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Introduction 0:02
Welcome to the pirate broadcast, where we interview interesting people doing interesting things. Where you can expand your connections, your community, kindness is cool and smiles are free.

Russ Johns 0:20
It's a good morning for the pirate broadcast. I just want to share all my gratitude for anyone that shows up and comments, shows up on the replays, connects with me, connects with the guests in the pirate community. Also, I want to send out a few warm thoughts and prayers to those that have been impacted by the hurricane. I hope you're all well, I hope you're recovering and safe. We just want to send out our thoughts and prayers for the families that are impacted. Also, what it does is brings up this idea of kindness and consideration, empathy and patience and today we have Rachel in the room. She's a pirate now, an official pirate. Whoo. We're gonna be talking a little bit about all of those emotions and all of those feelings and all of those attitudes around life, liberty, and the pursuit of a little bit of happiness. So Rachel, How are you this morning?

Rachel Beck 1:00
I'm doing good, Russ. Thank you so much for having me on the show. Very excited to be here.

Russ Johns 1:38
It's been awhile and it's like, okay, I knew this day would come because it's just got to happen. I mean, you're a ray of sunshine in a dark night. So, it's like, we have to have Rachel in the room to share some of her gifts. Thank you so much for being here.

Rachel Beck 1:57
Thank you and we've known each other for a long time.

Russ Johns 2:00
It has been awhile. It has been going back and forth on LinkedIn and it's like I said, if we were closer, we'd be out having coffee someplace.

Rachel Beck 2:08
Exactly. Yes, we would

Russ Johns 2:12
It’s like we could go on forever and there's a couple of things that I want to make sure that people understand. You are a unique individual…your pictures on the water, when you go for hikes and stuff like that. I just love that. I just love that environment. I love that thought process. So, talk a little bit about what you're doing and who you are helping right now and then we'll work around that because I think it's important work and you're doing a fabulous job. I think it's important for people to know who you are.

Rachel Beck 2:47
Aww, thank you, Russ. So my goal is to lift up people during this pandemic and to be a light and to not only be a light, but to share that light and then create this ripple effect that whatever I share with my network, that light touches them, and then they go out. They keep spreading that light, and that's what I'm working on right now.

Russ Johns 3:12
I love that.

Rachel Beck 3:13
It's very important to me.

Russ Johns 3:17
I know you're in a series right now where you're having conversations with people on different topics and right now there's a lot of confusion, there's a lot of challenges a lot of people are nervous and upset or they've lost their job and hope has to be out there. We have to have some hope and I love that you're sharing that hope and looking at people that are making a difference. Sometimes it's not necessarily what's happening to us, it’s what’s happening around us and the mental energy that we invest in other people, it has to go somewhere. The world has to do something. So what have you seen in terms of people getting past their challenges and moving forward in helping other people lift up their spirits and in their life? What kind of experiences have you come across?

Rachel Beck 4:21
Well, it comes down to empathy, right? I mean, you hear me talk about that every day because we really don't know what's going on in someone's life, unless you share it with us. Then when they share it with us, it's a gift. Right? It's a gift. It’s important right now, more than ever, to be a human being with a heart. That is really, really crucial. Your one line you write somebody in a day could change their whole life. It can really make a difference if you're leaving a positive message to them. I know what's written to me in direct messages and it was sent to me on a personal level. And I take my responsibility on social media, extremely serious, very, very serious. So I'm hoping that people know that they're not alone. I'm hoping that they have you and me every single day to go, okay, Rachel and Russ are here today to spread love and kindness. And it's not like you and I haven't had things happen in our lives. I've had serious stuff happen in my life. I mean, that's the reality of it. So it's taking that strength that you and I have been through, holding on to it knowing it did happen for a reason and now passing that physically or emotionally, passing that strength on to our followers. That's what they need right now.

Russ Johns 5:50
It's amazing that you bring that up because, and I've mentioned this before in different episodes, is the idea that we all have experiences in our world. Some experiences are not necessarily comfortable. You know, some of them are tragic. Some of them are really challenging. The loss of home, family life, all of these things impact us in some way, shape or form. And I think it’s important for us all to realize that we're all going through something, so you don't necessarily know what that something is. And smiles are free. That is universal. I mean, if you give it away, you get two. It's abundance. It's expansion. It's the idea of you can share and make an impact on somebody's life. I think it's important for us to do what we can. Little steps, baby steps and it doesn't take much time. Even if you're not spiritual, if you're not religious, you can still be spiritual, I guess it's better way of putting it. You can actually have this idea that we’re all connected in some way, shape or form, whether it's by experiences, shared experiences, or if it's some of the things that we're doing in life or where we are in life. It's kids, family, parents, jobs, we all have something. There's always a thread I always say and if you pull the thread long enough, you're gonna find a connection.

