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[00:00:10] Bruce Anthony: Welcome. First of all, welcome. This is unsolicited perspectives. I'm your host, Bruce Anthony here to lead the conversation in important events and topics that are shaping today's society. Join the conversation and follow us wherever you get your audio podcast. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for our video podcast and YouTube exclusive content rate review.[00:00:30]

[00:00:30] Bruce Anthony: Like, comment, share. Share with your friends, share with your family, hell, even share with your enemies. On today's episode, I'm going to be talking about hustling, then I'm going to be talking about biohacking, and then I'm going to be talking about a story from back in the day dealing with me being humbled.

[00:00:50] Bruce Anthony: But that's enough of the intro, let's get to the show.

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[00:01:00] Political Rant: Voter Regrets and DEI

[00:01:00] Bruce Anthony: Before I get into hustle culture and hustling, I might have to do a short rant. That might come off as angry. I'm going to try to not be angry, but this is going to be a, um, I'm telling you all about yourselves. So a lot of people that voted for the current man that's in the president's office here in the United States are starting to [00:01:30] have, uh, let's just say second thoughts about their vote because of things that are happening directly to them.

[00:01:38] Bruce Anthony: Who are these people that I'm talking about? Well, you have Arab Americans who were adamant that they were not going to vote for Kamala Harris because of everything that was going on in Gaza. And here the current president has said. That basically he's gonna move, or he wants to move the Palestinians out of [00:02:00] Gaza, fix it up like a Riviera, and allow the world's people into Gaza, and then ask if the Palestinians can come back.

[00:02:12] Bruce Anthony: He's like, why would they want to? So we're essentially talking about ethnic cleansing. That's what he's suggesting. Now I'm out. I haven't spoken about Gaza. I have mixed emotions about everything that's going on. I think anybody [00:02:30] that has a clear black and white saying, this is what it is. Doesn't really understand the history that has gone on in that area.

[00:02:39] Bruce Anthony: And I don't have enough information, or I have enough information, I don't have, I don't feel like it's my place to talk about what's going on over there, except for the fact that all the lives that are being lost, Israeli or Palestinian, is absolutely [00:03:00] ridiculous. What happened on October 7th? Absolutely ridiculous.

[00:03:05] Bruce Anthony: What's continued to happen afterwards? Absolutely ridiculous. That's kind of where my stance is because it would be like a, it would be like me talking about the Holocaust or a white person talking about slavery. I can't personally identify with what's going on. Not personally. So I can't really. speak to it with [00:03:30] intellectual confidence.

[00:03:31] Bruce Anthony: Let's put it that way. I can't speak to it with intellectual confidence. A lot of people out there are speaking about this particular subject, not intelligently and without all of the information. And so I'm not going to be there and I'm not going to use this platform to say that. But what I will say is pushing a group of people out of their home, essentially doing large scale gentrification.

[00:03:56] Bruce Anthony: That's what it is. He is saying that he is going to take what has [00:04:00] been demolished. Right, because of all the bombing. He's gonna take all those people out, rebuild it, but not let those people back in. That's gentrification, that's what's happening right down the road in Washington, D. C. It's, well, it's happening all over the country.

[00:04:15] Bruce Anthony: Where there's a depressed area, people think that there's value because it's depressed and they can get the land cheap. They're buying land cheap, they fix it up, and all those people that were living there are no longer able to live there, either because they can't afford it or they're not allowed back in.[00:04:30]

[00:04:30] Bruce Anthony: So Arab Americans who were saying, uh, don't vote for Kamala Harris, yeah, um, this is way worse, and now you're starting to be like, Damn, maybe I shouldn't have voted for him. Also white women. Okay. So what do I mean by that? See white women that voted for Donald Trump on the premise of everything was going to be fair again.

[00:04:59] Bruce Anthony: And we're [00:05:00] going to get rid of affirmative action and DEI. A lot of people get these programs confused with race. I've me and my sister have talked about it too. We're blue in the face. Race is a part of it, but it's also religion, gender, sexuality, all these types of things, right? You're not allowed to discriminate.

[00:05:17] Bruce Anthony: That's what these programs are for.

[00:05:20] Affirmative Action and DEI Program

[00:05:20] Bruce Anthony: The main beneficiaries of these programs, whether they wanted to admit it to themselves or not, have been white women. Statistically, it's been white women. So [00:05:30] for all those people out there that are thinking affirmative action and DI is just overwhelmingly help black people.

[00:05:35] Bruce Anthony: No, it's overwhelmingly help white women. And now they're getting rid of all of these programs almost so much so that they're attacking Costco. Right. There have been 15 to 17 Republican states that are attacking Costco saying, get rid of your DEI programs because the president Trump has signed executive orders to get rid of all DEI programs.

[00:05:57] Bruce Anthony: And Costco is like, nah, I'm not going to do it. [00:06:00] For those companies and those government agencies that are getting rid of DEI programs, white women are realizing, Oh, wait a minute. I thought it was just making sure that it like those people that were not my race were going to be affected. I didn't know it was going to affect me.

[00:06:18] Bruce Anthony: It brings me back to a story of me in college. It was a government class or social services class. I can't remember what the class was. I think it was a [00:06:30] government class. And we were talking about affirmative action and we were in the discussion part. So in college, for those people who didn't go to college, and for those people who has been so long as you forgot how college was, you had a lecture.

[00:06:41] Bruce Anthony: Most of the time it was like twice a week. And then you had a discussion. The discussion is where the TA would go over basically the stuff and, and the lectures. And you could literally discuss the topics so that you could gain a better grasp and understanding of those topics. Okay. And this young [00:07:00] white woman, my age, right?

[00:07:02] Bruce Anthony: Cause we're all same age, definitely from the Midwest. Okay. We were talking about affirmative action and she was, she was totally against affirmative action. And as the class is talking about it, I'm one of the only black students in the class. So of course everybody turns to me and. And not to toot my own horn, but I have always [00:07:30] had a way of speaking to people just like this.

[00:07:33] Bruce Anthony: This is just my taking what I did in college and putting it on, you know, audio and video and recording it. Sometimes people think that what I have to say is. It's kind of insightful because I have a certain perspective of looking at things. And as my father and my mother taught me to look at all points of view and do my research diligently so I could talk about it with intelligence.

[00:07:59] Bruce Anthony: So [00:08:00] they asked me, you know, what do I think? And I turned to her and I said, affirmative action has helped you. She said, how has it helped me? I'm not black. And it's the same argument I've been having or same discussion I've been having with people for literally 25 years. And I said, where did you get the idea that it's only black people?

[00:08:20] Bruce Anthony: Well, that's what they say on the news that is, you know, affirmative action for black people. I was like, no, affirmative action is for people to not be discriminated against based on their [00:08:30] color, their race. Their gender, their sexuality, and their religion. I said to her, ma'am, 20, 30 years ago, you would not have been allowed on this campus.

[00:08:45] Bruce Anthony: If you were allowed on this campus, you're the only things that you would have been able to study would have been to become a teacher or a nurse. These things. These laws, Affirmative Action and Civil Rights, have helped [00:09:00] you. Well, that's not what I was told. Well, this is the reason why we're in college right now, to learn this.

