Rhett: 0:00

If anything over this year, reflecting back, it's a testament to doing something, even though you've never done it before. Right, and just take a step and do it and then try to get better and grow through it and just to see how, over time, a little bit of discipline over repetition. Going back and listening to a couple of our first episodes, to where some of our most recent, I'm like wow, night and day, night and day.

Justin: 0:24

Personally the reward and the development that I've gotten from this to even prepare for where we're going in 2025 with this podcast. I'm just so thankful and grateful when I assess my year ender here. Even for a podcast, I do the internal audit and it really it blows me away.

Rhett: 0:53

Welcome to Armchair Authentic, a podcast with your friends Rhett and Justin. Listen, it is our hope to steward our stories in a way that serve you, by having real conversations about real life with real people. Now, if today is your first time with us, we want to say welcome, giving you a huge shout out. Would you do us a huge favor. When you have a moment, could you go to Facebook or Instagram and look us up. You can find us there at Armchair Authentic. That's at Armchair Authentic. Or you can find us over there on X at Armchair Off Pod. That's Armchair Off A-U-T-H-P-O-D.

Rhett: 1:34

Okay now, before we jump into the episode, always want to encourage you if you are enjoying this episode, or any for that matter. Could you do us a huge favor. Would you take a moment to pull out your cell phone, copy the link from your favorite podcast platform and send it to a friend man? That would mean so much to us. Thank you. All right, can you believe it? A happy new year, moving from 2024 into 2025. Now, we're not sure how you celebrate. We talk about that today and so much more. We're looking forward to getting into that conversation and I hope you are too. You guys ready. Here we go, justin. Here we are the last Monday Drop episode of Armchair Authentic of 2024. Moving into the new year, but before we do, man, I mean, can you even believe that we're here, dude?

Justin: 2:29

December 30th, episode 48. God, I never would have thought we would have accomplished that many this year.

Rhett: 2:37

I mean, I think maybe we thought we would. We just didn't know that it was going to come through. Our hope, maybe the hope was.

Justin: 2:43

We didn't start knowing we would. We started thinking we're going to do one a month, and then we were like let's get crazy and do one every other week.

Rhett: 2:50

We mentioned that last week too. It's like now let's do it every week.

Rhett: 2:55

Well, we hope you had a very Merry Christmas and are looking forward to a Happy New Year. Not sure how you celebrate the New year. Not sure if you're going to New York City to stand in line with the masses to watch a ball drop for about 10 seconds and then it disappears and everybody goes nuts with all their crazy hats and whatever they're wearing and glasses that say 2024 on it, and now being hosted by not the late what's his name? Dick Clark. Yeah, not by the late Dick Clark, but now we've got Ryan Seacrest. Ryan Seacrest, ryan Seacrest. Hey, listen, can I just say this for a moment? Not, this episode has nothing to do with Ryan Seacrest, but this is how we flow, can't?

Rhett: 3:33

I mean like watching him from like American idol days with him and that other guy that nobody remembers.

Justin: 3:40

Yeah, they got rid of him second year. Got rid of him.

Rhett: 3:42

Yeah, yeah. So that's what you're going to do to me Like second year going into 2025.

Justin: 3:47

You're always going to be like. You know. I don't know about this red guy. Yeah, we know that won't happen, Not with a golden voice like yours. You're so kind.

Rhett: 3:53

But all that to say, like my dad would have probably remembered Dick Clark, like we would remember Ryan Seacrest.

Justin: 4:06

Yeah, and so our kids. All they know, or you know are, is ryan seacrest, it's true, and you know that guy's more 30 40 years.

Rhett: 4:10

He's done an amazing job marketing himself.

Justin: 4:11

He's in everything will of fortune.

Rhett: 4:13

He's, yeah, new will of fortune guys, you can just retire being will of fortune dude forever.

Justin: 4:17

I mean, that's huge he's got, I mean he's like the for you right, the top 40, you know on sundays used to be caseyem yeah. Which he still pops on, still They'll still have Casey Kasem's pre-recordings.

Rhett: 4:29

Are you serious, he'll still do Sunday mornings. That just gives me chill bumps it takes me back, Going back.

Justin: 4:35

But Ryan Seacrest, he's in everything and it's been amazing just to see. It's like what has he not done?

Rhett: 4:42

What has he not done and whether you're celebrating with Ryan Seacrest.

Justin: 4:45

Tomorrow night, guys, turn on Ryan Seacrest.

Rhett: 4:48

Or you're celebrating with us and playing this podcast episode as the ball is getting ready to drop.

Justin: 4:53

Or if you live in Alabama, you can watch the good old moon pie drop in Mobile.

Rhett: 4:58

Yeah, in Mobile I lived in Mobile a couple of years and I never saw the moon pie drop. Mobile a couple of years and I never saw the moon pie drop. You know, man, you know, and bucket list I would have. You know, not really. Hey, when I lived in idaho, they drop a potato, okay yeah, let's go they set up a crane over near the capital and the cranes out of the shop with a big idaho potato. Yeah, I'm like, oh my god can we set this?

Justin: 5:19

up anymore, like let's, I mean, think about it, you get. You get new york city bringing in the new year at what, for our time, is central. They're eastern, so really it's like the new year gets so celebrated at 11 o'clock our time yeah, yeah and then you kind of like everything else is uneventful well, yeah, 10 o'clock, we just gotta pause it, and then we play it to kind of sync up.

