Shownotes
Wendy Green is back with another uplifting episode, and this time she’s chatting with Matt Potts, the mastermind behind the 'Unintended Positives from Shelter in Place 2020' Facebook page.
Picture this: when the world came to a screeching halt, Matt decided to spotlight the good things that were still happening. Fast forward to now, and he’s got a lively community of nearly 10,000 members sharing their stories! It’s a real testament to how people can come together during tough times. In our chat, we dive deep into the community aspect of Matt’s page.
t’s not just about sharing a good meal or a sunny garden pic; it’s about genuine connection! People are sharing stories of rekindling family ties, learning new hobbies, and even helping each other cope with loneliness. It’s refreshing to hear how this space has become a safe haven for positivity amidst the noise of the world. We also touch on Matt’s future plans, including a book that aims to capture the spirit of this community and inspire others.
So if you’re in need of a pick-me-up or just want to hear some lovely stories, this episode is definitely for you!
To continue to support the Hey, Boomer community, please go to buymeacoffee.com/HeyBoomer0413
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcripts
Hello, my name is Wendy Greene.
Speaker A:Welcome to the 12th episode of hey Boomer.
Speaker A:These episodes are all recorded live on the hey Boomer Facebook page every Monday at 1 o' clock and then I edit out any kind of gaffes or gaps in the recording and bring it over here to anchor where it is distributed and you all can enjoy our conversation.
Speaker A: ives from sheltering in place: Speaker A:It is a fascinating story.
Speaker A:I hope you enjoy it.
Speaker A:Let me hear from you and let me know if you like what you're hearing and continue listening to the hey Boomer broadcasts.
Speaker B:Hello hey Boomer listeners.
Speaker B:My name is Wendy Greene and welcome to the 12th episode of hey Boomer.
Speaker B:Today I'm going to be talking to Matt Potts who started an amazing Facebook community around the unintended positives that people are discovering while sheltering in place.
Speaker B:We're going to find out what motivated him to start this page, what has resulted in the last three months since he started it, and where does he go from here?
Speaker B:Matt and I are both passionate about community.
Speaker B:We want you to participate and become active members of both of our communities.
Speaker B:If you like what you're hearing, please like heart and share this.
Speaker B:Leave us Comments Sharing with your friends who weren't able to join today is being a good friend and helping them also gain some of what we talk about today.
Speaker B:Have you heard me talk about Buy me a cup of coffee?
Speaker B:It's a way that you can support what we are doing on hey Boomer.
Speaker B:Your generosity allows me to keep bringing you these amazing guests who share their stories that inspire, educate and elevate us.
Speaker B:And for just $50 you can get a sponsorship mention on this program and you don't have to have a business.
Speaker B:We can talk about an organization that you're passionate about.
Speaker B:We can talk about your vocation.
Speaker B:And with that said, today's sponsor is my friend Doris McMillan who is the president of the Greenville, South Carolina branch of the American association of University Women.
Speaker B:Doris informed me that 100 years ago the 19th amendment that gave women the right to vote became part of the Constitution.
Speaker B:100 Years ago, a group of forward thinking women in Greenville, South Carolina added their efforts and persistence to the work of the National Organization of aauw.
Speaker B: AAUW began working in: Speaker B: And this year in: Speaker B:The focus of AAUW is income inequality and student debt.
Speaker B:You can find your local branch wherever you are through the AAUW.org website.
Speaker B:Join them in their work.
Speaker B:So hey Boomer is a place where we are building community through meaningful conversations with our guests.
Speaker B:It's a community where people feel relevant.
Speaker B:A community of active, engaged, involved individuals.
Speaker B:I am honored to start the conversation with our guest today, but like I said, this is a community and your voices and your questions are important to us.
Speaker B:Continue to leave your comments, leave your questions, and we are going to try to answer as many of them as we can today.
Speaker B:And if we are not able to answer them during this broadcast, Matt and I will both follow up with you and be sure to address every question that comes up.
Speaker B:So how do I know Matt Potts?