[00:09:07] Bruce Anthony: This is the literal definition of Affirmative Action. Well, that's not how it's put in place. It's like, that's exactly how it's put in place because you're here now. You and I are here now and, and, and white women have just seemed to, they just don't get it, you know, that they, they feel that they're white.

[00:09:26] Bruce Anthony: So they're privileged and make no mistake about it [00:09:30] because you're white. You have a privilege, absolutely, but you're still a female. So you're part of a marginalized group. And. You voted against your best interest. It wasn't it. You had a bunch of old white men taking away your reproductive rights. And maybe you agreed with it.

[00:09:45] Bruce Anthony: Maybe you didn't agree with it. But what you should have, what should have given you pause is the fact that you have older white men determining what you can do with your body. You think that it was going to stop there? [00:10:00] You think if you just gave them an answer, they weren't going to take a mile? No, that wasn't the case.

[00:10:05] Economic Realities and Voter Regret

[00:10:05] Bruce Anthony: And for all those people, Who voted for the president, the current president, because they were talking about the economy, which by the way, I've already gone over this. The economy is just fine. Inflation is the problem. And those two things can be correlated sometimes, but they're not direct parallels.

[00:10:26] Bruce Anthony: Okay. Inflation. Yeah, I've gone [00:10:30] over Gatorade. 2 and 25 cents. Okay, I'm pissed. I had to buy a full six pack of the smallest size and have to stretch it out because I refuse After paying 5 for 5, 5 for 4, and then 5 for 3, I refuse to pay 2. 25 for a thing of Gatorade. I know y'all say, well that's what it costs at 7 Eleven.

[00:10:54] Bruce Anthony: I don't go to 7 Eleven for that very reason. But, for those people that voted for [00:11:00] the president that's currently in office, staking, That he was going to fix the economy in their eyes, right? Make the cost of eggs go down. Make the cost of living go down. Wrong. Wrong. Nothing has changed. Nothing and everything that he's implementing is not going to change anything.

[00:11:22] Bruce Anthony: Did you see the tax cuts for the wealthy? The tax plan that just came out with? Yes, tax cuts for the wealthy and they're raising taxes on some of the [00:11:30] working class. You're going to be paying more because the eggs aren't going to go down and some of the goods that we want aren't going to go down because of tariffs.

[00:11:38] Bruce Anthony: Tariffs are a tax that we as Americans pay. Yeah, no, y'all were wrong. And here's the crazy thing. This is the reason why I'm getting on my soapbox doing this little bit of a rant. That's kind of anger, but not really anger. It's really a pompous kind of my nose in the air. Like I told you so, because we told you so all those people that said, well, [00:12:00] president president Trump doesn't know anything about project 2025.

[00:12:03] Bruce Anthony: He is literally implementing. Step by step everything that was project 2025 and listen to the echo chamber of the people that speaking for the president. You have the press secretary talking about those people who died in the plane and air, helicopter collision here in Washington, D. C. That nobody is looking at what color the pilot is.

[00:12:28] Bruce Anthony: Once again, [00:12:30] DEI has race is one aspect of DEI, but that's the one thing that this administration wants to keep focusing on. Why do they want you to keep focusing on that? Because. If they could get you to focus on that, then they can't get you to focus on the fact that they got their hand in your pocket.

[00:12:49] Bruce Anthony: Lennon B. Johnson, my favorite president, came up with a great explanation of why white people vote against their best interests. LGBT LLBJ [00:13:00] was asked, was once asked why poor and middle class Republicans vote against their own interests. And this is what, this was his response. If, if you can convince the lowest white man, Or a white person.

[00:13:12] Bruce Anthony: He is, he or she is better than the best colored man or woman. Colored being black. That's what they say back in day color. If you could convince the lowest white man, he's better than the best colored man. He won't know you're picking his pocket. He'll he'll give him something to look [00:13:30] down on and he'll empty his pockets for you.

[00:13:33] Bruce Anthony: This has been the play. This is 1960s, 1960s, over 60 years ago. They're using the same playbook. They are saying that. Hey, white people out there over in middle America, who's struggling? Who is struggling? There are parts of this country that don't have, like, real internet. They still got dial up or DSL.

[00:13:57] Bruce Anthony: Some of you are young Gen Z people [00:14:00] don't even know what DSL is. That's how old it is, right? There are some really underdeveloped areas in the middle part and in the south of this country. Where there are poor white folks, struggling, and not broke poor, poor poor, that are voting against their best interests because you have rich white people saying, well at least you're better than those black people, at least you're better than those migrants.

[00:14:29] Bruce Anthony: [00:14:30] They're coming to take your jobs. They're not taking your jobs because you ain't doing those jobs. They can convince you based off of race. That's what this whole attack on DEI and affirmative action is. Hey, focus over here on the fact that we're getting rid of all these programs that's going to hurt minorities, minorities, i.

[00:14:51] Bruce Anthony: e. black people and brown people, transgender people. You have veterans that are going to be affected. Right? Veterans, [00:15:00] no matter who you are, you're going to be affected by some of the stuff that Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing to try and cut stuff. Older people, your social security, your Medicare, Medicaid.

[00:15:12] Bruce Anthony: They are trying to eliminate these things. These things, these social programs that you depend on, all because you wanted black people to not have, or you wanted to brown people to not be here. You voted against your best interests [00:15:30] and now you're struggling. That's why. Now you dealing with it and this rant was not supposed to be this long I was just supposed to be short, but now I'm heated because I told you so so don't come crying to me now Don't come crying and complaining talking about you know, what the hell is going on?

[00:15:50] Bruce Anthony: We told you what was gonna go on. You knew what was gonna happen. We knew what was gonna happen We tried to tell you we tried to warn you [00:16:00] You know the difference between a warning and a threat. A threat is applied. Implied a warning is telling you this is what's going to happen. We gave you a warning. He gets elected.

[00:16:08] Bruce Anthony: This is what's going to happen and this is what's gonna happen. Yo, we are barely, we Not even a full month. No, I guess we are into a full month. It's only been one month. Him being in office, it's only the beginning. We got a long way to go. We got a long fight ahead and now maybe you'll open your eyes to see the shaky con artist that he was.

[00:16:29] Bruce Anthony: [00:16:30] And if you're saying to yourself, well, he is still fighting for me. Ah, look in the mirror. What is it truly that you want? What is it truly that you're fighting for? Cause then that'll tell you about yourself.

[00:16:44]

[00:16:51] Bruce Anthony: Okay, that's enough of my rant.

[00:16:53] Hustle Culture: An American Obsession

[00:16:53] Bruce Anthony: I want to get into something that's near and dear to my heart. And this subject is, [00:17:00] I think an important subject for us as Americans. So often I have friends, I haven't gone yet cause I still haven't gotten my passport renewed. At this point, I probably got to get a whole new passport.

