Honoring Her Dad Through Pancakes: A Daughter's Story of Grief, Love, and Loss

Because we choose to focus on the positive side of life.

Now, this doesn't mean that we shy away from the real talk.

No, not okay.

As a matter of fact, we explore all aspects of life.

From the good, the bad, and the ugly.

But all of that is done with one purpose.

One purpose.

Inspire you to never give up on life.

Even when it may seem like life has given up on you.

Now I get it.

Life is hard.

Starting today, we've got great great and inspiration.

What's going on, and how are you today?

Welcome back to the podcast.

My name is Kevin Lowe, your host, and today you are joining me for episode 157.

Now, inside of today's episode, we're gonna be talking with a lady named Susan Combs.

She is the author of a book called Pancakes for Roger, a mentorship guide for slaying dragons.

What Susan has done with this book is what I think all of us hope that we will do someday.

Is that when we lose someone we love, we will keep their memory alive by sharing their stories, by sharing with the world the lessons that they taught us.

Because if we think about it, even though her father's physical body is no longer here, if she continues to talk about him, continues to share his stories, and now has the world talking about him, then is he really gone?

Definitely not his spirit, but his spirit still is alive.

And that is what Susan Combs is here to share with us today.

Now, I will be honest, the interview today can get a little sad, but it's got a whole lot of happiness to it, also.

Now, this is coming from a host, your podcast host, me, who is a big baby.

It's the reason why I only watch the movie The Notebook once, because, well, by the end of it, I was a total emotional wreck.

It's the same reason why I watched This Is Us every week when it was on, and by the end, again, emotional wreck.

Tears streaming down my face.

So why in the world I agreed to have Susan on my podcast is kind of beyond me.

But well, some things are just worth the pain.

Now, I don't expect that you will probably be as big of a baby as I was, but even if you are, realize this.

It's okay.

Nobody's judging you if you cry during today's podcast.

The point here is I want you to dive into today's episode with an open heart, an open mind, and more importantly, with an appetite for pancakes.

Because at the end of today's episode, I have a mission for you.

Is that I want you to go out and order some pancakes.

And when you do, if listening to this, especially at the time of its release, which is February 2023, I want you to be sure that you take a picture of those pancakes and you post that on social media, and be sure you use the hashtag hashtag pancakes for Roger.

And that's because that goes towards a fundraiser that is all part of this big overall mission behind today's guest.

So remember, enjoy the episode, enjoy the conversation, and then go out and have some pancakes.

Whether you cook them at home or you order them at a restaurant, take a picture just like you know you already do.

And this time I want you to include the hashtag, hashtag pancakes for Roger.

And let's make this February be a tremendous success for this fundraiser.

With that said, I hope you enjoyed today's episode with our guest, Susan Combs.

And just remember this: none of us know what tomorrow will hold.

None of us ever know if when we go to bed tonight, if we will wait tomorrow morning, we never know when we hang up the phone with a loved one if it will be the last time we talked to them.

We just don't know.

And that is why I want to remind you to be sure that you take advantage of this moment, that you be sure that you let people who you love know just how much you love them.

Be sure to embrace this moment, take advantage of this day, and be sure that you're living it for everything it's worth.

And that way, at the end of our journey, we can look back and realize that you know what?

We lived a good life because we took advantage of every single moment.

Enjoy today's episode.

Susan, welcome to the podcast.

SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Kevin.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, it is a pleasure to have you here today.

Susan, I would love for us to just kind of start off in a general sense.

You know, of course, what brings us here, you know, today is the book that you have written.

And so would you mind just kind of giving me an overview of the book, kind of the premise behind it, I guess, would would be more, you know, better suited for this is how it all came about.

SPEAKER_01: Sure.

So I lost my father in 2018 from aging orange-related throat cancer.

And I was lucky enough to be able to reorganize my life and move back from New York City to Missouri the last few months of his life to help care for him.

And so the premise actually starts out with an interaction and exchange with my father that was on hospice, had a feeding tube, was on oxygen, and made a simple request for pancakes one day.

And it absolutely just broke my heart because it was the one thing that I couldn't give him because we had a DNR, he was on hospice, and it just wasn't going to work for us.

And I ended up sharing that story with a lot of people.

And I had people that had been after me to write a book for a very long time because I always had these dadisms.

You know, I was one of those people that had a wonderful father, and I know not everybody else does.

And I've been blessed with wonderful mentors, and I know not everybody else does.

And one of the things that I've been told is if you get good information, it's your duty to share it with somebody else.

Because if it impacted your life and it helped you in a way, then you should share it with somebody, and maybe that impact can grow from that way.

So that's kind of how the book kind of started is quotes from people that have helped me along the way.

And the book's divided into four sections self-love, family, and career.

So it gives different lessons.

And so I tell people, you know, like my uncle Joe used to say, take what you want and throw out the rest.

And because not every lesson is going to resonate with people, but it's it's kind of just some no-nonsense nuggets that I, most of them that I've got for my father, but also some other mentors.

And then with the Pancake Sir Roger, you know, I know we'll kind of get into that in a bit, but part of the proceeds of the book actually go to the University of Missouri Veterans Clinic that provides veterans free legal services for veterans and their families navigating the VA claims and appeals process.

SPEAKER_00: All right.

That's fantastic.

Fantastic.

Well, so talk to me a little bit about who your dad was.

And, you know, and I mean, you know, not only just career-wise, but just who he was to you, what he was like.

I I would love to just to get to know your dad a little bit in your own words.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah.

So my my dad was amazing.

I mean, it, and I I like I always tell people, I know not everybody has a good father.

And so I try to be sensitive to that.

But I was just, I was very fortunate to have a great one.

And so my dad was a major general in the Air Force.

He served in three branches of our armed services for 39 years and four months.

In the civilian world, he was a judge.

To say I had a strict upbringing would be an understatement.

But my dad was also good when nobody was watching.

I mean, he was one of those guys that he just did those random acts of kindness, a lot of the ones that, you know, my brothers and I didn't even know about until after he passed, and people would come and share stories with us.

And he was, you know, one of those guys that was a confidant.

He was a church board member.

He was on the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a director for the Army and Air National Guard.

He and he was just a badass.

I mean, I have pictures of him when he was a Marine Corps helicopter pilot.

