Leaving the Expected Path – Danny Suede’s Creative Life

In this episode, I talk with artist and creative nomad Danny Suede about the bold decision he made as a teenager that changed everything, and how that one moment opened the door to a life he never imagined — one full of art, travel, and purposeful creation.
Danny’s story reminds us that we can reimagine what “normal” looks like. That there’s nothing wrong with choosing something different. And that starting before you’re ready might just be the bravest thing you ever do.
From walking out of school to creating art worldwide, Danny Suede chose his own way forward.
What if the life you want is just past the fear?
So many of us stay stuck because the obstacles are loud and obvious — the job, the money, the expectations. But the route to the life we dream about?
That path is quiet.
Subtle.
Hidden.
In this episode, I talk with artist and creative nomad Danny Suede about the bold decision he made as a teenager that changed everything, and how that one moment opened the door to a life he never imagined — one full of art, travel, and purposeful creation.
Danny’s story reminds us that we can reimagine what “normal” looks like. That there’s nothing wrong with choosing something different. And that starting before you’re ready might just be the bravest thing you ever do.
Takeaways:
- Danny's bold decision to leave school at 13 marked the beginning of his own story.
- Learning doesn’t have to resemble a classroom; it can unfold in line with your own curiosity.
- The most meaningful moments often lie just behind the fears we tend to avoid.
Danny Suede is an indie/pop artist, musician, and visual creator who embodies the mantra, "Life Can Be More Of What You Dream."
Beyond his music, Danny shares his perspective through his Substack writings and explores creativity through his own art and visuals. He also creates captivating videos on YouTube to inspire a global audience.
Danny has retired from social media to fully dedicate himself to his craft. He embraces a nomadic lifestyle that allows him to create without distraction. In 2025, he’ll travel the world, drawing inspiration from diverse cultures and experiences to shape his music, storytelling, and art.
- Substack - https://dannysuede.substack.com
- Music - https://spoti.fi/3Xf0vKR
- Shop - https://dannysuede.com/collections/all
- Website - https://dannysuede.com
- Music Youtube - YouTube.com/@UCQtCkoqH7Yw2ma8KAdhvevQ
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00:00
What if the life you actually want is waiting? Just pass the fear, just pass the plan. In this episode, I talk with artist and world traveler Danny Swade about walking away from the expected path, tuning into his gut and what it means to start before you're ready. It's thoughtful, real, and full of the kind of reminders that we all need today. And I've just noticed this crazy asymmetry in reality where...
00:26
The reasons why you can't do something or that you can't go down a path that you maybe want or dream about are always so obvious. They're like giant neon signs that are so easy to see. Like you can just see, can't do it because of this, don't have enough money, don't have enough freedom, you have this tying you down, you have that, blah, blah, So obvious and just in your face, right? And most people just look at that and go, okay, nevermind, don't want to, okay. But the thing about
00:52
finding your way around those things and finding your way to what you dream and what you want your life to be, those pathways are so, oftentimes, so random and weird and something you would never think of ahead of time. I'm Maciel Huli and this is The Life Shift. Candid conversations about the pivotal moments that have changed lives forever.
01:25
Hello, my friends. Welcome to the Life Shift podcast. am sitting here with Danny. Hello, Danny. Hello, Matt. Thank you for being a part of the Life Shift podcast all the way from one of the farthest place that you can go from where I am in Florida right now. Where are you? Vietnam. I'm in Da Nang, Vietnam. And you're you're spending like the last couple of years like traveling the world in some capacity. I started in June of last year.
01:53
to test it out and I've done a bunch of traveling around the US and some international travel but last June is when I like basically got rid of all my stuff and just decided to kind of live out wherever. A nomad if you will. How are you enjoying that? It is amazing. I love it. Yeah and I just, it's interesting now because I'm by myself but it's just when I started this too I basically retired from social media.
02:21
Right. And I just it's so crazy because I've lived so much more life like in the past six months than I did in a year, couple years prior previously. And it's not like I wasn't doing anything before then. But man, the world is just so big and crazy and there's so much interesting stuff. I'm by life now is so much more of what I want since I've been traveling and doing this. So been amazing. I'm just pinching myself like all the time.
02:48
Well, good on you, because I think there are a lot of people that dream of doing that or dream of some kind of escape, if you will, to like explore and eat, pray, love and all the things that go with with with that kind of like almost like fantasy. Because I think especially as Americans, I think we're just or I was and maybe you were as well conditioned that there was like some kind of path that we were all supposed to take in some in some way. Like someone fed us this
03:18
linear thing. For me, it was like graduate high school, then it was to go to college, then it was get a good job and then get promoted and then buy a house. And know, like it was all these things that I was like, when I was doing it, I was like, Okay, this one is gonna bring me happiness. And then it didn't. And then I was like, Okay, maybe the next one will do that. Did you grow up with any of that kind of built into you? Or we have you always been this kind of like, free spirit?
03:44
Literally such a good question and I totally agree with you. The kind of cookie cutter like pathways we have set out for us. It's an interesting concept and it's I think it's a double edge. We could probably get into it later. But as far as how I was raised, my childhood was super simple and basic, right? It was just normal. Nothing was crazy and it was that kind of thing where you're just expected to go to school and go to college and do your thing. And weirdly enough, I was since I was little, I kind of always
04:13
would like bump against the guardrails of the status quo in just little ways and sometimes bigger ways. But I always was just had a problem with this thing. You're supposed to do this or this is what you do. Just do this thing you're supposed to do. And even before I think I really consciously was questioning that, like, why are there things that we have to do? As a child, I just naturally had like a I was like, what? You know, like I just didn't like it. I would just do
04:43
whatever kind of I could. I remember sometimes I would do like weird hairdos or wear a weird piece of clothing or do something just to like not be the normal thing that everyone was doing. Were your parents supportive of that? Depending on what I did, they were sometimes they're like, what are you doing, dog? But for the most part, like you said, my childhood, it was like a 10 out of 10, pretty much maybe a 9.5 out of 10. But my parents were great, dude. I had unconditional love for my parents and my grandparents, middle class, pretty much just
05:12
your basic white bread American like childhood and being raised. And I almost think that's maybe why I was pushing things around. Cause I'm like, this is like so boring kind of, and I wouldn't even consider my childhood boring because we had tons of fun. we, got to do tons of fun stuff. It just seemed, I don't, I don't know what in me is like that or why I don't know. And maybe I think it's just genetic chance, honestly. Yeah. How are you with routine?
05:40
I love it, but I make it, right? And it, to me, is a lot of the reason I have freedom. because to me, routine, my life is kinda, can be chaotic. So, routine is my way to build in the things I love and I really value and care about and prioritize throughout my day. So, now that I'm living alone, like my routine is like, it's amazing, cause nothing bugs me if I don't want. So, I'm waking up, stretch, do my hydration, meditate.
