Transcript of #629 - The Pursuit

Recently, I realized how much incredible drive it takes to be a small business owner, to create something here and want to see it thrive and see it through the little stair steps along the way. There's a company called Crippling Hot Sauce that I learned about. There's another called Chucker Cherries that I learned about. Right here in America, they're made. Right here in America, they evolve and grow. Business owners are built differently, and there's nothing more satisfying than your business keeping up with you. As your small business grows, Ship station can be there to help. Ship station centralizes your shipping tasks into one easy platform. It's simple. And their rate browser automatically finds you the best rates across more than 200 carriers at discounts up to 90 %. There's a reason why so many successful businesses use Ship station. Right now, you can upgrade to shipping software that does more than keep up with your business. Ship Ship station propels it forward. Start your 60-day free trial at shipstation. Com/theo. That's shipstation. Com/theo. We got a bunch of Vibe We got hats now on the website here. If you're looking for them, we got that two-tone, gang, gang hat, that orange camo, that all-mesh, that classic duck camo, rope hat, that bone camo, that femur fitty, boy, that's what's up.

And that nautical rope hat. If you want to get a hat, which is just a little apartment for your head, go on there, theovanstore. Com. If you don't need a hat, don't even worry about it. Thank you guys so much. Happy holidays. Lord, I got some things I need to say. Lord, I got some things I need to say. The studs Man, everybody saw that beautiful. They had a lesbian lady, and it was a little chocolatey lesbian out there, and she was helping people get to heaven. She is that Willy Wanker. She's that lesbian, Willy Wanka. She's helping people get to heaven, baby. Praise God. I loved seeing that. Play it up a little bit if we can show that.

Lord, I got some things I need to say.

Lord, I got You can't win. Okay, a truck went by right there. That's nothing, twin. You can't win. No. Say, You can't win. That's what's up, baby. And that's what's beautiful about the world. That's beautiful. Look at that. Lesbians helping people get to heaven. That's where we are. It's a lesbian heaven, baby. That's what it is. A thug holiday. It's December 2025. I'm grateful to sit here with you today and to have a moment of each other's I really am. And yeah, back in the day, were lesbians allowed to help people get to heaven? I would say no. You would see lesbians high-fiving each other. You would see lesbians They were unticklable. That was a thing you could tell if you tickled a woman and they didn't laugh, but they had just gotten a fade, a Boosy fade. Those were giveaways at the time, but now things are different. It just feels like there's things you want to yell at the heavens. I'll expound on that. I'll get into that a little bit. We're going to get some of you guys as calls. I'm happy to have this time. I know people, congratulations to anybody who's coming off a sober October.

I know there's that. There's no nut November, 40 fart, March, if anybody did that this year, which is pretty fun. People don't do it much, but it's trying to fart just 40 times in March. And Nighttime doesn't count. Nighttime doesn't count. You don't tally those. But what else? There's November where you don't shave or whatever for HIV or whatever. There's what 11 Shit June is another one. If you want to make your own Vietnam, baby, try an 11 Shit June. Try an 11 Shit June. This is not advice. We're just saying, these are things people do. I'm not telling anybody to go do it. Now, if you do an 11 SJ and you do If you do duties in the middle of the night, that counts. If you're night shitting or whatever, that counts. Those count. But yeah, people are challenging themselves in the world. It's good to know that we are still out there challenging ourselves as humans, as humans that exist. Congratulations to anybody that's been through any of those things this year. You start to wonder, you start to wonder, why does it feel like maybe our country is like we're losing or we're falling behind or as humans that we might be overtaken by robots.

Then you realize, oh, I know why, because we're doing an 11th Shit June. We're doing no nut November. That's what we're focusing on. Or like a 2000 step timber. Some people did I know, 2000-step timber, and that's crazy. We only do 2000 steps in that month. That's pretty cool. There's different ones out there. I'd love to know more of them. If you know some, drop those off in the hotline, 985-664-9503. Let me know some of the challenges that you and your friends have been putting yourselves through over time. But yeah, happy to be alive here still in America. One thing that I learned this year that I thought was interesting or that I that I listened about was Ken Burns when he came on. He was talking about the Declaration of Independence, and he was talking about the American Revolution. And he said that the Declaration of Independence was... It's definitive, but only as long as it's taken care of. It's not guaranteed throughout time that there's going to be in America or that these are the laws and the ways that things are going to be. I think I just always thought that America was guaranteed.