He was a combat pilot in in Vietnam.

And I have a picture of him being Rambo before Rambo even existed.

And so that's pretty cool.

But he was also like, I think a big testament to his life was a um the day after he passed, I went to the gym in my little town of 986 people in the northwest corner of Missouri.

And I was walking back from the gym and I heard just kind of a clang, clang, clang, and something just told me to look up.

And I looked up, and the little post office in my small, tiny town in the northwest corner of Missouri had put the flag at half mass for my father.

So if that's not a testament of a life well lived, I just not sure what it would be because he was such a, you know, a pillar of the community.

And a lot of people I still get to this day where they're like, oh man, I wish your dad was here.

And I'm like, yeah, me too.

You know.

So, but he was just a good guy.

Like when he was a judge and he'd be dealing with, say, kids that were dealing with a custody battle.

He would have them come into his chambers and he'd sit down on the floor and bring out pictures of my brothers and I and talk to them about us kids and just say how, you know, the kids were the most important thing, and he wanted to make sure that they felt safe and they were comfortable in the environment that he helped select for them.

So he was just one of those good guys that you always wanted in the foxhole for sure.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

Wow, wow, wow.

That just literally gives me chills when you when you said the part about them putting the flag at half staff.

Because, you know, it's one thing for us to love our family members, but to then see the outside world love them just as much, it really means something, you know?

SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

So so now, as far as you and him, your relationship with one another, talk to me a little bit about that.

I mean, what what was the relationship between the two of you like?

SPEAKER_01: He and I were extremely close.

We really had a similar thought process and thought patterns.

So my dad used to like saying when I was a little kid, we'd be working on a project in the garage or on the farm, and he would go to ask me for a hammer and I'd be standing there with one.

So I he always said I always had my head in the game.

So he and I just kind of thought the same way.

And so when it came to uh providing care for him when his his clock was winding down, not to say that my my brothers and my mother weren't a huge help, but I treated him like I would want to be treated.

And so I had a way of communicating with him that just made more logical sense.

And my brother Matt was a nurse or is a nurse, and so he would treat him more like a patient, which was great because with the medical stuff, Matt understood that, the medications and things like that.

But then I could, if we needed my dad to do something, I'd be like, look, this is this is what we're doing, this is how it looks.

Does that make sense?

And he's like, Yeah, and then we'd move on.

Um, so it just, it just, my dad always we would always say, give me the reader's digest version of the story.

So my my brother and my mother give a lot of details when they tell stories.

I mean, they're very flowery, they're very long, and my dad and I were always like, God, get to the freaking point here, you know?

So one of the lessons that's actually in the book, my dad always said it's important for you to be understood, but more important for you not to be misunderstood.

So um it's he and I were always just kind of concise, looked at worst case scenarios, but just can kind of roll with the punches.

So he and I were we're two peas in a pot, and I'll tell you, he was he was really, you know, kind of my partner in the family.

And I don't think I realized that so much until after he passed.

And, you know, I first encountered that.

We had two services for him.

So we had a military funeral in Missouri for him, and then we ultimately, about a year later, had a full military honors funeral for him at Arlington.

SPEAKER_00: Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_01: And when we had the one in Missouri, I remember, like in the Protestant religion, we we call it a visitation.

Catholics call it a wake, where we had the visitation the day before the funeral.

And I remember I was, we were the ones that had to be on time.

And I was like, you know, my family was like herding cats, and I just looked up to you know to the sky and was like, Dad, I need some help here.

I was like, we have to be there.

And you know, and we we got everybody out the door and they kind of came together.

But he and I used to laugh because we'd always told my brother Matt and my mom that we had to be someplace 30 minutes before we really had to be there because we had a buffer then.

So we were very much the type A's.

He always said we had two type A's and two type A B's in the family.

SPEAKER_00: So it kind of sounds like the general raised another general.

SPEAKER_01: Oh, I know, I know.

It's it's seriously, it's it's it's kind of sick.

I'm a little bit extreme type A and very null, very regimented.

I have a system for everything, and my dad did too.

So if you want me to like paint a picture and be all flowery, like find somebody else.

SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness, I love that.

So now, so talk to me though, about your dad as far as when did he get sick and when did things start to change?

SPEAKER_01: Sure.

So he was diagnosed with Asian orange-related throat cancer in 2008.

And we had 10 relatively good years.

I don't think we realized how good they were until they were good.

And um, he was treated at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

So he, you know, he had pretty major surgery and everything.

And, you know, he his biggest, I guess, ailment after he had gone through chemo and radiation is that he had no epiglottis.

And that's the flap that that covers your windpipe.

So when it came to eating, he had to be very cautious with the eating.

So, you know how a lot of times when you're having meals, people will have like the witty banter and things like that during meals.

And with him, he had to focus on eating because he could he could choke if it if it went down the wrong way.

So, you know, we like I said, we had 10 relatively good years, and then the last year of his life, he relapsed twice.

So the first time he relapsed, he had to have another major surgery and it drastically affected his speech.

And then the last relapse we knew was kind of the the beginning of the end.

And so one of the things I will say, not everybody is a good patient.

I've learned that with my mother.

But my my father was an excellent patient.

And my father was one of those guys.

I mean, my dad wanted to have a second opinion down at MD Anderson.

And professionally, I own an insurance brokerage, but I do a lot of expert witnessing all across the country on high-end medical malpractice claims.

And so I kind of have a vast network of attorneys and hospitals that I work with, I think in like 39 states right now.

And so I had several people down in Texas, and I reached out to six attorneys and I told them the situation.

I said, My dad wants to have a second opinion.

Has anybody got me?

And that's one of the things.

I'm not a person that asked a lot for favors.

So when I asked for a favor, I typically get.

So within four days, I had him appointment with the head of oncology for the head and neck cancer department.

And I was happened to be down in Texas for a trial.

And I then I flew to Houston to meet with that, my mother and father, and to go with him on his appointments there.

And I just remember him saying to that doctor, like almost the first thing he said, he's like, Look, I understand it's the practice of medicine.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: He was like, You're not a god.

He was just like, you're a person, you're a human being.

And he said, I understand that.

And I know it's an uphill battle.

So I just want to see if there's anything else that you see that we can possibly do that maybe extend my life.