06:10
read, do my coffee, like orient, look at my day, check my emails real quick, work out, like it's like pow pow pow pow and I just get everything that I really care about and wanna have as daily habits done personally. And I have freedom parts of my day too but. Yeah, no I mean I get that, it like grounds you almost, it brings you back to you and allows you to probably be more present in the rest of the things that are happening in your life. I think it's fascinating and I love that you.
06:38
took the chance on yourself to travel the world. It's a big thing to get rid of material possessions and to like go all over the place to places you've never been probably and don't know many people when you first get there kind of thing. Kudos to you and I know that your story will lead into that and I just wanted to kind of go down that little road there because I love it and I feel like so many people I know including myself have fantasized about it.
07:07
So yeah, thank you. And dude, I did too. Like that's what it was for me for a long time. And my whole like thing now with my brand and my business and stuff is this idea of that. Like I say, life can be more of what you dream. That's kind of how I conceptualize it because. In the same way, I think that we have these cookie cutter templates we think we're supposed to do or go down or paths were supposed to go down that are set out for us. I think a lot of people.
07:36
to have that same thing with barriers, right? So they think, oh, there's this path I'm supposed to go down. And they also think there's this barrier to this or that that exists. It maybe does exist, but it's not insurmountable, right? And I think a lot of times people just have a belief that it isn't, you know, they can't get around it or they can't do something and they just leave it there, right? There's really so much to say there, but I, I think about this a lot because like I said, it's my...
08:06
Kind of the purpose of what I do artistically is to try to open people's eyes to that. And I've just noticed this crazy asymmetry in reality where the reasons why you can't do something or that you can't go down a path that you maybe want or dream about are always so obvious. They're like giant neon signs that are so easy to see. Like you can just see, can't do it because of this, don't have enough money, don't have enough freedom, you have this tying you down, you have that, blah, blah.
08:35
so obvious and just in your face, right? And most people just look at that and go, okay, nevermind, I'll leave it, right? I don't wanna, okay. But the thing about finding your way around those things and finding your way to what you dream and what you want your life to be, those pathways are so oftentimes so random and weird and like something you would never think of ahead of time. You would never like imagine that you would make it to that through this pathway.
09:04
Those things are like mysterious. You know, I'm not particularly religious, but I think when I look at the Bible, I see in the Bible all these like truths that are metaphorical, right? And there's this common occurrence in the Bible, this ancient book, right? That is like about having faith, right? Trusting God and like having faith for your path. And I think that this is the part of reality that that wisdom is getting at.
09:30
is that your path is you can't see it when you're going. You gotta go and figure it out and then you find this way to become successful or to get where you're going. And I'm always collecting success stories of people and they're oftentimes like these crazy things you would never, you would never guess it, right? Like, and so I think people just don't realize that a lot of times, you know. No, I heard something, I heard a really great metaphor to, I think what you're alluding to in kind of like taking the next step kind of thing in your path.
10:00
I had a guest, I think it was Grant Perkins, and he said, he compared this example that you're giving here to driving down a road at night, and all you can really see is what your headlights are. So you just know that you're gonna make it to that next point that you could see a couple seconds ago. What that did for me was like, oh yeah, like don't need to know, like I can't see the town that I'm driving to right now.
10:26
but I can see this far. So all I have to do is get this far and then I'll be able to see the next part of the journey and go on like that. Does that align with kind of what you're saying about the paths kind of unfold as you go? Yeah, I definitely think that's a part of it. But I think sometimes too, it's like, it's about, I think, starting the journey, right? So. Well, that's the hard part. Even being willing to start, like once you're on it, right, then.
10:51
I feel like that's what you're talking about where you're like you can't see and you're feeling in the dark and stuff. But I feel like for so many people it's like they're not even in the car yet. They're like it's dark. I don't know what city I'm going to. I don't even know how to get to the city right. And for me it's like so much of what I want to do is like I'm always just like come on like oh whoa. If you're watching he just got fireworks. That was crazy. Nice. Yeah but that's and that's also same thing with me pushing against the guardrails when I'm little.
11:18
There's a part of me that's always pushed other people where I'm like, someone's like, you know, oh, I wish I could do this or I would always love to do this. I'm like, try or like, come on, like, let's go. So yeah, just make it happen. I think it's great. And let's I mean, let's go into your story so we can not talk around it. But before we do that, just a little if someone's tuning in for the first time for you, the life shift, it really exists because when I was little, I had a life shift moment in which my dad had to sit me down and he had to tell me that my mom had died in a motorcycle accident and
11:47
My parents were divorced, we lived states apart, I didn't live with my dad, and all of a sudden, everything that was true in my life was no longer true in that eight-year-old version of me. And growing up, I was like, do other people have these line-in-the-sand type moments in which, from one moment to the next, nothing is the same, or everything's changed, or my attitude's changed, or whatever it may be, something has shifted in me in which the world is now different.
12:14
And now I've been on this journey talking to people like yourself about these kind of life shift moments. I know everyone has lots of them. You have lots of them. And we kind of narrowed it down to one, but I'm sure we'll talk about multiple of them. But it's just been such a beautiful journey to understand maybe because I was so forced down this path in my own head. And that was probably protection. But I was so convinced that my story was unique. The way I felt.
12:43
in certain moments in my life was unique. But now I hear all these stories that are so wildly different. But at the core of it, I'm realizing how much like, oh yeah, I felt that same exact way or oh yeah, I'm not weird. I had those same things, thinking, know, that same thoughts about that particular thing. So it's just been a beautiful journey and I'm so thankful that you want to be part of it in this way. So thank you, first of all, before you even tell the rest of your story. Yeah, thank you, man. I think
13:13
I really think what you're doing here is sick. Man, that idea of like being, looking back when you're young and like how you felt alone and then creating something for other people to not have to feel like that or not, you know, be able to not feel like that or like be able to relate, it's just so good. I just feel like it's such a good thing to put out into the world. So I'm happy, I'm super happy to be here and be a part of it.
13:35
I love it. Well, no doubt you do it in your own journey in the way that you're putting together stuff. So before we tell your story, tell us who you are in 2025. You give us a little bit. You're currently in Vietnam, but like how do you identify in the world right now in 2025? Yeah, my name is Danny Swade and mainly identify as an artist. Right. I make art, music, visuals, and then I do that type of video, VFX and artistic work for other people and companies and artists and stuff too.
14:05
for income and whatnot, but yeah, I'm just building. Yeah, right. You need the money and I'm just trying to build this, you know, kind of personal brand that is this inspiring thing. Like at the end of the day, I just want the art I make to uplift and inspire people. So I'm just doing that. That's where I'm at now. And I'm at a point now where I can travel. So because everything I do is on my computer, I'm kind of just floating around and traveling and going right now I'm in Southeast Asia and Vietnam.
