Digital Social Hour - From Abuse to Wealth: Shawn Meaike's Journey to Success | Digital Social Hour #28

Episode Date: June 29, 2023

Hey, you! Join me, Shawn and Charlie, as we welcome you to an awe-inspiring journey through the journey of starting a life insurance company. Prepare to have your perspective shifted as Shawn shares his strong belief that the only way to live life fearlessly and authentically is by tackling challenges head-first. In this eye-opening discussion, Shawn shares some personal anecdotes that illustrate the power of resilience and facing fears. Be inspired as we delve into the gripping world of life insurance, the importance of financial security, and how certain events can make or break someone's life. Witness a captivating and heart-wrenching account of Shawn's tumultuous home life, the lessons he learned from witnessing his mother's struggles, and how he eventually entered the world of entrepreneurship. Finally, in this thought-provoking episode, we dive into the importance of humility, accountability, and parenting from a place of love and wisdom. Join us in exploring the value of mentors and the vital lessons of respect and equality in all aspects of life. Fair warning: this episode is nothing short of life-changing. Don't wait! Hit that play button right now and let this unforgettable episode take you on a wild ride filled with resilience, inspiration, and impactful truth. Trust me: you won't want to miss this. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/digitalsocialhour/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You know, when they asked me, like, is this loaded? I was like, who the f*** carries an unloaded gun? Of course it's loaded. What, am I throwing it at you? Sean, the most expensive thing you'll ever have is your ego. You f***ing suck. I will hit both of you. What?

All right, I'm Sean Mike Kelly, along with Sean Mike and Charlie Cavalier on the Digital Social Hour Podcast. How are we doing, guys? Doing great, man. This is meant to be. This is totally meant to be. Yeah, I got asked about the shirt, man. I mean, explain what's going on here. So I started doing some stuff on social media, and this guy I was talking to said,

what are you going to like? What's the whole concept, the whole brand deal? And I started talking about my on social media, and this guy I was talking to said, what are you going to like? What's the whole concept, the whole brand deal? And I started telling him about my story and what I want. And I said, well, I had these ideas, humble and hungry and this other stuff. And he looked at me and said, that's really fucking stupid. Like, that makes no sense. And I said, all right, what would you call it? He goes, if I had your story, I'd call it Punch Me in the Face.

He said, everything you talk about is getting punched in the face, getting back up, living your life. And the thing for me is, Sean, sean my entire life and a lot of people the funny thing about people a lot of them will tell stories that aren't true i think that's weird like if i tell you something that happened it happened if it didn't happen to me i'm going to tell you it didn't happen to me so a lot of these guys they go like well this happened when i got 27 stitches in my face and i sold drugs no you didn't you didn't sell drugs and you didn't get fucked up. You're just lying. So for me, that's kind of been the mantra, if you will. Like, you know, I see a lot of folks that live their lives avoiding being knocked down, whatever it is, whether it's doing what you're doing, the things you decided to do, business, personal parenting,

they just try to avoid it. So for me, it's like, dude, it's going to happen anyway. You know, so go ahead and run into it. Do what you got to do. I mean, they write all these books about it. Like, I don't need to read a book and say, eat that frog or do this thing or do that thing. I mean, find the things in life you're afraid of and deal with them. So you go like a chocolate head on. Hell yeah. Every minute of every day. Because I think people say everybody can do that.

I think everybody has that capacity. Because the first time you get hit, it sucks. Like, if he punched me in the face, I'm going to punch him back, but it's going to hurt, especially if he clocks me clear in the mouth and my nose might bleed, my eyes will probably tear up. Then you're like, I didn't die. Like, so who cares? So that's been my concept.

A lot of the stuff I've done business-wise has just been that and trying to empower other people to do the exact same thing. I didn't have any kind of skill set, and I didn't think I did. I just wasn't afraid. Whether it's a skill set or not, I'm not, genuinely. I'm afraid of God. Okay. But that's it, man.

That's it? That's it. Not your wife? I ain't married, dude. If I was married, I bet I'd be afraid of my wife. So I'm not afraid of my wife. My daughter, when she's growing up, telling me stuff. Girls, yeah, but no.

I'm not afraid of anything, dude. Okay. And it's not about being the biggest and bad. I mean, like, we were joking. Like, this dude comes in and wants to fight. He's a boxer. Of course he's going to knock me out. You know, I was like 16 years old.

Now I'm old compared to y'all, so we had rotary phones. It'll screw you up. And they, like, pulled out of the wall, and this dude called where I was at. And he was like, if you don't do this, I'm going to come over, and I'm going to fuck everybody up. And I'm like, bro, you have no idea who you're talking to. Come on over. My buddy's like, do you know who that was?

