A Contagious Smile Podcast
"A Contagious Smile" is a transformative platform embracing special needs families and domestic violence survivors. We illuminate the journeys of extraordinary individuals who've triumphed over adversity and aspire to ignite your own inner light. Through candid stories, we showcase how they conquered challenges and emerged stronger. Our podcast features insightful interviews with experts, offering resources that empower and uplift. Let us guide you in rediscovering your inner light – because every smile narrates a tale of resilience. It's time to share your story and rekindle your spirit.
A Contagious Smile Podcast
Communication and Growth: Alex's Global Influence, School Shooting Reflections, and Branding Breakthroughs
https://www.speakeralexdumas.com/Can the power of communication truly expand your global influence? Join us for an enlightening conversation with Alex, a dynamic entrepreneur and recent contributor to "A Journey of Riches." Alex delves into his chapter, "Everybody Wins, Including Me: Expanding Global Influence Through Communication," sharing his transformative journey from working with special needs individuals to becoming a sought-after speaker and coach. With a rich background in psychology and a passion for self-discovery, Alex’s insights will inspire you to harness the power of effective communication in your own life.
We turn our focus to the heart-wrenching tragedy of a school shooting in Georgia, discussing the societal issues that permeate such incidents. Emphasizing empathy, vulnerability, and connection, we explore how these values are crucial in preventing future tragedies. Through heartfelt discussions, we underline the importance of early intervention and the critical role that families and communities play in fostering mental well-being and safety.
Lastly, we spotlight the significance of personal growth and the power of structured coaching programs. Hear a compelling success story of achieving remarkable feats within tight deadlines and dive into the unique challenges faced by Black executives and women of color in corporate environments. We also introduce the Brand Amplifier Experience, a four-month program designed to elevate personal branding and storytelling skills, featuring the strategic brilliance of my wife, Sarah. This episode is packed with powerful insights, practical advice, and a celebration of personal and professional growth.
Let's party.
Speaker 2:Good afternoon and welcome to another episode of A Pentagious Smile, where every smile tells a story. I had my friend Alex here. I've known Alex for a while now and he just shocked me with some news I didn't even know. No, I'm just kidding. We were laughing prior to us going on here today and we were talking about all the things that he does and it's like if I don't catch up with him on a routine basis, he comes at me with all these new projects he's doing and he's amazing and he's wonderful and everybody should be following him and his amazing family. Alex, thank you so much for fitting me into your schedule.
Speaker 1:No, appreciate it. Thank you for inviting me onto this platform and reconnecting again. And yeah, the other day, when I sent out the invitation or introduction of what I'm up to, you're like hey, we got to talk and I love that we're able to make this happen pretty quickly.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Now I'm just saying you are part of a journey of riches. You're on the second book, You're in the second book.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:What is that about?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So a journey of riches is this anthology series, so the the main creator of it his name is john spender. Earlier this year he invited me to to contribute a chapter to this book and it was funny that he reached out when he did right time. It is everything, because usually somebody send me, sends me a message on facebook, dms, like I usually just delete them, I, I throw them away, I don't even go through it, but for whatever reason, I happen to slow down, look at his, read through it and thought to myself, well, I have been thinking about being an author for some time now and the, the nudge, right, the divine nudge was leading that way and he just happened to show up at the right time and I thought to myself, well, this would be a nice test to see. Like, all right, do I like writing? Is this really for me? Do am I gonna enjoy this process? I had a 5 000 word limit, so 5 000 words, not too bad, I do that.
Speaker 1:And that was back in March when these conversations started happening. We're in September now and the book was just released this week. So the series is called the Journey of Riches and the theme for it is the power of self-discovery. So that was just in my wheelhouse. I love to talk about it and I share my story, my journey right, no pun intended of into entrepreneurship, into business building and and just my life in general. So the chapter itself that I wrote is called everybody wins, including me expanding global influence through communication.
Speaker 2:I love that and for those of you don know, I met Alex a while back on a speaker platform and we were both speaking. He is a beautiful speaker, like. He is so articulate. I love how he speaks. He's engaging. He's not monotone. You can sit and listen to Alex forever. So give us a little bit of your backstory and kind of tell everybody how you got into the whole speaking engagement.