14:33
because the cost of living is so low. So I can live for the same amount I was like living in LA and live just so good, right? So that's where I'm at now. And also being alone, I can just focus a lot more. can just really like, I was telling you dial my routine and do my art and do my thing. And that's the phase I'm at right now. I love it. And you know, I think the cynic in me is like someone with such a purpose. Are there moments for you to not feel
15:01
great and uplifting like are there okay. Oh yeah, sometimes we we we see these people and they're like we want to put all this good into the world but realize that also you're a human. So I'm sure there are moments in which everything's scary dude. Oh yeah, dude like my the reason I do that is because I'm a ball of depression and anxiety like it's a it's completely a fight against that. So it's like that's why with the music I make like cheesy happy pop music to feel better.
15:30
because otherwise I'm depressed and sad. Naturally, I'm pessimistic and depressed, just like my natural tendency. Even if nothing's wrong, I just tend towards negativity. And so I make happy music to feel good, feel happy and positive and hear a happy message. And that's why I do it. Yeah, I'm not like this guru, or like free spirit, like, oh, everything's good at all. No, I think that's important. I think it's important to recognize that. think sometimes there's this, I don't wanna,
15:59
use it, but a lot of people say like toxic positivity or things like that. And I don't think that's what you're doing. You're just trying to put good into the world and help people realize that there's a lot more good out there if we seek it than if we stay at our own bubbles of sadness. Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, I just think. It's kind of like what you were saying with, you know, you felt alone and so you're making this thing to kind of share what you went through and what other people went through.
16:28
So people don't feel alone to a certain degree, right? That's to a certain degree what I'm doing as far as like feeling bad, right? So it's like I just, I make a lot of music and stuff to feel happy and good, right? I'm obsessed with clouds and like cloud imagery because when I look at the clouds, I just feel like everything's okay for whatever reason. And it just like embodies that feeling. So I just try to make a bunch of stuff with clouds and happy music and stuff and to share it for other people who when they're feeling like shit and they need to pick me up.
16:56
you can listen to my music or you can consume what I do and you're hopefully going to get inspired or uplifted in some way. That's the kind music has a great power to do that. And so does art. So getting into your story, you have this nine point five out of 10 life growing up your kid live in this cookie cutter, if you will, but trying to push outside the bounds, trying to make your cookie like a different shape than everyone else's cookie. Right.
17:22
So take us, where do you go to get to that life shift moment where you really feel maybe this was your first line in the sand where you knew something was different? Okay, so when I was about 10, we moved from Boise, Idaho out to Washington to Spokane and we lived out in the woods and we were in kind of a small town and we went to a small school. It wasn't like insanely small, but the size of the school in the community was that most people pretty much knew everyone, right?
17:49
Not, it was like a little bigger than that, right? So you didn't exactly know everyone, but you pretty much knew everyone, especially at the school. And like I said, school was never really hard for me. Like I got good grades, I wasn't allowed to have Cs, so was A's and B's across the board and didn't really struggle. Like there was some things hard, but didn't struggle. Pretty popular usually, played sports, athletic, fit in, right? Nothing too crazy. Maybe a little rough patchier there, but it was good, right?
18:18
Once I was in eighth grade, I started, I would say around sixth grade, I started, as I was going through puberty, I started to get a little dissatisfaction with school where I'm like, what am I doing here? know, like, or like, I would keep bumping up against things I didn't want to do or didn't like doing or dynamics with people and like the social thing. And then I'm like, man, this is stressful and this guy doesn't like her and she's pissed. And it's like, you know, and I'm like, why am I in this? Like, you know.
18:47
In eighth grade, and this is weird, I feel bad because it's in a lot of ways mysterious to me, but I was becoming dissatisfied with school and my parents knew right where I'm complaining, I'm like, I don't wanna go, this sucks, I don't like it. There was this point in eighth grade, and I'm in English class, and it just was like, it was literally a hard line where I was like, I'm not doing this. And it just was like, somehow I was completely sure.
19:16
that I was done coming here, right? I was like done doing this. I don't know why that happened in a moment then exactly. I tend to have like kind of a wooey view of it where I'm like, think like whatever there is out there in the universe or like destiny or like whatever that kind of thing is, if that's real and a thing, that was a moment where that like was like here buddy, you're gonna, you know, and you're gonna change. So I just like made up in my mind.
19:47
I was done and I went home that day and I went to my mom and I was like, hey, I'm not going back to school and you could try to send me back. I'll leave. Like you're going to have to chain me into a chair if I'm going to stay in there because I like I will cause hell. Like I'm not doing that anymore. And the thing is I was a pretty obedient kid, right? So I had a good relationship with my parents. So for them, they were like, you know, my mom's like, oh, like damn, because I would never say something like that to my parents like, hey,
20:16
I'm not doing this like this is like a line, right? So and two, I think for a lot of people quitting school or leaving school maybe isn't that big of a deal. It happens all the time. Kids are leaving and dropping out. But for my family and like how I how people knew me in the community, it was like people are like, holy shit, like what? So my mom was like, OK, will you try to do online school? And I was like, yes, I will. I will try it for you. So.
20:44
Literally that was a Friday that Monday. We went to this different school district that had an online program. I got my books. I got enrolled and I went back to my school just to I had to like get the teachers to sign me out of the classes and like some of the teachers I remember one teacher was like no, I'm not signing you out. What are you talking about? Like wouldn't do it all my I just said bye to my friends. I'm like peace like I'm out and everyone was kind of like holy shit because you know, I don't know it was like out of the blue right? Yeah, exactly. So
21:14
my parents were like, hey, will you stay in band class? Because I think they were worried about me getting no social interaction, right? So I, since I did music, I stayed in band class at the school. I would go to the band class. But from that point on, it was just me and my dog alone at home every day doing my school online. And the crazy thing too is like, in my head, I did question it a little bit where I'm like, am I gonna, am I torpedoing my life here? And eventually in,
21:41
Like the beginning of my sophomore year, I just dropped out of school completely and just quit. But there was a part of me that was like this. I knew it was crazy, but I just the same amount of crazy I knew it was. I also knew it was right for me and what I needed to do somehow. Like I think it was really like my gut. It was like deep in my consciousness. Like it just did the calculation that like this is not for you, buddy, and just told me like or something like that.
22:09
Yeah, so I get signed out and then I start just doing online school. And the thing is, it was amazing. Like for me, so good because I could learn at my own pace. I could do what I wanted when I wanted and I would do, I decided, okay, I'm just gonna do all my science at once, like all the way through the year for like a month and a half or something. And I could just had flexibility to take longer on the things that were little more challenging, go through the things that were review. Like I remember,
22:37
back when I was in school sitting in science class, like, I know this. I was like, we did cells and cell structure before. Like, I don't know why we're doing this again, but like, I remember this from before. And I'm just sitting there all day doing the tests and kind of being miserable, feeling like I'm wasting my life doing it. Now when I'm doing online school, I open the lesson and I'm looking through, I'm like, oh, cell structure. And I just hit my teacher and I said, hey, can I just take the quizzes? She's like, yeah. So I just boom, boom, boom, hit the quizzes, pass, like, done.
