The Can Do Coffee Chat with Jim Cooper, Narrator and Author

[00:00:01] Hi, I'm Gail Gibson, Accredited Master Performance Coach, International Speaker, Podcast Host and Author.

[00:00:09] Known as The Can Do Coach, I thrive on enabling leaders to step up, shake it off and shine.

[00:00:17] Welcome to my podcast, The Can Do Way.

[00:00:20] My guests from across the globe have Can Do stories of growth, resilience and success to share.

[00:00:27] Tune in and be inspired by these individuals who have developed a strong Can Do approach.

[00:00:33] Each one of their stories is unique.

[00:00:37] Each one of their stories has a key message.

[00:00:42] In this episode of The Can Do Way, I'm delighted to be talking to Jim Cooper, Narrator and Author.

[00:00:50] Former radio DJ, newspaper boy, retail expert in a department store paint section,

[00:00:57] a men's clothing shop and a record store, a commercial real estate broker, residential home builder,

[00:01:05] movie critic, IT programmer and project leader.

[00:01:09] IT consulting firm owner, home baker, current owner of Jim Cooper VO, narrating audio books of all types.

[00:01:20] And that, my guests, is just on a Monday.

[00:01:23] Now, Jim is a music geek, still preferring vinyl to electronic forms of music, an avid reader,

[00:01:32] and has recently jumped headfirst into the Ancest UKs.

[00:01:36] His first novel, Twisted Ties, was published in 2014.

[00:01:41] And the not so little book of cancer caregiving was published last year in 2023.

[00:01:50] Jim considers that he's been blessed with a wife of 40 plus years, two outstanding kids,

[00:01:56] three rambunctious granddaughters, and a never-ending string of insane rescue mutts.

[00:02:03] So without further ado, I'd like to welcome you to the show today, Jim.

[00:02:08] Thank you.

[00:02:09] We must be out of time by now.

[00:02:13] It's all those slashes after your name that you've done this and you've done that and you've done all of those other things.

[00:02:19] But, you know, I can't wait to hear your colourful story.

[00:02:23] And I'm sure my listeners will be the same.

[00:02:27] It's like, wow, this man has done so many things in his life.

[00:02:31] And there's so many different things in there too.

[00:02:34] But I think it's those different things and the willingness to be able to take on different things

[00:02:41] that really shapes us to become the person that we become and starts to lead us down lots and lots of different paths.

[00:02:52] So what I'd like you to do first, Jim, is if you can condense kind of a little bit of a timeline for us

[00:02:59] and give us a short walk through your life so that you can give the listeners a glimpse of your background,

[00:03:05] talking about kind of a little bit about how you moved from one to the next, maybe not all,

[00:03:11] and then how you've got to being the current owner of Jim Cooper VO Today

[00:03:17] and narrating the audiobooks that you do.

[00:03:21] You know, and I think about that and it's like, you know, I grew up in suburbia in the United States, in New Jersey.

[00:03:30] And, you know, my grandfather was a, you know, lifelong employee of either Bell Electric, AT&T,

[00:03:38] however many names they went through during that time.

[00:03:41] And, you know, which was not unusual for people to do that.

[00:03:45] And then you retire and you've got a pension and you're set for life.

[00:03:48] Well, by the time I started going into the workforce, that really wasn't working anymore.

[00:03:53] So I just went out into the workforce and came out of college with a radio background.

[00:03:59] I wanted to go into radio, which I did, which kind of led me in the long run to, you know, the VO business.

[00:04:06] But was in radio for a number of years.

[00:04:09] I started a family and the two are not compatible.

[00:04:13] You cannot do radio and eat or raise a family at the same time.

[00:04:18] The money's just not there.

[00:04:20] So I ended up just doing some different things.

[00:04:22] And I was never the type of person that would, and this could be interpreted good or bad,

[00:04:30] to stay on the same path.

[00:04:32] It's like, what do I want to do now?

[00:04:35] You know, what's interesting me now?

[00:04:38] I didn't want to get a job just to have a job.

[00:04:42] So that led me in a whole bunch of different paths.

[00:04:45] I was at radio stations.

[00:04:47] I managed a Photoshop back in the days of Photoshop.