Speaker 1:Oh, my goodness, Well, I share. I mean, if you want to know for sure, get the book Journey of Riches.
Speaker 2:I was going to say when you got done.
Speaker 1:No, but I outline my life story right in these 5,000 words, and the journey itself has been over a number of years of working with special needs individuals, opening up group homes. I'm from New York originally and then, through time, I just find in different spaces, finding different rooms, finding this world of coaching around 2016. And that's where, really, the lights turned on for me. I have a background in psychology, so understanding people's behaviors, habits, has always been interesting for me and, like I said, I have this background with special needs individuals, with disaster recovery, with sales and marketing and coaching and speaking flash in my face and I was like, oh, this is for me, this is what I'm supposed to be doing Now. How do I learn how to do that? And it's been this constant process of growing, of seeking out the best mentors, being in communities where I feel welcomed and I belong and I'm able to contribute and some of them lead. And it wasn't an intention like, hey, I'm going to contribute and and some of them lead. But it wasn't an intention like, hey, I'm gonna show up here and be the leader, like it's just who I'm being, how I'm serving, that's I can't turn that off. And I show up and I start amplifying my voice and speaking has been one of those ways that has allowed me to totally anchor into my identity of like who I am, who I'm here to serve the difference I want to make for for people of color around the world and and just show as an example you can.
Speaker 1:You don't have to come from these, these adverse situations, right? I joke around from the stage like hey, listen, I'm Alex. I grew up in middle class Long Island in the suburbs. I didn't join a gang. I don't have anybody addicted to crack in my family. I'm a pretty ordinary guy, right. So I'm going to start off there like just make a light of it, because you would think like, oh my goodness, a sad story. His parents must be divorced, he must have been a foster child, right? I don't want to perpetuate that theme of and these are real things, right of people of color, black people specifically, who come from these horrible positions.
Speaker 1:Like hey, I grew up in what would be considered like a disneyland for a lot of people, but yet my, my way of seeing the world, how I saw myself, my own image, caused a lot of trouble, a lot of anguish in my life. So it doesn't matter where you come from right. It's about how you're responding to the world, how you are connecting, communicating with other people, how you're collaborative with other folks. And for a long time, that wasn't me. I was shy folks. And for a long time that wasn't me. I was shy. I would use humor to deflect and keep people at bay rather than invite people in and get vulnerable and open up. And I recognize over time, whenever I have been more vulnerable, whenever I have been more empathetic or allow myself access to be in, helped things in my life turn around really quickly. Things get done, and that's what I speak on and that's what I wrote about. So hopefully that answers the question. I know it went on for a minute, but that's fine.
Speaker 2:But one of the things that, like you and I just clicked instantly is because we have that connection of special needs and helping others and and he's a genuine down-to-earth and I've talked about you and I've always said this is somebody that is real, like you can tell he's real, he's a family guy, he's a proud husband, he's a proud father, he's proud who he is and he's proud of what he does and he's proud of who he's around and you support, which is so not normal anymore these days. Like I love you have to follow him Even if, even if you're not looking for a coach, you're going to follow him because you watch how he like follows his wife and supports her and his kids and and you literally look at, like these pictures and there's so much devotion and respect. You see the respect in the pictures, like you genuinely see and it's both ways you see the genuine respect and dedication that you have as a husband and a family man. You know and that and that's so hard to find these days and there's so many kids that need that mentoring. We were talking off air and you were. You were talking about, you know, helping disaster situations and I would love to know your take on it?