Speaker B:Well, I've talked to him a couple of times to get ready for this broadcast, but I really got interested pots from a friend of mine, a mutual friend, Lisa Houston, who invited me to join this page.
Speaker B: tive from Shelter in place in: Speaker B:And I thought, well, sounds like a good idea.
Speaker B:I mean, we could all use some positivity right now while we're sheltering in place.
Speaker B:So I joined the Facebook page and started to follow what they were talking about and started to share some of my own unintended positives.
Speaker B:And a lot of what I shared was about my garden.
Speaker B:And then a community began to form.
Speaker B:And so I looked up the dictionary definition for community and it says a community is a feeling of fellowship with others as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals.
Speaker B:The members of the Unintended Positives Facebook page from around the world began to share their thoughts and their interests.
Speaker B:But I have to take this definition of community just one step further because I think it's also about sharing support.
Speaker B:As I mentioned, I would post about my garden and I would get thumbs up from people that I had never met.
Speaker B:I would get comments and advice from people that I didn't know.
Speaker B:And I've watched this happen.
Speaker B:On this page, so many people are sharing their experiences and their positives and getting support from the community.
Speaker B:It's really an amazing place.
Speaker B:So I am going to bring Matt on and introduce you.
Speaker B:Hi Matt.
Speaker C:Hey there.
Speaker C:How are we doing?
Speaker B:Great.
Speaker B:Good to see you.
Speaker C:Good to see you.
Speaker B:So let me tell everybody a little bit about you.
Speaker B:First, Matt was born in the Midwest, but he has lived on the east coast for about 43 years.
Speaker B:He has always been most inspired by people in history who pursued a variety of interests and passions.
Speaker B:People like the ancient Greeks, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Thomas Jefferson.
Speaker B:He has also been inspired by athletes like Jim Thorpe and Bo Jackson, who excelled in multiple sports.
Speaker B:Naturally, Matt pursued academics, athletics, art and literature and spirituality with equal passion.
Speaker B:Matt's career has included being an advertising copywriter, a scriptwriter, a freelancer, artistic director, president and chief operating officer of his own company, and even a Six Sigma green belt in process management.
Speaker B:Along the way, he's been the artistic director, wrote and directed his original works.
Speaker B:Matt is a certified life coach as well as a pitching and hitting coach to baseball players ages 8 to 18.
Speaker B:And he is also very grateful for his three kids, Morgan, Jake, and Zach.
Speaker B:What did I leave out, Matt?
Speaker C:I think that pretty well covers it.
Speaker C:Well, especially the last segment.
Speaker C:I love my kids, so love being a dad.
Speaker B:Yeah, kids are.
Speaker B:Kids are the best.
Speaker B:Wait till you have grandkids.
Speaker B:It's even okay.
Speaker B:Even better.
Speaker B:So before we get into talking about what unintended positives has done and how it started, I know that I saw recently you were getting close to 10,000 members.
Speaker B:Can you tell us where you are today?
Speaker C:Yeah, we're closing in on close to 9,600, and we'll likely either by the end of the day today or tomorrow we'll be at 9,600.
Speaker C:So this community is an amazing group of people, and a couple of weeks ago, I kind of issued a challenge to them to say, you know, to dare to be 10,000.
Speaker C:And also accompanying that dare to be one.
Speaker C:And we can talk about that later.
Speaker C:But in terms of dare to be 10,000 is, you know, as a.
Speaker C:As an epicenter of positivity, you know, I have to say that I never dreamed that 10,000 would be an actual number we'd be looking at.
Speaker C:And here we are.
Speaker C:We're staring right at it.
Speaker B:Here we are.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:So tell me you started with one.
Speaker B:With you.
Speaker B:What inspired you, what inspired you to get this.
Speaker C:So early on in the pandemic when sheltered and placed orders were starting to be administered by different governors around.
Speaker C:Around the country, in not only the news, but also in social media in general, There was a huge amount of negative reaction.
