How to Be Grateful in the Moment with Michelle Wax

31. How to Be Grateful in the Moment with Michelle Wax

“Start your morning on your own terms to set up your day for success.”

—Michelle Wax

Podcast Transcription

Hello, I’m Michael Kurland, CEO and Co-Founder of Branded Group. Welcome to the #BeBetter Podcast. To me, our company’s mantra to “Be Better” is more than a tagline; it’s a culture that permeates our organization, propelling our team to Be Better to each other, our customers and our communities as well as to ourselves. Each week on the #BeBetter podcast, I interview leaders who authentically exemplify how they are being better in their professional and personal lives.

Many thanks to 4Life Animal Rescue of Orange County who provides care and resources to animals in need. They provide adoption, education, training, and rehabilitation services to ensure that unwanted and neglected animals are safe and receive the life-long care they require and deserve. Learn more about 4Life Animal Rescue at 4liferescue.org.

Michael Kurland (00:02):

Hello, and welcome to another episode of the BeBetter podcast. I’m your host Michael Kurland. Joining us today is Michelle Wax, founder of the American Happiness Project. Such a great idea, Michelle. Welcome to the show. Please tell the audience about yourself and the American Happiness Project.

Michelle Wax (00:24):

Sure. Thanks for having me. I’m so excited to be here. So American Happiness Project started out as a 50 state documentary that was filmed back in 2019, went to every single state in America, really capturing and wanting to share how everyday people are creating more happiness, fulfillment, and energy in their everyday life, regardless of external circumstances. So I jumped in my Jeep and I drove around the country, interviewing hundreds and hundreds of people from all different walks of life and circumstance and the backgrounds on really what they were doing internally to create more of these positive emotions that a lot of people look to, external things to bring into them. And so really ever since filming that documentary discovered there was a real hunger for that information out there in the world because I don’t think we’re ever really taught how to be happy where we’re at today.

Michelle Wax (01:14):

It’s always kind of this elusive thing that’s slightly out of reach or  in the future and so from there built up programs and workshops for companies and schools to share that information and also tied into the science of how the brain’s wired, how to start using that to your advantage. So now what we do is work with companies all across the USA and actually worldwide now as well to share that information with their employees and teams so that they’re walking away, feeling energized and have tangible takeaways that they can start implementing into their daily life.

Michael Kurland (01:48):

That is great, great information. I’m really excited to talk about this with the audience and you as well today because we talked on the pre-show meeting and we had a lot of similarities that you know. I could relate to what you were saying about why you started this project. So would you mind telling the audience actually why, so we can start there and then move through it? Why did you, where did this come from? Like how did you get there?

Michelle Wax (02:14):

Definitely. I have reached a point in my life where I had always worked hard and had always gone after what I wanted and ever since I was a kid I had the lemonade stand, had always wanted to be an entrepreneur specifically in the food industry. So I’m from Boston and after college was working at a tech startup, started a cookie company on the side of my full-time job was able to build that up to having a team, profitable, all this good stuff. Right. So I essentially looking in on it from an outside perspective, you would have thought I was super happy, right. Successful, living my dream and I wasn’t in a dark, dark place, but I found myself waking up every day and just doing fine. Right. Just okay. I think that’s from all the interviews I’ve done it’s where a lot of people are at a certain point of their life.

Michelle Wax (03:06):

I really didn’t understand it because my entire life I’ve been taught and sold that you work hard, you get what you want and then you’ll be happy. But I wasn’t feeling that internal fulfillment and happiness I thought I should be. So I personally started digging into the science of happiness, of your energy levels, fulfillment levels, all these things and how your brain plays a big part in that and the wiring of your brain. So I had the idea. I started incorporating the strategies that I had learned through doing this research on a more personal basis into my own life and it made a tremendous impact. I started instead of waking up feeling stressed and worried and having that self-doubt, I was energized and excited for the day ahead. So I wanted to capture kind of congregate how people are doing this across the country, because I’m just one person, right. Something might resonate with me, won’t resonate for someone else. So I wanted to capture all different perspectives and really create this compilation that people could look to for that how behind the what that I think we’re all creating, which is that happiness and fulfillment day today.

