Stay Tranquilo - Let's Figure it Out with Zach Martin

Episode Date: April 15, 2019

Have you ever felt stuck? Have you ever been so lost that life seemed too hard to just keep going?  You are not alone. Life is going to be a battle, a battle to testify the person you are. Look back from the day you were born. Your life is a story worth telling. The good, the bad, the ugly, it all has its purpose, it all is unique to you. In this episode, we are joined by Musician/Artist Zach Martin. Zach leaves us with the importance of faith in our world today. He explains how we must learn to find ourselves when life seems to be falling apart. There is something that shifts the moment we are able to let go of our problems and jump into our faith. Zach and Andre met in college over 3 years ago and now have managed to come together to provide our personal stories to help you. Our stories are no different than yours. We are here to remind of our daily struggles, our passion behind what we do, and to show the world that you are not alone in your problems and you are not alone with how you feel. Always remember life gets hard, all for a reason. Take a listen to this episode and see what it is like in these tough times and how we overcome and continue to move through adversity. An episode you truly will resonate with and a message that applies to all. Enjoy and subscribe!  Follow Us: Tranquil'o Instagram: @staytranquilo Zach Instagram: Zachery.Martin Music: Zach Martin Spotify and Itunes Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What is good, everybody. You're listening to another episode of the Stay Tranquilo podcast, where we're going to help you stress a little bit less and enjoy a whole lot more. Today we got a good one for you. This is a good friend of mine that I got while at FIU, actually, and didn't really think much of it while we were there, but after, you know, a lot of contact, a lot of similar mindsets, and we've stayed in contacts ever since.

So this is my boy, Zach. Introduce yourself. Let the people know about you. Hi, guys. My name is Zach Martin. Just like he said, we met at an anatomy class. And we're like, what is going on? I don't want to be here.

None of us wanted to be. Did you study? And I think that's how you bond. You kind of like, you blink your eyes for a second. And then all of a sudden, you're good friends. Yeah. Well, I think, too, you played baseball in high school, which was something that I did too. So I resonated with that.

But what really resonated me and now I look at it even more, which is crazy, is when you told me that you were doing music. Because that's surprised me. You were like a fit dude. I knew you knew Campo and you were doing crossplay with him. So obviously, just like everyone does, like, first assumption is like this guy is just like a fitness dude, right? But then when you told me that you were into music, that really shocked me because I knew I wasn't there for fitness. And now I knew you weren't there for fitness anymore. We're both taking an anatomy class.

One of the hardest classes. But I look back at it, too, because, like, you know, a lot of my friends are nurses. And I'm like, it's cool. I can kind of resonate with what they're saying. And I think it's cool to know. So such an important class. I think, you know, when we live life, I just want to know what's going on with my body.

Yeah, no, especially now for my own personal, like, being, my personal well-being, I look at it like that. And then I have a little brother that he's really into sports, and I know, like, I can give back in that aspect of whatever I learned in those classes and stuff like that. But you were out of everyone there, you know, like I didn't really enjoy going to classes towards the end. I knew I was just working towards getting my diploma.

But you were one of the guys that I was always, like, I had in like three, four classes. And like we were talking about before, I think it's like God puts people in your path for a reason. Absolutely. Dude, I just want to, you know, before we start talking, I want to thank you for doing what you're doing because, you know, your reach isn't defined by a number on an Instagram app.

You know, I just want to let you know that you're reaching so many more people that you even think are possible right now. And just keep going, man. Thank you. This is a big week. And if you can just reach one person every single day or reach one person a week, you're making a difference in this world and that person is going to reach the next person and it's not defined by a number on an app and I think that's part of the problem man

to separate I think in my opinion too because you know the scale that you want to reach and not to say that it'll never happen but yeah in that process of trying to get there like you said I think that number is not something to pay attention to it and I think we're so quick to define like oh how am I doing with like influencing people like this influencer term that Instagram's throwing around it's just defined by a little number on the top of Instagram map, but like what happens when you go to the store? They're like, what happens when you're walking down the street? Like, are you impacting those people as well?

Are you doing any? Just because they're not following you on Instagram app. So it's like... Or there's not a camera following you around. There's so much power in our position, man. And you're doing it on social media and I know that you're doing it off because I've going to know who you are as a person. Thank you.

I just want to thank you for that, man. I appreciate it. And I've seen the stuff that you've done and the words that you spread. And, you know, again, as bad as social media can be, it connects you with some of the best people that you. you can connect with just because you can really resonate with people that are actually going out of their way, knowing what social media can do, knowing that it's going to reach somebody. Because what happened to is I started posting on my stories a lot.

I started posting on my page a lot, you know, just things that were on my mind, things that I know I needed to get better, right? Because, and we'll get into this in a little bit, but I knew it was important. And there was little things along the way where people would just message me, like saying like, hey, you know, I got this going on. Like, I'm not going to, you know, put those people out there, but or what they told me. But, you know, very, a lot more people than I would even expect to reach out to me saying that they're going through some really, really, really tough times. And they needed to find a way out of it, you know?

And I'm not here to preach anything. I'm not here to do any of that. But what I'm here is to tell the truth of what I've experienced and what's basically worked for me. And that's exactly what this podcast is. Yeah. And you know what the beautiful thing is about it is that you're not where you want to be yet. No. And I think there's so much potential to reach people coming from a voice that's not there yet.

Because, you know, we get, you see Instagram, you see this world that's like, oh, like, I'm successful now. Yeah. But like, we love to define overnight success as such an instantaneous thing where it's like, he's an overnight success. Yeah, but maybe like 15 years in the making overnight success, you know, like what happened from year one to year? Yeah, exactly. Day one to that point that now you know that person's there. Absolutely. No one sees that. No.