Rachel Beck 7:20
That's what we're doing, right? We're working very hard, Russ, to create a quilt, a quilt of love, of kindness. And there are core people on this platform who are building this quilt with us to create that. We all end up using a quilt as a metaphor because we all know what it's like to be under a blanket, and you're cuddled, you feel safe, you feel nurtured. So, that's the kind of environment. We want people to know that they're safe. We want them to know that they're nurtured. We want them to know that they're loved. That's what they need to know right now.

Russ Johns 8:17
Yeah, a couple of things that really, I think surprised me. It's just being positive. You know, we've all known people that are not necessarily the most positive individuals in the world. And what I've been really focused in on the last number of years is the language that I use, and the thoughts that are in my head and some of the things that I tell myself, because if you change the way you speak, and you change the way you feel about things, rather than saying something's negative or I feel bad or I feel this way or that way. I really think that it changes the way we act, it changes the way we live, it changes the way people show up in our lives and the way we connect with people like you and I. It's like, it doesn't take a lot to be positive. It does take a choice, though. So what are some things that you've seen that have helped others become more positive? Because you're one that shares the positive things in the world? Let's see what's possible. Let's imagine what could be happening. So, what are some tips and some things that you've discovered along your journey that allow you to be more positive?

Rachel Beck 9:50
It is a conscious choice. I remember those moments. I had critical moments in my life and I've had really bad things happen to me. And I remember stepping into positivity. I remember physically doing it. I remember mentally doing it and making that choice. And it's a choice that I make every single day. Because I know the benefits of choosing a positive mindset over a negative mindset. It's like leaps and bounds. Now, you and I, can make that choice every single day and I tell my network that. Get up, make the choice of positive mindset no matter what comes your way. We both know life is not rainbows and unicorns, we're fully aware of that. But if you're making that choice to step into it, and you're conscious that you're doing that, you will see the benefits of it. I saw moments in my head. I can see them. Honestly, what's the easier route? Some of those moments would have been like, I'm done. I can't, do this anymore. That would have been the easy way out. I chose not to do that.

Russ Johns 11:12
Well, I'm glad.

Rachel Beck 11:15
Thank you.

Russ Johns 11:18
You know, I've had that experience in my life where you feel like that would be an easier choice and that would be something that is an option. You really have those moments or struggles, and you have to find something. I think it's all all depends on hope. You have to feel like there's something else that I'm meant to do, because many times, statistically speaking, I shouldn't be here.

Rachel Beck 11:55
Honestly, Russ, neither should I.

Russ Johns 11:59
So we are here. We are hear for a reason and we're here to help others around us and shine the light on that. So what are some of the other activities? Talk about your series that you're putting out. I think you have four episodes out that you're doing.

Rachel Beck 12:18
I've been doing the series that I'm doing this week? Or like right now?

Russ Johns 12:22
Yeah, what is it that you're actively doing right now?

Rachel Beck 12:26
I just wanted my network to meet the people that are involved with the orphanage, Global Ministries, because they know I'm donating part of my book back to the orphanage. It's really to explain the story behind the story and for them to understand. I wanted them to hear from other people who have been to the orphanage like I have. They did an incredible job. They both did. The directors for the foundation are really special woman and their stories are really powerful. They understand we're here to talk about empathy. They understand how absolutely emotional it was for me to even discuss this publicly. It was opening your heart and saying, this is what happened to me. This is the truth. This is very emotional because we put ourselves out there to be judged every single day. I've been very blessed because my network doesn't function that way. They're extremely supportive.They're very empathetic towards me, and they're very loving. I appreciate that.

Absolutely. What I appreciate are all the pirates in the community here. Let's let's go back in and share some of these pirates here. So Angie says Good morning, everyone.

Good morning, Angie.

Russ Johns 13:51
We're going in here Kenyatta. Yes, Rachel Beck is here as an offical pirate on the pirate broadcasts. Much love to you friends.

Rachel Beck 14:02
We've got Jeff Young in the house

Good morning, Jeff! How are you.