That's what I thought. I thought, Oh, well, America, yeah, it's guaranteed. This will always be here. Whether we say things are good in America or things are bad in America, it will always be there. And then you start to realize, well, that's not the truth. There's nothing that says America has to be there forever. As much as it would be hard for us to conceptualize it, that America disappearing or being taken over or renamed, basically, or having a merger is far fetched. It's not impossible because it's not a guaranteed thing. The Declaration of Independence, it's a hopeful letter to the future. It's almost like we look at the Declaration of Independence more like a receipt than like a worksheet. That's what I think of. Or just as America that way. I'm not trying to get real high-brow, like I know this is how we need to be or anything like that. I'm thinking of just how I have taken it for granted, just how it's like, this thing won't always be here unless we protect it. Now, what gets scary is when the America that we believe is one way starts to change, and then you're like, well, what am I protecting?

And I think that's also some of the place where we are right now. But yeah, I just was like, yeah, I've always just assumed America would be here, that it would be this steadfast thing. But that's not the truth. It's throughout time, places have changed and they've been overtaken and they've had different rulers from different places come in. I'm sure there's been a lot of places have been sold out from under their feet. I don't know, just thinking about that, not trying to get into a negative space about it, but just that having in America is an active thing. It's not a passive thing. That's scary. Then also, though, it's exciting because there is some challenge like, Okay, how do I contribute instead of just I assume. Those are just some stuff I'm thinking about. I've had a tough time keeping some of my thoughts organized recently. I'm just doing my best. What else have I been thinking about? I think I've been thinking about how much the person I would like to be in the person that I am and the distance between those two. How much do I really want to be the best version of myself?

I think I want to, but I guess, how much work do I want to put in? Here I am with all this gift of just being alive, right? Of being alive, of being able to exist in the universe. I can smell things. If somebody's I can smell it. I can make macaroni. I can go for a walk. I can look at my neighbor. Yeah, there's all these little things you can do that make you alive. Then it's like, I just get comfortable. I think I've just been thinking about, well, how much more am I willing to get more uncomfortable to see if I can be more. Just, yeah, to get to know myself more. Then am I afraid of something if I don't do that? There's practices in my dating life or my time scheduling or my organization, all All those types of things where I could be doing better, to have just better sense of integrity with myself. But sometimes I want to take the easy way out or I just want to do what feels good. I'm not being super hard on myself. I'm just thinking, I guess, how many times do I want to go in some of these patterns where I don't get a different outcome?

I guess I'm just thinking about that as the year ends and we're coming into a new year and then realistically challenging myself. Because I don't want to set myself up just for just for failure, and then I don't want to be too hard on myself. What are some realistic ways to challenge myself? I'm not looking for any self-pity or anything like that. I'm just thinking out loud. I fell into a weird spot in this show over the past few years where I used to just think out loud, and then I started fearing that a lot of it was self-pity. I'm just grateful to be thinking out loud. I'm grateful to have some time to time to think out loud. And I'm going to try to meditate more in the coming month, and that's going to help me have some more peace of mind. And that will give my brain a little bit more time to feel relaxed and to be able to have thoughts, be less reactive and more responsive, but not reactive. So I'm looking forward to that. Is any of this communication making sense, Trevin, today? Yeah, for sure. I mean, it even ties back to the Ken Burns episode.

I mean, in the Declaration, it's the pursuit of happiness. It's a pursuit. Oh, that's what they say in it. Yeah. It's the pursuit of happiness. It's like, yeah, America wasn't guaranteed, right? It's the pursuit of happiness. But it It's something that it's not guaranteed. It has to continually be achieved. And in the end, the revolution was by the people. And it has to be achieved by... Never before in America, as I felt like, that we have to be the ones to pick ourselves up, pick our neighbors up, and our friends up, and do better by ourselves and by each other, or just continue to do. Just continue to do, that this is a doing. I don't know. Maybe I'm seeming crazy, but that's some stuff that's been on my mind. Do you think anybody else thinks about that, Trevin? Definitely. I do every day. Thanks, man. Yeah. Thanks for helping me today, dude. I just feel like, yeah, it's just a lot, man. It's a lot. Yeah, man. Sometimes it's just a lot. Then it's also scary when you realize, shit, this shit isn't guaranteed. You're like, we've been walking around big backing with the American flag in my generation in my lifetime.

Like, damn, we've been out there big backing. We had Michael Jordan in there and went over there and beat the chopsticks off them dogs over there. In the dream team. You know what I'm saying? We've always been like America. But then you start to realize that a lot of the sports, all that's just the fun. That's the comfort food. The truth is just like, is this going to continue? Is this still going to be? Who's this going to be owned by? How is this going to be operated? Anyway, grateful to be able to think out loud. Thank you guys for listening to me. Thanks for being a part of this podcast. We got to be, and thanks, Trevon. I appreciate it, man. And congratulations, dude. We got to be on the podcast charts for Spotify. I want to thank everybody that helped us make the charts just by paying attention at all or listening or even looking at a social media thing or calling in, letting us be a part of your life and letting us be a part of our lives. I don't know. I feel sad all of a sudden for some reason.