And you're sharing now in the rough seasons. Yeah, that's true. You know, it's like people can't really connect. Yeah, they see they're successful and I want to be like that. But like you also want to be like the guy who's struggling. How did they get out of it? You know? So it's like me sharing my journey along the way because, like you said, I'm nowhere near where I want to be.

And truth is, we'll never be there. No, we never will. We're going to always want more. We're always going to want to be better, and I see the celebrities do that. I mean, look at Will Smith right now. I don't know if you follow Will Smith at all. And the only reason I would never really follow him until I saw what he was doing, he's basically made it. You know, in the movie industry, he's made it.

He's made a name. He's doing well. I think he's making another man in black. I think they're doing it again. The guy does not stop. He doesn't stop, right? And he's made it. But now what he's doing is, like, his bucket list thing.

And he's documenting him achieving these things of, like, you know, he goes to, like, these Buddhist temples. he goes shark cage diving like just things that he knows that he's capable of doing now because obviously he has the money and the power and the fame and all that but again he had this whole journey of trying to get there and now he's like okay I made it now what's next and it's crazy because once you make it it's not what you think it's going to be anyway it's not so it's like I don't want to miss these moments getting there because when I get there I won't even be there you know what I mean so there's no destinations that's going to stop you know our journey to help people you know when you're going to be like oh I'm here and now everyone

else saw that I'm here and good luck everyone I made it yeah you know like it's still going to go like I'm still going to struggle every day when I'm successful every day your problems are going to be bigger probably the more money you have too you know and it's not even about money it's like when our world grows our problems will grow too and it's not going to go away you know there's not going to be a fix where it's like I'm here now everything's going to go away yeah probably it's going to get a little bit harder it is and you know I think we have to prepare ourselves for those times and I think too going back to what you just said is like you can't attach anything external to your happiness and it's so easy to do that.

We want to attach everything. You know, I'll be happy when this happens. I'll be happy when that happens. When I get the nice car, when I get the promotion, all that stuff, that's when we'll be happy. Then it happens or it doesn't happen. And you're not happy, you know, you're back to where you were. You had that temporary satisfaction. Then two years go by.

You're in the same position. Now you want another promotion. Now you want this. And it's just a cycle like that, you know, and you don't want to live in that cycle. And it's all centralized around ourselves. You know, I think everyone's like chasing their passion, chasing their passion. But like chase people, man. Like, yeah, you can go after what you feel called to do.

I mean, that's, you know, why we're here. I think we're supposed to fulfill. Yeah, we all have an assignment to be here, whether it's do something grand scheme or do something day by day, like help your mom, help your dad, help your kids. And sometimes it's hard to look at that. Sometimes it's so hard to look at that. That's a great point.

Because everyone thinks that they're supposed to be here to be the next superstar. Yeah, we're looking 10 years ahead when right now we have a certain duty that we need to be. What about being the superstar in your house, man? Before you're a superstar of the world. right there, dude. That's huge. I think once we get caught up and chasing a passion, then we lose the people because it's all around

ourselves. That really hits the heart because that's something that when I finally found that purpose and that passion of like, you know, I wanted to create this message and this movement. You know, I worked so hard to really getting that out there and really proving myself of what

I could do. You know, then when it kind of slowed down a little bit, I lost okay, well, you know, I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm following my purpose, but yadi, yadi, yadi. But like you said, there's a purpose I have right now. Yeah, maybe that's my long term, you know, what I'm working to, my, my, my passion, my goal. But right now, I have a duty to be a big brother, you know, to be a helper for my mom, to be a friend to my friends, you know, because God is literally putting that in my face right now. He's putting it in my face. And I refuse to do that because I'm more focused on my purpose and

my passion that I'm losing the fact that this is my purpose right here. This is my passion right here. And I lose that right there. I mean, it's right there. I mean, like, how are we supposed to be given much if we can't deal with the little things? Exactly. So it's like, and I think once we kind of have our perspective shift in that way, we're looking for it. Like you look for ways to help people. The way you look at the world becomes very different. It's self-conscious because I'll tell you a story right now. I was going to Publix to get some food or whatever. And there's this woman there who works in Publix. And Old Zach would have been like weirded out by what just happened. So she walks out of Publix and she looks at me and she goes, hi, you know, like, we kind of say

hi in passing because she's, like, checked out my groceries and, you know, it's someone that I've seen frequently. Okay. So she just starts, like, crying in the middle of the parking lot. And old me would have been like, this is the weirdest thing ever. I'm going to get my groceries and, like, that was weird. Yeah, just not really focus on it. But when you're looking, you start to see the shift in your perspective, like you see, like, you feel. And it's like, almost anything, you can't explain it, but like, so I go off to her, I'm like, hey, you're okay. And it's like, you know, you just look like my son and like you just got into an accident and he's not doing well. And she's like crying. That's crazy. Long story short, it's like all that

you can do in that moment is just be there for that person. You know, and she gave me a hug and that's all, you know, you're not going to like get money. You're not going to do anything. And I'm not telling the story to say, oh, I'm the best guy ever. But it's like when you start to look for situations to help people, they're going to be there and they're already there in front of your face. You either choose to look at it or not. Absolutely. And the person that, you know, it's like, I'm only going to help this person because it's going to benefit me in the long run. But like the people that need your help are looking at you right in the face. And it's sometimes, you know, it's crazy.

