#94. The Importance of Friendship and Addiction

In this episode, George and Mario share their personal experiences with addiction, focusing on tobacco, alcohol, and pornography. They discuss the impact of these substances on his life, relationships, and mental health. Through storytelling, they highlight the struggles of addiction, the importance of self-awareness, and the need for human connection. The conversation delves into the broader implications of addiction in society and emphasizes the significance of understanding and supporting one another in overcoming these challenges. In this conversation, George and Mario explore the themes of personal growth, the impact of addiction, and the importance of community and support. He reflects on his journey of self-discovery, the significance of relationships, and the need for vulnerability in sharing one's story. The discussion emphasizes the power of kindness, the pursuit of fulfillment, and the hope for a unified humanity, while also acknowledging the challenges and struggles that individuals face. Through personal anecdotes and philosophical insights, the conversation encourages listeners to embrace change, seek support, and recognize the value of their experiences and connections with others.

Takeaways

• Addiction can take many forms, including tobacco, alcohol, and pornography.
• Personal experiences with substances can shape one's understanding of addiction.
• Self-awareness is crucial in recognizing and addressing addiction.
• The impact of addiction extends beyond the individual to affect relationships.
• Support from others can be vital in overcoming addiction.
• Pornography addiction can distort perceptions of love and intimacy.
• It's important to view people as individuals, not objects.
• Addiction can lead to feelings of isolation and shame.
• Moderation and control are key in managing substance use.
• Human connection and understanding are essential in addressing addiction. Personal growth requires confronting old habits and striving for improvement.
• Addiction can have profound effects on identity and relationships.
• Vulnerability is essential in overcoming addiction and sharing experiences.
• Every individual has a unique story that deserves to be heard.
• Change is a natural part of life and should be embraced.
• Community support is crucial for personal development and healing.
• A unified humanity can lead to significant societal progress.
• Legacy is built on the memories and experiences shared with others.
• Music can evoke powerful memories and emotions.
• Love and relationships often happen spontaneously and unexpectedly.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction and Setting the Scene
• 5:50 The Impact of Alcohol on Life
• 11:52 Understanding Addiction: Personal Stories
• 17:49 The Struggles with Pornography Addiction
• 30:02 The Effects of Pornography on Relationships
• 41:45 The Broader Implications of Addiction
• 55:59 Concluding Thoughts on Humanity and Connection
• 1:30:02 The Journey of Self-Discovery and Sharing Stories
• 1:35:52 The Importance of Community and Support
• 1:42:21 Building a Foundation for Future Generations
• 1:48:19 The Power of Music and Memories
• 1:56:24 The Nature of Love and Relationships
• 2:02:53 The Spontaneity of Love and Life
• 2:10:51 The Value of Conversations and Connections
• 2:16:32 The Ripple Effect of Kindness
• 2:22:13 The Journey of Friendship and Support
• 2:30:37 The Importance of Living in the Moment
• 2:40:51 Hope and the Journey Ahead

Transcript

George Angel Ramirez (00:00.568)
Alright, another good episode, another good day. Today's a little different, we're having a couple drinks here. We decided to finally, we're gonna save it for a special episode. And you're like, every episode is special. It really is. It's our 94th episode and again, it's a privilege as always to be here. And I guess let's get started. Yeah, let's get started, man. Do you want one? I'm alright. Alright, alright.

I think these ends, man, they definitely, You know, I've always been curious about, and I might have one. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, But, you know, Copenhagen, all these different brands that I, when I used to be working at Quick Trip, I... Gotcha. I was kind of always, in the back of my mind, curious to try something like that. I never got around to really experimenting too much. I mean, I try a little bit of the Copenhagen stuff, but it wasn't exactly something I liked.

I tried it a couple times and I said, nah, this isn't for me. But, you know, whenever you're selling tobacco in general, think like cigarettes and all that, you kind of eventually become curious. You know, you want to be able to, when you sell something to somebody, you want to know what it is. And, you know, I tried Marlboro's, I tried, you know, cigarettes and again, never got addicted to them, but just experimented here.

Yeah, I'll kind of tell you a little story about me and how I got introduced to these. And I know a lot of people say this. I'm the type of person where I haven't touched these in over a week. I said, you know what? I know I'm to be having a couple of drinks tonight. And these things really do.

I don't really know exactly. Obviously they got nicotine in them, Yeah.

George Angel Ramirez (02:00.942)
Something with nicotine and alcohol, it just kind of combines really well together. But how I got started actually during military school, well actually growing up, I was a very, very straight edge kid. didn't touch anything. I had my first beer when I was 18. I actually didn't even like it. I remember it was PBR. That was my first beer. It was funny because...

We just graduated, I graduated first, and then my two other best friends graduated shortly after. my best friend, one of my best friends, his name is Evan, he ended up moving to a different town, probably like 10 minutes away, not even, probably five, yeah, five, 10 minutes away from where we lived. And they graduated a little bit after the original...

school that I would have gone to, but the public school that I would have gone to. And he was like, hey man, one of my buddies is throwing a party, just tell him that you know me, because I'm not going to be there. And you and Dave, that's my other good friend. He lives in Tampa now.

He's like, don't you guys go? So we're like, all right, we're not doing anything. So we ended up, and Dave ended up going, we didn't know anybody there and we had PBR and dude, was disgusting. Like I did not enjoy it. And it's funny enough too, because one of the, we go into the party and one of the guys there for some reason, his job was to check on everybody if they were drinking beer. And I...

You know, I didn't like it. So I'm pouring it over, you know, where we were on this balcony I'm pouring it, you know down the balcony. I'm hitting people too and The guy comes up and he's like, you drinking your beer? And he you know, he starts shaking it and he's like, alright, you're drinking it But anyways going back to the the Copenhagen and the zins and all that during military school That's a big thing right anything like military wise. It's always gonna be a thing, you know, especially Copenhagen and

George Angel Ramirez (04:03.512)
throughout my three years in military school, I didn't touch it. A bunch of my roommates, always had lips, that's what they call them, you put in, you get the pouch, you get the tobacco, and you put it in your lips. And I didn't like it just because the smell. There was a strong smell, obviously it spit, you're spitting out all the tobacco and whatnot. So even now, nowadays, it gets me kind of...

Feeling a very, just cringes me up. So I never touched it. And then it was until after high school where I had a girlfriend and then we ended up breaking up. And for me it was a bad breakup just because it's my first girlfriend and I was just struggling. Looking back at it now, I kinda laugh. I'm like, it wasn't that deep, but for me at that time it was. So I remember.

how my roommate my senior year was telling me how, I'm like, why do you do it? And he's like, it calms you down. just kind of brings this calmness out of you. And during that time, was, I don't even know if it was anxiety. I don't know, I was just having a really bad time. And I started doing it. And I remember the very first flavor, and I think this is true with

anybody that does it's not even chewing tobacco it's just tobacco at that point chewing tobacco i think is something different but people they when they see like copenhagen and you know the tobacco that you put in your lips they always put it together for some reason and i remember

the first flavor that I had was disgusting man. don't know. Yeah dude, you actually, for the most part from my understanding is you'll always throw up on your first flavor and then you can never try that flavor again so you go onto another flavor. And I remember people always tell me that the first time that you try it you're gonna throw up. I was gagging hard on my first one. Yeah, especially if you swallow a little bit of it. Fuck dude, I actually have a funny story about that that I'll say in a little bit but

George Angel Ramirez (06:19.146)
So people always say like your first time you're gonna throw up and then you're it's gonna be normal from after that So I ended up trying long cut which is just you know, just I'm assuming a different flavor of it, right? I never had that one Yeah, it's just regular tobacco and it's not in the pouches. It's in the you know, the actual the fine tobacco itself and I think

I don't know if this is true, they have little bits of microfiber that kind of tears up your... Really? Yeah, tears up your gums a little bit so it can go into the blood a little bit faster. I don't know if that's true, that's just what I heard. But yeah, I did it for a long time, man. I did it from... I wanna say it was 18 to...

20 something I don't even remember when when I I remember when I stopped because It they fuck up your teeth pretty bad and people always say I have really nice teeth So I remember one day I used to chew on hard candy and I was chewing on Jolly Ranchers And I'm like this seems a lot harder than usual and sure enough it was part of my tooth Yeah, dude, and then It

That made me quit, you know, the actual tobacco itself. That's good. Yeah, I remember I had to go get,

Like to a dentist and then to like readjust my tooth or they have to like make a certain part of my tooth again and I was like dang I gotta I gotta quit this habit. Yeah, and The thing is with with so during that time when I was quitting That's when Zen came out and these things are There there I'll be honest. They're they're incredible They really are because I think it's just nicotine and a couple other things that they have in them and they don't like you can even swallow it too

George Angel Ramirez (08:07.425)
Really? Yeah, you can swallow your spit on like like tobacco itself and I don't swallow it Only when you know, like when I'm talking a lot but they're incredible man, they give you this buzz and People don't really understand it. Mm-hmm

or maybe they do, I don't know but... It probably depends on who you Yeah, like if you do it then you'll understand, if you don't then you probably won't understand but it gives you this buzz, especially when you're driving. It just gives you this incredible...

Buzz that you can't get with anything else. I'm assuming with any sort of nicotine like maybe gum You might be closed not even with gum man. Not even that's what I substitute it with a lot You know, I'll chew gum a lot just because I wouldn't say like I'm addicted to it because like I said I this is the first time in a week where I tried it and then Because I'll go through my phases I'll go where I do it for every single day and then I'll just stop for like two weeks and then I'll go again and then

You know some people get headaches and stuff when they don't have their Their their their nicotine and me. I'm like I'm okay with it, but I do enjoy having it It makes things enjoyable mm-hmm like work. It makes work more enjoyable doesn't yeah, it makes driving more enjoyable It makes playing a video game more enjoyable you sit there, and you just kind of Let it you know

Take do its thing. Yeah, let us do it. Let us do its thing and they say nicotine is an atropic and Helps you focus on a lot of things and it's true like I went on runs when I've had nicotine when I had the zenz in you've had the runners high Yeah, yeah, I mean I get runners high regardless, but It is like some sort of high that you get

George Angel Ramirez (10:01.742)
And you have them in you, It's really incredible. And that's why I enjoy it. And it's nice. Who knows the effects from it, probably down the road. But it's not as bad from my understanding compared to, you know, Copenhagen or those other brands that actually use tobacco and are a lot more harmful. Those are the types that can cause.

What is that called? Probably mouth, gum cancer. Yeah, yeah stuff like that. Who knows if it does but you know at the end of the day man It's it's enjoyable for me like I said if you ever want to try it man There's one right here I would recommend with one and I'm telling you for the first time dude it gives you this incredible buzz that Like I feel it right now. You know it just it just seems like time goes it just goes and you're just You're just there. You're just enjoying every it makes things enjoyable

And I don't know if that's like Unique or Yeah, yeah, I don't know if that's just like coming from like the mouth, you know the word of Someone that's done it that's done it a lot of times or who knows man, but it really is it makes Conversations more enjoyable. It makes it makes everything more enjoyable. I don't admit I'm curious. Yeah, like I said, it's right here man I'm not forcing you into anything

funny I listen to a lot of Joe Rogan and I listen to a lot of Joey Diaz and they started doing it huh and I mean you just listen to some of the conversations that you get out of them you're like dang dude like they're doing the same thing that I'm doing yeah it like I said it just really makes things more enjoyable

For sure. And thanks for sharing, you know, your story in relation to all that. Yeah, I think tobacco in itself, like cigarettes and...

George Angel Ramirez (11:52.19)
Actual like the Copenhagen and the actual tobacco itself I think they're going out of style with things that are being created like this they are you know, especially when I worked a quick trip I noticed a lot of people would go with vapes and Alternatives to the normal cigar. Yeah, or cigarette I should say more tobacco And I think it's a trend because back in the day they used to think that it was healthy Yeah to smoke, you know And that's why you had a lot of people that were very hooked on that and they said nicotine wasn't addictive for the long

this time until I think the 90s is when they've come to that realization that nicotine is very addictive and

You know, early on when I was growing up, I was very discouraged from ever trying cigarettes and trying all that because of the things that they would tell me, don't let peer pressure get the best of you. Do all these, you know, preventative measures that would prevent you from doing these things. And I'm grateful in a way because it prevented me from getting addicted to cigarettes and a lot of things that would affect my health. But one thing I will admit that I've been, I'd say mildly addicted to, thankfully it's more controlled is alcohol.

My biological dad, was an extreme alcoholic. Every time I would visit him, because my mom would take me there just to visit him, he was always drinking in some capacity. And as a kid you don't really understand those things, you don't see the implications. He left my life when I was seven years old, so I didn't really have time to kind of understand what was going on around me.

But as I got older and when I finally became 21 and was able to drink alcohol more freely, I developed a sort of an addiction to it. And thankfully it wasn't anything crazy that ruined my life, but I had a particular friendship that kind of propelled that addiction to alcohol. And I would often find myself drinking beers on end.

George Angel Ramirez (13:48.652)
Of course, it's not good for your health, I'll admit. You know, there's days just go by and you're there kind of wasted and not really thinking about what's going on around you and you start calling out of work and doing habits that are pretty damaging. And I think when I realized that and I understood that, I said, well, I need to take a step back from this. As much as I enjoy the feeling, the kind of soothness I get from it.