Speaker 2:Because right now, one of the biggest topics you hear anywhere right now is that school shooting in Georgia, where you know it was a 14 year old kid, and that doesn't make it right. It doesn't make it right if you're 50, 55, 100, it doesn't make it right. You don't go into a school and shoot our kids. You know our teen talk podcast when I always ask the kids what is your biggest fear? It's not snakes or being accepted or spiders or you know anything like that. It's I'm afraid to come home at the end of the day because when I'm in school I'm wondering if I'm going to get shot, and when we were in school we never had to worry about that and that's so scary. You don't want our kids to have to go to school and worry about that. What is your take on this whole scenario? That's happening basically every day now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, to kind of circle back my background with disaster recovery was a result of Superstorm Sandy happening Now. Wow, it's crazy to say that's happened 11, 12 years ago in New York, in the Tri-State area. Yeah, 2012,. The end of 2012 was when we were slammed with it. So, yeah, I was part of the New York Horizon program, where we were helping homeowners either rebuild literally like rebuild their homes and using state funds and government funds for that or reimbursing homeowners who were able, who had the means to repair their properties rental and primary residences and reimburse them for work that they did, you know, according to different scales. But, um, as far as this situation in georgia, one just want to extend condolences for those families who have lost, right, the students and the teachers, families who were lost and those who have been injured and just everybody in general in the state and in the school district who have this traumatic experience happen to them. It's not something that anybody plans for. Unfortunately, it's something that's more evident in our country more and more for. And, unfortunately, it's something that's more evident in our country more and more.
Speaker 1:Um, you know, the thing that I I think about is what's going through the mind of that shooter, right of them, waking up that morning and having this decision made of you know what this is. I'm gonna go into the school, I'm gonna be armored and I'm gonna inflict harm on somebody. And I think there's so much that can be done for an individual like that. What are the resources? Where is the encouragement? And even that could look like how are we as students, as a faculty, how are we showing up? Who are we being with them? Are we kind of like, oh, this kid's a troublemaker, he's a lowlife, let's dismiss them and brush them off? Or are there words of encouragement, are there gifts that we can look at and slow down and be with that person?
Speaker 1:And maybe it's just one person, maybe it's just one voice that says, hey, you know what you can do. This, you're more than this. Right, and I know that sounds kind of hokey like, yeah, go get them Beaver, but really're I can speak for myself. Right, when I felt disconnected from people, when I felt isolated, when I felt like I was discarded and undervalued and and misrepresented thoughts simmer in your head when you have nobody to talk to and you're, you're, you are, you are your own audience. That's not always the safest thing, because you might think of something like you know what I don't like, how he talked to me or how she treated me, so I'm gonna get revenge. And there's no, there's no stop gap, right, there's no governor like hey, wait, whoa let's think about this yeah let's think this through.
Speaker 1:You have these different gifts, you have these different abilities. You have this going on your life. Like why are we focusing on something? You? How will this make anything better? Right, I think that's my question, that I, I ask my kids a lot, right, it's like, is what you're saying right now helping this person or hurting? Because if it's not hurting, then why speak it? Why even let that out? Right, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a christian, I believe in god, I believe in jesus, I believe that words matter and if you're a follower, he spoke the universe into existence. Like, really, think about that. He spoke I want the sun and I want the light and day, I want the birds, I want the bees, I want human. Like, you have to speak these things. Someone had to speak this microphone, this camera, this computer into existence so that you and I can have this conversation. So, when we think about, like you know, the sticks and stones to break my bones, but words will never hurt me, like that's not always true Words matter.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. And there you know, as a survivor of abuse myself, the bruises hurt, the injuries hurt, but the injuries heal. The words stay and I mean I don't think I'm just saying like all of it is excruciating and none of it is acceptable, but those words stay and those other kids that are in the school, that were just there even if they didn't see the shooting themselves, they heard it they're traumatized. I mean, they are traumatized. Do I agree that the school's open today? No, I don't think that it should be open today. I think they need to give a day of processing.
Speaker 2:You know, I mean, and it's because that the incident transpired on the grounds, you know, like it happened there and you're putting the kids right back there. You know the kids are going to walk by where one of their friends or associates or teachers or whomever it was, was shot and you're asking them to walk right by there. And you know, go back like it didn't happen. And I had heard that the shooter 14, had been on the FBI's radar list for a year. Well, why didn't anybody do anything? I mean, you know, are you telling me that nobody noticed that this kid is hurting so badly inside that he doesn't need some sort of help in any way yeah, yeah, I think it just goes right to us as humans, right, our compassion, our level level of empathy?