Michael Kurland (04:15):

Great information. I’m really happy that you brought all that up. I felt the same way. You know, I worked my whole life. I never thought I wanted to be an entrepreneur. Seven years ago, I opened Branded Group six years ago, we hadn’t finished our first year. We turned a profit. We had employees, we were successful. Everything was great. I should be happy. Guess what? I wasn’t happy. Right. I had reached what people would say, quote unquote was success. Right. I was waking up every day and I was just kinda like, I’m fine. Is this it? Is this the best it gets? Right. That’s when we started the One for One program. That was when I really tapped into what made me feel happy, what made me feel like I had a sense of purpose. So anyway, that’s where I really thought it was important to give that background information to the audience. So you mentioned that you did some studies on happiness and the brain, brainwaves. Can we talk about that a little bit? What did you find? What’s out there? What’s the science behind it so that we can dig deeper ourselves if the audience out there, if they want to start looking into that.

Michelle Wax (05:21):

So the first thing that I discovered that I had never been taught growing up at all was really that your brain is hardwired from birth, right? Every single human being from our primal days to really skew negative and to look out for what could go wrong, for what’s going wrong, what’s not happening, right. What should have been, what could have been? I didn’t realize that your brain naturally goes to that place because I think we’re told and sold that your brain naturally, or you naturally will achieve happiness. So that was the first aha moment I had was realizing that, Oh, it’s actually not my fault if I’m feeling stress and this worry and the self-doubt because my brain is naturally goes to that place. The reason why every human being goes to that place is because it helped keep us safe in primal times, right.

Michelle Wax (06:09):

We had to be on alert for what’s lurking in the distance and attack, right. Anything like that to keep us safe and keep us alive. So it’s really embedded in us, but it doesn’t lend itself really to natural happiness. If you’re always looking out for what could go wrong or all the potential and kind of worst case scenarios. So that was a big realization. What I learned on top of that is that even though that is the way your brain originally starts out, there is a way to rewire it because your brain is constantly evolving, constantly adapting and this was something that was discovered throughout the documentary filming process. So rather confirmed because there’s always, there’s been scientific research behind this, that really the way that your brain is interpreting what’s happening around you. So that wiring, that mindset is much more important than what’s actually happening for long-term happiness. That was something that’s been shown through the science, but also was confirmed in our more practical, psychology research and doing all these interviews. It’s really interesting because I had always for a very long time looked to external achievements and that success or those goals to bring in happiness when in reality, most of long-term happiness derives from within you within your own brain. So there’s a lot of it. You have a lot more control, but I think we’re often taught to believe.

Michael Kurland (07:28):

Well you bring up some great points. You have to rewire your brain because like you said, the primal way we were wired was fight or flight, right? You were always trying to outrun that wooly mammoth or that pack of hyenas and to rewire your brain, it takes time and effort, right? It’s not something that you can just say, okay, I’m going to be happy today. I’m going to think positively today. It takes a good amount of study and work put into it. I know at one point I was not as happy as I am now and I had been going through a lot of things in my life and I had to rewire the way I thought about who I was and what happiness was to me. It took probably a year of my life to get there. It’s constant work too, because you’re always going to settle back to what you know. So I think audience it’s good information. It’s good knowledge for you.

Michelle Wax (08:25):

Similar, I like to kind of compare it to working on your physical health. Yes, you can go to the gym one day for two hours and I’m sure you’ll feel better after, but it’s more important to be consistent then, be intense about it every single day. So that’s how I view it too. Even after doing working on my mindset for a couple of years now, it’s like, of course there are some days where I wake up, and I’m not feeling motivated or not the best. You have to make sure you’re consistent with it to have that impact.

Michael Kurland (08:58):

I mean a two hour session every once, every six months probably is going to cause more pain than anything else. So you need to think about that the same way, right? If you work out your body, you should also work out your mental. So there’s so much research out there saying how you really need to put that time and effort into your mental. So many people I think really have a hang-up, like they feel like they’re too weak if they’re putting time and effort into that because they’re fine. They were raised this way and everything’s going to be fine, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. That’s, that’s not the case. There’s nothing wrong with putting in time to talking with someone or whatever the case may be. So anyway, just wanted to get that out there again, because I think that’s important information. So let’s talk about your documentary that you did. This is very inspiring. You decided to pack up your Jeep Wrangler, that we’ve discussed the most uncomfortable car to drive cross country and you drove cross country for how long and how many people did you meet with, and then we’ll talk about some of the stories afterwards, I’m sure, but let’s start with that. How long, how many people did you meet with?