[00:04:51] A record store back in the days of record stores.

[00:04:55] And then just went from there.

[00:04:57] I was in real estate for a while.

[00:04:58] I was in IT for a while.

[00:05:00] But all during that time, the thought of staying, getting back behind the mic was always with me.

[00:05:10] In fact, even while I was in IT and a little bit in real estate, I was working part-time at a couple different radio stations in New Jersey.

[00:05:19] And somehow wrangled my way to convince them that they needed a movie review program, which they agreed to my utter amazement.

[00:05:30] And they were actually able to sell it.

[00:05:31] So for about five years, I got to go to the movies for free, you know, twice a week, which was, you know, that was fun.

[00:05:38] That was just a lot of fun.

[00:05:40] It got tiring after a while, but it was fun.

[00:05:44] So that desire to be behind the mic was always there.

[00:05:51] And when I left the corporate world in 2016, and I was, again, in that place of, okay, what am I going to do now?

[00:06:00] And just through a series of circumstances, I got an email that was an invitation to a webinar, a Zoom thing for a voiceover.

[00:06:12] And I thought, oh, okay, let me check this out and see what happens.

[00:06:17] So I went to it, and the man that was running it, his name was J. Michael Collins.

[00:06:22] And I really liked what he had to say, and I got in touch with him after the call.

[00:06:26] And I was like, here's my background.

[00:06:28] What do you think?

[00:06:30] And he's like, well, let's try a couple things and see what happens.

[00:06:33] And we went through a couple things.

[00:06:35] And he's like, yeah, you should be doing this.

[00:06:37] So I did some coaching with him.

[00:06:39] I've done coaching with other people in the industry and marketing coaches.

[00:06:45] And it just kind of grew out of that.

[00:06:47] And in 2017 was really the start of my voiceover career and got into audiobooks as a complete accident.

[00:06:57] I mean, I was auditioning for commercials and things like that.

[00:07:01] And out of the blue, I had someone contact me.

[00:07:04] He's like, hey, I've got an audiobook.

[00:07:06] You feel like narrating it for me?

[00:07:07] And I was like, okay.

[00:07:10] I've never done that before, but let's give it a shot.

[00:07:13] And being a book geek, you know, I was like, oh, this will be fun.

[00:07:17] This will be cool.

[00:07:18] Of course, I told him, sure, I'll have it for you in a couple days.

[00:07:20] Well, duh.

[00:07:22] Big mistake.

[00:07:23] Big mistake.

[00:07:24] Big mistake.

[00:07:25] But it was a big learning experience.

[00:07:27] And I was like, oh, this is going to take some effort and some coordination.

[00:07:33] But I'm very grateful that he gave me that opportunity because that's kind of grown into other areas.

[00:07:39] And I've done a lot of audiobooks and still do them.

[00:07:42] And that's kind of where I got to from where I was.

[00:07:47] Fantastic.

[00:07:48] Fantastic.

[00:07:48] You know, you use the word accidents and some might say that, you know, the pattern of you changing and doing all those different things.

[00:07:58] Would you consider that it's been a series of accidents or do you feel that some of those things, you know, you may feel that you've been manifesting them if that's what you believe in.

[00:08:08] And perhaps the universe has been talking to you and then you found yourself involved in those different kinds of work.

[00:08:17] What's your take on that?

[00:08:19] You know, I talk to people and look back on my career and the analogy I use is my career has been a chutes and ladders game on crack.

[00:08:28] It's just gone bizarre.

[00:08:33] I have come to the belief that I was where I needed to be when I needed to be there.

[00:08:41] You know, I do have a very strong spiritual side.

[00:08:44] And if I'm not fighting it and I listen to that side, you know, it always guides me to where I need to be.

[00:08:52] And that keeps manifesting itself over and over again in my life.

[00:08:58] As long as I listen to that voice, you know, it's the quiet voice, not the one that's screaming at me, but the quiet voice of just this is the direction you should go.

[00:09:06] So that's always been part of my life is like I'm where I'm supposed to be to do what I need to do.

[00:09:15] Now, that doesn't mean I'm always happy with where I am.

[00:09:18] But in certain times, in fact, when I got into real estate, I had no desire to go into real estate.