Rhett: 5:41

Yeah, I mean, if you're, you know mountain time or pacific, you're the last thing you're doing. Well, you might be watching New York, but your time hadn't changed yet. So you got to come up with some fun ways to celebrate and I don't know, I don't think you could get any more creative than a moon pie in Mobile, it's true man and a potato in Idaho.

Justin: 5:58

And we don't know what they do in that are listening right now. We have no clue.

Rhett: 6:02

Your traditions yeah, no clue. So yeah, fill us in. Throw it in the comments germany.

Justin: 6:06

We know you're listening. Great, what do you guys do? What do you?

Rhett: 6:09

got netherlands. Yeah, yeah, for sure, man. Um, anyway, all but to say, not sure how you're celebrating it. Maybe we need to do the 10 9 and just set up a clip of that, with us doing that yeah, it's, if anybody would actually celebrate with us. Let's do that. Yeah, you know, do that. Do that with us playing that.

Justin: 6:25

Do that with us guys. Play it for your kids. We'll do one for our two youngest. We haven't really had them stay up until midnight yet, maybe once they did. But what we'll do is we'll go to. You know, there's some of these channels that you can have more of a kid-friendly one. Okay, and it's like a dance-off.

Rhett: 6:43

Oh, there you go.

Justin: 6:44

So around nine, 30 or 10 o'clock we'll press play on that one, okay, and it's like a 10 minute countdown. Oh, that's fun, and it's just fun characters doing crazy dances. So we'll clear the floor and it's like the Bradshaw six. We'll just kind of do our dances or if we have any friends over, it's all the kids will just kind of dance and we celebrate the new year and then I put them to bed and then I come down and we really have, there you go.

Rhett: 7:09

Yeah, so I'll the tradition party to the party, but the pre-party is a party for the kiddos that's good we've had yeah, we, we have.

Justin: 7:15

There's a couple of couples, uh, that we get with, and I mean even before children. It was like we would go out to eat every new year's eve and then we would come back to one of our houses and just go all out with like a chocolate fountain or desserts, and have that going in the background.

Justin: 7:32

Maybe sometimes there's college football going on. Usually NFL has a game going on too, and those are some of the fun traditions. And then summer I mean summer just makes the moment so great when we get back. We've tried to make our house now where everybody goes back to yeah, Just for kids. It's great to let them, you know. But now Dax and Kai, I mean they stay up, they're doing their own thing and they'll come up and count down, but it's fun because summer will go all out. She'll go get the glasses.

Justin: 7:59

Oh, that's fun, she, she'll get the little streamers, the blowers, the hat, whatever it is, and we'll just live it up. After we've gone out to eat with our friends, they can come back to our house if they want, and then we eat desserts and all that stuff.

Rhett: 8:15

Well, you're talking about all this food stuff and that's such a I don't know. For me man, it's just life. I don't think it's an American thing, maybe it is, but I love just indulging in all the holiday food. I mean we started with Thanksgiving and the turkey and the cranberry, all the wonderful things with that, and then the Christmas food, which is really for me more like the chocolates and all the like dessert, the cinnamon rolls, the you know cookies and anything with sugar on it, in it and through it and as much sugar as I can get in my blood, which is which is great and it's so much fun and it's almost like we get this big sugar high and then we get this massive crash going into 2025.

Rhett: 8:52

But for me, who's made the you know the effort in trying to create accountability to go? I'm trying to lose 25 pounds, about 25. Let me tell you like I probably should have started earlier in the year. Yeah, because, like I told you earlier, before we hit record, I'm not going to say I'm not going to hit it, because 20 by 25 can also be translated in well, anytime in 2025.

Justin: 9:15

Let's go with that.

Rhett: 9:15

Right, that wasn't my mindset. It was literally 2025 before January 1st, 2025. But I also said I'm not going to get legalistic about it. But as of this recording and this time I'm not sure, I mean I've lost 19 pounds, which, but it kind of hit this wall of just like all right, well, thanksgiving I want to enjoy. I don't want to like I'm not promised another year, I mean, but I'm also trying to stay accountable and disciplined to it. But you know, whether or not I hit it or I don't, all this talk about food.

Rhett: 9:47

I'm just setting it up. You're anticipating eating. Yeah, you know, I don't think I'm going to be able to lose another six pounds with all this holiday food that we've intake.

Justin: 9:55

Yeah, that's true.

Rhett: 10:05

But the hardest, I think one of the hardest things is like okay, when you hit the new year, it's like, yay, okay, now what? You know, what are we doing? That? What, what's, what's next? I mean all the food and the fun, I mean that is the. You know, that's the downside.

Justin: 10:11

You know I love because of what I do at highlands we have a lot of christmas services and so really leading up to christmas it's it's pretty busy, but the week after christmas I love. The week after that's where it really feels like we celebrate.

Rhett: 10:25

Yeah.

Justin: 10:26

And we usually take the week off. But you're right, when it's January 1st, I love the celebration of the 1st, yeah, but it's like, what do we do now? And obviously there's a preparation season we go into, but that's always. You know, they always talk about the good old SAD.

Rhett: 10:43

Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Justin: 10:45

Yes, I'm telling you that's something it hits January.

Rhett: 10:49

Yeah.

Justin: 10:50

January is a tough month for me. It always has been. I mean always. I mean I can take it back to being a kid.

