An Army of Normal Folks - Anne Mahlum: Homeless Running Clubs (Pt 1)

Episode Date: June 13, 2023

At 26 years old, Anne was working through a lot of pain and running was her "cheap therapy". After running by a homeless shelter hundreds of times, one day she had the radical idea of inviting the homeless to run with her. Starting with 9 guys in 1 city, her nonprofit Back on My Feet has since helped over 7,500 former homeless Americans get jobs and independent housing in 15 cities. And they should be in every city across our country. Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/support-1See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was like a light bulb and it was so clear right from the from the first thought of Oh my god, Ann, why don't you set a running club before that homeless shelter? And I'm like, oh no, it literally just said start. You just thought it right. Just know what their time before there was there was no Which is absolutely assing on because homeless people don't run. Of course, exactly. But to me, I saw my dad and these guys, I knew how running...

Well, they might run from the police. Well, that's, you know, that joke has been said. Well, I mean, honestly, you know... Yeah, I mean, this is why, and we'll get to that, but this is why this idea, the city of Philly, and then the nation became fascinated with it because it breaks your brain. You're like, what do you mean people who are homeless are going out running in the morning? It doesn't equate because people who are runners are disciplined, focused, overachievers type A,

you know, the Bible. Those are not the homes. Exactly. And when you describe, tell me, tell me what you think when I say the word homeless, you say, lost, lazy, drunk, addict, all of these negative connotations. So they don't fit. It breaks people's brains when they think about the idea of somebody who's homeless is running.

Welcome to an Army of Normal folks, I'm Bill Courtney. I'm a normal guy. I'm a husband, a father, an entrepreneur, and I'm a football coach in Intercity Memphis. And the last part unintentionally led to an Oscar for the film about our team. It's called undefeated. I believe our country's problems will never be solved by a bunch of fancy people in nice suits talking big words that nobody understands on CNN and violence. Rather an army of normal folks, us, just you and me deciding, hey, I can help.

That's what Ann Malam, the voice you just heard, has done. The non-profit she started back on my feet has empowered over 7,500 former homeless Americans to get jobs and housing. And with the help of a massive army, 150,000 runners, volunteers and donors have joined in community with the homeless. I'm excited to dive in together right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors. Hi, my name is Cooper and I'm a mini golden doodle from Crocodoodles. And I'm Bentley, the Cavalry. Now I know what you're thinking, talking dogs? Well, hold on to your tails because it gets better than that.

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I read about your story with interest some time ago and I can't wait to get into that. But first, tell me who Ann is as a kid. Where'd she grow up? Tell me about you. As a kid, well, I grew up in Bismarck, North Dakota, like everybody else. Yeah, everybody grew up in Bismarck, North Dakota. But the irony with me saying that is I truly thought everybody's childhood was like, you know, you don't realize how big the world is when you live in Bismarck, North Dakota. And I thought everybody had a yard in a bike

and could walk to school and that it's just was the same all the way around the world. And like being a kid was pretty, pretty great. I was a big time boy. I loved every sport I could get my hands on. And I refused. I played I was like, oh my God, basketball. I refused to play softball with the girls. Like I wanted to play with the boys. I got to tell you something, my, my four children, my second child and second daughter Molly was on the homecoming court and all of that. But in total, second grade, she was my three technique,

which is a defensive lineman in football. And she made boys cry. So she refused to play with the girls too for a long time. And finally, Lisa put her feet, Lisa's my wife, Lisa put her feet down, said, she is no longer playing football with the boys, get her and girls boys. So I used to challenge the boys to arm wrestling and I would beat the upperclassmen I don't know, but anyway, I just love the competitiveness. I didn't, you know, where all that stuff comes from, but I'm still a competitive person. So I, yeah, I had a pretty

easy childhood. It was really great, especially when I reflect on it now and have the adult experiences I do. I'm really grateful that I grew up in North Dakota. Brothers sisters. I do younger brother, older sister. We're all very close together, 15 months apart, which made it a little chaotic in our household, especially for my parents when we were when we were little. Our four kids are one year apart. In other words, our kids were like five, four, three, and two. Yeah, yeah, that's a lot.

I mean, you get it over with right away, but it's also a lot for several years. Lisa deserves a medal. Yeah, I mean a lot. I mean, you get it over with right away, but it's also a lot for several years. Lisa deserves a medal. Yeah. I mean, just imagine, imagine having three endipers and being pregnant, pushing them through Walmart. Just imagine that. Yeah. I can't, I can't, I can't.

Yeah. But you're right. I think you're worried for it. It's, but my kids will tell you it's a graceful in the world. You had a best friend all the time. Tell me. Tell me. So I guess you did too.

Yeah. And just kids were, you know, back in that day, also, no one wrote, we didn't lock our doors, we left our keys in the car. We were outplaying till midnight. Like there was just not the safety concerns that are around today. So I'm really grateful for the childhood that I that I had. So in your mom, what'd she do? Yeah, my mom was a teacher. She taught her. Yeah. What grade? Third grade. top for 30 years. That is weird because I was going to ask you a third grade question. Okay, let me see. Was she your third grade teacher? Was she your third grade teacher?

No, no, no, no, no, yeah, different school. Okay, thank goodness, because it would have screwed up my question. And your dad, my dad, my dad still sold insurance. He sells insurance. My dad is a big part of my story as you know, Bill. And yeah, my dad has never really kind of got his footing in the work world. What does that mean?

It means that my dad's never really cared about money at all and never really wanted to put the time and energy into a career. It was a real pain point for my parents. And my mom was the breadwinner, and my mom was really the responsible one discipline one who kind of ran our household. And my dad was, you know, I love my dad, and I learned except my dad, but I can understand how difficult it would

have been to be married to my father. Well, so, but as a kid, if your mom's the disciplinarian and the breadwinner and keeping everything together, dad must be fallen. Dad was so fun. I mean, my dad was also, oh my God, people, I'm not kidding, when kids used to knock on our door and be like, can mark, come out and play, which is my dad's name. He is so playful. And my dad was also, you know, love sports as well. So he would drive four hours on a Tuesday night to watch me play a high school basketball. Which means you're tight.

Yeah, exactly. We definitely connected over, over sport and just, you know, kind of, you're at a level. Yeah. And I mean, it's your age as a kid, I guess, for your siblings. And even I would imagine even your friends in school probably thought your dad was the coolest dad of all, because he was the fun guy.

People still think that. Yeah. Yeah. And he is. And, you know, one thing I have learned your friends in school probably thought your dad was the coolest dad of all because he was the fun guy. People still think that. Yeah. Yeah. And he is. And, you know, one thing I have learned to appreciate about my dad is he's so grateful for the simple things in his life. All he wants to do is spend time with his kids and his grandkids and fish.

And that is, that is it. Like nothing else matters. He doesn't care about anything materialistic. So just to set up, you know, this is an army of normal folks, right? And we're, it's very important that we establish that to be a part of the army of normal folks, you have to be a normal folk. And there's not much more normal than that. I mean, it's a teacher and an insurance salesman in Bismarck, North Dakota, with three kids in a household.