[00:09:25] But it solved the problem at the time where we had just had our second child.

[00:09:32] You know, I was not making enough money to even live where we were living.

[00:09:36] And I just it solved the problem of bringing enough money in to be able to raise my family.

[00:09:41] So fine, I'll do that for a while.

[00:09:44] So it's it's listening to that voice.

[00:09:46] And even though I may not agree with it on the surface, it's it's where I needed to be.

[00:09:53] Yeah, very wise, you know, to be following that and the depth of spirituality, as you say, if you listen to that voice, it can take you in that right direction.

[00:10:03] But I think it's what I really take from that is I have a very good friend and colleague.

[00:10:10] We co-authored a book during the pandemic.

[00:10:13] And she has always said to me that you are doing exactly what you're meant to be doing right now.

[00:10:20] And I think that has really shown itself up for me in the same way that it has for you over the last few years.

[00:10:29] And it really it does work.

[00:10:31] And it does.

[00:10:32] And the more that you sit back and you reflect on the situations that do occur or the experiences that you have or the clients you get to work with,

[00:10:40] you just think, you know what, I am meant to be doing this right now because it's either bringing out the best in you or it's bringing out the best in those that you're serving and working with at that time.

[00:10:51] Right.

[00:10:52] So I share that sentiment that you have shared with the listeners as well.

[00:10:58] You know, you talked about the time there when you were in commercial real estate and there was a reason why you were doing that because it was supporting your family and you were doing what needed to be done at that time.

[00:11:11] Would you consider that was something that was a challenge for you to work through that stage?

[00:11:17] And what is it that you did to get through that challenge and then be able to move into what came next for you?

[00:11:25] We don't have that much time.

[00:11:29] Well, if you can condense it, that would be wonderful.

[00:11:35] Was it a challenge?

[00:11:36] Let's keep it at a high level.

[00:11:39] Unquestionably, there were there were a lot of other circumstances surrounding my working in real estate that made it a probably one of the best.

[00:11:47] biggest challenges emotionally and mentally that that I've ever faced.

[00:11:52] And it took a long time for me to work out of that into to other things.

[00:11:59] And I know I'm being kind of vague, but emotionally and from a mental perspective, it was it was not healthy for me to be doing that.

[00:12:08] But again, it solved the problem.

[00:12:12] And after that, once that gave way in the end of the 80s, when the whole real estate market kind of collapsed, that's when I got into it was another reinvention.

[00:12:23] And I was like, OK, what am I going to do now?

[00:12:25] And and I had a friend that I went to college with and he's like, well, apply to the company I work for, which was at the time was electronic data systems.

[00:12:32] And I fooled around computers and I like computers.

[00:12:35] So I did their interview process.

[00:12:37] And that's what got me into I.T.

[00:12:40] But even going in that direction.

[00:12:43] It took me a long time to really clean out the the damage that I had done mentally to myself for that that piece in real estate, which I've done.

[00:12:56] And, you know, I was very thankful looking back on it, that it was there at the time.

[00:13:01] It's certainly, like I said, solved a lot of problems and filled a lot of holes.

[00:13:05] So there there was some psychic damage that happened, but nothing that's irreparable and nothing that didn't have to take an immense amount of time.

[00:13:15] But a certain amount of time, you know, going into therapy and and doing talking to professionals and doing what I needed to do to get myself mentally back in balance.

[00:13:28] Very interesting.

[00:13:29] But I think, you know, when I hear my guests talk about the challenges that they have.

[00:13:36] They are the best teachers because it's it also shows us that we have the power within ourselves to be vulnerable and that it's OK to be vulnerable because we're not always on the right path.

[00:13:49] We're not always doing the things that really serve us the best they can.

[00:13:53] However, you were brave enough as well to actually ask for that help and to get those professionals around you, that support circle that said, you know,

[00:14:03] you've got this and you can get back on track.

[00:14:06] We can do this together and supported by your family, by your faith, by your belief in yourself.

[00:14:12] You then went on and reinvented yourself in the next version of who Jim Cooper was going to be seen as.

[00:14:22] Right.

[00:14:22] So, you know.

[00:14:23] And it's that and it's that.

[00:14:25] And I agree with what your other guests have talked about.