Trying to think a while a little bit. Let me think. I think it feels a little bit scary. That's what I think it feels like to me. It feels a little scary thinking about what's going to happen, what could happen. Man, maybe I am getting paranoid. I agree. Also just got a new tooth, putting my tooth broke the other day, eating some popcorn on a Southwest flight. But yeah, I think I'm feeling just unsure. That's That's a lot of it. I think I'm feeling unsure about what the future looks like, and it used to feel more certain. That's spooky. It's spooky to feel some of that. Anyway, not trying to be a downer. I'm wearing this shirt today. Thank God I wore it. That just made me smile. Thank everybody that enjoyed the podcast or paid attention. I I can't believe that people absorbed so many different episodes. I'm thankful to Joe Rogan, who helped give me some suggestions over the past couple of years about podcasting. And just to be able to operate in a world where we get to talk. When I was a kid, I never had a voice. I didn't have a voice for myself.

I didn't have anybody teaching me how to have a voice or how to speak up for myself. I lived in a lot of fear and stuff like that. And so to just be in a place, even if it's just like, damn, this honky is loud. I got some things I need to say. I can't even believe that that was a turn of event in my… That that was a little… Just making any type of chart where your voice is involved for one minute in time. What happens when your health becomes the punchline? That's where we are from seed oils to stress, toxins to pollutants. The modern world is screwing with our health at the cellular level, leading to exhaustion, brain fog, digestive issues, and more. But here's the thing, you don't have to settle for feeling like garbage 24/7. Armra Colostrum is nature's original health hack. Packed with over 400 bioactive nutrients that fortify gut integrity, strengthen immunity, revitalize hair growth, fuel, stamina, elevate, focus, and help you function like a human again. I use Armra Colostrum. I get me a shake, I put it together, bam. Hit it with that packet of Armra. We've worked out a special offer for our audience receive 15% off your first order, go to tryarmra.

Com/thio, or enter Theo to get 15% off your first order. That's T-R-Y-A-R-M-R-A. Com/thio, tryarmra. Com/thio. These days, managing your finances, it's a job of its own. It's crazy. You're like, I don't know. Where is it? What's it connected to? How I'm paying for what? You open your door, you get an umbrella subscription. I got 40 umbrella's here. Hadn't rained in a month. Rocket Money can help. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps you find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. I just spoke with their CEO the other day. We had a great conversation about what they're doing to help help people save. Rocket Money has saved users over two and a half billion dollars, including over 880 million in canceled subscriptions alone. Their 10 million members save up to $740 a year when They use all of the app's premium features. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to rocketmoney. Com/theot. Com today. I fully recommend this product. That's rocketmoney. Com/theo. Rocketmoney. Com/theo. I can't believe that we get to do this. Thank all the producers that we have.

There's a lot We posted them onto Facebook. We'll run their names at the end of this episode today. Thank you to our producers currently, Trevon, nick, Zack, Power is our lead producer, Andrew Baxter, nick Davis, Trevon Steggall, So how did you say your last name, Trevon? Stegl. Damn. Fuck, dude. So we still have a lot to learn here, guys. That's what I'm saying. Trevon Stegl. Thank you so much, dude. Yeah, I can't even believe that. Can you believe that? It was crazy.

I can't.

I mean, that's crazy. I'm not saying next year we'll be back into... We'll be the 11,000th podcast, and in two years, we'll be out of business. But it's just funny, man. I just cannot even believe that. That is crazy to me. But just thanks for paying attention. Or not for paying, just, I don't know. Thanks for fucking around with this. Thanks for letting us just bother you. That's what I mean. I honestly mean that. That's what I mean. Thanks for letting us bother you a little bit. All right, let's get into some calls here. Here we go. It's a different time now. We need lesbians to get into heaven, man. That's the thing. Everybody now, we all got to pull our weight. We all need... Even lesbians, we all need lesbians to get into heaven. Lesbians are helping people get into heaven. So obviously, you know.

Hey, Theo. I just wanted to call. I wanted to ask you, man. I got a best friend. He has a problem. He's in love with lesbians. All of his girls that he falls in love with turn out to be lesbians. We need some advice of how he can break through, how he can convert these girls. I just want to know if you got any advice on that, brother.

Wow. How to bring a lesbian back, huh? How to bring a stud back out of the solar system and get them right here, boots on the ground. I think your buddy, and I've seen this before, and it's the only reason I'm saying this, I I had a friend, and I think we could still be friends. We haven't seen each other in a long time. But anyway, he really was homosexual. He was homosexual. And But he would try to date gay women because he was afraid to just date homosexual men. So it wasn't cool. It's like, if you were just trying to get the... Because the truth is, he's trying to get these women that are like men. He's trying to get them to be full men. And he would try to make them get jobs with UPS or whatever, do that shit, to try to get them all the way over there. But now No matter how many hours you work for UPS or you work at the post office or whatever, you ain't going to Sprout a Wiener. That shit is just... That's facts. So that was the shit that he was trying to do.