Yeah, we're so focused. We're so focused on our switch. And I think this is something that really resonates with people our age too because we're all trying to, you know, get our life going. You know, we're 23 by 30. You're supposed to have your life together. And, you know, that's how it is. So we're all in that rush to get there. But like you said, right in front of us, there are things that we need to.

to take care of on the daily, but we refuse to because we're so focused on 10 years from now and making sure we get there and the funny part about that is that comes from a place of fear. We're not trusting anything. We have no faith there. We have nothing. We're just worried about getting to that

destination when everything that we need and is presented to us is right in front of us on a daily basis yet our eyes are shut and we're not present. You know what I'm saying? And I think being in that moment is so big. You know, you were able to recognize that why because you were aware that this lady needed somebody right there you know at first

you don't see that but then it just pops up to you everyone needs someone man and it's it's if you can be that person just a shoulder for someone to cry on then that's what you be and it's like and it may be weird at first you know it might it is weird it's gonna be weird it's gonna be weird but like so much growth comes out of those uncomfortable situations where it's like you know you're almost removing yourself from that you know like I'm just gonna remove my ego I'm gonna remove my motives I'm gonna remove everything and just be there for that person and sometimes you don't even need to say anything that person just wants you to be there you know like we always try to think of the clever saying that's going to make them feel better remember think of you know what can I do to uplift this person

with my words but like if you're just present and like show that person that you care and show people that you care people need that man I more people need that than we think I we're the way I'd look at people you know and I just I see it you know I don't like to talk smack about people I myself doing it, you know. But I see the way people treat other people and it's sometimes it's embarrassing, you know. We don't have that sense of compassion anymore, I don't think, and I think it's getting worse and worse. And I think why anxiety and depression is so high is because everyone's independent. There's no that that unity is just getting separate and separate and it becomes an ordeal. And I think people need to focus more on the aspect of,

hey, it's not so much about me, it's about us. Right. You know, it's not about just you either, you know, because there, I really do believe in being selfish, you know, at certain points in your life. And you've got to be able to take care of yourself before you can take care of anyone. Right, right. But there's a quote by Gandhi that is like, you find yourself in the selfless acts of others. You know what I'm saying? Because you do.

You know, by me, you know, helping this guy that basically reaches out to me, right? Let's say. And I see that he needs someone. I find myself through the purpose of saying this guy's reaching out to me because he thinks I'm someone that can help him. Right, right there, that's God saying, hey, this is your purpose right here. This is someone that needs your help. And guess what? That message is going to be relayed right to him too further down the line because he's going to be able to help someone.

Dude, and it, you know, it's crazy that once we get ourselves right, we're able to love people the way that they should be loved. But at the same time, it's like, it does require some, you know, to look in the mirror and be like, I'm not who I want to be. You know, and I was there. I was like, I looked myself in the mirror. That's very hard to do. Dude, like, I'm not a good person, Juan. I'll just be straight up. And it's hard to come to that place.

But you talk to God and I know it's weird. Like, I mean, I didn't believe all my life. So like, someone said, oh, I had a conversation with God. I'd be like, you're crazy. Yeah. But like, once you start to be vulnerable enough to realize that you want to be changed from the inside out, you're going to have a conversation and you're going to have multiple conversations and you're going to start to see slow changes.

but we have to be vulnerable with our stuff. It's the only way we'll start to change. I agree. You have to be able to open that conversation and say, hey, I don't like where I'm at, you know. I don't like how my body looks. I don't like the way I feel. I don't like the way I'm thinking, you know, and your body is the best indicator. Right.

Your mind is the best indicator. You know when you don't feel good, you know. But we try to find satisfaction in going out and drinking, you know, and there's nothing wrong with that. I love to do that, you know. But ask yourself, why are we doing this? We're doing this every weekend. We're doing this on a frequently basis. Is there something that you're trying to get away from?

Or is there something that, you know, you actually enjoy to do? And I think that's a very vulnerable question to ask is, why are you doing what you're doing? Whatever it is, whether it's your job, whether it's school, you know, ask questions. Ask is this is not, you're not, no one's obligating. There's no, you know, set rule to life. And I grew up Catholic. I grew up in a disciplined home. You know, so rules to me were like, you can't break them, can't break them, you know, it's this way and that's it.

And obviously, the older I get, I think you have to be able to break rules, you know. You have to break the norm. You have to do the things people aren't going to do because that's what's going to separate you from everyone else. It's going to allow you to find who you want to be, who you truly are, not living in someone else's terms. And I think it's society's rules, man. Yeah. There's rules, like rules, rules, and I think there's society's rules. that rule, you know? So it's like, I'm going to break society's norms, man. It's okay to be

weird. It's okay to not be normal. It's okay to not have it all together because guess what? We're never going to have it all together. None of us are going to have together. You know, so it's like, once you come to that realization, you know, I posted something the other day where it's like, right now I'm in the hardest season of my life. Personally, I laid out there. I'm in the hardest season of my life. I'm not who I want to be, but I know that I'm becoming a better person every single day. And I think there's so much power in our brokenness. I know brokenness is such a hard term. Yeah. But it's truth. The truth is, is that we're all broken, man. Like, there's something in us that we want to be better. And I think that my brokenness can help someone else's

brokenness. And the thing is, I don't ever want it to have it all together anymore. Because I know that God will use my weakness to his strength and help someone who's in that same position that I am, you know, to get out of it. You know, we're going to do this together. Like, we're here for each other. I'm not going to get out and then tell you how I got out. I'm going to bring you with me to get out together. You know what I mean? So it's like I don't want to have it all together and pretend like everything's cool because once I do that, I realize and I'm missing the people that don't have it all together that could be helping all along. Yeah. And I think that like sense of compassion that we were talking about a little while ago comes from those struggles. You know,

I'm going to resonate with the pain that you're feeling because I, you know, suffered something in my life, whether it was like a personal loss or loss a job, you know, just. struggles with mental, whatever it is. You know, I've dealt with that struggle. So now I've seen both sides and you can't have the both sides. I mean, you can't have one side without the other. You know, you can't have pain and, you know, good times unless you have the pain, you know, because you appreciate the good times that much more.