And I was like, I have no idea. He goes, he's legitimately a really good boxer. He's going to beat the shit out of you. And I'm like, you have no idea who you're talking to come on over my buddy's like do you know who that was and i was like i have no idea he goes he's legitimately a really good boxer he's gonna beat the shit out of you and i'm like dude no he's not well he came over and he proceeded to beat the living shit out of me hit me 27 times before i hit him like twice and we become really good friends but it was funny because i said dude at the end of the day you have to go to sleep at night it was on this podcast the guy said to me you're in a bar and somebody walks by and slaps your girl in the ass what do you do i said fuck him up he goes well there's consequences i said well wait a minute the gravest consequence i had to put my head down on my pillow at night look at her and no i wouldn't

stand up for her she said i'd rather be dead wow what's the worst thing that happened i get arrested no he's probably gonna die i'm probably not gonna go to jail and what if i harm the guy and he sues me okay but he slapped her ass he committed a crime so i guess for me it's just i want to be able to sleep at night live with myself and and i want to know that i gave this life everything i had i feel that so i'd love to dive into your story uh where do you want to start with i mean i mean anywhere dude i mean i was um you know my parents split when i was young and i was exposed to a lot of growing up a lot of substance abuse a lot of violence i've been sober myself 22 years nice um i loved to drink i love to use coke i love to smoke crack because of me a day goes this is like smoking crack i'm like it's a honey bun dude it's nothing like smoking crack crack is like the best 15 minutes of your life followed by the worst 27

minutes of your life then you repeat you just continue to do it so um you know i grew up just seeing a bunch of crap man my parents when i was young my mom worked her ass off three jobs i got a little brother um and i just watched her struggle our entire lives we moved place to place apartment to apartment i couldn't believe that people had like houses and cars like the craziest thing in the world and my mother when i was probably 11 got a real estate license and it was like that sean, she was excited. I was excited for her. If you're the oldest and you have a single parent, you're very parentified, right?

So I looked out for my mom. And I remember all the people in the apartment complex. We had some really stupid neighbors that were like, Carrie, if it was that easy, everybody would do it. Like, just really dogged her. And eventually she gave up on it. And then she went back to her three jobs. I played baseball, football, basketball growing up. She never went to them.

She was working. She worked. I'm very proud of my mom, what she's done. So when I was 17, I graduated high school, and I wanted to go to Marines. So I went out to my ASVAB test. My mom's like, you're not going to military. You're going to college. And I said, I don't want to go to college.

And she's like, you have to. And back then, we were afraid of our parents because they beat the living shit out of us you know my mother would oh dude my mom would kick me i'd move she'd break she'd break her toe she'd throw stuff at me accidentally stick it in like it was just it was she was just trying to survive with two kids she was an amazing mother is amazing mother she's still alive and she said you're gonna go to college so i was like buddy mine was going to college play baseball he's like hey you should go too and i'm thinking you only want me to go because if i go they'll freaking recruit you too because you ain't that could so i went a couple years played some ball then transferred to four-year school was a business major for like six months and then

realized that people teaching me didn't know anything so i became a social work major right because they at least were in the business like they were doing it and then i went to the police academy and um which i never wanted to do my buddy kind of my buddy mike was like we should go and i'm like i went he went he didn't get in i got in i'm like don't even want to go and after about three four months it was not a good fit for me dude i would like go out on uh like uh before you were actually out of the academy with your fto your field training officer and there was a guy we went to a domestic violence call and i was all excited because it was like this our first like real thing yeah and the dude that came running out the door i thought was the perpetrator so i like tackled him but he ended up being one of the victims he was the brother of the

woman that was being beaten so the guy was like eventually this is probably not a good fit for you so i went and worked for 14 years working with abused neglected children in the state of connecticut so kids that were sexually assaulted physically assaulted homicides um it was it was it was a very tough but rewarding job. Most people in social work have their own shit, and they want to fix it, so they go into social work. That wasn't unlike them. So I did that 14 years, dude,

and I just was having a hard time paying my own bills. And I had two amazing kids, and I was like, dude, I can't really afford to support them and do things I'm supposed to do. So I got my real estate license. And I did that about seven years. Oh, wait, the market crashed. Then I found life insurance and I started making money I never thought I could make.

And now my thing, Sean, honestly, is I want people to believe in themselves. You know what I mean? Like, I'm crazy legitimately humble. Like, when you're like, hey, I'd like you to come on here. I'm like, why does dude want me to come on here? Like, I'll do it, but, like, he's pretty big and I'm crazy legitimately humble. When you're like, hey, I'd like you to come on here. I'm like, why does dude want me to come on here? I'll do it, but he's pretty big and I'm not. Why would he want me to come on? But I'm like, I'm definitely going to say yes and check it out.

