1 00:00:00,020 --> 00:00:04,500 I think we should all do that kind of thing, is be a little more positive. 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:10,360 And if you want to extend it, you could be more positive to your friends, too. 3 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:15,420 So when you hear them say that in whatever environment, whether it's online 4 00:00:15,420 --> 00:00:20,840 or in person, just stop them and say, hey, you know what you just said is not true. You're fine. 5 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:25,180 There's nothing wrong with you. And just begin to have that conversation because 6 00:00:25,180 --> 00:00:27,520 people don't notice when they say these things. 7 00:00:29,100 --> 00:00:34,560 Hi, and welcome to 5 Random Questions, a show of unexpected questions and unfiltered answers. 8 00:00:34,900 --> 00:00:38,720 I'm your host, Danny Brown, and each week I'll be asking my guests 5 questions 9 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:40,500 created by a random question generator. 10 00:00:41,300 --> 00:00:43,900 The guests have no idea what the questions are, and neither do I, 11 00:00:44,100 --> 00:00:45,660 which means this could go either way. 12 00:00:45,980 --> 00:00:49,560 So sit back, relax, and let's dive into this week's episode. 13 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:54,880 Today's guest is Deb Brown. Deb is a dynamic, small-term advocate and community 14 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:58,460 development expert with extensive experience empowering rural communities. 15 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,880 Deb is also the author of From Possibilities to Reality. 16 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:07,380 Save your small term with these uniquely doable ideas, projects, and success stories. 17 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:11,760 A comprehensive workout filled with practical strategies and real-world examples 18 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:13,540 for small-town revitalization. 19 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:17,820 So, Deb, cuz, welcome to Five Random Questions. 20 00:01:18,540 --> 00:01:22,840 Thank you, and I'm so happy to be here. I'm super happy to have you here. 21 00:01:22,900 --> 00:01:25,860 And I mentioned cuz there. Obviously, we're not related, but we have this on. 22 00:01:25,940 --> 00:01:27,120 We've known each other for years now. 23 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,100 We've got this sort of ongoing, which I think you initiated, actually. 24 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,300 Probably. We've got the same initials, same last name, obviously. 25 00:01:33,300 --> 00:01:38,680 So there's a lot of, you know, a lot of overarching connection there, I feel. 26 00:01:39,140 --> 00:01:43,240 And because it's just like, it seems funny to say because to a guest on the podcast. 27 00:01:44,500 --> 00:01:48,420 And she's not really your cousin, but that's okay. You feel like a cousin, 28 00:01:48,580 --> 00:01:53,260 you know, we're in touch with each other, follow what each other's doing. 29 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,660 You know, like cousins would do. We just don't get together very often in person. 30 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:03,500 Exactly. Which we should try and remedy in 2026. Good idea. And as I mentioned 31 00:02:03,500 --> 00:02:07,600 in your bio there in the introduction, obviously, you're a huge advocate for small towns. 32 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:13,780 And as someone who moved back in 2019 from a very large city to a small rural 33 00:02:13,780 --> 00:02:19,360 village in Ontario, Canada, I know myself the difference of mindset that we had to adopt as family. 34 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:22,560 So for you, because obviously you're very passionate about small towns, 35 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,820 what is it? And this isn't part of your random questions. I'm just really curious. 36 00:02:26,100 --> 00:02:29,500 What is about small towns in particular that makes you so passionate? 37 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:35,540 Well, I was born and raised on a farm in Iowa, and I'm just a rural advocate 38 00:02:35,540 --> 00:02:42,780 because I live there and I do the kind of work that involves making our rural towns more powerful. 39 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:49,000 It's so great to know your neighbors, to be able to do things together. 40 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:52,720 There's good and bad to that, of course, but you got to look for the good, 41 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:58,440 right? And most small towns are close enough to a larger city that you can still 42 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:03,040 experience those huge symphonies and those great art things. 43 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:08,340 There's benefits to both, right? But I'm going to tell you to live in a small 44 00:03:08,340 --> 00:03:12,600 town because you are a bigger fish in a smaller pond. 45 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:17,840 And you have the opportunity to be more involved and to make a difference in 46 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,180 the community that you live in much more than you do in a big city. 47 00:03:22,130 --> 00:03:25,630 I know when we first moved here, and like I say, it took us, 48 00:03:25,730 --> 00:03:27,130 we'd always lived in a big city. 49 00:03:27,330 --> 00:03:31,290 My wife and I lived in Toronto for a bit, and then a city just a little bit 50 00:03:31,290 --> 00:03:34,290 smaller than Toronto when the kids came along until they got a little bit older, 51 00:03:34,690 --> 00:03:37,150 which, you know, made us want to move to a quieter place. 52 00:03:37,550 --> 00:03:40,930 And we first moved up here, it was in the winter, so it was like completely 53 00:03:40,930 --> 00:03:42,350 unexpected for us, really cold. 54 00:03:42,910 --> 00:03:48,350 But one of the neighbours on Christmas Eve went round the whole village, 55 00:03:48,750 --> 00:03:51,970 handing out a homemade putty jam, which I thought was amazing. 56 00:03:52,390 --> 00:03:55,170 And she does that every year now you know we expect to see 57 00:03:55,170 --> 00:03:58,130 sharon now she'll come and sharon's amazing she's like so 58 00:03:58,130 --> 00:04:00,990 community minded as well um if someone's got an accident 59 00:04:00,990 --> 00:04:04,030 she'll take care of the yard or more you know below the 60 00:04:04,030 --> 00:04:06,870 snow all that kind of stuff so yeah it feels like 61 00:04:06,870 --> 00:04:09,750 there's um and like you say there's good and bad but it feels like 62 00:04:09,750 --> 00:04:12,730 there's a you have to look out for each other in a small term because 63 00:04:12,730 --> 00:04:15,890 you're you can you can't be cut off i guess at times yeah you 64 00:04:15,890 --> 00:04:18,890 do and you know you have children and the 65 00:04:18,890 --> 00:04:21,710 opportunities for them to be more involved in their 66 00:04:21,710 --> 00:04:25,150 activities at school but also in the community are 67 00:04:25,150 --> 00:04:28,450 greater and it's safer 68 00:04:28,450 --> 00:04:32,110 generally small towns are safer than your bigger cities so 69 00:04:32,110 --> 00:04:35,550 you don't feel so bad telling the kids yeah go ahead and play with the neighbor 70 00:04:35,550 --> 00:04:41,090 across the street and worry about them being kidnapped right those things matter 71 00:04:41,090 --> 00:04:46,230 yeah and I agree that's one of the reasons we moved was you know the city we 72 00:04:46,230 --> 00:04:49,390 lived in felt safe but We knew that when two young kids. 73 00:04:50,270 --> 00:04:53,310 You know, we appreciate where we are now and they appreciate it now. 74 00:04:53,390 --> 00:04:55,910 They didn't at first, they hated it because we were taken away from their school 75 00:04:55,910 --> 00:04:56,570 friends and everything. 76 00:04:56,770 --> 00:05:01,770 But they're really, they're super glad where we live now to be like that because of that very reason. 77 00:05:02,530 --> 00:05:06,130 And speaking of very reasons, there's a very specific reason that you're on 78 00:05:06,130 --> 00:05:09,070 the show today. And that's to answer five random questions. 