Welcome to another insightful episode of "Mindful You," where host Alan Carroll engages in a compelling conversation with guest David Albin. Together, they explore the transformative power of interacting with people committed to service and delve into the fascinating evolution of consciousness. David shares his personal journey, discussing life after being kicked out of high school and the profound transformation involved in overcoming alcoholism. The conversation delves into the nuanced difference between inspiration and desperation as driving forces for change. Listeners gain a unique perspective as David recounts his experiences with fire-walking and the valuable lessons learned through this intense practice. Join Alan Carroll and David Albin for a thought-provoking discussion that spans personal growth, resilience, and the profound insights gained through life's challenges.
About The Guest:
Dave Albin was born in 1954 at Queen of Angels Hospital in Hollywood, California to a single mother. He was adopted by his Aunt & Uncle on his mother’s side at the age of 5. His adoptive parents told Dave they were not his parents at the age of 11. Later that year both his adoptive parents started drinking. This is where Dave’s life took a hard turn. Dave tried alcohol at the age of 11. By the time he was 14 he was experimenting with hard drugs. Grossly addicted to drugs and alcohol he joined AA some 20 years later in June 1988. This is when Dave was introduced to the personal development industry. He attended a seminar with Tony Robbins in 1995 where he did his first firewalk. Dave went on to work for Tony Robbins for just shy of 20 years as Tony’s Firewalk Captain. Dave retired from the Anthony Robbins Companies in 2014 shortly after GOOGLE hired him to put on an event for them. Firewalk Productions, LLC was born in 2014. Dave has done gigs for NASA, Heineken, The Entrepreneurs Organization (EO), RE Max, Chick-fil-A, Pruvit, Google, NI, NC Chiropractic Association, Isagenix, Heineken, Boone, Blowing Rock, Ashe and the Caldwell County Chamber of Commerce, Wayne Dyer, T Harv Eker, CRISP Video, Y.M.C.A., NATE BAILEY, Tony Robbins and many others. Dave currently lives in the Appalachian Mountains in Ashe County North Carolina.
About Alan:
Alan Carroll is an Educational Psychologist who specializes in Transpersonal Psychology. He founded Alan Carroll & Associates 30 years ago and before that, he was a Senior Sales Training Consultant for 10 years at Digital Equipment Corporation. He has dedicated his life in search of mindfulness tools that can be used by everyone (young and old) to transform their ability to speak at a professional level, as well as, to reduce the psychological suffering caused by the misidentification with our ego and reconnect to the vast transcendent dimension of consciousness that lies just on the other side of the thoughts we think and in between the words we speak.
Personal: https://www.facebook.com/alan.carroll.7359
Business: https://www.facebook.com/AlanCarrolltrains
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aca-mindful-you/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulnesseminar/
Web Site: https://acamindfulyou.com/
Hello, everybody. And welcome back to another
Alan Carroll:episode. Another story. Another story of mindfulness, and how
Alan Carroll:mindfulness comes in many, many different forms. And today's
Alan Carroll:guest David Albin. David Albin spent close to 20 years on the
Alan Carroll:road with a fella you may have heard about named Tony Robbins
Alan Carroll:and the firewalk experience. And he traveled the world. And he
Alan Carroll:became the captain of the fire team for Tony Robbins. And those
Alan Carroll:he said they had, they did him all over the world. And the
Alan Carroll:largest firewalking that's been recorded, was done in London.
Alan Carroll:Over 12,000, people went through the firewalk experience, and
Alan Carroll:eastern part of London, and Dave, Alvin was the chief of the
Alan Carroll:captains of the fire teams, and shares his own personal story,
Alan Carroll:the personal story of alcoholism, the purpose story of
Alan Carroll:drugs, the story of the moment that he had the gun to his head,
Alan Carroll:and was about to pull the trigger those kinds of moments,
Alan Carroll:which create a powerful transformation in his life. And
Alan Carroll:then he discovered mindfulness, he discovered meditation, he
Alan Carroll:discovered Alcoholics Anonymous. And he used the philosophy of
Alan Carroll:Alcoholics Anonymous, anonymous, and transformed his life and,
Alan Carroll:and then got connected with Tony Robbins, and then spent those 20
Alan Carroll:years on the road with Tony Robbins. And the firewalk
Alan Carroll:experience that he talks about, is transformational. I've done
Alan Carroll:the Tony Robbins firewalk books. And he, what he's teased, he has
Alan Carroll:a much more vivid experience, having seen it 1000s of times.
