Once high school chums, now long-distance Facebook friends, I’m impressed by what you’ve accomplished these past ten years. I tip my hat to you and your success because I know the blood, sweat, and tears that go into achieving your dreams. You and I, we’ve really made something of ourselves, haven't we? You with your magnificent house you built yourself, two young healthy children, and a partner who loves you for who you are, and me with my podcast. Collectively, we’ve reached the top of the mountain and I must say, I quite like the view.
While I’ve never visited the 7 bed-7 bath home that you built on the side of a mountain, I must say, the piece that North Carolina Living Monthly did on it was a delight to read. Your ability to dream up something like that and put it into existence with nothing but a bit of elbow grease and some free time on the weekends inspired me to build something too, my own podcast.
While you used bricks, cement, and expensive vinyl siding; I used my apartment complex’s Wi-Fi and a pair of airpods someone left on the bus. When you were working on schematics and blueprints for your 4,000 square foot Oasis; I was jotting down the names of possible co-hosts on the back of a Trader Joe’s receipt.
Were there struggles along the way? Of course there were. You fell off a ladder and fractured your arm in three places and I started to get a migraine when I stared at my computer screen too long that one day, but that’s the cost of greatness. In submitting my podcast to Apple for review and you spending that first night in the house you built by hand over the course of six years, we were finally able to let out a sigh of relief and begin to enjoy the fruits of our labor. And what delicious fruits they were!
Your sons, Bryce and Boyd, seem adorable based on the photos and videos you post online. I agree with your status updates inferring that they are advanced for their age. I imagine that raising them and experiencing the trials and tribulations that come with adulthood was not dissimilar from me starting my podcast. As you were figuring out names, registering at Target, and painting nursery rooms, I was also figuring out names (for my podcast), trying to understand what an RSS feed is, and shopping on Amazon for quality, yet affordable, microphones.
As you probably know, the infancy stage for children directly mirrors that of the infancy stage of a podcast: Both can be frightening and exhausting, but are ultimately very rewarding. As fathers and podcasters, the responsibility is immense and can feel overwhelming at times, but in the end, there’s a reason people say that it’s the best job they’ve ever had. Though I must admit, and I’ll bet you agree, sometimes it doesn’t feel like a job at all. I think that’s largely due to the lack of pay.
In marrying your high school sweetheart, you reminded us all of the meaning of true love. A relationship like yours, built on a sense of trust and mutual understanding of one another’s needs and wants, was exactly the kind of thing I was looking for when I launched my podcast. For the first time in my life, I have a partner who really gets me and accepts me for who I am despite my faults. I’m of course talking about Gill, my co-host and next-door neighbor.
I know that your wife has been through a lot and I’m sure it wasn’t easy, but I really respect the way you two have continued to grow and evolve as people. In seeing that you recently celebrated your seven-year wedding anniversary, I shed a tear because I could someday imagine Gill and I celebrating a similar milestone with our podcast. The thought filled me with excitement, hope, and a little bit of fear.
We’re starting things off slow with the podcast, releasing a couple of episodes a month. But I know that in the future things are going to get more serious, like when you and your would-be wife got those promise rings for each other in high school. I just pray that when the time comes to take things to the next level, I’m ready. Deep down, in my heart of podcasting hearts, I know that I will be.
So old friend, I say this: thanks for inspiring me and continuing to raise the bar. We’ve worked our entire lives for this moment and while the journey was both treacherous and challenging, I must say that it was entirely worth it. I salute you and all that you’ve accomplished, just as I’m sure that you salute me. There is no limit to what the two of us can achieve and nothing and no one can stop us in our tireless pursuit of greatness.
Also, if you could leave a rating and review for my podcast that would be great. It really helps people find the show.