[00:17:11] Bruce Anthony: But some of my friends that have gone over to European countries, talk to Europeans and they laugh at us. They laugh at us about how hard we work here and it's all about this hustle culture. So I wanted to dig a little deeper into what [00:17:30] exactly is hustle culture and what did the, what does it encompass and why is it that we are in Americans kind of praise this ideology of hustling.

[00:17:41] Bruce Anthony: Okay, and I'm not talking about going on the street corner hustling. I'm talking about like hustling, like really working hard. Okay, so hustle culture is a modern lifestyle emphasizing overwork and self sacrifice, not just your mental, but your physical health [00:18:00] to achieve goals. Now think about that. We are out here working ourselves to death to achieve goals.

[00:18:07] Bruce Anthony: What are the goals? Most of the time it's monetary, right? Most of the time it's monetary. I want the big house, the nice car, I want the nice clothes, a little bit of jewelry, or I want the nice yard with a swimming pool. It's something. It's, it's materialistic. basically what it is. Right. What are the historical roots [00:18:30] of this hustle culture and this nature?

[00:18:32] Bruce Anthony: So this traces all the way back to the 16th century. And it's basically based on a Protestant work ethic, which means that hard work equals moral virtue. What does that mean? So a, a, This was popularized by Marx, Max Weber, basically saying that grinding is pleasing God. Hustling and working hard, you are pleasing God.

[00:18:55] Bruce Anthony: And thus, productivity is tied to self worth. [00:19:00] Meaning that you work hard because God, God wants you to work hard. That's, that's where this comes from. Now think about it. Think about it. Does God want us to work hard or enjoy the gift of life that we've been given? Does working hard make us enjoy life? I don't know, but I'm going to dig deeper into this.

[00:19:21] Bruce Anthony: So also this wholesome culture has been taken over by [00:19:30] capitalist ideals. So he here in the United States. Live in a capitalist society. That's what we are, right? We're a capitalist society. It's all about making money, getting money. How do you make money? Get money. You work hard. Remember that old saying, if you work hard enough, you'll make the money.

[00:19:49] Bruce Anthony: Generations boomers were seeing it. Gen X has definitely started seeing millennials know full well, what it is. And Gen Z is like, y'all been [00:20:00] lying that this is not true. Just because you work hard. Doesn't mean that you're going to be successful in life. You need some breaks. Right. You need to catch some breaks to be able to be successful.

[00:20:08] Bruce Anthony: This doesn't mean that you don't put in effort. This idea of hustle culture, which is based in pleasing God, right? That's what it stems from Protestants in the 16th century. Pleasing God means working hard. Okay, so signs [00:20:30] that you are in this hustle culture Excessive working hours any of y'all out there working 70 plus hours a week 70 plus hours a week.

[00:20:39] Bruce Anthony: And here's been, here's the crazy thing. There have been some studies that clearly show that there is no difference between working 70 hours a week and 56 hours a week. You get the same type of productivity and you're thinking to yourself, but Bruce, that doesn't make any sense. Those are 14 more hours that, that I am working.

[00:20:56] Bruce Anthony: How is it the same productivity? I'll tell you why, because you're [00:21:00] sacrificing leisure, relaxation, right? Sleep. And social bonds all for working hard. So let me ask you a question. Do you have the same energy expenditure when you're working out from the beginning of the workout towards the end of the workout, meaning that the longer that you work out, the longer that you do something, you have less energy.

[00:21:24] Bruce Anthony: Correct. So in that respect, it's pretty easy to [00:21:30] see how 70 to 56 hours are comparable because you're exhausted those extra 14 hours. How much work are you really getting done? How much product productivity are you really getting done an extra 14 hours? And studies have shown none, none. You're not getting anything done.

[00:21:50] Bruce Anthony: You have realistic, you have unrealistic expectations. Guilt over downtime. Let me ask you guys something. How many [00:22:00] times have you been sitting in the house or you were going out or whatever, and you start to feel guilt and you say to yourself, I should be doing something right. Doing something right now.

[00:22:12] Bruce Anthony: I know it's happening to everybody listening and watching. We've all done it. Where we come to this conclusion like, I should be doing something right now. It can even cause anxiety. It happens to me all the time. I have set days. Everybody know my Sunday fun day is supposed to be my day of relaxation.

[00:22:28] Bruce Anthony: Right? That's my [00:22:30] day where I've given myself where I don't do nothing. Now I'm working and I'm falling victim to this hustle culture and I'll get to how it affects you in a minute. But. Sunday was my day to just sit back, relax and recharge. And it was a day that I gave to myself. I didn't even, I don't even work out on Sundays.

[00:22:49] Bruce Anthony: I work out Monday through Saturday. Sundays I don't work out. I might go for a walk, but going for a walk is like a leisure. It helps me clear my head. It's relaxing. It's therapeutic, [00:23:00] but I don't do any work and the reason why is because I needed to recenter myself. But don't you know, there are sometimes even know that I've dedicated a specific day to chilling and leisure.

[00:23:10] Bruce Anthony: That I still feel guilty feeling like I need to be doing something because it's been ingrained in us to hustle. Why? Because if you work hard, you can accomplish and achieve all your dreams. It's a myth. It's not true. Just because you work hard doesn't mean that you're going to accomplish your dreams.

[00:23:28] Bruce Anthony: It's not going, that's not what's going to [00:23:30] happen. But what are the negative impacts? Okay, to this hustle culture because I haven't really gotten to that. Well, sort of really, but it affects you a lot more than what you realize, right? There's burnout, not just emotional, but physical exhaustion from chronic stress because you're constantly working.

[00:23:48] Bruce Anthony: Look, grinding is not fun. People may get a high from it, right? But it's physically and emotionally and mentally exhausting [00:24:00] to constantly be working. That causes stress of your mind and your body. Okay? Which leads to mental health issues. This grind, this hustle culture can lead to depression, anxiety, and get this, imposter syndrome.

[00:24:23] Bruce Anthony: Cause your self worth is tied to your productivity. So when you're in this hustle [00:24:30] culture and you're working those 70 hours a week, if you don't do well on that project, right? If you don't do well on that assignment, you don't feel good about yourself. So you'll work harder to accomplish it because you feel like if you don't work, if you don't put in the 70 hours, the end product won't be as good.

[00:24:52] Bruce Anthony: But I just told you, studies have shown you can work 70 hours or you can work 56 hours. It's going to be the same. It's going [00:25:00] to be the same. So this hustle culture can lead to not just mental health issues like depression and anxiety and imposter syndrome, but once again, physical, you work at 70 hours a week.

[00:25:16] Bruce Anthony: How much time do you actually have to sleep? Okay. How much time do you actually have to eat properly? Okay. If you don't sleep and eat properly, what is what's going to happen? Your immunity is going [00:25:30] to be weakened. You're going to have heart issues. You're going to have health issues. So let me ask some people out there that's listening.

[00:25:38] Bruce Anthony: Do I have, I know I've got some hustlers that are, that are listening to this. Do you often find yourself low under the weather, not feeling well, it's cause you're working too much. You're not giving your body a chance to recuperate. You're not eating well. This is what I said, where I'm going to bring it back to me where I said earlier, how I'm being affected right now because of my [00:26:00] other things that I'm doing.