Speaker C:And even if it wasn't anger, there was a lot of just anxiety and a lot of anxiety about the unknown.
Speaker C:And one of the things that I saw in my own situation was there were a couple of things that might seem mundane or.
Speaker C:Or trivial to others, but I immediately saw that I was spending less money.
Speaker C:I immediately saw that I was paying a lot more attention to my grocery shopping.
Speaker C:And so just immediately being able to See those types of things.
Speaker C:Probably the biggest thing, and I mentioned my kids earlier, my kids are all college age and because their schools had no more in person classes and they were supposed to be finishing their semesters, my daughter, the oldest, was finishing up her master's degree.
Speaker C:And then my.
Speaker C:My two sons are in art school and as a freshman, but also playing baseball for University Lynchburg, my youngest.
Speaker C:And so they had a lot of disappointment, they had a lot of frustration.
Speaker C:They didn't really know, you know, like everybody, they're trying to figure this whole thing out, how is this going to work?
Speaker C:And one of the things I saw immediately was that here are my three now adult kids able to.
Speaker C:To be under the same roof at this, at the same time, which hadn't happened in a few years.
Speaker C:And the last time they were all together, they were all teenagers and they have a different appreciation for each other when you're teenagers.
Speaker C:But they had the opportunity, and have had the opportunity to be under the same roof with each other and living with their mom and having quality time all as adults, having adult conversations, getting adult perspectives on everything, including the most recent events.
Speaker C:And they happened with their mom.
Speaker C:They were only five minutes from me.
Speaker C:So they previously had been in college and leading their own lives, and then now under the same roof and spending quality time with their mom.
Speaker C:And I thought, you know, they're going to be able to look back on this time with a sense of appreciation as well as all the natural feelings of angst and disappointment, but they'll be able to look on this with some appreciation.
Speaker C:And I thought, you know, I'm no anomaly.
Speaker C:There's nothing special about me or my life that other people would not be having these similar things.
Speaker C:So I first started out on regular Facebook creating and I just called it Today's One Good Thing.
Speaker C:And like I said, it could be something inane or mundane like get to wear sweatpants to work, or it could be something more meaningful, like in this situation my kids were in.
Speaker C:And after just within a few days, like I missed one there, and all of a sudden I started getting IM from people saying, hey, where's my one good thing?
Speaker C:And so I created the page really as a forum for what I thought would be likely about three or four dozen maybe people of a couple friends, and we'd be able to have just kind of this running catalog of, of positive things that we could share with each other.
Speaker C:And that was really the, the impetus.
Speaker C:It went from today's one good thing on regular Facebook to creating, you know, unintended Positives of sheltered in place.
Speaker C:2020.
Speaker C:You know, you think as a marketer, you know, that I would have come up with, you know, a more succinct name, but I was, you know, we're not trying to sell anything, so I mean, you know, there you go.
Speaker B:Yeah, it is kind of a long name.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:So you start.
Speaker B:Yeah, you started with family and some friends.
Speaker B:And what happened?
Speaker C:Well, you know, within.
Speaker C:So it was started at 8:30 in the morning before I got my workday underway.
Speaker C:And I checked back at about noon that very first day and saw that 200 people had already joined.
Speaker C:So and I went, okay.
Speaker C:And when I woke up the next day and checked, there were already over 500 people that had joined.
Speaker C:And we had over 150 posts on that first day of people sharing.
Speaker C:These are, these are some of the positive things that I'm seeing already.
Speaker C:Now keep in mind this was the first week of April and by that point we had not even been sheltered in place a month and people were already being able to provide volumes of positive things that they were seeing within the crisis.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:And I posted at that time that if that one day is the only day in the life cycle, then it would be one of the best days of my life.
Speaker C:Just be able to read all of those wonderful things.
Speaker C: n the morning we were at over: Speaker C:Clearly we have stumbled on something.
Speaker C:Clearly there is not only a need for people to hear and to read and to see these positive things, but also a place to be able to share their own.
