghost you, or you become intimate and vulnerable, and you think you've got a future with this person, and then they're like, I never told you I wanted a relationship.

00:54:58.039 --> 00:54:59.319
Well, yeah, you did.

00:54:59.559 --> 00:55:04.759
And it'll be like complete that dating app, I'm never doing it again, I'm never talking to men or women or whatever.

00:55:05.079 --> 00:55:23.639
You are a grown-ass human, you don't deserve to look at other humans, and that says so much about that other person, and that's what I really try to get across when people have been shafted or they've been out of the dating space a while and they never really thought they would date again, or they think they're too old to date, which you're never too old to date.

00:55:25.559 --> 00:55:33.559
But when they start feeling that way and they feel like it's never going to happen, it's never gonna happen unless you put yourself out there.

00:55:33.719 --> 00:55:40.199
There are a lot of things I do with people that are interested in dating or they've been on in dating and stuff to do it a little bit safer.

00:55:40.360 --> 00:55:44.920
There's a few things that you can do to try to make sure that they are a little bit more real.

00:55:45.079 --> 00:55:47.960
You can't predict if somebody's going to lie to you.

00:55:48.199 --> 00:56:00.679
But I always say when you're dating, even if those endorphins are five million percent and you're just sparkling everywhere, don't believe everything right away and just assume to date for a while.

00:56:00.839 --> 00:56:05.719
Even if they're like, Hey, maybe I'll move in with you, or oh, could you move here if you're doing a long distance thing?

00:56:05.880 --> 00:56:11.400
Give yourself some time because even if you are an older human, you got time, you got time.

00:56:11.639 --> 00:56:14.279
Yes, we got way more time than we know.

00:56:15.400 --> 00:56:16.279
For sure.

00:56:16.519 --> 00:56:19.559
Oh my goodness, this has been amazing conversation.

00:56:19.639 --> 00:56:21.239
So I'm gonna shift gears.

00:56:21.719 --> 00:56:33.799
You know, I mentioned at the beginning of the of the conversation the anthology thing, and you mentioned your activity on LinkedIn, and that's where you and I originally connected.

00:56:33.960 --> 00:56:42.519
So I don't know what an anthology means, except that I was invited to contribute to this thing, and I think you've you've been on a couple of them.

00:56:43.000 --> 00:56:43.799
You've done four.

00:56:43.960 --> 00:56:46.839
Okay, so what give what what the hell's an anthology?

00:56:47.159 --> 00:56:55.400
An anthology is a group of people writing about the same type of topic, but your chapter is your life, my chapter is my life.

00:56:55.480 --> 00:56:56.759
But there's one main theme.

00:56:56.920 --> 00:57:00.279
So the first uh book I wrote in was on my divorce.

00:57:00.360 --> 00:57:03.880
So there was a couple other authors that all wrote about their divorce experience.

00:57:04.039 --> 00:57:10.119
I never read one of the other authors, I never even read my story after I sent it into the publisher, so I don't even know what the heck's out there.

00:57:10.360 --> 00:57:18.440
Second one, it was about moving beyond limitations, and I talked about a victimization I had and how I had to grow through that.

00:57:18.599 --> 00:57:27.159
And then the third one was the one we were in together that was all about how we we show up on social media, but we're really awesome humans to begin with, type of a thing.

00:57:27.719 --> 00:57:33.559
There's much fancier name for the book, and I love that we're in there together, but it's something that was, you know, very cool.

00:57:33.639 --> 00:57:38.920
And then I did a legacy book, and a legacy is just kind of what if your life does end tomorrow?

00:57:39.000 --> 00:57:40.360
What do you want people to remember you?

00:57:40.440 --> 00:57:44.039
Hi, and so I that story would be different if I wrote it today.

00:57:44.119 --> 00:57:46.839
It'll be different in five years, but it's just something I wrote out there.

00:57:46.920 --> 00:58:05.480
I've wanted to be an author since I was a kiddo, but putting yourself out there, Jesse, sharing your story, whether you do it like this on your podcast, you came to my podcast, doing it in a book, it helps so many other people because we keep so much private because we think we're the only one that's experienced that.

00:58:05.639 --> 00:58:07.319
Oh, we're the only one.

00:58:07.799 --> 00:58:12.920
And we limit the other people's growth by holding our crap in.

00:58:13.079 --> 00:58:15.880
And again, that's us to be angry people, and then we take it.

00:58:16.039 --> 00:58:20.599
I'm in our partner, and then we bring it to the workforce, and then there's a war and violence and all the crap.