23:06
you know, and then I go play the drums or like whatever. It was just, I think too I was learning at that point. It's crazy looking back like having to reflect now because I was just learning like, wow, there's a different way to do things that could be way better for you. That is not how everyone else does it. And the thing is, there was a lot of judgment. Like my parents, God bless them, like they took shit from the community and other people in the school because
23:33
It's kind like a slap in the face to the school a little bit. Who were our friends? And it wasn't a bad school. It good teachers, good people. And you know, it's like, this isn't good for me. And like, you the community is like, what the hell? Like, what do you mean you're just not coming to school? And like, it was kind of this like black sheep thing. And my parents just took it even from their friends. Like, what are you doing letting him quit? And blah, blah, blah. And they just let me do it. And it was literally so much better for me. And that moment, like when I started online school,
24:03
My life was way different after that. It was completely different. No friends around by myself, blah, blah, blah. And then also I think it just set the stage for me to realize the same as me traveling now. It's like you can just flip the script and sometimes it's scary and sometimes you don't know what's gonna happen. It's like when I decided I wasn't going back to school, I didn't know I was gonna do online school. I didn't know what I was gonna do, right? I didn't know what I did. I barely knew anything about online school, but it turned out to be perfect for me, right? But I had no idea when I decided to quit.
24:33
I think that's the that's kind of the potted version of like where a lot of this started for me in a big way. Well, I think, you know, part of it is I think that there are a lot of 12 year olds, 13 year olds. I forget how old people are at eighth grade 13. I think it's about that. don't know. Yeah, there's a lot of us at that age that are like school sucks. Like I don't want to be here. But we don't know that there's this option and there really isn't for most people or there wasn't back in
25:03
back in my day, if I'm gonna be old here. There wasn't a lot of that option. But what I love about your story is it's like you had almost like a, like your parents had a little bit of a softer landing because you agreed to go to this online school. But what it gave you was the ability to see that you could create your own version of life, even though you're still doing the thing that you didn't necessarily want to do in the long run, but you were able to do it in your way.
25:32
You know, that is part of the frustration, I think, for a lot of people at school. It's like, why am I doing this? Why do I have to do it right now? I don't really feel like doing it right now. I want to do it later. Whereas now you had this freedom to kind of create your own version of your life, which I couldn't help but see the parallels to what you said about your current life of like crafting that routine so that you can do the other things. Yeah, feel like there's that version of you starting out so young. Yeah, I think there's a couple of things there because one.
26:01
what you said about how a lot of people can't do that or don't have that option. I definitely have to acknowledge that I'm lucky. Like I'm lucky that that was an option, that my parents were okay with it, that I had the type of relationship with my parents that that would have worked, that I had the kind of work ethic that I would actually did a lot of the school, right? And I didn't just like do nothing. So I was lucky. I think kind of the point is that maybe for someone else, it's not necessarily that they quit and do online school, but like who knows?
26:31
what you can change. Two, with kids, when you're in this rigid structure where everything's authority-based and status quo-based, you don't realize what you can change. If you're a kid at school and there's something about it that you hate, whether it's the blocks, how long the classes are, what order they're in, how different things work, you can change that stuff. It's not like, it's like there's just adults in there like us just making up a lot of this stuff. I had a friend one time who,
27:01
I remember he caused this thing in gym class because like he didn't want to run and the teacher was like, you have to run and all the kids were like, yeah, you have to run Park. He's like, guys, we can all just not run. What are they going to do? And like all the kids just went and bailed and just sat on the sidelines and didn't run and the teacher couldn't get him to run because they all just band together, right? So it's kind of a funny story. But I think to a certain degree, the idea that I learned is like not necessarily that you can do exactly what I did, but
27:29
there's options you would never think of or that you wouldn't understand or that you wouldn't know if you question, if you just question and look. And a lot of times you gotta bump against things and you gotta, that didn't work, try to this, doesn't work, and you gotta feel around and then you can finally find, oh, let me change this or let me do this. And you can find it eventually what works for you. Well, it's like you said, those neon signs that we see in our, oh, I guess can't go that way. Yeah. Right, I feel like so many of us grew up thinking that
27:58
this is the box that we have to sit in right now. And then once you're done in this box, you can go into the next box. Like you could just, you know, transplant into the next one. there, like, I feel like when I was in middle school, it just felt like it was just was what I had to do. Like I didn't know in my own brain or my upbringing or the people around me, my dad was pretty old fashioned. I was already afraid of, of not being perfect because I thought
28:27
If I'm not perfect, my dad's gonna leave too, because my mom left by dying. know, like all those things were playing into my game. But I remember one thing to like the whole point of like, we're not focused on the right thing sometimes in school. I was so focused on getting that A plus. Like that was goal. I can't remember anything that I, you know, like I don't think I focused on actually learning or paying attention to anything. It was more cram all this in my head so that can get the good grade and then.
28:55
wipe it clear so that can do it for the next class. Part of that is so, it was so conditioned in me. Like I didn't know any other way. Yep. Man, it's so interesting. Because like I was saying at the beginning of the podcast, with the boxes you're talking about or the predetermined path, it's such a double edge because I like always am like against it, right? Against the box, against the path. But at the end of the day, I think as a society, these paths we've built are really
29:25
Amazing, right? It's like for a human to be able to have a path to go down, right? To be able to have a way that's cut for them to go and to live and to have a life and go to college and have a family and do these things. I don't think it's bad, right? I think that is amazing that we've built a society and a culture that has these paths that have allowed us a way to go. And I think depending on where you are in the world and what the way you're looking at it from our box, like the box that I'm like, I'm stuck in this horrible box and I hate it. There's
29:54
a massive population of the world that would be like, I would do anything to be in that box. Like, are you kidding me? Like, this is amazing that you have these opportunities and that you can, you have a path set for you. I have no path set for me at all. I'm just stuck wherever with no money, can't, no opportunities. So I want to make sure to like not, it's a double edge, right? Because I think it's one thing that's amazing that our society has built these paths and these boxes and stuff for us. think what it hasn't done is just also
30:24
you know, injected that mindset of like, you don't have to and like there's other ways and things like that. And with school, like you were saying about the A pluses and stuff, like I wasn't necessarily, I just didn't want to get in trouble for having C's, right? So I was like, get my A's and B's but otherwise I didn't care that much. But the thing is, as I grew up and left school, I found out that I love learning. I am like so curious and I love learning stuff. I'll go down these rabbit holes of learning and reading and
30:53
just getting knowledge and learning stuff and it is like one of the greatest joys of my life which was completely just killed by school, right, because of the structure and I'll never forget that same teacher that wouldn't sign me out of the class, right? There was a kid in that class that was, never did his homework, had an F, did not care, didn't do it. And he was my friend, and he was an outcast type kid, right? And we became friends because he played guitar so we would play music together so I kinda got to know him but before that I think he's an outcast and think that he's dumb.
31:22
Right? Think that he's dumb at school. And everyone thought that. There was just like an ambient thing that, he has an F, he's dumb, he can't do it, blah, blah, blah. Well, dude, I remember hanging out with him one time and he's like, bro, I feel like everyone thinks I'm dumb and I get 100 % on every quiz. Like I just don't do homework. And he like was smarter than everyone else. Right? And I remember like him telling me that and like the way he felt and like seeing that he was sound like this is the most talented kid in math.