Speaker C:Because I think if you post, hey, here's this act of kindness I did for somebody else and you post that on regular Facebook and I've used air quotes around regular Facebook.
Speaker C:You do that on regular Facebook, you might be met with an eye roll or something like that.
Speaker C:But within our community we need that, we thrive on that.
Speaker C:We need people to share the acts of kindness, the positive things that they've been seeing.
Speaker C:And so it immediately was clear that we had tapped into something that, that people needed and wanted and were going to respond to immediately.
Speaker C:So I saw within 48 hours that this was something special.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, it's definitely.
Speaker B:And it's really been word of mouth.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:People invite friends, but it's membership.
Speaker B:You have to let them in.
Speaker C:That's right.
Speaker C:It's purely organic.
Speaker C:I mean, people have been inviting friends and family and yeah, I mean we're not doing any, you know, membership drive, you know, get a free T shirt or something like that.
Speaker C:It's all happened, you know, organically and which to me is just part of the awesomeness of it that the, that people care enough about other people to say, here's this thing, I want you to share in it.
Speaker C:And that in and of itself is a positive thing that I'm seeing where you can really tell that not only that the page means something to our members, but that their friends and family mean something to them so that they can give them something that they want to share.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I'm going to ask you a question, but I'm going to ask it to the community first.
Speaker B:And so people that have been part of your community, the unintended positives, I'm going to ask them to share some of what has the most impactful or biggest reason that this has been important to them.
Speaker B:But then I share an idea.
Speaker B:Give us an idea of kind of what topics you've been seeing and share some of the.
Speaker B:That really have been meaningful to you.
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker C:Well, the, I would say that it's falling into at least a dozen or so, I would say 12 to 15 different categories that, that people are, are posting about.
Speaker C:And, and some might be immediately intuitive to you that the, the fact that people are spending a lot of quality, quality time with their, with their family members, people who, you know, I mentioned my adult kids, but, and that is not an anomaly that has been happening quite a bit.
Speaker C:People being able to spend time with their adult kids back home from college or whatever the situation might be, but also time with people who have elderly parents who need regular care and regular attention.
Speaker C:They've been able to do that.
Speaker C:And not only in person, but the act of being able to do that via zoom.
Speaker C:Some people have been reporting they have been in more contact with people who are all the way across the country because they've been scheduling regular zoom calls.
Speaker C:And, and so even though the distance between them hasn't changed because of this situation to become, because people are becoming more and more used to the technology, people are having more conversations with people that they've lost touch with, friends from all the way back to high school or whatever, but also family that might be on the opposite coast that they're now scheduling regular zoom calls with.
Speaker C:I think another thing that's been incredibly heartwarming to see, and you've seen articles about this in NASA News, almost all of the adoption centers for pets are empty because people have been able to adopt pets, spend quality time with the training of the Pets because a lot of people have.
Speaker C:The main obstacle that people have towards adoption is not as feeling like they don't have the time to train and so that with that barrier being removed, they have the time to, to invest in that.
Speaker C:It just has been an amazing array between you know, I think, you know, you mentioned gardening and the amount of support that you've seen.
Speaker C:People have been learning new skills, they've been able to spend time on some of the avocations, some of the hobbies that, that they have wanted to spend time on that they haven't been able to do that.
Speaker C:And like you mentioned, which, which did my heart so much good to hear you say because I see it every day, I see all the support that people give, all these amazing creative projects.
Speaker C:You see this community, there are so many talented people in this community.
Speaker C:Artists, musicians who have posted songs, poets, people with their DIY projects and things like that.
Speaker C:And they immediately get the show support, the, the array of oh my gosh, you're so talented stuff.
Speaker C:And it's all genuine, it's all, it's amazing.
Speaker C:So all these things feed off of each other and so I think those would be array, that's the array of posts that I see.
Speaker B:So let me share with you some of what the community has said here.
Speaker B:So Melissa says, well, even though you're not selling a T shirt, she wants one.
Speaker B:But she also says she loves that.