I would imagine a middle income household. If your mother's a bread runner, she's a teacher. You're not wealthy. No, no, no. You got things you cared for. Yeah. And my mom was very good with money. She was very responsible of thank goodness.

So she was always, you know, learning about money and coupons and told us know a lot. Yeah. What kind of high school, public high school? Public high school. Yeah. Of course. Which I imagined in Bismarck, North Coast. Probably really good school. It was, you know, people you hear these rates of dropout rates in big cities. And like, there was a 2% dropout rate in high school and the entire state of North Dakota. Yeah. So it's great. Yeah. So, um, I guess through high high school you're living this kind of

Norman Rockwell painted picture of a family and you have you got plans? What do you want to do? Yeah, I definitely had plans. I mean, I had I had my life figured out by the time I was 12 because life yeah, because life life up to 12 was really easy. You know, I was like, I'm good at sports. I seem to do okay in the boy category. I had lots of friends at school. I seemed to be good at. And I was like, oh, I'm going to grow up and, you know, work in some big fancy job.

Get married, have 2.2 kids, have a big white house. And like, this is just, I got this covered. Was this all going to happen in North Dakota? No, it was not. I didn't know where, but I knew pretty early that I didn't want to stay in North Dakota. I had a very curious mind. So where were you going to go?

At the time, I didn't know. But somewhere. Somewhere somewhere else. I, again, was curious and I wanted to explore. And I just, I also didn't like the cold. So you're going to take the next step in the Norman Rockwell, kind of life? Yeah, but it was going to look very traditional

in the way that, you know, relationship-wise, job, house, you know, the stuff that we're told by Disney and the movies of like what success and picture-esque and happiness looks like. Which is nothing wrong with that? Of course, there's not. And especially when you buy into it and you have a plan, you're like, great, I got to figure it out. And you did?

Yeah. At 12. At 12, yeah. Yeah. Of course, 12. So, um, how does plans go? Yeah, right. Um, so plans, plans got disrupted as, as life usually does. But when I was, when I was 16, um, I, I found out, you know, some things about my dad that he told us, because he had to and my parents marriage was not nearly as stable as I thought it was. But I remember this day super vividly. I was sitting home summer before sophomore year and I'm sorry, junior year in high school. And my dad, it was Friday, 3 o'clock, came home from work looking very nervous. I've never seen my dad look like this.

And he's like, I need you guys to leave for me and my brother's sister for a few hours. We could talk to our mom and we're like, what is going on? Right? And immediately we just sense, this has never happened. And we're all the same. Yeah, I'll leave the house. And I'm 16. My brother's 15.

My sister's 17. And like we're old enough to sense, you know, emotions and what's happening. So we leave and I come back first. Can I interrupt you just real quick? Of course. Are you telling me before this moment where your dad, where Joviel fund dad walks in looking all somber and ask you to leave so we can talk?

You're telling me you had no sense that there was something interrupting them that we're not going to walk while picture? Zero. So it was well, what you're about to tell me was well hidden. Yeah, which is usually what addiction does. It hides very well. That's how the addiction actually lives.

If you put light on it, you kill it. So when you came back home after you told the leave, what you found out? Yeah, so my dad, my mom wasn't there. My dad was sitting upstairs, same somber look on his face. And he had just told my mom that he had gambled away you know pretty much all of our life savings and he he it feels like a movie it feels like a story out of a movie what had happened was my dad gambled away all this money

at casinos went to my mom's mom who had a little bit of money and asked her for $50,000. And this was back in 1996, 1977. Asked his mother-in-law for $50,000 to pay off his debt. He owed people money, so we had to pay off his debt. And he didn't tell your mom. She didn't tell my mom, and then my grandma ended up getting a variant cancer, and she was just petrified.

She was going to die, and no one was going to know about this debt. So she told my mom, sister, my mom, sister called my dad and said, you need to tell Sonja, who's my mom? Immediately, you have till Friday, Friday at five. And so of course my dad waits till Friday at five. Well, yeah, that's what you do. Again, addiction, you try to find every other solution

you procrastinate. And unfortunately, you probably find a scrouse up a thousand dollars. Yeah, something, addiction, you try to find every other solution you procrastinate. And unfortunately. You probably find a scrounge up a thousand dollars because she knows it's winning. Right, I mean, that was. And make it all work. Yeah. We'll be right back. Hi, my name is Cooper

and I'm a mini golden doodle from Crocodoodles. And one bit late, the cover. Now I know what you're thinking, talking dogs? Well, hold on to your tails because it gets better than that. I mean, not better like more impressive than a talking dog exactly. But if you apply now at Crocodoodles.com, you could adopt me or any other breed we offer

with just a few easy steps, whether you find a match immediately or by your time looking for just the right family member, we're worth the wait. We're all raised by reputable, responsible breeders and can be delivered anywhere in the United States. We're even certified by the Better Business Bureau and have over 500 positive reviews. But if you don't believe me, Jess asked Bentley. He's British, so he knows what he's talking about. Cooper is quite right, are we coming all different breeds and sizes in personalities?

Plus we have a three-year health guarantee. So check us out at Crocododols.com and apply for the perfect edition to your family now. Washington way around for our Uda with terribly popular. Crocododols is making families whole. One pup at a time. Listen, the last time the economy looked like this, the stock market tanked 50%. The US dollar lost 46% of its value and the price of oil quadrupled. Yet while the US economy collapsed and unemployment ran through the roof, the price of gold shot up 1300% and silver rocketed over 2400%. So if history repeats itself, we could see it happen again. Can you afford to miss what could be the biggest gold and silver boom of our lifetime? That's why I want you

to visit goldco.com slash iHeart. Because when you do, you'll not only get the chance to protect your retirement savings with gold and silver, you could get up to $10,000 in free silver just for doing it. This is a rare opportunity, so don't miss what could be your best opportunity to protect your retirement savings. Visit goldco.com slash iHeart. That's goldco.com slash iHeart. Wishopping just got even better with flat rate shipping, improved tracking, and faster delivery.

Now shipping for all the eligible items in your wish order is covered by one flat rate of $2.99, and delivery is 26% faster too. So get to it. Download the Wish App today. And so unfortunately Bill, that was not my dad's first experience with addiction. He went through drug and alcohol recovery when I was really little. I've never seen my dad drink our due drugs, but my mom has. And for her, at least how she, you know, as we talk about it now and talked about it then, she just couldn't do it again, you know, and money because we didn't have very much was my mom's Achilles heel. And the the amount that she saved for our family, our college, when my dad violated that, like there was just, there was just no going back.