And my dad always said we have to navigate between the actual care and the results of the care.

Because a lot of times, especially with cancer and ailments, I mean, hell the treatment can be worse than the sickness.

SPEAKER_00: Yes.

SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, my dad always said we need to navigate between care and quality of life.

And he said when quality of life starts deteriorating past the care, then that's the time to kind of say, okay, let's let's throw with a towel type of thing.

So, but you know, my dad and I were able to kind of have those tough conversations.

I mean, one of the most gut-wrenching conversations was was when we were down there for that second opinion.

And I was walking back with him to the hotel after he'd had his PET scan.

And, you know, I knew I needed to ask the question, but I didn't want to.

And I think sometimes, you know, people say they regret things, and a lot of times I think the regret is based upon what you don't ask.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

SPEAKER_01: As a and so, you know, I asked him, I said, you know, look, do you do you want to fight?

Because I was like, This is your body, and you fought for 10 long years, and nobody will fault you if you're if you're done here.

And he said, you know, I won I want to try one more time because we tried immunotherapy after the chemo and it just didn't work with him.

And he said, I'm gonna try one more time for my family, and he said, also for me.

And I said, okay.

I said, that's fine.

But I said at any given time, if you're done, I said, you just have to tell one of us, and we'll respect that.

I was glad that I I had the courage to have that conversation because, man, I I didn't want to.

I really, really did want to.

But, you know, that was the thing that my parents were always very open with us.

And they always said, you know, we're never gonna hide anything from you.

If you want to come to any of the doctor's appointments, you're always willing to.

There will always be a power of attorney on file so that you can have a conversation with the doctor if you don't understand something or you want to know the prognosis.

And so I just always really respected that with my dad, that it was just like we're not hiding the ball here.

We're just we're laying it out there.

And if you have questions, then then you're entitled to ask them.

SPEAKER_00: So yeah, absolutely.

And and I feel like what you said earlier when when you talked about like your dad, when when he said to the doctor, you know, I understand this medicine, it's a practice of medicine.

I feel like that speaks to the type of man that your father was and the fact that he was a realist.

He understood because because I think all of us we can fall into that trap at times when everything is fixable.

There's a medicine that can can cure this, there's a doctor somewhere who can do something, but that's not always the case.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah.

Well, and I think too, like, I I really thought a lot of that doctor.

I mean, he he scheduled my dad his last appointment of the day, and he spent an hour and a half with my family.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

SPEAKER_01: And it was that was just so incredible to me.

And I remember like, you know, because my dad said, Are there any questions you want to ask?

And I mean, I was so tearful.

And I said, How long are we looking at if we do treatment?

And how long are we looking at if we don't do treatment?

And what are the percentages?

And I'll never forget the the doctor looked at my dad first and said, Would you like me to answer those questions?

And because I at the moment I was in my head, I was like, it was about me.

Like I was gonna lose my dad.

I need to know what pro you know what the timeline was here.

And I just, man, I respected the hell out of that.

That he stopped me and addressed my dad.

And my dad said, Yeah, that's fine.

And at the time, you know, the doctor said we're looking at about a 10% chance.

And my dad's reply was, well, somebody's got to be in the 10%.

And I mean, and you know, and and like long story short, he wasn't, but you know, it was God, the attitude is everything.

The attitude is everything.

And I mean, so I just I really respected that.

My dad just didn't complain, and you know, to have a feeding tube for over a year and be a person that loved food and you can't eat anything.

And just to, you know, I think he said a couple of that times things smelled good, but you know, I had a a baby niece at the time and he was content just holding her during meal time because he also understood like that's the way it was.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

SPEAKER_01: So it's just like if that's how it is, and like you said, to the point of being a real, you know, realist, if that's how it is, like, you know, I think it's maybe it's easier to handle because you can't be like, well, well, maybe I can try this, maybe I can do this.

He just was like, okay, if I'm gonna prolong my life, this is what we're looking at right now.

SPEAKER_00: So yeah, yeah.

I mean, you you have to respect that, you know.

Now, towards the end, you would end up moving back home, correct?

To help take care of him.

SPEAKER_01: Yep.

So before we, you know, I mean, I was back a lot because, you know, I had been given the advice by one of my friends when my dad was diagnosed 10 years before he passed, that he said you'll never regret the time you spent.

He said, Everybody always says that they want to have more time with somebody.

He said they never say, like, oh man, I really that was a waste of my time spent in the afternoon with Kevin.

You know, I mean, it's just like and so I really took that to heart and I know I showed up for my family the next 10 years.

And then that last year, my dad's life when he relapsed, and we knew that this could be, you know, we're on borrowed time now.

I was back in Missouri at least every month.

And then Then that summer I basically moved back.

And you know, I came back to New York when I needed to come back to New York.

But, you know, it was just my dad and I, you know, we had a system for the mornings.

I mean, and that's kind of how the story, the pancakes to Roger, like the nuts and bolts story comes from is just our hit him and my regiment and kind of our schedule, and then him throwing a cog in the system one morning.

SPEAKER_00: So yes, yes.

Well, well, talk to me about that story about the pancakes.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah.

So uh, I mean, I'm like, you know, we've talked about my dad and I were both extreme type A.

And, you know, we also like we had a rule in the family when dad was sick and when he was on hospice that if you woke up at any given time in the middle of the night, whether you want, you know, had to go to the bathroom, get a drink, whatever, you always checked on dad because he was on oxygen.

And if, you know, any of the listeners have dealt with somebody on oxygen, you know, they have a nasal cannula, and if they turn in their sleep, sometimes it can become dislodged.

And when somebody's on hospice and they're already sick, you know, that can be a dangerous thing.

So what we would do after that is I'd get up at 5 a.m.

every morning, I'd check on him.

If he was good, I'd go to the gym.

I'd come back from the gym, I'd check on him again, if as long as he was good, then I would go shower, kind of get ready for the day, and then I'd come get him rallied around, help him with his feeding tube formula, and then I would get him at his recliner.

And then literally every single day I sat on the floor at the coffee table in my childhood home with my laptop and I just worked all day.

And if I, if he needed something, then I was there to just pop up and and take care of it.

But one morning he, you know, I'd gone to the gym, came back, he was good, he was sleeping, went to shower, came back, and I went, you know, we were fortunate enough to have hospice at home because my my dad had a really good long-term care policy.