Justin: 10:56

Okay, I can take it back to you, like you'd be going to your grandmother's house, who lived off not the ones you talked about in, and you know y'all were kind of visiting the holiday stuff late before we got back to school. Miserable, yeah, it's like. Well, the festivities are over, I have nobody to hang out with. Yeah, it gets dark at 2 pm. Yeah, this is tough, it is, and so there's something to be said about. You're starting a new year, which can be such a wonderful, exciting time.

Rhett: 11:29

But you can also say well, you've got the gray clouds moving in, you got. Yeah, it's just winter time. Everything is, uh, what would they say Dormant. Nothing's dead is dormant. You know there's life being produced underneath all that which is see it.

Rhett: 11:42

But you don't see it, but it's the beginning, but it's happening, and so it's kind of like you know that's how it feels in the natural, if you will, for what we can see, touch and feel, you know it's kind of like well, and then of course you know you've got your. The day Christmas is over, it's already moving in. If you've got, you go to Costco, you go to Sam's, you go to any department store. What's going to be the first thing that hits you in the face? Valentine's.

Rhett: 12:04

Well you know, let's not go too. Yeah, not to say that's not the. Gm course, I'm thinking food right. You're thinking food. Let me get back to the candy celebration.

Justin: 12:15

I'm thinking steak and chocolate.

Rhett: 12:16

No, it's workout equipment.

Justin: 12:18

Like in my studio, we've got this workout equipment right behind me.

Rhett: 12:21

I've got my row machine.

Justin: 12:22

I've got my bench Smart marketing, I've got my weight. And so it's all like everything.

Rhett: 12:28

You're gonna get all the ads we're gonna be hit up, if you're not already with the planet fitness ads and all the other gym ads and all the stuff on your algorithms on your phone are all gonna be like healthy, healthy, healthy, healthy. We know you just say like crap, all for the last three a month and a half. So true, but now it's time to re-up and make your new year's resolutions that you're only gonna have for a a couple of you know, maybe weeks statistically it's like mid, I think mid january it's like mid I think mid January.

Justin: 12:53

Yeah, it's like fail. It's fail day.

Rhett: 12:55

Yeah, Cause everybody makes these unrealistic goals of I'm going to, you know, lose 25 pounds by 2025.

Justin: 13:01

And the gyms have accumulated all the money they need to sustain another year. Oh, 100% based on the the over slash underachievers.

Rhett: 13:13

Cause. Then, once you sign up for the gym everybody knows this it's hard to quit the gym. It's the easiest thing to join the gym. You remember the Friends episode? I love that I can't quit the gym.

Justin: 13:18

I need help. I'm here to quit the gym. They pull the big guns out. Oh man, the big guns come walking out.

Rhett: 13:24

They're doing everything. Oh, are you sure you really want to make that kind of decision for your life? You really don't love yourself. You don't love yourself enough. Like, honestly, the world we live in, like you know, I'm not trying to throw Planet Fitness under the bus, but, like, I've been a member of Planet Fitness before and it's been, it's been great, and if you want to be a sponsor on our podcast, we'd love to welcome that if you want to invest into it. But I want to tell you this right now you and every other gym that won't allow people to quit the gym, you know digitally you're like that's messed up. Oh yeah, you got to go in.

Rhett: 14:00

I remember when 2020 hit, you know, I was really hitting the gym pretty hard. 2020 hit and everybody was you couldn't go to the gym anymore. Whatever. I was like I want to quit the gym. I call them that way. You got to come and do that in person. I'm like, well, have you been watching the TV? I was like literally trying to play the COVID card. I'm like I can't get out because, well, if you can't get out. Then you got to write a letter, like they absolutely wanted me to write a letter. Who does that? Will an email not suffice? Well, we've got to verify that it's you. I'm like no, you don't. You're trying to make this as hard as possible for me to quit the gym.

Justin: 14:33

You want me to feel like a loser for one more moment. You want me sitting in that chair. You're going to bring your strongest guy out, your strongest girl. Y'all are going to look awesome and you're going to look down on me.

Rhett: 14:42

Well, they're like, well, hey, what can I do? To keep you're saying they make all their money in that first month or weeks leading up to it, yeah Right, and then it's like then you're suckered into the subscription for the rest of your life. It feels yes, so, but I'm telling you, man, I can't believe that gyms in the 2025 that we're moving into are still not allowing people to quit.

Justin: 15:08

You know, online, because you can sign up online, they'll take your credit card and charge you. At least now you don't have to do the one to two year rate, because the competition got too big.

Rhett: 15:22

They knew they couldn't do that anymore. Well, here's what I did. I got smart enough and I went on a Facebook marketplace and I bought this gym equipment that you're looking at, which is not fancy it looks fancy but it's really not. For $500, I got everything that I needed right here in this little gym setup. Whatever this, bench and bar and stuff is called. I bought it in late February of last year After the people that bought it were like I'm not going to do this anymore.

Justin: 15:43

That's the best time to buy.

Rhett: 15:44

I got this $800, $900 piece of equipment for $500. Nice. Then you got you a rower. All that to say, I put that to the. I put all that to say, I put it in the gym's face. I'm like, all right, well, you know, you're gonna make it hard for me to quit and this is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna go buy this equipment. It will be more money up front, but by the time I'm done you'll never have my money the rest of my life, I don't you know I don't need to walk in it anymore it's at my house.

Rhett: 16:07

I got what I need.

Justin: 16:08

I did enjoy. I did enjoy our five o'clock mornings. Well, five, 30 going to the gym, joy. Hanging out with you and getting to work.