Russ Johns 14:07
Fellow members of the kind club, grateful to know you both. Namaste. Network and make all sorts of terrific energy. Thank you so much. And then Gabriel, you know Gabriel.

Rachel Beck 14:20
How are you? Much love to you.

Russ Johns 14:23
Love all of you guys. Angie says, spreading light is so important. Absolutely, positively. Kenyatta says Good morning, Jeff and Angie, this is what I love, Rachel, is that everybody connects with everybody else. It's building the kindness and the quilt that we're talking about.

Rachel Beck 14:51
I described it right?

Russ Johns 14:52
That was a great way to describe it. That warm blanket of kindness flowing over us daily. Gabriel says, Good morning everyone. I love each and every one of you incredible individuals. Being a pirate is special. We are all family and community That's fantastic Kenyatta Turner says, hello there, man. You're such a wonderful person and I enjoy everything you share and create. Kenyatta and I are working on a really cool project. Much love to both of you. Kenyatta says, Russ Johns and Rachel Beck, two amazing community builders unite. Behavioral matters, behavioral superpowers. And then she's going on and Gabriel, you're such a dear friend. say the same about you.

Kenyatta, good morning, from Angie

Angie, good morning, Gabriel. Rachel, this is what ...you have the same affect. You...love being a quilter. Absolutely, Angie. There are so many people out there that understand what it is that we do and why we do it. And either you get it, or you try to get it. I think there's a lot of kindness that's going on around us and, and our challenges. How do we present it? And how do we engage other people? You have, a much larger network than I do. So, how, do you go about and communicate and stay engaged and up to date, and invest your time because some some days, it's challenging to keep up with everybody and share so much? It's not always easy. So I want to ask you, how you how you manage through that process?

Rachel Beck 16:55
Well, it comes down to this. It's so easy, Russ. It's attitude of gratitude versus entitlement. I'm very grateful every day for my network and this will never change. So if my network is taking the time to engage with me and to be with me and to share with me, I'm going to respect them as much as they respect me. That's what it comes down to. I love my network. They know that. I tell them every Friday when they sign out before the weekend, say I love you. It comes down to attitude of gratitude. It comes down to, are you making that time? You and I, we all know, we both have the same 24 hours and time gets brought up a lot. Right now is the time to be in social media. Right now is the time to market. Right now is to get yourself out there. Now is the time, more than ever.

Russ Johns 17:48
Yeah, I agree, and a lot of people that are fear and scarcity based are really showing signs of wear and tear, a lot more than the ones that are putting themselves out there. Because I for one, I've been a remote worker for over a decade at different times in my life. I've done this as well. I'm busier now than I have been in years. It seems like things are showing up in my world and things are showing up and different conversations are taking place. I have all the gratitude in the world for everything that comes out. Life is abundant. It's like you can't run out of things like this. It's just when you put it out there and you express the kindness and gratitude and abundance and love it. It always comes back tenfold. When you tell somebody that doesn't believe it, it's like you're an alien talking to them. It's like, yeah, I know. It's counterintuitive. I know it feels counterintuitive, like if you turn off what's in it for me, radio, and then start giving it away. Sharing things that are valuable, things will turn up. And it's amazing.

Rachel Beck 19:04
Yeah, and I'm very clear Russ. I'm very clear for many reasons. My life is not about me and it will never be about me. It's never changed. If I can take people through this pandemic and lift them up and get them where they need to go, then I know that was part of my journey through this pandemic. That's part of the journey, to lift everybody up.

Russ Johns 19:27
Don't you get tingley when you see somebody succeed?

Rachel Beck 19:32
Nothing makes me happier than seeing my network succeed. Seeing my network succeed, seeing my family suceed. I'm the kind of person who gets more excited to give gifts on the holidays than to get them. We can all celebrate each other's success. Your success doesn't take away from my success and vice versa. Women can support women on this platform and we can stand behind each other and we can support each other. It's possible. I don't rest. I can say something from the bottom of my heart. I don't compete with anybody else. I don't compare myself to anyone. But I said, literally, stay in my lane. Do what I have to do for my goals and for my dreams and that's a huge part of it.

Russ Johns 20:20
Yeah. How did you discover your gifts? How did you discover that was something that you were born to do? Your intent? That's what you're here for? Did it come naturally or is it always been that way? Is it because, you've been a teacher, your life gives you these experiences for a reason. So, how did you discover that this was your mission in life?