79 00:05:09,330 --> 00:05:13,030 So, Deb, are you ready for the random question generator to be brought up on 80 00:05:13,030 --> 00:05:15,250 screen? I am. I sure hope so. Yeah. 81 00:05:16,230 --> 00:05:19,010 Alrighty, let's have a look and bring it up for us. 82 00:05:20,530 --> 00:05:28,510 Okay. Here we go then, Deb. Question number one. If you're in a circus, what would your job be? 83 00:05:29,410 --> 00:05:33,090 Oh, I'd be in charge of marketing. In charge of marketing? 84 00:05:33,330 --> 00:05:37,090 Yep. I'd be in charge of marketing because I'm not going to play with lions 85 00:05:37,090 --> 00:05:40,290 or climb high ropes or swing from something. 86 00:05:40,850 --> 00:05:46,070 But I'm really pretty good at doing advance notice for small towns along the way. 87 00:05:46,250 --> 00:05:49,390 Circuses travel usually and everything. 88 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:55,160 People want to go, but they have to know about it. And, you know, 89 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:59,260 the old way in doing it, of course, is newspapers and press releases, that kind of thing. 90 00:05:59,460 --> 00:06:05,840 But there's so much more opportunity by using online tools to let people know 91 00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:09,020 about the things that you're doing and how they can participate. 92 00:06:09,620 --> 00:06:11,180 So, yeah, I'd be in charge of marketing. 93 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:17,340 And one of the things, I mean, we don't really see circuses where we live. 94 00:06:17,460 --> 00:06:21,720 Like I say, we're really rural. so it's probably too much effort to try to bring 95 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:24,520 that amount of equipment etc to us. 96 00:06:25,620 --> 00:06:29,320 There's towns nearby that have fairs but I don't think I've seen circus do you 97 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:30,920 think circuses are still, 98 00:06:31,940 --> 00:06:36,940 like a valid entertainment, if that's the right word entertainment thing with 99 00:06:36,940 --> 00:06:41,900 obviously there's the pushback about treatment of animals and you know how it's 100 00:06:41,900 --> 00:06:46,220 not quite for whatever reason not quite the thing it used to be maybe 10, 20, 101 00:06:46,380 --> 00:06:51,440 30 years ago I guess So the Cirque du Soleil has made a huge difference on how 102 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:53,000 people look at circuses. 103 00:06:53,140 --> 00:06:57,320 It's more acrobatics than it is animals, yet they're still animals. 104 00:06:57,900 --> 00:07:03,760 Barnum and Bailey are, I think, in Florida. They travel from the Midwest down to Florida till winter. 105 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:06,840 And I remember going to see them 106 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:09,920 from my little small town the folks took us to see 107 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:13,240 them along the way the trains going through I don't 108 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:20,320 know if they still do that or not but the masons and the different organizations 109 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:27,540 will often sponsor a small circus to help raise money for kids so for that yeah 110 00:07:27,540 --> 00:07:32,700 I think they're valuable and it is great entertainment it's you know always money right? 111 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:37,820 How can they pay for it? So that's the question to resolve. 112 00:07:38,850 --> 00:07:42,770 Yeah. And I think maybe, I don't know, I was probably a teen, 113 00:07:43,030 --> 00:07:45,590 I believe. I don't think our kids have ever been to a circus. 114 00:07:45,770 --> 00:07:49,790 That's how, you know, unusual it is, I guess. When the question popped up, 115 00:07:49,850 --> 00:07:51,210 they were thinking, oh, circuses, that's cool. 116 00:07:52,170 --> 00:07:55,530 It's unusual because I don't think our kids, our son's 15, our daughter's 13. 117 00:07:56,310 --> 00:07:59,830 And I don't think they've been to a circus, been to a zoo, and they've been 118 00:07:59,830 --> 00:08:03,310 to like wildlife resorts, but not a circus. 119 00:08:03,310 --> 00:08:07,190 And again, I don't know if that's because of where we live, or it's just, 120 00:08:07,330 --> 00:08:11,350 it's one of these things, like you say, it's changed so much now that what you 121 00:08:11,350 --> 00:08:15,810 might have thought of circuses back in the day isn't quite what would be expected today, right? 122 00:08:16,010 --> 00:08:20,390 And I don't know enough about how circuses are viewed in Canada. 123 00:08:20,590 --> 00:08:24,230 So now you've given me something to think about and go check out as well. 124 00:08:24,850 --> 00:08:27,450 I would imagine they still have them. 125 00:08:28,410 --> 00:08:32,230 Get your kids to a circus. Absolutely, if you can get close to one, right? 126 00:08:32,910 --> 00:08:35,870 Yeah yeah well and that's it i mean like i said i went to 127 00:08:35,870 --> 00:08:38,570 one when i was younger much younger than i am now a long time 128 00:08:38,570 --> 00:08:41,470 ago um and i did i really enjoyed it it was amazing it's 129 00:08:41,470 --> 00:08:44,650 like the sights the sounds the noises and going 130 00:08:44,650 --> 00:08:47,730 up to the animals afterwards you know meeting the people it was just really it 131 00:08:47,730 --> 00:08:50,630 was amazing so yeah it'd be great i know like our kids are 132 00:08:50,630 --> 00:08:53,730 my daughter especially so into animals 133 00:08:53,730 --> 00:08:56,550 and adventures and nature um i 134 00:08:56,550 --> 00:08:59,290 think she'd love it my son's a bit more techie and 135 00:08:59,290 --> 00:09:02,150 sports oriented so he might enjoy it less 136 00:09:02,150 --> 00:09:06,010 but I feel my daughter would have could you know find one like you say and you 137 00:09:06,010 --> 00:09:09,690 mentioned obviously because of you you wouldn't want to face on a lion or a 138 00:09:09,690 --> 00:09:13,550 tiger you wouldn't want to ride elephants or anything would you want to be maybe 139 00:09:13,550 --> 00:09:19,690 the person that shoots someone out the cannon no no you still don't trust yourself to. 140 00:09:22,570 --> 00:09:29,070 I'm opposed to using any kind of firearm personally. 141 00:09:29,750 --> 00:09:36,090 What people make on their own decisions about hunting or legal things is, 142 00:09:36,210 --> 00:09:37,010 you know, that's on them. 143 00:09:37,150 --> 00:09:39,330 It's just not something I would want to do. 144 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:43,520 Okay, well, that's fair enough. I mean, I know I'd like to, you know, 145 00:09:43,620 --> 00:09:47,320 there's some choice people I'd like to fire out a cannon, but I hear you on that. 146 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:52,120 So I feel that's a nice, easy way to ease into the five questions today, Deb. 147 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:56,620 So let's have a look and see what comes up for question number two. 148 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:00,560 Question two. Yeah, let's go with this one, Deb. Question two. 149 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:02,200 Do you ever talk to yourself? 150 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:07,600 And as a sort of bonus question to this, what do you say? All the time. 151 00:10:09,060 --> 00:10:14,700 Of course I do. I recently injured my arm by falling on it. 152 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:19,140 So now when I take the dog out for a walk, the first thing I say is, pick up your feet, Deb. 153 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:22,880 Pick up your feet, Deb. So I can't remember to pick them up. 154 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:27,620 And I do have a little chihuahua, Shirley. You may or may not hear her later. 155 00:10:28,180 --> 00:10:31,980 I now just talk to her, but I'm really talking to myself. 156 00:10:33,260 --> 00:10:41,100 You know, So we process so much negative talk to ourselves without even thinking about it. 157 00:10:41,140 --> 00:10:45,500 So I believe it's important to listen to the things that you do say to yourself 158 00:10:45,500 --> 00:10:49,460 and stop that negativity and just say, hey, no, no, you're okay. 159 00:10:49,740 --> 00:10:54,840 Like some women will look in the mirror and go, gosh, I'm fat. That's not good. 160 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:59,060 Look in the mirror and say, you know, I'm looking pretty good today, right? 