Rhett: 16:17

Let's reflect back on the year. Was it was this 2024 that we did this, or was that 2023 that? We were doing the morning routine, it was 23. Okay, so 2023,. You know I'm like, hey, I've got this membership at the gym again Fall of 22. Oh man, why was I thinking, yeah, fall of 2022.

Justin: 16:34

Because my kids started a new school, so my morning routine shifted.

Rhett: 16:38

Yeah, and so I started going to the gym. For those who don't know where I live, moody, everything's nothing's here except for fast food restaurants. So there is a gym, it's okay. But I was like Planet Fitness is good because wherever I go in the country traveling, I can just go into Planet Fitness, like Wes Hampton was telling us last episode with the Gaither Vocal Band. And so, anyway, all that to say, I was like I'm driving over 25 minutes and then the only time that you could do it was that I don't know what was it 5.15.

Rhett: 17:07

5.30 am to 6.30. So Justin and I, for a brief period, were insanity trying to wake up at 4.30 in the morning.

Justin: 17:13

Me drive 30 minutes, me two at 5 o'clock and I only woke up because I knew you were going.

Rhett: 17:17

Yeah Well, the accountability.

Justin: 17:18

The accountability. Well, we did it. That's why I like it, and we did it for a few months, and then I was like I just couldn't sustain.

Rhett: 17:23

Here goes back to making decisions. I couldn't sustain.

Justin: 17:37

Getting up that far and doing that I was like this is just too much, because at the time Max wasn't driving and I was still having to take him to school and now for a year, red has suckered me into coming to his house every week to record a podcast.

Rhett: 17:47

Hey, let's be clear, I didn't sucker you into that. It just happened to work out where this is the quietest place right now. We don't have to set up it, just stays set up, it feels like our own podcast studio that we've set up in here.

Justin: 17:56

It is nice.

Rhett: 17:56

Podcast studio slash gym slash.

Justin: 18:00

I keep telling you if you come over early enough.

Rhett: 18:02

we can work out here together. I did it this morning before you came over, it's true but I get to lead worship. Yeah, you're doing that.

Justin: 18:08

And that's going to shift at some point when we shift our day for the podcast. So we'll see what the future holds.

Rhett: 18:14

So when it comes to New Year's, we're not there yet. This is the episode before that, but we are kind of already talking about what the New Year does for you.

Justin: 18:21

We're treating it like a New Year's special. Sorry guys, Get ready. Get ready Next week.

Rhett: 18:24

Get ready for all the equipment that's going to be coming your way. But If we're reflecting, this is a great time to reflect. You mentioned that earlier it is. You mentioned what episode 48? That's a lot to reflect on. There's been so many moments that just unexpected goofy laughter, just fun times and even serious moments of just conversations that have happened throughout this year, anything that sticks out to you that you're like oh man, if this was one of those you know my go-to episode that I would listen to. Is there one for you?

Justin: 18:58

I just think back to even the earliest time of us starting this sitting in the armchairs in your living room when we came up with the name armchair authentic. Okay, and I just think when we first hit record it was so funny because we were having normal conversation and we had to get used to this.

Justin: 19:16

It was so awkward and so we were talking to each other with these mics in our faces and we would just bust out laughing. Yes, and obviously some of that's captured and that's been fun. You can go back to our first trailer, where, I mean, we just we can't, we can't even get a thought out. No, and I thought initially this was going to be really tough because I would try to get on something serious and you'd smile like you're doing now. But it would break me and I would just lose it.

Justin: 19:46

We were overthinking everything, yeah, and so you, you do this a while it's you're kind of locking in. It's really neat. It's been such a fun process. I've loved the guest that we've had. I mean our first one. We had Lance Ingram, yeah, I mean just powerful.

Rhett: 20:01

So thankful for Lance.

Justin: 20:02

He's had such an amazing year, too, with what he's done, really helping men overcome certain strongholds with his ministry, doug Barnett Come on, doug, I mean the sports agent Doug in real life. I thought about that later.

Rhett: 20:16

Huge shout out to you, Doug. I know you love somebody.

Justin: 20:18

It's the only episode with a guest. We didn't give their last name.

Rhett: 20:21

I'm thinking about going in and renaming it to you know, Doug, in real life a conversation with Doug Barnett yeah.

Justin: 20:34

Finish the t other's sandwiches.

Rhett: 20:36

That's what I was going to say.

Justin: 20:39

But Doug was so great. I mean, did you?

Rhett: 20:43

ever see that Ben Stiller? Was it Ben Stiller and Tom?

Justin: 20:45

Cruise, oh my gosh.

Rhett: 20:49

Oh, that is so funny. I wish we had the meme to play it, and when Tom Cruise would get fired up. Wish we had the meme to play it and when Ben Stiller and Tom Cruise fired up, then Ben Stiller would do it, and then it would drive Tom Cruise.

Justin: 20:59

It would make him laugh, they would laugh.

Rhett: 21:02

By the way, that was my best Tom Cruise impression laugh. That's not how I laugh, but they're looking at each other going.

Justin: 21:11

And Ben is fueling Tom Cruise Like Tom Cruise can't stop, and then every time he increases, it's like we've known each other forever.

Rhett: 21:18

I don't know what they're doing. I know.

Justin: 21:20

It's so stupid. That's pretty awesome, but they actually.

Rhett: 21:22

It was crazy how much he looked like him with that like sunglasses on and the hair, oh man.