And people think, like, I used to think, like, oh, you know, God won't use me until I have it all together. But like God, he wants to use that pain. He wants to use that pain. From day one, you're going to, and you're going to cycle out those things. It's like a different skin that you can. going to go through you know. There's going to be a different battle every season. And if we have, you know, if we're better off on the money side, it's going to be something else. And if we're

not better off on the money side, it'll be something. There's always going to be something. There's always going to be something. That's one thing I know for a fact. There's always something. Just when you everything's rolling, the tire goes flat. You know what I'm saying? Which is okay. And it's part of, it's part of life. Yeah. It's part of life. But let's kind of roll into a little bit about, you know, I want you to tell a little bit of your story and like, you know, what you do and the decision you made, I guess, you know, probably within the last two years and about some of the struggles that you've dealt with because of that decision you made. So I went to school originally to play baseball.

You know, that's what I might think. Like, I'm going to play baseball and that's just what I'm going to do. You know, if I don't play baseball, I'm going to coach in baseball. So the first day of college, I broke my arm in three places, like snap, goodbye. So I have like this huge scar from my shoulder to my elbow. And, you know, after, like, you prioritize something your whole life, and then it's just, it's gone. Take it from your hands. It's like, what on earth am I doing?

Like, why am I here? You know, and you go through, like, this cycle of, like, depression, anxiety, like, purpose. I don't have a purpose. And it's like, my goodness, like, I have no idea what I'm going to do. So, like, years of that. Yeah. From 17, I was just graduated high school, everything, it was going to go, hopefully well. Well, yeah.

You had that plan that this is what I was going to do and I'm going to run with it. And then, so I played music my whole life. I played music since I was three. I played the violin. And so I was like, maybe I'll just start, like, going to music. And maybe by, like, playing music, it will make me feel better. Because I put it on, like, the back burner. Once I, like, was going to play baseball, I'm not doing music at all.

So I broke my arm. And, like, a couple years later, actually, I was like, oh, man, like, I'm going to start playing the violin again. Like, I'm just going to start playing the violin again. So I started playing, and I still felt like crap. You know, like, even, like, even. if you're doing something that you love and you still feel like crap, maybe you just have to, you know, enhance it a tiny bit. So I'm like, I'm going to write what I'm feeling, you know, like, just going to write down because there's power and words. There is. So I'm going to write and

I'm like, man, like, how am I going to write? So I guess I have to figure out how to make a song because, like, this isn't enough either. And it's like, so I asked my mom, like, hey, like, I'm thinking about writing music. So anyway, you can help me out getting a piano. So I got a piano and, like, looked on YouTube and just started covering songs. It's like, can I play this chord? Okay, now I can play this song. And it's crazy because think about it, like, you didn't know anything. Nothing.

I knew how to play the violin. And I think that's people are scared to do that because they don't know anything. Yeah. And that's not a reason not to do something. And sometimes it's the thing that you've known how to do all along. That's like looking at you in the face and be like, this is what you're supposed to do, man. And like, I wasn't saved. I didn't have a relationship with God.

So it wasn't like a spiritual thing where it's like, you're meant to play the piano. Yeah. A little whisper in the wind. Yeah, no, it's not like that. So it's like, dang, man, let's figure this out. And so I like started writing and I was like, okay, I'm going to write my first song. Probably the worst song ever. I'm sure it was.

And just like my first picture ever was like probably the worst picture of a post and like some words I put together. But the thing is you don't give up in that moment. No, you don't. Once you give up in that moment, then what, you know, it's like, I'm going to keep writing. I'm going to keep writing. I'm going to keep writing. I'm going to keep writing. I'm going to keep writing.

And just like you, like I'm going to keep drawing or someone else. I'm going to keep practicing. I'm going to keep, you know, striving. You don't stop because you're going to see eventually something clicks. Which, like, oh, I can do that and I didn't, I wasn't able to do that before. You'll get the side saying like, hey, this is good. You feel good. You feel good about it.

And I was like, oh, man, like here's momentum. Like, I'm starting to feel good playing. I'm starting to learn how to play. I'm starting to write. So it wasn't until, and I moved back to Miami to go to school at FIU. Right. And that's where I met you there. Yeah.

So we're at my last semester. and I'm still like playing music, you know, starting to like post it and like seeing like how I'm doing one. And I know I shouldn't gauge about like the amount of interaction. No, but you want to. Some gauge. Like am I being crazy? Exactly. So that last semester I like went through the hardest time of my life.

I was like, I don't want to do exercise science. Like why am I sitting in an anatomy class? I was in. I was in about it. In that last semester. And then when I did the internship, that was probably the most miserable summer one because I was making zero dollars. Zero. Zero.

Like zero, like zero, right? And I just saw my bank account going like that super fat. In the peak of summer where everyone's doing things and I'm like, I'm not going to let myself suffer and do nothing, you know? And at the same time, I was doing something absolutely just didn't want to do. Dude, it's crazy. It's almost like it sucks a life out of you. And that's what I felt like. I was like, I'm getting up and I don't even have a reason to put my feet on the ground.

Yep. And it's like, I'm getting up and I'm going to bed and I don't have anything to look forward to when I wake up. And, like, that's, like, the darkest place you can be. Yeah, that is a tough place to be. So, I, like, was like, I need to, like, because, you know, like, I did stuff where I, like, eventually got pretty good at, and but then got bored. Like, I was like, this is boring. Like, you know, like, I don't feel any satisfaction of, yeah. And to be honest, I went home, stopped school for my last semester because I was like, I'm needed to do music.