[00:26:01] Bruce Anthony: You know, I, Run the day to day operations of a company. Okay. I have this podcast. Also have side things that I do. There is no day off for me. I have friends. I have a friend and she's listening or watching right now. They lives right down the road, two miles away from me. Now that two miles takes 10 to 15 minutes based on where I live because of all the stoplights, but she lives two, two and a half miles [00:26:30] down the road from me.

[00:26:31] Bruce Anthony: I have not had the time to go visit her because I'm working and doing so much. I got another friend who lives about 45 minutes away from me. I need to go see her and her kids. I can't find the time to take that much time out of my day to go because I've got so much stuff going on on top of that, this chip addiction that I have.

[00:26:58] Bruce Anthony: That I've been saying that I can't [00:27:00] shake. It's because I'm working so much. I'm not doing the stuff like prepare my meals and do a meal prep. Like I normally would. I got a whole thing of cabbage in the fridge right now that I've been trying to cook for the last three days. It takes me 30 minutes max to cook that cabbage because you know you got to do it right you got to cut the bacon up you got to make that bacon sizzle in the pan and then you cut the cabbage up right and you add a little bit of cabbage and add the [00:27:30] seasonings then you add a little bit more cabbage and then add the seasonings you got to stir it up so it mixed with the bacon grease and the bacon that's how I make my cabbage is delicious by the way it's delicious 30 minutes, right?

[00:27:42] Bruce Anthony: Haven't found time to do it in the last three days. Because another thing about hustle culture is when you do actually have some downtime, you're so freaking tired that you can't bring yourself to do the day to day activities that you need to just to have a successful personal [00:28:00] life. So this hustle culture can affect you both mentally and physically.

[00:28:06] Bruce Anthony: Physically, the CDC in 2018 said overworking was the number two cause of work related illnesses. Some of y'all got nasty co workers. I know a friend of mine said her co worker went to the bathroom. And took the apple into the [00:28:30] bathroom with her and put the apple on the sink as she used the bathroom. Now, to me, that person needs to be burned at the stake.

[00:28:36] Bruce Anthony: Because that is absolutely gross. So, working with people like that, you would naturally think Oh, there's germs passing around. People are nasty. And that very, very well could be the case, right? But the second, the second reason why people are getting sick at work is because they're overworking themselves.

[00:28:57] Bruce Anthony: So, one of the cool things [00:29:00] that happened during the pandemic is that people got a chance to slow down. They got out of that daily grind, especially here in the D. C. area. Because you didn't have to get up, shower, if you showered in the morning, get dressed, jump in your car, in D. C., drive 30 minutes or hop on a bus to hop on a metro to walk.

[00:29:23] Bruce Anthony: Like the commute in this area is just absolutely absurd. People would have to be at work at 8, [00:29:30] they have to get up at sometimes 5. 30 in the morning to make it to 8. Think about that two and a half hours that you're spent just getting to. And from work, it could be four to five hours a day just to commute.

[00:29:45] Bruce Anthony: So what the pandemic did was made everybody take a step back and be like, well, wait a minute. I have at the minimum and an extra hour, sometimes multiple hours a day that I'm not commuting to work. [00:30:00] Let me, I don't know, go to the gym and work out. People got healthy. Some people got really healthy. Let me, you know, I don't know.

[00:30:08] Bruce Anthony: I've always wanted to cook a little bit more, but I never had the time. I'm in the house now. I mean like preparing some meals, losing weight, eating healthier, blood pressure coming down. Everything is feeling good about you. You know, cholesterol is being lowered, you know, you, you taking care of yourself.

[00:30:27] Bruce Anthony: So the pandemic slowed us down. [00:30:30] And one of the things that the pandemic also did is had people create boundaries between work and personal time, you know, learning how to say no. How often are you out there in the workforce and your boss puts responsibilities on you that were not your responsibility when you got hired?

[00:30:50] Bruce Anthony: I got a friend. He's a, he's a manager. And his boss is always coming to him and new stuff [00:31:00] to his title, which wasn't what he got hired for. He's afraid of losing his job. So he takes it on. I tell him all the time, Hey man, you're like one of the best in your field. You can get a new job. You don't have to do these extra responsibilities because they weren't the responsibilities that you were hired for.

[00:31:19] Bruce Anthony: And they're not compensating you more for them. So if they're going to give you more responsibilities, cool. What's the compensation. If they're not trying to hire that. Forget it. I got [00:31:30] another friend of mine, and she is a partner in an accounting firm, and she is furious at Gen Z because she says that they go on vacation and they don't check their emails or do any work.

[00:31:41] Bruce Anthony: And I said, yeah, they're on vacation. And she said, well, no, their responsibility is to be. And I said, Nope, Nope, that's not their responsibility. You want to place that on them because that's the way you work and you work yourself to death into a frenzy. They're saying my job is my job. This is what [00:32:00] I get paid for on this time.

[00:32:01] Bruce Anthony: Y'all are not getting any more of my time. It's like this PTO stuff. I'm not requesting PTO. I'm letting you know, I'm about to go on vacation. Y'all going to have to figure this out because this is part of my job that I'm allowed to have this. I'm going to use it. So it's about setting boundaries and this new post pandemic.

[00:32:24] Bruce Anthony: Attitude, I think is healthier. It's extremely healthier and it's [00:32:30] being spread off, spread across all of the workforce. I know the current administration is coming in. I know a lot of people that live in this area are federal employees. Surprisingly, guess what? Not everybody that lives in this area or not all federal employees live in this area.

[00:32:47] Bruce Anthony: Federal, there are federal employees all across the United States. So when you think draining the swamp and the swamp is Washington, no, no federal employees are in [00:33:00] every single state of this union. Okay. So let's do a little bit of research, learn some facts. Okay. But like I said, Gen Z has been, then had this figured out that we're going to work.

[00:33:16] Bruce Anthony: I'm going to put in the work that y'all are compensating me for. I'm gonna do the best I can, but my time is my time. There's work time and there's personal time and I'm not doing anything else [00:33:30] outside of what I got hired for. And if you don't like it, I'll quit. I'll find another job. And that's kind of the way that people should be, you know, thinking about it.

[00:33:39] Bruce Anthony: There was a survey by Prudential in 2022 that says 70 percent of the U. S. workers prioritize personal life over jobs. And this has been happening. These shifts have been happening ever since the pandemic. And that 20 percent are willing to even take a pay cut for a better balance.

[00:33:59] The True Cost of Commuting vs. Remote Work

[00:33:59] Bruce Anthony: You think about [00:34:00] it. If you got a job where you got to commute to work and you got a job where you can work remote, the salary for the remote job is less than the salary for the job where you had to commute to work.

[00:34:12] Bruce Anthony: And a lot of people look at that bottom line number, but they don't look at the, they don't look at the money that they're spending to commute. And when I say commute, it's not just to travel. Think about something else that you do when you're commuting to work. Typically you're buying lunch every day.