161 00:11:00,060 --> 00:11:02,180 It does something to your brain 162 00:11:02,180 --> 00:11:06,580 when you focus on the positive and it's good for your health as well. 163 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:12,040 So, yeah, keep talking to yourself. I bet you do too. Oh, yeah, 164 00:11:12,220 --> 00:11:14,120 lots because no one will speak to me otherwise. 165 00:11:15,420 --> 00:11:20,300 Maybe we are related. No, just kidding. No, no, because of where we are. 166 00:11:20,780 --> 00:11:23,900 I work 100% remote. My wife does as well. The kids are at school, 167 00:11:24,020 --> 00:11:28,860 et cetera. So I think when I speak to myself, it's more about confirming that 168 00:11:28,860 --> 00:11:29,700 I've done something right. 169 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:34,200 So I've been doing something for work or whatever, or I've made a decision that 170 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:38,960 affects the kids and their opportunities to go to college down the years or 171 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:42,440 whatever that might look like. I think it's more about validation that I did 172 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:43,740 the right thing. Excellent. 173 00:11:44,060 --> 00:11:47,700 But it's an interesting point you raised about the positivity aspect, 174 00:11:47,700 --> 00:11:53,180 because it's easy, like online especially, it's easy to get sucked into toxic and negativity. 175 00:11:53,180 --> 00:11:56,560 In our traits and arguments and all that stuff, 176 00:11:57,180 --> 00:12:02,280 and that can take obviously an impact on us as people and if no one's telling 177 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:07,740 you positive things it can take you down a dark path and I think it's like you say, 178 00:12:07,900 --> 00:12:11,960 it's important but do you feel it's because we're so used to negativity and 179 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:15,320 people saying you must have something wrong with you if you're talking to yourself 180 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:20,320 do you think that puts us off being more open to personal inner dialogue? 181 00:12:21,560 --> 00:12:24,680 Well, I think age has something to do with it. 182 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:29,540 When I was in my 20s, you didn't talk to yourself because people thought you were crazy. 183 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:35,000 And then the advent of the cell phone, when we first started seeing people walking 184 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,780 down the street talking to themselves because they had earbuds in, right? 185 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:45,460 Everybody's like, who's he talking to? What? And that took a minute to get used to. 186 00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:50,780 So we're familiar with having conversations with other people. 187 00:12:50,780 --> 00:12:54,060 But it turns into conversations with yourself, right? 188 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:59,740 Facebook is notorious for having spammers or whatever. 189 00:13:00,020 --> 00:13:03,360 They want to stir the pot and talk about politics, for example. 190 00:13:03,780 --> 00:13:07,680 So I'll read a post and then I go right by it and I tell myself, 191 00:13:07,900 --> 00:13:11,740 look at that. You went right by it and you didn't respond to it. Good for you, Deb. 192 00:13:12,780 --> 00:13:16,760 Because I'd like to respond, but it doesn't do me any good. 193 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:22,180 So just giving myself a pat on the back helps me more than it helps anybody. 194 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:27,120 But I think we should all do that kind of thing, is be a little more positive. 195 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:32,200 And if you want to extend it, you could be more positive to your friends too. 196 00:13:32,580 --> 00:13:37,300 So when you hear them say that in whatever environment, whether it's online 197 00:13:37,300 --> 00:13:41,740 or in person, just stop them and say, hey, you know what you just said is not true. 198 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:44,440 You're fine. There's nothing wrong with you. 199 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:50,560 And just begin to have that conversation because people don't notice when they say these things. 200 00:13:51,900 --> 00:13:55,880 It's really true. I watched, there's a really good snippet, and I'll try to 201 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:58,060 find the link to it, like a YouTube video. 202 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:02,420 It's just like a short one, and I'll drop it in the show notes so listeners can check it out. 203 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:08,080 There's a basketball player, Nate Riggs, maybe, I think. I don't know. 204 00:14:08,180 --> 00:14:08,900 I don't know basketball. 205 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:13,380 His first name is Nate. But anyway, so seemingly this basketball player has 206 00:14:13,380 --> 00:14:16,560 a lot of people that don't like him for whatever reason. 207 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:22,700 So he was getting interviewed after a game and a female reporter asked him about the game. 208 00:14:22,820 --> 00:14:26,180 But the way she approached it was she was paying him compliments about what 209 00:14:26,180 --> 00:14:29,720 he was doing and how he was doing it, which was, you could tell he wasn't used 210 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:35,700 to hearing that because he sat up and his immediate attention was on the lady reporter. 211 00:14:36,380 --> 00:14:41,960 And it's like you say, I feel we get so much negativity thrown at us by the by. 212 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:46,040 When someone takes the time, like you just mentioned, Deb, about sending it 213 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:48,700 to your friends or even a professional athlete who you're talking to, 214 00:14:49,020 --> 00:14:53,520 when you put kindness and positivity out of the way, it does make them stop and take notice. 215 00:14:53,620 --> 00:14:56,620 And I feel that has been lost a little bit because of, you know, 216 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,860 we know negative news stories get all the clicks online, for example. 217 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:05,420 Yeah. And people like you and me that do work from home and we're alone often. Right. 218 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:09,840 It's very easy to get lost in that avenue 219 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:15,660 of negativity and not taking care of yourself you know learning positive thinking 220 00:15:15,660 --> 00:15:21,200 and and putting index cards around the house with something positive on it why 221 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:25,720 not because you have that's that's personal health you you want to take care 222 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:29,680 of your own health first and we we're not very good at that either. 223 00:15:30,460 --> 00:15:36,120 Yeah, no, I know we used to put little notes, little post-it notes in the kids' lunchboxes. 224 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:38,820 So they go to school and get just like a little message, like you say. 225 00:15:39,420 --> 00:15:41,800 And we stopped that when they got a bit older because they asked us to stop 226 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,960 it. But I feel that's, you know, just something like that, right? 227 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:48,940 It's just, it can make a big difference with like a tiny, it didn't take us, 228 00:15:48,980 --> 00:15:52,760 it took us, what, 10 seconds to write a little message and stick it in a lunchbox. 