Speaker 1:are we connected to what's going on around us? Are we just in our own world, our own little bubble? From the stage I thought about let's build a bigger bubble, let's expand, let's include people into something, let's enroll people into a big vision, a big dream, because that also allows others to bring their best gifts to the table.
Speaker 1:If I feel like I'm part of something, if I, if my life, my work, my whatever if anything I'm doing has meaning and I'm contributing and there's less likely I'm going to worry about less likely. I'm going to worry about different, the, the minor things. Right, I'm not going to major in minor things or grievances or nuisances, because I'm up to something bigger. I'm up to something that's going to propel me and hopefully help other people. So I think we can get back to that a little bit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so tell me about your coaching, because you do coach and you're amazing at it. So give us the rundown about the coaching by Alex.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the coaching. I typically work with folks one-on-one either for three months or six months and I like to keep it in those blocks right, because it allows somebody to go through something in a focused manner. I think that when you have 90 days 100 days of something right Of focus and tension that a lot can be done, a lot. That when you have 90 days 100 days of something right of focus and tension that a lot can be done, a lot more than you even think is possible.
Speaker 1:Some people you know clients will come to me saying like you know what I want to do? This thing it's going to take me this long. Okay, what if we can condense that time? What if we can actually shorten that distance, not take a shortcut, but shorten that distance? Well, how do we do that? That's going to look like your commitment level. I've told people stories of how and this is in the book, of course, of myself and three other coaches how we created a one-day event filled a room up of almost 300 people. We did that in 73 days event filled a room up of almost 300 people.
Speaker 1:We did that in 73 days, right? Some people think, oh, it's going to be six months, eight months, like, yeah, ideally that would be it right, but we didn't have that time. We had a deadline. We have other things we had to accomplish and we were able to make that happen. And not just us, right, we bigger bubble time. We involved a lot of people into being our evangelists, our advocates.
Speaker 1:So I bring that back now with the coaching is what do you think is possible? How long do you want something to take? And then can we cut that time in half? You'd be surprised at how more effective you can be, more productive and more fulfilled. And that's what I work with my clients on not only just getting the thing done, but also enjoying the process along the way, enjoying who they get to become, who they get to grow into, and and navigate the pains, navigate the bumps that are going to come. And I don't sugarcoat it like, hey, you want to do this big thing, buckle up, cause whatever, all the things are going to come out of the woodwork car trouble, kids not being happy, business partner maybe does something shady right, just whatever you can imagine it's coming. Not that I wish it on you. Not that I'm like, yay, victoria, here comes more trouble, but it's like all right, it's real If you want this thing.
Speaker 1:It's going to have to. You're like a snake. You're going to have to shed this old version of whoever you are and become something powerful, and that's what I'll work with clients on and guide them through.
Speaker 2:Who is your ideal client? Like the clients that you help, who do you think best fits for you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would say it's. I kind of labeled that as like a black executive man, someone who's looking to break through into, like the c-suite level, that's looking to get into the corporate space and help them not realize. Help them realize that, yeah, you're gonna break through this glass ceiling, but I don't want you to create a glass clip where, hey, I got in this role but like it's a crap show. And now they feel the pressure of like I have to turn things around. I have this added pressure of being black and I have to perform and be number one.
Speaker 1:Like let's slow down, let's look at what's available to you, let's look at who, what resources are here and help you grow into a leader that can take on these different challenges and and navigate these waters right, because so often, especially for women of color, it's um, yeah, you might get that promotion, but they're leaving you with a scorched earth. Go ahead, go make us a paradise now, like it. And then they take the blame and it's like, well, we can't trust this group anymore because they obviously show that they can't win. Like well, did you put that person in position? Did you give them enough tools and resources to make effective change in whatever industry or vertical it is. So those are the clients that I have my lens, my lens for my ear, to the scanner for why do you think it's a challenge?
Speaker 2:Why can't we just be seen for who we are on the inside? Like you know, I people will talk like I don't tell anybody I have a doctorate. Like I don't. I don't do that Cause I want people to see me for who I am. I don't want someone to see, you know, a piece of paper on the wall or anything like that.