And we didn't realize it at first. We're just like, damn, he likes these tough women. He likes these women. One of his chicks would wear a fucking neck brace for no reason. You know what I'm saying? That bitch was a... She looked like a damn PEZ dispenser over there. She did drywall. But anyway, the truth was, he was trying to convert these women over to men. I think your buddy could be homosexual, buddy. I would sit your buddy down and I'd see if he's gay. Is he gay? Is your buddy gay? But after he's done deciding if he likes men or women, tell him to fucking get his shit together and help this country out. That's all I'm telling him. After he's done deciding if he likes these... Because a lot of these lesbian women, they got that long putty on them. You know what I'm saying, boy. A lot of them, they'll stand there just at night, just straining as hard as they can, just trying to launch that clam, just trying to elongate that sea lamb, baby. A lot of them just trying to strain so much, they just sprout a heck. But who knows?

I think I wish them well out there, brother. Praise God. Let's hear more What do you think, Trevon? Is that fair to say to those guys? I think definitely if he wants a real challenge, there's bigger fish to fry. Yeah. You're trying to convert a lesbian. Don't mess that lady up like that. Just go either get a straight woman or get a gay man. But don't sit here standing on both sides of the fence. You're ruining other people's shit. You out here, you're talking to a girl with a boosty fade and a ball cap over there and a Texas Rangers hat and a wife beat her or whatever, and she's tapped her nipples down or whatever. Chill out, man. She drew hair on her chest between her tits. And you're trying to say, Let me buy you a Let me buy you some oven mitts or something. Don't do that shit. Get out there and get what you really want, which is a man. Get that little Christmas wiener, baby. Get that baby antler. You know what I'm saying? That kink. You out here pretending wasting these lesbians' times. Don't waste these lesbians' times because we need them right now.

They're helping us get into heaven. It's all hands on deck, baby. It's Blacks versus drones, baby. Let's go. What else do we have? We We got another call that came in right here.

Yo, Phil Vaughn. My name is Patrick.

What's up, Patrick? Good to hear from you, brother. Thank you for calling.

I live in Washington.

Illinois. Oh, you live in Washington, Illinois? Dude, my friend Cory used to live there. He was in the Pipefitters Union, dude. He might still be in it. I'm not going to text him. Okay, onward.

I need some advice, I want to ask this girl for her number, but I ain't ever really talked to her that much. We talked a little bit, but not that much. And low-key, we got three lunch hours at our school, and I don't know what one she's switching to next semester after Christmas break. So can you give me some advice to get her a number before Christmas break?

I mean, dude, they Were you trying to get... I remember that stuff. Were you trying to get a girl's number at school? That's hard, bro. God, because the nerves, dude, my nerves were so high during school, I couldn't even do anything. Dude, every time I even saw a girl, I had to go to the office and get ice on my head. Dude, if I tried to ask a girl to a dance or whatever, I would just wake up in the lobby or whatever, covered in ice or whatever, eight bags of ice. They'd have me justiced out, bro. I look like I'm two chains out there running a fever, though, dude. It was just, dude, I did... Yeah. Dude, if I even wrote check yes or no on a piece of paper, I'd fall out my chair like one of those little Joe Rogan baby videos. So, dude, I don't have any advice. Are you kidding, bro? What are you even talking about, dude? I couldn't do shit. You haven't heard any of these podcasts, bro? I got nothing, though. You think I got advice for you? Dude, I don't have a woman. You think I can help you get somebody?

And I will say this, though, dude. There's nothing better than talking to the girl and win or lose because you walk off and you're like, Yup, at least I tried, bro. That's American shit. That's American shit, bro. Dude, just say, Hey, give me half your number. Don't even put it Call on her. Give me half your number, because that's even easier. Because here's the thing, if she wants you to have all of it, she'll make sure you get the rest of it. Say, Hey, give me half your number, and then give her an envelope or something with your address on it for the mail, put the stamps on it, and say, Look, if you want me to have the other half, send me that big. Then at least you got some excitement coming. You got Santa sending you something. Christmas means something right there. That's something, dude. But yeah, dude, I remember I asked some girl to a dance one time. She said, Yes. I was high on mushrooms. I will admit that. But I got so excited right when she said, Yes. I ran through this party of children, outdoors, Ran, jumped over a chain link fence, cut my hand and stomach opened.

Had to go emergency room, ambulance, everything. So, yeah, dude, you got the wrong guy, bro. But I love that, bro. And, yeah, you fuck. Dude, you get over there and you say, Look, I would love to have one number of your phone number. Just start there. Don't ask for the whole number, bro. Don't be greedy, bro. Get one number. See what happened, bro. You know what I'm saying? Leave room for God to work. Praise God, brother. Good luck out there. What do you think, Trevin? That's fair?