There was no way she was going to be able to make it work to whole adult life, preparing for you guys. Right. And he pissed it away. Mm-hmm. And my- Can you imagine? I mean, guess now, but back then, I'm like, you know, this is my dad and he's my favorite

person and you're married and that's what you do. You figure things out, things happen. I didn't, I had sympathy and empathy for my dad and I had resentment for my mom because she kicked my dad out of the house that day. And so for a kid who again, four hours earlier, had no idea that there was anything wrong to have that stripped away from you and have your family construct. Like just all of a sudden like where's the fifth chair at the dining table going to go? Like what do you mean dad's not gonna live here? It was very, I

mean it felt like a death and I was mad and I had a lot of emotions and I took it out on my mom. She ruined what I thought was my perfect sort of high school life and I didn't really like it. Which of course, in hindsight, as a adult, you know the reality of it, but your reality is a 16 year old and not in your siblings' reality was, you know, your perfect family that you had,

you had the Norman Walkwell painted picture of this family just absolutely exploded. Well, and Bismarck isn't the metropolis that people think it is, so everybody knows. So everybody knows. And it's, I didn't have any friends whose parents got divorced in high school. Like I knew a parents any friends whose parents got divorced in high school like I knew a parents friends whose parents had been divorced. So now you're also mortified and embarrassed. Yeah, totally

I'm like a little bit of an outlier and it's not like my parents got divorced You know, it's not working out my dad's a gambling addict like you know, there's that part. Yeah Yeah, yeah, because my mom told you know just people gossip there So who's gonna buy insurance from a guy who's a gambling addict in Bismarck? You know, that's a good question. I never even thought about that. But as I mentioned, my dad really wasn't into the whole work thing. So my dad, my dad works when he needs money for today.

And if he has enough money for today, that's all he cares about. He's an ODAT. It's a football coach who was in high school. He used to term him ODATs. And it's just a person that lives one day at a time. Just literally doesn't plan day two. Well, and it's just an ODAT. Oh my gosh, my dad lives. And again, I, like so much, so many more of us need to learn to live in the moment because so many of us are bad at it. And my dad does it, like, almost overcompensates. My dad has no idea what he's doing.

Like any big deal. There needs to be a balance. Yeah. And when you're an addict, balance isn't in your vocabulary. It's not in your vocabulary. Okay, so who you are is Bismarth North Dakota, perfect family, and a bomb gets dropped on you.

Is this your, I guess you're 16, soft more years? It's before, wait, the summer before my junior year. I wanted so badly. I felt like I failed at saving my dad. Like I couldn't help or fix him. And I didn't understand, you know, again, I didn't at that point understand like my dad needs to want and fix himself.

If that's important. Yeah, there's no such thing as, hey, just quit being an addict, okay? I mean, Bill, I said that to my dad back then. I'm like, Dad, why do you keep, because he didn't, he didn't kick that habit as quickly as I was. You didn't get he was diseased. You just thought it was a bad habit.

I thought it was it. And I'm like, why do you keep going back? And he said to me, he's like, and every time I go, I think about what I'm going to do for my family when I win. Unfortunately, justification and personal dishonesty is a big part of addiction. Yeah, and again, addiction asked, I mean, I threw up my food and it was such a secret. I would lie to my friends, my family. Of course you would. And I didn't want anybody to think I looked the way that I looked because I was throwing

up my food. I wanted to think it was hard work and discipline. It was hard work and discipline. Well, but I was sick. And I didn't want that to be part of my identity or my story. I threw up my food in high school and I threw it up. And when I was like 25 to 27, like, Did you make yourself do that?

Oh, yeah. Was it because you wanted to lose weight? So we're also complicated. And the complications for me was around, you know, when my dad left my mom, when my mom kicked my dad out, like my mom was beautiful, she's fit, she's all of these things.

And, you know, that was a really hurtful, harmful thing that happened. And I was like, I never want any man to do that to me. I never want to be in any position where anybody ever wants to leave me. So as a woman in this society, right, a lot of our value, at least to men, is based off of how we look.

And I was fully aware of that. So I wanted every part of me, right, every part of my life to be like, and a 10 out of 10 in every single area, and why would you ever leave me? So I just dialed in in every way and during up my food was a part of that plan for me, unfortunately. Yeah, I'd get that. So you know, my dad left home when I was four, and I let her in six ports in high school, which is trying to outdo me. Well, it's a little bit obsessive, but that's what I did.

Yeah. And I look back on it now, and I'm pretty sure I did it because my father was an athlete, and, you know, my name wasn't the paper a lot, and I thought, maybe if I did that I would prove Myself valuable enough for him to confine me and bills She never did honestly bill like so proud of you for doing that work There are so many people who don't go back to their childhood and figure out what motivates them

Why they are the way that they are and a lot lot of people just say, I am who I am. And I'm like, no, no, no, no. Like that's such a cop out. Figuring out those, those, that fabric, and like also figuring out the things you want to hold on to that serve you and learning to work through the things that don't serve you is it's really, it's really great that you've done that.

Well, I appreciate that. But this podcast about you ain't. No, the reason I'm saying that is I'm thinking of my reality listening to yours. And I just can't help but wonder if some of the successes you've had in your life are a direct result to this very defining moment. Oh, are you kidding? It's, it's massive. So what happened after I learned that, you know,

I told you I was an athlete and love sports, but I started running, like running, not, not because my basketball coach was saying we had to go run two miles, but because I needed it, I was boiling over with emotion and I had to get it out of my system. And what running taught me all these beautiful metaphors for life, right? You got to take things one step at a time. If I'm going to go out and run five miles, I got to do all the work in between. I can't skip till the end, right? And when you have these hills and these obstacles in front of you, we've got choices to make that I can either decide to run up the hill and do the hard work or I can like look to the left and right. Like, oh, it's easier if I

go that way. So when you say you said like in high school, yeah, I ran pretty much every day in addition to playing sports and I'm sure that I can do and I'm in the world. Would you run in the just like curiosity, would you run morning or night? I ran at night after school and they afternoons. Yeah, how far? and then I just kind of kept going, but I ran anywhere from three to six miles a day back then and then became a marathon.

What'd you think about when you ran? My life, my life, my emotions, my feelings, all of that stuff. And then I just began to find this sense of strength of moving my body and knowing that like, oh, what am I in control of here? And it's deciding to move forward. Like, the notion of just going forward

was so helpful to me and like, finishing something and achieving and accomplishing something. I don't know why this just popped in my head, but that must have been what Forrest Gump was thinking about when he took off running. Yeah. The Ginny thing. And so I mean, I get it.

You're not... That's where you were able to process things I would expect. I mean, you're running, it's just you and you, and it's an outlet. You're getting all that frustration out of you. I guess. And it's clarity. You do the work and at the end of the run, you feel like you that frustration out of you. And it's clarity. Like you do the work and at the end of the run,

you feel like you've got clarity. You've got a clear mind, you're dopamine, you're serotonin levels are pumping. So you know, you know, you never finish your run, at least I never have. And like I wish I never would have done that. Like you always feel good and better. And there's just so many benefits to it.