Alan Carroll:But I came out of the experience of the firewalk with the
Alan Carroll:thought, where else in my life do I say I can't do something
Alan Carroll:which limits me. And when you walk on the fire, you realize
Alan Carroll:that you always thought that you could never do something like
Alan Carroll:that. And you do it. And it's a it's a liberation, of
Alan Carroll:consciousness, it's a freedom of space and power. And to have the
Alan Carroll:captain of the fire teams with us today, talking about the
Alan Carroll:transformations that occur in people's lives through the
Alan Carroll:firewalking and his new project of taking the firewalking
Alan Carroll:transformational experience, and, and provide it to other
Alan Carroll:people who need it, who have tremendous agitation, and things
Alan Carroll:going on in their life, which create instability. He's
Alan Carroll:creating the first firewalking experience, he's calling it, do
Alan Carroll:no harm. And it's going to be held in Modesto in April of
Alan Carroll:2020. For the audience that he would like to have there. He
Alan Carroll:wants to have the firewalk experience available to single
Alan Carroll:mothers, because they do a lot of stuff. And boy, if we could
Alan Carroll:give them a boost, it'd be great. And why because he was
Alan Carroll:raised by a single mother. Veterans, he's a veteran, he's
Alan Carroll:talking about the suicide rates of veterans are high, we can
Alan Carroll:reduce that down with a breakthrough of consciousness,
Alan Carroll:which you can get during a firewalk experience. Talked
Alan Carroll:about first responders, those people who deal with that
Alan Carroll:traumatic accidents on the road kind of stuff, which is very
Alan Carroll:vivid. They need support and calming their agitation that
Alan Carroll:they constantly experience. And then we have people who have
Alan Carroll:experienced bullying and they get to go to the fire walking
Alan Carroll:experience. So that's just another project that he talks
Alan Carroll:about towards the end of the firewalk experience to talk
Alan Carroll:towards the end of our podcast today. Wow, in energy
Alan Carroll:enthusiasm, Dave is certainly a wonderful guest and I know that
Alan Carroll:you'll be carried away by His power and His enthusiasm and his
Alan Carroll:desire to give back to the to the community, and support the
Alan Carroll:well being of all of all people. So thank you very much. And
Alan Carroll:thank you very much, Dave for being here today. And please
Alan Carroll:welcome to the mindful you, audience. Dave Albin.
Alan Carroll:Welcome David Alvin to the mindful you podcast Boy, oh,
Alan Carroll:boy, you are a a season warrior on the transformation journey.
Alan Carroll:You were describing to me earlier, your opportunities to
Alan Carroll:interact with champions of mindfulness champions of people
Alan Carroll:who are committed to service, and anybody that has spent as
Alan Carroll:long as you have in the area of service to others. deserves a
Alan Carroll:deserves a tear, and an acknowledgement for the work
Alan Carroll:that that you have done. So what I like to do is, have you takes
Alan Carroll:take our audience on a journey of David into in the beginning,
Alan Carroll:and the rev level and evolution of consciousness, because we're
Alan Carroll:talking about an evolution of consciousness, which then
Alan Carroll:materializes in the physical plane as different events, but
Alan Carroll:it's a level of consciousness and ideas that create the events
Alan Carroll:that have gotten you to a place in which you are committed to
Alan Carroll:service of others. So take the microphone, Dave, and, and have
Alan Carroll:some fun with it.
David Albin:Well, first of all, I want to thank you for having
David Albin:me. And it's a it's an honor. And, you know, that was a pretty
David Albin:heavy conversation that we had prior to coming into this. So
David Albin:I'm pretty emotional myself. And you know, it really, it all
David Albin:started for me now, in a couple of months. Before I was born, my
David Albin:biological father had, we don't know what happened, he hurt
David Albin:himself, he hit his head. And to save his life, they put a plate
David Albin:in his head, and he complained to my mom all the time of how
David Albin:painful it was. And sure enough, one day he said, I'm going to
David Albin:the grocery store, and we never saw it heard from him again. So
David Albin:when I was born, two months later, I was born to a single
David Albin:mom. So she already had two boys, she had me that's three
David Albin:she had a cousin that was living with us as well. And her mother,
David Albin:my grandmother, and we were all living in a one bedroom
David Albin:apartment in Hollywood, California. While I was working
David Albin:up the street at the Roosevelt Hotel, very famous hotel in
David Albin:Hollywood. And mom came out of the, what I would call the one
David Albin:of the most kick butt generations that's ever walked
David Albin:this planet, mom and her and her siblings, you know, were born
David Albin:during the Great Depression. They they thrived and survived.
David Albin:World War Two, right? Because what a lot of people don't
David Albin:realize is that when the men were in Europe fighting the
David Albin:Nazis, the rest of them were in the Pacific fighting the
David Albin:Japanese. Well guess who was home taking care of everything,
David Albin:the women. And so this idea that women need to be qualified to do
David Albin:this or qualified to do that as a crock. Because without, right,
David Albin:because without the women back in those days, this world would
David Albin:be different. Hitler might have Hitler might have won, because
David Albin:women were doing everything. They built tanks, they built
David Albin:jeeps, my mother, my biological mother was known as Rosie the
David Albin:Riveter. And what that was an affectionate name for a woman
David Albin:who was out on a B 29. Airplane, you know, driving rivets into
David Albin:the into the wing building them. So mom knew hard work, they knew
David Albin:depravity, they knew that when something broke, you fixed it.