[00:34:27] Bruce Anthony: Like, are you going to pack your lunch? You're buying lunch. People [00:34:30] don't even factor that into the process of commuting to work. So, yeah, people are saying, look, I would rather remote work work from home because that means I can go to the gym. I can prepare my own meals. I can have a healthier lifestyle and I'm not a stressed out.

[00:34:48] Post-Pandemic Work Trends

[00:34:48] Bruce Anthony: And so, look, another bunch of new trends that are happened post pandemic that are combating this rise and grind mentality are shorter work hours. [00:35:00] More breaks and flexible routines and all this stuff boosts productivity. Look, people, the people that are trying to make you come back home and don't get me wrong, there are absolutely some people out there that remote work that took advantage for it.

[00:35:15] Bruce Anthony: But guess what you, you have, you have a job. You have to produce. If you do not produce, you can be terminated. You can be terminated, but companies out there weren't falling and dropping because of low [00:35:30] productivity from remote workers. That wasn't the thing. That's something that they lie to you about, right?

[00:35:36] Bruce Anthony: Kind of like when they say that DEI and affirmative action is only about race. Yeah, they give you part of the story, but not the full story. And the full story is, yes, there's always going to be people who take advantage of certain situations. That's just who we are in human nature, right? That we will take [00:36:00] advantage.

[00:36:00] Bruce Anthony: I'm king of shortcuts. That's what my dad used to always say. He's like, Bruce, if there's a shortcut, you're going to find it. And sometimes to my detriment, right? Like you could take a shortcut and it could be detrimental. Sometimes it's good. Sometimes it's bad. Most people are going to try to find a way to shortcut the system.

[00:36:19] Bruce Anthony: That doesn't mean everybody's going to do it. That doesn't even mean the majority of the people are going to do it. So you can't take a few people and place it upon an entire group. And that's what they're [00:36:30] trying to do.

[00:36:31] Questioning the Hustle Culture

[00:36:31] Bruce Anthony: What I'm trying to do is make you take a step back. And examine what it is that is most important to you and your life.

[00:36:38] Bruce Anthony: Is it your job or it is, or is it your life? Because whether you realize it or not, we're literally working ourselves to death, they trying to push back the retirement age or they pushed back the retirement age. Think about that. We spend the majority of our life. [00:37:00] Then finally, when we get a chance to retire, we don't have that much life left.

[00:37:06] Bruce Anthony: If you're lucky, you do. But you spend way more time working than you actually do enjoying after the fact. And is that what God wants us to do? Because remember, this work culture all stems back from that Protestant way of life of hard work equals virtue and morality [00:37:30] and a strong relationship with God. I think.

[00:37:35] Bruce Anthony: You know, I mean, I, I know God, but I don't know him personally. You know what I'm saying? We had a few conversations, but we don't, you know, we normally talk about me. We don't really talk about a lot of, about him. Cause you know, it's, it's typically a, a one way conversation. And, um, I don't hear voices or anything.

[00:37:53] Bruce Anthony: I get this feeling, you know, that's, that's just me. So I don't, I don't know exactly what he's thinking. I can only infer. [00:38:00] Through the messengers that he sent throughout time to spread his messages. And I'm going to assume through those messages and those gospels that the purpose of our lives is not to work ourselves to death.

[00:38:16] Bruce Anthony: It's actually try to be good people and try to make a better way for other people. That's what I'm going to think that it is. Not this hustle culture. So for all those people out there that are talking about rise and grind, stop it. [00:38:30] Stop it. I'm not saying don't work hard, but don't overwork. That's what hustle culture is.

[00:38:37] Bruce Anthony: It's overworking yourself because all you're doing for materialistic stuff is working yourself To absolute death.

[00:38:51]

[00:38:58] Bruce Anthony: All right.

[00:38:58] Introduction to Biohacking

[00:38:58] Bruce Anthony: This is going to be kind of a [00:39:00] long segment because the first segment was overrun basically because of, uh, my rant and I'm going to talk about biohacking. I'm gonna explain what biohacking to tell a short story about when I was humbled, but. It's still piggybacking off of woke, work culture, not woke culture, work culture and hustle culture and how it can affect us mentally and physically.[00:39:30]

[00:39:30] Bruce Anthony: A lot of people are doing this thing called biohacking and I'm going to explain it in a minute. And me being a fitness professional, I've been in fitness for over 20 years. I've worked with thousands. And tens of thousands of people. Okay. I would say that I am really, really good at what I do. And that's not me, you know, [00:40:00] being sarcastic or patting myself on the back.

[00:40:02] Bruce Anthony: I've got a proven track record of success. I know what I'm talking about when it comes to This fitness industry. And a lot of people from the beginning of the time have always tried to shortcut living a healthy lifestyle. And there is no real shortcut to living a healthy lifestyle. Not to say that all [00:40:30] biohacking is a shortcut because some of it is actually good, but some of it is actually to the detriment to your overall wellbeing.

[00:40:41] Bruce Anthony: But first, I got to explain to you guys what biohacking is.

[00:40:45] DIY Human Enhancement Explained

[00:40:45] Bruce Anthony: So biohacking is a DIY human enhancement. Think about what I just said, D I Y, human enhancing, enhancement, a self [00:41:00] driven approach to optimizing health, performance, and longevity through biological. And lifestyle tweaks. Okay. So on a macro level, we all do some form of biohacking.

[00:41:18] Bruce Anthony: We all do some form of DIY human enhancement. It's do it yourself, right? Like we all do it. And [00:41:30] human enhancement, DIY human enhancement could be a variety of different things. Going back to the hustle culture and those people that work from home, it could just be, I'm not doing. Um, The fast food or getting Uber Eats every night for dinner.

[00:41:44] Bruce Anthony: I'm going to prepare my own food, right? That's that's a D I Y human enhancement. That's a good one. And you're going to save money doing that too, by the way. We spent a lot of Uber Eats is ridiculous. Okay. The extra fees. Don't get me wrong. [00:42:00] I'm Uber Eats King. I once got an Uber credit card specifically for the fact that I was taking Ubers everywhere and ordering Uber Eats.

[00:42:08] Bruce Anthony: And I felt like I needed to have some type of bonuses of points because of it. So there are good forms of biohacking. So what is the DIY? Bye. This is citizen led experiments. Yeah, I'm going to say that one more time. DIY [00:42:30] biology, a form of biohacking, is a citizen led experiment. Basically, like, At home gene editing and microbiome testing.

[00:42:43] The Risks and Benefits of Biohacking

[00:42:43] Bruce Anthony: Okay, let me just say you should not be doing any at home gene editing. The fact of the matter is you should not be doing any at home. Look, look, [00:43:00] a few years ago. This woman in Miami got busted because she was doing the butt injections so the girls can get butts, get big butts. She was using something like cement.

[00:43:11] Bruce Anthony: One person died. A lot of people got sick.

[00:43:18] Bruce Anthony: Don't do none of that stuff at home. Okay. I can't, I can't stress it enough. Gene editing at home. So one form of biohacking, a D I Y human [00:43:30] enhancement might be cooking your own meals instead of eating out to eat another one at home. Gene editing. Don't do that. Neutrogenics.