So you started running in high school, and it was therapy. It was therapy. For you. Yep, it's therapy. But you still have your dreams, right? Yeah, and actually, the 12-year-old dreams, are they still, have you given up on those at this time

or are they still part of your reality? No, I doubled down, because I, during my runs, you know, I convinced myself that I need that even more because I have this black mark on my record that wasn't supposed to be there that I'm never going to be as happy as I wanna be if I don't have those things. So I, you know, I went to college

and I graduated in three years with two degrees. I was in school. I went to school at a state school at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. And you got your. I was, what, where did you get school? I went to school at a state school, same cloud state university in Minnesota. And you got your, you got, what were your, the political science and communication. Political science communication, three years. Three years.

I mean, I was thinking, because you ran through college. Yeah, yes. And then, and then, and yes, but I was such an a hurry to be an adult. I just was like this, I got to get through this. I didn't, I mean, I took 21 credits every semester

and worked and I would only go out. I mean, I used to have my days written down in 15-minute increments. From when I, okay, I'm showering from 7 to 7, 15, I'm doing this from 7, 15 to 7, 30. Like, it was a discipline to schedule and I was no disrupting me. That's beyond discipline. Yeah. That's not just discipline. Yeah,ing me. That's beyond discipline.

Yeah. That's not just discipline. Yeah, it was a little insane. Yeah, yeah. But I had a plan. But you were going to stick to it. Uh-huh. We'll be right back.

Hi, my name is Cooper and I'm a mini golden noodle from Crocodoodles. And Owen Bid late, the cover. Now I know what you're thinking. Talking dogs? Well, hold on to your tails because it gets better than that. I mean, not better, like, more impressive than a talking dog exactly. But if you apply now at Crocodoodles.com, you can adopt me or any other breed we offer with just a few easy steps.

Whether you find a match immediately or by your time looking for just the right family member, we're worth the wait. We're all raised by reputable, responsible breeders and can be delivered anywhere in the United States. We're even certified by the Better Business Bureau and have over 500 positive reviews. But if you don't believe me, Jess asked Bentley. He's British, so he knows what he's talking about. Cooper is quite right. Are we coming all different breeds and sizes in personalities? Plus, we have a three-year health guarantee. So, check us out at Crocododols.com and apply for the perfect addition to your family now.

I shouldn't lie around via Uda, with terribly popular. Crocododols is making families whole. One pup at a time. Listen, the last time the economy looked like this, the stock market tanked 50%. The US dollar lost 46% of its value and the price of oil quadrupled. Yet while the US economy collapsed and unemployment ran through the roof, the price of gold shot up 1,300% and silver rocketed over 2,400%. So if history repeats itself, we could see it happen again. Can you afford to miss what could be the biggest gold and silver boom of our lifetime?

That's why I want you to visit goldco.com slash iHeart. Because when you do, you'll not only get the chance to protect your retirement savings with gold and silver, you could get up to $10,000 in free silver just for doing it. This is a rare opportunity, so don't miss what could be your best opportunity to protect your retirement savings. Visit goldco.com slash iHeart. That's goldco.com slash iHeart. Wish Shopping just got even better with flat rate shipping, improved tracking, and faster delivery.

Now shipping for all the eligible items in your wish order is covered by one flat rate of $2.99. And delivery is 26% faster too! So get to it! Download the Wish app today! What, what, what would happen if you got off schedule? I didn't. I'm not kidding. I can't remember. I would, I remember going out, you know, with friends and I would only go out on Thursday nights because I had a very busy Friday. And I, so it required you then on Thursday night not to overdo it because you knew you had something

to do Friday. Right. So you actually, you actually, I guess you pre-pinalized yourself. I didn't look at it as penalizing in that way. I looked at it as being committed to what I wanted and I was being you know. But I said that you wanted. I wanted to get to that point after college again and like achieve. Have good grades. Like I wanted to be the best. I'm super competitive and I mean I operate that way today, which you'll learn more of, but you you can't be the best if you're not

planning your time and and being in charge, just like otherwise time washes over you. You know earlier when you said that your dad was a no-da, you're the polar opposite. But I'm also have very addictive traits. Like I throughout my food for years, I mean my running, my entrepreneurship, I've just channeled them into things

that are not destructive to me. Well, the bulimio is destructive. You're not a drug or alcohol or gambling addict, but... I'm a productivity addict. You're a productivity addict, yeah, which is really interesting. really interesting. So you've got your undergraduates degree in three years and then I think I read you go on to postgraduate studies. I did. So I interned for my US Senator the summer before my senior year in college and I went to DC and I was like wow this place is so cool so different. DC's great. Yeah and from a girl from North to, and I never been there, you know,

all the houses are stuck together. Like it was just like, everything was different than what I had learned and experienced and the walkability and all the rest. I mean, it was just like, this place is cool. Your brain was blowing up. It was, and so I then, you know, love that experience. And I thought, you know, I want to go back there and the best way for me to get connected there is to go to graduate school there and

make some introductions and, you know, advance my education so that I have a better chance of getting, you know, the job that I sort of want. My guess is you did that in shorter time than normal. I did it any year. A year. Yeah. You got your bachelor's of year. Yeah.

Yeah. Okay. And was that also plotted out in 15-minute increment? Yeah, even more so because when I moved to DC, I lived so far away from campus. And again, public transportation was new to me. You have two, it's two damn expensive. Yeah. And I lived in a, I mean, people were like, you live where? Like in a pretty precarious neighborhood, my room was a closet that I was paying 600 bucks a month for. Like it had a single bed. There was literally, you could barely walk by that single bed. It was tiny.

And I had to take the, you guys know DC. So anyway, listen, I had to take the green line to Chinatown, get on the red line, go all the way up to Temley Town, then get on a bus. That's an hour. Oh, it's an hour. And I had to take my workout clothes with me.

I worked at Ruby Tuesday. And I'm sure you'll agree with this. Like being a server or bartender is one of the things that I'm so grateful for. It trained me how to read people, how to work on my memory, my multitasking. Multitasking. Such a great job.

If you're gonna get a tip, you better learn how to multitask. Yeah, and just read. And you gotta smile at people that you don't wanna smile at. Right. Which it's such a great job. If you're going to get a tip, you better learn out of multitasking. Yeah. And just and you got to smile at people. Yeah. Yeah. You don't want to smile it, which is also a very good learned thing. Yeah.

I'm so so grateful for that experience. I mean, I smile at Alex all the time. Uh-huh. I don't always want to smile at Alex because, you know, producer people will tell you what to do. Yeah. Drive you absolutely insane, but I can just smile. You think we can get Alex to get me another cup of coffee?

Yeah, I think we can get Alex. Would you mind getting a cup of coffee? Alex, there's some splendor in there. I would go get it, but I feel like you're going to make me take my money. There you go. This is you being a production assistant. There's this splendor right in the left. I feel like he's not going to find this splendor.