Rachel Beck 20:58
Someone pointed it out to me in a conversation I have to do work that's meaningful. That's really important to me. I have to do something that's going to get back to when I was teacher. That's why as a photographer, I was able to donate and help many charities through my work. I've almost died three times in my life. And someone did, for part of her research, she interviewed me over the series to understand that. So, I had the conversation with my friend...after the third time, I almost died. When she talked to me and she said, you're done. I said, what do you mean? And she said, this is so you know, the rule of threes. You've almost died three times. Think about that reach. And she said, Now go do everything that you were supposed to do in your life. It was so powerful to hear this from someone that I deeply, deeply admire. Someone 20 years ago, told me she had a conversation with me, too. And it was a two second conversation and she just said...she just looked at me she said, don't be here in 20 years, be where you're supposed to be. It took me years to understand what she was talking about. I was like, what does she mean? Then my friend says, you should go live your life, do what you're supposed to do. It's not gonna happen again. You had your three brushes with death. You appreciate life. I appreciate life every single day.

Russ Johns 22:28
Every day is a gift.

Rachel Beck 22:30
Every day is definitely a gift.

Russ Johns 22:34
That's amazing. I cherish all my experiences and I've had a broad range of experiences from work and life and everything that goes along with that. People say, well I've lived in different places in the country and people say, what's your favorite? It's like, I have a favorite all for different reasons, you know? I don't really have that one thing, but it's always, wherever I am, I find and discover what I enjoy about it. What kind of joy can I get from this experience? Even if it's a bad experience and like yourself, it's like there's times in my life where I can actually go back to and say, wow, that was a moment in my life that I made the decision to choose life. Enjoy over the alternative. When you make that choice, it changes who you are, it changes who you become, because the path that you're traveling on is a much more positive one than if you had taken another direction. There's a lot of people that don't give it deep enough thought, and appreciate the things that they have around them. So, if I can encourage anyone to think about how much gratitude they can have with the smallest things, the simplest things, running water, simple life things. We are so gifted. We're so blessed in so many ways that I mean, just this conversation here. We met on LinkedIn. We had a conversation. We built a communication going back and forth. Next thing you know, we're on a live stream broadcast. It's an amazing message.

Rachel Beck 24:44
I love the messages you put out into the world. Absolutely love them. I'm behind you 100% and that's never, ever gonna change. But you're right, it comes down to gratitude and that's something that will never, ever change. I have many things that I'm grateful for. I'm very clear about that. It's not something that I ever forget. I'll always come from a place of gratitude. I've been around the world. I've seen things as a photographer that I can't unsee that have changed me forever. I've gone in some of the hardest places in America, documenting stuff, so I'm fully aware of what goes on. I've seen it. Some of the photos I've taken have taken me weeks to process and I did it to tell the stories because people didn't want to see it, but it exists. Does that make sense?

Russ Johns 25:50
Yeah.

Rachel Beck 25:51
Then the happiest person I met in the world, who you would love her smile, byy the way. Her story is so powerful and she changed me forever just taking her photo. The woman is blind, deaf and has leprosy and they met her at a leper colony it was documenting. It was documenting the work they were doing there and I was there for another reason. I had to ask the directors how is she so happy? She's blind, deaf, and has leprosy. I had tears when I was taking her photo and she was holding my face to figure out who I was because she was blind. She said, Rachel, she was homeless and we took her in, and she's grateful to have a home. And right there, and I can't begin to tell you how remote this area was that I was at, in the middle of the war,I learned my lesson on happiness, gratitude, and I've been raised to be a grateful person. That's something my parents instilled in me at a very young age. Russ her smile was huge. It was huge. And can you imagine being blind, deaf and having leprosy and you're still smiling? That's huge.

Russ Johns 27:16
That is huge.

Rachel Beck 27:18
I said, is she always happy ? She said, yeah, she's happy every single day.It's a mindset, what kind of mindset does she have to make that choice with everything she has going against her in life?