[00:14:29] All those what at the moment seem to be hideous things going on are tremendous learning experiences.

[00:14:38] You know, I can remember going back to what we were just talking about.

[00:14:41] I can remember one day I was sitting at home and all of a sudden this image of my uncle popped into my head.

[00:14:48] And I hadn't seen my uncle much over the years because our family was never really that close.

[00:14:52] But he was still someone that I liked.

[00:14:54] And his image just popped in my head.

[00:14:57] And his voice was saying, you've got to go see him.

[00:14:59] You've got to go see him.

[00:14:59] And I ignored it at the time.

[00:15:01] And three days later, he passed away.

[00:15:03] So I was like.

[00:15:06] That's a huge learning experience.

[00:15:07] You've got to start listening to that voice.

[00:15:10] So from from all that, there's got to be some sort of from all the tragedy comes a certain amount of knowledge and learning that you take forward in the rest of your life.

[00:15:21] Indeed.

[00:15:22] Indeed.

[00:15:23] You know, you mentioned the word reinvention, and that's what you have done consistently.

[00:15:28] Several times.

[00:15:29] And, you know, that is all about change and about adapting to change, which is something that a lot of people often struggle with.

[00:15:38] Change for some people can be an aversion therapy.

[00:15:42] And they're like, oh, but I don't want things to be any different than they were.

[00:15:46] I like the way that my life is or I like the job I'm in.

[00:15:49] And and change is presented to them.

[00:15:53] And yet you seem to be somebody like me.

[00:15:55] I've done many different roles in my life, too.

[00:15:58] But I seem to I find myself challenged by change and what it represents.

[00:16:05] But I see the opportunity of it.

[00:16:07] What is it do you feel that gave you that that gift to actually go?

[00:16:12] You know, I know you've talked about the fact that you like to do different things, but what really drives you to embrace change and all that it offers?

[00:16:23] Fear.

[00:16:25] Fear.

[00:16:26] And I say that not I don't mean to be glib about it, but in certain cases, it's it's fear.

[00:16:32] I mean, my my background is, you know, we've all talked about fight or flight and my method of operation is flight.

[00:16:41] So there's a lot of times when I would come up against something that really kind of unnerved me.

[00:16:46] And my immediate reaction is to, OK, I need to do something else.

[00:16:49] I need to go over here.

[00:16:50] I need to get away from this.

[00:16:52] And I've slowly grown out of that with time.

[00:16:55] But that was kind of the foundation of what I grew up with is like.

[00:17:01] If this is uncomfortable, I need to get away from it.

[00:17:05] So and the other side of that coin, because that side is falls into change for change sake.

[00:17:13] And a lot of the time, that's not a really healthy or good thing to do.

[00:17:18] You know, when change comes up.

[00:17:21] When it's needed, you know, when I changed from corporate going back into voiceover, I left corporate because it was just so mentally unhealthy for me.

[00:17:32] I got into a situation and while I loved a lot of the people there, I got in a situation that was just mentally untenable with all the other things going on in my life at the time.

[00:17:41] And I needed to make a break.

[00:17:44] I needed to make a change.

[00:17:45] So that's something where I did it for my own mental health and not out of a fight or flight reaction.

[00:17:52] It just got to the to the end point.

[00:17:55] So I've never been I've never had a problem with change in and of itself, you know, because I've changed so many times.

[00:18:03] And, you know, that that to me, I look at it as an opportunity to experience other things, you know, rather than just stay on the one path forever and and maybe not get off that road.

[00:18:16] But, you know, take take some of those roads less traveled and see what's going on down here.

[00:18:21] And I've always treated it as something I can experience and add to my personal resume, for lack of a better word, of things that I've experienced and can share with other people.

[00:18:34] Fantastic.

[00:18:35] And talking about you doing other things, you are a two time published author.

[00:18:40] So tell us a bit more.

[00:18:41] How did you get into writing Twisted Ties and what is Twisted Ties about?

[00:18:47] And then also your second book published last year.

[00:18:50] Yeah.

[00:18:51] And then the two books are a prime example of what we're talking about.

[00:18:55] The first book, which is a mystery novel, was the result of me always wanting to write a book.

[00:19:03] As I said, I'm a book geek.