[00:43:39] Personalized Diets and Nutritional Biohacks

[00:43:39] Bruce Anthony: Okay, these are personalized diets based on DNA analysts.

[00:43:43] Bruce Anthony: I have more than a few people that have actually done this. Look, I actually believe in this. I believe if you have stomach issues, or if you have digestive issues, Doing these type of analysts is really good because it could point out foods [00:44:00] and stuff that are, that you're allergic to, that you have no idea that you're allergic to it, right?

[00:44:04] Bruce Anthony: People had no idea that they had celiac disease until we started doing these gluten free type things. Now everybody's claiming a guy and everybody doesn't have it. Like it's, it's not a spectrum, ladies and gentlemen. It's not like autism or neurodivergent neurodivergence. He's either you are or you aren't like, I'm allergic to avocados.

[00:44:25] Bruce Anthony: And people always ask me, are you really allergic to avocados? Yes. If I eat avocado, my [00:44:30] cloak, my throat starts to close up. I'm allergic to it. My brother is allergic to, I believe strawberries, like his face, like bloat. There's certain foods that your body. allergic reactions are different. There's varying degrees of allergic reactions.

[00:44:44] Bruce Anthony: So these, this type of, DNA analyst on your nutrition to see what foods work for you and what foods don't work for you. This is another good example of biohacking. And if you are one of those [00:45:00] people out there that have, I had a dated a woman. And she's probably listening to this or watching this and she went through this and then she basically had a very restrictive diet.

[00:45:13] Bruce Anthony: And I know how bad it was because when she decided to go against that diet, it was some problems. It was some real problems. And so, yeah, no, I believe it. It also fosters, you know, your energy levels [00:45:30] and, you know, you might not be getting enough iron. You might not be getting enough sugar. You might not be getting enough salt.

[00:45:35] Bruce Anthony: Like these things are good to find out. You might just feel like you're tired all the time and it's just because you're malnourished. I know people. I know athletes, men and women that go to college and grow. They get bigger. And it's not because their parents weren't feeding them. It's just that you get a more well balanced diet when you're, when you're in college, whether you believe it or not, like you do.

[00:45:59] Bruce Anthony: I [00:46:00] remember going to the dining hall and it's like, you can only eat so much pizza and chicken and chicken sandwiches and hamburgers. Eventually you're like, you know what, let me get this roasted chicken and some vegetables because I need to detox my body because good God, this junk. And then you feel a little bit better.

[00:46:18] Bruce Anthony: So yeah, some people grow because they're malnourished. You could be getting mount, you should be, you could be malnourishing yourself and not even realizing it. So these DNA analysts for [00:46:30] personalized diets are actually a good thing. You can get DNA based meal plans. There are companies out there that will, that if you have a certain diet restrictions that they will create meal plans for you and make ready made meals for you.

[00:46:46] Bruce Anthony: You could pop it in the microwave, go think about how much time you've eliminated and your life to enjoy your life just by taking the time to take care of your life. I don't know. That kind of makes sense to me. What about you?

[00:46:59] Popular Biohacks and Their Efficacy

[00:46:59] Bruce Anthony: [00:47:00] There's also this thing called grinders and biohacking. Now these are tech Augmented bodies, basically implants for performance tracking.

[00:47:12] Bruce Anthony: I don't look. So you have smart watches that can clock to the, to a decent degree. I mean, how much calories did you burn during a workout and how much energy expenditure that you have? Look, if you want to [00:47:30] invest in those types of things, if you got the money for it, cause you want to have optimal performance.

[00:47:35] Bruce Anthony: Okay, cool. For the layman, for the every average person out there, you don't need this stuff. I mean, having a smartwatch is fine, but all this other like investments for tech to improve your health. I had a friend of mine called me up and it was like, Hey, there is this equipment that y'all have seen it where it just shakes you and it's supposed to help you lose weight.

[00:47:59] Bruce Anthony: No, that's [00:48:00] not true. How that works. It's a simple equation to lose weight and I'll give it to you for free. It's a simple equation. Take your daily caloric intake or what it should be because a lot of people do not eat enough. You may think if I eat more, I gain weight. Sometimes you gain weight by eating less.

[00:48:24] Bruce Anthony: I'm not going to get into the specifics of that, but just know that that is true. Sometimes when you think that you're dieting. [00:48:30] And you're eating lower calories that you're actually making yourself fatter. Okay. So first you need to find out what it is that you need to eat to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

[00:48:47] Bruce Anthony: Then all you do Subtract 500 calories from net and you may be thinking 500 calories. That's a lot. No, it's not a lot when you should be consuming 2000 to 20 to 2500 calories a day, [00:49:00] right? That's only knocking it down to 2000 to 1500 calories a day. But it's after you've already built up your body to get used to eating.

[00:49:09] Bruce Anthony: The 20, the 2000 or 2500 calories a day, then all you do is subtract 500 calories a day. So what's five times seven? That's 3500 calories. A 3500 calories is one pound. So if you just do that, but hold on, don't [00:49:30] start subtracting 500 calories from what you're already doing. Let me reiterate, you want to find out what your daily caloric intake is supposed to be.

[00:49:40] Bruce Anthony: Do that for a few weeks to get your body used to it. And then start cutting your calories to only 500. Don't start cutting it to 1000 a day, trying to get to 7000 calories thinking that's going to equal 2 pounds. It goes back to the original statement that I made. If you don't eat enough, you will actually [00:50:00] get fatter, not lose weight.

[00:50:02] Bruce Anthony: It might say. That you lost weight on the scale, but you're just going to be a smaller version of your chubby self. Okay. So what's my personal trainer? What's the guy that's on Instagram? I always be calling people big backs. You still going to be big back. Your big bag is going to be slightly smaller.

[00:50:18] Bruce Anthony: That's all it takes. And then if you work out on top of that, you can burn more calories the right way. To, [00:50:30] to, to have a healthy lifestyle. So these machines and everything, if you're using it to supplement something that you're already doing by all means, okay, fine, do it. But don't think that that's going to be an absolute substitute for actually literally eating properly and working out.

[00:50:46] Bruce Anthony: And Oh, by the way, nutrition. 70 percent of it. That's right. 70 percent of it. So what are some other popular biohacks? You have new topics. These are your smart [00:51:00] drugs like caffeine, creatine, and sometimes prescription medications like Ritalin. Look. All this stuff should be, you should talk to your doctor first.

[00:51:09] Bruce Anthony: People are always asking me about pre workout stuff. Protein powders are fine depending on what type of protein powders they are, but then they're always asking me about creatine and what type of amino acids they should get. For some people, this is going to be over their head. Just speak to your doctor and then speak to a fitness professional.

[00:51:27] Bruce Anthony: A fitness professional can help you break down what it is [00:51:30] that you actually need for your body. Okay. You know, you got your wearables, like your smart watches and things like that. And in that nature, then you have different type of nutritional type of programs. And one that I use is intermittent fasting, and that's just time restricted eating for metabolic health.

