#50 - Don't Quit On What You Feel Called To

Okay, here we are with the additional official blue light behind us.

This is the first.

So what's the purpose of the blue light?

Accent lighting.

So most of the YouTubers that I've watched or videographers that have this talking format, they'll have lights in front of them.

Do we have any lights in front of us?

Do we ever?

It's making my photophobia act up.

And then lights behind us.

Do you want me to explain what photophobia is?

Yeah, it's like sensitivity.

Which is the first time I've heard phobia being sensitivity and not fear of.

Good point.

But it is called photophobia.

And if I look over here, You get scared.

I hate to interrupt this beautiful moment that you guys are having, but Chris, it is your 50th episode.

What?

50, 50, 50.

I just want to show we got a cake.

Hey, there we go.

Cookie cake.

Cookie cake.

Our favorite, the podcast's favorite.

Oh, yeah.

The podcast favorite.

Not my favorite.

That's a bold statement.

What's your favorite?

Well, I just like a lot of baked goods, but you love cookie cake.

So therefore, I do love cookie cake.

Talk to People Podcast.

Logan's got the cookie cake with the 50 M&Ms with 50 M&Ms on there.

I don't know why I said, what, 50?

I put the M&Ms on there.

There's 50 of them on there, right?

I don't know.

Yeah.

Let's just say, let's round it up.

How cool would that be if there were 50 on there?

I was assigned the task of putting the M&Ms in there so they wouldn't fall.

Well, you did a great job.

Thank you.

Congrats.

Yeah, the half century mark.

Yeah, half century.

Wow.

50 episodes, Chris.

And now we get Logan.

Now we have Logan.

Seriously though.

You get Logan.

Like this place is looking nice because of Logan.

And we made it to 50 with the team.

Both of you all have been instrumental for the podcast.

Well, it's been a joy to be along for the ride.

It feels like just so the last time we were not the last time.

The first episode that we recorded was November of last year and Christmas decorations were everywhere.

So it's wild to think, you know, a year later, it's just crazy.

It's so exciting, though.

It is so exciting.

And I love cookie cake.

Would you mind cutting three little pieces of cookie cake with those paper towels?

Okay.

We should warn people with mesophonia.

You can think like that and you can just chew away from the microphone.

True.

Do you want to know what mesophonia is?

I have a feeling I know what it is.

It's kind of like people who don't like ASMR.

Yes.

Yes.

You don't like ASMR?

You know what?

I've not gotten into it.

I don't really know much about ASMR, but I do know that some people don't like the sound of people chewing or eating.

I listened to a podcast called Naked Lunch with Phil Rosenthal and David Wild, and they literally have guests on for lunch.

So all it is is them talking.

So they eat the whole time?

So they eat the whole time.

It doesn't bother me.

Jared Adjamoude, he put up this Instagram story, and he said something along the lines of, if you love this guy, you're my friend.

And it was Phil.

Phil!

Who doesn't love Phil?

He shout out to Phil Rosenthal of Somebody Feed Phil, of Everybody Loves Raymond, of Naked Lunch.

So good.

So good.

He, that man radiates joy and love, and talk about somebody who is an ultimate connector and just thrives off of human connection.

I wonder how long it took him to get to that space where he's in, because it's obvious he's in the space that he's most passionate about.

Yeah.

With food, but with people, and with traveling.

And I wonder how many iterations of different things he had to do before he got there.

Great.

Great question.

One thing that I have learned about him from listening to the pod and watching somebody feed Phil is that the people who he's friends with and has really close relationships with, he's known forever.

So it seems like he keeps his circle.

He maintains his relationships really well.

And it makes you wonder with all of your relationships where they're going to end up, because you may be on a TV show.

Oh my gosh, I could be.

Of some sort.

Yeah.

As the friend.

Yeah, totally.

Or as the star.

Or as the star.

I'm laughing thinking about like the most exciting thing I have to share is about photophobia.

So I don't think I'm going to be a candidate to be on a show as a friend or as the main squeeze.

Would you like me to go get your cookie cake?

You want me to get it?

That one's a lot bigger than that one.

I apologize.

So that's that's a Logan size.

Yeah, that's a Logan size.

You know what?

That'll be a cookie cake.

Or do you want me to have a little piece?

Just give her a sliver.

All right.

Twist my arm.

Hey, twist my arm, Chris.

A sliver.

I don't do sugar anymore.

And I respect that.

I do respect that.

I actually just ate a bunch of Trader Joe's peanut butter cups, so I definitely do sugar.