Michelle Wax (10:05):

So it was a span of about three months of two and a half months where the lower 48 and then I flew to Hawaii and Alaska and like you were saying, I have a Jeep Wrangler and literally everyone I talked to was saying, it’s not practical. It’s not efficient. Right. Which it’s not, but it was my dream when I thought this is very American, have the freedom going for me if I’m in the Wrangler. But I ended up chatting with over 500 people throughout the documentary filming process. Since then we continue to interview people virtually as well now with the pandemic. But it was, as you can imagine, quite the experience and quite the journey across the country.

Michael Kurland (10:40):

I mean it sounds like my dream job and I would have loved to have done something like that. I did similar stuff with driving across country. I didn’t stop and interview people. I just ate at great restaurants and drank at great watering holes. But I mean, I’m sure having a higher purpose, like interviewing people is way better. So tell me this, how did you choose the people you did interview? Like where was the inspiration for that? It was just meet people at a local watering hole and say, Hey, you want to be part of my documentary or did you have some pre-req’s?

Michelle Wax (11:14):

That’s a great question. It was a little bit of both what I like to call informal interviews and formal interviews. Really my first thought when I had the idea to film the documentary was where am I going to find people like, yes, I know some people, but I don’t know people in every single state right all across the country. So what I ended up doing to screen people before I sat with them and did a more formal interview on camera was I had a form on my website that people could fill out if they were interested in being a part of the project. After they filled that form out, I just started sharing that with my personal network. Then from there anyone I spoke with, I asked if they could do it, so it really grew in this organic way.

Michelle Wax (11:56):

So I did a brief screening call and then if I was near them when I was traveling. So I used the interviews I want to include to build out the route for the trip. So it wasn’t the most efficient route by any means because I had to go to all these different places, but that’s really where the more formal interviews, where that originally created the route of the trip. Then of course, when I was at the watering halls or at restaurants and bars and things like that, I was talking with a lot of people and I think most people assume I’m naturally extroverted. I’m actually naturally introverted. So I had to learn to really put myself out there and tell people what I was doing. But, it was really, it was a good learning experience for me. I also got to meet all these incredible people. So I was doing a lot of more informal interviews that were at farmer’s markets, bars, and restaurants, all that good stuff.

Michael Kurland (12:48):

Bravo to you for being an introvert and taking on a very extroverted project because that must’ve been difficult for you to get over in the beginning.

Michelle Wax (13:00):

I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Right. So I didn’t fully understand what I think I was even getting myself into because I didn’t even account for things like driving’s very tiring. I didn’t account for like, Oh, when I drive for seven hours a day, it’s going to be exhausting and like small things like that. But I think it was almost better that I threw myself into it and had a bit of planning, but not too much along the way,

Michael Kurland (13:27):

I am an extrovert, but I can be introverted at times. It’s not conducive to being a salesperson, which was my main source of income for many, many years. I think the hardest thing I’ve ever had is being at the trade shows and having to spark this conversation out of midair with someone that they know that you just want to sell them something. Right. You got to come across, not as disingenuous. So for me it was always well, it’s not, I always go back to the Gretzky line. You miss every shot you don’t take. Right. So I’d always tell myself that and I’m like, well, I don’t want to miss the shot. So I’ll go spark a convo. Anyway, there’s my story on being my little bit of introvertedness.

Michelle Wax (14:12):

So something I learned too is because I’m coming from Boston, I think the Northeast has a reputation for being more closed off. I found though that across the country, even in the Northeast, if you just have that spark of a conversation, obviously no one wants to get rejected, but if you just say hello or how’s it going, most of the time people are going to respond to you and engage, which was interesting because I initially went into it nervous about that. But it was really awesome to see all across the country that people were open and willing to talk.

Michael Kurland (14:46):

I’m also from the Northeast originally, but in most other parts of the country that people are way, way nicer, way, way, way nicer than where I grew up. So let’s talk about this though. You drove across country, you hit all 50 states. Which were your two or your most favorite and your least favorite states. Let’s talk about that real quick.

