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In this episode, I talk about making a brain tattoo, setting myself up to succeed (if I can just remember what it is I'm working on...) and parenting yourself. I just need to add one thing to my routine. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Todoist App Evernote App Google Calendar Todoist Tutorials ENJOY THE SHOW? Buy Dave a Coffee

While I never met him in person, a fellow Libsyn employee was killed by a drunk driver on 12/4/22. He was a wife and three young daughters.  If you're new, I was married to an alcoholic, and hearing about drunk drivers is somewhat triggering. Throw on top a parent leaving the earth way too soon, and now you really are hitting me on all levels.  But wait, there is more. It turns out there are people who are using AI (artificial intelligence) to scrape the internet for obituaries so they can "write" an article about the person and cram the website full of ads. One person even did it in a video (with the monetization turned on and the comments - naturally - turned off).  In the same way, you can get the air knocked out of you; I have lost some of my faith in humanity. I can't even explain my thoughts.  It's not often that Dave Jackson is speechless.  If you'd like to help out his wife and kids, it will make you feel better Here is the GO FUND ME page.

I am worried about men. I think we are an endangered species. Here is why: SPORTS We listen to sportscasters who are making millions talk about athletes who are making millions for team owners who make billions. There are dedicated radio stations that talk about nothing else than how the team is doing, and what they need to do to win. None of that talk has any effect on the team. Zero FOOTBALL COMMERCIALS Then when you watch a football game, you always have: 1. The spokesmodel who didn't play football but is STUNNINGLY beautiful who will "pass it over" to people who actually played the game. She can also do that special piece during breast cancer awareness month. 2. There will be boner pill commercials, cause you know...priorities 3. Remedies for baldness. We will ship it to you in a private box - because nobody knows you're bald. 4. Trucks. Big trucks with deep voiceovers. These trucks have power unlike your small penis, which needs a blue pull to function. 5. Beer. If you can't afford a large truck you head to the mountains. This commercial lists no facts and only has a sweaty beer can that eventually you get to hear open.  5. Gambling. Kevin Hart (another millionaire) talks about the best way to gamble all of the money you worked hard to earn. They are giving away money to people who light their money on fire the fastest. Oh, and here is a phone number if this commercial triggered you.  BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE 6. My Self Esteem is tied to my team. If we lose, my week is wrecked (Really?) 7. Tick Shots - I just started paying attention to TikTok, and I am AMAZED at how GUYS (no women are doing this) are spending what must be hours if not days filming themselves trying to put a cup into a cup, or a ping pong ball, or flying a card into a clothespin. Whatever it is, it took a LOT of time to film. Which makes me think, "How much free time do YOU HAVE?" So we are giving anyone who wants to say how stupid, pigheaded, and idiotic men are - lots of evidence.  Enjoy this episode? Buy Dave a Coffee

So I'm back from an event where people got offended by the presence of someone being in a room. That's a new one for me. I've been disappointed to see someone but seeing them never brought me harm. How can you say you are for inclusion, and at the same time say you want to exclude someone? I don't understand. I'm also sad to see people water down very powerful words. I save the "F word" for the end of the argument (thanks to George Carlin). I also hear people using the word Fascist, and I'm not sure they understand the definition.  We won't learn anything if we are yelling at each other, and I'm asking for help.  It will be interesting to see if asking for help is seen as violence. Check out the commercial for the Fisher Price Podcast Set Podcast Set - Saturday Night Live