Even now, you know, I have that kind of feeling. But then it was very different because I didn't understand it. And I always allowed it to influence me. So I was a habitual caller out of my job at Quick Trip specifically. On nights that I felt good physically, you know, I wasn't feeling sick. I was thinking, okay, I can go to work. I'd still call out because there I was just drinking away. And I think it was a life lesson for me.

because it made me understand, what do I value more in my life? Do I value this addiction that I have to alcohol? Or do I value getting my livelihood together? And I think it was a very hard question for me to answer for that year. I could never come around to it, because it seemed fine. And one of the things that Quick Trip had was a lot of PTO and lot of vacation up front. A lot of jobs where you have to earn your hours, do that.

QuickTrip always gave you your PTO up front. There was never a wait time. So it was very easy to get in the habit of, I need to call out, I'll just use a day. And that's what I did for some time until it caught up to me and I realized I was out of days. And then, you know, I saw my friend who, he also struggled with alcoholism and he got a DUI for it. You know, that was another big hit for me.

was seeing him put in that situation. I wasn't with him when he got his DUI. was a night out. Interestingly, I wasn't with him because I was always hanging out with him in some capacity. And when I heard of that situation, even though I didn't drive, it kind of hit me and realized the consequences of allowing this addiction to get the better of you. And having to sit with him through the classes he would take because he was forced to as part of his

George Angel Ramirez (16:11.374)
court situation. You know, having to go through house arrest, having to go through jail and all the procedures he went through because of his DUI. It was a reality check for me, even though again I wasn't directly involved, but I was there with him on that journey. And I saw that and I still of course loved alcohol, but I started to understand that it could be dangerous. And

That's when I would try to sway him away from that. I did my best on that, but you know for him, he still struggled to that. And of course I haven't kept in touch with him for two years, so don't know how his journey has been. I hope the best for him and I hope that he got the better of that addiction.

You know, when I left him, he was still struggling with it. So my hope is that he got the better of it and now he's living a successful life in his own way. But those lessons early on with that addiction kind of opened my eyes to the damage that it would cause. And so I started to more moderate what I would drink and be more controlled about it.

And I think in the long term it served me well. Don't get me wrong, I always enjoy a drink here and there. You know, as one should in moderation, like I always say. But, you my story with alcoholism is I've seen the damage it's caused, but I understand how to take that fine line. And that when I consume it, that I have to be in the one in control and not allow it to take the better of me. And I think you said it perfectly as well, too, where...

George Angel Ramirez (17:49.966)
You start to understand that anything can become an addiction. Yes. And the best way to learn is seeing it from other people. And the hard part with that too is sometimes we're like, we're not gonna become addicts. We're not gonna become those people that we see out in the street.

That's not me. That's you hear a lot. And it ends up happening. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy drinking. I really do. And I like to say that...

I do it in a very controlled setting for the most part. Obviously when you go out to the bars there's only so much that you can control. Right, you go with the moment. Exactly. But the thing is like you still...

have to realize that you have to be in control. And you start to see a lot of people, especially in a party city like Tucson, right? You go out to Fourth Ave. People are just, they don't know how to control their alcohol. And then so you know a fight starts. And not just in Tucson, this goes in many, many places. But Tucson is a good example because you got a lot of people that come from different places here in the US, going to college, or just in general.

of people coming here and they go out and they just get way too drunk and I've seen it you know I've seen it so many times where you go out and drink and people just get way too to obliterate obliterated they get way too drunk and not only that you have a lot of people that are doing the same so you're putting yourself in an environment this isn't to judge anybody but you're putting yourself in an environment where

George Angel Ramirez (19:37.248)
Alcohol is so easy to get and you start creating this habit over time.

Your buddies want to go out and drink all the time and next thing you know, you're doing this for over a year and next thing you know, you're just drinking way too much. And that was one thing I told myself. I never want to be able, like I don't drink every weekend. The last time I drank was about, it was about a week ago. I decided to get some wine and just kind of sit at the house and read a book and just enjoy myself.

And that's perfectly fine. You know, I told myself, hey, you know, you, you, not that these that you deserve it, but if that's what you want to do, okay. But don't make this a habit every single night. And don't get me wrong. Like it was a great time. I was by myself. I was with my dog. I was reading the book that I really enjoyed. And I told myself, this is really, this is really fun. I can do this every single night. And then I had to remind myself as a K.

This is not a good habit to have one. It's expensive. You know, the outcome that can come from this. You've seen it in your family. You've seen it with some of your friends. You've seen it with strangers as well too. So don't make this a habit. And that's one thing I always told myself when I drink is not to make this a habit. Cause I enjoy, you know, I, I'm not the type of person that I'm just going to have one beer. Like I come home and I'm going to have a cold one. I've never been that type of person. I, you know, and

Like I said, I'm not judging anybody. I don't understand that mindset where I wanna go home and just have a beer. I've just never been that type of person. I know a lot of people like that and they're great people. I'd rather save, if I'm gonna enjoy drinking, I'm gonna save it for a time where I know I don't have anything to do the next day.

George Angel Ramirez (21:35.028)
I only had one hangover in my life. It's funny, I thought I had a stroke when I was hungover. Did you? Yeah, I did because half my face was hurting and it was a really bad headache and I go over to my buddy's house and we have drinks and...

I wake up the next morning just, you know, obviously hung over, but I didn't, that was my first time. And he's like, have you ever been hung over? And I said, no. And I'm like, okay, this is what a hangover is. And I'm like, I don't ever want to get to this point again. But I've been around so many people that have drank so much and it's affected their lives, you know, in a negative way that I'm like, okay, this is a lesson that I need to learn very quickly, especially going on into my early twenties and now into

in my late 20s that drinking can be a very big problem. It really can be. And it's funny because we, you know, I'm saying that as we're drinking, but you know, it, it, it obviously we, we, we planned this. We did. We're in a controlled setting. We're safe. There's nothing that we have to worry about. Right. And that's the beauty of it is doing things in moderation.

And sometimes that can be very hard with any type of addiction. know, one of the type of addictions now that, you know, I guess that's basically some of the topics that we're talking about right now is, you know, one of the things that I've been addicted to ever since I was a kid is porn. I'm glad you brought that up. I'll talk about that. Yeah. Yeah. And it's something that I can be honest with you.

That is a type of addiction that really had a grasp on me. And look, I'm still battling through it and I'm not afraid to, or nor am I ashamed to talk about it anymore because I see the effects of it. And it's something that, know, addictions can become very real. Right. And it's not just with your typical alcohol or drugs or

George Angel Ramirez (23:40.344)
You things like that that you see so commonly Addictions can come in many forms. You you can be addicted to video games you can be addicted to Obviously pornography you can be addicted to so many different things and

they can become very unhealthy. know, one of the things is, pornography's been one of my addictions that I've been battling through. Women, you know, if that's something like for men or just people that, know, like women in general or, you know, even the opposite sex. It's something that can take a hold of your life and you don't even notice it until you're like, holy shit, this is something that is real, you know?

Yeah, no, thanks for sharing that. I think it's a topic I've personally held off on because it's something embarrassing for the longest time for me to admit. You know, my porn addiction, and I'll talk a little bit about this, is it started when I was 12. You know, I was curious at the time and I think you really, some people run into porn accidentally and some people run into it just out of a curious search. And at the time my uncle gifted me a laptop.

And this was amazing because back in 2012, touchscreen laptops were really barely becoming a thing. You know, for people who can remember, technology was really starting off in the 2000, 2010s era. That was kind of the era of change. And...

That was kind of a golden day for the internet. It really was with Steve Jobs and all that. And I watched that keynote actually when I was seven, live. So it was really cool to see the iPhone come out as an idea. But anyway, with the laptop specifically, I was given that because of school, you know, I was in middle school at the time and something clicked in my brain. I don't know why, but I was curious. I was very curious and one day I decided to look up.

George Angel Ramirez (25:31.59)
a subject that would, you know, give into that curiosity. And before I knew it, I ended up on a very well known site called Pornhub. Yeah. And I became addicted. And I say that more out of innocence turn into, you know, curiosity killed the cat kind of situation of one thing led to another led to another. then before I knew it, it became a habit.

And some days I would come out of school and I would engage in that. And little by little, unknowingly, it was causing damage. The saddest part about porn is you don't see the damage visibly. Like alcohol and like drugs where you know that there's a damage happening to you physically. Porn is more similar to a drug, but happening mentally.

And it destroys your perception of love. It corrupts your perception of love. gives you something that love isn't. That in this case objectified women for me. And it caused a lot of hurt for me watching these videos as I came to understand what I was doing. That I wanted to break this addiction so badly.

And for since I was 12 to 15, I battled it so hard.

Eventually I did the thing that no teenager would think of doing. One day, I close my laptop. I walk to my parents and I tell them what I'm going through. They what? That I tell them what I was going through. And that was the hardest conversation to have because it was the most embarrassing conversation. You never think in a million years you're to come to your parents and tell them I have a problem. Especially a problem that sensitive.

George Angel Ramirez (27:41.078)
It's hard because you know you're going to be judged. You know they're going to think you're a weirdo, a creep, whatever they think you are because you engage in this very touchy area. And don't get me wrong, my parents were very frustrated, very angry, very taken aback by what I've engaged in. They said, Mario, you don't understand how much damage you are doing to yourself.

And that's what I told my parents, I know, and that's why I've come to you. Because I know how much this is damage this is causing me. I don't like this. I, yes, the feeling of the moment is enjoyable, but you know, the dopamine rush and all the things that go on with that, but I don't want to engage in this topic anymore. I don't want to engage in having to look at this.

It's an addiction. can I do? And that's when they tell me, you know, what you're doing is bad. What you're doing is going to affect your life. They really had a very serious conversation with me and it was very eye-opening, embarrassing. was all kind of feelings. Trust me. I, when I had that moment that I try to confess and I did confess what I was going through, it was so embarrassing and humiliating. It kind of was the biggest eye-opener that I had.

And I said, what I am viewing isn't love. What's going on in front of me is not love. And, and understanding the meaning of that is so hard when you're younger, because again, when, and the work I had a spark, this curiosity in me was when I watched kind of the R rated movies with my parents, my parents would always tell me to block your eyes, right? And one time I didn't.

time I was like, why don't they tell me to block my eyes from and of course my innocence got the better of me. The curiosity killed the cat and I went down the rabbit hole and I understood it took me the longest time. I'd say still into my twenties. I've occasionally had a battle of this addiction to understand that what I'm seeing isn't love, that the people that go through this industry.

George Angel Ramirez (30:02.334)
are probably having to take drugs to cope with the situation they're in. They probably have to find some way to put up with what they're putting up with that we don't know of. And I think what finally clicked for me that helped me better comprehend this addiction was understanding that at end of the day, they're people too and they have to be human. Instead of objectified, as I said earlier, they're human.

can't be supporting something that's dehumanizing people. And I'll admit I'm not perfect on this topic, but I've gotten a lot better and I've worked through it and I'm proud of the progress I've made because I haven't engaged very much in this industry and haven't supported it, you know, to that degree anymore.

That's a little bit about that for me. Yeah, man. That's very. That's a very. Touching story because. We all and look man at the end of the day.

Thank you for sharing that story because look I'll be honest with you man I've dealt with the same exact thing with you, and I'm still dealing with it at times and one of the things that you notice is like you said you don't Understand the damages that it causes you

because the way...

George Angel Ramirez (31:42.424)
women, the way that you view life in general too.

George Angel Ramirez (31:50.432)
And it can become extremely hard to go through life with that specific type of addiction. And I'll be honest with you, I'm the first one, I'll raise my hand right now and tell you that that's something that I've been battling through because it is, man. People, they might not know the struggle that you're going through.

But people sense it. People can feel that struggle that you're going through. And I notice it. You know, I notice it when I don't watch porn for a good amount of time. That I'm very happy. I'm naturally myself.

People will gravitate towards you when you're not watching porn. And I know there's a lot of people out there that say, hey, anything in moderation is okay. And that's at the end of the day, I have to say, just as a person going through this problem, porn is an extreme, it does extreme damages to you.

So many ways that people won't understand it. Yeah, sure. Look if hey if you watch it once or twice a week Sure. Yeah, that's not bad You know like with anything if you have a cigarette once or twice a week That's not obviously would be better if you don't right course naturally, you know with same thing with the alcohol if you have it once or twice a week That's okay. But the thing is we live in a society nowadays where we're either all in or we're not

It's all or nothing. It's all or nothing. And that's how we live nowadays. You see it a lot, especially with food. A lot of people, the way they are with food, it can become extremely dangerous.

George Angel Ramirez (33:44.822)
And that's another thing where it's like, all right, yeah, sure. In moderation, it's good. But that's the one thing I can say about porn. No moderation of porn should be good. Because you start to realize the thing that you're watching is basically a false sense of reality of what love should be. Sex should be something that is enjoyable. Sex should be something that is done out of love. And this is not coming out of a religious sense or a moral sense.