So now I have multiple businesses. I do a ton of real estate on tons of properties, a lot of commercial stuff, socks, you name it, we do it. The majority of what I've done is insurance. I built a pretty good-sized company. I was able to sell it for quite a bit of money, which was mind-boggling to me as well. And then I was able to get a bunch of people I work with to do the exact same thing. Like, hey, build it up.

These guys will acquire it, and here's what you get paid. So that's probably the most exciting thing for me. The money is just like it's money, but watching other people change our lives so um that's that's broad strokes probably my story but it's been a one hell of a ride i've learned a lot yeah along the way incredible story holy crap yeah i don't know where to start it's crazy and you know why does a healthy 33 year old such as myself need life insurance because i feel like it's an afterthought until people feel their mortality and then it's a scramble to find a policy to figure out what the situation is for them you know the thing I loved about life insurance when I got into it um because I where I've always lived is middle American market for life insurance so when I got my license guys

are like why don't you go work with these companies I'm like because there's only so many really wealthy people and then all the agents wanted to sell to them why wouldn't I go in the middle American market where there were more clients and less agents? Like if I get to make a layup, I'll make a lab why shoot from half-court So I started doing I really fell in love with it. And what I realized was, you know, my first death claim Okay, I've been doing this about three months, you know going out there calling people up. Hey, how you doing, Sean? You feel this thing? I come out your house. I go knock on this lady's door They never answer the phone and knock on her name's door. They never answer the phone. I knock on her door. Her name's Lisa.

I remember because it's my ex-wife's name. It's very easy to remember. So Lisa, right? So I was like, hey, Lisa, you filled this form out. She was 34 or 35. She said, I did, but I'm dying of pancreatic cancer. I have like three months to live. Can you help me?

And I was like, no, I can't. I mean, no, they don't sell life insurance where if you die in three months, they pay you. I'm not going to lie to you. I couldn't help you. Her husband comes around the corner. big old boy with like a ponytail down in those back. He had like one of those motorcycle cuts, his motorcycle guy, you know, and he starts screaming at me and he's like, get the fuck out of my house. And I'm like, not even in your house.

He's like, don't be a wise ass. And I'm like, I'm gonna have to kick this guy's ass. I'm gonna lose my insurance license. So she's like, calm down. He's a really good guy. Talk about me. And she goes, come on in. He's like, I'm late for work. I don't have time for this. And I said, listen, if you don't mind me asking, do you have life insurance? And he starts yelling at me again. He's 36. Anyway, I get him a policy after we go back and forth.

Two days later, he's on the way to work. And a deer runs out in front of his motorcycle. Middle of the day, he dumps the motorcycle, hits his head, he dies. Boom. Wow. He dies. And I got him a $250,000 policy that he made one payment on. Like 70 bucks came out of his account the day after I met with him.

And his wife got a quarter million dollars. She then died a few months later for cancer. And those two kids had only his $250,000. And that's when I was like, you know what, dude? Nobody knows when they're going to die. And life insurance is great to get when you're young and healthy because it's actuarial science. So why would you want to wait to get to a certain age?

So but that's a struggle for a lot of people. And, you know, the problem is like wealthy people do they get they do this stuff like at birth. Like they all understand how to do it. And that was always my argument. Why don't you deserve like if I leave any community and drive five miles to the gated community, why do they deserve more than your kids do? Right. Well, they can afford it. No, you can afford it, too.

It just means two less trips to Chili's, bro. You know what I mean? Or a game that you can't afford to go to. I mean, if you have to go to a professional sporting event and it's going to set you back six months, watch it on TV. It won't even matter at the end of the day. You say you're on the team. That's weird because it's not you on the team.

It's they on the team. And just educating people on the sacrifice they have to make so everybody has to have it it's just hard to get people to understand because they can't see mortality now covid changed life insurance completely life insurance industries i mean it exploded during covid because you couldn't turn tv on without hearing about your own mortality and your death so everybody's freaking out and actually it was one of the things in this i know people get weird about this but one of the things that hit me about covid was for me if it was so early on i'm like dude if it's so bad why are they still issuing the policies and like why are they okay if you have had covid or

have covid right so i was like wait a minute like i don't know a lot about it you know and then i you know for me i'm i'm a big believer in my immune system always have been so i'm gonna go out and do what i gotta do but everybody seemed to be calling that never – I had people that I met with that would never do it. And they're like, hey, can I get – I'm like, well, what happened? COVID. So everybody needs it, dude. And we got to do a better job because you understand the majority of foreclosures –

and when I was in real estate, this was always a number – happened because of a death and disability on one of the mortgages, right? Right. And then you leave that family in a terrible – if my mom had died while me and my brother were younger, what would we have done? Right. If I didn't have life insurance and, God forbid, I died yesterday,