Russ Johns 27:35
It's amazing. It's amazing. I just encourage everyone around me to think about what is possible. Imagine the possibilities, and the opportunities. It's really a mental challenge at times because you have to think beyond what you can imagine, sometimes. I mean, you just have to expand your mind to think, okay, what if possible fill in the blanks? You could say, well, why not me? Somebody else could do it, I could do it, too. And then you have to decide am I willing to do it? Because that's the biggest challenge. What am I going to have to sacrifice? Because 24 hours in a day is only 24 hours in a day. You have to decide, okay, what's my priority? What do I focus my time and attention on? And there have been many times in my life, and I'm sure that you can understand this, you are working so hard on one thing that you missed out on other things. It's like relationships or spending time with your kids or doing things in life that you want to do. Time goes by, regardless of what you're doing, so find a little joy in what you're doing right now. Enjoy the moment. That becomes a priority for me now.

Rachel Beck 29:02
It's a conscious choice. Here's a big thing, Russ, I'm really clear on my priorities. This is never going to change. This is never ever, ever going to change.

Russ Johns 29:14
I love that.

Rachel Beck 29:16
I know what matters to me. If one of my best friends says, Rach, I need you right now, I'm very clear on that.

Russ Johns 29:29
That's what I love about you. It's consistency. It's being consistent and knowing what you want. Now, a lot of people struggle with that. So anytime you can help somebody identify what their gifts are and what they can do is a good thing. So thank you for that.

Rachel Beck 29:48
You're welcome.

Russ Johns 29:49
So, before we wrap up here, Rachel, tell us quickly about the book and how it's doing and how we can support you and where we can find you. Because if you're not connected to Rachel, reach out, follow her on LinkedIn. Drop her notes saying I'm a pirate. That Russ sent you.

Rachel Beck 30:20
So the book came out in 2018. I was doing the book tour and we were in a group of authors during the book Expo last May. What they did is they moved it to Manhattan, but obviously everything became virtual. So it's really important right now. I was supposed to be touring up and down the coast this summer. Obviously, that didn't happen. But you have to adapt and pivot, right now, so fast. As an author, that's what I've been doing. It's about doing interviews, doing the podcasts. I'm also public speaker, so I can't go in and speak to the audience and speak to the readers. So this is how I do it. This is how I communicate with them. It opens...the virtual world right now is a necessity. It's a necessity for any company or anything you're doing. And the more time that you put into the virtual world, the more you're going to get out of it.

Russ Johns 31:21
It's an investment. Right?

Rachel Beck 31:22
It's an investment. Yeah. so my book is on Amazon, and the whole goal with the book, Russ, and someone gave me that idea of the book. It's to motivate and inspire people. And that's the whole goal of it. It is sharing everything I've been through in my life and guess what? I'm standing today. I have causes that are deep, deep in my heart that I'm very passionate about, right now. And that's not going to change. I'm going to use my voice when it comes to things like racism, women's rights. I have certain core things.

Russ Johns 32:04
I love that. I love that. Thank you, Rachel ,so much for being here and sharing just a casual conversation as a pirate in the pirate community. I love these. I love these episodes. They set the tone of my day and they set my pace and everything else that goes on for the rest of the day. So I have all the gratitude in the world for you being here and our friendship and community. So thank you so much. There's a couple people here want to say...there's Suki. So, perspective on gratitude is love. Thank you so much. Nick Dorsey. Hey, Nick.

Rachel Beck 32:50
Hey, Nick!

Russ Johns 32:50
Hey, Russ John's, fantastic. I guess being banned from Facebook isn't a big deal. Isn't that big of a deal? comparatively? Angie had her Facebook. It's gone. So I feel bad. Wendy says, permission to imagine the possibility is a wonderful idea. So I know we got to wrap it up and you got plenty to do. You got people to help, places to support.

Rachel Beck 33:35
I will always support you, Russ. This will never change.

Russ Johns 33:36
Thank you. Likewise, Rachel. Thank you. We got our own two person fan club here.

Rachel Beck 33:43
Well, we're building that quilt. You have this shoe bike in the comment section. We'll come back and like a month. See how we're doing. Keep an eye on it.

Well, thank you everyone so much. Like I said, if you're not connected, follow Rachel. Get involved and engaged in a little bit of kindness because kindness is cool, smiles are free, and you enjoy the day. Take care everyone. Thanks, Rachel.

Thank you.

Russ Johns 34:23
Thank you for joining the Pirate Broadcast. If you found this content valuable, please like, comment and share it across your social media channels. I would love the opportunity to help others grow in their business. The Pirate Syndicate is a platform where you show up and we produce the show. It's that easy. If you want to be seen, be heard and be talked about, join the Pirate Syndicate today.

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