Speaker 2:Like I, I I meet with people who are survivors of abuse and special needs families and I I help them. But when they see me they're so taken back because when I first meet with them it's like okay, you see my neck up, you don't know that I have 80% of my body scarred. You don't know, I'm an amputee and I'm a recent amputee. So like I get looked at. Like and I get looked at everywhere I go and it's you know, and I look at them, I'm like, well, how come you get to have two hands? Like you know. But why is there such a stigma on? You know it's got to be so hard. You know, as a Black man going in, going for a job, I mean, if you qualify and you've got the qualifications and whatever is necessary, why is it so hard that everybody has to fight for that one specific seat, if you will, at that table, because I mean that's so wrong and is there any way we can get rid of that?
Speaker 1:That's a heavy question.
Speaker 2:I know I wouldn't have given it to you if I didn't think you could yeah question.
Speaker 1:I know, yeah, when they given it to you, if I didn't think you could, yeah, yeah, there's just so much history that that I think we all need to come to some healing around and just getting general consensus like, hey, this is what it was, this is what happened, and how do we acknowledge those, acknowledge what what has been and learn from it right and not repeat these mistakes. And I also think this is a lot of our own personal upbringings and responsibility. If I come from a place where little loose comments hey, I'm making a gay joke here, I'm making a joke against women, or I'm making insensitive comments about this particular group, not seeing them as human right If I put myself on a pedestal and that means I get to put them in a prison, my own mental prison of like, oh, you are this way and everybody who's like you is exactly like this, rather than slowing down and being like, hey, let me get to learn your story, let me get to know about you, and all of a sudden, oh my God, I have the same thing too. I didn't we all have so much shared experiences of you create a time, effective time, to listen right. This is why part of my keynote.
Speaker 1:I call it the win-win communicator a new way for leaders to listen, because you where we're coming from as a leader, where we're coming from as a person who's discerning and communicating with other people, whether it's peers or team members. Why would my attitude change towards somebody who's perceived better than me versus somebody who I'm better than right? There's that quote somewhere like oh, I've learned to treat the CEO and the janitor with the same amount of respect. Right, I might be butchering the quote, but I think it boils down to just that exposure and education. If I get exposed to a different culture or a different lifestyle or another way of who people are, it doesn't mean I have to agree with it.
Speaker 1:I don't have to accept it Like I'm in it too. It's like oh, I, now I see why you do what you do. Right, that educates me. Now I can be an advocate in the world when I hear somebody make a throwaway joke or remark like hey, no, no, that's actually not true. My experience has been this and they get to transfer that to other people. So I hope that answers that question, but it's it's. There's a there's a lot. There's a lot that we all have to do. We all have to get better at that, and I think it's really looking at a commitment of like do I want to get better, cause we all are coexisting on this floating rock in space. Right, and at a certain point we're all not going to be here, but there's our seeds, our kids, our books, our movies, our entertainment, our legacies of what we're leaving behind. So that is something that we have control over.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like when I was in my corporate days, I treated my assistant like I treated the receptionist right, and if I was looking at someone to either promote or move around laterally within the company, I looked at their resume. I didn't want to see a picture of them, I didn't want anybody to tell me anything. I looked at the resume and a lot of times I was like talked about by other executives, like well, why did you promote this person instead of this person? Well, they were the most experienced, but they're african-american, so what, I don't care. You know, like they're the best person for the job.
Speaker 2:That like I I joked with you and I think you know me well enough now where I'm like he was talking before we went on recording and he was talking about his wife and and I love the, the chemistry between the two of them and he was, you know we was talking and then I was like wait, alex, are you black?
Speaker 2:And he just laughed because I don't see you as an african-american male, I just see you as a friend, I see you as a man, I see you as an entrepreneur and a lot of people don't see that, like you know, they don't go with that mentality, right and it's you know people, because I don't want anybody to look at me and say, oh, she's damaged goods and she's disabled and she's handicapped and she's whatever. You know that that's not fair. You're putting all of these you know negatives before you even get to know us, and that's not fair at all. Yeah, more people need to go in there and give everybody who's worthy that opportunity, regardless. You know that's just. It's not right. And those are the people who won't do that are the ones that have their own image issues and a lot of times it's within themselves.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they're stewing a whole pot of. I'm not enough of limiting beliefs, of disempowering thoughts about themselves. I mean, if they're saying about somebody else, can you imagine what they're saying internally?