[00:19:04] I mean, that's that was instilled in me in a young age.

[00:19:08] I mean, when I was a kid, you know, we didn't have air conditioning.

[00:19:11] So on those hot summer days, my mom would take us to the library and we'd sit down and we'd hang out in the library and read books all day.

[00:19:18] So I've always been a book geek and I've always been interested in writing and creating something like that.

[00:19:25] And it's just stayed in the back of my mind for years and years and years.

[00:19:30] And I just I would write little things here and there.

[00:19:33] And I did some writing in college.

[00:19:35] I did some writing when I was doing the movie reviews.

[00:19:37] I actually got to write some of them out and have them published.

[00:19:41] But one of my goals was to finish writing a book.

[00:19:46] I didn't care if it got published.

[00:19:48] I didn't care if it sold any copies.

[00:19:50] My goal was to finish writing a book into a state where it could be published.

[00:19:56] And so that was my goal.

[00:19:58] And once that was done.

[00:19:59] And I was like, OK, this is cool.

[00:20:02] I like doing this.

[00:20:04] And so and I had a lot of people come back to me and said, this is really good.

[00:20:08] When's the sequel coming out?

[00:20:09] I'm like, I don't know.

[00:20:12] I forget there.

[00:20:13] So that came out.

[00:20:16] And that was that was a goal achieved.

[00:20:19] The second book, the not so little book of cancer caregiving, came out of a need that I saw or that needed to be filled.

[00:20:29] When my wife was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2014, you know, talk about having to step up and do the can do thing.

[00:20:40] You know, you don't have a choice.

[00:20:42] You got to step up and do this.

[00:20:44] And at that time, there was very little in the way of supporting material or support in general for the caregiver.

[00:20:54] And the industry was just starting to see that the stress and tensions and wear on caregivers was not totally unlike what the patients were going through.

[00:21:06] So I did some journaling going through my wife's treatment, which lasted the better part of a year.

[00:21:12] Just one to keep my sanity to start with, just to write and do something.

[00:21:17] But it actually ended up being something wonderful because it kept everyone informed of what was going on.

[00:21:24] I didn't have to make 50,000 phone calls, you know, every day.

[00:21:27] So once treatment was over, I had all these social media posts that I need to do something.

[00:21:34] And I wanted to give back some way for all the care we got because we got very lucky.

[00:21:40] I mean, just across the board, anything that could have gone right went right.

[00:21:45] And I know that's not everyone's experience when it comes to cancer.

[00:21:49] I mean, it's still killing people and not everyone has a great experience.

[00:21:52] We got very fortunate.

[00:21:54] So I wanted to give back.

[00:21:56] And there was a caregiver to caregiver support program just starting at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

[00:22:03] Joined up with that and got a chance to talk with the wide spectrum of caregivers.

[00:22:08] And the thought just occurred to me is like, I want to do something with all these posts.

[00:22:12] But what?

[00:22:13] I don't want to just republish them.

[00:22:15] Everyone's read them already.

[00:22:16] You know, I wanted to publish something that A, people would want to read and B, would be helpful and useful to other people.

[00:22:24] And that kind of worked its way into what the book finally is, which is a whole series of tips and experiences that I experienced as a caregiver.

[00:22:35] And what I did to either combat or deal with those or the steps that I can take to help, you know, belay some of those feelings that I was feeling or experiences.

[00:22:45] So that was kind of born out of a necessity of wanting to help other people with my experiences, going back to that notion.

[00:22:57] But to both admirable, you know, even your first book, you achieved a goal and that was to finish that book.

[00:23:06] As you said, it wasn't about the sequel or the movie rights or anything like that.

[00:23:11] It was to finish that book.

[00:23:13] And then the second one came from the heart.

[00:23:15] And I'm sure that it has touched many people's lives and resonated with several thousands of caregivers throughout the United States and probably abroad as well to just say, you know, I hear you.

[00:23:30] I've gone through this and this is what I did to try and make it better for myself.

[00:23:34] So thank you for writing that book.

[00:23:36] I mean, for anybody going through any medical condition with a loved one, it's not an easy time for anybody.

[00:23:43] And if you can just shine a light for people, then it's fantastic what you've done.