And so we were able to have the care at home.

And so we had a hospital bed in what used to be his old office, or, you know, he turned it into what he called his I Love Me room, where it had all of his awards and military pictures and things like that on it.

But it was great for him because he could reflect and look at those pictures just when he was laying in bed.

When I came to his bed, he wasn't there, and so I went and looked in the family room, he wasn't there.

And then I went to the kitchen and he had his placemat and he had self-aware, and he was, you know, setting at the table and getting his, you know, setting his table too.

And I looked at him, I said, Dad, what are you doing?

And he said, Well, I want pancakes for breakfast.

And I looked at him and I said, Oh, dad, I was like, There's nothing in this world that I'd rather give you than pancakes for breakfast.

But, you know, we're on hospice here, you have a feeding tube, we have a DNR, and you know, if you choke, we're done here.

And I just don't think we're quite ready to be done.

And he said, Oh, yes, I can.

Matt said I could.

And Matt's my brother, and he's a nurse, and he wasn't there that morning.

So I knew we were dealing with some confusion from some oxygen levels being too low.

And I looked at him, I said, Well, let me see what I can do.

So I took the feeding tube formula over to the microwave.

The general always wanted it warmed up for 14 seconds, never 13, never 15.

14 was the Goldilocks number for that man.

And so I did that and I brought it over and I put it on the table, and he looked at me and he said, What's that?

And I said, Well, there's your syrup.

And he looked at me and his oxygen levels would kind of start rallying around.

He kind of smiled and nodded, and he said, Okay.

So then I went on to, you know, share that story with people.

And a few short weeks later, my father had passed away.

And I took one day off work when I came back to New York.

And I, because I just needed to shut out the noise, not look at email, not look at social media, just be.

And my husband said to me, He's like, Why don't we go have some pancakes for your dad?

And so we went to my local diner in Queens, New York, the Bel Air Diner, we'll give them a shout out because they have the best pancakes in all in New York City, I believe.

Um, they put malt and vanilla in, and they're just incredible.

Yes.

We got some pancakes, and my husband took a picture, and that was the first picture for Pancake Sir Roger, and I shared the story.

And basically, as you know, just a real quick antidote and metaphor to remember the little things in life because things can just change in the blink of an eye.

And we can think we have all the time in the world, or we can just think that that everything's gonna go our way, and then we can just drastically get shattered.

And so I, you know, I shared the story and said, if you're so inclined, go have some pancakes for Roger and remember to appreciate all that you have in your life.

So that's kind of how it started, and then it really kind of exploded.

And his birthday is on February 22nd.

So then what it turned into is the month of February, every year now, when we get people enjoying pancakes and using the hashtag pancakes for Roger on public-facing social media, then we make a donation.

My company, Combs and Company, makes a donation to the University of Missouri Veterans Clinic in his honor for every single picture.

So this past year, when the then the book came out on his birthday this year, which was 222-22, which is pretty cool if you believe in numerology and angel numbers.

And we got what?

We got all 50 states, we got 18 countries, and thousands of dollars went towards the veterans clinic.

And so it's kind of cool because we even do contests now, and you know, COVID kind of shifted how we were doing things, but it's been such a great thing.

And then we end up getting pictures on pancakes throughout the year, too.

And I've had a lot of people that have said that I just can't I can't have pancakes now and not think about your dad.

And that just makes me happy.

SPEAKER_00: I just started to say, what a cool way to use something that was nothing.

It's pancakes, it's a it's food.

SPEAKER_02: Easy.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

And yet now to be able to like live on the legacy of your father by something that was nothing, and now we've turned it into something.

unknown: Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: And wow, that's incredible.

Now, switching gears a little bit, talk to me.

How did the book come about?

SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I had a lot of people that were after me for uh to write a book for a while.

You know, I'm kind of known to quote my dad and kind of and also I live in New York City, right?

We talk a little bit different in Missouri than we do in New York.

So, I mean, hell, when I was having this, when we were going through the editing process, we had five different editors on this book.

And and purposely, it's kind of cool when you're writing a book and you you know you work on a project such as this because they pick editors from different metropolitan areas in different parts of the country because they need to make sure that the message resonates and it's not full of colloquialisms, you know.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

SPEAKER_01: And so, I mean, I had explained what herding cats meant, you know.

And I'm like, when the girl was like, What's I don't understand herding cats?

And I'm like, does it sound like it would be easy?

And she's like, No, not at all.

I'm like, there you go.

So with the book, I mean, I'll tell you, like, when I uh when I speak publicly, I've always ended my talks with unsolicited advice.

And it's been like cool quotes from different people and just kind of funny quick hits.

And I give a little bit about the person.

And I always thought that that would be cool to turn into a book and take a quote and make it a chapter and then elaborate on that person's life and then kind of talk about how to plug and play.

So that's how it was supposed to be.

My dad was supposed to be a chapter, and then I got to going, and then my dad took over the whole freaking thing that he was able to do.

And then it just it because there was just so many good lessons.

And I also think for me, it was very much a cathartic process.

SPEAKER_00: Yes.

SPEAKER_01: You know, I stepped into my dad's shoes tremendously after he passed away.

I mean, we have two working farms back in Missouri.

You know, my dad, God, he had eight bank accounts and seven properties, and it was a lot of a lot of consolidation that went on after he was gone.

Um, but it was there was just a lot of stuff to do.

And, you know, and I I don't think I ever realized how much I would have to hit the ground running.

So I even, you know, that first year that he passed, I had four hours of what I called family business time plugged into my calendar.

And my mom knew about it.

So it just like if she would get something in the mail and she didn't know what she would do about it, or she would get something for the VA and she didn't, she knew that that was my time to be working on that type of stuff.

So she and I would connect, go through the mail, go through things like me being in New York or being in Missouri and just kind of make it work.

So since I kind of went into, you know, Susan Fix It Work mode after he passed, uh, you know, I mean, I did grieve the loss, but I don't think I felt the true impact of it.

And so writing this book, I mean, man, I freaking ugly cried every single week when we would write.

And it was such a cathartic process for me.

So a little bit it's it's selfish because I really think I needed to kind of have that, you know, understand the magnitude of that loss and really kind of kind of feel it.