David Albin:And so they knew how to do everything. And so she, you
David Albin:know, she tried really hard out and she worked her butt off, but
David Albin:it wasn't enough. She was a server. And so, when I was five,
David Albin:she went to her older sister, Pat and said, Pat, will you and
David Albin:your husband Bob, adopt David, I can't feed him anymore. And so
David Albin:they did. And so now my aunt and uncle who I affectionately have
David Albin:always referred to him as my mom and dad adopted me and they
David Albin:moved me from Hollywood to Long Beach, California. Bob was a
David Albin:highly decorated military officer, he was career military.
David Albin:And so we had a nice lifestyle. We lived in a nice house, we
David Albin:always had food, we were able to travel we went camping all the
David Albin:time. And they treated me just like their own. No question that
David Albin:in fact, they might have treated me even a little better. And
David Albin:then on on the first day of summer 1960 For the very first
David Albin:day. Ma I'm in the TV room up earliest the first day of
David Albin:summer, like all kids, you're excited, you're out of your
David Albin:mind. You don't want to sleep and you want to get outside with
David Albin:all your buddies right. She said David come in the kitchen, we
David Albin:need to speak with you So I don't think it's going to happen
David Albin:if they're going to tell me where we're gonna go camping,
David Albin:because that's what we did a lot. We're in Southern
David Albin:California, right? We went to Yosemite and Big Bear in Lake
David Albin:Arrowhead and Lake Havasu. And like, I mean, all up and down
David Albin:the Southern California and Northern California coast. So I
David Albin:sit down and my mom looks at me and she kind of puts her hand on
David Albin:my hand, and she's got tears in her eyes. And she says, David,
David Albin:we need to tell you something. And she went on to tell me that.
David Albin:She said, we're not your parents. What? Of course, you're
David Albin:my parents. What that's like taking somebody outside. And
David Albin:there's the blue sky to go, well, the sky is not blue. Well,
David Albin:looks pretty blue to me. Right? And they look like my parents to
David Albin:me. Yep. And so that was a life changing moment for me. In fact,
David Albin:she went on and she said, By the way, you're at Dean. Yeah, well,
David Albin:she's actually your biological mother. And I remember thinking,
David Albin:I don't even like her. What I meant by that was, every time
David Albin:she was around me, she wanted to be around me. Right? She wanted
David Albin:to touch me and hold me and kiss me and sit next to me. Well die.
David Albin:I'm her son. But you know what? I didn't know that. Right. I
David Albin:just thought she was my weird aunt that was, you know, very
David Albin:affectionate. Now she, by the way, I want to be really clear
David Albin:about so she never ever touched me inappropriately. It was
David Albin:always you know, with love and kindness and, and that kind of
David Albin:thing. Good. And so shortly after they told me, they both
David Albin:started drinking. And they swore off alcohol at five years old
David Albin:when they adopted me. So for six years, they didn't drink at all.
David Albin:And then all of a sudden, boom, they both started. Now, there
David Albin:was a lot going on in the world. Back then. Kennedy had just been
David Albin:assassinated in November of 63. This is a summer of 664. My
David Albin:dad's military, he's an officer. He's working in the Pentagon
David Albin:going back and forth from Southern Cal to DC. The Bay of
David Albin:Pigs was going on the missiles were in Cuba, we were on the
David Albin:brink of nuclear war. And my dad, you know, again, I don't
David Albin:know if it was that it was a combination of Kennedy being
David Albin:assassinated. If it was him telling me that they weren't my
David Albin:parents. I don't know. All I know is they both started
David Albin:drinking. And elminate got real, ugly, real fast. Pat, my mom,
David Albin:right. She was a happy drunk, if you will. She never got violent,
David Albin:but Bob did. Bob turned into a not a nice guy when he was
David Albin:drinking. He was a wonderful human when he was sober. But man
David Albin:when he was drinking, get back away from this guy. And that
David Albin:might have been because of you know, the PTSD and stuff during
David Albin:the war. World War Two. I don't know. You didn't we didn't know
David Albin:what PTSD was back then. They didn't even treat them back
David Albin:then. Right? That's right. So anyway, they went to the grocery
David Albin:store one day, both of them. And they did that a lot. Right. You
David Albin:go together, right? You didn't leave your kids home. It's like,
David Albin:no big deal. This is the 60s For God's sakes, right. All you did
David Albin:was call the neighbor across the street and say, Hey, Joanne, Bob
David Albin:and I are going to the grocery store. David's gonna be home
David Albin:alone. Hey, if he needs anything, can he come knock on
David Albin:the door? Well, yeah, sure. Tell him to come over now. Well, I'll
David Albin:feed him a fried bologna sandwich, man, if you've never
David Albin:had a sandwich of the 60s, man. So when they left I knew where
David Albin:the booze was. They were hiding it in plain sight. And I wanted
David Albin:to know what this stuff was. And so curiosity, I went over and
David Albin:grabbed it out of the out of the cabinet. I set it on, I remember
David Albin:looking at this big giant half gallon of brandy. And I took a
David Albin:coffee cup and I filled it about halfway and I doubted Alan. And