229 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:56,700 Put it on their mirror in the bathroom that they see when they wake up. 230 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:00,120 Don't stop it. stop you know they're embarrassed at school i 231 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:02,920 bet right god my dad put another note in 232 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:05,780 my lunchbox oh lord but in 233 00:16:05,780 --> 00:16:08,840 the bathroom at home it's a safe space that's true 234 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:11,980 that is true my daughter does love the bathroom she's like she's a 235 00:16:11,980 --> 00:16:14,800 competitive cheer athlete so she's in there a lot doing her makeup and 236 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:17,660 hair and getting ready for competitions etc so yeah i 237 00:16:17,660 --> 00:16:21,280 think i'll do that and i do like the the the 238 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:24,420 mindset of putting personal post-it notes as well deb um 239 00:16:24,420 --> 00:16:28,500 just for yourself because it's easy for us to get sucked into not feeling good 240 00:16:28,500 --> 00:16:32,580 about ourselves and just a reminder hey you know what you got up today and you 241 00:16:32,580 --> 00:16:37,340 made someone smile you know something like that i guess yeah those little tiny 242 00:16:37,340 --> 00:16:42,800 steps i talk about small steps all the time in my work but they're very important. 243 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:46,460 For ourselves but the people we share them with 244 00:16:46,460 --> 00:16:49,500 too it takes you nothing to make a 245 00:16:49,500 --> 00:16:52,880 comment or say hey you're looking great today um 246 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:55,720 i have been known if i see a woman with great 247 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:59,360 shoes i'll say man i like your shoes where'd you get them those 248 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:02,840 kind of thing i do it to strangers because i like her shoes and i want to know 249 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:07,900 where she got them not afraid to talk to anybody about anything but it creates 250 00:17:07,900 --> 00:17:14,440 a moment of relationship with someone that sends them off towards a better day 251 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:16,600 and it gives me an answer i wanted, 252 00:17:17,610 --> 00:17:21,330 Win-win. 100%. There's a really good YouTube channel. 253 00:17:21,550 --> 00:17:24,070 I'll try to find the link to that as well. And I'll send you. 254 00:17:24,170 --> 00:17:28,810 You'd really enjoy it, Deb, where people just drive by and they just shout out 255 00:17:28,810 --> 00:17:31,450 random compliments to strangers. 256 00:17:31,630 --> 00:17:34,810 Like say, hey, you, do you mind not being so handsome? Leave some for the rest 257 00:17:34,810 --> 00:17:37,570 of us and all that kind of stuff. It's just really nice. It's a really sweet. 258 00:17:37,770 --> 00:17:39,510 I would love to see that. Yes, please. 259 00:17:39,870 --> 00:17:42,670 So I will try to find that channel. I'll definitely send it over to you. 260 00:17:42,770 --> 00:17:46,830 And I think, yeah, that's a really nice, important message for question two. 261 00:17:46,830 --> 00:17:47,790 So I appreciate that, Deb. 262 00:17:47,910 --> 00:17:50,410 Thank you. I love your random generator. 263 00:17:51,670 --> 00:17:56,010 Well, speaking of random generator, let's have a look at question number three. 264 00:17:56,050 --> 00:17:59,810 And I'm curious about this one, knowing you as I do for the last few years. 265 00:18:00,010 --> 00:18:05,490 If you were asked to teach a class, question number three, what class would you teach? 266 00:18:06,210 --> 00:18:10,510 Okay, so work-related, I would teach how to fill empty buildings. 267 00:18:11,270 --> 00:18:16,270 It's something I'm asked about often. I've done a TEDx on it. 268 00:18:16,830 --> 00:18:22,470 I work with entrepreneurs and one of the things that they're great at is we 269 00:18:22,470 --> 00:18:28,530 want to get them out of their basements and garages into a small booth where 270 00:18:28,530 --> 00:18:30,450 they can test and try their idea out. 271 00:18:30,630 --> 00:18:33,110 And if you follow it directly. 272 00:18:33,650 --> 00:18:38,990 When you start small, that's an opportunity. So say I'm doing woodworking and 273 00:18:38,990 --> 00:18:44,290 making cool things. I am not going to go from my basement directly to an empty building. I'm just not. 274 00:18:44,490 --> 00:18:49,270 I mean, because that's $100,000 for the building and another $100,000 to fix it up. 275 00:18:49,390 --> 00:18:54,990 And it's insane the amount of money that you need to start a business in a brick and mortar building. 276 00:18:55,470 --> 00:19:00,850 And you haven't even built your market. You don't know if you have a product that people want. 277 00:19:01,530 --> 00:19:06,910 So taking small steps along the way is all that part of how to fill an empty building. 278 00:19:07,270 --> 00:19:12,310 And small towns are great at this because they have a lot of events and fairs 279 00:19:12,310 --> 00:19:17,830 and festivals where vendors can set up and sell their wares and try things out. 280 00:19:17,990 --> 00:19:22,390 So that's another small step. And then if you've found, hey, 281 00:19:22,510 --> 00:19:26,890 this is really working and people like my product, maybe you can go into a building 282 00:19:26,890 --> 00:19:31,650 with three or four other people and have a shared building opportunity. 283 00:19:32,090 --> 00:19:37,690 So there's a small town, Washington, Iowa. They took it. It was an old J.C. 284 00:19:37,830 --> 00:19:39,170 Penney's department store. 285 00:19:39,750 --> 00:19:42,830 And it's filled with all different kinds of vendors. 286 00:19:43,050 --> 00:19:47,870 And they have small tables. One woman makes jewelry and she only has a small table. 287 00:19:48,030 --> 00:19:51,130 That's her spot. there's a bookstore at the back 288 00:19:51,130 --> 00:19:54,230 whole wall for books for kids and 289 00:19:54,230 --> 00:19:57,450 it looks like just a store when you walk in with all this cool stuff 290 00:19:57,450 --> 00:20:02,950 right but it's a group of people that are trying out their ideas and seeing 291 00:20:02,950 --> 00:20:09,390 what works and being able to grow and many of those people have gone on then 292 00:20:09,390 --> 00:20:14,830 to get their own building and create their own larger building can you tell 293 00:20:14,830 --> 00:20:17,030 i get excited about filling empty buildings, right? 294 00:20:18,230 --> 00:20:23,930 And it works in cities too. It's not just small towns. That's something that works everywhere. 295 00:20:24,470 --> 00:20:27,850 So I'd be happy to teach that kind of thing. 296 00:20:28,310 --> 00:20:34,510 And I have learned that sharing stories and talking about what other communities 297 00:20:34,510 --> 00:20:42,030 have done is a much more valuable teaching opportunity than just lecturing and saying, 298 00:20:42,170 --> 00:20:44,710 if you do this, then you got to do that, then you got to do that. 299 00:20:44,890 --> 00:20:48,070 And you have no examples. You have no proof it's real. 300 00:20:48,230 --> 00:20:53,890 Where if you're sharing a story and pictures and making it interesting to listen 301 00:20:53,890 --> 00:20:58,990 to, now you've got a class that people want to take and want to do something 302 00:20:58,990 --> 00:21:00,630 when they get out on their own. 303 00:21:01,050 --> 00:21:04,790 Well, it's interesting as well, you mentioned that it can be done in cities. 304 00:21:05,030 --> 00:21:10,230 I mean, obviously, small towns are a perfect environment because supportive, 305 00:21:10,430 --> 00:21:13,730 like people know each other and want to help each other succeed. 306 00:21:13,730 --> 00:21:18,710 And when I think of, say, similar examples in a city, I might think of like 307 00:21:18,710 --> 00:21:23,330 co-working experiences like office sharing opportunities like that. 308 00:21:23,770 --> 00:21:28,630 But when you mention, you know, almost like a craft fair, almost. 309 00:21:29,070 --> 00:21:32,150 But different businesses coming together, different small businesses coming 310 00:21:32,150 --> 00:21:37,810 together in an empty building and now creating almost like a mall, like a mini mall. 311 00:21:37,810 --> 00:21:43,710 Do you feel it's like, obviously you're a bit biased because you're such a passionate 312 00:21:43,710 --> 00:21:45,350 advocate for small towns, 313 00:21:45,490 --> 00:21:50,470 but do you feel small towns have more options to do what you're mentioning about 314 00:21:50,470 --> 00:21:54,210 coming together as opposed to larger cities where it's more expensive, 315 00:21:54,370 --> 00:21:57,070 maybe people less willing to take risks, etc.? 316 00:21:57,410 --> 00:22:03,370 So I lived in Chicago about 25 years, so I'm very familiar with living in large cities. 