Justin: 21:26

Anyways, that was awesome. But yeah, I don't know what got us on that, but Doug Barnett is a sports agent.

Rhett: 21:35

Maybe that's why he was like the what's the show me the money guy, what's?

Justin: 21:39

that? What's that called, jerry?

Rhett: 21:40

Maguire, jerry Maguire. Yeah, sports agent Jerry Maguire.

Justin: 21:43

Yeah, and wasn't that Tom Cruise?

Rhett: 21:45

Yes, it was Okay, so there's.

Justin: 21:50

I know you had me at hello, oh God, oh no, that's what she says back.

Rhett: 21:54

Is that that moment he? Says you had me.

Justin: 21:57

No, you complete me.

Rhett: 22:02

Oh yeah, the worst advice ever given in the history of mankind is telling it's the ultimate romantic line in Hollywood. It's like no, but anyway yeah.

Justin: 22:11

Yeah, you complete me for a couple of years.

Rhett: 22:14

I'll never forget. It's so funny sitting down at marriage counseling being asked by the pastors who were kind of leading us hey, why do you think whatever, you should be married? I'm like, well, she completes me. And then they look over to Linda and they're like, what do you think? I love her. She's amazing and it's so true. She's like, well, you know, he doesn't complete me, I'm already whole in Christ and he's whole in Christ. She gave the answer that she knew her pastors wanted to hear and so it was so much more life-giving. I have to be careful because my wife.

Rhett: 22:47

I love her so much and she's amazing and the most incredible woman in the world and I share this story to share vulnerability. But and she's amazing and the most incredible woman in the world and I share this story to share vulnerability, but it was one of those to where I've heard her share it before.

Justin: 22:58

And I hope I'm not saying it in a way that makes her look bad, but it's really, it's like yeah, so it's like you know, it's not that he doesn't complete me Like I'm whole in who I am which I agree completely. Exactly, but Exactly.

Rhett: 23:20

But that's how I lived my life before thinking well, I'm marrying her and she completes me. I'm better with you know, like she makes me better, which is true. But, like you know, two holes make a hole in godly marriage. That's right. According, number one for a failed marriage.

Justin: 23:31

And divorce written all over it.

Rhett: 23:32

Because if you've got to lean on this other person to make you whole man, you're missing out.

Justin: 23:36

You've got to be enough in your own and Christ knows what he's doing in your life, because you're going to have to be in order to make it. Anyways, my marriage counseling, since we're going to be approaching, in April, 25 years, our premarital counseling. The pastor asked a question to me, and you know when someone asks you. I guess it was an obvious question, but you're thinking too hard. He said so, Justin, think about marriage this way what's the first thing you do when you get into a car? I don't know open the door for her open the door.

Justin: 24:08

He's like no, no, keep going. Oh my god, you put on the seat belt. No, no, justin, what do you? What's the first thing you do? You crank it. What?

Rhett: 24:18

okay, the car is cranked.

Justin: 24:20

Oh my god, the car's cranked, what do you do? Look in the rearview mirror no, justin, what do you do? And now he's getting like frustrated with me.

Rhett: 24:30

I'm like first thing you do and you get in the car.

Justin: 24:32

No, he's like okay, the car's cranked, what do you do? I'm like turn on the blinker, I mean I put it in reverse.

Rhett: 24:40

I mean, how am I going? Like I keep going, I can't get it.

Justin: 24:43

And he's like, justin, I'm like you tell me I'm too nervous to talk anymore. Yeah, of course. He says you check the fuel gauge. And I'm like I don't think that's the first thing I do, but go on with your point.

Rhett: 25:02

Well, it must have been some life-changing conversation 25 years.

Justin: 25:06

Yeah, I mean, hey, for a successful marriage, justin, you need to check the fuel gauge at all times to see where you're at, and I'm like that was awesome. You should have just said that.

Rhett: 25:17

And any true car person would tell you. Beyond that, really what's more important is the oil level. If we're all correctly driving our cars the right way, we would do what a truck driver does. You walk around your vehicle, make sure the tires are all inflated, kick them, do whatever, get the eye visual, open up the hood and actually check the oil. Isn't that really what's the most maintainable thing? To make sure that engine runs over the long haul? It is Gas or no gas. So like no, I'm not trying to bring correction to your pastoral marriage counseling, but if I'm analyzing that, it should have said check the oil, but nobody does that.

Justin: 25:51

Yeah, Well, since Linda said I was already complete she would have probably checked all that.

Rhett: 25:59

Well, pastor, what I would do is I would walk around and check the air pressure in the tire, because my dad was a practical man and this is exactly how he lived his life.

Justin: 26:04

Oh, she totally would. Oh, he did, but he did. He always checked the oil before he got in and drove it. Oh, mr Stan, he's amazing. She would have walked him right through it.

Rhett: 26:11

He checked it. He changed his own oil.

Justin: 26:13

He was like Pastor actually before the fuel. You need to check this. You need to do this If it's cold, check your antifreeze, and that's why she's an amazing leader.

Rhett: 26:25

Yeah, exactly, yeah, man, that's so good. How did we get here?

Justin: 26:27

This has been our year and we're talking about different episodes Doug Barnett, tom Cruise.

Rhett: 26:35

You Complete Me Marriage Counseling. That's the rabbit trail that we take all year round. It's the only way I've said this before.