[00:23:51] Caregiving is caregiving.

[00:23:52] You know, in my particular case, it was cancer, but I've actually done other podcasts that for people that are focusing on like dementia and things like that.

[00:23:59] And while there are shades of difference, it's pretty much the same experience across the board.

[00:24:06] Yeah, definitely.

[00:24:07] Yeah, it's the reaction I've been getting is, you know, from people going through it, they're like, thank you.

[00:24:14] This is great information.

[00:24:16] And from people that had gone through it in the past would say to me, I wish I had this when I was going through it because you've just nailed the experience, you know, so completely.

[00:24:28] So it's been very rewarding to me to have all these people read it and enjoy it and be able to use it at the same time, because that was my goal, to help other people with it.

[00:24:39] Yeah, to pay it forward.

[00:24:40] And you've definitely done that.

[00:24:42] So before we go today, then, Jim, if you would like to share your three can-do tips with the audience, what are those things that you live by or maybe mantras for yourself that can really inspire my listeners to think, what can I do to be more focused with a can-do mindset?

[00:25:03] And the things that come to mind, one, and this is actually one of the caregiver tips, spirituality, get some.

[00:25:13] Because there were many, many times where I would be sitting in the hospital corridors at two in the morning, because you don't sleep, and just have conversations with what I define as my higher power.

[00:25:25] And just being able to turn things over to give myself a sense of peace, which allows me to go forward instead of being frozen by fear or unknowing, because the unknowing part is the scariest part of this journey.

[00:25:41] When you don't have the diagnosis yet, or you don't have a care plan in place, that's the worst time.

[00:25:48] So being able to have something in your life where it gives you a sense of peace.

[00:25:56] And I don't care if you worship, you know, aquamarine penguins dancing the moringa in Nebraska.

[00:26:02] You know, fine.

[00:26:03] I don't care.

[00:26:04] If it works for you, great.

[00:26:06] You know, by all means, if it's not hurting anyone else, do what you need to do for you.

[00:26:12] Another thing, and this has just kind of come up recently.

[00:26:15] I didn't have this during this whole period.

[00:26:19] But one of the things that has popped up in my life recently is a good way to get past fear and indecision.

[00:26:30] Because there's a lot of decisions that need to be made.

[00:26:33] And as a caregiver, you end up having to make a lot of those decisions.

[00:26:38] And particularly in my wife's case, with the brain cancer, which affected her speech and her motor skills.

[00:26:43] You know, I had to become her voice.

[00:26:44] I had to make a lot of those decisions for her.

[00:26:48] So I don't know if you're familiar with Mel Robbins, but she's a motivator and TED Talk speaker.

[00:26:55] And she has this thing called the five-second rule.

[00:26:58] And, you know, just if you're coming up on something, you do 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go.

[00:27:03] And just do it.

[00:27:04] Don't worry about the consequences.

[00:27:06] Just do whatever it is.

[00:27:08] And that has helped me recently come out of some pretty dark areas and put some positive spin on things.

[00:27:15] So that's now part of my arsenal.

[00:27:17] The other thing that I would say is trying not to do everything by yourself.

[00:27:26] You can't do this alone.

[00:27:29] And that it's absolutely okay to ask for help.

[00:27:34] Whatever that happens to be on a day-to-day basis.

[00:27:37] If you're in kind of a medical situation, you know, you don't have to have all the answers.

[00:27:41] Talk to the nurses.

[00:27:42] Talk to the nurses.

[00:27:43] And nurses are crazy people.

[00:27:44] I love them all.

[00:27:45] But talk to the nurses.

[00:27:49] Talk to the doctors.

[00:27:50] You know, talk to whoever you need to talk to, whether it's a therapist, a spiritual leader, whatever it happens to be.

[00:27:57] You don't need to do this by yourself.

[00:28:00] And you can't do it alone.

[00:28:02] So ask for help.

[00:28:04] And that was a big thing for me, asking for help, because it's not something I did very well.

[00:28:10] And the very first week that my wife was in the hospital for treatment, and we were in for three or four days every time she had chemo.

[00:28:18] It was a three or four-day hospital visit.

[00:28:20] And the first one was Thanksgiving week, which is really traumatic because she's such a family person, and we couldn't be with family on Thanksgiving Day.