He's got to pursue it, bro. Pursue the happiness.

Yeah, you got to pursue. That's true. It's the pursuit of happiness. It's not guaranteed, bro. That's true. It's the pursuit. You're right, bro. Yeah, you got to get over there. Dude, I'm trying to think of what you could do. But you can't be crazy, dude. Look, if she's not interested, you can't make somebody interested. But you can just have a little bit of energy about you. Here we go right here. Happy holidays to everybody and Merry Christmas. The hotline is always 985-664-9503.

Hey, Theo. My name's Casey.

What's up, Casey? Thanks for calling. I'm drinking a little Celsius.

I'm a fan. I've been listening for a long time. I'm a little drunk right now, which is the only reason I called in. Just want to let you know, I just listened to your episode where you were talking about garlic bread. It's the best. I love garlic bread so much. I can't even tell you how much I freaking love garlic bread. But even more than that, I love you. I love garlic bread, and I love you. Just wanted to let you know you're the best. Keep doing what you're doing. Don't ever stop. Love you. I love garlic bread and I love you.

Dang, that girl's Italian, boy. I love Wow. That garlic bread, that shit is good, bro. When that shit gets hard at the edges, bro, and it turns up a little, because you start that bit flat, right? That garlic bread, man. You know what I'm saying, man? And you put that at the end, it turns up like the edges are trying to get into the middle. That's what's up. I'm like, damn. Maybe, girl, let's like that. I'm going to leave the window open for you. But yeah, that woman's Italian. All right. Thank you for calling. Thank you for liking garlic bread. I like it, and I'm glad that I like it. All right, what else we got here?

Hey, Theo. It's Colin. Hey, man. It's December first right now. And it's supposed to be the holidays where everyone's all happy and shit, but man, every year, this time of year is the worst for me. Everyone's supposed to be happy during Christmas, and I'm just sitting there trying to just pretend to be happy. But it's tough. I don't know. I got my birthday this month, too. Everything is supposed to be good. But It's always just a rough time of year. I was curious if you ever dealt with that or had any advice. Appreciate you. Yeah, man.

Thanks for the call. Was it Dylan? Was it him?

Hey, Theo. It's Colin.

Colin, sorry. Yeah, dude. Dude, there's sometimes when I get on here to do this podcast where I am not as happy as I… This is the This is me. Not maximum of happiness, but there's times where I sit down and I think about stuff, and sometimes I don't want to be happy. I want to either I want to be more earnest or I want to share things that I'm scared of or fear. I think there's times like that. There's times where I feel some responsibility like, Oh, I can't. I can't have people listen in, and they're listening to some guy be sad. That's shitty. What's even going on then? Not in a heavy way, but yeah, it's like... Yeah, I mean, sometimes I'm scared. I'm scared I'm scared if everything's going to be okay. That's a big fear that's always with me. I don't even know where it came from. It's been there my whole life. Is everything going to be okay? Think about that fear. I'm just thinking about it out loud. I've never really even thought about it. What an insane fear. I've had it since I was a kid. Is everything going to be okay?

I've never said it vocally out like this before. That's the That's an impossible thing for somebody to carry around that's realistic, right? Of course, everything isn't going to be okay. But to think that there's some kid that as a kid or as a young man, I was walking with that all the time, and then it still sometimes it's like a beat of sweat that shows up on the shower door of my brain sometimes. Yeah, is everything going to be okay? Fuck, no, it's not. Some things will, but it just... That weird feeling, that's something that's like, Oh, I have to do something. What do I need to do? That's always been something that's a thing that's one of my repetitive things. What do I have to do? If people are over and I was like, It's too hot, it's too cold. I'm staying. Are you hot or cold? Fifty seconds later, I'm like, Hey. I know we've been talking for another minute or two. Are you getting any hotter or colder? It's like, I can't. It's tough for me to let things be. It's tough for me to let things be. It's tough for me not to take an action to do something because that's scary.

It's scary for me. If I let things be, then it's out of my control. And that's scary. The truth is, though, a lot of it's so much of it's out of my control anyway. So much of it's out of my control. I think it's turning that over that. If I can, and I'm not pestering myself, But if I could get more comfortable with when that feeling comes up of like, Okay, I need to do something. I need to say something. I need to ask somebody if they're hot or cold. If I could be like, God's got this. I'm just going to have faith that everything's okay. I'm just going to have faith that everything's okay. If I could just lean into some more of those moments of just, I don't have to affect this. Anyway, I'm talking about me, man. Let me listen to your question again so I can try to talk about you. I'm sorry. I'm sitting there talking about myself. Jesus.