Justin: 26:41

It's the only way we can do an episode every week, because we basically just sit down and talk. Thank you for listening. I will tell you, I'm shocked. You know, when we first did this, we did our own little research to get our own encouragement and we would just type in do you remember this Like what's a good amount for people to listen, and it was like some crazy number 80%.

Justin: 27:06

If you've got like 50 people or a hundred people who will turn, tune in and you, you actually get some of this stuff. Yeah, you're doing great and in my mind I'm like okay that I'm thinking how many are we even going to have downloads?

Rhett: 27:22

And what if you just got?

Justin: 27:23

what if there's just a few people who end up listening and they don't like it? And you know, you go through all these things, and so we had to have this keep going mentality of okay, forget the downloads. It's about our family, it's about whatever we would create some of these other benchmarks.

Justin: 27:41

So it remained our hobby and it remained worthwhile. It's the why behind the, what we looked at the growing side. We'll get a chance to talk, we'll operate in these microphones, we'll be more competent, as all these things, you can go through and find the wind, all that to say, been absolutely blown away because it has exceeded numbers beyond our wildest imagination.

Rhett: 28:08

And.

Justin: 28:08

I and I and I still read. I still can't believe what happens between podcasts, what happens on socials. Yeah, it's blown my mind. And then you now look at it and realize okay, so there is an audience to steward.

Rhett: 28:24

Yeah.

Justin: 28:24

But wow, over 2024,. It's blown my mind the response that you guys have given to this podcast.

Rhett: 28:31

Yeah, which brings sheer appreciation and a heart of gratitude. We've never done this for numbers sake, and so that's why we don't really talk about numbers for sake because we've done this, because it's our friendship, these are our conversations and we're stewarding this in a way.

Rhett: 28:46

The laughter, the goofiness, everything we talked about with Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller, like all this, moments like this is our friendship. But then but there are there's so much leadership stuff that we've learned along the way and we just can't help for that to overflow in our laughter, in our conversations, in our off the wall rabbit trails and then in the relationships that we've come to, either recently have come into relationship with some of these leaders who we've brought on the podcast, or people we've done life with forever, whether they're pastors or friends, and so I just think the variety, if you will, of just you know if I'm reflecting, I think, more than anything, it has just reminded me of how grateful I am for the relationships ours, yes, our families, yes, but even outside of that, the people that we've gotten to do life with over the years and maybe we've lost contact through just you can't keep in touch with everybody.

Rhett: 29:37

It's impossible, right, it's like six-inch ribbon curls, it's impossible. It's impossible, right and so, but like in in in people coming and listening and encouraging, and you know, and I'm a words of affirmation person, so I'm very grateful when anybody says that we're adding value in any way. It it, just it. It, I don't know solidify it just makes me happy. I'm very grateful for that. I don't live for that, but it is very, uh, it's encouraging, it is, and so all I have to say, man, just grateful, reflecting back, you know, honestly, if I'm being very authentic when I go back, I tried so hard to go back the other day because I had some time and I really wanted to listen in to a couple of the first episodes just to see, like, how far not have we come?

Rhett: 30:21

But have we gotten better? How are we communicating differently? Yes, how is our flow? Like all of those things, Because I think as leaders we have to continue to grow and get better. So I went back and listen, man, I was like, oh God. I was like, oh Jesus, help me, Lord. Like it's one of those things. It's hard enough to listen to yourself talk. It's a whole nother thing to listen to yourself, knowing that, like you said, we just started talking into these mics and we're looking at each other.

Rhett: 30:49

We're trying to laugh and not knowing where we're going and how we're going to do it. And I don't want to talk over you, you don't talk over me, and we're just we're trying to figure it out. And so it was not that it was cringe and not that it isn't good, but I was personally reflecting, going. Well, I feel like, if anything over this year, reflecting back, it's a testament to doing something, even though you've never done it before. Right, and just take a step and do it and then try to get better and grow through it and just to see how, over time, a little bit of discipline and just just doing something over repetition, you know over time how you can. Just you know we will never arrive. We got so much to grow into. But I feel like, going back and listening to a couple of our first episodes, to where some of our most recent I'm like wow, night and day, night and day. Not that it was bad, it's just different. I need to do that.

Justin: 31:42

I need to listen back.

Rhett: 31:43

It's just different.

Justin: 31:44

I do know, going through the experience of this for me and the way that I'm wired, the experience of this for me and the way that I'm wired, um, when I do get to re-listen to an episode. That's why I need to go all the way back. But you listen and you, you get to make things better because we do. We want the listener to get the best experience, where almost that, if you go back and listen at ground one, you're going to think, oh my gosh, I'm just going to stay on the more recent because, there's so much better, like even cadence.

Justin: 32:08

I listen to my cadence and because I know myself well, I can listen to myself. You know, even remembering those early episodes, that oh man, I'm just kind of I'm getting comfortable or right here I'm guarding what I'm saying. And this has been a great experience for me because you're putting yourself out there and you know this red I mean. I mean, you know we don't always talk about this to you guys. That's tough for me because there's a bit of a mystery that I am. I'm not out there a lot, and so to kind of break into being in a weekly yeah, broadcasted um venue, if you will yeah, it's, or some kind of medium, that's something that it's taken the full year for me to slowly just kind of chip away. We talked last week about the fortress must come down with depression and things. Even in just life you've built up these barriers and these walls in the sense of maybe a bit of Saul's armor, and I've listened each week realizing it's like I've chipped away, I've taken a breastplate off.