317 00:22:03,750 --> 00:22:09,070 And our circle of influence, which is the number of people that will come to 318 00:22:09,070 --> 00:22:12,790 your funeral, is usually between 100 and 150 people. 319 00:22:13,010 --> 00:22:17,570 So think of those 100 people, how many are friends, and it might be only 20 320 00:22:17,570 --> 00:22:21,590 that you can count as friends. Not close friends, but friends. 321 00:22:21,990 --> 00:22:25,370 What if you brought all those people together and say, hey, you know, 322 00:22:25,510 --> 00:22:26,790 I know about this empty building. 323 00:22:26,790 --> 00:22:29,490 Um what can we do that what kind 324 00:22:29,490 --> 00:22:33,090 of businesses could all of us participate in you're able 325 00:22:33,090 --> 00:22:35,930 to do that in a big city too because you 326 00:22:35,930 --> 00:22:41,170 have that many contacts and people you know so don't don't don't let the idea 327 00:22:41,170 --> 00:22:46,870 of big cities being cold at least in chicago chicago is a group of neighborhoods 328 00:22:46,870 --> 00:22:53,410 all it's really a bunch of small towns all connected um so depending on which area you live in, 329 00:22:53,610 --> 00:22:55,710 that's something you can easily do. 330 00:22:55,890 --> 00:23:00,050 I know the, um, the Korean people that I remember in Chicago, 331 00:23:00,050 --> 00:23:04,990 they sponsor each other to come over and start their own businesses. 332 00:23:04,990 --> 00:23:09,710 So they often have two or three people in a building learning how to run a business, 333 00:23:10,090 --> 00:23:12,430 you know, from people that have already come over here. 334 00:23:12,590 --> 00:23:18,430 And then when it's their turn, they contribute to bring somebody else back over. So, um. 335 00:23:19,340 --> 00:23:25,180 I used to do that. I was just at Ellis Island. My grandparents came through in 1922. 336 00:23:25,740 --> 00:23:29,800 And it was, wow, what an experience, Ellis Island in New York City. 337 00:23:30,500 --> 00:23:34,060 I got to stand where they stood when they got off that boat. 338 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:41,920 And I got to see the ship manifest and their names and had this really cool feeling. 339 00:23:42,380 --> 00:23:45,880 And they were sponsored by a cousin out in Iowa. 340 00:23:46,540 --> 00:23:50,820 So a lot of the immigrants that came through, at least from Germany, 341 00:23:51,120 --> 00:23:54,400 had that same experience. Somebody sponsored them to come. 342 00:23:54,620 --> 00:23:58,940 You can do that kind of thing with the business, too, if you really think about it. 343 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:07,320 And then make sure that business is an experience. It's not just a room full of things for sale. 344 00:24:07,740 --> 00:24:12,460 Make sure people have fun and can explore and try products. 345 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:17,760 And if you're, my friend sells furniture for a living. He's got his own design 346 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:19,380 business and furniture store. 347 00:24:19,660 --> 00:24:24,740 But he also, every Christmas time, teaches people how to make Christmas wreaths. 348 00:24:25,260 --> 00:24:29,340 And he does that class twice a year. And his class is always full. 349 00:24:29,340 --> 00:24:32,540 He does it in his store because he sells Christmas products. 350 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:36,200 You know, and for $45, you get a wreath and you get a few products. 351 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:40,500 And if you want to buy more products from him, you can. Or if you want to bring 352 00:24:40,500 --> 00:24:42,060 yours from home, you can do that too. 353 00:24:42,820 --> 00:24:47,140 That's an experience that store owners can do more of. 354 00:24:47,660 --> 00:24:53,360 Boy, I just really went on a tangent, didn't I? No, no. And this is what I love about this show. 355 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:57,060 It's like it does go on different tangents because of the, you know, 356 00:24:57,060 --> 00:25:00,840 the questions that can arise that are generally not even attached to each other. 357 00:25:01,140 --> 00:25:04,680 So no, no, no, not at all. But it did make me think, and you kind of answered 358 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:10,320 it there as well, about having the experience in these empty buildings that are now not empty. 359 00:25:10,860 --> 00:25:15,780 As a quick little bonus follow-up to that question, let's say you can put four 360 00:25:15,780 --> 00:25:20,540 small businesses or four local businesses into an empty building that really 361 00:25:20,540 --> 00:25:24,220 complement the whole experience to anybody that's visiting that building now. 362 00:25:24,220 --> 00:25:27,420 What four it doesn't have to be names just the kind of businesses I guess what 363 00:25:27,420 --> 00:25:31,240 four would you choose maybe to really offer something cool. 364 00:25:32,140 --> 00:25:39,160 So, tell me the name of the size of the town we're working in, in our imaginary town. 365 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:42,320 All right, let's go with my little village, 800 families. So, 366 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:46,260 what's that, 3,000 people on average, maybe? Okay, so 800 families. 367 00:25:46,460 --> 00:25:49,080 And how many other businesses do you have downtown? 368 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:52,120 Do you have a downtown? Yeah, we don't really have a downtown. 369 00:25:52,300 --> 00:25:54,260 We've got a small little mini mart. 370 00:25:55,040 --> 00:26:00,520 We've got a little grocery store, like a local store, and then a little tiny 371 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:01,700 little restaurant, and that's it. 372 00:26:02,140 --> 00:26:04,080 Okay. Do you have an empty building? 373 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:09,860 We have the community hall, which is kind of... That's perfect. That's perfect. 374 00:26:10,260 --> 00:26:15,920 So we're in the holiday season right now, and you wouldn't start it right now. 375 00:26:16,020 --> 00:26:17,500 You'd start it for next year, right? 376 00:26:17,740 --> 00:26:20,420 So what's coming up? Valentine's Day. 377 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:27,400 So let's use the community hall from the middle of January to the middle of February, 378 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:33,500 every Friday and Saturday to give people to try out their ideas with product 379 00:26:33,500 --> 00:26:36,200 that is related to Valentine's Day. 380 00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:40,940 So you might want a hairdresser that also does nails and pedicures. 381 00:26:41,980 --> 00:26:49,020 You may wish to have clothing, someone that's making really cool clothing, either for men or women. 382 00:26:49,460 --> 00:26:53,520 Gift cards, that's another great one. Maybe an artist can be in there and one 383 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:57,500 of their products is gift cards and they might be able to teach you how to make 384 00:26:57,500 --> 00:27:00,340 your own gift card. That's a little workshop they can do. 385 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:08,760 And jewelry is always a big winner. Now, if you can find someone that's making jewelry, that's cool. 386 00:27:09,770 --> 00:27:14,450 Because they're making their own jewelry, right? And it's a one-of-a-kind thing. 387 00:27:14,810 --> 00:27:18,050 It's not mass-produced and it's not coming from China. 388 00:27:18,710 --> 00:27:21,750 It's coming from one of your neighbors that's doing cool things. 389 00:27:22,450 --> 00:27:28,470 Now, in your town, 800 people, there might be a high school student or two that 390 00:27:28,470 --> 00:27:31,070 have some ideas of what could go in there as well. 391 00:27:31,110 --> 00:27:34,770 And I would definitely talk to them and see how they'd want to be involved. 