Speaker 2:Right, 100%, absolutely. So where are you going now?
Speaker 1:What's Alex, up to now and in the next six months called the Brand Amplifier Experience, and that is starting, actually September 16th. We still have two spots open for VIP and clients in this and the four-month journey is going to look like. The first eight weeks or so we're going to be just looking at how you tell your story, your brand voice of just getting that clear dialed in and getting you even some media training and on-camera stuff ready, because the apex of this event is happening November 7th in Raleigh, north Carolina. We rented out a beautiful studio where we're going to take photos, record podcast interviews with you, help you create a speaker reel. So I'm going to turn off my camera real quick so I can show you this photo right here. Look at this guy, look at that stud.
Speaker 1:This is what I did for myself last year, going through a similar experience, and I thought, man, it'd be fun to take somebody along the same path, because that picture videos that I recorded has helped me land keynote speaking engagements, it's helped me amplify myself and land this book publication and all of that is ways that I've been able to leverage that and this can be part of the last half of the program through December where we're talking about hey, this is how we leverage it, this is how we really effectively pitch things.
Speaker 1:This is how we effectively communicate to the world who you are. So the brand amplifier experience is a mix of both of our best brains me with my storytelling guest stage presence. My wife's an amazing business strategist and she's going to help you really dial down what it is you do and how you do it, and we're going to have a great time in the process, and it's going to be in a small, intimate group and I'm incredibly excited about it. This is an opportunity for us to just collaborate again and do something that we both have seen the value from just from my own experience and then other people that we've worked with and then put this together in a nice four-month package. So september 16th is when this starts. So if you want to get on this, a train I have two more vips, two more yeah, two more spots left, so we'd love for you to be a part of that.
Speaker 2:I would love our listeners to go and listen to this and and I can tell you, like I've said this numerous times, that Alex is amazing. I even asked him to let me get Sarah on with me, but tell us about Sarah. So if our listeners are listening and they see how great you are, tell us about the other half of the speaker program. So if they're kind of on the fence about it which they shouldn't be because Alex is phenomenal they need to go on there and get these two spots. Let's go fill them up, Get them. Go get Alex.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, sarah, if you like me, let me just put it like this this thing here does not exist without her, because she's what a guy. No, I'm going to, I've said it in the book, here we go. Third plug again the journey of riches, the power of self-discovery. I, I say it and I mean it, like she saved my life. She saved me from self-destruction. Right, I was on the edge of of many things and she saved me from that. And she's always been an example of entrepreneurship, of being determined, of being ambitious. She's just this force and and it's kind of funny you say about the thing about judging people before you get to know them like when you see her, right, she's just got like this, like it's like oh, don't mess with me, vibe she does, but she does if you like get through there, like she's one of the funniest, goofiest, just silly, loving people, like the most thoughtful person that I know.
Speaker 1:And that's just on the personal side. For those who are like all right, that's great, that's all warm and mushy, you're gonna say that because you're the husband. Okay, as far as business goes, she's somebody who has been able to turn companies from millions to billions, so m to b, like one year in right now. Don't let this go in and go out. Okay, millions to billions. So M to B, like one year in right now. Don't let this go in and go out. Okay, millions to billions. She's somebody.
Speaker 1:Now, over the past several months, she got intentional about her game. Was you know what I want to? Like build up my email list and things like that? Like I haven't really done that in a while. Let's go play.