Speaker B:It's no politics, it's a positively safe zone.
Speaker B:Deborah says the encouragement that's shared within the group is amazing and friendships are being formed and that she also says it's incredibly inspiring.
Speaker B:I often find myself saying, oh that's cool, I might try that.
Speaker B:And then Elizabeth says I, I read the, I read the positive comments and look at the beautiful photos of unintended positives every day to lower my blood pressure and just breathe deeply as she's caretaking her 97 year old mother.
Speaker B:So she says, thank you Matt.
Speaker B:Yeah, so yeah, nice stuff.
Speaker B:Tammy asked a question which I was going to ask something similar.
Speaker B:She says, do you worry that it's going to get out of control?
Speaker B:And my question was going to be like what's it like being an admin for a page that's got so many members?
Speaker B:What are some of the challenges?
Speaker C:You know, I really don't worry too much about it being out of control.
Speaker C:We have, you know, some mechanisms that are in place because of the technology I there in terms of the challenges from an admin point of view, the truth is it really hasn't been that Difficult.
Speaker C:So we've had.
Speaker C:Excuse me, we've had several thousand posts, and I think I have deleted.
Speaker C:I haven't really tracked the number, but I think I have deleted less than 50.
Speaker C:So, you know, I'm guessing that is less than 1/10 of 1% of all the posts that I've been.
Speaker C:So that part of it has not been too strenuous.
Speaker C:And really, those posts have been people that I would refer to as they just can't help themselves, they have to make a political comment, or they just can't help themselves.
Speaker C:And to criticize somebody's point of view.
Speaker C:And that's easily solved.
Speaker C:That is easily solved, and I have no problem solving it because I am extremely protective of this community.
Speaker C:And the other thing is this community is very protective of this community.
Speaker C:The people who are most rabid about paying attention to the rules are the community themselves.
Speaker C:And so that makes my job easier.
Speaker C:You know, the.
Speaker C:I think what, you know, when I first started and I was talking with my girlfriend Jenny about, you know, when it was at 500, and I said, imagine if it were 5,000, you know, what.
Speaker C:What could we be at 5,000, what could we be at 10,000?
Speaker C:And again, you know, we're staring right at that.
Speaker C:And one of the things I learned at that moment was I was thinking too small.
Speaker C:I. I was putting a limit on, I mean, let's just call it the power of the universe or whatever.
Speaker C:However, the flow how, whatever you want to call it, I had put like this limit of, you know, what if it's 5,000?
Speaker C:So from an administrative, you know, point of view, I think the challenge at this point is really the numbers.
Speaker C:It is.
Speaker C:I could probably make this close to a at least halftime job, if not, you know, if not more.
Speaker C:And so, you know, finding the balance is that I think the.
Speaker C:From a real practical point of view, there was a challenge that I've been mulling, and I actually put the question out to the community.
Speaker C:I don't really want to make a whole lot of unilateral decisions.
Speaker C:And one of them was that given that we had shifted or added another crisis, which is, you know, staring directly into this systemic racism and coming to grips with that as a society that I put it out to the community.
Speaker C: positives of shelter in place: Speaker C:However, I felt like there were some pretty vehement arguments to keep the name as is for right now because Covid is not going away anytime soon.
Speaker C:Given that there's no real sense of urgency about changing the name, I decided to kind of table it for right now.
Speaker C:Who knows for right now what that means?
Speaker C:But that was a question that I put out to the community.
Speaker C:Wasn't necessarily a, you know, obstacle of any kind, but these are the types of decisions that, that I want to have everybody think about.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, I, like you said, halftime, I'm sure.
Speaker B:Just go read through all of the comments.
Speaker B:Every day is, takes a lot of time.
Speaker B:Tell me, Matt, you know, discovering the interest in this and all, how has this changed you as a person?
Speaker C:Great question.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So that's really the key question for all of us, isn't it?
Speaker C:That we've been in this now for, you know, three plus months.
Speaker C:So I, I think that it is incumbent upon all of us, frankly to ask ourselves, how am I different now than I was three months ago?