I need to just get away from this. And to be, truth be told, I still got bored. I got bored doing music. and I lost, I started to hate music. I was alone in New York by myself, with like my family, my friends are gone. I had a girlfriend at the time. Girlfriend's gone. Everything that I loved is gone.

You know, and yeah, we have our family here with us, but it's like, it's different. It sucks, man. So I started writing and I was like writing for the wrong reasons. Like, I want to make a ton of money. Like, I'm going to be famous. Like, this is going to be cool. Everything's going to be fine once I'm on the billboard chart. It's not like that.

It's not like that. It's not as quick as like, you know. Yeah. So I was like, this is like, you know. Like I need to stop. So I stopped for like three months. Didn't touch anything. Didn't play a note.

Didn't sing a note. Didn't even turn music on in the car. Because I couldn't even listen to music. I was like, this is awful. That's crazy. So I was like this huge moment where it's like the only thing that I think can fulfill me is going to church. And it's like me like I, no. Like I've written off God my whole life.

My parents don't really believe. They don't go to church. I got baptized when I was like a little kid and never went back. This is the most ridiculous thing ever. And like, you know, you have that thing where like when I went to church in Miami for a couple of times, it was the only time where I felt like I could breathe. And it's like, I need to go feel that. And I need to stop doing what I'm doing.

And sometimes to get in other places in life, you have to put other things on the side, even if that's what you're going to eventually do. You know, so it's like I need to put music away. Like I need to just stop. So I went to church for like three months and like just started reading and like started praying for the first time. started like seeing like colors and you know the things that like your life goes dark and like you start to see life again and like that's what I felt and you know it's like wow like when you have I'm gonna start like you tear up when you think about this stuff because because you're at the

bottom you're at the bottom yeah exactly you hit absolutely rock bottom at that point you don't know what to do like you don't even know you're having like I'm having panic attacks on the regular and nothing seems like you're ever getting and it seems so much like you're not going to ever get out of it And I had things that used to write, okay, like I'm going to write, you know, it's going to help me. No, that didn't even work anymore. The only thing that helped was me going and just lifting my hands in the air and praising God and just saying, like, I don't have anything, but God, you have everything for me. And laying my life down at his feet and saying, just take me where you want to take me. And that's such a big leap of faith because it's just like, you know, we're so used to having to be the person in control.

Right, right. And we're really not. And once you surrender control, it's like, I was like, oh, I said to feel better. I'm going to start to write again. And as soon, it wasn't until you start walking into your dream for other people where you start to see the purpose in your life. Where it's like, I'm not writing music for myself anymore. I'm not writing music to make it on a chart anymore. I'm not writing music to make money anymore.

Like, I'm writing because I believe that there's power in words and I believe that God puts messages on my heart that uplift people just to get through their day. Or even if it's to escape for three minutes, then they're going to escape for three minutes. because that's the potential in anything we do in what you're doing and what this man sitting to my left is doing. Exactly. So it's like it doesn't have to be this grand scheme like I'm going to be this, this, and this. Like as soon as you take your passion and you flip it into your purpose and people, your life's going to change. And granted, I haven't seen the greatest days yet and I don't think I ever will, you know. And once we figure it out and saying, I'm going to help this person, I'm going to help this person.

help this person, I'm going to help this person, and take the foundation of faith, wherever you're at in your faith journey, whether it's believing in God or not, prioritize people. Because once you prioritize people, you're going to see such powerful shifts in your life and their life, and you're going to see, this is why I'm here. You know, I don't need a huge bang and count. I don't need words of affirmation from everyone I come across saying, oh, you're so good at music or you're so good at your podcast. I don't need. Yeah, you don't need that outside to make you feel like you're doing something right. You absolutely know for a fact that it's what you're supposed to do.

Everyone listening has the power to change someone's life right now. Yeah. You know, right now. You can go up to someone, forgive them. You can go up to someone say, hey, like, you know, I like your shirt. It's crazy how many excuses we make to try to beat around the fact that we could be someone better. But we tell yourself, oh, I can't be, you know, I can't be better in my job because I don't have time to put in the extra work. Or I can't be a better friend because I got to be, you know, work.

about my job and my car expense and this and that so I don't have the time to take care of that person you know everyone's always having a reason you know dude it's always a reason but the reasons are they're pulling you further and further away from where you're supposed to actually be yeah and it's like the huge like kind of you know revelation I have right now is like what happened like why I have like okay I'm going to put a number on it 100 years what happens when you're gone like you have your your life is like a breath right and And if I, when I die, and nothing is left behind over what I did, then what are you doing? Like, what are you doing?

Because, like, not to be all, like, you know, convicting and being like, oh, you need to do this, this, and this. No, at all, at all. I don't want to die and have the only thing with a dash in between the numbers of my ears. Exactly. You know what I mean? So, like, what's in the dash? Exactly. Like, when Zach Martin dies, when Andre dies, when AJ dies, you know, when you die, if you're listening, right?

Right. What are you going to be remembered as? Are you just going to be remembered as your name? Or are you going to be remembered? Because no one's going to care about your name. There's a million Zaks. There's a million, that, right? And I don't want to just be remembered for my name.

I want to be remembered as the guy that went out of his way and spoke about this. He preached this. He lived this way. This is what made him so unique compared to everyone, you know? Because if I'm just a guy that worked a nine to five and nothing wrong with the nine to five, right? But I didn't do anything else with my life, you know? Obviously, there's more to it. Like, are you an honorable man?