Really what it should be it should be something that you enjoy Yeah, and one one of the things like I started watching porn when I was in elementary school Wow early with me I I remember it too. I remember it so far because It has affected me in in a way where It's done a lot of damage to my life, especially with potential relationships that I've could have had But I started very young I started when

In the fifth grade, well, so I remember I had an uncle, no, I had a cousin that lived with my grandparents. And he was in the army during that time. And when he wasn't, I think he was a national guard, so he would go off, do his drills, and I would sleep in his room.

And I remember I was just curious one day and I was going through searching this room and I found a... A magazine? No, it wasn't a magazine. It was a DVD. wow. And I put it on and sure enough it was born and I didn't realize what was going on. Sorry. Yeah, and I was just like, what's going on?

And then I remember, I don't even know how far after that I went into class one day and I was, I'm not going to mention his name because, it's not to, to, to judge this guy or it's not to say, Hey, this is your fault. What you've caused to me. There was one of my friends who, and I know who he is till this day. He's a great guy. anyways, my type of personality, right? There's I'm a very all or nothing type of guy.

George Angel Ramirez (35:58.762)
And he said, hey, there's this website that I go on and you should go on it too. And I go on it and it was, you know, one of the bigger porn sites. And I hooked on it ever since that day, dude. And it was every single morning. Multiple, multiple times throughout the day. And it was just something where I was a preteen, you know, your hormones are getting up and you know, that's just.

when that was just the situation at the time. And then fast forward into my 20s, I was watching it pretty much every single day. And it really wasn't until I started getting into relationships where I started to, and it took a long, time.

to really understand the damages that porn can do. Exactly. Because porn, again, isn't a very direct drug. I call it a drug because that's what it is innately. You don't see what it does to you because, again, you don't associate it like you would do a cigarette or alcohol. You think, well, what I'm viewing is normal. What I'm viewing is natural. And it's not. And I want people to understand this. Porn is by far, I think,

the most damaging type of drug you could take. And I'm gonna call it a drug because that's what it is. And thankfully I ran into a subreddit, I don't know if a lot of people are on Reddit, but I recommend it. It's called NoFap. I'm on it too. I'm on it too. I ran into it when I was 16. So that's about eight years ago. And I ran into it because I was falling through a very hard time when I was 16.

because I was perpetually, and I would say very confidently addicted to a porn. I would every day, maybe in the morning before school and after I go to just sit in my room and partake in this addiction. And I knew that it was causing damage to my grades, dozing damage to my focus. And again, I was a very academically focused kid, so I could see the damage. And one day,

George Angel Ramirez (38:18.72)
I looked up how to stop this addiction. And I ran into this subreddit called NoFap, which is a group of people who come together to help prevent the spread of the porn addiction itself. And I did something I would never have thought I'd do in a million years. I posted on that and I asked, how can I stop this addiction? And I gave a bit of a story.

And again, at the time I was a very closed off individual as an introvert. didn't want to share my life to anybody. The fear of people knowing that this was going on in my life was scary. The idea, of course I was anonymous, but still just typing everything in. It hurt. The people were the most supportive. The people in that group were the most supportive people I could have run into.

when I was dealing with this problem on a wide scale. I'm thankful to every person who posted and responded to my thread and gave me the most life-changing advice on how to tackle this addiction. They never judged me. They never told me I was a bad person. They never questioned my morality. They never questioned who I was. They just gave me advice from the bottom of their heart.

irrespective of what I've posted, irrespective of who I was. They gave me the most non-judgmental help that one can receive. And I am grateful to every person who has posted on that original post that I made, asking for help. Because it was very humiliating, personally. I never thought I would come around to having to turn to somebody and tell them, hey man, I'm addicted to porn.

Because you never think you're going to share that to somebody. You never want to because for one, you don't want to introduce anybody to this. You don't want to put anything through the situation because you don't even want to think and put the seeds of curiosity in somebody like you went through. You don't want someone to go through that trauma. You don't because you know that the rabbit hole is endless. When it comes to porn, there is no depth that you cannot reach.

George Angel Ramirez (40:41.696)
anything you can think of it's there and it destroys you. And I never dared to tell somebody in person besides what kind of my parents, where I told them when I was younger. And so to put this out there was both humiliating, embarrassing and humiliating. You know, it taught me that people care and that people are in that same journey as I am and that they're willing to care and tell me it's going to be okay.

This is what you've got to do to combat this. It's not, it's not a definition of your life. It does not define you. What you're seeing does not mean that that's you. And when they immediately separated what I thought I was becoming to what I was, I finally knew that I was a person, not a dehumanizing individual who viewed women as objects.

like I did for four years leading up to my confession of this addiction.

And it gave me the biggest clarity to finally start to combat it. And it became less regular. It became something that no longer was controlling and gripping my curiosity and gripping my perception of love. Because that is not love. I want to remind people that porn is not love. It is not. By any definition, what you view is not love. What you see is people that are possibly on drugs having to be addicted to put me through the pain of that industry. It is not love.

And it took the longest time for me. And that's why I wasn't able to get into any kind of relationship because I couldn't an honest God look at women in the eyes and tell them, love you because deep down that corruption of that addiction was taken hold. I'm being honest in that. I couldn't see a woman as a woman, as they were meant to be looked at. Instead, it was very objectified in that view. But once I went through this,

George Angel Ramirez (42:42.636)
And I read the posts that many people wrote after me, replying to what I said and giving me motivation and uplifting me and telling me it's okay that you're going through this. I'm going to help you get through this. We're in this together. There's a lot of people, there's a group of people, the Fabsternauts, that we're going through this and we're going to help you. And help me they did.

I'm not going to say I'm perfect. I'm not going to preach to that because there are times that I've even in moments of depression, moments of doubt and moments of weakness that I have given myself in. And that again, I fall through the same trap, the trap I should know of sidestepping. fall into the habit of I have no, in my life. would love to have love. And then I think about

a video and then before I know it, I'm back into it. I've had those moments and I'm not going to say at any moment I am perfect because I am not, but I'm going to say due to the dedication of people and the honesty of people and the humanity in people, it gave me back the humanity to love people. And still, you know, I haven't had a relationship recently, but I haven't had the need to keep coping through this addiction because I know when love hits,

Love will be real. It won't be like in those egregious, terrible videos that you see. That it all happens so spontaneously, Fake. As if in a clicking of a button it happens. Love takes time, it's nurture. It's a feeling that you cannot develop instantaneously. Again, there's no defining love, like we've said before in this episode, in previous episodes. You know, there's no defining it.

And what porn tries to do is it encapsulates love and tries to give you a definition when there is no definition. It is organic when porn is not organic. And again, it took such a grip of me, such a control of me over those years that it did a lot of harm, more than good, way infinitely more than good. It hurt me.

George Angel Ramirez (44:53.92)
And again, to all the fast or not out there who, you know, who are there and ready to respond to people like me, who had to come to you and almost embarrassing hour that again became very humbling. Thank you because you saved me when I thought there was no savior. So on all that I say, you know, thank you and keep the mission alive.

because there's going to be many people who unfortunately in this day and age in the 2020s porn is more accessible than ever. And I know that a lot of States are taking action like Texas and like a lot of places who have been able to start banning this practice. But I know there's a lot of people like me who are in their teenage years who are vulnerable and don't want to admit to anything because again, they don't want to deal with the repercussions of humiliation like I did. But again,

Thank you for your dedication to helping people like me and giving people the opportunity to understand that what they're seeing with their own two eyes isn't realistic and that it never will be. And it's an industry we needed to destroy that if there's any industry that I think of personally that needs to come down, it has to be the porn industry. Sorry. I, I, I, dwell too much into that, but it's a,

Topic I've always been passionate about. And because it affected me so bad and it affects you so subconsciously that you don't think it's a problem. You think it's something in the back of your mind you're keeping secret because it's okay in some capacity. But then when you understand the repercussions and the damage and the things that it teaches you, because it's not teaching, want people to understand that it's not teaching anything. It's destroying your mind. It's corrupting you.

But you don't see that because it's not a drug. It's not stigmatized. In the same degree as meth, as cocaine, as all these addictive things that are blatant. It's very subconscious. And it almost brings me to tears because I don't want people to go through this. I don't. And I hope to God that government, like other states, have been going that direction. Keep on restricting it and eventually, you know, preventing it because...

George Angel Ramirez (47:20.27)
No child should ever be exposed to something like I was when I was 12. It's unfair. Because the damage has been perpetual. And I've overcome it to a good degree. I have finally understood love to a good degree again. I live by the mindset I don't know anything. You know, I'm still learning and I'm always going to be learning. But...

Getting away from that addiction thanks to the fraps or not set no fat has been very helpful. Listen, man, what we share on this podcast is stories that we've gone through and that we've been through.

I see the pain in your eyes And I've seen all the things that you've gone through and I can understand because I've gone through the same exact things that you've gone through and I get chills that the story that you're telling because at the end of the day I am someone that has gone through the same exact thing so if you were in a room telling this story to people that don't understand what you have gone through and the things that you've experienced through that addiction it would be just wasted words at the end

But I can sit here and tell you that I've gone through the same exact thing that you're going through and I'm still going through them And I've been in so many relationships time and time again

And they've never flourished. Why? Because of that specific addiction. And I'm not ashamed to name it. It is a porn addiction. it is a real addiction. I don't care what anybody calls it because it's caused so much suffering in my life. And I see that pain because I go through that pain. That same pain you have in your heart is the same pain that I have in my heart.

George Angel Ramirez (49:14.74)
You know man, it's it's extremely hard because I had a girlfriend And I won't be ashamed to say it but there was times where You know, we would have sex and I just I couldn't get it up

And would wonder why. And it's not to be weird and it's not to be strange and I'm sitting here as a man telling you this very shameful story but I start to understand that people are going through the same thing that you and I are going through and someone needs to tell them that it's okay. And someone needs to tell them that.

might not see the progress a week from now. You might not see a progress two weeks from now. But you have to start. You do? And all those relations... No, you're fine, dude. Let the tears out because there's been so many relationships that could have flourished in my life. And they never did.

I agree with you and I'm gonna share this real brief. I need to interrupt you. I apologize. Go right ahead. There was a girl that I loved. And of course I say love very subjectively because it might not have been true, But I liked. Yeah. I had a crush on her. I had feelings for her. But porn is kind of like a lens you put on yourself. Yes. That you

idolize the thought of how this should go. How sex should be. How a lot of these intimate things need to be. How they have to fall into place. Kind of like, you know, I'm not going to go too much into detail, but kind of like how porn kind of gives you a story that leads into the event. A narrative. narrative. And that's how you view it. And it prevented.

George Angel Ramirez (51:20.682)
a lot of opportunity for me to have a loving life. And I will say this, and I will say this to a lot of people who may be struggling with this addiction. You're not alone. And it prevented me from getting a lot of the relationships I would have otherwise been able to have. A lot of the love and a lot of the care and a lot of the ingenuity I would have had with women that I felt something for. And I could tell

And not to say I'm presumptuous in this, but I could in some way read that they had the same feelings of a potential relationship to have occurred. Because I allowed these preconceptions and feelings to take hold of me, prevented me from actualizing that. And I've lived my life with lot of regrets and a lot of kura-wutashutas and relationships because of that.

And it was a cycle, a ruthless cycle, that it destroyed my confidence in ever approaching a woman. Because I would know deep down that they would think, is that really all this guy sees in me? Sees me for these very fleshy, you know, and I gotta say this from more of a religious standpoint, more fleshy kind of.

standpoint. Instead of valuing me for my personality, for what I am as a person, for the interactions that we've had, the conversation that I've had, is he at the end of the day just viewing me as another one night stand?

And it caused a lot of hesitation in me that prevented me from taking the next step. That made me lose out on a lot of opportunities and perhaps not losing out because maybe I never had a chance. I don't know. Right. And that's one thing my friend told me when I was in Quirk Trip. Again, in this job, I learned a lot, not only professionally, but on a friendship level because I made a lot of good friends there. But he told me one day.

George Angel Ramirez (53:33.442)
that you'll come to regret the day that you never had the courage to ask the person you liked out.

because there is nothing worse than regret. And I never understood his message for the time. I was a very, I thought I knew it all kind of guy. Like I said, I lived my life wanting to be in the best image and best graces with people. I was a people pleaser for the longest time. And at that time I was kind of going through a transition of understanding that you can't please everybody. You can't put a smile on everybody's face. You can't make everybody happy with yourself.

And when he told me that, I didn't take it seriously. I took it at face value. I thought, well, maybe he's full of himself. He thinks he knows it all, but he knows nothing. Little did I know that what he told me would haunt me forever. Because it's true. The things you never attempt, for example, in relationships, you never attempt to ask her out because of the fear of rejection.

which that's a whole other topic to discuss because rejection is a very real thing and we as people fear it. But I never understood what he had to say because I had a lot of pride, a lot of ego, a lot of feeling of, well, I know what's right, you know, you don't know anything. And he did, little did I know. And that fear of rejection and that feeling in the back of my mind of what porn gave me,

of that perception and objectification of women. It prevented me from asking the person that was also interested in me. And I distorted that love view. I never went ahead with it. And I always kept it a fantasy. And because of that, I always think of what could have been. I always think if I just asked the question,

George Angel Ramirez (55:41.014)
If I had just enough initiative, if I had just enough of heart to come up to that girl that I liked and to have told her I love you. Well, maybe not that strong, but you know, I have an interest in you. I'd like to go on a date.