Speaker C:And you know, I think my belief system, my, my, my, my point of view on my beliefs, I think as I'm sitting here thinking about, I think that's probably how I've changed the most.
Speaker C:You know, at a very practical level, like I mentioned, my eating habits have changed, they've improved and other things like that.
Speaker C:But, but in terms of, you know, because of this community, because of the, you know, we have more than a projectable sample of people here.
Speaker C:I mean, we're, you know, close.
Speaker C:Closing in on 9,600.
Speaker C:This group of people are amazing in their ability to support each other and provide encouragement.
Speaker C:And so that in turn gives me a sense of belief that, you know, maybe we're, we're not going down the tubes.
Speaker C:Maybe, maybe, maybe we're going to be okay.
Speaker C:Maybe we can pull out of this.
Speaker C:I have a belief system that now says, you know, if you're in a, let's call it a forward facing posture, you know, in a, in a posture that is trying to be of service or to try to.
Speaker C:Another way of saying just to try to do some good in this world, anything's possible.
Speaker C:So the, you know, I really think that that has just been hammered home for me in the, in the last three months of seeing anything is possible, we can do anything.
Speaker C:And so tackling something like systemic racism, which, you know, a huge deep wound, and, and people saying, you know, there's really nothing, how are we ever going to fix that?
Speaker C:Well, I don't have all the answers to that.
Speaker C:But here's what I do know.
Speaker C:That positivity Isn't rainbows and puppy dogs and, you know, unicorns.
Speaker C:What, what?
Speaker C:There's a lot of positivity that is uncomfortable.
Speaker C:And part of that is us being able to have.
Speaker C:We get to have uncomfortable conversations.
Speaker C:I've had more conversations about race and racism with my black friends, with friends in general, more so in the last two or three weeks than I have in years combined.
Speaker C:That's a positive thing.
Speaker C:Even though it's unpleasant and it's not, you know, we're not skipping around having these conversations.
Speaker C:That's important.
Speaker C:So there's so many ways that I feel like I'm different now than I was.
Speaker C:But I think in general, it would all come under the heading of belief.
Speaker C:My belief system has greatly expanded.
Speaker B:That's beautiful.
Speaker B:And I think you've given that gift to many of the people in the community and they've given it to each other.
Speaker B:So you started it.
Speaker B:But I, I find that the community does that for each other too.
Speaker B:And you're right.
Speaker B:I mean, this time of being quiet and being, you know, more inward looking in some ways and also seeing what's going on outside has given us an opportunity to explore our own beliefs and our own biases and an expanded the conversations.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:There was a question here that came in from June and she says, so what are your thoughts of how these positives are going to continue when this is finally over?
Speaker B:And she gives the question of, you know, quality has improved with less use of fossil fuels, you know, so, but in general, what are your thoughts about how, how this goes forward?
Speaker C:Wow, what a great question.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:And it's an important one.
Speaker C:In fact, it might be the most important.
Speaker C:So I've had similar type conversations with people which is, you know, we can look at this as an equivalent to a New Year's resolution, you know, and people at the beginning of the year will make their New Year's resolutions, the gym membership skyrocket, and then by February 1st, you have no problem getting on a cardio machine because it was just, it was not a commitment to a long lasting change.
Speaker C:So, you know, back to the previous question of how am I different now?
Speaker C:And I said, we all need to address that.
Speaker C:I think we also need to.
Speaker C:It's incumbent upon all of us to say which of these behaviors, which of these beliefs are important, are prioritized.
Speaker C:For me that I want to make sure that it's not just a change and not just a, let's call it a new normal resolution instead of a New Year's resolution.
Speaker C:What's going to Be the new normal resolutions, but long lasting change not only for the next few months, but I mean, let's just believe big that we can do this for the next generation.
Speaker C:Can we do this for the next generation?
Speaker C:Examining everything, I mean, one of the.
Speaker C:At my own personal level, I use a lot less paper products.