what would happen from my loved ones, my beneficiaries? So it's a very emotional thing. It was like social work, but you got paid a lot more. So that's why for me when people are like, are you uncomfortable going to people's houses? I've been going to people's houses my whole life i got my i was in social work at 21 my first appointment a lady's like she said who the fuck are you i said i'm your social worker she said boy i have underwear older than you and i said i don't

know how to respond to that they didn't teach me that in social work school and i don't want to see your 21 year old underwear either yeah so but but i just was like hey i don't know anything about raising kids i said i don't know anything about being a parent but i will be honest with you i'll be direct i won't bs you and if you're looking out for your kids i'm on your side if you're doing anything to hurt your kids i'll be opposing you and i'm a good friend and a terrible enemy and that's what i do with my clients wow and if they were great i was like dude i got your back i had clients that they would come back i had a kid one day kid's face was swollen i was like yeah beaten and i knew the family really well and i was like dude they didn't do this to the kid.

And the doctor was like, yep, they 100% did. I'm like, because they're poor? Because you haven't even done anything yet. Like, I know where they live, too. You just think they did this because they were poor. When the swelling went down, it was a bite mark from a neighborhood kid. Wow. A little kid was hanging out with that kid and bit the kid, and they had a reaction.

Wow. Yeah, the doctor would never apologize. But, like, it was stuff like, I'm on your side. If I see you doing the right things, but, again, you ain't doing the right things, dude. I got no problem going, like, your kids have to come with me. They're going to be raised in foster care because you can't raise them. Wow. You know, and that's why I always like that whole bad kid thing.

Dude, there ain't no bad kids. Just bad parents. Right. You know, adults are adults. But you're five and seven. You off the wall because your parents suck. Right. You weren't born that way.

God didn't say bad kids. He gave you bad parents. So I loved what I did all those years, and I took it into life insurance. And I wish everybody had it because the hardest part for me is the people that call us when something's already happened or they're really sick. And once you get sick, actuarial science is very punitive. It doesn't tend to want to give you an insurance policy. So you've had massive success and you're super humble. How do you fight your ego?

I mean, that's a problem I feel like a lot of guys struggle with. Dude, I'm going to tell you, I mean, you know, I had a guy when I was probably 23 years old in real estate. And he said to me, Sean, the most expensive thing you'll ever have is your ego. And he said, you have to make a decision. I'll never forget this. He said, and I'm big on being mentored. So if you're good at something, I'm all ears. Like you start talking about what you've done, build your brand and what you're doing here

on social media. I'm all ears. Like you talk about it for an hour. I listen. You talk about it for 12 hours. I'm listening. If you don't know what you're talking about, I'm not going to listen to anything you say. And he said to me, you can't have a big, big ego in a big business.

He said, you can't. And you're going to find yourself at times thinking you're better than than you are you're never as good or as bad as you think you are and and again humility man i i mean i i played ball and i was a really angry kid i was a terrible teammate i mean i was good but i was a terrible teammate because that was my time to shine and say look at me like i have no attention look how awesome i am and it's just i'm embarrassed by it you know so i think as a coach i've been a lot better as an adult um and i see people every day sean in business and you watch them you're like dude they're gonna lose this thing because it's all about them and would you

want to be in business with somebody where it was all about you you know like somebody asked me the other day and i and again i don't like i'm able to talk about everything y'all don't care about anything and this guy's like what do you think about trump getting arrested i was like dude what do i care what's that shit got to do with like, what do you think about Trump getting arrested? I was like, dude, what do I care? What's that shit got to do with me? And he said, you think some of the Republicans are hoping that he gets arrested? I said, dude, he got beat by Biden. And I said, I'm not his campaign manager, but we is better than I.

And once you start going, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, people stop listening to you. It's we. It's us. You know, and as I think good leaders say, when they fail, when the company fails, it's my fault. When we win, it's because y'all are great. That's how good coaches are. You know, I've coached a lot of teams, baseball, basketball, football. Won a lot of games, but it's like because we had good players.

You know, so I just, I don't have that. I'll be honest with you. I think, and also I wasn't raised that way. You know, I never forget where I came from. Right. Ever. And I don't hide from it. Like, it is what it is. You know, people like, where I came from ever. And and I don't hide from it like it is what it is. You know, people like it.

And I always like when people like think they're so smart. Like it's like, you know, a guy that I posted something about John Moran having a gun. And the guy was like, well, didn't you get arrested going through your port with a gun? I'm like, yeah, dumbass. Like you can read like everybody else. Of course I did. I forgot I had a gun on me left in my bag and they'll tend to arrest you for that. It wasn't intentional.