And I was able to feel it this way.

So, you know, it's uh it was definitely a labor of love, but it was it was a lot of fun.

It was a lot of fun.

And I'm I'm glad I did it.

You know, I think I'll there's probably a another book in me at some point.

I mean, people are already after me, and I'm like, good lord, let me just enjoy this.

But yeah, so that's that's kind of how it it started out.

And then so it's it's man, it's so much Roger Combs throughout the whole thing.

And then there's plugging ins of of different mentors that I've had, because I've I've really had a lot of great mentors.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, that's amazing.

So, so how long after your dad passed away did you start this book?

SPEAKER_01: Um, it was, I would say, about two and a half years after he'd passed.

SPEAKER_00: Okay.

SPEAKER_01: And I and I put this in the book.

I kind of it's one of, you know, like sometimes when you know something and you're like, oh, should I share it?

Should I not share it, you know, type of thing.

And it's, Kevin, I don't know if your parents are still living or not, but everybody thinks, oh, it's the first year that's the hardest.

It's not because the first year you're in such a fog and you're just kind of going through the motions, and you just are kind of numb to a lot of things.

You and the second year I think is brutal because I think you're it's the realization of, oh, this is how it's gonna be.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

SPEAKER_01: And so I always kind of man, I I go back and forth on, you know, especially if somebody's in their first year, they're like, oh, it's gotta get better.

And I'm like, oh no, it's not, you know, and then it will, you know.

But so I think that when I started the book, I was, you know, it was after my second year, so it was going into, you know, I guess the third year of existence without him.

And, you know, I tell people that that's where you can start seeing the joy.

And so you can start reflecting on, you know, the happier times.

And I don't know, like I I've talked to other people too, and that first year for me, my dad was so sick.

I mean, he was he was frail, he had lost so much weight.

I mean, it was sad.

I mean, I literally used to, you know, say a prayer before I'd walk into the room that he would just be gone because I knew he was suffering so much.

But then it's like crazy because your mind kind of plays a trick on you after they're gone and you don't remember the sick parts.

You remember when they were healthy and when they were strong.

So then it makes you miss them even more.

Um and I've talked to other people that that say, yeah, that they they totally identify with that.

And it's kind of a you know, fucked up thing that I don't think we really need to have, but I just think that's kind of how life is.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but you know what though, I almost feel like that's our our own minds, our own brains, almost protective sense about us is helping us just to focus on the good.

And I and I and I know that from my own, you know, experience with with just different aspects of my past where it's hard to remember the bad stuff and and and maybe that's a good thing in the end.

Yeah, you know?

Now this book, after you finished it, it's finished.

If your dad was here today, what would he say about you publishing this book?

SPEAKER_01: Oh man.

You know, it just I want to say I'd hope he'd be proud, but I do know he would be proud.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: And, you know, some of the the mentors that I've actually gotten after my father have passed have have been friends of his that he was either in the military with or that he, you know, worked at the courthouse with in his judicial career.

And they can kind of give me my dad's perspective because you know, they're they're father figures to me now.

And and so I get that from them, where they're just like, oh, your dad would be so proud.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

SPEAKER_01: And so I think that the pancake thing, I do think he would think that was pretty cool.

I I do think he would think that was pretty cool.

And so that makes me happy.

I mean, it's just like I'll tell you, the month of February is a freaking stressful month for me now.

And I will tell you, like on you know, February 28th or 29th, whichever it ends on at that year.

I mean, oh man, I I I'm like on a pancake detox for a good three months after that, because it's like so many pancakes, and then everybody's like, oh, let's have pancakes.

I'm like, oh God, like it's just like you know, I I do CrossFit and Strongman, so I have to make sure to hit every single workout because it will show up in my jeans for sure, like on the waistline if I don't.

But but yeah, so I I do think he would think it was pretty cool.

Because at the end of the day, I mean, my dad was one of those guys that he mentored a lot of veterans.

I mean, he would be like if if there was like an injured, you know, soldier airman from you know our county or even from the state of Missouri that ended up at at Walter Reed as an injured veteran in DC, my dad would go and see them.

And, you know, and he just really, you know, because he he got that.

I mean, he, you know, he had been to war, he had been shot down, you know, in his helicopter.

He understood what that was.

And so I always thought that was really cool that he, you know, he kept you know a finger on the pulse that way.

And then, you know, after the book came out and I started doing some interviews and things like that, I did quite a bit of uh veterans-based interviews.

So I was on Veterans Radio, and the day after I was on Veterans Radio, the week the book came out, I got an email from a guy that he was like, oh man, he said, your dad was a giant.

My dad wasn't a giant, my dad was like 5'10 on a good day.

And uh I think that's what he put on his driver's license.

I'm like, dad, I was way taller than you at the end, but um, I'm 5'7.

So, but you know, there was this guy that was a colonel.

He was actually the exo or uh in the military that's a commanding officer for Colin Powell.

SPEAKER_02: Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_01: And he said, I met your dad when I was a young F-16 pilot.

And he said, Your dad told me he was like, There's rocks in the clouds.

And he said, Bees as a pilot.

He said, You never know what's in the clouds.

He said there could be birds, there could be, you know, precipitation.

He was like, there can be an you know another space, you know, aircraft.

And so he said, he always told me that.

And he said, I went on be to become a flight instructor.

And he said, every single class I ever taught got that advice from General Combs.

And, you know, that was, God, that just was, it touched my heart.

And so he and I've stayed in communication and so send emails back and forth every once in a while.

And so I just, you know, what stuff like that has done for me is if I hear of somebody passing and I have a story about that person, I always share it.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: Because I know how much it means.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

SPEAKER_01: And I know how like uplifting and and like it's just like a sweet moment you can get from that.

I mean, you know, another one is the I think it was the day after my dad passed.

My brother went down to to pick up the mail and at the post office for my mom.

And the postmaster said to my brother, he said, you know, your dad was such an amazing guy.

She said, Last summer, our air conditioner went out and your mom had been here getting the mail, and she went home and she mentioned it to your dad.

And not 10 minutes later, your dad comes back down here and he's got fans for us and bottles of water to make sure that we're okay.

Like we had never heard that story.

You know, he was just a good guy.

He was just a good guy.

And so, you know, it makes me want to be like that too.