31:52
And everyone, including the teacher, treats him like he's an idiot, right? Instead of like celebrating that he doesn't even need to do his homework at all because he he just understands. Like seeing that too was part of the reason when I'm leaving, I'm just like, this is not right. Like the orientation isn't right, you know? So sucks. I don't think you're the only ones to say that like you love learning but hate school, even if it's a topic you like, like in science, for instance, like even if it's something that you're interested in.
32:19
If you're forced to go to like nobody wants really like nobody's like, Oh God, I can't wait to do that that I'm being forced to do. if we can discover it on our own or be curious about certain paths of it on our own, it makes total sense. I just love that you had won the support to the maybe it wasn't confidence, but the confidence in yourself to know that this was the right decision for you. Because I think, you know, when you're 13, you don't.
32:49
Like I don't think we associate 13 year olds with being like, oh yeah, you know what's gonna happen for the rest of your life. I don't know how I knew that's what I needed to do. Like I was just weirdly sure and it just like this, I just somehow knew. like I said, it's kind of a mystery to me. And I'm wondering like, do you encounter that in other conversations where people like make a swerve or a turn and they're like, it's like kind of mysterious to them? For sure. I think that maybe these conversations kind of force people to maybe.
33:15
identify a more specific moment. I think sometimes we can identify this period in our life in which things felt like we're going against the grain or we're turning a corner here, we're doing whatever. Yeah, I think people wake up one day and they feel a certain way or they read a sentence in a book that they've read 14 times before, but this one time that they're reading it, now that sentence stands out like a green light.
33:44
it's time, let's go. So yeah, I don't think, maybe not as young, like I don't know that I've had this conversations of someone as young as you, except there have been a few where people talk about their identity and maybe they knew early on, but they had to stick with whatever society was telling them to do until later when they were able to make bigger choices. But I don't think it's that uncommon to wake up one day.
34:12
and have a different outlook because all the things pile up. I feel like it's not just like out of the blue. I'm sure there were things that brought you to that point. Yeah, I think you're right. It's weird because, and this may be just me, the way I think about it, but there's a flavor to that experience, right? Where it's like a bright line, right? And there was things building up to it for sure, but there's
34:42
There's been like a couple other times in my life where I get that feeling and it's like a specific feeling. It's like almost like lavender or something like the smell where it's like that is that, right? And it's so rare where it's like I go through my whole life and there's never this feeling and then all of a sudden it's like, it's a you, this is your path. This is what you have to do. This is the right thing for you. And it just has like a flavor and there it is again. And it's like only a couple of times and I just, it's weird to me, you know? And it makes me.
35:10
Like I said, I'm not really religious. I don't really know what's the deal with the universe, but like that experience is one of the things that makes me question like, is there like some higher power or some like ultimate thing that is like doing something or like intervening in some way because it just feels like a pow. It just feels like, you know, the muse or like the whatever is like ta and like puts it in, you know, so I don't know what to make of that. It's really interesting. I think you're in tune with it though.
35:40
I think a couple of things. think one, you're in tune with it. Two, you have this experience in which you trusted your gut and it worked out in the way or in a way that felt right for you. I think a lot of people, like you said before, we see the signs, we see the things, we don't do it. We just don't do it. So even if we had that feeling, we push it down, we push it down, we push it down, we don't do it. So we know...
36:09
that when we feel that again, there was no success that came with it. It just made us uncomfortable. Yeah, that's such a good point. But you took that flavor, you tasted it, and you're like, damn, this tastes good. So every time that that ice cream cone comes across, you're gonna eat it, because it's good. Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, I agree. I forget who it was. I think it was Simon Sinek talking about his friend who made this big play and it bombed or something.
36:37
And he had this gut feeling he was supposed to do this play, even though was a weird concept. And he said, my gut doesn't always lead me right. Or it sometimes leads me wrong, but it's the only thing that's ever led me right. So I feel like even with that, what I'm talking about, maybe you miss sometimes, but you know, what's interesting, which I didn't, I literally didn't think about until preparing for this conversation is one of the other times I felt that was when I went to Ukraine and it was like right before the war. It was like a month before the war started.
37:07
And I went there to meet this girl that I've been talking to online for a while that I met randomly on Instagram, started talking to her and we just like really got close and hit it off. And then like she was like, you should come visit. And I was like, that's insane. No way. And then I, the more I thought about it, I got that thing, right? I was like, oh, I would never do that. And then it was like, you need to do that. And I was like, damn it, you know, because I knew, but so I fricking went and it was really cool and it was a good experience, but it was also very uncomfortable.
37:36
right? It's like the jet lag was crazy. It was my first time in like a completely new culture and like environment in new situation. And I had a great time with her. But when I left, I was like, okay, I knew that that probably wasn't going to go anywhere with her the way I maybe thought it would. And like I said, it was a lot of like uncomfortability and stress, like trying to navigate like how to like, talk to people and do stuff and whatever in it. And I kind of got back in a
38:03
And then two, the missiles started flying right after that and I was like, holy shit. I had that feeling, I was like, you were supposed to go, but then I come back and I'm like, what? Why? But here's the crazy thing is that what I realized is that this new traveling thing I'm doing, which has been so amazing and fulfilling and feels so right to me, I probably would have never been willing to do it had I experienced that uncomfortability and
38:31
got a little taste of that international travel and what it's like to go overseas and be in a place where you can't speak the language and you don't know what to do because I had a taste of that. I think that just put me over the edge just enough to be willing to just get rid of my stuff and go do this all the time. Had I not had that experience, I probably would still be in my bedroom in LA miserable probably. So sometimes I think those things, you just can't know the meaning until later, right? You just gotta go.
39:01
And I think there's two parts of that. There's taking the chance, right? Listening and doing it. And maybe you feel all the uncomfortable pieces because it's something so foreign to you, no pun intended there, but it is just so different to you. But when you come back and you realize, didn't I? I was able to navigate it in this way that was sustainable for me and I had a good time and those kind of things. I think it pulls down, those walls suddenly are much shorter. They might still be scary.
39:30
if there's a certain place that you've never been before and you're like totally unsure of the culture and and how you fit into that sphere or if you even have to. I think there's that. But I agree. There's like I went to Thailand. I quit my job a couple of years ago and I was like, I'm not going to work ever. I eventually started working again. But at the time, I was just like over everything. I was like, screw this. So I put a call out on Facebook. It's like, does anyone want to go on a trip for two weeks somewhere?
40:00
And so this girl that I went to college with, I took one class with her and we were just Facebook friends. She's like, I can go. And the two of us decided to go to Thailand for two weeks. I didn't know her, like really? And it was so, it was so the opposite of Matt. Like it was so the opposite of everything. Quitting my job was the opposite of anything, but all the things I was doing, I was trying to force myself into uncomfortable situations. And so after that, I was like, yeah, I can go.