It's hard to watch a friend get canceled. My friend Daniel is a devout Christian. Currently, there is the worry that Roe Vs Wade will be overturned and abortion will be illegal.  Daniel left a comment on a tweet that was pro-choice. "“Stopping the mass murder of blacks and women, along with all the other babies, will be wonderful for the USA. How anyone could be so barbaric to endorse the murder of nearly 1 million babies every year is unbelievable." (He later deleted this tweet) Daniel at the time was a Governor for the Podcast Academy. The TPA has a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion declaration on their site that reads,  We celebrate and support the industry of audio storytelling and fight to uplift and center the diverse communities of people doing this work.  We acknowledge the historical inequities that have existed in the space. We understand that to dismantle these inequities; it will take intentional efforts and commitments aimed at the communities that have long been subject to these inequities, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+ communities, people with disabilities, immigrants, and people across the spectrum of socio-economic class.    We encourage our members to hold us accountable, but we also realize that it is not the responsibility of marginalized communities to do this work for us. For these reasons, we invest funds into external, BIPOC+ led resources to help us continue in this work.  This policy is a living document that grows as we do, and we look forward to continuing to evolve through our ongoing education, outreach, and efforts for mutual understanding. After his comments went viral people started a petition to get him removed. They called him a racist, homophobic, and a misogynist.  Another fact, the Podcast Academy is 69% female. Daniel was asked to resign, and when he declined he was fired.  Abortion Mike Tyson said everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face. I think everyone has their views on abortion until they find out they are pregnant. I don't have a vagina, so I keep out of that conversation. Racist In the book, “Uncomfortable conversation with a black man” the author says to white people, I imagine some of you are thinking if black people can't decide which term to use, then how and why should white people be expected to know which term to use? Point taken? To the extent I can speak for anyone else, black is the most inclusive choice. There's no one label that will satisfy all. I sued Google and found many websites stating THIS is the term that white people should use. They were all different.  Some wrong words are obvious (the N word) and others have white people asking, "Can I say this?" When I hear that people are saying he should stop breathing because he didn't put a capital on the "B" in blacks, it feels a bit extreme.  I asked this question in a group, and the group could not give me an agreed-upon answer. SO know that white people are trying, but it's confusing.  Learning You don't learn when you talk, you learn when you listen. It's hard when we get upset. When we don't feel heard our voices get loud. That is being human, but you have to realize that we were all raised in our own bubbles of culture and are probably missing pieces when it comes to understanding others.  The internet can bring us all together to learn from each other if we are willing students with open minds. There will be times when we agree to disagree. I am driving to PA next week to see a friend of mine who is an atheist. I am not. We talk about everything and anything - except religion. He's not changing my mind, and I'm not changing his. If we have questions we know where to go.  Dialogues At a podcast event, there were two left-leaning, two right-leaning, and one LGBQT+ person and we all listened and talk about our experiences. This was the first time I realized what I learned in school is not accurate. Daniel was nothing but respectful. This was such a cool conversation that I remember it, and so does David Hooper (one of the guys at the table). It was like, "Hey remember when people could have a dialogue?" A Better Use of Your Time? Instead of digging through years of old tweets, right not reach out and ask to have a conversation. Steven Covey in the book the 7 Habits of Effective people says we should "understand before being understood." John Mayer In 2001 I pre-judged John Mayer as "another pretty-boy singer-songwriter who is going to make the girls scream."  I would overlook him year after year. 14 years later a friend told me I should give him a listen. I did, and it turns out he is an AMAZING guitar player. I had missed out on some great guitar playing, lyrics, and music.  My point is if we can take a second to get to know each other we might benefit from understanding each other. It may not always be easy, but anything of value rarely is. Mentioned in this Episode No Safe Places Documentary John Mayer Belief (Lyrics video) The Social Dilemma Trailer Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man Linconia Pocahontas Exception

Today I share a story that I have not thought about in a long time. It's weird to think of a time when there was ONE TV in the house, and you couldn't fast forward through the commercials. My brother and I created a sport that we played during the commercials. This came to me after attending a storytelling event from Matthew Disk who is the author of one of my favorite books Storyworthy. He has an exercise where you list three random things you can touch. You then have one minute to come up with a story about one of those items, and then you two minutes to tell a story about it.  The word that inspired this episode was pillow. 

When I read the lyrics of the song "Frosty the Snowman" I saw some disturbing things.  Frosty was on the pipe. He was headed to the village with a broomstick in his hand. Frosty attempted death by cop. If Frosty was black in lived in Chicago, he would've been dead.  Did Frosty have a death wish? Was frosty really just unselfish? Was Frosty just a moron. Was the "Magic" in his hat just packets of cocaine? Why is Frosty (a middle-aged white guy) really just a pedophile? Maybe frosty was depressed. He should have called the suicide hotline. 800-273-8255 Look at Frosty go? Did he make the children watch him pee? 

Today I'm talking about my time at the Spark Christian Podcast Conference in Grapevine Texas this week. I got to hear Tara-Leigh Cobble speak twice and WOW what a story.  She (in two years) has 75 million downloads of her Bible Recap podcast. Would I get up the nerve to ask her on my show? If you enjoyed this episode, feel free to buy me a coffee. Mentioned in this episode The Chosen (it's pretty cool!)