Speaker C:Some of it is because I want to conserve because I don't know if it's going to be there.
Speaker C:I go to the grocery store, but I know that, I know that I'm using a lot less paper products.
Speaker C:So you know that that is going to have a ripple effect in general.
Speaker C:I think also you're going to see, you know, just specifically about fossil fuels, people that are going to be working from home more.
Speaker C:I think corporations are going to be reevaluating that.
Speaker C:So I think in general what is incumbent upon us is which of these behaviors can I incorporate going forward and then what's very important for each of us to put specific plans to do that.
Speaker C:How do we specifically do that?
Speaker C:And that's up to each one of us, each family to be able to do that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And that's part of the life coach in you because if you don't have those specific goals right, then it's.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's just words.
Speaker B:Then Melissa said it's a wish.
Speaker C:And a wish is nice, but it's not going to really accomplish a lot.
Speaker B:Yeah, Melissa loves the new normal resolutions.
Speaker B:I do too.
Speaker B:That's a great, that's a great line.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So what's next?
Speaker B:You told me about something you're working on.
Speaker B:Do you want to share that?
Speaker C:Yeah, sure.
Speaker C:So one of the things that I had a conversation with a friend of mine a few weeks ago and he actually called me specifically to just let me know how much this page has resonated with him, he and his wife and we were just kind of talking about it and he said, well, you know what, what are some of your takeaways, you know, from all this?
Speaker C:And you know, some of which I alluded to earlier that, you know, the concept of, you know, you just never know, you know, and you know, things and it really only takes one person to ignite something and then the community takes off from there.
Speaker C:So we started, you know, I started just kind of brainstorming a list of things.
Speaker C:He said, matt, that's a book.
Speaker C:And he said, not only is, is that a book that you can write, it's a book you must write.
Speaker C:And to say, not only for the community at hand to be able to provide these, these takeaways of, you know, how this has impacted me personally is fine, but how I see that it can be extrapolated, you know, know beyond that, but also to be able to share these takeaways with people who are outside of the community.
Speaker B:Who.
Speaker C:And what my friend John was saying is that you must write this book because there might be, you know, is it one person?
Speaker C:Is it a dozen people?
Speaker C:Are there a hundred people out there who could benefit from hearing about this amazing group of people?
Speaker C:People.
Speaker C:And your takeaways, your perspective on that.
Speaker C:So I'm probably within a week away from finishing draft number one.
Speaker C:And as I mentioned before we went on that, every first draft of everything that anybody writes is terrible.
Speaker C:It's supposed to be terrible.
Speaker C:Get it out.
Speaker C:So I'll be refining that.
Speaker C:And my goal would be to.
Speaker C:To have draft number two fairly tight by, hopefully by the end of July, and then we'll see what happens from there.
Speaker C:In terms of the group itself, where, where it goes, it really is incumbent upon the community.
Speaker C:You know, I put out the challenge for 10,000 and beyond.
Speaker C:I don't want to put.
Speaker C:Let's.
Speaker C:Okay, now let's immediately shoot for 20,000, because again, I could be putting a limit on that.
Speaker C:I don't want to put.
Speaker C:On the other hand, if we.
Speaker C:If we stopped today, if we stopped today, we would have this incredible jewel.
Speaker C:And I keep referring to it as an epicenter of positivity.
Speaker C:And just as the virus was an epicenter, you know, or spread by it via epicenters around the world, I think that's what we're doing here.
Speaker C:I think you mentioned we're at 9,600 people.
Speaker C:We're in 53 countries.
Speaker C:We are in all 50 states.
Speaker C:And there are pockets that are forming around the country.
Speaker C:There are 60 people in London, and outside of London, that's a pocket.
Speaker C:That's an epicenter of positivity.
Speaker C:It works the exact same way.
Speaker C:It's contagious.
Speaker C:And if we believe that, then we can.
Speaker C:Whether it's this group or whether it's people doing their own thing, it really doesn't matter.