I wasn't trying to sneak it through security i'm not stupid you know when they asked me like it was loaded i was like who the hell carries an unloaded gun of course it's loaded when i throw it at you but i think i'd rather just be who i am and live in it and and i've met any time in my life i've deviated from that and i have it's been awful it's been awful and i don't want to live that way i just want to be who I am free of judgment and Humble as shit man, you know, yes, you had humble beginnings, but now your kids are gonna grow into a life of well Yeah, how do you plan on managing that? That's a great great question. Um It's a struggle to be honest with you, bro

You know I was doing this thing with Damon John spoke at an event we had and then he did podcast and he was like, first generation makes it. The second enjoys a third destroys it. And I was like, that's really deep. I like that.

I've worked really, really hard to, first of all, my kids don't have anything, you know, that whole skill and Neil thing. Do my kids ain't got nothing either. Right. You know,

they, they're not rich. They got 140 bucks in their Venmo accounts. Now, while they're in school, they get stuff paid for, but they're not rich they got 140 bucks in their venmo accounts now while they're in school they get stuff paid for but they're crazy crazy cool doing their own thing um and i like that about them okay you know my son like he won't buy not he's like dude i make my own this is my life you have your life i have my life like i i get it i'm gonna make my way on my own and i believe him like i no, and I like that a lot. So it means I must have done something okay along the way.

And also, you never treat people differently regardless of who they are, where they're from. That was a big part for me. Most of my friends and the people I was comfortable with hanging out with, they didn't live where I could afford to live. And I also wanted my kids, when I was in real estate, my kids were eight and six. I wanted them to go with me. I wanted them to see the way they're, I wanted to, I wanted them, I don't care if they were eight and six years old in their pajamas, nine o'clock at night, collect them out. I'm like, let's go. So they were in a lot of different places, met a lot of different people, saw me talk to people from all kinds of backgrounds, didn't matter what they

said, what they looked like, where they lived. And I really, that was important to me. But it's definitely been a struggle when you know you're like, dude, you know you can say yes to these things. Right. And you don't ever want to, because I've never really thought about that growing up. How would I ever thought about it? Because, I mean, seven, eight years ago when my son wanted to go to private school to play ball, I was like, dude, private school is dumb because I didn't have the money.

Right. I was just, you know, so this is a newer thing for me. And also they were older in life you know i mean they're 21 and 19 now so it's um but it's it's been a struggle that i found a lot of people that i trusted you know mentorship i found some people and i was like that guy's kids got their shit together and he's really wealthy so i'm like hey what did you do that's the thing i found about mentors dude they actually kind of like being mentors so if you can ingratiate yourself to them and ask really good questions and shut your mouth and then bring something to the table, but know that they know more than you.

I mean, who doesn't want to know that, feel like, hey, I know some stuff this guy wants to know as well. So I found people that have been through it. And I was like, hey, man, how'd you do that? And I had a guy one day tell me, he said, Sean, they're eventually going to have to learn to live their lives without you. I was like, okay. He's like, so not just financially, even talking to them as much as we do sometimes. And I was like, man, I never really thought about that. He's like, dude, they're going to.

So for parents, I talk to my kids every day. They're 21 and 23. Well, dude, they're going to live without you one day. And if every single day they're talking to you two, three times a day, doesn't that make it a lot harder for them to live their lives? And eventually they get spouses. So I found people I trusted that I thought would speak into my life and be honest with me. Because, Sean, you're right. It's just I never thought I'd be dealing with it.

I watch people who do really bad at it. And just be respectful. And also their faith, man. I mean, be respectful. I mean, if, you know, and I use that a lot. I mean, I don't preach to anybody. I love everybody for what they believe and don't believe. I got no problem with any of that.

I just, you know, if Jesus washed some feet, man, they can be humble and respectful to everybody. And I think the last thing I'll say on that is, dude, we're all fine line. You could have went out last night. Do you drink? We actually quit drinking, but I cheated and had a beer last night. but when when you were drinking yeah okay you could have been drinking

after a couple drinks you're driving after a couple drinks you might dude the smallest thing could have happened some you could hit a car and the eight month old kid could die you didn't mean it you had a drink or two or three or four maybe you're legally drunk you looked at your phone maybe they swerved and all of a sudden your whole life changes now or four. Maybe you're legally drunk. You looked at your phone. Maybe they swerved. And all of a sudden, your whole life changes. Now, all of a sudden, you're a convicted felon. And, dude, it's that quick. I could be out in a parking lot with your professional boxer.

Somebody could say something to him. He could lose his mind. He could drill him. They could fall and hit their head and die. I mean, dude, stuff like this, it's a very slippery slope. You can gamble too much and like it too much. So I always try to explain to them that there's a very fine line between where you are today and where you could be.