Everyone's supposed to be happy during Christmas, and I'm just sitting there trying to just pretend to be happy, but it's tough. I got my birthday this month, too. Everything is supposed to be good, but it's always It's just a rough time of year. I was curious if you ever dealt with that or had any advice. Appreciate you.

I think it's an okay time to take a nap. First, let me say that. It's an okay time not to fight the wars that are out there. It's an okay time not to hit some man or woman who's dressed up like an elf on a lime scooter or whatever who's been drinking. It's an okay not to hit them with your car. It's an okay time not to in too much of the crazy stuff. I mean, this is a time of year when a lot of animals go hibernate. A lot of animals go hibernate. Even the sun isn't even out that long. For us to be like, Hey, it's a lot. It's going against nature. I think it's okay to take some time for yourself and not feel the overwhelming sense of I have to do everything. Like earlier today, I was like, Oh, people are probably going to Christmas parties. Nobody's going to He's invited me to any Christmas parties, right? I was thinking of that. My mom invited me to a Christmas party at her house, and my friend Bo invited me to a Christmas party with his family around Christmas, but I hadn't gotten invited to anything.

I'm home, it's before Christmas, blah, blah, blah. That's okay. But I need to just be like, Hey, this is a great time for me to read, to work on my step work that I'm going through again, to to enjoy some time with myself, not to feel that FOMO, not to feel this overwhelming sense of like, Well, let me control. I wonder why I don't feel at peace very much because I don't let myself be at peace very much. But for your instance, sorry, I'm still fucking talking about me, dude. Bro, stop. But I think there's two sides to this. I was talking to my friend Chris today, and he was saying he was feeling down. I noticed this. If I do those things, I can isolate during the holidays as well, and that's not good. During Thanksgiving, I showed up to my family, and I didn't have the best attitude. I knew in my head what was going on. There were moments I was able to work through it and show up and do okay. I think I I wanted to spend some alone time with my mom. I didn't get that. When things weren't going exactly the way I wanted them, this side of me comes out that's...

You know what? I'll cut myself off from people. It'll be like, Oh, things aren't perfect here right now, then I'm not going to apply myself to this situation. I'm going to cut my emotions, my feelings. I'm going to keep everything away from you. Things aren't exactly the way I want them. I'm going to keep myself from you. And really, I'm just hurting myself. But also, I can be not helping the environment around me. But that's been a thing of mine over the years, I realized. A way that I'll try to hurt somebody's feelings is I'll try to keep my love away from them, which is crazy to say out loud, I think. I don't know exactly what I mean by it, but I've noticed it at times. Like, Oh, this isn't the way I want it, then you're not going to get any of me. I can know what I'm saying, but part of me doesn't know exactly what I'm saying. But does it make any sense, Trevor, you think?

Yeah, It's just like you close off.

Yeah, I'll close off. Sometimes I'll only be home for a certain amount of time or I'll only be around family a certain amount of time. So there's not a ton of time for really us to have time together. Even in those moments, it's like I'll I'm going to shut down here. I can tend to get that way. But, brother, I think, yeah, don't expect too much out of the holidays. Try not to put too much pressure on yourself, but try to bring some joy to yourself. Go do something that finds you some joy. Do not isolate too much because you also can bring joy to other people. That's the worst part about when I shut down is what I'm really missing out on. It's not really me. It's just like, if I show up in a good mood, I can help somebody else have a nice time. Maybe I can play with the baby, or I can see my friend's dog, or I can tell my sister she has a nice shirt or that she looks pretty, or I can do little things. I can sit and play a game. I can do something. I can talk to someone else at the family get together that I don't know.

It's like if I don't shut down, if I don't get in that selfish way, then I can just be a part of what is of the best situation. Not for me, but just what's the best possible outcome. Is it I just try to show up with a smile on my face. How can I help? But, yeah, sometimes you have to pretend to be happy, man. Here's the thing, you pretend to be happy, eventually you will be. That's the craziest part. You pretend to be happy, eventually you will be. Yeah, I think I think if you do it, you will... Actions first. People think you have to think it first. No. You can't think yourself into right actions, but you can act yourself into right thinkings. Can you look that up for me on Perplexity, please? Who is one of our sponsors? Thank you, Perplexity, for helping us figure stuff out. Yeah, many people can act themselves in a good thinking because behavior often reshapes beliefs, emotions, and self-image over time. Yeah, I think it's like, you don't have to pretend that everybody's happy. Maybe you're not the happiest guy. You don't have to be Santa.