You're taking care of your family? Of course, people around you are going to always remember that. you, but they're not going to remember you for your occupation. They're not going to remember you for the car you drove. Any of those external things are never going to remember. They're going to remember you for your character and the person and the reputation that you decided to leave behind for the rest of you. I know I'm 23 years old right now, right? And I can die happy knowing I left something for people after me.

That I can proudly say without hesitation that I know I left something behind. And you know you're going to a better place anyway. So it's like, if, and the thing is, it's like, I'm not saying don't quit your nine to five. Like, go quit your nine to five. Like, go quit because you have to do something substantial and like, make the world tilt on its side. Like, if you are the best person that you can be in your nine to five, I guarantee you that you're going to impact someone for the rest of their life. And they're going to impact somebody for the rest of their life. It's your character, not your, it's a generational blessing, man.

Like, I want to do stuff here, whether it's, even if music, maybe it doesn't work out. Maybe that's not really what I'm supposed to do. I'm sitting at a desk, but you better believe that I'm going to pour my heart and soul into that desk job. Because I guarantee that there's power in it. Power in it. And you don't realize that we're all people and we're all connected, right? So by you being a Debbie Downer about showing up to work on a Monday about how you hate it, you're bringing everyone else down. People may not be happy either, but you know what?

They're trying to make the best of that situation. Then you come in and you just start complaining, you bring everyone else down. So, you know, I think it's very important that no matter what you're doing, whether you love it or you hate it, Just go at it with a freaking smile and with a good attitude. It's all your heart, man. That's all you can do. Because there's other people that are around. It's not just about you and your personal problem.

There's somebody else there that may be showing up to work and they have a family member that's sick. But they still got to show up because that's what they have to do. And they're going there because that's their job and it's their requirement and they need to make money and all this. But behind that, there's a whole life in that person, you know, a whole life that that person is going through. And you need to be able to be there if that person needs to. you even if you don't want to be there, you know, even if you're not and you're dealing with your personal battles. Everyone's dealing with the battle.

Everyone's dealing with the battle. And the thing is, we also only look for people who look broken. Like, your boss right now, go bless your boss. See what happens. If you're treating your boss the way that your boss should treat you, watch your lifestyle to change because it's like I'm only going to bless the people that look like they don't have it all together. Exactly.

You know, but then that means that you're cutting off probably most of the world because we all like to look like we have it together. Exactly. If someone walked up to me and wouldn't help me because I looked like you'd have it all together, then, you know, I try to pull it all together, you know, but I'm probably more broken than anyone else, you know? So it's like go up to someone who might not look like they need your help. And I guarantee you that they need your help somehow. And they're going to appreciate this shit out of it. And then it becomes a never-ending pursuit because it's not, you're not stereotyping someone who looks like they have it all day.

Yeah, you do it to the one guy that you would never have expected it to be, you know, the one that guy that didn't need help and he's the one that needed the most help. And guess what? Now you're going to approach everyone the same exact thing. way. Everyone. Everyone. There's so much power. Yeah. And so you started your music, right? You were off for that whole month, started your, you know, your faith and your belief in God. You know,

when, I guess, would you say is, or not when, but what exactly was it to you that you felt, you know, on your just everyday life? Like, what was it something there that switched in your head that said, you know what? I'm okay. You know what I'm saying? Because I think I think There's gonna be a lot of background noises on this

You're just gonna have to deal with it guys But you know what was it I guess That where you were like you know what The switch is kind of changed and I could see The light now at the end You know because that darkness hits you And it seems like there's no way out I think it's almost like a subconscious feeling

Where you're being intentional With how you're going about your day And like not dwelling on like the heart stuff and all of a sudden you wake up and you feel a little bit lighter and all of a sudden you wake up up and you can help someone a little bit more than you're able to help someone the day before and i think it takes a lot of intentionality to get from one place to the other saying hey i'm gonna try to be a better son i'm gonna try to be a better friend i'm gonna try to be a better yeah you know just starts with a core yeah it's you have to break down the walls and let god do the work in you because it's like you're

here trying to help a million people but guess what the people right around around you are the ones I need to help first. And, dude, it's a process, too. It's a daily grind. It's like, you, I wake up in the morning and, like, some days, I don't have the energy to tie my shoes. Yeah. And some days, you know, I have so much energy where I can feel like I can conquer

the world, you know, in one day. But it's like, you have to be able to do. To maneuver. And some days I don't have it all together. And some days I do, you know, but it's, I don't think there's one day where it's like, oh, here I am, like, I'm better and everything is going to go really well. You know? So it's like.

I think it's finding the purpose in every day. And once you start to find the purpose in the next day, you find the purpose in the next day, the next day. Take it day by day. I think one of the best things to do is, you know, of course you have your dreams. Of course you have your goals and what you want to work to. And of course you have your past that, you know, shapes you. Right. But the moment that you want to live in is now because that's the only moment.

You know, you're never going to be able to appreciate anything, anything, anything, anything, anything. Until you're able to recognize what this moment entails and what. what you can get out of it, what God wants you to get out of it, you know? And it's like we're looking for God to, like, have this major miracle in our life, you know, but it's like the small miracles add up to the big miracle. It's like these little pieces are piecing together. Just think about life in general. It's going to happen.

Life in general from, you know, because, you know, now, now is the time. Now is the time. We're 20 something. We're 30 something. Whatever it is. Now is the time. But think of anything in your life that you wanted to achieve, right? from the moment you were born,

you wanted to walk because that's what your human instinct is. And you found a way to walk, you know? Then the next step was, I need a final way to read because that's what they're going to teach me. And I know I need to learn how to read. You find a way to read, you know? And there's all these moments in our life that eventually you just start learning how to do it. Because why?