392 00:27:35,510 --> 00:27:39,250 I think you've just given me some plans for the local community center. 393 00:27:39,710 --> 00:27:42,670 That's awesome and i like the way that that you mentioned 394 00:27:42,670 --> 00:27:45,630 you it's all interconnected um and you're 395 00:27:45,630 --> 00:27:48,410 getting the people involved as well you're getting like the customers if you like 396 00:27:48,410 --> 00:27:51,530 involved because now you could have the person that makes the jewelry 397 00:27:51,530 --> 00:27:54,850 here's how you can make your own jewelry now you've got this like very 398 00:27:54,850 --> 00:27:57,530 custom design that's unique to you because you put your own little 399 00:27:57,530 --> 00:28:00,230 stamp on it um so i like that i like that 400 00:28:00,230 --> 00:28:02,870 a lot and and so i guess that the 401 00:28:02,870 --> 00:28:05,670 idea would be to to then continue building that so 402 00:28:05,670 --> 00:28:08,350 if you're thinking seasonal for example you could look what are do 403 00:28:08,350 --> 00:28:11,690 in the summer well there's a lake here so people go uh 404 00:28:11,690 --> 00:28:16,070 jet ski and they go kayak and they go um surfboard and stuff like that so i 405 00:28:16,070 --> 00:28:19,670 guess you can build a whole bunch of stuff around that as well to you know for 406 00:28:19,670 --> 00:28:24,190 once once the tourists and the cottagers start coming up to our little village 407 00:28:24,190 --> 00:28:30,190 you know in the warmer weather as well well you would probably need a bike repair shop, 408 00:28:30,830 --> 00:28:36,170 you might be able to convert that into renting out skis and toboggans and that 409 00:28:36,170 --> 00:28:37,470 kind of thing in the wintertime. 410 00:28:38,630 --> 00:28:42,050 And why couldn't you do that from your community center? Of course you could. 411 00:28:42,730 --> 00:28:47,650 Yep. I like, I might have to put you in touch with our local Lions group, 412 00:28:47,790 --> 00:28:51,470 Deb, and get them up to speed on all these cool plans. 413 00:28:51,630 --> 00:28:55,130 So I like that. I like that a lot. And that answered my question perfectly. 414 00:28:55,590 --> 00:29:00,530 So speaking of questions, let's have a look at question number four. 415 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:06,460 Who is the most famous person you have met? Oh, good Lord. 416 00:29:07,700 --> 00:29:12,420 Met and talked to or just met? Both, if you wish, or either are. 417 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:13,960 Up to you. Your question. 418 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:18,760 Gosh, I don't pay attention to famous people, frankly. Um... 419 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:25,100 I'm stuck. I'm never stuck. I'm trying to think of the director. 420 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:31,640 I met a film director who, whoever it was that directed JFK was the movie he 421 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:33,140 was working on at the time. 422 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:37,140 We went to a rave in Chicago, sitting at the bar. 423 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:41,940 And at the time I liked tequila. So I was drinking tequila. 424 00:29:42,180 --> 00:29:45,540 And before you drink it, you got to throw your salt over your shoulder first, 425 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:47,040 right? And then you put it on your hand? 426 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:52,520 So I'm sitting facing my husband and we're drinking shots of tequila and I'm 427 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:53,900 throwing salt over my shoulder. 428 00:29:54,260 --> 00:29:58,840 The director was sitting next to me. He never said a word because he knew I 429 00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:01,760 was throwing salt on him over my shoulder. 430 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:06,360 He finally turned around and said, hey, I'm so-and-so, nice to meet you. 431 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,980 And I'm like, oh my God, I covered you in salt. And he just laughed. 432 00:30:10,220 --> 00:30:12,680 And then I turned back around because it was totally embarrassed. 433 00:30:13,500 --> 00:30:16,660 That's a fun story. I intend to have those. 434 00:30:17,700 --> 00:30:22,000 And that was, so JFK, I think, JFK, was that Oliver Stone? 435 00:30:22,340 --> 00:30:25,820 That's it. It's Oliver Stone, yep. So you're throwing salt on Oliver Stone. 436 00:30:25,820 --> 00:30:30,680 I was throwing salt on Oliver Stone at three o'clock in the morning in a rave bar. 437 00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:33,380 That is amazing. So there's so many questions there. 438 00:30:34,060 --> 00:30:37,300 I know, right? Like, A, what were you doing in a rave bar? B, 439 00:30:37,500 --> 00:30:39,220 what was Oliver Stone doing in a rave bar? 440 00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:44,780 And then I love the fact that he didn't react negatively. 441 00:30:46,220 --> 00:30:50,260 Because I guess when you've got that position of power and you're not used to 442 00:30:50,260 --> 00:30:54,120 people just being normal around you, I don't know, but I love the fact that 443 00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:56,460 he didn't react, he just says, hey, you know, it's all good it's all good, 444 00:30:56,460 --> 00:31:00,880 it's three o'clock, we're on a rave bar, we're having fun Yeah, he could have been a, 445 00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:07,040 real God, I can't say that word, a real asshole about it, there we go, 446 00:31:07,340 --> 00:31:11,800 that's as close as I'll get to swearing today, but he wasn't, but who knows? 447 00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:14,140 He might've been a little tipsy himself, right? 448 00:31:15,140 --> 00:31:18,720 At three o'clock in the morning in a rave bar. Well, yeah. 449 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:23,740 So now I'm curious if he's ever, you know, I have to go through all his back 450 00:31:23,740 --> 00:31:29,360 catalogue from JFK onwards and see if there's any little tidbits there. 451 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:35,280 You know, certainly a throwback to that time, you know, when I got salt thrown over. That's amazing. 452 00:31:35,420 --> 00:31:37,860 Like, not everybody's got a story like that. That's kind of cool. 453 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:39,220 So what did your husband think? 454 00:31:39,300 --> 00:31:43,060 Did he say anything, you know, did you guys recognise Oliver Stone or was it 455 00:31:43,060 --> 00:31:46,300 just after him? Yeah, once he turned around, we knew who he was. 456 00:31:47,820 --> 00:31:53,860 Kevin didn't care. I'm sure he was giggling inside watching me do it every single 457 00:31:53,860 --> 00:31:59,600 time, waiting for the guy to turn around and turn into something, a madman, right? 458 00:32:00,340 --> 00:32:06,880 And that didn't happen. And my husband was as excited as I was to be in the 459 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:09,500 realm of this famous person, right? 460 00:32:10,540 --> 00:32:14,040 And we never talked to him. That was an opportunity where I could have had a 461 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:16,780 great conversation and I didn't do it. 462 00:32:17,100 --> 00:32:20,640 And normally I'm pretty good about talking to anybody about anything. 463 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:27,520 So I kind of feel it's not a good story because I didn't do what I normally do and talk to him. 464 00:32:28,420 --> 00:32:31,420 Though I guess that could have been a bit different. I'm going to assume there 465 00:32:31,420 --> 00:32:32,760 was loud music when it would be in a rave. 466 00:32:33,180 --> 00:32:38,000 So the music, I've only been to one rave many, many years ago and it's very loud. 467 00:32:38,220 --> 00:32:41,540 I could have only assumed it was loud. Well, it was a private party, 468 00:32:41,540 --> 00:32:43,760 and we were invited by a friend. 469 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:48,660 My husband sold cars and had some pretty famous customers, and we were invited 470 00:32:48,660 --> 00:32:50,820 by the owner of the car dealership. 471 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:57,840 So it was louder music, of course, but not traditional rave music. It wasn't house music. 