[00:28:30] So the day after Thanksgiving, her uncle and her brothers and sisters came up to visit her.

[00:28:36] And her uncle said to me, I'm taking you out to lunch.

[00:28:39] You need a break.

[00:28:40] And I'm like, break?

[00:28:42] What are you talking about?

[00:28:44] And so he dragged me out of the hospital, and we sat in this restaurant.

[00:28:47] And I was like, oh, yeah.

[00:28:50] This is what it's like to eat off plates and not out of styrofoam clamshell boxes.

[00:28:56] So, you know, listening to people that have had experience with it and asking for help with that experience is just is a goldmine that I would put on anybody's plate just to say, you have to learn how to do this.

[00:29:11] Definitely.

[00:29:13] Your story will inform and help others, and that's the greatest gift you can ever give anybody that they, as you say, you can ask for help.

[00:29:22] It's okay.

[00:29:22] It's okay to be vulnerable and to just ask that question.

[00:29:27] And that's a big thing for guys more than for women.

[00:29:31] Women are, you know, they can hit that vulnerability section fairly easily.

[00:29:38] Guys have a much rougher time doing that.

[00:29:41] And I'm hoping that more and more guys are willing to go to that because being vulnerable and asking for help is just so antithetical to what we're all raised with.

[00:29:52] And it's just like, you can do this.

[00:29:56] Don't worry about it.

[00:29:57] You know, ask for some help.

[00:29:58] You'll get there.

[00:29:59] Yeah.

[00:30:00] Brilliant.

[00:30:01] Brilliant.

[00:30:01] And my final question for you is how would you describe the opportunity of a can-do mindset?

[00:30:08] Pay attention because the opportunities to do things are all around.

[00:30:17] And, you know, you've got to have some sort of center that lets you be part of this world.

[00:30:27] You know, whether you want to get into the whole Zen philosophy of meditating or whatever it happens to be, you've got to be present in order to take the next step, which is that can-do piece.

[00:30:39] And, again, this goes back to, you know, sometimes there's a lot of fear in taking that step going into can-do.

[00:30:46] And you've got to ask for help for there or, you know, do whatever you need to do to get to the point of take the step and see what happens.

[00:30:56] I mean, nobody's perfect.

[00:30:58] No one expects you to have all the answers.

[00:31:01] If you take the can-do steps, you know, even if they end up being wrong or a mistake, it's still a learning opportunity as we were talking about before.

[00:31:12] So, you know, you're not going to be perfect.

[00:31:15] We're all human beings.

[00:31:16] We're not perfect.

[00:31:17] That's the way it goes.

[00:31:18] But having the courage to take the first step and you don't need to take all the steps.

[00:31:24] Just take the first step and that'll get you down the road.

[00:31:28] Indeed.

[00:31:29] Indeed.

[00:31:30] Thank you so much.

[00:31:31] And it's been an absolute pleasure talking to you today.

[00:31:35] Oh, thank you for having me.

[00:31:36] I appreciate it.

[00:31:37] It's wonderful to hear your story.

[00:31:39] And I know that there's lots of little pearls of wisdom, nuggets.

[00:31:44] However, you as the audience want to take it today.

[00:31:48] But take away something and think about your own lives and think, well, what is it that I can do today that can just maybe shift me?

[00:31:57] Or maybe I can think a bit differently about change and what change actually means.

[00:32:03] Or is it that I am somebody who is going through something in my life right now?

[00:32:08] And I want to be able to pay it forward just as Jim has by writing his book to support others and to actually say, you know, you don't have to go through this alone.

[00:32:18] So thank you so much, Jim, for being my guest today on The Can Do Way.

[00:32:23] My pleasure.

[00:32:24] You're welcome.

[00:32:52] Thank you.

[00:32:55] To be a guest on my weekly show.

[00:32:57] If you have an inspiring perspective, a life-changing experience or an intriguing story to share, then drop me an email at gailmgibson.com.

[00:33:08] Until next week's show, do share the inspiration of The Can Do Way podcast with your friends, colleagues and clients and wherever you are listening from in the world.

[00:33:20] Remember to make every day an amazing can-do day.