David Albin:you know what? I never had a chance at Burger. I was an
David Albin:alcoholic right on the spot, rarely started. And I started
David Albin:thinking alcoholic Lee acting alcoholic Lee. Oh, yeah, I was
David Albin:done. Stick a fork in me. Now alcoholism is running through my
David Albin:family anyway. So it's no secret. You know, it's not like
David Albin:I was immune from it. I boom, I was done. And I'm, you know, I'm
David Albin:11 years old. For God's sakes. Well, it just got that got
David Albin:worse. Because you don't know the drinking in the house. I
David Albin:didn't want to be anywhere around it. Right. So I was
David Albin:always outside down the street. I could get on my bicycle and
David Albin:ride miles away. I could ride all the way to the beach and
David Albin:nobody would know the difference. And so as I got
David Albin:through school is getting through school that's not
David Albin:working. I'm not doing well. By the time I was a junior, Tom was
David Albin:a junior in high school, they pulled me into the principal's
David Albin:office and said, Alvin, you're out. If we're done with you,
David Albin:you're a threat to our school. Now the good news, whether that
David Albin:was I was good with it. I'm like good. I don't want to go to
David Albin:school. You're not teaching me anything that's gonna make me a
David Albin:living anyway. Or at least that was my belief at the moment. I
David Albin:was already an entrepreneur. And I was an entrepreneur because
David Albin:when I was young, you know, back when I was 11. The other
David Albin:flipside was my mom grew flowers in the backyard. She had this
David Albin:giant planter. It was L shaped and she had 1000s of flowers. I
David Albin:was growing up there. Now understand mom, she was the
David Albin:oldest of the kids, right? She could do everything during the
David Albin:Depression. She sold clothes, she made clothes. She She farm
David Albin:she, she did it. All right, so she knew how to grow flowers.
David Albin:And so she went out, she'd cut those bad boys. And she taken
David Albin:she cut it at an angle, she wouldn't cut it at the bottom,
David Albin:she cut at an angle to open up more surface areas. So more
David Albin:water would get into the, into the flower, right. And she could
David Albin:arrange them she had a beautiful eye for color. And she would
David Albin:arrange them and she put a rubber band around them. And
David Albin:then she put them in a bucket and she put water in the bucket.
David Albin:And then here's what she did. Here was the magic. The genius
David Albin:was she put a little bit of setup in up in that water. And
David Albin:something about that seven up would get up into those flowers
David Albin:and they would outlast every florist in town.
Unknown:So I'm on the street corner selling flowers. That was
Unknown:last two weeks easily. And so there I am, I'm learning
Unknown:negotiate with, you know, with people. I got a paper route
Unknown:shortly thereafter. That's a full blown full blown job you
Unknown:are you are an entrepreneur, you're running your own
Unknown:business. Seven days a week, you got to go get your papers after
Unknown:school. You got to get up early in the morning on Saturday and
Unknown:Sunday. Because if people want that early morning paper, you
Unknown:gonna fold them, deliver them collect the money, turn it into
Unknown:your den, mother, all of that. It's you're a full blown
Unknown:entrepreneur, and I grew up across the street from a golf
Unknown:course. Well, this is you know, and guess what I learned about
Unknown:golfers? They suck. Right? Those guys would hit the balls over
Unknown:the fence and I'd go take my Stingray bicycle. I'd ride
Unknown:around the perimeter and guess what I'd find golf golf balls
Unknown:everywhere. So I'd take them home clean them. And I went back
Unknown:to the golf course and they throw the boxes. They came in,
Unknown:in the trash. Well, I've taken and then I'd come back and I'd
Unknown:arrange them. I put no title is max fly Dunlop Wilson's. And I
Unknown:go back into the parking lot of the golf course and sell them
Unknown:back to the golfers. So my belief system when I got kicked
Unknown:out of high school, there's money out there, go get it. Yep,
Unknown:it's out there, man. It's everywhere. And so I got a job
Unknown:and in the biggest grocery store in the state of California. And
Unknown:I got into an apprentice program, I became a retail
Unknown:clerks, which was a subsidiary of the teamsters union. And the
Unknown:next thing I know after a year, I'm making eight bucks an hour
Unknown:in 1972. So that's like 50 bucks an hour now, right? I went out
Unknown:and bought a new muscle of new Mach one Mustang. I got my own
Unknown:apartment in Belmont Shore California. And as a good thing,
Unknown:I was making money because I had a hell of a drug habit. I was
Unknown:taken in Fetta means because I was working night crew. I was
Unknown:doing coke. I was doing heroin. I was drinking alcohol. I mean,
Unknown:as a as a train wreck man as a plane crash and a five car
Unknown:collision all rolled into one. And but I went out and and you
Unknown:know, who do you hang out with when you're got that kind of a
Unknown:lifestyle you're hanging out with drug addicts you're hanging
Unknown:out with, with drug dealers and pimps and prostitutes. And I
Unknown:mean, you know, gangs and the whole nine yards. Well, to
Unknown:further this, three and three marriages later, I'm I woke up
Unknown:on June 8 of 1988. And I got up that morning, and I said, This
Unknown:is it. I'm done. I'm out that I can't do the pain anymore.