472 00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:03,440 And you really, you know, you were there to drink and dance, of which we did both. 473 00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:07,700 Yeah. So in that respect, mission accomplished. But yeah, I would have loved 474 00:33:07,700 --> 00:33:11,840 to have heard, you know, what possible conversation may have happened then. 475 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:15,380 If you're a click in the morning, a few tequilas down with Oliver Stone. 476 00:33:15,860 --> 00:33:17,040 Could have been interesting. 477 00:33:18,860 --> 00:33:22,200 Well, if this show ever takes off superstar internationally, 478 00:33:22,220 --> 00:33:24,820 I will try to get him on and I will ask him that question. Hey, 479 00:33:25,060 --> 00:33:26,020 do you remember that time? 480 00:33:26,500 --> 00:33:28,340 Way back when, when you were doing JFK. 481 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:34,940 Yep. I doubt if he does. But who knows, right? We'll get his version of the story. But I like that. 482 00:33:35,500 --> 00:33:39,940 That's definitely a famous person's story I've never heard before, 483 00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:41,560 obviously, for obvious reasons. 484 00:33:41,580 --> 00:33:44,020 So I like that a lot, Deb. I will keep that in mind. 485 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:48,580 I've ever run a bar myself at that time of night and wondering who's behind me. 486 00:33:48,820 --> 00:33:52,860 But we're doing well here. We're reaching the end of the road almost for your 487 00:33:52,860 --> 00:33:55,740 time in the random question hot seat. 488 00:33:55,920 --> 00:34:00,740 So let's have a look and see what question number five is. 489 00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:06,320 I'm going to skip this one because we just had a drink question. Oh, but let me answer it. 490 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:10,200 Let me answer it. Okay, you know what? Let's go. Let's answer it then. That's fine. 491 00:34:10,520 --> 00:34:13,100 Question number five, Deb. What is your favorite drink? 492 00:34:13,620 --> 00:34:17,480 I don't know if this is my favorite, but it's one I've always liked. 493 00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:24,080 And I learned about it in a little Greek island called Paros in the Cyclades area. 494 00:34:24,500 --> 00:34:29,080 So tequila, normally you drink it and follow it with lime and salt. 495 00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:33,640 And the bartender in this tiny, tiny island looks at me and he says, 496 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:36,340 do you want to learn how to drink tequila the right way? 497 00:34:37,470 --> 00:34:42,870 And at the time, I was a bartender in Chicago, and I'm thinking I'm hot shit, right? 498 00:34:43,130 --> 00:34:47,870 That I should know how to do it the right way. Well, I learned in that environment 499 00:34:47,870 --> 00:34:49,230 how to do it the right way. 500 00:34:49,370 --> 00:34:56,310 So you take your tequila, and you take a slice of orange, and you put cinnamon on it. 501 00:34:56,830 --> 00:35:02,170 Drink your shot, bite into the orange and cinnamon. It's like a Jolly Rancher, 502 00:35:02,270 --> 00:35:05,430 like you've taken a bite out of a Jolly Rancher piece of candy. 503 00:35:05,990 --> 00:35:07,870 So now you have to go home and try that. 504 00:35:08,450 --> 00:35:13,990 Well, I do because, like yourself, I guess, prior to telling that just now, 505 00:35:14,130 --> 00:35:17,530 I always believed it was like a slice of lemon and the salt, right? 506 00:35:17,630 --> 00:35:20,390 So you took the, was it the salt and then the lemon? 507 00:35:20,690 --> 00:35:22,930 I can't remember the order. Yeah, salt first. 508 00:35:23,290 --> 00:35:26,590 Lick it off and then bite into the lime. Yeah. But orange and cinnamon. 509 00:35:26,930 --> 00:35:29,510 Yeah, because I would far prefer orange to a lemon. 510 00:35:30,150 --> 00:35:33,710 Any day of the week, every day of the week. Cinnamon. I do like cinnamon. in. 511 00:35:34,530 --> 00:35:36,350 So that would be an interesting experience. 512 00:35:37,230 --> 00:35:41,490 But I'm guessing the tequila's got to be nice too because you can get really harsh tequila. 513 00:35:42,070 --> 00:35:46,130 Yeah, no white tequila. It cannot be a white tequila. 514 00:35:46,330 --> 00:35:50,090 Generally that's your bar tequila, your low level tequila. 515 00:35:50,370 --> 00:35:53,590 But you know, Jose Crabbeau, Patron, those kind of tequilas. 516 00:35:54,170 --> 00:35:58,190 Okay, so you get the tequila, obviously, you've got just a slice of orange and 517 00:35:58,190 --> 00:36:00,390 then you just put like, what is that, like a sprinkle in it? 518 00:36:00,770 --> 00:36:04,470 Yeah, just a little sprinkle on it. You can take a pinch and put on it. 519 00:36:05,310 --> 00:36:08,770 And then you take the tequila first and then the fruit. Drink the shot, 520 00:36:08,770 --> 00:36:11,230 bite into the orange piece. Okay. 521 00:36:12,130 --> 00:36:17,930 And this gentleman that taught you how to do it in the Greek island, what's his background? 522 00:36:18,090 --> 00:36:20,890 Was he in the industry? Does he make tequila? What's his background? 523 00:36:21,630 --> 00:36:25,830 He was just a bartender. And it wasn't even the owner of the bar because I had 524 00:36:25,830 --> 00:36:28,190 asked to meet the owner because I was in the industry. 525 00:36:28,830 --> 00:36:32,550 Just a guy that bartended there, lived on the island. He was a local, 526 00:36:32,850 --> 00:36:38,750 which is important to note because a lot of tourists in small Greek islands, right? 527 00:36:39,370 --> 00:36:44,990 And just was a great conversational on the list. And we just had a really good time with him. 528 00:36:45,790 --> 00:36:49,350 I have no idea what he did during the day, but at night he bartended. 529 00:36:50,070 --> 00:36:55,030 And he passed out wisdom about how to drink tequila, which is obviously awesome. 530 00:36:55,050 --> 00:36:59,290 And funny thing, the reason I'm remembering this, I was coming back from New 531 00:36:59,290 --> 00:37:05,430 York and my seatmate is one of the, what's the word I'm looking for? 532 00:37:05,550 --> 00:37:08,330 Higher ups at Jose Cuervo Company. 533 00:37:08,590 --> 00:37:13,470 And I can't give out his name or position, but I was sharing that story with 534 00:37:13,470 --> 00:37:19,750 him. and he was on his way to Cape Town and he said, I can't wait to land because 535 00:37:19,750 --> 00:37:21,170 I'm going to have to try it. 536 00:37:21,290 --> 00:37:23,770 So I'm waiting to hear back to see if he's tried it yet. 537 00:37:24,530 --> 00:37:28,690 That's like the ultimate validation of the method, right? Yeah. 538 00:37:28,850 --> 00:37:32,790 You've got the high ups of like a world famous tequila, you know, 539 00:37:33,210 --> 00:37:35,010 distiller. Company, yeah. Yeah, exactly. 540 00:37:35,930 --> 00:37:39,970 So yeah, it'd be really bad. Not bad. It'd be disappointing maybe. 541 00:37:40,130 --> 00:37:43,190 I don't know. Maybe that's the wrong word. If he comes back and says, no, no, that was awful. 542 00:37:43,190 --> 00:37:50,090 Don't even contact me again I promise he won't say that I no longer drink but 543 00:37:50,090 --> 00:37:55,410 if you do have that opportunity I encourage you to try it not to get drunk but 544 00:37:55,410 --> 00:38:00,090 to try something different I will try that on New Year's Eve that tends to be 545 00:38:00,090 --> 00:38:02,490 the only time that I'll sort of have spirits is New Year's Eve, 546 00:38:03,590 --> 00:38:08,250 I'll try that, I'll raise a glass to your honor and I will let you know probably 547 00:38:08,250 --> 00:38:12,550 a few days after how it went But yeah, I will definitely try that. 548 00:38:12,570 --> 00:38:13,250 You know how to catch me, cause. 549 00:38:14,530 --> 00:38:19,730 Exactly. So Deb, as mentioned, appreciate your time on the random questions 550 00:38:19,730 --> 00:38:23,090 hot seat and being open with your answers and sharing some really cool, 551 00:38:23,230 --> 00:38:26,830 fun stories that I wasn't expecting, obviously. 552 00:38:27,130 --> 00:38:32,490 But this is only fair because I've put you in the hot seat for the last 30, 40 minutes or so. 553 00:38:33,150 --> 00:38:35,870 It is now time to hand over the question baton to you. 554 00:38:36,810 --> 00:38:42,610 So here's what I want to know from you. What advice would you give new podcasters 555 00:38:42,610 --> 00:38:47,290 that live in small towns in communities of under 5,000 people? 