You could be one of his elves that smokes behind the woodshop. You don't have to the best guy. What about go watch Bad Santa? Just do a gateway package into some holiday vibes. Watch Miracle on 34 street, but then watch Nightmare on Elm Street. You know what I'm saying? You can do both. You can do... You know what I'm saying? There's a mix of everything out there. But I do believe that if you show up and you find a place to show up that feels comfortable to you, to your birthday, whoever invites you over for your birthday or if somebody calls you, if you try to show up with the best part to you, even if you have to pretend, that I think the best part to you will meet those pretendings halfway. I believe that. I don't know if that makes any sense, But yeah, I think you can act your way into feeling better. But you don't have to, dude. Yeah, Christmas gets on a lot of people's nerves, especially this time of year. It's hectic. There's so many things to do. So don't be hard on yourself. Don't over-isolate. It's a balance.

I think everything is. But yeah, I appreciate you calling, dude. I appreciate you because, yeah, it's like, fuck, sometimes we all have to pretend to be happy. But I think that's a lot of things. I have friends in marriages that tell me, it's like, dude, every day you wake up, you don't want to be married. But on some of those days, you just pretend that you want to be married. Then you get to the days where you do want to be. I don't know. I know I've just rambled a lot about me and I didn't help you at all. Not that I was trying to help you or that. I don't know shit. Look at me. But, fuck, dude. What are we going to do about America? That's a big question. But blessings to you, dude. Happy holidays. Yeah, thanks for just being here and letting me think with the out loud. Love you, brother. I'm going to send you a birthday present. We'll reach out and send you a birthday present. Yeah, I hope if you don't join a bunch of other people and feel great there, that we can find ways to feel great with ourselves.

Good enough. That's the even crazier trick. It's like, because sometimes I'm using going out to see people and do things just to get away from myself, which is crazy, just to get away from those moments where it's me and me standing there in the living room of my head. This episode is sponsored by Better Help. The holidays are a time of traditions. Some people have many in their family, and some have none, or they're just beginning their own. Now is the time to reflect on what they mean to you or to rewrite those traditions and make them your own. Incorporating therapy into your new or existing traditions can help ensure you take time for yourself during what can be a very joyful but sometimes hectic and lonely time of year. One tradition we have in my family is verbal altercations and leaving family events early and crying in our vehicles. That's something we like to do. What are yours? Well, better help can help. Better help therapists work according to a strict code of conduct and are fully licensed in the US. With over 30,000 therapists, Betterhelp is one of the world's largest online therapy platforms, having served over 5 million people globally.

This December, start a new tradition by taking care of you. Our listeners get 10% off at betterhelp. Com/theo. That's betterhelp. Com/theo. What's another call? You want to pick one-off here, Trevon, that you like? There's a couple of them. We get a list, usually, of calls here.

What about a follow-up on Twins, advice for Twins from the Baby Me episode?

Oh, that's a great call. That's a great call. Good call. Yeah, that's a great idea because we just had somebody call in who was having twins, and I don't believe in them, but this person has some twin advice. Here we go.

Yeah, my name is Michael from Indianapolis. I'm calling in in hopes to respond to Cage. He called in on your last solo episode about having twins and needing some advice. I guess now this can go to Cage and Reilly Mel. Congratulations to all you all, man. Kids are rough, man. They're the best hell that you could ever willingly put yourself through.

Wow. The best hell you could willingly put yourself through. That's a beautiful statement. Let's hear more. Thank you so much.

And I mean that. They're also the most rewarding thing that you could ever do, and you You just got to, if I could ever give anybody some advice, man, it is just that you got to take care of yourself. The lady has to take care of herself. You got to take care of each other. Can't pour from an empty cup. So if you don't take care of yourself, you can't take care of her. She don't take care of herself, she can't take care You got to take care of yourselves. You can't take care of each other. In turn, you can't take care of your kids. But I am serious. You guys have to take care of yourselves. That's the main thing, man. You got to take some adult time. Be there, be a dad, be a mom, be active, be present. But, man, if you got parents that won't mind watching the kid overnight, one time, take advantage of that, man. Go party, go make some crazy decisions. As long as you can go to work Monday, clock in and be a dad again, then take care of yourself, man. That's My biggest advice.

Amen. Yeah, that's true. So now we're like, Yeah, how much? How can I do all these things? I show up to fix a car with no tools because I ain't taking care of my own shit. I'm over there pretending just making a note, using my hand, just making a wrench noise while I use it. Take care of yourself first, and you can take care of those twins. I love that. Here's another one right here. Let's see what came in.

Hey, Theo. This is Cody from Florida.

Hey, Cody. Thanks for calling, brother. How are you today? Onward?

I just heard you're big on the topics with having a porn addiction and being an alcoholic. I know you did the 12-step program And honestly, man, those two things are the biggest problems in my life. I just had my girlfriend over a year break up with me because of a porn addiction, which that is just so embarrassing. I can't even think of myself as a normal person anymore. I feel so embarrassed. I feel such a weak man. And the alcohol I want to know what you did to help yourself with both of those addictions, mainly the porn addiction, to be honest. That's so embarrassing to say.