00:58:20.839 --> 00:58:26.920
We deserve to be happy and healthy and say, Man, that stuff sucked in my life, but look at me now.

00:58:27.079 --> 00:58:39.000
I am happy, we've lived through crap that I have personally done to myself or others, and people have done to myself because we are never, we are never limited to the worst decision we've ever made.

00:58:39.159 --> 00:58:47.719
And some people will judge you, they'll be like, Oh, she divorced or he cheated or they lied or they went did a criminal decision or they went to jail.

00:58:48.039 --> 00:58:56.279
That is not who you have to be the rest of your life, even if other people are gonna judge you and they're not gonna trust you, they're not meant to be your people, right?

00:58:56.519 --> 00:58:57.400
Right, 100%.

00:58:57.799 --> 00:59:09.960
You know, I have another book that I wrote, it's based on my my life experience, and it was, you know, I don't know if I mentioned this, but I know some of the regular LM family members know this.

00:59:10.119 --> 00:59:17.880
I've wrestled with addiction most of my life, and coming up in June, I'll be 10 years celebrating 10 years.

00:59:19.000 --> 00:59:20.920
Let's do a phone call to celebrate it.

00:59:21.000 --> 00:59:22.119
I'm so proud of the boo.

00:59:24.119 --> 00:59:25.639
Thank you, thank you.

00:59:25.960 --> 00:59:28.759
Now, this time is 10 years.

00:59:28.920 --> 00:59:34.440
I've attempted sobriety before multiple times, and you know, for a bunch of different all of it's in the book, right?

00:59:34.519 --> 00:59:38.920
Different reasons I started drinking and using and manipulating, doing all that stuff again.

00:59:39.400 --> 00:59:57.559
But the the awakening that happened for me this time was when I realized that all of that stuff, the garbage, the dark, wicked things that I did didn't have to stay in the form of shame.

00:59:58.039 --> 01:00:02.199
I could transform them and make them valuable for other people.

01:00:02.839 --> 01:00:09.799
And when I had that, like it but again, this was a state-mandated therapist that helped me have that awakening.

01:00:10.039 --> 01:00:18.360
I was like, oh shit, man, I got a lot of garbage that I could help, like hard, ugly stuff that I can help people with.

01:00:18.519 --> 01:00:31.719
And it totally, if we were to plot my trajectory in terms of contribution into the world and even like our annual income from that point, it was a hard line to the right, up into the left.

01:00:31.960 --> 01:00:33.559
So you didn't just help others, you helped it.

01:00:36.599 --> 01:00:39.159
It's it's this perpetual thing, right?

01:00:39.239 --> 01:00:45.639
Like if I continue, I mean, we say it a lot in like 12-step rooms, you got to give it a way to keep it.

01:00:45.880 --> 01:00:59.960
And so it's one of those things that I got to continue to share and be prepared and willing to share the dark, stinky stuff, but in a way that we're not commiserating, we're not accomplices, all swimming.

01:01:00.039 --> 01:01:03.000
What a friend of mine calls it the trauma olympics.

01:01:03.480 --> 01:01:15.559
We're we're actually converting those that darkness into value to help other people out of, or more importantly, help them know that they're not alone, that they're not the only one.

01:01:15.719 --> 01:01:19.079
So, similar to what you're doing, it was it was a huge deal.

01:01:19.319 --> 01:01:21.639
You and I did a live stream, super, super high energy.

01:01:21.719 --> 01:01:25.000
Here we are doing this conversation with super super high energy.

01:01:25.159 --> 01:01:28.759
I love that you're you're willing to go and have like the hard.

01:01:29.159 --> 01:01:44.279
I'm gonna say for me, the relationship thing is not necessary, or the relationship conversations is not necessarily hard, it's messy for me, like in my head, it's just messy, and so it's easier to not talk about because who hasn't screwed up in a relationship, right?

01:01:44.519 --> 01:01:53.639
And when we get a new relationship, we do have that honeymoon phase and we want to talk about all the good stuff, and we love the way our bodies and brains are responding to all the lovey dovey stuff.

01:01:53.799 --> 01:01:58.599
We don't say, Hey baby, I might totally go back to my old ways here in a couple weeks.

01:01:58.679 --> 01:02:00.199
So, can we talk about it?

01:02:01.000 --> 01:02:03.239
But we should why can't we?

01:02:03.319 --> 01:02:07.880
If you are gonna be intimate and let somebody touch all over your body, why can't you use words with that person?