Because that's what you put your mind to. That's what you put your focus on to. And it just happens. There's not really, if you really look back, There's not really, oh, you know, there was this moment right here. Or it was this thing that really, no, it was a bunch of all these little things put together that let that, that block, like, you know, that let yourself blossom. And in that process, you know, you probably had some moments where you weren't growing at all. You probably had some moments where you were stuck and nothing was happening in your life, you know?

But the reason you got to the destination you want to get to is because you kept going. Yeah. You know? I will never put you in a season that you weren't prepared for. Exactly. Period. So it's like maybe it seems like a hard season, but you're ready for that season, man. And he's never going to give you something that's too big to handle.

Nothing. You know, like you were placed there for a reason and you're going to be able to get through it. Whether it's the hardest season of your life or eventually you find the light in the darkness, like you're going to get through it. You know, like this last four months of my internship, it was the worst four months of my life. It was the worst four months of my life too. It's just the worst thing. Like I'm going to an internship for 400 hours.

I'm not going to get paid. I have to drive an hour and I have every day. And it's like, you know what? whatever, I'm going to be a light in this space and watch. Like, your world will flip upside down. Like, I might not like where I am, but I'm going to be a light to this person. I'm going to be a blessing to this person. I'm going to be a blessing to this person.

And your whole life will flip upside down because you create an environment where people's lives are changing. Even if you're in the worst season of your life, like, I'm going to help this guy. I'm going to help this guy. And you got to be able to look past the things that you dislike, you know, because in that shuffle of all these distractions and things that we may not enjoy. there's something in there, you know, and sometimes it takes a couple, you know, digging out, but there's something in there that you could benefit from or something that, something you can, that you actually genuinely love or, I mean, dude, it's, it's fate. There's a thing in life that it's, there's no coincidence.

There's no, none of that stuff. Why do you think there's diamonds in the rough? There's not diamonds floating around the street in the freaking open air. For everyone to just go get. You got to go dig for that thing. You got to go find it. You better believe it's not going to be a diamond when you find it. You got to cut it.

You got to shine it. Then you got to do. all this stuff and then it becomes a diamond. You're not just going to fight like, here we go, perfection. Nah, and you won't ever be perfect. Right, you never will. There's no such thing as perfection.

That's something you got to be able to let go. You're in the rough. You are a diamond in the rough. And that's what defines you, you know? My personal story, all the shit that I've had to deal with in my life, you know, and continue to deal with on an everyday basis, you know, it's, I know, I know, 10, 15 years from now, it's going to be a story of the person I am at that point, you know?

And 10 years from that, it's more of a story, and it's more of a story. And it's like, own up to it. Learn to love it because that's who you are. Your struggles, your blessings, all of it is to define the person that you are and the person that you're going to be and the people that people are always going to remember you for. So every decision you make, every action you take is whether it, you know, there's no right or wrong. It's just going to define you.

Everything can be a blessing. And it's like your hardest season can be a blessing. And it is a blessing because like God does it. harder. It's harder. It's easier to say that. You know? Dude, so hard. And it's hard. Just, you know, like, but, you know, people listening, like, I'm in it. Like, I'm not there yet. Exactly. And I'm right there with you, bro. Yeah. And what we can do is just wake up and just try to put your best foot forward and, like, try to, you know, release a little bit of the control and just be the best person you can be where you are, you know? Because, like, we can all move places and, like, move because it's going to be better there, but it's going to be better there. But it's like, just be a good person where you're. at and you're going to see the little miracles start to add up into a big one.

And I think just taking, you know, every day as a new day, you know, you didn't like yesterday, you can like today. And if you didn't like today, you can like tomorrow, you know. But whatever moment you're in right now, you know, let's say you're listening to this right now, I really want you to just stop what you're doing and just, you know, just look at what's good in your life, you know? Look what's good in your life. Find things that you genuinely enjoy and just take every day as a day that you get to

live and allow whatever comes your way to be okay. Yeah. Yeah. I think you just be thankful for what you have, man. To be able to listen to this podcast, you're probably listening on a phone and you're probably listening on the computer. Yeah. You know, and you have access to already millions of other people.

Right. That means you have internet, you know, and what does that mean that there's money somewhere and someone supports you. If you're not paying for it, someone has a provision to pay for your phone. So it's like you have what you need to go into the next blessing. You do. And it's so hard for me to realize that sometimes, but it's like, I have what I need. But you just got to stop and just look at that.

Yeah. Stop and just look right on what's around you, you know? And if you don't believe in God, then fine. Like, just be thankful that, hey, there's a roof over my head. Or maybe, hey, I have a bed to sleep in. Or maybe, hey, I'm able to just get a good night's sleep. Or maybe, hey, I'm able to eat. Yeah. You know, so it's like.

I mean, there's a million. We could go on for days about it. You can go on for days. And you don't, once you start to literally proclaim that, like, thank you for this, Yeah, and to you, and to you, I don't know whoever's listening to this, you know, to you, you may be able to resonate with that to others, you may not, right? You may just think that's stupid. Ah, yeah, of course, yeah, cool, I have a car, cool, but that's not what I want.

I want more in my life, you know, I want, and there's not, there's nothing anything, there's nothing wrong with that, you know, there's okay to want more, there's okay to have bigger dreams and bigger goals, but guess what? The fact that you can't appreciate it now means you won't appreciate it when you get it either. And it's not, it's not a bad thing. Like, I was there, we're all there where it's like, you take. advantage of the things that are right in front of your face. Yeah.

But it's like just start to appreciate these little things because they're there for a reason. And once you start to appreciate the little thing, man, like once you get that big thing, you're going to be freaking out and there's going to be a block party, man. I agree. Because like even if it's a job or, you know. Life is going to become a celebration because you saw how bad it could be. Yeah. Like you're just lifted, like Tiger Woods.