Speaker 1:And she's gotten on different stages where she's gotten amplified to over 4 million people, 4 million ideal buyers, just from her opening her mouth, from her being who she is, from her going on podcasts, hosting online, right. So she's somebody who knows what it looks like to take people from six figures to multiple seven figures, right? So she is the money coach, like. That's like who she is. And if you are looking at your brand not just from like a logo and like a catchphrase, those are important, but that's not the end all be all. If you're looking for a place of like, hey, how can I be a stand for other people and let people know who I am and also make a boatload of money as a result of that right, not being afraid of money, not these like, yeah, money's bad, but really recognizing like the frequency and the energy and the, the, the psychology around wealth consciousness, then she's the one right.
Speaker 2:She's, she's the one to go to and you get me as a bonus so in the four month program that you have two spots left that I want my listeners to go and fill yeah you get both of you yeah, yeah, it's both of us like.
Speaker 2:This is like man, it's a power couple yeah, yes, yeah yeah, and he lights up when he talks about his life. I'm just saying like it's sweet. It is sweet because there's not a lot of men these days that hold their spouses in such high regard. There's not, you know, and it goes both ways. It's not just the man talking about the woman, the woman talking about the man, like holding in such regard he lights up, which is so sweet. How long have you guys been together?
Speaker 1:We've been together since 2006, so 18 years, and married for 14 years Wow.
Speaker 2:Look at that and he still lights up. That's so sweet. So now we've got six months down the line. What is your goal to achieve in the next year?
Speaker 1:I would say, to be on physical stages at least twice a month. That's wonderful and ideally I'd like to keep that into North Carolina, the Southeast region, because I've too small. They're not small anymore. I have a teenager, I have a high schooler now as of last week and my son he's in fourth grade, so I'm not looking to really be a road warrior and all that kind of stuff. But yeah, being on stages just sharing with people what I'm up to, writing more. I have a couple more books now, like I've got the writing bug. It started. I can't yeah turn, I can't turn off.
Speaker 1:So those are it gets addicting yeah, I'm working on those projects and continuing to uh, to enhance my other community, the bipod coach collective, making sure that we enroll new members into that and I deliver great content I'm part of, like the pro, I handle the programming and so anything you see as far as guest speakers or content, that's that's mostly me. And, yeah, just continuing to build on relationships with people. I think those, those are the three things that would be ideal for the year, right Just to speak, in business itself my relationships with family and other colleagues, and then my community of coaches, seeing that expand.
Speaker 2:So if the two VIP spots get filled up, what other openings do you have for your four-month coaching?
Speaker 1:Yeah, if those are taken up, then we can maybe we can create some wiggle room for somebody to so be a part of the brand amplifier experience and they just made I experienced as much as like the perks. We're gonna do like a before a day, before dinner. So this is for anybody who's like what, let's send it for me for vip. Or we're gonna have a exclusive dinner at a private steakhouse it's one of our favorite spots. I mean, it's enough, we're gonna have a full. We're gonna have a full day, yeah, full day training before the studio. We're gonna do a quick studio tour so you can actually see it and it's not just like, oh, what is this place, like no, you're gonna like get a feel for how it is. So you walk in the day after just having some context, some background knowledge.
Speaker 1:We also have an off-site experience that day before. So it's gonna be a two day vip experience. On the 6th, do all those things I just mentioned, and on the 7th, that's the studio day, that's game time, that's the lights are on, we're rolling action and we're we're capturing great video, great film for you that you can use as you land speaking engagements, as you go to podcasts and say hey, who are you, and you can show up with a powerful media kit and and other sheets like this. Is me now be impressed and let's go.
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely. Tell everybody where they can find you.
Speaker 1:You can find me on LinkedIn, mainly at Alex Dumas. I'm on Facebook as well, I think even a real Alex Dumas, or my website speakeralextumascom.
Speaker 2:I'm going to put the link in for the book. Everybody needs to go out and check this out. You need to go and get these two spots filled. I want my audience to go fill these two spots because if not, y'all are going to really miss out and I'm sure I can convince you to come back again, right?
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, for sure.
Speaker 2:Again, I can't thank you enough for your time. I really hope I can get Sarah to come on as well. I wish your family the very best and I'm going to hold you to it. I'm going to have you come back again.
Speaker 1:It's done. You just got to set the date. That's all it is.
Speaker 2:You got it. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:Thank you, victoria, appreciate you.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