Unknown:Probably be somewhere with my dad. And I'm like, so I'm going
Unknown:to in my life. I'm going to load my pistol. I'm going to put a
Unknown:bullet in my head and the pains going away and I'll be done with
Unknown:it. Yep, well, I'm married to a woman who's got three kids, and
Unknown:they're my stepkids. They're living upstairs. I'm living in
Unknown:the basement because they wanted nothing to do with me at that
Unknown:point. So as I'm contemplating and getting ready to put a
Unknown:bullet in my head, it dawns on me, when you pull that trigger,
Unknown:yeah, your troubles go away. Right, but those three kids,
Unknown:you're killing them, you're going to ruin their life. It's
Unknown:not fair. You can't do that to them. Figure out another plan,
Unknown:pow. And this is the conversation I'm having with
Unknown:myself. And so now I'm like, No, you can't do that. You can't
Unknown:ruin their life. And so the next thought I had was okay, well,
Unknown:you got to do something. And the next thought I had Ellen is call
Unknown:Alcoholics Anonymous. Well, you know what's weird about that?
Unknown:Bizarre, if you will, I don't know who he is. I don't know
Unknown:anybody in AAA. I've never been to AAA and yeah, there's the
Unknown:thought call Alcoholics Anonymous. And I did. And I got
Unknown:a wonderful human being on the phone to this day. I've
Unknown:affectionately nicknamed her match. And the reason I
Unknown:nicknamed her mad in a playful loving way is because she talked
Unknown:like this. She probably smoked two packs a Powerball nine
Unknown:filters a day. And man, she was a badass. She was a gatekeeper
Unknown:man, that was her job. Her job is to interview you. And if she
Unknown:thinks it's warranted, she will call somebody in AAA to come get
Unknown:you. And she did. She called Lauren and Lauren came and
Unknown:picked me up and he took me to my first AAA meeting. And while
Unknown:I was there, they took a big book of Alcoholics Anonymous,
Unknown:the fourth edition, I believe it was, and they sign it. It was
Unknown:all men's group, by the way. And they, they they wrote on the
Unknown:inside cover before you take that first drink, call one of
Unknown:us, they put their first name, and their telephone number. They
Unknown:sent me home with that. And so my AAA career started next day,
Unknown:you know, I got two days, and then I got a week and then I got
Unknown:a month. And when I that first day, they also gave me one of
Unknown:these a chip. And then a 30 days, they gave me another one.
Unknown:Well, I got a sponsor. And here's what my sponsor told me.
Unknown:He said, Tell you what, put this in your put this on your tongue.
Unknown:And if it dissolves, it's made of metal. He said, when when it
Unknown:dissolves, you can have a drink. Which meant you're never going
Unknown:to drink again. Pow, right. So you know, I got two months, they
Unknown:gave me another chip, and then three months, six months, nine
Unknown:months, one year. And then of course, since last June
Unknown:8 19 2023. I picked up one for 35 years. In fact, I was on a
Unknown:podcast here. Thank you. I appreciate that. You know, and I
Unknown:it's hard to it's hard. It's hard for me there because it's
Unknown:like, look, oh, I get to stop trying to kill myself. That's
Unknown:all I really did. I was on a podcast here recently, she was a
Unknown:clinical psychologist. And she said, Do you have any you? Were
Unknown:you addicted to heroin and cocaine too? Yeah, you were
Unknown:doing all hard drugs? Yeah. And alcohol. Yeah, she goes, Do you
Unknown:have any idea what the odds are of you making it out? And I'm
Unknown:like, No, and I don't want to know, all I know is I'm here.
Unknown:And that's, that's all I care about. And because of that, I
Unknown:came to I came to an awakening that I had a divine purpose. And
Unknown:it was to do the greater good and serve other human beings.
Unknown:Because in a in the preamble, and you know, you got the 12
Unknown:steps and 12 traditions. But in the middle there, Alan, they got
Unknown:the preamble. And the preamble says, when anyone anywhere
Unknown:reaches out, I want the hand of a to be there. And for that. I'm
Unknown:responsible. Well, I took that to heart. That's what they
Unknown:showed me. So talk about duplication right there I was.
Unknown:Well, at the same time, I'm getting sober. I'm up late one
Unknown:night, 1988, three o'clock in the morning who gets queued
Unknown:Guess who's the only person on television at three o'clock in
Unknown:the morning? In 1988? You're laughing because you know,
Unknown:right. There he is, you know, Mr. Enthusiasm, you know, a
Unknown:young Tony Robbins of vibrant, Tony Robbins being promoted by
Unknown:gmefi rancor showing his personal power program, a 30 day
Unknown:program for total success. And so I did not like him. I'm gonna
Unknown:tell you right now, I thought he was pompous. Like, these aren't
Unknown:motivated, and I'm not motivated, I'm miserable. But he
Unknown:said a couple things that got me. So I kept listening to him.