Maybe my life would have changed in some way. But because of porn and because of my ignorance and my arrogance, I never came up with the courage. I was short. And I came short. And now, about two and a half years later, the words he tells me haunts me. Because what he said was right.

You not doing this because of your inability and weakness to this addiction.

come to haunt you because regret is the biggest reminder of what we could have had.

George Angel Ramirez (56:44.782)
And porn, I would say, was the 90 %... I would even say higher than that contributor to my inability to understand that. And I became ignorant and arrogant to the advice my friend was trying to give me on a regular smoke break. Because that's how we had a lot of our conversations, ironically. Again, I wasn't much of a smoker, but for him and I are kind of special moments of his friends.

came out with just smoking a cigarette. And again, this is not to tell anybody to get addicted to nicotine or to be smoking, but for me, was kind of an interesting moment. I think we all have those one-offs where there's something we do out of habit with somebody because it's special. And it's through that moment, little did I know that I learned so much, but I knew nothing of learning it until now.

when I reflect on it and I think of what he was trying to tell me it hits and I realize that porn has done so much damage to me it blinds me to understanding what he was trying to tell me and what I want to tell people is don't allow that to control you

Don't allow that to distort love, to distort the actual feeling of having a companion. Because like you said before with, you know, and this is an analogy I'll use again, relationships are like having a best friend. Like when you told, you know, your love interest that she's a good friend or a good best friend, it's very much in that same way. It's a companionship. And porn takes that away because you don't see the companionship.

You see a very one dimensional perspective. You see an object. Yes. And that's what I've been kind of sharing here is objectification because that's what porn teaches you that it's fine. And I want to remind people that it's not fine. It is not okay to view man or woman because I know that it goes both ways that it's okay to view somebody as an object.

George Angel Ramirez (59:00.842)
It is not okay in any capacity to view anybody in that such a way. Love people out of the goodness of your heart and the goodness of their heart. Love them for who they are as people, as personality, the content of their character. That is what comes at the forefront of love. And once you discover that, once you understand that, does love really start to take place?

It isn't by the looks. It isn't by the physical. It isn't by the things that with age they go bad. Because at the end of the day, the person you look at now in their twenties and when they come to their forties, fifties, sixties, and again, not to fault people who may age, but age is inevitable and the looks and all that comes away. But at the end of the day, the thing you stick with is the love that you had for that person that is irreplaceable and special.

Those are the things you cannot take away, no matter how old they get, because when you come to marriage, and again, that's a whole other topic, it is a vow that you make to somebody that you will love them until the end of your days. That is love. More profound than anything porn could ever introduce you to. Because porn, again, shows you the sex, the things that are fleshy.

Things that aren't realistic and sorry that I'm taking up so much time. I apologize take all the time And I think the image I'm trying or the the message I'm trying to give here is that we have to understand that what we see on a screen the pixels the thing you know that is Never gonna be real because when you experience love and you understand it for what it is It is eternal compared to the temporary dopamine rush that you get from porn

because porn is only going to give you the quick high, the quick emotion that you were expecting. But love will always give you love. And hundreds of times over.

George Angel Ramirez (01:01:13.39)
That's what I have to share.

George Angel Ramirez (01:01:28.814)
That was deep. That was something I needed to...

George Angel Ramirez (01:01:39.726)
I'll share my stories because I think they're a good indication of what the damage...

has caused and salute to you man because

George Angel Ramirez (01:02:00.696)
you look at, and it's not just porn, when you look at it in a broader spectrum.

you start viewing humans as an object. And not just women, for the sake of you and me being men. But when you start viewing people as objects, and that's where we are today in society.

view people as objects. We view people as numbers. When you look at the war report coming out of Ukraine, or you look at the war report coming out of what's going on in Israel and Palestine, or when you look at the war report that's going on in Africa, and you see all these numbers, we failed as a society.

That's what we have been doing for the past.

George Angel Ramirez (01:03:09.464)
for a long time. can't even sit here and tell you a specific time and period, like a period in life where we haven't really viewed people as people. When you view people as a number, when you view people as an object to get to a place that you need to go to.

George Angel Ramirez (01:03:36.12)
We failed. And that's where we're at. We're at a place in life here on Earth where that's where we see people as a number. X amount of numbers have died in Ukraine. X amount of numbers have died in Israel and Palestine. X number of people have died.

George Angel Ramirez (01:04:05.434)
X amount of people have died in Russia. X amount of people have died because of the hurricane that's going on. Yeah. And I'm sorry if I cut you off on this, but a good friend of mine, as a matter of fact, she's selling me a Jeep. again, I'm very grateful for her because she's gonna be kind of the kickstarter to a journey for me and driving and all that. She has her kids who live in Georgia.

who were at the eye of the storm. And I know a lot of people will immediately say, the eye was the safest spot in the hurricane. But for her, was very real. could hear her calling her children that moved to Georgia. And just the strain as a mother, as the care, the love that she has for them, calling them, making sure they're okay, that they have power, they have the basic necessities. And at moments notice, she would move to see them.

You know, it makes everything very real. But go ahead.

George Angel Ramirez (01:05:12.088)
you start to realize that every number is either a father, a brother, a sister, someone in the community. When you start to realize that these are people here on earth and they have their own stories.

struggles and their own emotions the things that make them happy the things that make them sad the things that wake them up in the morning and now you realize that they're just a statistic nowadays that should break each and every one of our heart and it doesn't

And going back to this porn addiction

People don't realize how hard it is just as you and I are numb You know, maybe not not not to say that you and I are these great people and we share these stories on the podcast and we're all Prolific and no no no fuck that

George Angel Ramirez (01:06:38.222)
People see, let's just say a crackhead on the street. And they say, that person is just taking up space.

You don't realize that that person has a heart just as you and I do. Let me tell you a story real quick and I apologize. Yeah, no, no, no, no. You don't have to apologize for anything, man. When I was 16, I went through my transformation to become a normal person. had that, you we had that conversation back on the last episode where I fought as hard as nails to be a normal person in the eyes of humanity, in the eyes of society. When I became time when a teacher.

He decided to have mock interviews because he was preparing us to have jobs. He was giving us bit of prep work to have a job. It was my turn to come up for a mock interview in front of the classroom. Again, I was a very nervous individual. I struggled through Asperger's and I just recently got my diagnosis removed. I had an opportunity to go up in the class and do my part and as I got up from my desk,

went up to there. heard so many people tell me you're extra. Mario's extra. You're a snake, Mr. Boltman, because that was his name, for letting him have an opportunity and having a mock interview.

Everybody was up in arms if they had pitchforks, I'm sure that would be up on there for having me have an opportunity to sit down and have a mock interview. There was a lot of disappointment, a lot of resentment, a lot of anger in the classroom when I got the opportunity. But you know what I did? Despite all the hate that I was getting just walking on to sit down on that seat and have that opportunity, I just told myself

George Angel Ramirez (01:08:27.032)
You know what? I have much of an opportunity and a chance as these people who are telling me not to. I have much as a right and a privilege to do so as them. I deserve to sit here. I deserve to be before the person who's gonna give me a mock interview and get a shot. Even if they give me all the constructive criticism in the world and they tell me, Mara, you just walked in here unprepared. Even if they say whatever they had to say.

I deserve just as much of a chance as they do to sit down and hear, I'm not extra. I have fought for 12 years to prove I'm a normal person, that I'm just deserving of a decent dignity as an individual, as they all are, to be able to have an opportunity to voice and have a chance to talk to somebody. And so despite all that, you know, feedback I was getting from everybody around me, I went up there in courage.

sat down and had my mock interview. And at the end of the day, when I had finalized my 15 minutes of conversation, they told me, man, you deserve a job.

And my classroom stood silent. They let out what I was in. Instead of all the bickering and the complaining that they had for the teacher for allowing me to have an opportunity to do that and calling me extra for doing it, they had some respect. And I want to know that, I want to let people know that everybody deserves a seat at the table.

Everybody deserves an opportunity to voice their opinions. Everybody is an individual and it deserves the respect as it comes to an individual regardless of their backgrounds, regardless of the things that you would think that disenfranchise them. They deserve

George Angel Ramirez (01:10:17.622)
an equal opportunity to be able to be heard and be given an opportunity to be the best selves because every person contributes in some way to our society and allows society to be better. And that's how we as a race, as a humanity in general, have been able to propel ourselves forward is because of allowing other people to have a seat at the table, voice their opinions and make a difference in the world we live in. And

I say this because at the time I didn't think I was worthy, but in that opportunity when I was given an opportunity to stand up and to be able to voice my opinions, I perfectly understood that. That all the people who go nameless in the casualties that happen in Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Gaza, wherever the conflicts are happening, they all deserve an opportunity to voice and feel their words heard. Because we're all people.

We all came to this world and we all deserve to be a part of it and impart our opinions and beliefs and our humanity into it. Cause that's what makes humanity beautiful. When we as people can all come together and be diverse and embrace our diversity, irrespective of the differences, irrespective of race, gender, all the things that may differentiate us, we are the same. And

Interestingly enough, I as a kid didn't know much about race and all these differentiating factors as kids were born innocent curious Ignorant to the world that around us. We don't see the differences Until we're taught those differences through history and what means that come up But I think through all that I I learned to have a love for humanity in general and not look at somebody by the color of their skin

but by the content of their character. Like Martin Luther King said back in the 60s when he had his IMAGE ROOM, I had a dream speech. Because at the end of day, we're all people. We're all human, irrespective of our backgrounds and how we're born. And we need to be given an opportunity to have a seat at the table, voice our opinions, and change the world one person at a time.

George Angel Ramirez (01:12:41.774)
I know there's 8 billion of us, and so sometimes one might think it's difficult to have all 8 billion voices speaking at the same time. But that's just how humanity will grow, is allowing every single person to have an opportunity to voice who they are as people, share their opinions. And that is how we will see society grow. Exponentially. Irrefutably. And infinitely.

and that's my two cents on that.

George Angel Ramirez (01:13:15.662)
Whew. Man, that was deep. Sorry. Sorry, you're...

George Angel Ramirez (01:13:30.446)
That was a...

George Angel Ramirez (01:13:37.198)
team.

George Angel Ramirez (01:13:42.126)
We have to understand that.

George Angel Ramirez (01:13:49.432)
We're all here.

George Angel Ramirez (01:13:53.326)
What does that mean, that we're all here? What that means is, we share this earth. We share this piece of land. We share this space here.

George Angel Ramirez (01:14:11.565)
too.

way, learn to love and learn to spread that love because there's going to come to a point in life where that's all we're going to have.

George Angel Ramirez (01:14:30.83)
And when we start to discredit people because of their race or we start to discredit people because of their beliefs, we're not going to get anywhere. And I know this all goes back to addiction. Look, we all have something that we're battling through. We all have these inner demons that we don't know exactly what to do with them. But that we need to understand that.

other people are going through the same things that we're going through. And that we need someone, not just someone, one specific person, not this specific podcast, not this specific, you know, platform, but that we just need the human race to say, everything is going to be okay. And even going back to the porn addiction, look, at the end of the day, yes, that's something you can be.

It's gonna take some effort. It's gonna take some time. It's not something that you're just gonna beat overnight. And it's just something that is gonna go away. And this comes with many, many different things. With alcoholism, with drug addiction, with whatever type of addiction you might have. Yes, it's gonna go away.

but it's how badly do you want this to go away? And it's not something that you need to beat yourself up. I relapse on, you know, I know the no fat community is very big on specific days, know, I'm a hundred. I'm 150 days on not watching porn and look, that's fantastic. That's amazing. Good for you. And I applaud you for your.

X amount of days of not watching porn or not masturbating or whatever it might be and that's look that's amazing But at the end of day, what are you gonna do with those days what what have those days taught you? Yeah, what has that struggle taught you throughout those in?

George Angel Ramirez (01:16:37.102)
whatever streak you may have, whether it's one day or whether it's 150 days or whether it's three years or whatever days that you may have, eventually it's gonna come to a point where the days don't matter. What's gonna matter is what are you gonna do with those days? Instead of wasting your life with whatever addiction you might have, what are you doing with those days that matters, that counts?

Are you working on yourself? Are you working to make yourself better? And look, at the end of the day, you need to make yourself better in whatever way that you can. And that's something that I'm trying to do now too. And look, I'm going through it, just as many of you are going through it. And look, that's okay. That's fine. Let's make these days count.

and let's contribute something to society when you feel comfortable that you can. Because at the end of the day, if you're battling through your addiction, you're not going to be able to do anything through those days. No. What you have to do is acknowledge that you have some sort of addiction. No.

And once you finally acknowledge it, either you go to a professional or you go to somebody or even if it's yourself, I understand, especially like something like porn addiction is very, very intimate. Yeah. It's not something that you just go and tell somebody else, Hey, look, I'm George and I have a porn addiction and I'm battling through it and everything's going to be okay. Yeah. Everything is going to be okay. But you still have that struggle inside of you. You still have that, that.

But yeah, you still have those deep demons inside of you that you need to get rid of and at the end of the day

George Angel Ramirez (01:18:35.37)
It's not something that you just overcome out of nowhere. I'm gonna have to use the restroom real quick. I apologize. Let's pause real quick. Let's take a little break and we'll be right back. All right. Just have to take a little small bathroom break. I know today's episode's been very prolific. Yeah. Very,

you know, about subjects that are very, you can say embarrassing, you know, they're not embarrassing to me anymore and, know.