Michelle Wax (15:13):

This is a great question and a really difficult one because obviously there’s good and less ideal aspects of every state, but I really enjoyed the entire West coast. You know, how could you not? But I actually, I also really liked South Dakota, which people normally are like, why would you like South Dakota? I think it gets kind of a bad rep, but I’m driving through the Badlands there. That national park was beautiful. It’s like these dunes in a desert. I don’t know actually what they call it, but that’s what it appeared like to me and it was beautiful and the people were nice and there’s nothing around for miles. I really enjoyed that coming from… I feel like as you drive East, it gets more compact and more highways, but instead of driving through fields and things like that. But I really enjoyed taking in the scenery and the sites and we’re not even a huge nature person, but it was a really cool thing to be able to drive through different terrains. Another cool aspect was seeing the license plates change as you go from state to state because it’s like majority, Georgia, and then it goes to Texas and I really enjoy that too because it’s just a cool experience to see that.

Michael Kurland (16:21):

Nice. So tell us about your documentary. It’s not been released yet. Right. It’s getting ready to get released.

Michelle Wax (16:30):

It’s released. So yes, we released it in February. Yes, so you can watch it now.

Michael Kurland (16:34):

I apologize. It was released in February. I will be watching it right after this this recording. So give the audience a little bit of a tidbit. What’s one of your favorite interviews that you had and let’s bring it back to gratitude a little bit here. What was the interview you were most grateful for having a chance to do on your journey?

Michelle Wax (16:58):

So I would say I had two that stick out, top of mind to me. The first was a couple in Friendsville, Tennessee, June and Clinton who are actually in the documentary. They’re featured. They had this beautiful story where they were living in Florida, very high stress environment. She unfortunately had stage three cancer, had to get a surgery, was in a coma. It was just really tough situation. He had lost his job, but the way that they interpreted life and have this perspective that they didn’t always have. I get into that in the interview, in the documentary, it was just really beautiful to see them and also to see the love they had for one another, which I feel like sometimes if you’re talking with a couple, you don’t necessarily see that, but that was really oozing and exuding out of them, which was beautiful to see.

Michelle Wax (17:48):

The second was a man I met in New Orleans. His name’s Monro and I met him in New Orleans, at an arts market on Frenchmen street. He actually lived in California in Long Beach. So what happened was is this more informal interview where I was just chatting with him at this market, turned into a formal interview when I was meeting up with him in California. He said a line to me in the interview that really stuck out and I think about quite often, which is you are protected on this earth until you’ve served your purpose. He went on to say, your purpose might be having one conversation with someone that you don’t even know the full impact that it made on their life, right. That might actually be your purpose. Your purpose might be becoming a mother and raising a family. It might be building a business. It might be this really small moment that you never even realized was your purpose. So there’s this really cool perspective and shift that I really enjoyed in his interview.

Michael Kurland (18:48):

Well, that’s great. I’m looking forward to checking that out. So you got to do, I’m assuming this was a dream of yours, right. To drive across country and interview all these people. So let’s talk about gratitude. Like what are you grateful for today and from this journey that you went on. Tell me a little bit about that.

Michelle Wax (19:11):

So this was something that I thought of in those moments where I’m driving seven, eight hours. I’m really tired. I’m not in the best mood and I kept thinking to myself, Michelle, millions of people would love to be in your position right now. We need to change our state. That was something I kept coming back to is being grateful. Even in the times where perhaps you’re tired or just not feeling the best. There’s always something that you can look to be grateful for. I would say for myself, I’m grateful that I reached a point fairly early on in my life where I wasn’t feeling happiest or fulfilled and I decided to make a small change or a shift. Because I think often we could just easily stay on the path we’re on. So being able to dive into the mindsets of so many different people and get into that world and take back control of how the emotions that I’m creating every single day. I’m really grateful for along with, of course, the things that most people are, which is their family and friends, right. Having somewhere to live, all that good stuff. But I would say those are the things. What would you say for yourself?

Michael Kurland (20:24):

What I’m grateful for today? I think today I’m most grateful for it’s spring out here in California and spring is a very short-lived season out here for anyone that doesn’t know what it’s like in Southern California. It pretty much goes from winter, which for the rest of the country is like April, anywhere else. Then it stays rainy April all winter long. Then it turns into spring for about three to four weeks. Then it’s full blown summer for about eight months, which I love. That’s why I’m here. But it’s spring right now. So things are blooming. It’s a little cooler, it’s sunny. My mom always said I could never live in California because I need all four seasons. I was like I just need summer. That’s the only season I need. But you know, and I still feel that way. But a day like today where I had a little windbreaker on, I got to walk the dog. I don’t enjoy nature as much as the next person does, like you were saying earlier, but I do enjoy it when I’m noticing it. So we got stuff in full bloom. Thanks for asking.