I mean, it makes me want to do, you know, like the random acts of kindness and just show up for people.

And I just think, you know, when we talk about like people having significant losses, there's this secret club that you never know about until you're indoctrinated.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

SPEAKER_01: And so I just always reach out to people when I hear.

I mean, I heard this past weekend of a friend of mine's mother that passed away at 60.

And, you know, I reached out to her and just, you know, said, I'm so sorry, you know, for your loss.

And I'm like, it's such a shitty club that nobody ever wants to join.

You know, be gentle on yourself, let other people do for you.

Because I think sometimes, you know, we can just get thrown into such the mode, the fixer mode, and the get stuff done mode that we don't just take a second for ourselves.

And that can just be, I mean, it'd be draining, very much be draining.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

And it's something I wanted to speak to about, you know, you you sharing all these little stories of all these people, and especially that flight instructor who tells the story that you're of your dad.

And I thought to myself, though, like that's what I think every one of us wants.

Is that is that when we're gone, our legacy still stays.

unknown: Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: And I mean, and I think that just speaks to the kind of person that your dad was.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: And I mean, that's just awesome.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I had a kid that reached out to me.

Actually, he was in he was a classmate of mine.

I mean, I I graduated high school with 15 people, so you know, not a huge class, so we all know each other.

He, you know, after my dad passed, he said, he said, your dad's not here for me to thank, so I want to thank you.

And he said, you know, I was going down the wrong path.

And he said, you know, your dad gave me a second chance.

And in the county I grew up in, the attorneys and the prosecutors and the judges came up with what they called suspended imposition of sentence, where they kind of put a pause on things for kids.

So it's just like if they got a minor in possession or or something like that, or driving too fast, they would basically say, okay, we're gonna put you on probation and we're gonna suspend your sentence.

But if you, you know, you got to keep your nose clean, but if you screw this up, then guess what?

You know, you better bring your toothbrush and your pajamas because you're gonna be in the county jail.

So it allowed to give kids a second chance and not have things go on their record to ruin, you know, their options for college and scholarships and things like that.

And so, you know, he was thanking me, saying, Your dad gave me that extra shot.

And he was like, I really turned my life around and made something of myself.

And he said, if your dad hadn't given me like kind of some of those life lessons that he wasn't getting at home, he was like, I don't know where I would have ended up.

So, you know, it's like things like that that I think are pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.

Something I'm I'm curious about, you know, we we hear uh so many of these stories, but do you have like looking back on your your childhood or even adult years, like a favorite memory, something that like truly just like when you think of your dad, you think of that.

SPEAKER_01: Oh, I mean, there there's so many.

I mean, it's just I you know, I had a dad that showed up.

I mean, I had a dad that showed up for school projects and things like that.

But, you know, I so my dad, like even when I was a little girl, like three or four years old, I mean, you know, he used to be the one that would take me to daycare.

Like he would drive, and so that was our time every day.

It's a 30-minute drive to daycare and then 30 minutes drive at night at, you know, when he'd get off work.

And so, you know, we kind of, you know, we used to play like we always call it the opposite game.

And so he was just like, you know, he would say, you know, whatever, black, and I would have to say white.

And he would say big, and I'd say little, you know, so we just, you know, but it as a little kid, it was just kind of a fun thing.

And then, and you know, I mean, since we kind of got that time and we we just were good partners that way.

Yeah.

He spent the time with me, and you know, I valued his opinion tremendously.

And, you know, I had a present dad.

I mean, I had a dad that was gone a lot with the military, but he always was present.

And, you know, the lessons and how, you know, how we were raised was always present.

And, you know, one of the things that I've admired a lot the older I got is my dad didn't push what he wanted for us on us.

And what I mean by that is, you know, he like would my dad have loved for me to meet a boy in Missouri and settle down in the county?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

Would my dad have loved that to have me close?

But he showed me the world.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

SPEAKER_01: And since he showed me the world, he let me know that the world was bigger than my backyard and I could go out and you know, slay some dragons and take a look at everything out there.

But if I wanted to come back home, there was no shame in that.

So I think that that was really cool because he let me know that that there was a different way to do things.

And I also think he was just he was a hard worker.

And so he always had a good work ethic.

And, you know, he would travel a lot for work.

And I remember I called him one time.

It was after I moved to New York, and I said, Where are you?

And he said, uh, he said, I'm at the corner of walk and don't walk.

I'm not sure what city and state.

And you know, so he was just, and he had, man, he had such a wicked, dry sense of humor.

He would zing you and you wouldn't know for a week, and then you'd be like, Oh God, that's what he meant.

And he'd just so I mean, even at his Missouri funeral, I remember there was this guy in the in the line that he said, I got a story for you.

And I was like, Okay.

And he said, So he was like, You remember when the Bluetooth headsets came out and he was like, they were called like jawbones, like that was the brand that a lot of people had.

And so he said, So I had one of those on, and he said, and it was like nobody really was wearing them yet.

And so he was like, I was at the rotary meeting with your dad, and your dad's like, So, so what's what's that?

And he said, It's a jawbone.

And he said, and your dad's like, huh, a jawbone on a jackass.

Makes sense.

And you're like, was that a compliment?

Was that just my compliment?

So it was just funny, man.

He was just wicked funny.

And, you know, and he was, you know, I mean, he just even like when we were kids, I mean, I remember one time, I mean, we always named our cars and trucks.

And so we had a pickup truck named Clyde, and it was a red and white striped truck.

And, you know, he had gone to work and then he went by the farm on the way home because we would turn the water on for the horses, the well on for the horses, and then he had turned it off at the end of the day.

And so he was doing that.

And when he did that, he had the back of his pickup open and a great big bullfrog jumped in.

And so, and it was a closed cab.

So he closed the cab, kept the bullfrog in there, and then he drove the six miles to home.

And then he like called my brother and I.

He's like, come out of here.

And so then we get to like play with the bullfrog in the front yard for like, you know, a good hour, like chase him and everything.

And then we like went back to the farm and like dubbed him off, put him back where he found him.

You know, but it was just some fun things like that.

That he would just, you know, he would camp out in the front yard and stuff like that.

I mean, he was just a good, he was a good guy.

Good, good guy.

SPEAKER_00: Your dad was a dad.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah.

unknown: Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: He was an engaged dad.