Yeah, just get the splendor. Here. Yeah. I got the coffee. You did it to find this Linda. Yeah, just get the Splenda here. Yeah. We have taken a brief coffee intermission. We got it teamwork. Got it. All right. So we have well done. Thanks. That's my addiction. Got me. I'm telling you, like I said, I get the delivery system, but getting there is a miserable experience. I mean, let's get the most bitter shitty tasting beverage on

the face of the planet and addict the country to it so that we can get our caffeine. I don't get it. But, Well, Alex and I can connect on that. Okay, well that's good. We're still running. Oh yeah. I was working out every day, like obsessive-compulsive.

But working out and running. Yes, totally. To me, those are two different things. Yes, I was running, I was running. Because I'm working out, but as you see, I don't run. I wouldn't say that. I'll different runners have all kinds of different bodies, but this big ass I run. Yeah, okay. Okay. You just make all your football players run. That's okay. It's the same. I don't have that idea.

And so, yes, running, but working out, whatever. And so I take, I have to, I took two bags, my books, my workout clothes, my regular clothes, and then my work clothes. And so you have to plan out your day. I couldn't leave the house without thinking what it's six in the morning. No, and you're patting me all the time. What do I need to tell 11 o'clock at night? Right. And I remember the days bill when my roommate who worked at American University was going at the same time.

And I'm like, oh my God, can I get a ride? Like getting a ride to school was like the best. Like I didn't have to carry all the stuff. It just took 20 minutes. I you know, it was it was like a great day when I got to ride to school. All right. So it was planned out. You made it in a in a year. And you're you're still tracking to the handsome husband, the White House, the 2.2 kids.

And I think I'm leaving something else out on the plan. But what happened? Yeah, you know, I am. All right. And so I'm working in DC as a policy analyst, which I hate my job. I would just about to say, policy analyst, and you don't seem to go.

In copyright law. And I'm just like, it's sad. But it sounded important. I don't know anybody who can do that. It was boring. So I just. Oh, did just a second. How about Alex could do it? Yeah. OK, go ahead. But can do that. It was boring. So I just. Oh, the second about hours could do it.

Yeah. OK, go ahead. But I, because I hated my job, and I really didn't like my boss at the time, she was so degrading and just not empowering to me. And I learned a lot of how not to lead by being managed by her. But she. Small blessing.

Yeah, exactly. And then again, you're always going to be like reflective. I'm like, OK, like that was actually a good experience for me. I taught myself how to build websites, how to design websites because I had extra time at work. Wow, you were working. Mm-hmm. Okay. So then I got a job offer in Philadelphia. How many minutes did you allow yourself a day to do that? At that time, I don't know, but I use every amount of extra effort there because I want to, I'm like, this is a good skill. I know. I know. But it was a good skill for me to learn.

No, I get it. Yeah. Yeah. And so I thought this is going to be helpful. And then I, I got a job offer in Philadelphia. And I was like, Philly, like I never wanted to live in Philly, like never fantasized about Philly. But it was a director level position

in a political watchdog organization. In your 26. In my 26. That's a great opportunitydog organization. And you're 26. And my 26. That's a great opportunity. Actually 24. I'm sorry. 24.

That's a hell of an opportunity. Yeah. Well, of course, it was a $20,000 increase to your early. So you're right. You're on ahead. Start. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

$20,000 increase cheaper place to live, you know, than DC. And I was like, you know what? I'm going to go. I'm going to do this. DC is different. It's insular. to live than DC. And I was like, you know what, I'm gonna do this. DC's different. It's insular, it's got all this stuff going on, the politics and the sightment of it, but Philly. I mean, from a girl from Bismarck looking for

the White column house and 2.2 kids, Philly's gotta be, when you first got to filly, what was, you had to have been, hmm, this is much different. It was much different. And the biggest difference in filly to DC for me was people in filly asked me, you know, where'd you go to high school, assuming I was from there. And in DC, people always said, where are you from? Nobody in DC's from DC, really. Right, so I sort of felt like an outcast and an outsider from the beginning. And this was, you know, this was where I feel like my life

really changed because the dreams started to change. And I started to question all the things that I thought that I wanted. And it was really lonely time in my life. I felt like, again, I didn't fit in. I didn't want to go out and party. I didn't want to do all the things that it seemed like other people wanted to do. Like, I'm like, well, I don't know if I actually want to get married or this White House or these things. Like, why do I want all this stuff? Is that what

I've just been told myself and I'm so committed to reaching this goal, but do I actually really want it? And I'd agree, I say did the, did the, uh, obsessions, did the believe me in all that surface again? Oh gosh, it was, this is when it was the worst for me, the worst. That's every, I mean, the isolation, the lonely, and also the questioning. I mean, we're now going back to your 12 years old. I mean, at 25, whatever years old from 12, you are now questioning your entire life. Bill, I went into credit card debt, buying food and throwing it up. Like, that's how bad and consistent it was.

And every day I would wake up and I'd be like, I look on the mirror and I'd be like, what the f are you doing? This is so ridiculous. I cannot believe this is your life. Like, are you, like, you're gonna stop? Today's your stop and today. And I would make it through that day.

And then the next day, I would find myself going to Walgreens, buying ice cream and candy, going home that night, eating that as much as I could so I felt sick and then I'd throw it up. Like, this isn't, like, again, as I could so I felt sick and then I throw it up like this isn't and like again As I've gotten comfortable talking about this. It's it's such again the psychology behind that and Oddly it felt productive. It's like I'm working on this We'll be right back

Hi, my name is Cooper and I'm a mini golden doodle from Crocodoodles. And I'm in Bentley, the Cavalry. Now I know what you're thinking, talking dogs? Well, hold on to your tails because it gets better than that. I mean, not better like more impressive than a talking dog exactly. But if you apply now at Crocodoodles.com, you can adopt me or any other breed we offer with just a few easy steps. Whether you find a match immediately or by your time looking for just the right family member, we're worth the wait.

We're all raised by reputable, responsible breeders and can be delivered anywhere in the United States. We're even certified by the Better Business Bureau and have over 500 positive reviews. But if you don't believe me, Jess asked Bentley. He's British, so he knows what he's talking about. Cooper is quite right. Are we coming all different breeds in sizes? In personalities. Plus, we have a three-year health guarantee.

So check us out at Crocododles.com and apply for the perfect addition to your family now. I shouldn't lie around while you're there. We're terribly popular. Crocododles is making families whole. One pup at a time. Listen, the last time the economy looked like this, the stock market tanked 50%. The US dollar lost 46% of its value and the price of oil quadrupled.

Yet while the US economy collapsed and unemployment ran through the roof, the price of gold shot up 1,300% and silver rocketed over 2400%. So if history repeats itself, we could see it happen again. Can you afford to miss what could be the biggest gold and silver boom of our lifetime? That's why I want you to visit goldco.com slash iHeart. Because when you do, you'll not only get the chance to protect your retirement savings with gold and silver, you could get up to $10,000 in free silver just for doing it. This is a rare opportunity, so don't miss what could be your best opportunity to protect your retirement savings.