40:27
wherever now, all the things. But before that, was like, if I didn't listen to that, I would very much still be in the same path as before, you know? So I think there's something to be said about pushing yourself just a little bit past that, that like, should I do this? Because there's so much growth in that comes with it. Yeah, it's that cliche. And the guy, the last podcast I watched of yours, I forget the name, but he said the same cliche, which is
40:56
It's like the best thing in life, the best things in life are always on the other side of fear, the outside of your comfort zone. It's like a little bit of fear is just like built into the best things, right? It's like the best things in life and the most meaningful things oftentimes have like a little layer of fear around them and you gotta go through, you know? And I don't know why it's like that, but. I think it's safety. I think if we don't know that we're fully safe in it, we're afraid of it. And the only reason we don't feel safe is because
41:26
It's not that it might be dangerous. It's just that we've never done it. So we never we don't know what it feels like to be in whatever it is. Another thing in that episode with Sean Martin, he said, it really stuck with me. He said, dream big because dreams aren't real anyway. Right. Like so you can dream as big as you want. Make it grand. It's not real anyway. So if you have this big picture, that's something to work towards. That's a banger. Right. I love that.
41:54
I was just like, oh, you're right. I should not just dream of this little incremental increase, but, that's not real either, right? Like any dream that you have is not real until you make it real. So why not think big? I agree, and I think the things for me with that, right, with the big dreams and like the big goals, it's like, like I was saying how I kind of like to collect these success stories. There's two that stick out to me where it's just so crazy, which is Harry Potter, right? J.K. Rowling.
42:22
And I was reading about how she was a single mom on welfare, right? Submitting to all these publishers and getting rejected, rejected, rejected, rejected, rejected, right? Just again and again. And it's crazy in hindsight when you think of what Harry Potter has become. But at that point, it was just nothing, right? And then apparently, one of the publishers gave the book just to his daughter. And then she read it and demanded more to her dad and was like, I need the next thing or I need more of this.
42:52
And so the doubt was like, oh, dang, maybe there's something here. And then, right. If you think of JK Rowling, right. It's like she wasn't sitting there going, okay, maybe if I write a book, the publisher that rejected me's daughter will read it and demand more. And then I'll make the biggest like story ever basically. Right. She not thinking that she could have dreamed that big, right. Because the, that Avenue you would never think, but it's there. Same thing with Lego. It's so crazy. The story of Lego initially is crazy. It was like a.
43:20
a woodworking shop and then the person eventually started making toys and they kind of expanded but it went through a bunch of ups and downs and it was just a little thing. And it went through multiple generations and eventually they started doing more toys and got like a plastic molding type of thing for the factory right there can make plastic toys. Well, dude was randomly going to some like buyer conference or something and he was talking to a random guy on the boat. They're on the boat going there and this guy was just complaining about
43:49
how these days there's no processing toys anymore. It's just like a toy and you just don't do anything. There's no thing to do, right? And then this guy was like, like light bulb for like literally the most successful toy in history basically from this random conversation with this dude on a barge. And I guarantee you when that dude is making wood toys or whatever, he's not thinking.
44:14
Oh, I could have a random conversation with a guy on a barge that gives me the idea for the most successful toy in history, right? But that's how these things happen, right? I just think it's so important to realize that and remember that right? And when because you can dream big because people they don't do a big dream because they think there's they can't see down the road like you're saying they can't see what's there can't see the finish line. So they think oh, I could never do it. But if you allow yourself okay, they're like another cool example that's personal is
44:42
Like I play drums for a band that's back in LA and they don't have a lot of fans, right? They don't have a big fan base, but they love playing live shows. We love playing live shows and we're sick and we want to play shows and go on tour, but it's so hard to get booked or do these things when you don't have a big fan base or whatnot. So if we, when we would do our own shows, we would maybe get like a hundred people or maybe a little over that, but not a lot packed in there. Well, we got a chance to do, we got to open for this artist called Lindsey Stirling, this violin lady.
45:11
They were like thousands of people shows like it was like, you know, huge deal. And the thing is the dude who booked us for that was like this random guy that the singer met at a barbecue and she told him she does music and he like looked up her thing and then when he needed to book someone for these three shows that Lindsay had, he's like, oh, that chick, right? So here we are peak experience of my life, right? Where I could easily say, oh, I'll never play in front of a lot of people who don't have any fans can't do it. No way. And
45:41
peak experience of my life, thousands of people, and it was from this fricking barbecue conversation, right? So, but luckily we did dream and we're ready and we're ready to play shows and we, to a certain degree, thought it could happen. But I just think that's the way things go, right? And people do not acknowledge it a lot of times, or no. Yeah, I think it's, we might dream big and we might be able to envision the finish line.
46:08
I think where maybe I'll speak for myself, where sometimes I get caught up and I have to check myself is that I can't picture the path there, so therefore it's not possible, right? And to our very early point, it's like take the first step. Just do the thing, right? And then do the next thing. And then do the, like we say, do the next best thing, right? Like I think people say that all the time.
46:35
But I think where we get stuck is like, have this big dream, we wanna play in an arena tour with Lindsey Stirling. How the hell am gonna get there? Like, if I can't get 50 people to show up to this place, how am gonna get there? And then it's just like, oh, whatever, it's not even worth trying. But to your point, just keep doing it. Keep talking to people, keep telling people your passions and the things that you're really interested in.
47:01
who knows what tomorrow's gonna bring, right? Yeah, yeah, I totally agree. think it's having, it's like, you could call it faith, but it's just acknowledging the possibility that there will be a door that opens that you would never expect, right, that's there. And I think, yeah, like you're saying, being comfortable with failure, like it's being outcome, not outcome dependent. Yeah, dude, it's, yeah, it's crazy. Man, you listen to successful people and they're so often like, like failure. They're like, the more I fail, the better.
47:31
Failure, it's like you can have a positive view of it, right? Where it's just, a failure is a step on the stair, right? It's just a, you know, it's like the, yeah, it's a classic Edison thing where it's like just another way to not do the light bulb, you know, and go. And so again, I think our culture to a certain degree is conditioned that, you know, you gotta win. If you don't make it, like with me, with the music thing, like I'm still not, I'm like at the.
47:57
tippy bottom of the mountain where I wanna go with my music and my art, right? It's incredibly difficult to make a big impact and get a bunch of people listening and whatever, and get people consuming what I do and enjoying it and getting value from it. And it's like people in my life, even though they're not trying to be mean or rude, it's a lot of times you get this still doing the music thing, still trying to do the music thing, and it's been fricking years, dude. So it's like I, and so people, it's hardwired in them. They're like, what are you doing, dude?
48:26
Yeah, and I think I think there's something there that if you find the right work for you, work will use loosely in a term. It it becomes a lot easier to kind of keep going, right, to know that like that dream is still there. I'm probably taking my steps. Some days it's an inch forward. Some days I'm heading backwards, you know, like whatever it may be. But because whatever I'm doing, let's say this podcast.