Unknown:The first thing he said was, we'll do more to avoid pain. And
Unknown:we will again, pleasure. And I went, Wow, oh, let's,
Alan Carroll:let's share that with the audience a little
Alan Carroll:slower when we, when we get them golden nuggets, Dave. Let's go
Alan Carroll:real slow, real
Unknown:slow and find that. He said we'll do more to avoid
Unknown:pain, then we will to gain pleasure. Well, that resonated
Unknown:with me, because I was using alcohol and drugs for those two
Unknown:purposes. I was either trying to avoid pain with the drugs and
Unknown:alcohol, or I was trying to chase some type of pleasure. So
Unknown:that resonated with me, right? But I still don't like the guy.
Unknown:But then here's what God. He said the driving force in our
Unknown:lives as human beings. How we make decisions are, we're in
Unknown:we're either we're either influenced by inspiration, or
Unknown:desperation. And when he said that, I went, Oh my gosh, Man,
Unknown:am I desperate? Maybe I should listen to this dude. And I did.
Unknown:So I bought his program. They sent it to me came in a big box.
Unknown:And the program came on these little white things called
Unknown:cassette tapes said, because that what's that? Talking about?
Unknown:They're, well, they're in the Smithsonian. You'll see them
Unknown:they're right next to eight track tapes and reel to reel and
Alan Carroll:35 millimeter slides. You can add that to the
Alan Carroll:file.
Unknown:Look. Yeah, exactly. So I plugged them in and I did what
Unknown:the man taught me to do. I went You bet. Right. So that's all
Unknown:that all went down in Ada. Well, one of my buddies, I started to
Unknown:make the changes. I started working out I started losing
Unknown:weight. I started I started a chauffeur business back in those
Unknown:days started doing really well. You know, my attitudes good. I'm
Unknown:changing them. I'm Suzy asterik. I'm up I'm, I'm grateful. You
Unknown:know, I'm grateful for life and my the second chance and so AAA
Unknown:in the personal development industry collided in my life at
Unknown:the same time early on. And that was that rarely happens to
Unknown:people in a head. So that was really it, man. So. So my buddy
Unknown:in a one day is talking to me. He's got about two years on,
Unknown:he's like, dude, what's going on with you? Why are you so
Unknown:motivated? You're all encouraging, and I hear you in
Unknown:the meetings and you're very uplifting. He goes, Man, what's
Unknown:going on? And I said, Well, I've been listening to this guy named
Unknown:Tony Robbins. Because I know Tony Robbins is I bought his
Unknown:book, but I never read it. Well, how often does that show up?
Unknown:Right. We want to make a change when we buy a book or buy a
Unknown:program, and then we don't do it. Yeah, I knew who you are.
Unknown:You're out there listening. Right? We do it. Well, anyway, I
Unknown:said, Look, I bought his program. I'll loan it to you. If
Unknown:you promise me to go through it. He said, I promise. So I gave it
Unknown:to you did, you went through it. Seven years later. This is all
Unknown:going on in 1988 1989. To 919 95 My phone rings. It's dan. He
Unknown:goes, dude. Hey, man, did you know that Tony Robbins is coming
Unknown:to town? And I'm like, No, man. I had no clue. He goes, dude,
Unknown:come on. You got me into this. You gotta go with me. Come on.
Unknown:Let's go. Yep. And I said, Well, what's the date? I said, so he's
Unknown:I said, Yeah, I'll go. He said, Great. Listen, I'm gonna call
Unknown:you back. Let me go make the arrangements. Let me call you
Unknown:back. calls me back an hour later, he goes done. Here's what
Unknown:they told us to do. Number one, drink a lot of water. Stay
Unknown:hydrated throughout the event. Number two, bring snacks. You're
Unknown:gonna laugh at this one. They said bring snacks, you're gonna
Unknown:have a lot of room. What an understatement. That is I was
Unknown:laughing because he knows. And so. And then he said, be ready
Unknown:to play full out and bring your good attitude. And I said, Well,
Unknown:how much was the ticket? Dan? He said $695 What? $695.90 95?
Unknown:Right. what's that worth today? Yeah, 1.3 million. I don't buy
Unknown:Bitcoin for God's sakes. Hey, that's literally Bitcoins. Yeah,
Unknown:absolutely. So just as he's getting ready to get off the
Unknown:phone, he goes, Oh, by the way, I left out almost left after the
Unknown:most important part. Because we're going to be doing a fire
Unknown:watch. No, I'm like, Oh, hell no. No, no, no, no, no, no, I'm
Unknown:not saying anything. But my brain is going no fire walk
Unknown:together. No. You know what's funny. I don't know what a
Unknown:firewall is. I don't know what that meant. I have no recipe for
Unknown:references for that. I have no idea what he just told me. But I
Unknown:said, No, I'm not saying anything to Dan. I'm making
Unknown:these decisions quietly. Right. And I'm like, going along with
Unknown:I'm like, you know, I'm being subservient. I'm like, Yeah,
Unknown:sure. You know, firewall. Yeah, sounds good. Dan. Okay, man. See
Unknown:you then. Well, the big day comes. And we get there. And you
Unknown:know, this. Tony took the stage at two o'clock in the afternoon.
Unknown:Next thing I know, it's after midnight. Right. You've been in?
Unknown:I've been in a room. We've all been in a room. There's 3500 of
Unknown:us, by the way at this event. And you I've been in a room with
Unknown:Tony for 10 hours. You know, remember the part bring snacks?