And if you don't respect it, you'll end up on the wrong side of that. And I think I'm always crazy. We were in Dallas yesterday, and I saw this guy sitting out front. I can't say what his sign said because he was homeless and he was trying to get some money because it was really over the top, but it was kind of funny. And I said, give me one thing you've learned living on the streets. And he said, stay out of people's way.

I was like, I wish I had more people I work with knew that. You know what I mean? Like, just stay out of the way sometimes. Just kind of. So I think I always try to show my kids and everybody else around me that, like, dude, don't get too full of yourself. You will get knocked down in a minute. Right. And you see it happen to people all the time dude yeah all the time and it's something that isn't happening enough right i feel like society as a whole has moved towards this era where you're not held accountable for the things you say it used to be you know i'm 33 even 15 20 years ago when you met another grown-ass man that's right

there was a certain level of respect because if I pop off and say some stupid shit, you're going to punch me in the face. 100%. And nowadays, right, that's completely taboo. You're the devil. You're horrible for doing that. How did we as a society go from, you know, really fascinating over movies like Red Dawn to now getting in this spot where you're going to become TikTok infamous for keeping somebody accountable and punching them in the face

when they deserve it. Well, and a lot of it for me, think about the culture in general. Like, you do a lot of jerseys athletes, right? Think about, I had Zay Jones on a podcast recently. Zay plays for the Jaguars. He was with the Raiders. And I was like, explain to me your time in Buffalo. And he's a super nice young man, like crazy nice.

And he's like, well, he's going through it, and it was tough, and he was very upfront about everything, which I love. I was like, dude, whatever you want to share, share, don't, because I had a really tough time. I was very depressed. And I was like, why? He's like, with the way people treated me. And I was like, that's weird, because Buffalo sucks.

They never win. Like, who the fuck are they to say anything? Like, they haven't won ever, so they should shut up always. And he's like, I'd be in the grocery store, and people would get in my face. Wow.'m like but but as a society and and this is the the thing that we have to understand why are athletes because they're held to a much higher moral ground dana white can beat a chavis wife but if an athlete at the ufc did it he or she would probably not be in that sport right now and again, again, if you go, well, Dana White's wife hit him first,

and that's why, well, then you're a punk-ass bitch because you don't hit women ever. If they punch you, and listen, they punch you in the face 9, 10, 12 times, you walk away, run away, put a helmet on, right? Why are they treated differently? Why is John Morant holds a pick? I mean, dude, like, let's all slow down. I mean, he had a gun in his hand.

But all of a sudden, he's like the worst person that's ever walked the face of the earth, right? And is that, is it racial? Because I don't know. And I'm being serious. Like, because all of a sudden, is it economic? Like, why are they treated differently? And why do you think that you can go to a game? Because if I'm walking into my office and you both come up and go, you fucking suck, I will hit both of you.

And if you hit me back, fine, but I will hit both of you. But you're walking out of the arena at a sporting event. You're able to come and get in the guy's face. You can scream whatever you want. And if he reacts, he's the worst person ever. And I think as a society we've adopted. Now, me, honestly, I think it's as simple as this. A lot of the people that make the rules, well, first of all, they've never been punched in the face.

They don't have to worry about being punched in the face. And to your point, the generation, that ain't a lot of first-generation money. It's second, third, fourth, fifth. It's a lot of old, old-ass, I've-been-in-charge-for-a-long-time kind of deal. And because in the end of the day, why would it ever be okay for you to treat somebody that poorly? And if there's no consequence for your action why would people not do it like you know they go like what happened the banking system dude they weren't being regulated this isn't complicated i mean my guess is you're both pretty smart you appear to

be pretty smart i've heard you so i know you're smart as shit okay the banking rules are dude they're not written to fail they just have to be enforced but if you, they're not written to fail. They just have to be enforced. But if you know they're not enforcing them. I was in the police academy. They said, you pull a car over. They have $100,000 in cash and a brick cocaine. 2 o'clock in the morning. What do you do?

I said, what do you mean, what do I do? They said, well, what would you do with the money? I said, well, what are my options? I said, wait a minute. I make $31,000 a year as an officer. $100,000 tax-free. Nobody's going to tell on me. I would think about stealing it. And the guy that ran the court i said i'm not saying i would but please understand

we all make 30 grand a year that's like five times our salary because there's no money we would think about that yeah and and if we if there's no consequence we would definitely think about it like nobody's looking drug dealer's not gonna tell on us right who cares so i think we've set this system up where there's literally zero consequence and the only consequence is for the like nobody's looking drug dealer's not gonna tell on us right who cares so i think we've set this system up where there's literally zero consequence and the only consequence is for the person that acts up and somehow being and somehow being direct alpha is wrong and that ain't never wrong so i'm just never that's never wrong to me you know what i mean i think you treat people right you be respectful um you don't ever bother anybody that that's weaker than you in any capacity but you stand up for

yourself and for other people and and i think we've and i don't know i don't think most people i think most people agree with us i do i just think a lot of the power is to be don't so that's that's the voice and for me it's like dude i'm just gonna have to live with my own decisions on a daily basis you know i'm smart about what do. I'm not worried about a lot of stuff people are worried about because I don't. Life's pretty simple to me. We're all human beings. I don't care where you came from, what you look like. It doesn't genuinely matter to me.