I don't know if you follow. Oh, God. We were talking about it this morning. I sent him the commercial that Nike made. Look at his celebration, bro. That man. That's not the epitome of like hitting Rock. bottom and then coming back?

Yeah. And in the middle, like in the middle, he learned how, you know, he spent time with his kids. He got hurt. He did this,

this, this, he worked on his relationship with like, you know, his people himself. I mean, that guy,

that guy went through hell. Yeah, and look at the picture, man. Like, he's raising his arms in triumph. And guess what? There's a thousand

other people that are raising their arms for him. And that's going to be your life. That's going to be your life, you know? Appreciate the broken times. Appreciate the hard times.

And just know you're going to, it's temporary. You're going to get out of it because, you know, Tiger went through those tough times, what, five years ago, let's say. And he didn't think he was ever going to get over it. He didn't even think he was ever going to be able to play golf and comes and wins one of the greatest games in golf of all time. 14 years ago. 14 years ago. 14 years.

I was 11. What were you? Nine? Yeah. Yeah. So, like, think about that. I was barely learning how to, you know, count my ABCs and do math and Tiger won his last major, and now he won one when I'm 25. And then you wonder why everyone's cheering for him because they, you know, you know, I'm not.

Because they Because they saw the struggle. But they don't even recognize it. That's the thing. You know? They don't recognize that struggle, but they know they have that struggle and they see the triumph of it. And people love that so much because they're like, damn, I want to be able to overcome myself to get to that sense of greatness.

And you can't. And everyone saw how rough of a time he had. And guess what? Everyone raises their hand in celebration of his, you know, his victory's accomplishment. So it's like how much more is your life? Yeah. Because look at it, anybody could have hated him right now. Yeah, absolutely.

Anybody could have hated him. Yeah. There's probably people that do. And of course, you know, not everyone's going to like him, you know. But at the end of the day, people are going to remember him. Why? As the greatest golfer of all time, not about the guy that got hit by a bat by his ex-girlfriend, you know? The thing is, man, it's like, I just want to be that person and everyone listening.

Like, I just, you know, I pray that we are people who bring people along in the journey. Yeah. Like, you know, it's okay if you don't have it all figured out because other people don't either. And just reach out. Oh, yeah. I was about to see that. You know, and you don't even have to, you know, necessarily change that person's life. But just bring them with you.

Like, we're supposed to do life with people. And communicate, man. You know, and I'm not going to let my position dictate how much I'm going to help people. And I pray that you guys don't either. It's just like bring people along in this journey because the celebration of them and celebration of you is going to be so awesome when you do get there. because when you do get there, it's going to be the best moment of your life. But then once you get there, you're not done. You get to appreciate it that much more.

I agree. You got to keep going, man. I agree. So let's wrap it up here. If there's anything that you want to just, I know, it's probably something we've already talked about, but something that you would really want to emphasize real quick about, you know, to the people, something personal to you, just maybe a, you know, something that resonates with you that you think people can really get value out of. I think just don't ever give up, man.

You know, it's, you might. might not see it yet and I don't either. You know, so it's don't give up, find the real purpose of life and doing life with each other and bringing people a long journey and don't ever stop because I think the difference between people who make it and the people who don't are just the ones that never stopped. Yeah. You know, and it's, I mean, I get so emotional when I do this stuff, but it's just like, dude, we, people need people like you and they need each other.

I know. And it's like, I think my biggest dream is to have more people like. Yeah, man. And people just. want to be loved and they want to be able to be to hear the words like it's going to be okay and like some people don't have that and like I guarantee that anyone listening has one person in mind that you're thinking of that might just need that it's going to be okay and just just tell that person just reach out to say hey how are you yeah and that's anything people want to know they matter

and I was on the brink of not wanting to be here anymore because I didn't think anyone cared yeah and I just don't want anyone else to feel that way yeah yeah no so just tell people you love them, hug them a little bit longer, kiss them twice. If you feel great right now and you're not suffering, you know, and your life is awesome. I mean, don't just live it by yourself. Live it with other people. Be able to use that positivity to your advantage. And if you're at a low, just understand you're not alone and that it's going to get better

and that there are people that do care about you, whether you see it or not. So leave us though with your, you know, following. So they follow you for you. There's music. He's really good. Zachary period Martin. So Z, A-C-H-E-R-Y, period, Martin.

And I think it's the same everywhere. Oh, no, no, no. But if you want, send me the, you could always send me that and I could always copy and paste it. But give him a follow. You know, he's got good music. He's got a freaking amazing heart,

and we need more people like that. So I'm glad that we freaking connected. I guess it's already been like, what is it, like three years already, dude? I think it's already been two something years since I graduated college. which is crazy. And then, you know, God puts everything in our path for a reason.

So I hope you guys really enjoyed this one. I really hope you got some value. Again, if you feel like you need to talk to someone, reach out to any one of us, man. Reach out to me, man. Even if you don't know. Because someone loves you so much. Yeah. And if it's only God, then that, you know, you're not doing too bad, you know?

That's all you need right there. Exactly. So just reach out to someone. And if you can't just look up, you know, just look up. Amen, bro. Amen. Leave us a review on this podcast. If you can, please share it with anybody that you think can get some additional value from it. You know, again, we're not doing this for anything. We're not anybody, you know, we're still trying to figure it out. And I do think this is something that people do need to hear. You know, if not, I wouldn't be putting it out here.

I know Zach wouldn't be here. We do think that this is something that people do need to hear. So please share it with anybody that you think may need it. All right, guys. Thanks for listening. And stay tuned for the next episode. later.