Unknown:Yeah. If you don't just starve to death. And the next thing you
Unknown:know, and I'm not doing it, I made a decision. This is a hard
Unknown:no for me. I'm not going to do this firewalk and all sudden,
Unknown:Tony goes take your shoes off. And I'm like, oh, no, no, no,
Unknown:no, no. I see where you're going with that. Wow. I fallen for
Unknown:that. Well, here's the dilemma. I'm in a room with 3500 people.
Unknown:Guess what they're doing? They're taking their damn shoes
Unknown:off. That's right. And we're going on taking no people don't
Unknown:go towards the light. It's like, Oh, you gotta be kidding me. So
Unknown:now my dilemma is what am I going to do? What am I going to
Unknown:take my shoes off and walk out there into this parking lot?
Unknown:With 3500 people and wear my shoes are all going to be
Unknown:pointing to me. They're gonna know I'm a coward. Now we can't
Unknown:have that. So I'm like, calm down. Just chill. Take your
Unknown:shoes off. And when you get out there, just go hide in the back.
Unknown:No one is going to know period. Of course right? So there's my
Unknown:now it gets worse as you know when he gets everybody going out
Unknown:there once you get everybody to start doing clapping and
Unknown:chanting. Right so they're walking out there going? Yes,
Unknown:yes. Yes. And I'm walking out there going? No, I don't think
Unknown:so. Not tonight boys and girls. And But it gets worse. You know
Unknown:this to you get out there. He's got African drummers.
Alan Carroll:Oh, yeah. Dunton feels good in the body. Oh,
Alan Carroll:yeah. Boom.
Unknown:But you know what a dog and pony show, right? And then
Unknown:you get out there, of course. And he's got this giant fire
Unknown:built over here in the corner, right? And it's huge. It's 35
Unknown:feet wide. It's 70 feet long. It's been burning all day. And
Unknown:it renders after 10 hours. And so they just keep throwing wood
Unknown:on it all day. And at the end of the night, this big giant pile
Unknown:of coals, some blue, woohoo, blue flame. It's gorgeous.
Unknown:Right? So how do you how do you firewalk 3500 people? Well, what
Unknown:you do is you take wheelbarrows over to that big pile coals, you
Unknown:load the coals in a wheelbarrow, you bring a wheelbarrow in and
Unknown:you run two lanes of side, grass on the side. And that lanes, you
Unknown:know, three feet wide, 18 feet long. And then you just take a
Unknown:flathead shovel, and you sprinkle those coals on top of
Unknown:that grass. And that's what you walk on. Well, I'm having none
Unknown:of it. Where am I? I'm in the back. I'm Heidi. Well, here's
Unknown:what Tony Robbins knows. He did his research. He didn't bring
Unknown:the firewalk to his events because he thought he was going
Unknown:to hurt people. Right? He knows he did his research firewalking
Unknown:is literally one of the most life changing experiences any
Unknown:human will ever go through. Period. firewalk has been around
Unknown:for 1000 years. It's not new. It may be new to the west, but it's
Unknown:not new to the rest of the world. Just go ask the
Unknown:Phoenicians or the people of India. Oh my gosh, they've been
Unknown:doing it. It's incredible. The fireworks they do in India, the
Unknown:Polynesians, the Hawaiians, the people of Spain and Portugal and
Unknown:the Indo Europeans, the Native American Indians, it's been
Unknown:around for 1000 years used as a rite of passage, a graduation.
Unknown:So Tony knows that this is, you know, he wants to get you across
Unknown:that fire. And the reason is, because he knows the paradigm
Unknown:shift is there. He knows it's going to be one of the most life
Unknown:changing experiences you'll ever endure. And so he wants to make
Unknown:sure you get through that experience. What's he do? He
Unknown:knows there's people like me, he knows where we are. He knows
Unknown:we're hiding in the back. He's not. He's very experienced at
Unknown:this. So what's he do? He trains people to come find you. So here
Unknown:I'm thinking I got it all figured out hiding in the back.
Unknown:Next thing, you know, here comes this guy. You know, it's coming
Unknown:right on back there. And all of a sudden, he makes eye contact.
Unknown:And Tony trains them. Once you make eye contact, don't take
Unknown:your eyes off. And so I'm out there and he makes eye contact
Unknown:with me and it gets to you know, I don't know 20 feet from any
Unknown:kind of looks at me really funny. Like a dog that hears a
Unknown:strange sound right? twisted his head. And he's looking at me
Unknown:goes Hey, man, are you okay? And when we're not okay, what do we
Unknown:say? What do we do? I'm fine. Rely we're fine. Yeah. Oh, good.
Unknown:Here, move along. Nothing to see here. Smile. And he says so.
Unknown:Hey, man, are you going to walk tonight? I'm like, Absolutely
Unknown:not. What do you think I'm hiding in the back full? And he
Unknown:goes, Hey, man, that's cool. No problem. He said, We don't want
Unknown:you to do anything you don't want to do. And I went, Oh,
Unknown:okay. Well, this guy is gonna get me out of here. Not so much.