Visit goldco.com slash iHeart. That's goldco.com slash iHeart. Wish Shopping just got even better with flat rate shipping, improved tracking, and faster delivery. Now shipping for all the eligible items in your wish order is covered by one flat rate of $2.99. And delivery is 26% faster too, so get to it. Download the wish app today. And so much of my time and energy and thoughts went into fixing this problem that I had, that if I thought if I ever fixed it, where does my time and energy go?

And I didn't know, so I just sort of let the problem stick around because I felt like I was working on it. Your whole story is going to resonate to so many of our listeners, because the truth is the pain behind the Norman Rockwell painting is much more common than culture cares to admit. And we're not army of normal thought. And there's nothing more normal

in our society, in my opinion, than having this picture of this perfect family and everything, and everything going well, and then wanting to then build your perfect family, and then behind the drape of that lie is all the true sadness and dysfunction that's going on in our lives and our families and You're just so normal. I mean you just your issues may be different than another person's issues from another person's issues But the fact is we all have dreams and we all have issues. Right. And you're just a normal, you're a normal person, but at this point, you're kind of a, I want to say a kid, I mean, 25, but you're a young adult alone, infilly, kind of questioning everything you ever thought you wanted in life. And-

And that I worked so hard to try to get. I mean, I, again, I like my college experience. It was like, I don't need this. I don't need this. I got to get through this to get to where I want to go. But I didn't, I didn't really enjoy or be present in those moments. It was just like a pit stop for me. I think it's just ironic that you're going to find your liberty in the place where liberty was

started. So you must need at this point to do the one thing that's always therapeutic for you. Oh, I'm running every day. 5 30 5 30 every single day. Are you running and believe it? Just I curiosity. How the world are you? Puking and then going and running? I mean, that was to be up at night, ran in the morning. Perfect. Yeah. And, and, you know, I'm sure it wasn't great for me. But I didn't miss, I didn't miss a run 5 30 in the morning. I didn't care what time of year it was raining. If it was in the weekends, I might have ran a little bit later. But 5 30, there was a pretty consistent 6 6 and a half mile loop that I did.

I got to believe at this point, listeners are wondering where is this leading to and we're going to get to the pay off to all of it, but it's so important that people understand how addiction has surrounded you and how loss and everything has surrounded you to even understand the amazing thing you did in Philly. But right now, you're running. And so take our listeners on the run through Philly and what you see when you run and what you pass and what happened. So I live in an up and coming area in Philly

and I thought it was super cool. I had like a warehouse apartment, it's a concrete floor, it was super cool. But it was cool. Yeah, but it was, most people maybe want to live there. I don't know why I felt comfortable say super cool. But it was cool. Yeah, but it was, it was, most people maybe want to live there. I don't know why I felt comfortable, say, if I just thought it was cool. Oh, you're saying because it was up and coming the actual neighborhood. Yeah.

What in like the safest thing in the world? No, it was underdeveloped for sure. This was kind of one of the first, you know, there wasn't a lot of units in this place, it was probably like 12 to 15 units. But it was, it was again, a old warehouse. And there were homeless shelters, like literally all around, like I didn't realize it at the time, but there was like six homeless shelters

within a half mile of this apartment. And I had ran every morning, I was running, but I had, I mean, I had to walk by this homeless shelter and my running route took me by it. So when I say I had passed this thing thousands of times on my way to work and on my runs over two years, it was thousands of times. And I just didn't really think twice about the people that I was sort of seeing. And I honestly ran on the other side of the street because of that, like these guys. So the paying a picture for me, it's a homeless shelter, but of

course during the day, there's homeless people with not much to do and they're just hanging around outside. They're hanging around outside. Just chilling. Just chilling. Yep. And it wasn't even a quarter mile from my house. I'd go out. I'd take a left. This homeless shelter was positioned on the corner of 12th and Vine for anybody who knows Philly. Vine is a very busy street. Lots of cars.

I know Vine. Okay. So there's a stoplight there. Yeah. And in the morning, this one morning in May, I'm running and I see these guys and like, they wave at me and I wave back at them. If you wave at me. The homeless cars. Yeah, yeah, if I'm from North Dakota, I'm going to. Why are they waving? I don't know. I mean, I've walked, I never, I never have engaged with them before years, but they, they, they, they waved, you know, kind of was good trying to get my attention and I waved back. And then the next couple of weeks, that kind of interaction continued to happen. And then there was some vocal sort of back and forth and, you know, those guys yelling at me good morning and I think you mentioned this earlier, but there was this cute little interaction where they would be like, do you just run all day and I'm like, you

just stand there all day? And like it was, it was just so like, remind of you. What did they, what was the reaction? How did they laugh? Of course, of course, yeah, and it just reminded me of my dad. My dad is really playful and sorry, I think it was our love language. So, so yeah, of course, yeah, and it just reminded me of my dad. My dad is really playful and sorry, I didn't have that in my love language. So, so yeah, and then, you know, that stoplight turned red one day and I was sitting waiting for the light to turn. Are you one of those people that jogged in place?

Uh, I think sometimes, not maybe, I don't know if I'm one of those people because sometimes yes, sometimes no. But I, I, it was like a light bulb and it was so clear right from the, from the first thought of, oh my god, and why don't you set a running club before that homeless shelter? And I'm like, oh, no, it literally just said, you just thought it right to just know other time before. There was there was no matter which is absolutely assing on because homeless people don't run. Of course, exactly. But to me, I saw my dad and these guys,

I knew how running... Well, they might run from the police. Well, that's, you know, that joke has been said. Well, I mean, honestly, you know. Yeah, I mean, this is why, and we'll get to that, but this is why this idea, the city of Philly and then the nation became fascinated with it because it breaks your brain.

You're like, what do you mean people who are homeless are going out running in the morning? It doesn't equate because people who are runners are disciplined, focused, overachievers type A, you know, reliable. Those are not the homes. Exactly. And when you describe, tell me, tell me what you think when I say the word homeless,

you say lost, lazy, drunk, addict, all of these negative connotations. So they don't fit. It breaks people's brains when they think about the idea of somebody who's homeless is running. So in your 26. So you're 26. Yeah. I'm trying to picture this.

I don't know if you're standing there jogging in place because you won't tell me what kind of person you are. And the idea comes to you. These people who have been waving it and having a little banter with, I'm going to start a running club with these people, which is absolutely absurd, but because you're 26. Maybe it's not so. And Naibite and you know, serves you when you're young because you do not know that you do not let the cynicism of the world.

No, it hadn't made a sway into my bloodstream yet. So, so you go home. I go, could work and I find the name of the shelter online and I email the director. I tell him who I am. I tell him I run by that shelter every day and that I like to start running. And at this point, you're just

and the kid with a job in Philly. Yeah. Who's fighting Balemia. Yeah, but no one knows that. Of course not. But it's important that people understand even when you're reaching out to do some good, you're still struggling with your own things. Yeah. So you didn't say, Hey, I'm and the Belimic person wanting to start a running club. I get that. You just said, I'm and and you said, I want

to go running. And I got to imagine that the person at the homeless shelter said, you're out of your mind. He did. And he and he didn't respond me right away. And I kept emailing, I have this special gift of being persistent, but not annoying. It's like, raid in the middle being persistent, but not annoying. Yeah, exactly. That's funny.