George Angel Ramirez (01:19:14.37)
But they've caused a lot of damage. Porn has caused a lot of damage in my life. And I never thought about doing a specific episode about it. And I'll tell some of my stories about the struggles that I've gone through some with porn addiction. So I had a girlfriend kind of mentioned her a little earlier on the podcast and you know, it got to a certain point where

Like I said, I just couldn't get it up anymore. It was a multiple, multiple other things that, you know, really caused the relationship to kind of go down. look, I'm the type of person that I, especially nowadays, if I start getting close to somebody, I'll tell them like, hey, listen, you know, I had this porn addiction in my life and I don't want you to think it's you. And it's very embarrassing.

It's very embarrassing to tell these stories or tell that specific side of me because I don't talk about it a lot. You know, I talk to my therapist a lot about it.

George Angel Ramirez (01:20:29.826)
And you know, you start to realize that other people are going through the same problem that I'm going through. Recently, I was talking to this one girl and look, she was awesome, man. And I really do think it was partly because of that porn addiction that it couldn't flourish into anything else.

George Angel Ramirez (01:20:53.646)
And it's happened so many times with women. And it recently brought me down to, it recently got me to a point in my life where I kind of had to sit down and think. And I had to tell myself, and I was like, you know what? I'm starting to realize that women are, and it's not women specifically, it's me.

It's me specifically as a person that there's a lot of things that I have to work on.

and it's up to me.

George Angel Ramirez (01:21:34.178)
to decide if I want to work on these things.

And I share this because...

George Angel Ramirez (01:21:43.288)
There's a lot of guys, especially when you read a lot of the things in the subreddit, that same thing that I'm going through, lot of these guys are going through, even women are going through this same problem, that they can't be in a stable relationship.

And my ex-girlfriend, told her the same thing. I was like, listen.

George Angel Ramirez (01:22:07.008)
I was addicted to porn. And it was nice because she... accepted me as a person.

George Angel Ramirez (01:22:18.688)
and then we ended up breaking up. And that's okay. I'm completely okay with it.

And then a couple months down the road, I start talking to this other girl.

And you know, we start getting intimate. And nothing happens on my end. And I had to tell her. I said, hey.

This is why I can't be intimate with you because of my porn addiction.

George Angel Ramirez (01:22:52.31)
And then I noticed how that relationship started going downhill. And then I was talking to another girl. Same thing. Had that conversation all over again.

George Angel Ramirez (01:23:08.238)
And that's when I told myself I was like...

I understand I'm the problem. There's things that I need to work on.

What am I gonna do? Am I gonna go back to old habits? Or am I gonna try to become a better person? Not just for myself, but for the other person as well too. Because I can't continue.

George Angel Ramirez (01:23:38.252)
to view relationships or potential relationships.

George Angel Ramirez (01:23:48.042)
as something as a narrative that I see because of porn.

George Angel Ramirez (01:23:57.326)
And it was hard.

And I can sit here and saying this as a 27 year old man, whereas I'm sure men back in the day, in the same age as me, probably didn't have the same problem as what I have now.

and it really made me think about life. And it really made me think about...

George Angel Ramirez (01:24:22.85)
what I need to do to get back to who I was as a person.

And that's where I'm at right now.

George Angel Ramirez (01:24:35.554)
Irrefeatably.

George Angel Ramirez (01:24:40.142)
There are people who are still much older than us and that are dealing with this problem, this addiction. And I've gotten to meet a few people who've been through the same issues that are in their 50s. And they tell me how it all started with magazines back in their day, VCR, and then how it's led to today. And they tell me about it. And it's painful because...

You know, maybe the effects aren't as apparent or as blatant for them. Maybe it's more passive. But the harm that it's done to them as Ho-Ho is beyond, you know, anybody's comprehension of her.

And again, for me, with porn, you know, it's been extremely damaging, and I know that for a fact. I know a lot of us don't like to admit those things because for us it's admitting we're vulnerable and all that, but I can safely say that porn has done a lot of damage to me as a person. And again, I'm very grateful to all the FAPstronauts of NoFap who...

have given me so much meaningful advice and my time of need specifically when I was, you know, 16, 17, when I was really going through it. And even to this day, when again, I'm not perfect and I still go through those struggles and I look back to those responses that I got and I go, they were on to something, they have a point there. They acknowledge me. I'm a person at the end of the day, despite all this damage. And I recognize that.

And I want people to understand that, that, you know, porn doesn't define who you are. Any addiction, not just porn. And right. That's what I want to say. You know, any kind of addiction that you're going through, alcohol, drugs, what it be, it does not define you as an individual because that is not how you were born in this world. You were not born in this world with a label that told you that's what you were going to be. That's what you're going to amount to. You know,

George Angel Ramirez (01:26:48.876)
We are in a society that everybody can be the best version of themselves and be irrespective of other people's judgment. Be able to embrace who they are as a person and contribute to society in the way they're meant to. And that's how we should live as people is judgment free and accepting of all the different perspectives that us as people share. Be able to come together and have a conversation that is cohesive and allows for progress.

And that is something that think a lot of us that struggle with porn or have struggled in the past struggle with because we think a lot of people are going to judge us at the end of the day. A lot of people are going to have preconceived notions before we're even able to give our story as to who we are. And that is how they hold us to that standard and they go, you know what? I can't hear to any more of this guy. He's going to be this way. And I want people to know that's not true. That is not true. That's not who you are.

Whatever addiction you're struggling with, is not what defines you. That is not what you came to be. You're going to get through it and always feel free to reach out to people you're comfortable with, you know, to have a conversation. If something is affecting your life and you need somebody to talk with you, reach out to somebody you're comfortable with and have that conversation because it is life changing when you're finally able to be heard, acknowledged, understood.

and not feel judged. Because I think a lot of us have that fear of judgment. We always want to be impeccable in the eyes of people. We always want to have people view us in the best light possible. And that's only natural because, again, a lot of us are very fixated on our reputations. But our reputations mean nothing if we're suffering. Because what good is it for me to give somebody a view of myself

If deep down I'm suffering, if I'm going through depression, if I'm going through all the different emotions that one goes through because of addiction. It does no good to me in the long run. It does no good to that person. Because when they come to find out who I am as an individual and they understand that I've been going through all this trouble, then it causes a lot of pain. So just be honest with yourself. And again, share with who you're comfortable with. I'm not telling you to share to the world. Do what I'm doing right now, you know.

George Angel Ramirez (01:29:09.794)
But start a step at a time. Again, we're all people and all our voices deserve to be heard. Yeah. And you're absolutely right, man. I think especially you'll get to a point where in your life you'll be able to share the things that are very intimate about your life. They're very...

Those things that you don't want to share with your life, you'll get to a point where you can start sharing them and you can start telling other people that, look, I went through it and it's gonna be okay. Obviously there's gonna be some effort that is needed on your part and that's all that's needed is that effort. You don't have to do anything specific. You don't have to do anything fancy to try to change your life. All you really have to do is acknowledge it

And all these steps come along the way. All the stories that we've shared on this podcast and all the very dark moments of our life, they don't make us who we are. Obviously we share them because a lot of us are going through those very dark moments. But it comes to a point where...

those dark moments, we start to realize that we need to start talking about these stories about our life. We do because there's other people there that feel lonely, that feel scared and they feel like that there isn't a way to get out of these dark moments and there is. And any sort of addiction or any scared point of your life, like, you know, I've shared so many stories about me moving to different states and a lot of people consider that very scary, but I can see here today,

There was an opportunity, let's say in Oregon, that made sense to me and what aligns with my morality and what I feel like is right, then I would move there because that's what drives me. Right. You know, and that's where we need to come to a point in our life where we start to realize that, everything that happens or that has happened in our life or is gonna happen, these moments are okay. And it's better to...

George Angel Ramirez (01:31:22.498)
to share that journey along with other people, especially with the people that you're comfortable with. I can sit here and tell you all the stories, all the dark stories about my life, because I know that you're not gonna judge me as a person, just as I wouldn't judge you as a person, because that's who we are. And that's all we have. We have stories, and they're not the brightest stories, and they're not gonna define who we are.

And I know there's so many beautiful days ahead in our life because we're going to create those days. We're going to make sure that these days do happen because we owe it to ourselves and not just to ourselves, but to humanity as well to tell them that, hey, despite of what's going on in your life, if there's something that is calling you, you need to go and do it. You do. Because you don't understand the impact that that's going to happen.

with that personal journey that you have in your life. You can change a lot of people's lives. Just as we're doing the same thing and even though it might not seem very prolific, that's okay because that's where the biggest amount of change happens when we don't expect it to happen.

But we also have to be in the in in a right mindset. We have to we have to take that fog out of our eyes that so many of us have and still have. Look, I can sit here and tell you, I still have some of the there's some days where I can see clearly and there's days that I cannot see clearly. There's some days that I'm tired and I don't want to do anything and I don't. But there's days that I notice that there's a day to make change.

Like today, today is a good day to make change. Even though yesterday I was tired and the day before I was tired, I noticed that I was like, even though we may be a little drunk right now, and that's fine, but you start to realize that there's been so many times in history where great things have happened just because two people got together and have an idea or have a story. Yeah.

George Angel Ramirez (01:33:34.422)
And whether it's through a couple, you know, beers or whether it's through, you know, being sober or whatever it might be, change is gonna happen. Just as you and I come every single Saturday, we don't know what we're gonna talk about most Saturdays. We might have a concept of what we might talk about and we might go on these tangents and these stories that we have. But those stories have a meaning behind them.

And it's nice that you can see beyond the pain, you can see beyond the darkness, you can see beyond all the things and all the people that told you that you're not gonna be anything. But you are. And not just you, the listener as well too. That the listener...

Despite of what they're going through and it might seem dark right now, or you might be going through the greatest times of your life. There always is going to be a light at the end of the tunnel. And that's what we have to see. You there's a lot of times where I don't want to go to work just because I don't enjoy it. But I see that, I see that tunnel and I see the darkness.

And it's so much easier to go towards the darkness and go towards the light, at least for where I am at in this specific time and place and history or just in time in general. But I start to see it and I start to acknowledge that times are tough right now, but that's okay. What am I going to do to make tomorrow better? And not just for myself.

but for other people and that's where we're at and that's what you know and that's what we have to work with you know my brother and I were talking about running for office back in our hometown and look if it happens it happens that that would be awesome you know and this isn't to brag or anything but so many people have told me that I should run for office and look maybe one day sure

George Angel Ramirez (01:35:52.906)
I understand that it's not gonna be...

George Angel Ramirez (01:35:59.103)
Ayyyy

ends to buy a you know by all means. an end. Yeah that that exactly it means to an end. It might just be a specific time in my life but if everything aligns the way it needs to then why not? You know if it really calls for that then why not? And that's the same thing in in our individual lives if there's something that calls

And if you feel like people are telling you, hey, I think you should do this specific thing, whether it's to become an actor, whether it's to become, you know, whatever specific job or career or whatever it might be. Why not? What do you have to lose? You don't have anything to lose. All you have is amazing stories. And if it's a failure, that's okay, because then you can teach the next person.

someone that is listening and that is willing to listen and that might have that itch in their heart to go into whatever it might be that you may be talking about and they're going to learn from your failures and they're going to be a lot better than you were and if you take your ego out of the place that becomes the best thing ever because you were the teacher

and now you have someone that surpasses you. It's like, you know, your children. I don't have any children, but you hear that a lot. You want your children to be better than you were. And that's true. And that's what we should want from not just our children, but from the people. Yeah, the children's children or the people around you. You want the people around you to be better for themselves and for other people.

George Angel Ramirez (01:37:57.368)
Thank you so much for sharing. Yeah, it's remarkable. And I think that that's been our point with this podcast from the very start. A in the world. Yeah.

Be that light in the world that desperately needs it. Because that's really what it needs, you know? In all sectors. Not just in one specific sector of a career, but just as humanity in general. Humanity needs that light. And it's not just one specific person that's gonna change this world. It's gonna be a combination of everybody. Everybody's gonna want to be better.

Because if we live in this, imagine those eight billion people here on earth having that shift of mindset where, hey, let's create a better world. It would happen. It will. And I think, because I've always been an optimist in my life, I always try to always view things through the best possibility. And I think we as humanity will be able to advance past the egos of countries.

as the ego of race as all the different things that may separate us and differentiate us. We will come together and be one.

and be able to further ourselves, societally, mentally, whatever dimension that we are struggling in, we will build each other because all our strengths and opportunities will come together and we'll be able to forge a better path forward and be able to live a non-judgmental life irrespective of our flaws. Because again, individually we may be imperfect, but together we are stronger. And we

George Angel Ramirez (01:39:43.246)
blend all the beautiful things that make us distinct and we and ourselves will be one. Exactly. And that's the view that I hope to have and the view that happens in humanity is homogeneity, know, one in the same. Homo being same. You know, we all can come together, take the cocktail of differences.

and come together, be able to share ideas and embrace that and become one. And assimilate in that way, you know. And not be judging of other people because all of us in our daily lives, struggle through different things. And some of us are very hesitant to share those things because we fear judgment. But if we can all ourselves be judgment free and listen, we'll all grow together. And that's what I hope to see.

in the coming years is a time where we can all come together and share our ideas, which I'm sure there are so many beautiful ideas that have gone unheard because of the many voices that have talked over them. Given an opportunity, our world could grow exponentially. And I want to live to see that, you know, and I want to live to see a world where we embrace those differences and make us a part of each and every one of us.