Unknown:And you know, what's interesting about this man, now is, I don't
Unknown:know who it is to this day. This one guy that I don't know, ask
Unknown:me one question. It completely changed my life. That's those
Unknown:kinds of things happen in our lives all the time, but we don't
Unknown:recognize it in the moment. And so here's this perfect stranger.
Unknown:And the question he asked me was, wouldn't you at least like
Unknown:to watch? And I thought, Well, sure. Oh, watch. That'd be fine.
Unknown:Let's go watch these people burn their feet off. Yeah, let's do
Unknown:that. And he said, well, listen, man, you can't see anything from
Unknown:where you are. He's right. And he's telling the truth. I'm 100
Unknown:yards away. I got 3500 People standing for it. I can't see
Unknown:anything. I can hear it. I could see the big fire over here. I
Unknown:can hear the drums I can feel the drums I can hear the
Unknown:chanting and the clapping. People are already firewalking
Unknown:and they're in the celebration and and they're jumping up like
Unknown:crazy screaming with exhilaration. That's all
Unknown:happening, but I can't see anything. And he said, well just
Unknown:get in line and eventually you'll get up there you'll be
Unknown:able to see it. You got me, right, he got me in line. That's
Unknown:all that he needed to do. And he was congruent. Because I
Unknown:couldn't see anything and I wouldn't have been able to see
Unknown:anything and I've not gotten a lot. So I'm in line I'm kind of
Unknown:trudging along and you know, again, it's it's it's it's a dog
Unknown:and pony show unlike anything you've ever seen, felt or
Unknown:experienced. And all sudden this guy comes up to me he whispers
Unknown:in my ear. And he says he knows when you're ready. When he says
Unknown:go you go and pew. This guy just disappeared into the night. And
Unknown:I'm like, what was that? Who was that? What does that mean? He
Unknown:knows when you You're ready. And so I'm just walking along and
Unknown:I'm walking along and all sudden I get to a point I still can't
Unknown:see in front of me. I got 1000 people in front of me, but I can
Unknown:see at an angle. And Alan, you know, they're doing it. every
Unknown:race, every creed, every color. And they're Firewalker their
Unknown:walk walking on hot coals and I'm mesmerized. I can't take my
Unknown:eyes off it. You know, it's like a it's like a car accident,
Unknown:right? You Oh, I'm not supposed to look at it. But what do we do
Unknown:we stare at? Yeah, well, that's kind of what's going on here. I
Unknown:can't take my eyes off it. And I'm and again, I'm just going to
Unknown:trance and I'm walking along and boom. Next thing I know, guess
Unknown:where I am. Right. I missed the front of the line. And now I'm
Unknown:looking down at that fire lane, right? It's three feet wide.
Unknown:It's 18 feet long. The calls have been sprinkled on top.
Unknown:They're glowing. Alright, growing calls. Yeah. Oh, cheese,
Unknown:and the wheelbarrows right there so I can feel the heat coming
Unknown:off. So this is real. Yep. And I'm staring into the abyss.
Unknown:Yeah, my heart is pounding so hard. I know. It's gonna jump
Unknown:out of my chest any moment. Yep. Well, there's a trainer standing
Unknown:right there. Yep, I'll send the trainer goes up. And I bring my
Unknown:like, you know, you startled right, my eyes. Well, well done.
Unknown:I'm in a room for 10 hours with Tony Robbins. And guess what he
Unknown:teaches you to do, as you well know. Keep your eyes up. Don't
Unknown:stare at what you fear. interesting metaphor. Keep your
Unknown:eyes up look to the celebration and because that's where the
Unknown:reward is. And so because basically, fear is nothing more
Unknown:than exhilaration without the breath. Let me say that again.
Unknown:Fear, in most cases is nothing more than exhilaration without
Unknown:the breath, because it's like going on a roller coaster. You
Unknown:get scared? What do you do? You hold your breath. You're not
Unknown:breathing, just like we did when we started your podcast. We took
Unknown:a nice big deep cleansing breath, get oxygen into your
Unknown:body get get your mind moving. And so the trainer goes, squeeze
Unknown:your fist and say yes. And I'm like, Yes. And you want
Unknown:stronger. No, yes. Well, he could tell. He's been doing
Unknown:this. He knew I wasn't in a peak state. He knew I was leaving a
Unknown:lot on the table. So what did he do? You got in my face and
Unknown:screamed at me stronger. screamed at me. Well, that's
Unknown:fighter flight. So I threw my hands in the air and I screamed
Unknown:Yes, as loud as I could any goes, go go go. I took off.
Unknown:Right? Remember the guy he knows when you're ready. When he says
Unknown:go you go. I went? Well, here's the first thing I learned about
Unknown:firewalking and I'll bet you learned something similar. And
Unknown:that is when you take that first step. Oh, you'll take the
Unknown:second, third fourth. You're not gonna stop on that fire lane.
Unknown:Ain't gonna happen. Well, as you might also know, they put two
Unknown:guys at the end two people at the end and they lock arms to
Unknown:stop you and they catch you. Right it's like stop like your
Unknown:feet.