Yeah. And it's a real art form. And I don't know where I came from. But so anyway, so I came from it's sales. Yeah, so I keep I keep reaching, you know, I reach out. And finally, he responds and says, you know, just that of like, I'm not really sure this is a priority, you know, for these guys. And I'm not sure this is a pro.

That's kind of like politically correct nice way of saying your own thing. Homeless people don't run. Yeah, almost like, what are you talking about? And I convinced this gentleman to meet with me. And I'm like, I just wanted to, I just want to tell you why running has been so important to me and why I think this could be helpful. So human is wife agreed to meet with me for coffee.

And I talk about my dad and I just say, running helped me get through my dad's addiction. And I think it can really help with self-esteem, confidence, all of these things. And on top of this, an important piece to remember is this homeless shelter, these guys were not supposed to have any interaction with women. It was like they are in this shelter in recovery, they're there for a program, there's different programs on the shelter. Yeah, why can't they have an...

I didn't know. No alcohol, no women, no 10. I get no alcohol, but what do mean no interaction with them? Because it's it was it's a very religious shelter. And it was sort of viewed as again, you need to take all of that temptation. You need to get yourself right. I see. Yeah. So it's a temptation. Yeah. And there was no women in the shelter, anything. And so, you know, the fact that Mr. McMillan was his name, and I said, if you could just ask them, if you ask them, I'm not going to create any more work,

I'll take care of everything, I'll show up three days a week, I'll get shoes, I'll handle everything. And he pretty much told me not to get my hopes up. You know, he's like, and so he thought about it and then said, okay, and I will, I will ask them, but I'm not going to tell them there's some young blonde girl who wants to go running with them. Like that was not going to be part of the pitch. Yeah, because then they may show up just because they want to be around.

Right. Yeah, blonde girl. Right. And so Bill, I get an email, you know, end of June saying, I got nine guys who'd like to run. I mean, I just think about this story sometimes of how many things had to come into place. Mr. McMillan had to respond to my email. Mr. McMillan had to meet me in person.

He had to disobey his rules of his shelter of his program that he oversaw to let me come in there. Those nine guys had to say yes, like all of these things. And I'm like, okay, great. Like, I'm going to get shoes. I need their shoes sizes. I need their sizes. And I went to a local running store and I got all the shoes donated.

And I went up to the shelter, June, I don't remember the exact date. I might have been July 1st or 2nd even. And to meet all the guys and like tell them, I'm the one behind the running club, and I bring all the shoes with them. Some of them are bitching about the colors of the shoes and whatever. They're bitching about the most. You know what I mean? It's like, oh, you got this in the blue. But it's important that, you know, the premise that it's going to take an army of normal folks to help and change our culture,

one society, one small world at a time, I absolutely believe that. But the notion that that's easy is almost dangerous. And it's funny to hear you taught, not funny. It's telling to you talk about the little obstacles you had overcome, the basic naivete, it took just even trying to start it. Right. And then before you even get gone, somebody's bitching about the colors of a free pair of shoes,

you are giving someone who has nothing. Yeah. But they're going to bitch about that. Yeah. And you know what? That's just part of the deal. That's just part of it. And you know, I mean me laugh a little bit.

I was just like, no, I don't got it in a blue. And if you make another comment, like, you're not going to get those ones. Yeah, no, I'm going to get what your what your least favorite cover. Right. And that's what that's going to wear to fall. Right. Right. And so before we that night, I made these guys sign a contract. And it was Sunday. Yeah, the name of the shelter was called the Sunday breakfast rescue mission. So it was the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission running club.

I changed the name immediately as soon as I thought about it. The Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission running club. The name, yeah, was Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission. Yeah, Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission running club. And then I was making my bed one morning and I'm like, I need a better name for this thing. And then it was like, oh my god, back on my feet. Like, that's perfect.

Back on my feet? Yeah, exactly. There's where it came from. Yeah. And so immediately changed the name. And then, so the contract said that you got to show up three days a week every day. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and we're taking attendance. You need to be on time, and we're taking tardiness as well.

We start at 6 a.m., if you show up at 602, that we're gone. We'll be right back. Hi, my name is Cooper, and I'm mini golden doodle from Crocodoodles. And one bit late, the cover. Now I know what you're thinking, talking dogs? Well, hold on to your tails because it gets better than that. I mean, not better, like, more impressive than a talking dog, exactly.

But if you apply now at Crocodoodles.com, you could adopt me or any other breed we offer with just a few easy steps. Whether you find a match immediately or by your time looking for just the right family member, we're worth the wait. We're all raised by reputable, responsible breeders and could be delivered anywhere in the United States. We're even certified by the Better Business Bureau

and have over 500 positive reviews. But if you don't believe me, just ask Bentley. He's British, so he knows what he's talking about. Cooper is quite right. Are we coming all different breeds in sizes and personalities? Plus we have a 3 year health guarantee. So check us out at Crocododles.com and apply for the perfect addition to your family now. I shouldn't lie around while we're here with terribly popular.

Crocododles is making families whole. One pup at a time. Listen, the last time the economy looked like this, the stock market tanked 50%. The US dollar lost 46% of its value and the price of oil quadrupled. Yet while the US economy collapsed and unemployment ran through the roof, the price of gold shot up 1,300 percent, and silver rocketed over 2,400%. So if history repeats itself, we could see it happen again. Can you afford to miss what could be the biggest gold and silver boom of our lifetime?

That's why I want you to visit goldco.com slash iHeart. Because when you do, you'll not only get the chance to protect your retirement savings with gold and silver, you could get up to $10,000 in free silver just for doing it. This is a rare opportunity, so don't miss what could be your best opportunity to protect your retirement savings. Visit goldco.com slash iHeart. That's goldco.com slash I heart Wish shopping just got even better with flat rate shipping improved tracking and faster delivery now shipping for all the eligible items in your Wish order is covered by one flat rate of 299 and delivery is 26% faster to so get to it. Download the wish app today

I had the same issue when I started, when I started, and my way of saying it is the hands at a clock or reality, they're not a suggestion. And it's amazing how many people who are living in a state of dysfunction have a poor relationship with a clock. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I love what you're saying is you're saying, short part of time, you, we're getting the basic tenants down before even go running. Totally.

And also we're coming to you. It's we got to get up earlier because we're all meeting at the shelter where you guys always got up, roll out of bed, put your clothes on and your shoes on and be downstairs. Don't disrespect the people who are showing up from a mile away or something like that. And then I said, you gotta come with the positive attitude and you gotta be willing to support your teammates and show them respect.

And if you can't do those things, you shouldn't join the running club. And these guys looked at me as if no one had looked at them with the possibility of them achieving excellence, at least in a really long time, if ever. And you could just feel like the energy changed in the room and the glimmer in their eyes. And everybody signed it. And it was like, oh, I'm going to take this seriously.