He was very much an engaged dad.

So I think that was that was cool.

SPEAKER_00: And what what I think is remarkable about the way that you talk about your dad is the fact that I think sometimes we can think of somebody with his career path, this you know, general in the in the army and and all of this.

You don't think of the human side, the dad side, yet he had that.

You know, and I think that's just really remarkable.

Back to the book itself, I I want to ask you a little bit about it, especially because of the subtitle.

And it makes me wonder what can somebody expect from this book because it it's kind of the this interesting title of Pancakes for Roger.

And we're like, oh, okay.

And then all of a sudden it's a mentorship guide for slaying dragons.

And I'm like, whoa, what is this?

SPEAKER_01: I fought for that title.

You know, I mean so, you know, I mean, okay, so writing the book and everything like that, and we're, you know, then it was like, okay, I mean, the hardest thing is like coming up with a title.

And so it was just obvious.

It was obvious it was gonna be pancakes to Roger.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

SPEAKER_01: And then we were like, okay, what's the byline?

Like what, and so it started out Pancakes to Roger, a mentorship guide for life.

SPEAKER_00: Okay.

SPEAKER_01: And then I popped awake at 2 a.m.

And it hit me.

I was like a mentorship guide for slaying dragons.

I'm like, that's it, that's it.

And so, like, you know, I talked to my team.

Um, I worked with Scribe Media when I was doing the book, and we talked to my team there, and I was like, I told them this, and they were like, eh, I don't know.

I don't know, I don't know, I don't know.

And I was like, you don't know me yet.

I said, as soon as you know me, you will know this is the title.

And so I would test out the title with some friends to just get the reaction with people that truly knew me, right?

SPEAKER_02: Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01: And so one of my girlfriends, Kat Thomas, she's man, she's a firecracker attorney out here in New York City.

And so we're having coffee one day, and I tested out with her, and she's like, fuck yeah.

And I'm like, what?

She was like, Susan, when I graduated high school, she graduated high school in in West Virginia, Virginia, and she was like, she said, the superintendent spoke at my commencement.

And she said, the, he said, basically, he said, you know, you guys are gonna go out, you know, live your life.

And he said, you might want to go slay some dragons, but he said, why don't you just start with lizards first?

And she said, I'm sitting there seething, saying, like, I'm not gonna slay a freaking lizard, I'm gonna go slay a fucking dragon.

So I said to her, she was so like it, she felt it.

And I'm like, okay, that's it.

That is it.

So, you know, I mean, like I've been talking about, I have so many great mentors.

And one thing I've realized, especially with with women, well, and and men too, a lot of times people don't have formal mentorship relationships or they don't have a mentor.

And I really think a lot of it's generational.

You know, I meet a lot of women that are in their 50s and 60s that have said I've never had a mentor because it just you know kind of wasn't common practice.

And then now, you know, if you're in your 20s or 30s, like everybody has a mentor or you know, or they're actively seeking one.

So basically, I you know, I told people like if you don't have a mentor right now, like use this book.

Yeah, use this book as a stand-in until you find somebody.

And it, you know, and also talks about like how to, you know, go and ask somebody or also like be a mentor yourself.

Or I think one of the biggest, like the most positive and most impactful mentors I've had in my life are more of the peer-to-peer mentors, where it's just like, you know, you're friends, but you have that shared professional track.

So it's just like if you own a company, then maybe it's other business owners or people that are in your industry or things like that, because then you can have that, you know, that great friendship, but then you can have that kind of interconnectedness of what you do professionally, that you can have people to go and say, like, hey, I have this situation at work.

This is this is how it's looking.

Have you ever been in this situation or or what do you think?

You know, am I overreacting?

Is this what I should do?

And so, you know, I I talk about that in the book too, because I think that that's something that's so valuable that a lot of times people just don't think about.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.

Absolutely.

What do you hope when somebody reads this book?

What is your hope that they come away with at the end?

SPEAKER_01: Well, my biggest hope is they go and do an Amazon review, right?

Sorry.

So, no, I would say, you know, I like you know, you talked about my dad being realistic.

I got that gene too.

And so when I was writing the book, I mean, a lot of times when people like write books, they're like, oh, I want to be on the New York Times bestseller list, I want to be on, you know, Good Morning America and stuff like that.

And those are all great, but are they realistic?

And so, you know, if you're not like, you know, Harley Coben or Philip Margolin, like it's probably not gonna happen, right?

So for me, the goal was to bring more recognition to the veterans clinic and to help five people.

Like that was my goal.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

SPEAKER_01: And so, I mean, and I hit that, I hit that in the first month.

Um, so it's, you know, so now all of it is gravy.

So I think that that's the a lot of times people think like, oh, I want to write a book, I want to write a book, how do you do it?

What do I do?

And I mean, you gotta have money, first of all.

Like you just do because it makes life easier when you can just bring in a team and and you know, PR and and marketing and stuff like that.

But, you know, I I just always tell people to be realistic and to not be not take things personally and be open.

And I think that's one of the things and why like me working with the scribe team, it was such a success, is because I was like, look, guys, I'm opinionated, I'll tell you exactly what I think, but I'm open.

So if you're like Susan, if you do these three things, like this is gonna blow it out of the water, I'll do those three things.

So, you know, I mean, I always try to think about that type of stuff.

And I think being open, like that's when you can really get the joy of the project too.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.

Well, I love it.

I absolutely love this.

So before, before I let you go, though, we've talked so much about your dad.

We've talked about the book.

I would love it if you could just share a bit about you.

I mean, what what do you do when when not caring for your dad, when writing books?

Just I would love to learn just a little bit about you, the the author of this book.

SPEAKER_01: Uh um, it depends on the day.

You know, I I'm a self-proclaimed tender badass.

You know, I because I kind of have a swagger and I, you know, I don't do anything halfway.

And so if I'm gonna do something, I'm all in.

And but man, if some if something touches me or I'm passionate about something, or you know, where somebody's near and dear to my heart, I mean, I man, I'm a mush on certain things.

So I actually got a card from um one of my girlfriends, Lisa, about a month ago, that has like a really cool leather jacket on the front of it with roses and it says you're a badass, and you know, but it says with the big heart.

And I'm like, oh my God.