It never has. Color your skin, ethnicity, gender. None of that shit matters. Are you a good person to treat people right? If you are, great. But it's kind of a scary place to be because how do you talk about your kids? How do you raise them? Can they stand up for themselves?

Are they not supposed to? What do you do? I mean, I'll be straight up. It's one of the scary place to be because how do you talk about your kids how do you raise them right can they stand up for themselves are they not supposed to what do you do i mean i'll be straight up it's one of the reasons i moved to florida yeah the weather's nice it's also a standard ground state right i mean i i carry guns i don't have one here i'm in california but i'm just saying like i do and i you know i i just i don't want to hurt anybody i don't know intention want to harm anybody dude i want to live my life yeah but i also don't want to hurt anybody. I don't intentionally want to harm anybody, dude. I want to live my life. But I also don't want to allow anybody to hurt people that are important to me. And I think part of that, when you look at certain states and their regulations and rules, you're like, why aren't those things happening?

If in Florida somebody laid down homeless at the door of my office, they'd be gone. Really? 100%. There was a homeless guy out here. I know. I walked over him. I didn't bump into him. Oh, he's still there. Oh, he's there, bro? 100%. There was a homeless guy out here. I know. I walked over him. I didn't bump into him. Oh, he's still there.

Oh, he's there, bro. He's crashed out. He's out cold. Oh, wow. He's just outside. But that doesn't happen where we live. And I don't pretend to know all the laws and all the things I do. When they were having all these riots, there was a couple new laws that were like, hey,

if you are breaking into a business and you're defending your business, you can use a certain level of force. I was like, for the business? They're like, yeah, even if it's just your property. Or if somebody tries to block your way as you're coming down the road, you're defending your business you can use a certain level of force i was like for the business i'm like yeah even if it's your church your property or if somebody tries to block your way as you're coming on the road you're able to continue to go like you have the right to do it they can't go around and sue you and go i stood in the middle of the road and you bumped into me so there's and guess what people didn't do it right so i think we have to and i guess what bothers me is the folks that say they don't want there to be any accountability, they're the first ones to dial 911.

Right. I mean, I was in California. I was at a 49ers-Rams game. Fight breaks out. Okay? Pretty good fight. I mean, they're not really good at fighting, but they were having at it. I was impressed with them. It was like four on four.

And they were, like, wailing on each other. And my buddy is like, what are we going to do? I was like, dude, it's four guys and four guys. We're going to do nothing unless, like, there's a kid or a woman gets involved. Well, this nice woman comes over, and she's, like, a teacher. She tells us that. We're just like, guys, break it up. You know what I'm like? dude, it's four guys and four guys. We're going to do nothing unless there's a kid or a woman gets involved. Well, this nice woman comes over, and she's like a teacher. She tells us that. We're just like, guys, break it up. I'm like, oh, God.

So we get up, and we just break it up. I grab a couple guys. My buddy's bigger than me. He grabs a couple dudes. I'm not trying to buy nobody. Cop comes up about an hour later, and I said, hey, man, you're like an hour late. He said, straight up, I ain't getting involved in that stuff. Cameras, I have nothing to gain.

Something happens. Somebody gets hurt. I have no win in that situation. None. No matter what, I'm vilified. And I'm like, that's a dangerous place for us to live. Wow. The people that are responding are like, wait a minute.

I got to worry about me, too. You got to worry about you. There's certain things you're not going to say. You're like, dude, I like my podcast. I do really well. You're probably a really good dude anyway. But you're like, there's certain, I got to worry about me too. You got to worry about you. There's certain things you're not going to say. You're like, dude, I like my podcast. I do really well. You're probably a really good dude anyway, but you're like, there's certain things I'm just not going to say. The people that are enforcing the laws are scared about what's going to happen with everybody can't video in and what they're going to say about what they did. That's dangerous. It is. Because we need them. Yeah. I remember when I lived in Cali, a state farm across the

street got broken into. He called the cops, took them hours to come, and then they wouldn't even arrest the guy. It was like a homeless guy, and he said, just let him be. We were in California a couple weeks ago, and a guy hit us, just smoked us, kept going, hit another car. And his car is destroyed, pulled up the highway. Finally, they come. It takes forever. And they're like, well, we probably won't find him. I'm like, he's the Volvo with the the bumper hanging like it's all over and there's video cameras