Michelle Wax (21:35):

That’s beautiful. I feel the same way where the blooming, especially this year, for some reason, I’m noticing it more. But it’s really cool to see. There’s a tree outside of my window that has been bearing for a while because I’m in Boston. I just realized today that there’s buds on it and it’s green and it’s blooming. It’s so great.

Michael Kurland (21:56):

I have a theory. I think it’s because COVID happened around this time last year. So no one was paying attention to that stuff as well. I won’t say no one, but most of us were probably more fight or flight and worried about if we were going to have our jobs and if we were going to die from a disease that we don’t know anything about. So I think now we can sit back, open our eyes and take in the stuff that we probably missed last year. So maybe that’s why I’m grateful for today as well. So let’s talk about this. The founder of the American Happiness Project. Does she practice gratitude on a daily basis or on a consistent basis? And if so, what is her gratitude practice?

Michelle Wax (22:39):

Hmm, yes. So I definitely do. I would say that like everyone, or probably a lot of people with gratitude journals and things like that, I don’t do it every single day. Right. Ideally you should be doing it consistently and every single day, but I would say that if I’m not writing it down in a gratitude journal, I’ll write three things and normally I focus on very small things during the day. Because once you do that, as I’m sure you know, your brain starts filtering more of it. So I’ll either do that. If I don’t have a notebook, I’ll type it into my phone. Or sometimes I’ll just say it out loud. If I’m at home doing some work and I just need a moment to just be like, how lucky am I that I have this and this and this? And you this person or whatever it is you’re looking to that day, but it’s so powerful about how such a simple practice can have such a tremendous shift in your mood and your state of mind.

Michael Kurland (23:35):

Like you were saying before. It’s another part of rewiring the brain to start having that attitude of gratitude and focusing forward. So you say you don’t, you don’t consistently practice, but you do journal. But what’s the one thing when it comes to gratitude, you would say is the most important when you’re doing a gratitude practice? What comes to your mind?

Michelle Wax (24:00):

So I would say that my practice is consistent daily. It’s just in different forms. So sometimes I am writing it down. Sometimes I’m saying it out loud. Sometimes I’m typing into my phone. I would say the most important thing is, I guess it’s twofold. Number one is just take the time to do it. So right. Set an alarm, put it in your calendar, your work calendar, or even leave a notebook on your pillow at night before you go to sleep so you can write it down. The second part is nothing is too small.  Like I mentioned at the beginning, I do a lot of workshops with companies and a lot of the times people struggle to find things they’re grateful for beyond the big things of having a job, their family, right. It could be something as simple as getting a new, I love coffee and I just got a new tin of coffee beans and so peeling off that aluminum foil layer and having it hit you in the face, you know that smell. Something as small as that like one second right in your day. Nothing can be too small and the more you do it, the more natural it will be because your brain is being rewired.

Michael Kurland (25:10):

There you go. I like it. I got a side coffee question. Are you a French press, a Keurig, or a good old fashioned brewed in the coffee maker?

Michelle Wax (25:23):

I actually do pour over. So I have the filter and then I pour over hot water. I have done all three of them that you just mentioned. I feel like Keurig is a little weak for me. I saw their coffees where the French press. What do you use?

Michael Kurland (25:41):

I currently for time purposes, use the Keurig. My mother got a housewarming present and it’s a latte Keurig, which spins any milk into a latte. It’s fantastic. I feel like I’m a barista sometimes, and it’s not hard, but if I have my druthers, I will do a French press. There’s something about the old fashioned way for me of making good strong coffee. So let’s talk about COVID right. You did this whole project, you drove across country in 2019 and then you’re getting ready to release this documentary and then COVID hits and you rethink everything. But you said you you’ve been still talking to people via Zoom about happiness. What have you found about happiness and COVID for yourself and for everyone else you’re talking to?