Justin: 33:14

I've taken a helmet off. Yeah, I'm picking the sling back up and operating more and more and you get that throughout the whole thing. But just me doing an internal audit. I know me and I've gotten to see this journey that I've gone along on this whole podcast and it's it's been very rewarding for me to experience this, because I'm excited for 2025 because there's a there's almost like and I think it goes with the theme we always talk in there's a breakthrough.

Justin: 33:47

Sometimes you have to start something and you don't have to come out being the best and the problem with you know, a challenge for me. I always have grown up I like being the best, to the point I won't do something sometimes until it's fully ready to go. Therefore, I might not do it because it might not get to that point and I've had to really let that go in many areas. This is a function and this is just one of those lanes that this has challenged me in many ways. That the benefit of this it's wonderful the audience we have, but personally, the reward and the development that I've gotten from this to even prepare for where we're going in 2025 with this podcast I'm just so thankful and grateful when I assess my year ender here, even for a podcast. I do the internal audit and it really it blows me away.

Rhett: 34:40

Well, I appreciate you sharing that, because I think one of the habits that is really good to get into that I would encourage everyone to is, this week, if at least a week, if not a day, try to take some time to reflect on the year, and maybe the year didn't go like you thought it should go, or or maybe, you know, the year didn't look as if it you accomplished all the goals that you wanted to accomplish. But if you can just peel back the onion a little bit and look at some of the areas where you actually did grow, because there are areas, if you're honest enough with yourself, that even if you didn't, you know, hit the home run, you might've gotten a base, you know, or single or double, or or maybe you know, maybe you didn't get the grand slam, but maybe there was some success that you had, and celebrate that. Yeah, don't, don't, don't over uh, what's the word I'm looking for?

Rhett: 35:32

Don't overemphasize, if you will, the places you didn't hit your goals, like for me you know, I may or may not we still yet to be determined We'll make that announcement the week for week. One of you know 2025, the goal that I had hoped of 25 pounds. But like at the end of the day, god, if, if, 19 was what I've lost, praise God.

Justin: 35:51

let's celebrate that I mean, if you weren't aiming for anything, you might be gaining.

Rhett: 35:56

Exactly.

Justin: 35:57

And so, if you ain't aiming you gain, you gain. I just thought of that. If you ain't aiming, you gainin.

Rhett: 36:05

Oh, gainin, gainin. It's like that Peyton Manning commercial. You paintin, I paintin, manning, peyton Manning, peyton Manning. It was good, peyton Peyton, peyton Manning, peyton Manning. Have you seen that commercial?

Justin: 36:14

yet no, have you not seen that commercial. No, I need to see that one. He's Peyton Manning. Oh yeah, oh I.

Rhett: 36:24

Are you saying good job, peyton or Peyton?

Justin: 36:27

You know, it's kind of like the play on words yeah, yeah, yeah, anyways, all that to say. But if you're gaming, you might be gaming, that's true. So don't game too much without getting the exercise.

Rhett: 36:39

So you might not have hit all your goals, but celebrate the wins is what I'm trying to say where you can see the wins. Don't beat yourself up. I mean just, hey, you know what, if your goal is to get out and walk however many steps, and you only did 500 when you wanted to do a thousand, hey, you got out and did it. Man, you know 500. But I appreciate that you were talking about where you've grown, because that's what we're doing. We're just looking back. Honestly speaking, I wasn't so sure that our podcasts were going to be edited down to where we didn't feel authentic, cause you were an editing machine and on our couple of first episodes there were a moment let's just be honest there were moments where I was like, well, you didn't have to take that out you know and you're like I need to take it out, and now, over time it's like I'm not ready for it, Not ready for that to come out yet Our edits have become.

Rhett: 37:29

you know, they're all authentic and they're all done in a way through the lens, to be the lens of the vision of what we're trying to accomplish. Yes, right, and for your life, for my life, for our families and everything. So not everything that we say in this circle needs to come out, but there are some things where it's like, well, I mean, that could have. You know, that could have been said Sure.

Rhett: 37:47

And so if you listen back and you've got an editing ear, you could probably hear probably less ums and ahs and clearing of throats, right. But now you're getting more of the ums and the ahs in the moment of reflection and hold on, let me think about that for a second, Leaving those in. Not that it was never authentic, because it was, because that's who we are are.

Justin: 38:11

It's been a progression, it's the evolution of the year. Until we did this I would have never discovered that I let that stuff go. But one thing everybody can thank us for is I do remove any kind of mouth noises to get very slobbery oh gosh. We try to save you from anything.

Rhett: 38:30

The mouth meringue as one of our friends would say I don't you know. That was an off-air conversation we had with one of our professional friends.

Justin: 38:38

We had a.

Rhett: 38:39

I'll say this.

Justin: 38:40

I won't say the name because we've had many guests, but we had a guest that I mean it was so many background noises that y'all will thank me for probably eight hours of editing. I put on that bad boy Because I got to remove a lot of noise.

Rhett: 38:55

Yes, and I'll tell you we were sitting in a service the other day. I won't tell you the church or where it was or what it was, but it was just like. I'm not even going to make the noise over the microphone. It's that disgusting because I don't want you to turn it off, but just imagine the most moist conversational mouthpiece.

Justin: 39:12

I got a great friend who he hates that word.