556 00:38:48,210 --> 00:38:54,330 Ooh. So funnily enough, there's a really big movement, I guess, 557 00:38:54,410 --> 00:38:58,190 if you want to call it that, for hyper local podcasting. 558 00:38:58,970 --> 00:39:02,890 So most podcasters or many podcasters are all like global. 559 00:39:03,050 --> 00:39:06,690 So you go for global audiences and you're trying to grow your show no matter 560 00:39:06,690 --> 00:39:11,270 what country the listener's in. But there's a lot of movement in the last 12 561 00:39:11,270 --> 00:39:13,750 months about hyper-local podcasting. 562 00:39:13,930 --> 00:39:19,810 So you create a podcast for your community, for your town, for your village, for your school even. 563 00:39:19,970 --> 00:39:25,430 You know, you get really niched then because you've got almost like a warm audience 564 00:39:25,430 --> 00:39:29,010 to start with because people want to know about, if I started a podcast about 565 00:39:29,010 --> 00:39:30,390 where I live now, for example, 566 00:39:30,830 --> 00:39:35,530 people might want to know or hear me talking to locals and how they came to live here. 567 00:39:35,630 --> 00:39:39,150 Have they always lived here? Were they like me? did they come afterwards um 568 00:39:39,150 --> 00:39:42,630 what was the mindset change if they did have to do that uh what's 569 00:39:42,630 --> 00:39:46,050 it like surviving in the winter because the winters here are brutal um 570 00:39:46,050 --> 00:39:50,190 so a lot of things like that and and they're really taking and picking up steam 571 00:39:50,190 --> 00:39:56,990 um and that if you get into that like real niche where it's somewhere that you 572 00:39:56,990 --> 00:40:00,910 know well and it could be a business could be a village like me it could be 573 00:40:00,910 --> 00:40:05,850 your local uh athletics community whatever it looks like, Deb. 574 00:40:06,410 --> 00:40:09,350 Like I say, you've already got a warm audience, so that can help you with the growth side. 575 00:40:09,590 --> 00:40:13,350 And you've always got topics to talk about because there's always, 576 00:40:13,490 --> 00:40:16,850 always, always something different happening that you can expand on. 577 00:40:17,030 --> 00:40:21,010 So you mentioned some great examples with the empty buildings, for example. 578 00:40:21,590 --> 00:40:25,330 So if there were, I mentioned the community hall earlier, if there was things 579 00:40:25,330 --> 00:40:28,650 going on in the community hall, can I speak to people that come in and that 580 00:40:28,650 --> 00:40:31,970 keep coming back each year to do craft shows and stuff like that? 581 00:40:32,070 --> 00:40:33,210 Why do they keep coming back? 582 00:40:33,410 --> 00:40:38,390 What's the and what do they think of the area, all the kind of stuff like that. 583 00:40:38,590 --> 00:40:43,470 So I guess, again, rambling, you just mentioned rambling there when you're on a tangent. 584 00:40:43,850 --> 00:40:48,110 I guess it would be go local and really... 585 00:40:49,020 --> 00:40:57,220 You know knuckle down onto the locality of where you are so if you're a a freshman in high school, 586 00:40:57,800 --> 00:41:00,820 what was the difference in moving from your comfort zone 587 00:41:00,820 --> 00:41:03,740 in elementary school to this new high school that's in a different area 588 00:41:03,740 --> 00:41:06,940 different kids and all that so there's a whole bunch of things like that i would 589 00:41:06,940 --> 00:41:13,420 say use the locality and use the people use their stories to build your own 590 00:41:13,420 --> 00:41:18,120 awareness and get local news you know people local businesses to be part of 591 00:41:18,120 --> 00:41:22,660 that to share why they invest in that village, why they invest in that town, that kind of thing. 592 00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:28,020 So I guess that would probably be where I'd maybe go for a local podcaster on a small town or village. 593 00:41:28,740 --> 00:41:36,580 So, and I want to know, do you, where can I tell my clients to learn more about 594 00:41:36,580 --> 00:41:39,420 you and to follow your podcast? 595 00:41:40,260 --> 00:41:44,360 Oh, well, now you're getting me to promote myself and it's not meant to be like that way, Deb. 596 00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:49,600 Oh, but I want to know. Yeah, yeah. For me, it's simple. I created a really 597 00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:51,420 custom, a straightforward custom URL. 598 00:41:51,760 --> 00:41:58,140 It's dannypod.com, D-A-N-N-Y-P-O-D.com. It's got all the cool stuff there. 599 00:41:58,380 --> 00:42:02,580 But that was a sneaky one that you got in there because I'm going to hold you 600 00:42:02,580 --> 00:42:04,420 to that as a sneaky booger. 601 00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:09,600 But yeah, great question. I love it. I always love talking podcast anyway, 602 00:42:09,700 --> 00:42:13,000 and I love the fact that you kept it local, which is great, which I'm not surprised 603 00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:15,660 about knowing you and your passion. 604 00:42:16,400 --> 00:42:20,800 So speaking of passion, Deb, I really enjoyed having you in the five random questions hot seat. 605 00:42:21,240 --> 00:42:24,880 Now it's my turn to get you to promote yourself. So for people that want to 606 00:42:24,880 --> 00:42:29,980 know more about what you do and how you do it for maybe their own small towns, 607 00:42:30,100 --> 00:42:33,240 etc., to find out more about your book or just connect with you, 608 00:42:33,380 --> 00:42:36,020 where's the best place to connect, follow you, buy the book, etc. 609 00:42:36,420 --> 00:42:41,900 A couple of places. The first place is at saveyour.town. 610 00:42:42,100 --> 00:42:49,060 So it's S-A-V-E-Y-O-U-R dot T-O-W-N, not dot com, dot town. 611 00:42:49,800 --> 00:42:53,220 And if you put a slash in the 612 00:42:53,220 --> 00:42:56,000 word sign up behind that you can sign up for a free 613 00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:59,080 email that we send out every week that talks about world 614 00:42:59,080 --> 00:43:04,560 challenges and different ways to address them my speaker site and where there's 615 00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:12,520 more info on my book is buildingpossibility.com exactly like it sounds buildingpossibility.com 616 00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:18,720 my email dev at savior.town please shoot me an email i like talking to people. 617 00:43:19,700 --> 00:43:24,240 Unless they're in a tequila bar at three o'clock in the morning when you 618 00:43:24,240 --> 00:43:28,040 just ignore them just throw salt on them instead but that's 619 00:43:28,040 --> 00:43:30,860 awesome i will be sure to leave the links to those in the show notes as 620 00:43:30,860 --> 00:43:34,280 always so whatever rap you're listening to this episode on or if you're listening 621 00:43:34,280 --> 00:43:38,220 to on the website just check out the show notes as usual and the links will 622 00:43:38,220 --> 00:43:42,800 be there for both deb speaking and deb's community site as well the small business 623 00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:47,520 site so i get small towns not small business my bad my bad we almost got through 624 00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:50,340 without a fluff and i had to mess it up right at the end there. 625 00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:56,460 So again, Deb, I really appreciate you coming on five random questions today. Thank you very much. 626 00:43:58,140 --> 00:44:01,920 Thanks for listening to five random questions. If you enjoyed this week's episode, 627 00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:04,700 I'd love for you to leave a review on the app you're currently listening on 628 00:44:04,700 --> 00:44:08,220 or over at 5randomquestions.com forward slash review. 629 00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:11,320 And if you know someone else that would enjoy the show, be sure to send them 630 00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:13,200 this way. It's very much appreciated. 631 00:44:13,700 --> 00:44:16,080 Until the next time, keep asking those questions. 632 00:44:19,040 --> 00:44:19,280 You.