01:02:08.119 --> 01:02:12.039
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

01:02:12.199 --> 01:02:15.480
Oh my god, so well, we're gonna have to clip that for sure.

01:02:15.799 --> 01:02:19.880
Okay, so are you ready for the grand slam closing question?

01:02:20.440 --> 01:02:22.279
All right, and I'm excited about you.

01:02:22.599 --> 01:02:46.119
One, because your energy, I think you and I, it's like this instant connection in terms of us like bouncing back and forth and playing off of it and building up like the intensity, because this has been a really intense conversation, and you have, like I said at the beginning, you have a compassion and empathy for the human experience, and so because of all of that, I'm excited to hear what your answer is.

01:02:46.519 --> 01:02:53.319
Okay, here's the question: What is the promise you are intended to be?

01:02:53.639 --> 01:02:56.039
I've never heard that question asked to me.

01:02:56.360 --> 01:03:02.199
I feel strongly that my purpose is to make the world a happier, healthier, safer place.

01:03:02.440 --> 01:03:09.079
I used to have very wild expectations that I would see world peace in my lifetime and all the things.

01:03:09.400 --> 01:03:12.279
Now I care about one at a time.

01:03:12.519 --> 01:03:19.480
And it the promise is my life is never written in the stones, you know, it's gonna change, it's gonna adapt.

01:03:19.639 --> 01:03:22.199
I might not be fully functioning someday.

01:03:22.440 --> 01:03:28.039
What can I do while I'm here visibly able to speak and move and do the things?

01:03:28.279 --> 01:03:36.279
How can I have the best intention and make the best mark on this world so nobody will ever say that I did something to harm other humans?

01:03:36.759 --> 01:03:39.480
Oh damn, gangster.

01:03:39.880 --> 01:03:46.119
So there's gonna be peace on your earth, on your world, and you're actually doing it every single day.

01:03:46.279 --> 01:03:49.319
Oh my god, I knew it, I knew it was gonna be powerful.

01:03:49.480 --> 01:03:50.199
That was nuts.

01:03:50.519 --> 01:03:54.279
Did you have fun with just coming up with that was intense?

01:03:54.920 --> 01:03:56.440
Good, good, good, good.

01:03:56.679 --> 01:04:00.839
Well, you've been super gracious with your time and your energy.

01:04:01.000 --> 01:04:08.119
I and you know, I'm gonna behave and not monopolize all of it just for me because the world needs it.

01:04:08.360 --> 01:04:18.519
I am really one, not just motivated or and inspired, but maybe a little bit in awe of how much of yourself you you share.

01:04:18.679 --> 01:04:23.719
Because I've been able to see you on your live streams and even in this conversation, you don't hold back.

01:04:23.880 --> 01:04:31.559
And I think it's a beautiful example for other people to work towards if they're not already there, because I know how freeing that can be.

01:04:31.719 --> 01:04:43.319
And we all have something special, weird thing, interest in us that if we just took the risk like you did, we could have dramatic impact in the lives around us.

01:04:43.400 --> 01:04:44.839
And so I applaud you for doing that.

01:04:45.239 --> 01:04:46.119
I appreciate you.

01:04:46.199 --> 01:05:01.719
And I just want to leave your guests with understanding that no matter where they are in their world, first of all, they have survived every bad thing that has come their way, and second of all, you never know what the next minute of the day is gonna bring you.

01:05:01.880 --> 01:05:05.079
Don't live in that ick because it can be so much better.

01:05:05.239 --> 01:05:10.440
And some people might not want to pay for therapy or coaching or don't think it's worth the value.

01:05:10.599 --> 01:05:20.039
How much you spending in beer over a month because you're trying to do research, how much you do doing even caffeine because you can't sleep, because you're stressed out all the time.

01:05:20.119 --> 01:05:24.839
So you gotta add 17 cups of coffee in the morning and you got to get all the fancy ones.

01:05:24.920 --> 01:05:26.199
How much you putting into that?

01:05:26.360 --> 01:05:32.039
How much do you value yourself to literally help yourself in your relationships?

01:05:32.119 --> 01:05:38.839
Now, I am not just working with people that are in marriage or or already dating or having issues with who they're dating.

01:05:39.000 --> 01:05:46.519
It could be just to self-reflect and start loving yourself again, not in a therapeutic way, but in a way so that you have value for yourself.

01:05:46.599 --> 01:05:51.079
So when you're ready to give that to somebody else, we can start opening those doors a lot easier.