Rhett: 39:15

Yeah, I know and I know moist is one of those words is like ah, cringe, right, but at the end of the day, like just that sound. You've done a really good job at trying to remove distractions that would cause people to. You know, I can't do this. Yeah, so I appreciate that. So, while you have gotten better at you know, allowing things to, fly. I do appreciate the fact that you have chosen.

Justin: 39:37

Well, I've got this new flow. Where our flow here is, I have my kids, you know, and they'll, they'll do it all too, but I enjoy like I enjoy loading the dishes, but I love it that they'll unload it so I have them rotate through.

Rhett: 39:50

That you love one of their chores. I enjoy it. What?

Justin: 39:53

about it, do you love? I enjoy putting things in their proper place, okay, and I enjoy wiping all the junk off of a plate where you don't know if it's clean or dirty. It looks clean. Oh there, by the time I get done loading a dishwasher, everybody's asking, asking are these clean? I'm like no.

Rhett: 40:10

They double clean.

Justin: 40:11

They triple clean. Yeah, Dude, you and I are a lot alike in that area. I don't know why I gotta gotta.

Rhett: 40:16

But, like family members were like, well, just this is what the dishwasher's for, and I'm like I can't do that. I was like where does it go? I'm like it's got to go somewhere. Does that clog up in the drain somewhere?

Justin: 40:40

Where does that live?

Rhett: 40:42

They're like well, there's a filter. I'm like aha, so if I put that junk in the dishwasher and I turn it on without food, nasty and everything. Yeah, I'm gonna have to, like pull a filter out no, let's pre-game this baby.

Justin: 40:57

Um, I got turn the water on as hot as you can get it. Oh yeah, I think you stick your hand in there. You see how long you can take it. Then you get a little warmer.

Rhett: 41:08

just so you can endure, I'll go through a whole bottle of Dawn.

Justin: 41:12

I don't want that mess.

Rhett: 41:14

I'm like well, you only need like a drop. I'm like no brother. I keep. Dawn in business man I mean baby, yeah, because you really only need like a small, because it's concentrated and like a small amount will do a lot, and I'm like, eh, I don't know. Well, here's what's funny.

Justin: 41:31

I think I need to help it off my hands will get so raw because I'll put my laptop when I'm editing. Okay, Now here's my flow and it's changed everything. I don't edit my oven.

Rhett: 41:47

I make sure that control button set so I don't turn my oven on and burn my computer, but I'll set my laptop.

Justin: 41:50

I'll set it on the oven, okay.

Rhett: 41:51

Well, it's just a flat top glass.

Justin: 41:53

I set it there and then I'll do the dishes, as I'm listening through my AirPods.

Rhett: 41:57

Okay.

Justin: 41:58

And then if I hear something I didn't like that, I'm like, oh, that was we're going to get rid of that I'll. I'll wash my hands because I don't want to touch my computer with my dirty hands good for you and then I'll do my computer by the time I'm done doing dishes.

Rhett: 42:11

I've washed my hands 10 times your hands are probably dry and cracked.

Justin: 42:14

They're so dry, even now they're yeah, they're very, very dry, because I was doing this a couple of days ago, but yeah, I mean you enjoy doing the dishes, you know I've learned how to do the dishes and listen to our podcast and edit at the same time. Well, there you go. And the reason I do that is I make myself accountable, because now I'll let things like certain, like I'll let that slide, because I'm like, I don't feel like washing my hands, okay.

Rhett: 42:39

So I'm creating my own accountability to let it slide, yeah, the ability to let it slide, yeah.

Justin: 42:43

So if I have to stop, it means that I heard something that did not necessarily fit the moment, which is far, I mean few and far between.

Rhett: 42:53

Well, I appreciate you editing and I've told Justin several times if people are listening going, why don't you let Rhett edit? Well, I ask he's a control freak a little bit when it comes to this.

Justin: 43:03

We might let you do it more. But all that to say no, but a little bit.

Rhett: 43:05

When it comes to this, we might let you do it more. But all that to say no, but you do socials. Yeah, I'm trying, that's been our flow.

Justin: 43:09

I've been more the editor.

Rhett: 43:11

Yeah.

Justin: 43:11

I'll go in and try to get the initial stuff ready. Rhett will jump in and he'll get the socials ready. So he's keeping up online. I'm trying to find my way back offline more than I can. I mean as much as I can. Rhett's taking care of socials. He's working with AI on the things to generate what he needs to. He'll come back over what I did on our mainframe page, which is where we upload everything to you guys. See the nice side of it. We're working on the back end. Rhett will take what I've done and he'll come through and polish it up just to make sure that it fit every category. I make sure our episodes are titled right. I'll go through our chapters and see if we need to add anything special. I'll go through our transcripts and make sure that it labels your name, my name and whatever guests we have. So we've established a flow in this year where that's how it's become scalable and that's how it's become possible. So for me it's been such a growth.

Rhett: 44:09

Such a blessing and I'm just so appreciative of every person who's taken the time to invest, not only to listen, but to be the guest and just to be along for this ride and this friendship man. So we welcome you along to continue on this journey with us in Armchair. Authentic. It's been an incredible 2024. I have no idea what God has in store for 2025. To be continued Dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot Ellipses. So we're going to continue this in ellipses, ellipses, ellipses. Is it ellipses? It's like poem or poem.

Justin: 44:44

It's been an amazing 2024 and we are looking forward to 2025. If you enjoyed this episode, would you pull out your phone and text it to a friend? We'd love them to join us on this journey. Well, until next time, have a great week, thank you.