That to me would be beautiful and that's what I aspire to. When I think of a utopian, not to sell this idea, but that's what I think of. Having that opportunity to see the world go in that direction. That to me is exciting, fascinating, and honestly one of the things that I hope become reality. When we become one.

George Angel Ramirez (01:41:37.538)
We may not know it all.

George Angel Ramirez (01:41:43.156)
start to understand humanity.

where we're going. Yeah. And I really do think that's where we're going because these wars don't define who we are as a person or who we are as humanity. These wars, not just wars, but all these struggles that we face as humanity. doesn't define us. It doesn't. It doesn't make us who the person is.

George Angel Ramirez (01:42:21.408)
And even if we don't see it, even if we don't get to see it, at least we start those building blocks that humanity desperately needs.

That's a start. That's basically it. As long as we lay a foundation where that is a possibility, the rest will go. It's where it needs to be. That direction it's supposed to go. I never have been one to want to be the one to see everything. I think that that's just, of course, an impossibility given our lifespans as humans. There's an end, right?

And I think a lot of us envision an opportunity to be able to see a lot of the change that goes on, but I acknowledge that my life is finite. That one day I'm going to grow old and, you know, it'll be time for me to pass the torch to somebody else. But I hope in doing that, where I get that opportunity to pass on all the things that I've learned and all the things that I've been able to experience in my life, that...

one day, even if it's beyond me, that people can come together, respect other differences, and love each other, and be one, then I think it's all worth it. I think all the things that we're struggling with now will pay off, whether we're here to see it or not. Because that's what we as people need to understand is that not everything has to be transactional.

Not everything has to be, give this, I must see this. Maybe we give this like an investment and we don't see the return on it immediately. Because again, a lot of us do live by instant gratification. But if we give our our input, our two cents, and it goes somewhere 70, 80, 90, 100 years down the line, then it's worth it. And that what we did was worth it. Whether I get to see it in action or not.

George Angel Ramirez (01:44:33.196)
And that's what I try to do with my life in general, is when I get an opportunity to help somebody, I don't expect to see it instantaneously. I don't expect to see it immediately, the help that I give to that person. I'm not expecting the gratification of the moment. I'm expecting that they, in their own way, can further that and take that somewhere else and better our society one step at a time. Do you ever,

This is question I've been asking some people and some people take it a very joking way. And I'll accept their answer whether it's joking or not, but do ever think you're gonna die young or old?

I've had a lot of dreams. Now of course, this is a lot of speculation and I'll talk about this.

A lot of my dreams I die old. I grow to old age. And I want to say this before I go too deep is that consider being able to make it to old age a privilege. I think having that opportunity is amazing in and itself. And it should not be taken for granted because life can end unexpectedly. For whatever reason, whatever disease, whatever falter of our bodies, we cannot predict death. But a lot of what I've...

I've I've grown old. And if that's what comes upon me and that's what I end up being, I'm grateful for that. And what I hope to do in my life, however long it be.

George Angel Ramirez (01:46:11.442)
is to educate people and better our society because again, what I've always tried to do was represent underrepresented communities, be able to advocate for people who may not be able to advocate for themselves. Just like me who didn't think I had a voice or a place on the table where I came from, you know, I struggled with a type of autism, of Asperger's. I didn't think I had a place in being able to impart those ideas on anybody.

And what I hope to do with however long my life is, is to be able to tell people you all deserve a voice, you all deserve an opportunity, and you all deserve the respect and integrity and decency and dignity that comes with being a person. And so, you know, on my answer to that question, I think I'll probably grow old being able to share that with people and be able to spread that.

Beautiful.

George Angel Ramirez (01:47:15.97)
I wish I was gonna die young. have many dreams where I die young.

George Angel Ramirez (01:47:23.202)
That's okay with me.

George Angel Ramirez (01:47:28.942)
You know George I hope we can do this together. Yeah, yeah, definitely we have always I've always thought was gonna die young just because I One of my fears in life is to die old And maybe not have anything to show for it, and I know I will

George Angel Ramirez (01:47:55.458)
Maybe it's a hero's death.

George Angel Ramirez (01:48:02.392)
But I've always had that maybe fascination. Dying young.

and just giving everything that I have.

to that person who I'm there with.

George Angel Ramirez (01:48:19.48)
just hey hey take over let me ask you this yeah this is probably a strange question but do you have a favorite song I don't have a yeah I do actually it's by

George Angel Ramirez (01:48:38.486)
It's by this band called A Day to Remember and one of their songs that I love just because I feel it when I hear the song and it's called I Remember. And it talks about how they go on tour and all these great memories that they have on going on tour, all these silly memories that they have. So like the song goes,

George Angel Ramirez (01:49:11.382)
And then at the end, it's a very long song. It's about six minutes. And the song itself is maybe like three minutes long. And then after that is just them talking, you know, I remember when, you know, we went to a certain concert in New York or I remember one of the, one of their memories was one of their memories when they go and they see this.

patch of snow somewhere in the US and it's a little tiny patch not that very big and they're just going crazy because they've never seen snow the band is from Florida

George Angel Ramirez (01:49:55.694)
and all these different memories that they have together going on tour in this really shitty bus. And I remember...

one of the lyrics in their song is I remember and the lyrics are I remember quitting my last job and essentially like you know going coast to coast you know seeing the trucks go by I don't remember let me let me look it up just because yeah of course it's gonna it's it's gonna make a lot of sense

George Angel Ramirez (01:50:46.124)
have it right here. Every single time I hear the song it just kind of brings me back to a point in my life.

It's right here, actually.

George Angel Ramirez (01:51:04.321)
So.

George Angel Ramirez (01:51:09.408)
It says, remember jumping off the clifftops. I remember playing with no one there. Yeah, if I knew I'd become successful, it wouldn't change who I am. I remember the coast of California. I remember trucks, stop, truck stops across the land. Never kept too many idols because we were busy being them. I remember waking up in Georgia. I remember quitting my last job.

Yeah, if I knew I became successful, it wouldn't change who I was because of where I've been. And that's the truth, man. It really is because I do remember those cliff tops. I do remember playing when no one was there, playing by myself. I remember...

George Angel Ramirez (01:52:05.88)
There was days when right before it would snow, I would go outside and I remember playing by myself.

And I remember this silence, this beautiful silence. And I was just by myself. And these were times where I was getting ready to move to California.

I remember the coast of California. I do. I remember the truck stops. Never kept too many idols because we were busy being them and that's the truth. And this isn't to brag, but during that time, my friends were like, you're just going to move to California. You're just going to pack everything in your car. And they all looked up to me and I wasn't busy.

George Angel Ramirez (01:53:03.182)
being that person where I was like, these people look up to me. I was just getting ready to move to California. And I wasn't an idol to them. I personally didn't think I was an idol to them because they were my friends, but they looked up to me because I was doing something that no one in my hometown really did. Just packing up all their stuff and moving to somewhere.

a week.

Call in a car driving. Yeah, no one ever thought about doing that and it wasn't to brag is something I wanted to do Right, you know, there's another scene or there's another lyrics right here. I remember when I first saw the country That was true. I remember when I was driving through Texas and I was like, there's nothing here. Remember sleeping in the van. I slept in my car the whole entire time Saying goodbye to friends and family cuz they never

understand and they and that was fine with me they didn't have to understand my life at that time they didn't understand why i had to pack everything up and move to california they don't understand and that's completely fine sometimes they don't here's another good in the lyrics speeding up slow down of course seeing glances around the crowd around

Seeing glances around this crowd around me didn't really experience anything like that But I mean to certain extents I did you know the darn military school people seen us do a parade this crowd that was there There must be something I can't see so tell me Hold me up and help me out. You know all the people that were Along that journey for me as I circle around what makes me happy

George Angel Ramirez (01:55:03.397)
Yeah.

There isn't one place that I can be without leaving. You know, there's still so many people that remember me in New Jersey. That's a beautiful thing because I remember them too. This is my life. That was my life at the time. You know, and like I said, I remember sleeping in the van, saying goodbye to my friends and family because they could never understand. That's my favorite song because it hits me.

hits me to a point where maybe the band itself doesn't know exactly and I'm sure they do right you know I'm sure they do I'm sure they wrote this song for specific reason all the memories that they had right but they this song specifically will always be in my heart every time it plays

Thank you so much for sharing that. Of course. That's so profound.

What about you? What's your favorite song? Man, that's a difficult question. I've always been a hopeless romantic. I've always been someone that had a love in their heart.

George Angel Ramirez (01:56:24.312)
My first ever song that I got attached to was Summertime Sadness by Lando Rey. the reason was because I always craved that feeling of love, of romanticism, of feeling that. And that carried on until my early 20s when one day I was on the bus and usually I have a playlist of songs that I listen to.

And one day I just kind of let my playlist go random, know, just let Apple dictate whatever I listen to. And one day I pick up on a song that just immediately catches my attention from a band called Cigarettes After Sex. I don't know if you've listened to their music before. They're a great band. I recommend listening to some of their songs. But one song in particular, the first one I ever listened to from them was K.

which is romantic in its own way. In a lot of ways, kind of embody a lot of nostalgia for me. When I was listening to it, I was like, wow, this kind of is a theme that I felt in my life, you know, and.

Don't get me wrong, a lot of their music is amazing and I love it and I listen to it. After I heard that song, I just had to delve into their other albums and listen to the different things that they put together. But that one song, it kind of captivated me. And so every so often when I'm going through my playlist, it's the one song I look forward to and I listen to. It gives me a feeling of nostalgia and love and everything.

I would sing it of course, but I'm not the best karaoke, you know, I'd have to have some music to it, but you know, one of these days I'll happily share that. it means a lot to me because I aspire to have a great relationship where, you know, I don't want them to leave, just like the song says. I want them to stay and to give them love. That's what I'd love to have, is to have a partner in my life.

George Angel Ramirez (01:58:34.638)
And don't get me wrong, I've been fine being single for the last 24 years of my life. You know, I'm fine with that. I've done a lot. I've gone through my own journeys, for better, for worse. But that song always gives me a feeling of there's gonna be somebody you meet in your life. And I look forward to that day. And I look forward to working with them, being a partner, being indispensable to them as much as they are to me, and being able to work together.

So yeah, I think that song kind of is the catalyst to a lot of Today this isn't to make you feel better, but it'll come. Yeah, you know, especially with that love that you have You know, it isn't gonna be like how my journey has been with a lot of women You know, I and I don't say this in a way to brag, you know, there's been a lot of women in my life

Just because I can say here that's been a weakness for me, you know

George Angel Ramirez (01:59:42.806)
I like chasing women. Like I said, it's not, I'm not sitting here to brag about it or to, you know, look at all the women that have, no, it's just the reality of what has happened in life. I really do enjoy talking to women. And unfortunately, a lot of the times it ends up becoming.

George Angel Ramirez (02:00:06.54)
a situational, you know, it's a situation. it's just how it is. You know, like I got to a point in my life where I'm very comfortable with talking to women. Yeah. Does it work out? No, because of many circumstances that have happened in my life with the pornography and just many different things that have happened in my life. And one of the things that I've noticed is a lot of them have taught all of them have taught me beautiful lessons in life.

All of them they do every single one of them like just just as every single person in my life has taught me very beautiful things But yeah, that's one of my weaknesses in life where I love chasing women just because It's just something I enjoy I enjoy Talking to women yeah But I noticed that a lot of them

George Angel Ramirez (02:01:05.646)
I'm meant to be and Every single relationship that I've had serious relationships have been amazing but

combination mainly because of me and my personal problems. They weren't able to flourish into anything special that they needed to be. And that's okay. Because I take amazing lessons from each and every situation that I've been in. And that's the same thing with you.

Eventually, you're gonna just as I'm gonna find the right person you're gonna find the right person and it's gonna be at the most random time in your life and then at that point I feel like You're gonna be ready just as I'm gonna be ready exactly and that's the way we have to be

One of my good friends told me back four years ago, I remember this very vividly, when I worked at Home Depot and I sat down, I would always sit down with him because he always had something good to share and he would tell me, I asked him one time, said, what prepared you for your relationship? Cause he was married, you know, he would tell me all about that. And he said, well, Mario, you'll never be ready. You'll never be ready.

Things happen spontaneously. Love happens spontaneously. You never expect it. And that's what makes it beautiful. Is that it's not something you set out to and then it happens. It'll happen possibly when you least expect it, but that is what love meant to be. And that's the best love you can find. Isn't the love you plan, it's the love that happens.

George Angel Ramirez (02:02:53.766)
And it didn't make sense to me at the time because I thought, well, what do you mean there's a lack of a plan? There should be some kind of plan. Some kind of preconceived notion that this is even a possibility. Why is it that two people would just come together and just live out the rest of their lives, have kids, do all the things that one does in a relationship and not for one moment plan it? It doesn't make sense.