everywhere i'm like if that was your family if we were your family what would you have done but part of the thing they're just exhausted because you get to a point if you're a parent right like when i was a social worker i would tell my managers you guys are telling these guys they can't parent at some point in time they're just gonna give up like they would go sean he assaulted his son i'm like well his son's eight he smacked him on the ass he's got a handprint he was disciplined the kid did these three things wrong he explained it i don't know that he assaulted him but then they had a state law so if you leave a mark in any course of discipline in the state of connecticut it's it's a it's crime wow so now like i'm going they're

going like what do you want me to tell them to do? Because I was physically disciplined and that shit worked. Yeah. I didn't do it again. You learned your lesson. I learned my lesson. Yeah. You know, my kids knew.

I want to ask you about that because my dad got the shit beat out of him. I'm sure his dad did the same. My dad never laid a hand on me. That's pretty cool. What are your thoughts on with your kids moving forward? You know, man, I'm not a fan of learned behavior. Good for your dad. Yeah.

I really respect him. Me too, because I've seen a lot and been exposed a lot where they didn't stop. You know what I mean? And I'm really impressed by that. And I think, you know, that whole concept of learned behavior, you know, I don't – dude, I never had to beat on my kids, but I was always present. I was always direct. I was always firm.

And I didn't think I needed to you know if i said you can't do this you couldn't do it if i said you couldn't use your phone you couldn't use your phone i mean i had to grab my kids a couple times to get their attention my daughter you kind of fake grab her because it's a girl and then my son's like you didn't grab her i'm like yes i did i'm picking him up scooping him up you know but um i think that dude listen it was a different time we're at my mom was frustrated. She worked three jobs. I mean, she had a lot going on.

I don't know that that's – and it's a dangerous place nowadays too with everything. I think if your parent kid's right and you have to correct them a few different times, but your dad is one of the few because most people that go through that, what they do is they're almost given the right to, hey, I went through that. It's like, why would you ever assault a woman if you watched your mom

get assaulted? Like, how would that ever make any sense? Like, I couldn't fathom that. Like, my mom got married again and again. She had all kinds of stuff going on in her life.

I'm like, everything I watched, all I regretted was being too little to do anything about it. But no matter what in the world happened, that's actually ensured. And probably your dad would probably articulate kind of the, I know what it felt like when I was a kid. It didn to do anything about it. But no matter what in the world happened, that's actually ensured.

And probably your dad would probably articulate kind of, I know what it felt like when I was a kid. It didn't do anything for me other than hurt me, break me down, do all that kind of stuff. So, but, you know, he broke the cycle. That's the other thing, dude. Breaking the cycle, I talk to people a lot about that. Who's breaking the cycle in your family?

Because somebody has to. Like, I got it, my old man and i weren't very close i hadn't seen him for a long time kind of reconnected with him lately over the last couple years but i have to give him he got sober oh nice he got sober and i kind of got sober i was like if because he was so i'm like if he can get sober why can't i get sober it was not like he didn't sit me down and go son he never did just one. Just one got sober. And that was it. None of me was that involved. Just one got sober. Wow.

And I'm like, he did it. He's not a better man than me. Shit, I'm going to do it because he did it. You know, if that makes any sense. I just kind of was. But somebody's got to break that cycle. Somebody in my family had to go out and get to graduate college and make money and kind of try to give money back. I do a lot of stuff here in California.

East L.A. The Dream Center is one of my favorite places in the world pastor matthew is like one of the coolest people ever yeah and um let's tell stuff i do my kids stuff like that bring them around let them walk the floors hear the stories hey i was raised by a good family and one day i started using heroin and here's where i ended up on the streets and this happened that happened that happened it was like damn yes that's that's life so getting real life experiences you know but your your old man should be applauded man that's that's great yeah i really respect him for that you should do because he literally got knocked out like he grew up on a farm yeah so did my dad they're a different different breed

out there man sure man sean it's been a pleasure any closing thoughts and where people can find you um they find me on instagram my last name is m-e-a-i-k even though it's pronounced mike it's been a pleasure any closing thoughts and where people can find you um they find me on Instagram my last name is M-E-A-I-K even though it's pronounced Mike it's all those vowels um YouTube same deal punch me in the face is the podcast wrote a little books punch me in the face half the money we get goes right the dream center a big fan of that so um but dude I really appreciate you having me on I mean it um you know I just started this to try to do the best I could to get some information out. And, I mean, you've done some amazing things. And you reaching

out to me has been very humbling. And I don't say that because I mean it. That's a really cool thing for me. And I appreciate letting me get on and have some time with you. You shared some powerful messages today. I really think people would rather me. So, I appreciate it. Appreciate you, man. Absolutely. Digital Social Hour. I'll see you guys next week.