Michelle Wax (26:35):

That’s a great question. A lot of us were forced to slow down or to stop or to almost be alone with our own thoughts and that can be scary alot of the times and very difficult to do. So what I found through doing the interviews and with myself too, is I found myself enjoying and appreciating the smaller moments that I think I often would rush by or not take time to just maybe sit on my couch and light a candle and just take in that moment. Because I feel like we always have to, a lot of us, myself included feel like we always have to be doing something or else our time is not being used valuably. But for me personally, taking time where I’m not necessarily doing anything and just taking in the moment, which sounds so simple, became a very regular process. I think even today noticing that bud on the tree, right. I probably wouldn’t have noticed that last year, like you were saying. But that’s what I’ve noticed is that people were forced to slow down or to reevaluate, put focus on the things that looking back at the end of your life are probably going to matter the most you know, those small moments with people.

Michael Kurland (27:56):

I agree. I think it forced everyone to slow down this past year and just like you said, take in those moments and really not be so instant gratification. I feel like our society is so instant gratification. Like if you don’t have it already, then it’s not fast enough. So to just be able to, like you said, sit on a couch, light account candle, take in a good cup of French press to pour over coffee and slow down. So awesome. Awesome stuff. What did you find though when you interviewed the people? Were they more happy during this time? Are they more happy during this time? Or is there a lot of anxiety out there? Are you finding a little bit of both somewhere in between?

Michelle Wax (28:45):

So that’s something that we do. The interviews, we also do pretty consistent surveys and polls of the people in our community to see what people are struggling with, what they’re challenged with and also what they’re doing to combat might be the wrong word, but counter that or help with it. So the two things that we found that people are struggling with are definitely that stress and worry. Because I think especially this past year, this constant bombardment with the news and social media and all these things that are pretty much incessantly negative can be very worrisome and stressful. Then the other thing is that people are feeling drained of energy for seemingly no reason. Because right they’re at their homes a lot more and things like that.

Michelle Wax (29:32):

But the mental taxing is very draining on the body as well. So we found that people are struggling with that, but they’re also being more aware of it so that they can work on it. If that makes sense, because I think probably previously to COVID you would just assume, Oh, you’re working a ton. You’ve always had things going on. That’s why you’re feeling this way. Right. Kind of push it to that external thing. But there’s been a bit of a more internal focus and implementation of the strategy, that I think long-term will help with that happiness energy.

Michael Kurland (30:11):

Great, great information audience. I hope you’re taking notes. So this has been a great conversation, Michelle.  I’ve got one last question for you. I used to ask the audience, if you consider yourself an expert at something, what would it be and what would be your advice for the audience to become an expert at said thing? That’s such a mouthful and we’ve done it so many times. I’m just going to ask you, since you are the expert on happiness, what is a tip you have for the audience to make themselves just a little bit more happy?

Michelle Wax (30:49):

I would start your morning on your own terms. It could be for just a minute of time where you maybe reflect on gratitude. Maybe you answer a question to set up the day. One of my favorites is how do I want to feel at the end of today and what do I need to do or not do to make that a reality. But start your morning on your own terms. Maybe it’s working out, maybe it’s going for that walk, whatever resonates with you. It’s going to be different for everyone. It’s very powerful and it takes such little time to do, but it really sets up your day for more happiness or for whatever emotion you want to be experiencing throughout that day.

Michael Kurland (31:27):

I can attest to that. I work out every morning and I take my time. Not like I don’t take my time slowly. I take it as my time. I used to not. I used to rush around and try and squeeze work outs in and all this stuff when I first opened Branded Group. But I realized over time that I needed my workout in the morning and I however much time it took to get my workouts done. And then the rest of my day is set up for success because I don’t have crazy brain because I have crazy brain if I don’t work out. So great. Great tip for the audience. Thank you. Audience, I hope took notes on that one as well. Michelle, it’s been great having you on the show. If the audience wants to get ahold of you, how can they do so?

Michelle Wax (32:11):

Sure. So the best way would be either on Instagram, American Happiness Project is the handle. Or you could just go to our website, which is american-happiness.com. You can also just Google American Happiness Project and it’ll pop right up, but feel free to send an email or connect on LinkedIn and would love to connect.

Michael Kurland (32:32):

Well, thank you, Michelle for coming on the show and audience until next time.

I’d like to take a minute to thank you, our valued listeners. My intention is for this podcast to inspire you, in some way, to be better.  Change starts from within and radiates outward. Therefore, start with being better to yourself and only then will you recognize how to be better others and your community. Thank you for joining us today! If you want to learn more about Branded Group, then visit us at www.branded-group.com. From our website you can follow us on social media. Also, always feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn. Until next time, Be Better.