48:55
I'm not gonna stop, even if like next week's episode gets like a few downloads. It's not gonna stop me, right? Because what if that episode finds the right ears? What if your song that you write three weeks from now and you produce five weeks from now, like whatever that may be, what if that's the song? And if you stop today, where, then what? Yeah, yeah.
49:23
Yeah, it's interesting because I think it does matter like what your goal is or what why you're doing it right because I think if it's something like I would imagine with this podcast if it if you weren't like getting the value you get from it and didn't have your the purpose behind it, you probably wouldn't be this deep in episodes because it's hard. It's like discouraging a lot of times. It's hard to produce it. It's a lot of work. It takes a lot of time all etc. So you got to kind of have that underlying imperative I think to a certain degree to stay consistent which is
49:53
Which is why if you love something or you have a dream that's meaningful to you, that's why to follow it because you could probably do it because you can sustain all that failure over time if it's genuinely what you love and care about and want and feel like is right for you. You know, we're just conditioned. Like you said, like we both talked about so many people and sometimes and there's no fault to that because there's a lot of safety in condition and some people need safety to survive like that and I'll be all that's fine.
50:23
But we are conditioned to not chase things that, at least as Americans, we're not conditioned to chase things that don't make money, that don't, you know, like immediately, that don't have an immediate return. Like your family in all, much hard as they have saying, like, you're still doing that thing, you know, like, it's hard. And I think that we do need to lean into your example in some ways of trusting your gut, smelling the lavender and chasing it.
50:53
You know, like whatever it may be. And it may not bring you down the road that you imagined, but maybe that's the road you're supposed to be on. Yeah. And I don't know if you have this experience, but it's like, ever do stuff that it seems like everyone's like, don't do that or like you shouldn't do that or you should do this. Like do this instead. This is how you deal with this or this is how you should do this. Like being comfortable with being like, no, I will acknowledge that that is the right advice or the right thing for 99 percent of people.
51:22
For me though, no. And I've had to do that a lot and I feel like so many people are just scared to do that. again, I go back to these success stories, but it's like you think of the Starbucks guy, right? It's like the dude who had the idea to make Starbucks a cafe. He was like in France and he like saw cafes and he's like, this is dope. People are drinking coffee like in the shop and everyone's like talking and this is cool. We should do this. Cause Starbucks was just coffee bean roasters, right? They just sold coffee beans. He got laughed out of the room by the board.
51:50
They're like, this is the dumbest thing ever. What are you thinking? Well, fast forward, biggest fricking thing ever, dude. So I think oftentimes, like you look around and everyone's shaking their head at you. And you just got to, if you feel like it's right, I feel like having that, just walking through the fear, like you're saying. I think it's just so important. I just, as much as I can give people license to do that in their life, I want it because it sucks to be trapped and feel trapped and whatnot, you know? And with the notion that
52:18
you may go against the grain because it feels right for you. It might not actually be right for you, but you will learn. You will learn whatever that experience was to teach you. Like I've certainly done things in my life where people are like, you probably should not quit your job right now. I needed that. I like, was it a smart decision? Like I'm paper? No.
52:44
But I needed that to survive. Like that was what my gut was telling me to do because if I was going to continue showing up at that job, I was going to become a shell of a human. And so that was not where I wanted to go. And so I did that. Financially, it wasn't a great decision. But at the same time, you know, like I had so many other valuable experiences from that. And so I love that you're living this life and I love that it really stems to this like definitive, undefined necessarily moment in your
53:14
eighth grade year where you're just like. Nope, yeah, I'm not doing it. I that you had a supportive group around you. Yeah, you're so lucky. Yeah, I mean, and at the end of the day, no one was really mean, you know, but they could tell you could tell they're looking at you like, you know, what are you doing? But yeah, I was like, you're going to end up working at X, Y, Z fill in the blank, right? Yeah.
53:39
I think, you know, it's so funny looking back because this podcast, I'm sure every guest is saying this or a lot of them, but it's like, this makes you reflect, right? It's like I'm coming on here, I'm listening to some of the other episodes and now I'm like forced to reflect back on this and learning stuff, right? And I've heard you say this before on here, but it's a double surface, right? Because it's like your people are listening, or almost triple, because people are learning from listening, you're getting value in learning and then I'm getting value from like,
54:08
being forced to reflect back on these things and make these connections I wouldn't have necessarily thought of before. So it's awesome. Reflection is important. I didn't realize that as much, I think, until I really started this podcast and again, forced myself to do it because I think we just keep going. We don't really take a moment to look back and go, oh, was it the time that I dropped the pen on the floor that changed my life? Was it something so, if you just isolate that moment, it sounds like nothing?
54:37
but it really was like the biggest thing. Like maybe you were sitting in that desk and you'd like you kick the desk and you hurt your toe and that trigger, know, like, knows what the exact trigger was, but something happened in which you got the confidence to go against the grain in a big way, I think. Like maybe you said you were poking the guard rails along the way, but like that, that's a big one. Like that's a big decision, I think.
55:05
Comparative to to other things that maybe you could push against growing up. Well, yeah for me in my life It definitely was and what you're saying about reflection. I Couldn't agree more. It's like my it's so crazy. If you go on my blog. I started my sub stack a little over a year ago I think and like one of my first posts was the results of an annual reflection where I sat down and I was like, okay I'm gonna think back through my year. What did I like? What did I not like? What do I want for the next year and write it and there's something so
55:35
impactful about writing stuff out because it like when it's on a page or like you're looking at it, it's so different than floating in your head as far as like the weight of it. And so I'm writing out this thing about what I'm not liking about my life and what I want my life to be like and the craziest thing is dude, it's so crazy. I write, you know, I think I would do much better somewhere where the cost of living is like a third of the price and with the ocean view making my music right and I'm writing kind of what I want right and then
56:04
I freaking a year later, I'm like, I'm doing this reflection again, right? So I go back, I read my old one, I go to do it again. And I'm reading the old reflection and I got my music set up and I'm looking at the ocean in Costa Rica in this low cost of living place, happy as a freaking clam. A year ago reading what I wrote, what I wanted, right? And I'm like, how the hell? Because when I was writing that, was like, whatever, like we'll go to move to Bali or whatever, you know, but.
56:30
It's the tiny steps too. amazing, yeah. And so I highly encourage people to write. Even if you don't have to publish it, you don't have to share anyone. But writing out what your desires, what you want, what you dream, so impactful. And doing that reflection, like look back, write about what you felt, what you saw, and you can learn so much that is mysterious to you. Totally. I think all that, plus if you're having a rough time, like if something rough is going on in your life,
56:59
I found that the things in my head, and you kind of alluded to this, are much messier and scarier in my head than when I put them down on paper. When I put them down on paper or type them out, I'm like, oh, palatable. I can handle that. But in my head, without getting it out, it's like anxiety. It's like, how am going to get through that? What am I going to do? So yes, there's so much power in reflecting by writing.