And now I understand what he meant because what's meant to be will be. And that's the kind of standpoint I live my life by is you go with the flow. You take the path of least resistance. You don't try to compartmentalize everything, right? You don't try to put it all in a box and wait for one step to happen before the next step, before the next step, because

Then it's not so much organic, it's all pre-planned. And that is what love isn't meant to be. It's supposed to be spontaneous. It's supposed to arise when the emotions are just right, and things happen as they are. That's when love happens. And it took me forever to understand what he was trying to share with me. But now I see it, and I'm ready for when the occasion comes upon me, when love is supposed to happen.

be excited when that takes place. But I'm not so anxious anymore where I was hoping that like a Prince Charming things would all happen. Now things will happen when they happen and I'll be excited for when it does. And those are the best times in our life too where things just align. You know look at how supposedly the earth was created. Yeah. Or you look at all the different planets.

that one little baby step that happened and all of a sudden through thousands and millions of years something beautiful is created like a planet or the sun or our solar system you know things kind of just collide together yeah and they stick together and that's how life happens you know if you want to look at in a scientific

George Angel Ramirez (02:05:18.062)
point of view, you you look at how the earth was created. Or you look at how just different planets and different stars and different things, just one little, one little baby step that causes ripple effect to go on and on and on.

Yeah, and that's the same thing with our lives too. Sometimes people come into our lives and they never leave just as I'm hoping and I know that this relationship is gonna be between you and me Where it was meant to be You know just that one specific day in Whole Foods who know who knows exactly what specific moment? Cross across and ponder minds, you know, but it happened

and look at all the things that we've gone through since that day and all the memories that we've created since that day. I'm very grateful for the moment in January where I went to my friend's birthday and I asked if they knew they were hiring and I took that opportunity. I had the courage to call my manager that I previously worked with and ask for that job back and be able to come back and

be able to have met you and met all be able to reconnect with everybody that you know, I miss so dearly. I'm grateful every day that I took that shot that I in my mind knew there was an uncertainty. I didn't know that I was going to be able to get this job back. There was no guarantee. There was no moment that I knew for certainty that things were going to happen. And you know, when it did, I'm grateful.

I'm so eternally grateful that I was able to be back and to be part

George Angel Ramirez (02:07:09.278)
And you know, now we're getting near the end of the year and it's crazy to think that this all happened in the beginning in the middle of the year. Cause it didn't feel like so long ago, you know, our lives, we kind of all think, it just happened yesterday, especially with memories that happened so recently. You just think about it and you go, I live, can live back that moment where I was there. And yeah, you're right. I would never know the moment that had happened, but it happened.

grateful that it did. And I'm grateful that when you asked me to come on the podcast, and I do remember that moment. I do remember that moment. Yeah, we're in the break room. Yeah, we're in the break room and you asked me and we're sitting in the back seats. Yeah. Towards the TV. And mentally I was going, should I, is that something that I'm worthy of doing? And again, being a nervous person as I was, I was very hesitant mentally.

I was thinking, well, what if I do do this and my first episode doesn't come out so well with him? What if I just mumble? Yeah. And all of these thoughts came to me all at once when you asked that question. But then one thought came prominent, one idea. And I said, well, shit, Mario, give it a shot. What's the worst that can happen? You have a panic attack.

You freeze up in the moment of a sentence. You don't, you you realize it is for you. You can walk away.

George Angel Ramirez (02:08:51.488)
I also thought to myself...

man, I live my life in chances. I'll give this a shot. For better or for worse, I'll just hope for better. Yeah. And I did it, and here we are, 13 episodes later. Yeah, close to 100 episodes. And I'm so grateful for having made that decision, and...

look forward to every Saturday to be able to have a conversation that my hope is that somebody, matter where you are in the world, can listen to this and learn something new and be able to further yourselves based on the lessons that I have learned in my life and be better. And that brings me so much excitement and so much joy, you know, to be able to be a part of that journey.

Yeah, you know, one little moment like that, it really changes our lives forever. And I think that it will come upon us. And when we least expect it, just like with love, just like with any opportunity that comes in our lives, we don't expect those. I mean, you can never be ready for them. There's no preparation. It just happens. And it's up to us to either accept that they're happening or to...

go, no, it shouldn't happen and question it. But there's no purpose in questioning when things are happening because they're meant to happen. And yeah, that's, that's kind of the conclusion I've drawn in life is that yes, it's very easy to contemplate. It's very easy to second guess, but I've noticed that the things I've not second guessed have been the best things for me. That the things I just allow to happen, that I give it a shot.

George Angel Ramirez (02:10:51.47)
give them an opportunity. They turn out the best for me. And it's just like my approach with sales when I sell a policy to somebody. You know, a lot of people, when they answer the phone, you know, and they're probably expecting somebody else and they hear my voice and they go, man, it's another telemarketer. It's understandable that the moment they hear my voice, they might want to just hang up the I just be like,

Screw this guy. He's just another sleazy salesman who's trying to sell me on some bullshit that I don't want.

But times that I've been able to get through to somebody. We have a conversation. We share how our day is going. We look outside of the sphere of what I'm trying to sell them. We just have an exchange of, this is somebody I've never met, you know? I've never stumbled upon them in my life and maybe never stumbled upon them again. It's just that one moment in our lives where I thankfully have the privilege of being able to speak with them.

And we have that heart to heart conversation. They're share to me what there's going on in their life, why they may need this chance at maybe saving some money or getting better coverages. And I'm able to have that conversation to them. And at the end of the day, when I sell them this product, I'm not selling this, selling them a product. want people to understand I'm giving them a, an opportunity to have been educated on what they're getting.

to potentially expand their knowledge base. When a friend asks them about insurance, they're able to share to that friend, Hey man, what you've known all your life about this certain one isn't the way you thought it was. It's actually this. And they're able to teach that when I taught them. That's beautiful. That's the kind of thing I look for when I do have those conversations with people. I don't look to sell them something. I look to educate somebody.

George Angel Ramirez (02:12:48.8)
So that when they go with me, when they trust me and put their faith in me, because insurance is putting their faith in me, because when something happens in their lives that they didn't least expected, I'm going to be the one they think of when they make that call to the claims department.

They will talk to somebody else in their life. A family member.

George Angel Ramirez (02:13:13.582)
And they'll be able to say, you know, this guy, Mario, who called me from all state, he taught me that liability means this, that uninsured and underinsured means this, that competent collision means this. should add this on your policy. You should do this change on your policy. Even if they don't buy the product I'm selling, when we have our conversation, maybe they're my price is too high. Something isn't right. At least.

I shared something that they can impart on somebody else. At least I made the world a better place. And that's what I go for in life. isn't transactional. It's about being able to talk to somebody and we'll either meet again or never meet again and teach them to teach somebody else what to look for, what to better themselves in, what to understand.

It's such a beautiful, meaningful, profound experience to do. And again, I'm thankful to be able to do it because that's what my life has been based off. When I set out to do my goals, 10, you know, 12, 13 years ago, when I had that profound moment in my life, it was to help people to make this world a better place. Whether it be in my line of work, whether it be somebody I have made in the bus, whatever it be, whatever.

It's to do that. That little part. That little contribution. Because that little investment, that little ounce, becomes a pound, becomes... Pounds becomes infinite. And now, I'll know the message I gave, educated so many people, and helped a lot of people. And that's what I aspire to do every day. Expected or unexpected.

That's what I do. And that's why I'm grateful to be on this podcast. You know, again, I will say this a hundred times, George, thank you so much for the privilege of being on. Thank you so much for the privilege of being able to have these conversations, being able to share my insight to the world, which I look forward to for many, many, many episodes to come. You know, I'm so much looking forward to a hundredth and

George Angel Ramirez (02:15:36.424)
And I want people to know that we shouldn't look to be transactional. We should look to do it out of the goodness of our hearts because little do we know what we do for one person does it for many others. And we make the world a better place. And that's kind of what I'm trying to really tell people is that it's easy for us to think, well, if I only talk to one person, I'm not making much of a difference. We try to look at it very small, but we start small.

That's how we have to start in life. But you start small and that compounds just like our finances, just like our friendships, just like any facet of our lives. What little thing you do, what little energy you give, it compounds infinitely. What little consistency you give into a new habit, it compounds infinitely.

Just like when we've gone to the gym together, you know, I for the longest time haven't been to the gym. You know, I was very happy in high school because I did weight training for two years and I was, I mean, a teacher was very on me and very consistent and I was very on and off afterwards. You gave me that consistency back, faith in me that I didn't, I lost that doubt that I was like, I just have this gym membership I pay for, but I never go to the gym. You were the one who brought me back to that.

And I hope you understand that you made a big difference in my life when I deadlift a weight that's in my mind mentally bigger than I think I could do. Because I look there, I'm about to squat, and I see this 205, whatever pounds it be, I look at it and I'm like, shit man, how am I supposed to lift that? When I'm able to grab it with my two hands, put my legs and put them into gear and be like, all right guys.

been able to carry me through all the walks I've had in my life, be able to lift these weights. And I'm able to. And I'm shocked in that moment.

George Angel Ramirez (02:17:39.96)
profoundly confused. I'm like, wow, I didn't think this was possible. My mind was telling me this was impossible, but yet you were there to motivate me to change my life in the same way that I hope other people are changing other people's lives. When I have my conversations about insurance and it happens in such small ways, life's can be changed.

They can be motivated. They can be propelled to be the best version of themselves. Just so much as how you helped me be the best version of myself.

And I give a lot of thanks to you, George. I appreciate that, I really do. You definitely want, definitely make me a better person as well, too. This friendship has been nothing but what friendships should be. It's been an amazing journey. And I remember even like through the firefighter and stuff, man, it's just, there's times where I don't think that.

George Angel Ramirez (02:18:52.811)
I could do it. And every single time you're there to tell me, you can.

And even in those workouts as well too. And even in the conversations that we have. Every single one that we have. There's always something beautiful about them.

George Angel Ramirez (02:19:14.891)
And I wish everybody had a friend like how I have a friend in you. Because it makes a huge, huge difference.

Not everybody has that.

But it's funny just how life works. It's funny how you just meet friends in the most random times in life.

George Angel Ramirez (02:19:41.208)
What you've showed me is what a friendship is really supposed to be. It's not supposed to be something that's transactional. It's supposed to be something of love. And not in a weird way, but in a way where I know I could depend on you. And I know that you can depend on me in whatever way that it can be.

That's what a friendship is supposed to be. Is I give to you and you give to me and we give to this world. That's what a friendship is. man, there's some times where I feel lonely and you know, I'm not gonna lie to you man. There's some days where I wake up and I'm just very thankful to have you as a friend. Likewise. really, and it's like sometimes I just wake up in the morning and I'm like.

man, this life is rough. But it's not that bad having a good friend besides you. know, and I'm appreciative that I've met you and it's funny because I didn't really think much about when I asked you, it just kind of came out. It was just something that.

It was in my mind. And I was like, let me just ask him. What's the worst that can happen? No? There's been so many nos in my life that that's okay. And then look how many episodes we've done so far.

And it's nice to know that there's someone else out there that is trying to do their part in trying to make this world better.

George Angel Ramirez (02:21:33.356)
And that's the amazing part, man. It really is because...

I feel like we all try to make this world better in whatever way that we can.

We don't know how to sometimes and that's okay if you don't know how to change the world. That's fine Because sometimes I don't know dude But what I do know is that every single Saturday that we meet up and we have an episode I know it's the right thing to do Even though we've had a couple drinks tonight. I know that what we shared today

is going to impact someone else, someone, somebody's life in the smallest way or even the biggest way. And there's no other person that wouldn't want to do that with. And Mike Weiss George, thank you again. It's been such a big privilege to be able to.

continue to be part of this journey with you here on this podcast. Yeah. Again, I look forward to many, many, many more opportunities and hopefully we'll be able to bring somebody on, you know, be able to share their perspectives. Cause again, that's the beauty of life is to be able to listen to other people. When I have conversations in my line of work where I get to dedicate 30 minutes to somebody and be able to listen to their day, listen to what they've been through.

George Angel Ramirez (02:23:05.28)
It educates me. I learn something, they learn something. And that's the remarkable thing, as people need to know, is that we all have our strengths or opportunities. But we work together, we talk to each other, we blend our knowledge, and we all become knowledgeable. We all learn something. And that's, again, my approach to life. Is I don't expect anything in return. I give my knowledge. But I've...

gotten my knowledge back 10, 30, 50, 100-fold. In fact, I didn't know what a Rhodesian Ridgeback dog was before.

I didn't know what that was. A guy that when I was selling insurance to him. Those are cool dogs. They are. In fact, I looked it up as he was telling me about it. Because thankfully we have access to internet. And we were having a good conversation, him and I. And he tells me, have you heard of this breed of dog? And I said, no, man. No. I don't know what you're talking about. And he goes, well, look it up. And sure enough, I went on there and I was like, And I looked it up. And it was a beautiful breed of dog. was so taken aback. was like, wow.

Wow. Where can I get one of those? I have a couple chihuahuas again. I'm used to smaller dogs, but I was like, man, I was so taken aback how stunning he's like, they're the best guard dog you'll ever have. I've heard that he's like, they're expensive, but they're great dogs. And I was like, wow, thank you for sharing that. I would never have guessed. I would have never have known.