Like I'm going to commit to something. They were just waiting to commit to something. And so I had a ton of media contacts and Billy from my work at this political watchdog organization. And I sent out an email because I wanted to get the media there so that I could get more people involved and the reaction was the same. What do you mean, what do you mean these guys who are like the homeless guys

are running, like you mean you're having a run to raise money for the homeless? I mean, it was just like so absurd. We're just going for a run. Right. And I'm like, we're starting this program and And these guys are going to run. And I'm like, every media station showed up that first morning because they had to see it with their own eyes. That like, and they had to understand why these guys were going running because there was no humanization or personalization to people who were homeless. They didn't

know the names. They just knew the stereotype of the category of people. So when they got to go, they got to go over and talk to James and Darren and Mike and be like, why are you running? Why are you choosing to do this? And I'm 55. I got to get healthy. I used to run in the army. I used to run in high school. I wanted to meet new people.

I thought this would be fun. Those are really the answers that anybody would get exactly joining or running. Exactly. So so through those articles. So the point is people were able to see the homeless people and the homeless shelter with some semblance of humanity that they hadn't yet been able to see. Yes. And you got to know their personalities and their stories as humans. As humans. And so when that happens, you know, these guys are the, they're the underdogs of all underdogs.

Can I, you know what's interesting about a month ago, interviewed a guy named John Ponder, the podcast is fabulous. And it's not because of me. It's because of John's story. And John was in prison for 26 years, off and on. His first rap was 12. And his last rap was a string of bank robberies. And since then, he's gotten out and he started an organization called Hope for Prisoners.

And their recidivision rate is only 8% against 80% nation. You can listen to that podcast. You wanna hear the story, it's amazing. But the point is he is a black former convict from Bronx, he is the quintessential guy that should hate cops and cops are the reason his program actually works.

Right. And his thing is that the magic happens in his organization when you see the human being that's in the uniform and you don't see the policeman as an institution. And I'm making that correlation to the homeless people is the magic happens when you see that homeless person not as the institution of the American homeless population. But just the individual that happens to be homeless.

I have this conversation all the time. And yes, it's exactly right of understanding the psychology, the behavior, the person behind it, what happened to them, what their upbringing was. It's much easier for us to put people in buckets and make an assumption or a generalization about them and move on with our day because that's where belief systems come in. And it's much harder to do the work of looking at the individual person and seeing what they are. So it would shock you if that reddit got placed in us.

You put it in us? Yeah, see, I mean, the fact reddit got put. But then to see me on a tennis court would shock tennis. Yeah, see I'm in the, I'm in the fat reddit gap. Yeah, yeah. But then to see me on a tennis court when shock you, yeah, Alex, it's, oh, I got my butt kicked guys, it's a zeroed woman and pickle ball. We say, listen, it's a little dangerous because I'll go left. And when I'm coming back right, some of me is still left. So you have a wide range of, yeah, but I'm just saying I get the bucket. Right. Yeah. So So so we run that day. We go

for a mile. Some guys do well a mile. Yeah, and we're not talking about young people. Oh, no, no, the youngest there. Gosh, he was the youngest guy. Oh, if I can remember correctly early 40s. Yeah. So we're talking 40 to 50 year old homeless people who's grand total some total accumulation of exercise just probably walk around the front porch of the homeless shelter. You take them running. Yeah, I bet they're gasping. But also just like it was a beautiful day. Like I think you know all these things were just like working in my favor and I was fully aware of it. So the media again shows up and all of these stories. You run a mile and what was so beautiful that first day, gosh why am I blinking on this

guy's name? It's not James and I can see his face. I'm blinking on his name. It's taken him a while. He's overweight. Joe, Joe was his name. He's overweight and the guys go back and get him and it was just like these guys get it. Yeah, they go back and get him and they run run with them. Day one. They help him with his last like half-mile, you know, surrounding him.

Encouraging them. Totally. And I was just like, all right, like this and that set the tone. And also the first day, you know, James, who was like our old head, they called him because he was the older guy. I learned all these different terms. He was like, can we pray? And I'm like, sure. And we said this for anity prayer. Do you know this for anity prayer? I hold it. I will screw it up.

Okay. But it's grant me the wisdom to control something and not control the wisdom of the other. Yeah. That's not it. Yeah. But I've heard it. Right. But tell it to me. God grant me the, now you're gonna make me,

now you mess up with me, now I'm not gonna be like, but God grant me this to run a day to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can and the wisdom to know the difference. And I don't care who your God is, if you believe in God or faith, but that right there is a piece of advice

that everybody can benefit from. Focus on the things that you can control piece of advice that everybody can benefit from. Focus on the things that you can control and the things that you can't, you have to let go. And it was such a powerful statement for what we stood for as a group. Like your past, I can't do anything about that. But today, you got an opportunity to make a different decision and starting in the morning, this is the first thing they're doing in the morning.

And they're going to do something that's going to be challenging, that's going to make them feel good and get there. Again, dopamine and serotonin levels sort of pumping. It was the best thing that they could do to start their day and be around positive people and a community building. So the media starts to write these stories and personalize this group of runners-bill. The irony of the serenity prayer and how you just described it before we get to the media and

how this thing grew is that the homeless folks who decided to run asked to pray and say a serenity prayer that honestly with the things you're fighting in your life at that time, were things you needed here to. Totally. Absolutely. And it, it is interesting how those of us who go out in the community and do things that pay off is you get probably 10 times more than you've been. Well, and honestly, it's like, that's why I wouldn't have, I wouldn't have articulate

at the time. But when I went up to that homeless shelter that night and met these guys, it's like, that's why. I wouldn't have, I wouldn't have articulated at the time, but when I went up to that homeless shelter that night and met these guys, I felt like I found my people. I felt so, I always felt comfortable out at bars or in those places and, you know, whatever. I felt so at home around those guys because of my dad. And. They were just microcosms of your family. They totally were.

And again, I kind of felt like I got a second chance of healing myself. And this was so different. I'm like, I'm not going to run these miles for these guys. They got to do it on their own. So I'm giving them the opportunity, but I'm not saving them. They got to do the work.

And they got to want to do the work. Y'all, from Anne starting this work in Just Philly, back on my feet is now in 15 cities across the country, and I think it should be in every city. If you're interested in starting a chapter, running with an existing chapter or supporting their incredible work, go to backonmyfeet.org. This concludes part one of our conversation with Anne and I hope you'll listen to part two that's now available as it just keeps getting better. But if for some reason you don't, make sure you join an army of normal folks at normalfokes.us

and sign up to become a member of the movement. Guys it only takes committing to doing one new thing this year to help somebody else. And there will be a ton of awesome ideas on this podcast from the folks that we feature. Some of them may resonate with you deeply and others may not at all, and that's okay, because we're all called to do different things with our different talents. But, by signing up, you'll also receive a weekly email with short episode summaries in case you happen to miss an episode, or prefer reading about our incredible guests. Together, with each of us doing what we can, we can change the country and guys that starts with you.

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