Like, like that made me feel good because that's what I how I want to be perceived.

So, you know, I mean, I I own an insurance brokerage in New York City.

I mean, I started the company at 26 years old in 2005.

So you can do the math.

I'm 43.

And even in my my professional career, I've been open.

So, you know, we do a lot of health insurance, we do property casualties, so like the business insurance and you know, kidnapping ransom and aviation, all the crazy stuff.

But I also do a lot of expert witnessing on the Affordable Care Act across the country.

And that's been something that I I maintained open to.

It's not somebody that the thing that a lot of the people in my profession do, but I was open to the opportunity when it presented itself.

And then with my dad's legal background and everything, I was able to kind of consult with him on how to kind of things, you know, get things set up, brought in the right mentors in the legal field to make sure that I was going about it the right way.

And then I do, you know, I got the the book and I do public speaking.

I owned a restaurant in Missouri until a couple of months ago.

So, you know, I mean, like, like I said, it just, and I have a farm.

So it just depends on the day, which hat I wear.

And, you know, my my life is definitely constantly varied, but I like it that way because then it's exciting.

You don't get bored.

I'm very structured and regimented.

So I live and die by my calendar.

So if somebody's like, oh, you know, want to grab lunch today, I'm like, no, but I can in three weeks.

SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I think that those are those are important things.

And then, you know, I'm pretty passionate about the the University of Missouri and the Veterans Clinic.

So I sit on a couple boards for them.

So, you know, I I treat my like my volunteer work, my mentorship work as I do business.

So if I commit to something, I'm in there.

SPEAKER_00: So yeah, well, well, fantastic.

Well, I can tell you this much.

With all that you've done, all that you're doing, I mean, I can only imagine that your father would be so proud of you.

And and especially in amongst all that you already had going, that you then took on this project of writing a book, and then it evolved into this just total dedication to your father.

And I just I look at you and I think to myself, how awesome is that?

unknown: Thank you.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

So this episode is coming out the first of February, February 2023.

Can we eat some pancakes?

Yes, I was gonna say, what remind us what we need to do when we have pancakes this month.

SPEAKER_01: Okay.

So I always tell people it's gotta be a public-facing social media.

So if you're if your Instagram is private and you have a picture of loving on some pancakes and you use the hashtag pancakesroger, if it's a private account, it won't show up on our feed.

But if it's a public-facing post, then we'll be able to, you know, use that and tally them.

We actually on our website, so the website's www.pancakesroger.com, we have a pancake map.

So we have a little character named Penny the Pancake, and Penny the Pancake visited all these countries and all these different states.

So, and we have a good time with that.

I mean, we'll call out states, like when we're we're getting kind of down to like we have six states, we'll be like, you know, who's got me Idaho?

You know, it's like, and so people start tagging all their friends from Idaho.

I have a girlfriend, I you know, Rebecca Singhorn, that that she's Mormon, and man, she she calls out the Mormons and gets me Hawaii, gets me like all these, you know, like obscure states and things like that.

And she's you know, she's been a great advocate for me.

So yeah, so all you gotta do, enjoy some pancakes.

You know, since the books come out, we've shifted things a little bit.

So if you end up with a book and you take a picture of the book and pancakes, then it counts as a double entry.

So it counts as two donations to the veterans clinic.

And then you have people that like do pictures with the book.

We've also allowed people to be creative because I've had some friends that are gluten-free, or they're like, I had one lady that says, Susan, I think to myself, her dad was a combat helicopter pilot.

He gave his life for this country.

I can eat a freaking pancake, but I just hate them.

And so I said, Well, I said, What about a kemchi pancake?

She said, Oh my god, I can get all over that.

So people were doing like kemchi pancakes, they were doing crepes, they were doing waffles, which we call pancakes with abs.

You know, I mean, it was just we really had a good time.

And then, and then we gave, you know, awards.

So we always do like the best overall, the most creative school spirit.

So we had like a junior national honor society that had a great big pancake breakfast for for the school.

And so they got the school spirit award.

So they ended up with the pizza party, which was kind of cool.

Yes.

Yeah, so it's just like, so you just have to take a picture with, you know, love it on your pancakes, and and we'll make a donation for the you know, in my dad's honor to the University of Missouri Veterans Clinic.

So, you know, if you eat pancakes, you're helping a vet.

So all you gotta do is take a picture, use the hashtag, and and you'll get credit for it.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and remind me one more time, what's the hashtag?

SPEAKER_01: Hashtag pancakes for Roger.

SPEAKER_00: Fantastic.

Fantastic.

Well, listen, I enjoyed talking to you, but more than anything, you've made me hungry.

I am ready for some pancakes myself.

So there you go.

But but listen, Susan, in the most sincere way possible, I want to thank you for the time that you've taken out of your busy day to be on the podcast to share the story of of you and your dad.

Oh, and that's turned into this beautiful book, this tribute to your father.

It means the world to me, and I just I sincerely thank you.

SPEAKER_01: And thank you so much, Kevin.

I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00: Fantastic, fantastic.

Well, for you listening, I can only hope that you have enjoyed today's interview with with Susan.

It's so remarkable.

Her and her dad's story together.

Uh if if you were like me, you were tearing up at parts and laughing out loud at others, and that's what's just so awesome about conversations here on Grit Grace and Inspiration.

Now it's your turn.

Get out there, have some pancakes for Roger, and go order the book at the same time.

And you heard it earlier, leave a review on Amazon.

She'll love you forever.

Perfect.

Hey, real quick before you go, I have one last thought to leave you with.

I of course hope that you've enjoyed today's episode, but more importantly, I want to remind you that I never want you to listen to an episode of this podcast.

Wow.

I wish I could like that.

I wish I could overcome my own challenges and do the great things that they are doing.

But I just can't.

Well, friend, that's where you're wrong.

You are capable.

You are able.

Darker are deserving of having all the information.

There's nothing special about I have on this podcast.

We are all just normal people trying to make it look like and so I encourage you to look at yourself in the mirror and remind yourself that you know what?

I can do it.

Now, of course, if you would like out along that way, reach out to a letter of the podcast, or if you'd like to work with me as a code.

My contact information is inside of every episode of show notes, just like this one.

So go down, check out my contact information, and reach out to me today.

With that said, I encourage you to take on the day every day.