Hey, brother, thanks for ringing us up here. The only things I know that have helped me with any type of addiction are 12-step recovery programs. I know some people use different programs or different things. People have used rehab, detox. I know that some people need those sorts of things. I've used some short-term rehab. I've not had to use long-term rehab or detox in my life yet. Those are the things that I know. There's SLA meetings, sex and Love Addiction online, that you can find, and you can just attend on Zoom. There are great places to start, and local AA meetings. I would go to three meetings, three different ones, until you see what you think about it. But those programs I know work. There's It's a lifelong cure. It's a daily reprieve, and it works if you work it. I believe those things, and it will get better. It will get It's better if you go and work on it. Yeah, nothing changes. If nothing changes, we've talked about that before. That's the truth. I thought things would change in my life. I'll just grow out of it. This will happen or this person, someone will come along, I'll move somewhere in this.

No. More often than not, none of those I'm not saying never. For me. But I'm sorry that you're dealing with that loss. But also, in a way, I'm glad that you are realizing this and you can get a hold of it now because there's no time like the present, man. And what a great gift to ourselves to try and take care of ourselves better. So amen to you, brother. I love you. And thanks for calling and letting us think about that. Let's do this call right here. It might be time to get on out of here. I know this episode maybe was a little bit heavy. Was this episode too heavy, Travis?

I don't think so.

We got there. Okay. Yeah, my nervous system is getting a little bit burnt out. Here we go.

Hi, Theo. I'm calling from Ohio, and I just want to let you know I have reached one year sober. It has been the worst ride possible, but I finally did it. And I'm just calling to let you know you have been a huge part of my journey in every way possible. I remember being just fucked up on drugs and alcohol watching your show. And now I watch your show sober without fucking drugs and alcohol, and I still laugh like I used to. It is the best thing ever. So I just wanted to say thank Thank you. If you have any advice for the other people that are trying to get sober? Just spread the love and keep going. Thank you, Theo. Bye.

Amen. Congratulations. That's awesome. Thanks so much for sharing that message. I feel lucky to be part of a podcast that we're able to even talk about that stuff, that you're able to call in and share that message. And congratulations. One year That's crazy. That's beautiful. Shit, your voice was so loud in the beginning. Hi, Theo. It almost got on my damn nerves. I thought, crazy it was. I'm like, dang, she's doing so good. She's lit up, lit up by the Lord and the feelings of self-worth. That is beautiful to hear around this time of year and anytime. You hear somebody feel proud of themselves. That's beautiful. I'm glad that this show could just be a part of something. That's one of the things that makes me so lucky. Even just being a part of this show, it's like, what could God use us to do if we put ourselves in the best situation? Can I meet God halfway? I know we've I talked about that a little bit before. And not that God isn't all the way. I know he's all the way there, but I'm just saying, yeah, just the beauty of what God can use all of us for if we make ourselves an available tool.

But, man, what a time of year to... I know this was a lot of thinking about me this episode. I'm sorry about that. Look at that guy on that shirt, that little rickshaw donkey right there. That little fucking lesbian school teacher. I love him, boobie. Yeah, We're here. We're here. We're alive. We got a shot. We got a shot. We can figure it out. We can't do it alone. What did I start talking about? What things do we want to... If I wanted to yell, if I wanted to just say something to the heavens, maybe that's it. Just like, Man, what could I be used for if I can just let me be... I don't know. What could I be used for if I... Maybe it's just if I just ask God. That's one of the morning prayers that is part of my routine right now. It's just asking God to use me and build with me as thou wilt. But yeah, there's so much out there. There's so much out there. Anyway, I don't know if I've... Did we cover everything you think, Trevin? Are we okay?

Yeah, we're good.

Okay, man. Thank you so much for your help this year, Trevin.

Anytime.

We do our best. We're trying. It's just another day, right? We don't have to save the world today. That feels good. Doesn't it feel good to know that? Who knows? I love you guys. Thanks for being a part of the podcast today. Thanks for your calls. As always, the hotline, 985-664-9503. Congratulations to the young lady getting a year sober, to the guy who's birthday is coming up. We love you, bro. Enjoy your holidays. Make them enjoyable for you somehow. In the end, it's somewhat our responsibility to find joy. Anyway, I'm getting chatty. Love you guys. You guys be good to yourselves. You deserve it. Thank you so much for helping with the Jersey auction. We raised almost $40,000 to go to the Cumberland Heights Recovery Center. It's going to help subsidize recovery for individuals over there and for the show with Mike Row, where we were helping people buy stuff from their fellow Americans. Anyway, whatever. All right. You guys have a wonderful one. And love you guys. And talk to you later. Bye. Now, I'm just floating on the breeze and I feel I'm falling like these leaves.

I must be cornerstone.

Oh, but when I reach that ground, I'll share this peace of mind I found I can feel it in my bones.

But it's going to take.