[00:51:51] Bruce Anthony: And I only give myself eight hours a day to eat. No, I still eat three meals a day. And that eight hours I eat from one 30 to nine [00:52:00] 30 every day. It took a little while to get used to, but it just regulates my metabolism. I still get the calories I'm supposed to be getting in. It helps me with my sleep because I'm not going to bed with a full stomach because I don't go to bed at nine 30.

[00:52:14] Bruce Anthony: I'm typically in a bed at like 11, 1130. I could push it earlier if I want to, but I tried to, I tried to not do too much time before going to sleep and eating. So intermittent fasting work for me. That doesn't mean that it works for everybody. It's a [00:52:30] way for me to make sure that I don't. Really get any bigger.

[00:52:33] Bruce Anthony: I get big to a certain point and then pretty much stop. And I'm getting ready to get in my cutting phase, but you know, I'm on that hustle ground right now, which means I'm not eating well. That was back in the previous segment. All this stuff is important to better your life. So intermittent fasting is good.

[00:52:50] Bruce Anthony: Some people use cold water therapy ice baths for recovery and endurance. I've heard this is really good for, for, your [00:53:00] body. And, and it is right, but you don't have to do it, but these are just some of the things that people use and like none of the stuff you have to do. This is just some ideas, but what I will say going back to the Neil topics is before you put anything in your body, consult a doctor.

[00:53:27] Bruce Anthony: Don't pay attention to these Tik Tok [00:53:30] fads. Don't pay attention to Instagram influencers. Go to your local gym. Hire a personal trainer. Talk to a nutritionist. Even if you just do a few sessions to gain some knowledge about you personally, because everybody is different. That can help you better yourself.

[00:53:52] Bruce Anthony: Some of the risk is that And ethical pitfalls of biohacking safety issues, you know, lack of regulation [00:54:00] and amateur experiments like the gene editing that I talked about earlier, and then taking unproven supplements. And I'll be one to say that back in the day, I used to take unproven supplements that like, I don't know what the long term effects of some of that stuff are like, I remember when a hydroxy cut came out, like those fat burners.

[00:54:22] Bruce Anthony: I used to take those fat burners. I used to. They did not. Work at all. [00:54:30] You have people out there that are doing, that are doing Ozempic. Let me explain something to you. If y'all want the after, if y'all want all the side effects from Ozempic, have at it. It won't be me. The fact that you just can't go anywhere because you're scared that you might poop on yourself, that alone tells me that I don't need to be using it.

[00:54:46] Bruce Anthony: And also when you use Ozempic, it's not like you get toned. You get saggy skin. You look older. It's gross. Yeah, you'll be smaller, but you look older and gross. I'd rather be big and fine than look older and gross. That's just my personal [00:55:00] opinion.

[00:55:01] The Importance of Medical Consultation

[00:55:01] Bruce Anthony: Medical consultation is important, right? You got to seek professional guidance before you do any of these things.

[00:55:10] Bruce Anthony: And you got to also understand that the U. S. doesn't regulate this stuff like they do overseas. Prime example. Look at I think it's Quaker Oat Instant Oatmeal, like the Berries kind. Look at the ingredients for the U. S. compared to Europe. They're different [00:55:30] ingredients. We allow way more nasty stuff in our, in our food to process it here than we do overseas.

[00:55:37] Bruce Anthony: Why do you think that we're the fattest country in the world? Why do you think that we are the fattest country in the world? We're eat, we're, we're killing ourselves with some of the stuff that we are eating. Now, I don't believe in a lot of what RFK is juniors talk about the majority. I don't, but I do rock with them with when he says that we have a lot of [00:56:00] process poisonous stuff in our foods that we only allow here and not other places.

[00:56:06] Bruce Anthony: And that's leading to us. being fat, being unhealthy and getting sick. So just be careful, do some research, real research, not tick tock research, do some real research, speak to some fitness professionals before you start this biohacking and, and find, get yourself right on a real wellness program. I decided to talk about this [00:56:30] because it's February now.

[00:56:31] Bruce Anthony: So all those people that had those new year's resolutions. Yeah. If you stopped time to start back up again, because it's not about, it shouldn't be a resolution. It should be something that you practice every day of your life because what's the purpose of being here if you're not going to try to be here for as long as you can.

[00:56:50] Bruce Anthony: And if you have people that are dependent on you, like if you have kids or loved ones, you want to do these things. You want to eat better. I'm not going to say [00:57:00] eat right, eat better and get more exercise. And so some of this stuff is good. Some of this stuff is not good, but talk to a fitness professional, talk to a doctor, Find out what's right for you first.

[00:57:14] A Humbling Story About Jordans

[00:57:14] Bruce Anthony: All right, I'm gonna end today's show with this story, and this is a story that when I humbled myself I don't know if I told this story before Like I said, we've done 200 episodes. This is the 201st episode Of Unsolicited [00:57:30] Perspectives. We've done probably a hundred episodes of After Hours Uncensored and Talking Straight ish.

[00:57:38] Bruce Anthony: And we do these YouTube exclusives. Uh, and I'm getting older. I don't remember which story I repeat and what I don't repeat. So, this story might be A repeat or you may have never heard it before. If you never heard it before, okay. And if it's a repeat, it's still kind of funny. All right. So a lot of people out there know that I like Jordans and [00:58:00] often as adults, we give ourselves stuff that we didn't have a kid as kids.

[00:58:03] Bruce Anthony: And I only had one pair of Jordans ever growing up. You know, it was not really where my, you know, my parents got me all the video games that I ever wanted. But, uh, you know, You can't get Jordans as well. This is one of the other, and I chose video games. So only had one pair of Jordans. So as I became an adult, I bought Jordans.

[00:58:19] Bruce Anthony: And at a certain time before buying online was really, really a thing, you would have to kind of like camp out for the new releases of the retro Jordans. I don't just wear any Jordans. I wear the retro [00:58:30] Jordans and only series one. Through 13 and not really 10. Okay, everything and not really two or three either.

[00:58:39] Bruce Anthony: Well, no, that's not true I got a couple of threes in there. Anyway, I got a lot of jordans. It was just gonna be it was just happening It was like 2016 2017 And the varsity blues were being re released. Why was that important to me? It was the very shoe that I got back in 1991 that was being re released.

[00:58:59] Bruce Anthony: So the [00:59:00] only The only pair of shoes that I ever got, the only pair of Jordans that I ever got were being re released and I wanted to get them as an adult. Okay. I had to get them as an adult. So that morning I wake up, I don't know, three, four o'clock in the morning. I drive over to, I've got a choice of about three or four different malls that are within 10 to 15 minutes from my place.

[00:59:19] Bruce Anthony: I chose the mall that would be most likely to not have a lot of people there. And that mall has two or three different shoe stores. [00:59:30] So I figured that. And I wear a size 13. It really is a 12 and a half, but I was willing to take a 13. So I knew that I more than likely, if I got up early enough, I was going to be able to get the shoes.