57:24
whether good, bad, or indifferent. I love that you have these practices and that you're kind of living last year's reflection. So who knows? Let's see what, make sure you look at what you did this year for this reflection for next year. Yeah, right. I know I, that's what I put, I was like, man, I gotta be careful what I write because I'm probably gonna get it. I love what you say about like writing, it takes the power out of it or like cuts it down to size because you're so right. There's something about worries or things in your head that seem like these giant things and you write it out and you're looking at it and you're like.
57:55
Right, that's huge. Like that's such a good point. I had a had a example of that. I was talking to my therapist the other day and I was like what it's like in my head is that there's a lot of these papers just like floating around like lots of separate papers floating around. When I start to write it, it's just like stacking them up and it becomes like this big instead of a giant balloon of ideas in my head. Now it's a stack that I can just go through in a reasonable way and things just feel so much more doable. So, yep.
58:24
Great metaphor. I totally relate. Yeah, that's awesome, If thinking back to a little version of Danny, maybe not so little, I don't know. But thinking back to him on maybe like the week before you made that big decision, is there something that like this version 2025 Danny sitting in Vietnam right now would want to want to tell him? It's hard because I love where I am, so I don't necessarily want to change it. But I listen to this Naval Ravikant.
58:54
interview lately and when he asked something like that he said I would do everything the same just with less emotion less anger less fear less emotion I think something like that like for me I would say one of the biggest like plagues on my life has been like worrying about shit like you know I feel like you call it anxiety whatever but I got an overactive brain I worry so much and like growing up anxiety is like wasn't a thing you know it's like my mom's just would say you're a worry board right I'm like oh I'm a worry word okay right it's like that's what it was
59:23
but I'll just freaking freak out about shit constantly. And as I've grown up, I have a pretty good handle on it now and I know how to deal with it and it's manageable. when I was a kid, I wasn't aware of that process of like, dude, you overthink shit like crazy and then you freak out and then you're- Everything's very real. Yeah, and it just, I always described it as like a spider, right? A normal, like if my mind is a spider and my brain is like a spider web.
59:50
A thought comes in like a little bug and the spider wraps it up and then leaves it, right? That's a normal person. My spider just wraps it and wraps it and wraps it and wraps it until it's so big and heavy and it just weighing down the thing. That's how I describe it. So I think if I could go back, I would like try to just plant that seed of like, hey dude, you do this thing with your mind. There's ways to control it and be aware of it. So it doesn't have to be so crazy, right? And just give myself that little nugget.
01:00:15
to just kind of take the edge off of all this suffering that I wouldn't have necessarily had to go through otherwise, maybe I would do that. Yeah, but at the same time, to your point, if you had, would you have this journey? I don't know, you know, sometimes that worry might serve you well. Yeah, it's, oh yeah, I mean, it's not a completely negative thing, but man, counterfactuals are so hard because it's just one of those things where it's like you, know, bad things happen and then it's like you never know what.
01:00:44
worst thing didn't happen because that bad thing happened or you just never know what could have happened, right? It's like, it's just so hard to think. It's not a fair question. It's not, I understand that. It's not a fair question. think growing up, I had a question that I would answer differently now as in my forties, I would answer quite differently and it's hard to say the answer to it. think people are like, would you go back and would you change things? And the right answer is,
01:01:11
Yes, I don't want my mom to die. My mom shouldn't have died at 32. Like, I feel like that's the right answer. But now I also know what life is like for me right now. And so much of it was because that happened. So how do you answer that? Yeah, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you were in your episode a while back, you were mentioning about how because of having to process losing your mom, you
01:01:39
were able to go through losing your grandma in a way that was very meaningful to you and that you felt so good about and that made that, gave you closure and let you go through that in a way that you were very, at least, I don't know if satisfied is the right word, but that you got what you needed out of it, right? And we're able to have that conversation and deal with it and do what you needed to do. And I think that acknowledging that and you're even being able to realize that is so important as much as it's kind of crazy to be like, well, cause this
01:02:09
horrible thing happened. This good thing was to be able to happen. I think man being able to find those things, whatever the situation is a superpower and I think it's amazing that you put that together and you acknowledge that and then also, you know, share that with people so they can know, hey, you can look for this in your own life because it can exist a lot of times. There's all these no matter how bad the thing there's always like a little there's a silver lining somewhere in there. A lot of times, you know, yeah, that's
01:02:34
really hard with some of these conversations you're like there is where is the silver lining but I think thank you for reciting that and hearing that story for me what it was is to our earlier point of failure I view the 20 years it took me to properly grieve my mother as a failure but if we flip that it taught me so much that I was able to approach the loss of my grandmother and
01:03:02
and her diagnosis and what came after in a way that was just so valuable for my soul. So that's like flipping that failure to something that is so positive. So thank you for this conversation and allowing it to go in all sorts of directions. I think it's such a fascinating thing to talk to someone that leans into the what ifs and the fears. I try.
01:03:32
Yeah, it's I I am very I'm definitely fearful. But yeah, I mean, dude, I love this conversation. I love what you're doing. I genuinely feel lucky to be able to come on here and I appreciate your time and I appreciate you inviting me on here. I really do value this and I really value what you're doing. I think it's amazing and I just appreciate it and I really love this. Yeah, I appreciate it. I really felt this this.
01:03:59
important conversation that otherwise wouldn't have happened if we didn't have all these tools and whatnot. Maybe it would have, but in this way, it's such a beautiful time period that we're in that we're able to do these kind of things. I know you've retired from social media, but there are other ways that people can connect with you, listen to your music, check out your videos, follow your sub stack. Like what's the best way to find all that and find you?
01:04:22
Yeah, so I would just say danysuede.com. I still do YouTube, so it's just these four things, which is my music, my blog, my sub stack, my YouTube and my shop. And they're all easily found on danysuede.com. That's what I spend my time doing and thinking about. So if you want to check it out, that's what it would be. For sure. We'll put that in the episode description so people can click it and they can get there super easy. highly encourage you all to reach out to Danny and
01:04:47
share your story, I don't know if you want that, but too bad, because they're coming There's a contact, yeah. There's a contact on your website, run it. Yeah, fill the inbox, let's go. Exactly, I think that's super important. And also, one thing that I like to ask is, if there's someone in your life that you think needs to hear us have this conversation, would you share it with them? I think that would be so like a gift that you as a listener could do is to share this episode with someone that you think maybe they don't take.
01:05:14
some chances or maybe they kind of don't bump into that guardrail or they do and they come back in straight in line. Maybe this will kind of push them over the edge to try a couple of things. So that would be fantastic. Thank you again, Danny, for just being a part of the life shift journey and a little piece of my healing journey. Yeah, thank you. I really appreciate it. I'm so happy to be here. Thank you. And I never know how to end this. Everyone listening knows that I never know how to end it. So I'm just going to say goodbye and I'll be back next week with a brand new episode of the Life Shift podcast.
01:05:43
Thanks again, Danny.
01:05:56
For more information, please visit www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com