Speaker C:It is just if we are able to contribute to the feeding of positivity going forward.
Speaker B:My takeaway question is from Elizabeth, and she says, so Matt says, believe big.
Speaker B:And she's wondering, how can we incorporate this idea of bringing this forward into ongoing generations?
Speaker B:How do we incorporate this and how do we do that specifically?
Speaker C:Well, so the first thing is to.
Speaker C:And again, great, great question.
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker C:The first thing is simply to believe not only that it is possible but that it is happening, believe it in the present tense.
Speaker C:And so because that changes the energy level completely.
Speaker C:So and if you come from that stance, then, then you can believe that anything is possible.
Speaker C:The second thing is to, and I alluded to this earlier, is come from a stance of being forward looking, in other words, looking towards others, be outward facing, look, be straight up with you.
Speaker C:I have an ego the size of Brazil and I would love to take credit for how awesome this group is.
Speaker C:I would love to say it was something I've done.
Speaker C:I can tell you I get way too much credit for, for this, this is a community driven thing.
Speaker C:I, I own what I own, which is that I started in it and, and I kind of give some gentle nudges along the way.
Speaker C:So as a, if you are thinking in terms of having a positive impact, if you're, if you're, if you're on the fence of whether you want to try it or not, do it, try it, believe that it is possible and learn as you go because you're going to have, you're going to make some mistakes, but those are learning opportunities.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker C:It's easy to look at things as obstacles, but I think we can learn that these are things that are redirections towards another way of being.
Speaker C:So the specificity of that is the, is to set out a goal, have a, have a clear thing in mind and what's, what's also most important is you don't need to have 10,000 people to feel like you've made an impact.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker C:What I see in this community is there are people who are an epicenter of positivity in their own house, in their own communities.
Speaker C:You mentioned, you know, school boards earlier within their, One of the things that gets talked about a lot is dealing with their own colleagues.
Speaker C:You can be an epicenter of positivity in those situations.
Speaker C:You don't need 10,000 followers to be making an impact.
Speaker C:So I think, you know, one of the, you know, volunteer.
Speaker C:Find ways that you can be outward facing, find ways to be of service.
Speaker C:I, My personal belief is that the universe will redirect when you're in that attitude.
Speaker C:The universe will guide you and then trust that voice.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's a great takeaway, Matt.
Speaker B:And there are, I mean, as we mentioned today, aauw, the American association of University Women, there are so many ways, unintended positives.
Speaker B:People are excited to see your book when it's out.
Speaker B:So if you all are enjoying what you're hearing on, what you heard today on hey Boomer and what you're hearing in the future.
Speaker B:Think about one of the things.
Speaker B:There were so many that we talked about today that you might want to share with a friend and tell them about this.
Speaker B:The recording will be on this Facebook page.
Speaker B:Hey, Boomer.
Speaker B:It will also be up on YouTube at the end of the day.
Speaker B:And remember that you can support this broadcast through the Buy me a cup of coffee.
Speaker B:I posted that link in the comments.
Speaker B:Comments.
Speaker B:And thank you so much for all that you brought us today.
Speaker B:The comments have been amazing.
Speaker B:People are very excited about the community that you started.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker B:So let me tell you who's going to be my guest next week.
Speaker B:His name is Dan Halliburton, and Dan started as a radio DJ in Miami, Florida, and he's been in that profession for about 50 years, recently retired, and he's been working as a volunteer public affairs spokesperson and videographer for the American Red Cross.
Speaker B:And so he's going to be sharing some of the amazing stories that he has collected on some of the, you know, he's been on site to some of these major disasters, and we also are going to have a video of at least one of them.
Speaker B:So it should be a really interesting conversation.
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker B:I'm excited about that.
Speaker B:And we all have stories to share.
Speaker B:Let's continue this conversation and continue building on this community one story at a time.
Speaker B:My name is Wendy Green, and this has been.
Speaker B:Hey, Boomer.
Speaker B:Thanks, Matt.
Speaker C:Thank you.