[00:59:41] Bruce Anthony: Cause there's no guarantee that you're going to be able to get these shoes. So I arrive at the, at the, at the mall. It's still dark outside. There's already a line, but the line is not too long. I figured with three stores. And only about a hundred people ahead of me and not all of these people look like they're as tall or as big as me.

[00:59:59] Bruce Anthony: [01:00:00] I still shouldn't have a problem getting the shoes as I'm waiting in line. There's this young little couple that's right in front of me, high school students, high school sweethearts. And they are talking about how they're going to get the matching sixes. And they're going to be going out together and be dressed to the nines and everything like that together.

[01:00:17] Bruce Anthony: And I thought it was cute. You know, young puppy love going to get matching shoes. Ain't nothing wrong with that. So finally comes to the time where the mall is going to open. So they open up the mall doors. Everybody goes charging. It [01:00:30] was single file line before they open up those doors, but everybody goes running.

[01:00:34] Bruce Anthony: Now, I did not scout the mall before deciding to choose that mall, which meant I didn't really know where the stores were. I know, I know that was dumb on my part, but I was so focused. My anxiety was so focused on getting the shoes. I didn't get to the details. This is one of the times. That I could say that I wasn't meticulous.

[01:00:57] Bruce Anthony: So there's this mad charge through the [01:01:00] doors. Everybody is running and I'm following the smallest group. Cause once again, three stores. The smallest group, more than likely, I will be able to get the shoes that I want. And it just so happens that that couple is right there in front of me. So I know they get in the shoes.

[01:01:16] Bruce Anthony: I'm going to follow along with them. And sure enough, we get to a footlocker, not the number one choice that I wanted. I wanted to go to like foot action or champs, because I thought that, you know, most people wouldn't go to those stores, but it ended up being [01:01:30] footlocker was a store that was not attacked the most, the people wouldn't even open the gate.

[01:01:36] Bruce Anthony: Okay. At the footlocker, they would not open the gate because it was a mob outside of the store. So the gate is still down and the guys, the manager is saying, all right, guys, look, we don't even open for another three hours, but this is what we're going to do. We're treating it like a raffle. We are going to hand out tickets.

[01:01:57] Bruce Anthony: And those people that get a ticket can come [01:02:00] back when we open the store. And you can get the shoes. We are going to call out sizes with everybody. Please get in line. Nobody is getting in line. Okay, we are standing in a semi circle in front of this gated foot locker and pushing and shoving and elbowing and spitting and kicking to try and get close enough to grab a ticket when they hand out a ticket for your size.

[01:02:23] Bruce Anthony: Once again, size 13. So I gotta wait a while. So they're going through all the sizes, and [01:02:30] they get to, they get to 12. They had, they had two 12s. I cannot fit a 12. It's gonna hurt my big toe. Can't fit a 12. They, they jump, they don't, not doing half sizes. So they go from 12 to 13. And he says, I've got one pair of 13s.

[01:02:50] Bruce Anthony: I'm tall, I'm 6'4 I'm reaching over top of kids, reaching through their bodies, put my hand through the [01:03:00] fence, barely can fit through my, my hand, barely can fit my fist through this little gate, okay, to get my two fingers, my, my finger and my thumb so I can snatch this ticket. To get these size pair of thirteens and there's another arm that comes over my shoulder that's reaching for the same ticket and I'm not paying attention to it.

[01:03:21] Bruce Anthony: But I just have to take a glance because the man is about to hand me the ticket to the size 13 sports sixes [01:03:30] blue varsity blue Air Jordans. And as I look over my shoulder, who do I see that young man that was standing in front of me in that line? With his girl trying to get the size pair 13. I did not notice that he was almost as tall as I was did not notice it when it was in line.

[01:03:53] Bruce Anthony: Why? Cause I was just focused on the J's was focused on, on the J's. So as my hand is on the ticket, [01:04:00] And I look at him and I realize in this moment, I'm fighting this young man that I am 20 years older than probably 20 years older than for a pair of shoes. I look at the manager and I say, go ahead and give him the ticket.

[01:04:20] Bruce Anthony: And the manager looks at me dumbfounded. Are you sure? And the kid says, are you sure? And I say, yeah, man, go ahead and get those [01:04:30] shoes, man. And the manager gives him the ticket. And I turn around and I walk out. And I go on home. And I feel sick. I physically feel sick, like I'm gonna throw up. Cause why the hell did I give up those pair of shoes?

[01:04:45] Bruce Anthony: Cause in that moment, I realized, I'm fighting a kid for a pair of shoes. That was ridiculous. That was my lowest moment buying shoes, ladies and gentlemen. I swore never again would I wait in line, [01:05:00] run and charge, knocking over women and children, pushing them out the way, like I'm a running back, big running back by the way, pushing them out the way, trying to get a pair of shoes.

[01:05:15] Bruce Anthony: Yeah, I decided on that day I was never going to do that again. I, I did get the shoes. I had to pay a premium for them cause I had to get them in a reseller's market. The premium was only, I think, I don't know, maybe 30, 40 more. So I still had the shoes. I wore them on, [01:05:30] New Year's at my sister's house.

[01:05:33] Bruce Anthony: Still got them, you know, almost eight years later, nine years later, still got them, but on that day I realized that I may never get those shoes, but in that moment. That young man and his girlfriend had had those plans and they deserved the shoes and me and my big grown ass Didn't need to be pushing over people fighting a kid for a pair of shoes.

[01:05:56] Bruce Anthony: And that was the day that Michael Jordan shoes [01:06:00] Completely humbled me. But on that note ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you for listening I want to thank you for watching and until next time as always I'll holler

[01:06:17] Closing Remarks and Call to Action

[01:06:17] Bruce Anthony: Ooh, that was a hell of a show. Thank you for rocking with us here on unsolicited perspectives with Bruce Anthony. Now, before you go, don't forget to follow subscribe. Like comment and share our [01:06:30] podcast, wherever you're listening or watching it to it. Pass it along to your friends. If you enjoy it, that means the people that you rock, we will enjoy it also.

[01:06:37] Bruce Anthony: So share the wealth, share the knowledge, share the noise. And for all those people that say, well, I don't have a YouTube. If you have a Gmail account, you have a YouTube. Subscribe to our YouTube channel where you can actually watch our video podcast and Youtube Exclusive content , but the real party is on our Patreon page after hours uncensored and talk a straight ish after hours uncensored is another show with my sister.

[01:06:59] Bruce Anthony: And once [01:07:00] again, the key word there is uncensored. Those are exclusively on our Patreon page. Jump onto our website at unsolicitedperspective. com for all things us. That's where you can get all of our audio, video, our blogs, And even by our merch. And if you really feel ingenuous and want to help us out, you can donate on our donations page.

[01:07:20] Bruce Anthony: Donations go strictly to improving our software and hardware so we can keep giving you guys good content that you can clearly listen to and that you can clearly see. So [01:07:30] any donation would be appreciative. Most importantly, I want to say thank you. Thank you. Thank you for listening and watching and supporting us and I'll catch you next time out e5000 peace

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