I would have thought maybe German Shepherds, you know, girl and retrievers, whatever breed. That would have been it. But when I saw those dogs, was like, wow. And that's a moment that taught me that's how we as people need to engage in. Yep. It's not about this is how I treat my job. It's not about selling somebody insurance. It's about just having a conversation when they pick up the phone. The first the very first thing I do.

George Angel Ramirez (02:25:04.226)
is I thank them for taking my call. I thank them for spending however long they spend with me on that call, because I know they have a lot of things going on in their lives. A lot of people have a billion gazillion things to do. And they've taken the moment and the trust to pick up the phone for me, to listen to what I have to say. And for that I'm very grateful for every single time. I tell them, hey, this is Mario with Allstate. Thank you so much for taking my call. This is what I'm calling.

about giving you an opportunity to change insurance carrier but also educating you on what it's about.

And people love that. And before I know it, instead of us talking about insurance, we're talking about life. Just like that example. And that's beautiful. And I think we as people need to learn that. That when we have conversations, it doesn't have to be for a purpose. We can just learn something spontaneously. That's how life is meant to be. And I've lived my life trying to plan a lot of things ahead.

Kind of having a plan or having an idea of how things are meant to go. Because life is always easier when you have a plan. But we just able to go, okay, how's this egg gonna go? I don't know. I just woke up today. I think I'm just gonna take another power nap here. I just woke up, it's Sunday. I'm gonna sleep a couple more hours. it's nine o'clock. What else should I do? Should I hop on the video games? Or should I go outside for a walk?

I tend to lean on the side of walking because I love walking. For me, it's very therapeutic. It's something that I do and my mind just comes at ease. That's why I always look forward to our walks in Tuamak. Yeah. Because don't get me wrong, especially near the end there, you're like, I'm up to hell goodness. But you get up there and you get to be amazed by the sight that you see. All that work you put into leading up to getting up there.

George Angel Ramirez (02:27:09.802)
tired but you're getting glimpses of what's out what's there remarkable landscape that's too sad and you know what's crazy that's life yeah you know sometimes in life we just go through these motions of just work and then we look back a little bit and then we see that glimpse and then you're going up and up and up and then you look back and you're like wow I was able to do that yeah

You especially our last walk, what it really taught me is as I was trying to get into astrophotography. that's something I really do want to get into because you look at what's out there and sometimes we're so in our minds and we're so stuck about how our life is going when you realize we're just this small little piece of sand.

in this universe but you start to realize that that small piece of sand is very significant you know a lot of people will say it's insignificant what's going on you're like no it's really not but we have to be

Amazed by the beauty about the things that are going on around us And a lot of people they don't see that, know, like those walks that we had they're very beautiful but that last walk that we had on Tumamak really taught me a lot about

George Angel Ramirez (02:28:41.964)
Yeah, we're so small. But there's that small little piece of sand here on Earth can do so much. And if it's for the better or for those other smaller pieces of sand, it's all worth it. It is. You know, when you start to see that work that you've accomplished.

And it's not to like one of the things in boxing that I learned was when you land a really good shot, when you hit somebody with a really good, let's just say a jab, it's not to admire your work. And it's true because if you admire your work, you sit there you're like, wow, look what I did. Yeah, that's great. But guess what?

That other person still has an opportunity to combat what you just did. So what are you going to do to, you know, defend yourself? If you just stand there you're like, I got a really good shot. Next thing you know, that other shot that's coming in could potentially knock you out. And that's the same thing with life. You know, yeah, it's, it's, it's amazing what you've accomplished so far. But guess what? There's a lot of other stuff that we can do as people. And if it's for the betterment of humanity,

It's gonna make it worth it. Yeah, there's gonna be a point in your life when you're older and you have more time to yourself and things aren't going as fast as they need to go or as we perceive them to go and you can look back at all the beautiful accomplishments that you've done. Yeah, we can enjoy it then. But especially right now, there's a lot of work that needs to be done.

You know just as we're enjoying this conversation. Hey, guess what? There's another conversation that we're gonna have to have next Saturday and it's not to Belittle this conversation that we're having this has been probably

George Angel Ramirez (02:30:37.3)
The most yeah, this is heart-to-heart. Yeah conversation. This is probably one of the deepest conversations we've ever had and that's amazing and I know we're going on to the end right now, but You know, there's still other conversations that we're gonna have to have that are probably gonna be even deeper Not just with you and me, but potentially other people but Right now is what we're going through

And that's what I always try to remind people is that it's very easy to be fixated on the future. To be thinking about what we're going to be 5, 10, 15 years from now. But we have to focus on what's now. Because what's now is what leads us to have those opportunities. When I first started at the U of A, I didn't understand that. I was very focused on the future.

I always thought about the long term. was not much of a short term guy. I always thought about the bigger picture because that to me was the thing that was going to affect me the most. It wasn't the little steps, the little things that were going to add up. was what's going to happen holistically that's going to change my life. And as I've gotten older, I've understood

that it is the little things, is the experiences, is the moments that we don't expect to affect us that affect us the most, that allow us to have glimpses of the future. And I like to reference a lot the walk in Tuamak because it's very poetic in a sense of when as we're walking up that hill, we're seeing glimpses of Tucson, little by little it starts to picture becomes clearer and clearer and clearer. We're getting an idea.

Every struggle, every step, every opportunity, know, chance that we get there. In the same way that life is. We can't be fixated on the idea that we're gonna get up on the hill and have this beautiful image. We don't know how that image is gonna play out. We don't know how it's gonna be. Even though we've done it so many times. Exactly. Every time it's different. In the same way that in life we need to enjoying the smaller things. Because the smaller things are what stack up on each other.

George Angel Ramirez (02:32:51.212)
that allow for us to have that final picture. And that's one of the life lessons that I embrace on a daily basis. Is when I wake up and I walk in nature, or when I walk in my typical walks in the morning, I always try to take in the little things. The sunrise, you know, when usually in fall when the sun starts to come up around five, or now later actually, because the weather's changing. I like to sit there and see that, and I go...

different every time. Yes, it's very familiar, but it's different every single time. That's how every experience is. No one experiences the same. And that's why we need to learn that it's the gradual things that lead up to the greater things that allow for a greater future. It's not the things that we expect to happen that make it happen.

I'm grateful for learning that lesson. It's taken me some time again, like all things, you know, we're going to stumble upon things we don't quite understand. When we first learn it, we're like, huh, we're confused. But then as you kind of process it, however you process it, some people like to process it verbally and kind of have journals and do all that. For me, I'm more of an internal thinker. I like to kind of think about it internally, process those things, go through it with myself, kind of in the back of my mind.

And as that thought goes through, then I finally start to understand what I didn't understand then. And I think it's going through that process that's going to make a great future. We can't expect it all at once is what I'm saying. Don't devour the world all at once. You're never going to succeed at that. Just take a bite and savor every moment, every experience, every memory, because it's forever.

That's the one thing we walk away from this world because all of us inevitably are headed for death unfortunately and I hate to say that but it's just the reality I wouldn't say unfortunately, you know, right and I mean in that context, you know but It's the memories we take with us that are becoming the most evaluable irreplaceable things And that's how I see life is I

George Angel Ramirez (02:35:12.662)
I take in the memories. I don't take in the material. I never focus on what I have, the things that are on me or what I use, because that's not what I'm taking with me when my time comes. I'm taking with me the experiences. I'm taking with me the memories. I'm taking with me the friends along the way. The building blocks that came together to make Mario is what I'm taking with me.

I'm not taking away the house I'm gonna have.

George Angel Ramirez (02:35:48.126)
I keep myself detached from those things. Because that's not what I am. At the end of the day, people are not going to remember me for the things I have. They're going remember me for who I was, what I did, what I contributed. What Mario gave to the world in his time in the world is what they're going to see. And that's what I focus on. What memories can I make of this world? What?

moments can I hold as precious as dear. Because those are the things that when I go on to pass, I'm going to be able to look upon, you know, if there is an afterlife. Be able to say, I'm I'm fulfilled. Because that's how I differentiate fulfillment and excitement. Excitement is a very dopaminic effect. You know, you feel excited in the moment. You're really like, wow, I got rewarded for this. Fulfillment is...

Accepting that excitement but learning from that excitement understanding why you were excited and being fulfilled from it And that's what I seek in life is fulfillment. Sorry, I became very philosophical there, but That's really the end goal because again each and every one of us that's where all we're gonna have is our memories What we were able to do as people Is what we have? That's why I always remind people to enjoy every moment

Hold it dear to your heart. Every memory, every experience, whether it be a mistake or something that you just learned and embedded you, that all comes together to be you. And that's what makes it beautiful. The human experience, the life that we have. And it's such a privilege to have it. And I don't think a lot of people appreciate that privilege. A lot of people are very fixated on the negativity of their lives.

A lot of are fixated on the things that are happening. I'm not trying to disqualify, know, discount the people that are going through a lot of hardship, but we don't appreciate and have gratitude for what we have and what we experience and the things that we have to be grateful for. We instead focus on the negative, focus on the things that we stumble upon in our lives and we go, I wish I didn't experience that.

George Angel Ramirez (02:38:13.122)
But that's not something to wish. It happened. Just like other things will happen in your life that you don't account for. Emergencies, arguments, issues. But they're all gonna happen, irrespective of what you do. You think you might have the wheel controlled in your life, that you're driving along, all gas on, maybe your foot is ready to go on the brake when need be. But you can never predict when you're gonna hit a speed bump.

And that's why we gotta take our experiences one at a time. You gotta be able to soak in all our memories. And so by the time we hit that speed bump, whenever that is, we're able to go, I've seen this movie before. I know what to do. And I have somebody beside me who I can process this with. And that will help me no matter how big of a speed bump that is.

even if my breaks fail me, so to speak. But I'll have a friend there and they'll be able to guide me along the way and be able to make this life the way it's meant to be. And so what I try to, what I'm really trying to say here is that the people who may have those hardships going through those speed bumps in life, those are temporary. Those emotions you're going through.

those hurdles, those difficulties, they're going to resolve itself and you're going to be a stronger person because of them. They're not going to define you. They're going to make you better. Those scars are going to heal. And just like when you work out and those muscles tear and you feel that pain, they're going to build up on each other and become stronger. And just like in every, the next speed bump you hit, you're going to be better prepared and better prepared. And it's all going to compound on itself.

And so by the time you end up at the end of your life, whenever that is, you'll take those memories, and you'll hold them dear, you'll be glad you had them.

George Angel Ramirez (02:40:16.984)
Absolutely right man, I'll end off with this. There is hope.

There is hope. It's going to take time. All beautiful things take time. You look at a rose, you look at a tree, it starts as a little seed, and then it grows. But it doesn't grow overnight. It takes time to grow. next thing you know, it becomes something beautiful that you can admire. And that's the same thing with our lives.

We're gonna go through those hurdles. We're gonna go through those bumps.

George Angel Ramirez (02:40:57.646)
And the best part is hopefully there's someone there watering it. Hopefully there's someone there that you can have. And not in a way where you can have him materialistically or physically. Someone there to help you along.

this journey of yours because you start to realize that you can't do everything by yourself. Whether it's your porn addiction, whether it's a drug addiction, whether it's a food addiction, whatever type of addiction, whatever it may be. There is hope, but you can't do it by yourself. There's, need people there to help you flourish. And those people will be there.

have to look for them. You can't just keep your mind or your eyes closed off because you're not gonna get anywhere by yourself. Sure, yeah, in a business way you might get there by yourself, but you're only gonna get so far. But when you have a true friend, you will get so much further where you need to be in life.

Sometimes those people just come at the most random times Just as our friendship started like that just as your friendship might start that and I'm talking about the listener We need those people in our lives and those people will create hope and eventually you will create hope for somebody that Desperately needs it just as that firefighter that came into Whole Foods that day when I needed help

when I desperately needed it, when I desperately needed hope, he was there. He probably doesn't know the significance amount of hope that he put into my life. Just as the hope that you've given me in my life, and hopefully the hope I've given you into life as well too. You start to realize that we're human for a reason. And that we can't.

George Angel Ramirez (02:43:14.382)
create these beautiful experiences by ourselves. You know, of course there's going to be times where you do need to be by yourself. Right. But, it's always better to have a friend there.

That's basically it. That's where hope is created. Exactly. know my mom always would tell me it's better to be by yourself than with bad company. Yeah. And yeah, I mean, it's very easy to think that way. But nothing beats being able to have a friend, whether it be one or however many you end up having in your life. But when things get rough and the storm has really hidden you.

you can turn to and share what's going on in your life. I know they're judgment free. They're not going to look at you and go, you know, whatever. you're like that. you're this. Instead, they're to go, you know what, Mario? Let's do this together. You know what, George? Let's do this together. That is invaluable. That is priceless. And that's what I hope everybody knows is that.

It's a journey we all have to do together.

Yes, there's going to be lonely moments. There's going to have to be moments where your own fortitude has to be the one that takes you to the next step. But when you have somebody you can count on...

George Angel Ramirez (02:44:47.107)
priceless and we're all gonna be able to have that person in our lives yep that's it man that's that's pretty much what we got for today hope you guys have a great rest of your day take care