So on Tuesday, I had to crawl through the back window of my house after locking myself out of my house - wait for it - twice.  On Friday I had one of my "Sweating buckets, getting dizzy, can't decide if I'm going to have explosive diarrhea, vomit or passout" sessions. This now has fairly nasty stomach pains. I injured my stomach on Tuesday with a nasty scrape. This is Friday.  I wake up a few times during the night. It hurts to move in bed. Each time I wake up, the pain is moving higher up my body. We've gone from belly button, up higher and higher, and now my chest is tight, and I'm having issues taking a deep breath. The question and conversations that go through your head when you can't decide if you're having a heart attack or not were not what I had expected. One would think if you thought you were having a heart attack you would call 911. Not me. I know how much an ambulance is, and my Dad was thrifty, and apparently so am I.  I am also the son of my Mom who never wanted to be a bother to anyone. She always put others first.  The good news is I was not having a heart attack. So what was it? When I asked the mirror it lied.  I now think it was a delayed reaction to just beating the crap out of my stomach - twice. That caused the tightness in my chest. The hospital show triggered the sweats (and later the intense pain in my stomach would cause sweats). In the end, I'm not sure.  It does make you think when you have to take a breathe and realize that your number might is being called and your time is up. I am not ready or prepared for any of that, and death doesn't care. It's coming if you're ready or not.  Kiss everyone you love to kiss and hug. Let those you appreciate know it. You never know when your time is up.

Today I explain some side effects of 2020.  COVID 19 where 19 stands for how many pounds did you gain? It turns out 444 lbs is heavy.  I may have more deliveries in the future. My gut is ruining my aim I have carried on a Jackson tradition  Sometimes life has to hold a mirror up until you acknowledge it.

While many people may find themselves crying watching This is Us, I thought things had taken a weird turn when I found myself choking back tears when I was watching the Real World Reunion (on the Paramount Network). When I feel this way, I have a mental picture of one of those Submarine doors that has almost opened and water starts gushing out, and I get there just in time to spin that wheel and lock it up and go back to whatever I was doing... I decided to try Better Help, and it's not cheap, but if my arm started bleeding for no reason, I'd go get it checked out.  Just writing down why I thought I should talk to someone made me feel better. If you need a journal check out Penzu.com and in this case, I just had to write why I was signing up for this service. Just going through that process made me feel better. I met with the counselor and after talking she suggested I read The Grief Recovery Handbook, 20th Anniversary Expanded Edition: the Action Program for Moving Beyond Death, Divorce, and Other Losses Including Health, Career, and Faith I made it through chapter one, but now I feel like a kid who doesn't want to do his homework. I know that doing the work provides much better grades, but still, I made it through the first chapter and stalled. I need to put on my big boy pants and keep going. So Why Did I Make This Episode? We live in a Facebook world where everyone's lives seem so happy and perfect. I'm OK, and I'm working on being better. I thought if I pulled back the curtain to let you see it's OK to reach out when you could use someone to talk to, and that you're not "weird."  I just need to do my homework and reconnect on Better Help

This episode really makes me sound weird. What I'm getting at is how things make you feel.  “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. - Maya Angelou My second marriage wasn't always bad. My wife and I had a running gag of dragging a stuffed bear with us to events. It was funny. He was behind the speaker at our marriage.  My ex-wife named him Roy. I use to give Roy a voice and make him say terribly dark things that make it hilarious coming out of a cuddly bear.  When we divorced, she kept Roy, and I kept another bear that I had purchased to give to her (but later decided not to - mature I know...)  I decided to buy my own Roy. It turns out that was harder to do than originally planned.  How do you make people feel? If a stuffed toy can bring happiness, can you imagine how you can make a person feel? One last thing, I know this makes me sound like COVID has cracked my sanity. I'm fine. I know this is weird. 

I found myself in my new old house. This was different. I had no speakers, no Internet, and my phone was there, but that wasn't going to work.  I was alone - with just my thoughts.  I wasn't sure what would happen, but sometimes when I'm left alone with just the voice in my head things can go negative.  The house (without the noise to distract me) sent my brain into the archives of thoughts that I had not remembered in decades.  The brain is amazing, and I enjoyed a trip down memory lane.  Enjoy the show? If you feel so moved, Buy Me a Coffee    

Today I share some insights into love and living with people who had disorders.  I currently get annoyed with how cashiers bag things at the store. I end up with twice as many bags as needed. It just seems everywhere I turn, I'm opening a drawer, a pocket, a box, and its all bags. Love is knowing someone's characteristics that drive you nuts, and accepting them. It's part of what makes them who they are. You can try to change them, but you and I both know that the chances of that succeeding are slim and none.  So you hang in there, and focus on the good things, and accept those things you can't change. 