01:05:51.239 --> 01:05:55.079
So don't feel weird, don't feel like, oh, I'm a man, I can't talk about that.

01:05:55.239 --> 01:05:57.079
Most of my people are men again, guys.

01:05:57.239 --> 01:06:13.319
And it is something that I wish if the guys in my life, whether they're friends or family or anything like that, knew that there were safe people to go to like me, that you're not to be judged, that you can talk about emotions without feeling like, oh my gosh, they're gonna think I'm not manly or something.

01:06:13.400 --> 01:06:14.440
No, it's not like that.

01:06:14.599 --> 01:06:21.480
And for the women there, if you are finding the same kind of relationship patterns over and over, it's time to break that cycle, honey.

01:06:21.639 --> 01:06:22.920
It's time to break it.

01:06:23.079 --> 01:06:25.079
And I can help you with that too.

01:06:25.239 --> 01:06:26.360
So reach out to me.

01:06:26.519 --> 01:06:28.360
Jesse has all my contact information.

01:06:28.519 --> 01:06:30.119
I love to talk through LinkedIn.

01:06:30.279 --> 01:06:33.000
I do a show every single Monday night at 9 p.m.

01:06:33.159 --> 01:06:36.279
that I do not talk about relationships and stuff, it's about other stuff.

01:06:36.360 --> 01:06:38.199
Like I was hyping Jesse the other day.

01:06:38.360 --> 01:06:40.679
Those are the things that you build connections on.

01:06:40.839 --> 01:06:46.360
And when we build relationships, we realize how important it is to take care of ourselves and then our person and then.

01:06:46.759 --> 01:06:47.880
You change the world too.

01:06:48.119 --> 01:06:48.920
Oh, I love it.

01:06:49.000 --> 01:06:53.880
And yes, we will absolutely put all the links in the show notes so people can get in contact with you.

01:06:53.960 --> 01:06:56.920
And you better get in contact with her because Jackie's awesome.

01:06:57.079 --> 01:07:00.920
The live stream, Jess Jackson guests.

01:07:01.079 --> 01:07:03.480
Um just Jackson guests.

01:07:03.639 --> 01:07:07.799
And I hacked in a guest, so I gotta like maybe I don't know if that's good or bad.

01:07:07.880 --> 01:07:09.079
Maybe that'll scare people out.

01:07:09.159 --> 01:07:10.679
Like if you had Jesse on the show.

01:07:10.839 --> 01:07:12.519
And now we were easy.

01:07:12.759 --> 01:07:13.159
It was good.

01:07:13.639 --> 01:07:15.079
We could have we could have talked for hours.

01:07:15.960 --> 01:07:19.159
Just like so we need to wrap it up because you got stuff to do too.

01:07:19.239 --> 01:07:33.079
But I want to thank you for being willing to bring this topic that isn't always the topic people even want to talk about, let alone be on their own show, especially with the kind of consulting you do and the coaching you do and the type of clients you have.

01:07:33.319 --> 01:07:37.719
Guys, every one of us are a human being and every one of us have relationships.

01:07:37.880 --> 01:07:39.159
We need to talk about it.

01:07:39.400 --> 01:07:39.880
100%.

01:07:40.360 --> 01:07:43.159
And that's why you nailed it, girl.

01:07:46.679 --> 01:07:49.639
Thank you for sticking it out all the way to the end.

01:07:49.799 --> 01:07:51.960
I know you got a whole lot of stuff going on.

01:07:52.199 --> 01:08:02.519
And in appreciation for the gift of time that you have given this episode, I want to offer you a free PDF of my book, Becoming the Promise You're Intended to Be.

01:08:02.759 --> 01:08:05.079
The link for that bad boy is down in the show notes.

01:08:05.159 --> 01:08:05.639
Hit it.

01:08:05.799 --> 01:08:07.639
You don't even have to give me your email address.

01:08:07.960 --> 01:08:08.759
There's a link in there.

01:08:08.839 --> 01:08:11.559
You just click that button, you can download the PDF.

01:08:11.799 --> 01:08:22.039
And if you share it with somebody that you know who might feel stuck or be caught up in self-destructive behaviors, that would be the ultimate.

01:08:22.199 --> 01:08:27.960
You sharing that increases the likelihood that it's going to help one more person.

01:08:28.520 --> 01:08:36.600
And if it does help one more person, then you're contributing to me becoming the promise I am intended to be.

01:08:37.319 --> 01:08:41.319
Be kind to yourself, be cool, and we'll talk at you next time.