I lost a lot of sleep worrying about talking to my sister. My sister (who I love dearly) has always had my back and has a very unique set of skills. While never officially diagnosed, I think it is safe to say she has some form of Aspergers. This can make things "fun." My brother and I (and, well everyone else) knew it made more sense for me to take over the house I grew up in (where my sister occasionally lives), but just cause it makes sense doesn't mean my sister would go for it. She's not a fan of change at all. Logical things don't always resonate with her (she won't eat Devil's Food Cake...). So how do I get her on board to let me take over the house so she can go live permanently in a better house with a better neighborhood? Today I talk about how some things you think are hard, may not be as hard as you think. I took on the challenge of my sister, and I put off doing my taxes as long as I could.  If you are putting something off cause it looks "Hard" it may not be as hard as you think.  I do always find it weird how I can take positives and turn them into a negative. 

It's always weird how any stories in my childhood involving animals of some sort have a weird outcome, In this case, it was lightning bugs. I took a second tonight and really let myself go back to the front yard. To the time of being a kid and shouting when you achieved your goal. When the only thing you needed to worry about was if you had any empty peanut butter jars (of course you did cause you would store food in them).  It was a time when you did not have to worry about anything. You were safe. It was all about fun, friends, and fireflies.

Why is it that the people that seem to make the best points ae comedians?  The other night I watched 8:46 by Dave Chappelle. It's an amazing presentation. I also loved his last special on Netflix called Sticks and Stones. Then at 4 in the morning, it came to me: DAVE CHAPPELLE IS MY HERO.  He makes me do all the things I said a good podcast should do. He makes me laugh, cry, think, or groan. If it doesn't do any of those it should be educating or entertaining me and DAVE DOES ALL OF THOSE.  Check him out  Dave Chappelle 8:46 Dave Chappelle Sticks and Stones Sample Like the show? Buy me a coffee

I am an ill-informed middle-aged white dude. A black man was lynched in 2020 in broad daylight as George Floyd was pinned to the ground by police and later would die.  I often hope someone will come along and teach me so I'm not so ill-informed on how to act, what to say, etc when it comes to people of color. It's time for white people to take a step and do our homework. The better we understand, the better we communicate. The better we understand, the better we live.  Mentioned in this episode.  Conan O'Brien interviews Van Jones White People Training YOUR HOMEWORK The 13th Documentary (free on YouTube)

I've never been able to get passed the "woo woo" part of Yoga. However, when I see fit people one of the words that comes up in regards to how they stay fit, it's Yoga. Lost In My Yoga Class Any time I tried yoga the instructor would go through different posts like: Funky Firefly Young Puma Sad Palm Tree Be the Embryo Hords of Locust Legs behind your head Silly Kitty Grump Turtle Baby Rhino and I would be still trying to figure out the Sad Palm Tree as they are finishing up. I also love how your are supposed to keep your head facing down. How do I see what you're doing with my eyes facing the floor? DDP Yoga I got sucked in by some videos of people with serious hurdles who have lost hundreds of pounds doing Yoga (and I'm assuming eating less junk). I decided to give it a shot and was surprised how (without using any weights) I was working up a sweat. Here are some links (not affiliate links) www.ddpyoga.com Guy loses tons of weight video Guy couldn't walk can now run Support the Show Buy Dave a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/davejackson    

I watched a movie called Bowling for Columbine, and one part really caught my attention and that is how many things on the news are based on fear.  Killer bees Swine Flu Bird Flu and many other things. Everything seems fear-based.  BLACK OR WHITE There is a song by the Monkees called "Shades of Gray" and while it was talking about equal rights for people of color, but it made me notice that now you are either a scary cat who is afraid to go outside or a nutjob who won't "Let you tell me what to do" and is doing pushups on a sidewalk to prove it.  There is no "gray area" and as I think about it I would think the rules for New York city might be different than the rules needed for Farm Town Iowa with almost no people, that maybe the rules could be different. However, on TV dialogue is no encouraged. You're either one side or the other... It makes me worried. Dialogue and having open minds are what can lead to the best decisions.