I only had two.

Okay.

Serving size.

I had a serving size.

But what's really cool, Chris, is like, you know, we were talking about Phil and somebody who really exemplifies talking to people and human connection so well.

And guess what, you do that in your community.

Yeah.

Thank you.

So do you.

I asked the question about iterations and how long it took them to get there because I know I just did that video reviving third places with the whiteboard animations.

And whenever I was recording it and after I recorded it and I edited it, I was thinking, yes, this is closer to what I'm trying to get to.

Yeah, and it took me a long time to set all this up and to figure out that process.

And like we went to the store multiple times trying to find lights or trying to find art.

Art.

Remember when we were in Home Goods getting this art, I had to get out of there so overwhelmed.

I got dizzy by the rugs.

I was like, get me out.

Maybe it was because there was fluorescent lighting potentially, but yeah, you're right.

And it looks great in here, and I'm so glad we have these chairs up here.

They're just the perfect.

Me too.

And it created a cool video.

And while I was making that video, I was thinking, okay, let me think of all of the different areas of content that I went through to get here.

Do you remember whenever I first started what I was doing with the shorts?

How, what were the, how was I making them?

Do you recall?

The process?

The, the basketball shorts?

Oh, oh, oh, yeah.

Yeah, I do.

I would come home from work and Chris would be like bouncing the ball.

Oh no, I had to go to the rec with you.

Rebound, didn't I?

To film?

To, or to film.

Yeah.

And I just remember watching him back and I was like, are you, are you serious?

I'm not sure to poke fun, but you're like, this is a tip for any guard.

You know, or this is a tip for any big.

First you want to, and I was like, oh gosh, are you really, is this the direction we're going?

It took me because I found that stuff really funny because it was essentially satirical content about, in the basketball world, and it took me to get there.

And then like that allowed me to finally actually contribute to the digital conversation, like create content that, and then after that, it took me getting to from that being like, okay.

Um, then I felt more comfortable doing a podcast and doing shorts for the podcast.

I'm just laughing thinking about the one video where your head is like floating in the corner.

And I took them all off TikTok.

You did?

Because I wanted it to be, uh, all about like having the brand all about social connection, but there are such funny videos that I think I just archived them.

So theoretically I could bring them back.

But on YouTube, I had a whole separate playlist called For the Real Ballers or For the Real Hoopers.

And it was completely about playing basketball.

And for those who, uh, sure.

I just played basketball with King Omphle.

So shout out to King, host of the Cruise Line Podcast.

You played today?

Yeah, I nearly lost to him in horse.

I almost beat him down.

He got lucky.

But in the, um, in the wreck while I was there, there's all these people who are really good at basketball.

I'm not that good at basketball.

So it's just funny looking at people's journey whenever they're trying to figure out how they can contribute and like what their angle is.

Yeah.

Because we all have different gifts and skills and inclinations.

And it takes trying to explore it like, yeah, like Logan, you're doing your, like you have your movie podcast content, but then you have short films you're working on.

And then you have that idea you're talking to me about with the three individuals, right?

Like all of this different stuff going on in your head.

And it's a good example of what it means to try and create something.

It's a lot of brain thinking.

Yeah.

It's really like you were talking about everyone has a journey.

Everyone has a story from how they started versus where they are now.

And I like this.

Like the Talk to People Podcast started in the dining room slash living room of your old house.

Now it's a new house, new space, new equipment, you know, looking beautiful as ever.

This room.

This right.

He's a good hype man.

And this is totally.

No, he is.

It's a good story.

This is a good story that you're telling that, you know, people are listening to you have 50 episodes to prove that you are progressing and like having a whole arc, a testament of work.

Yeah.

Body of work.

Amen to that.

And like we were talking earlier about Markiplier.

I know I'm not Markiplier.

I'm not trying to be Markiplier, but he has such a testament of work and how long it took for him to get there because of the consistency.

Yeah.

And that's all.

I mean, it takes just consistency to be like the next, the better person that you want to be in any kind of like life situation, whether it be relationship, whatever it be, or just like being consistent at it.

Showing up.

And showing up.

Good thing we got him a mic.

I know.

This is one of the biggest.

This is a good cookie cake.

That's one of the biggest progressions of the podcast is personnel.

Yeah.

Anybody who's trying to do anything worth doing typically won't be able to do it by yourself.

Let's try the cookie cake.

I already did.

So the girl who said, Oh, I don't think I'll have any just had.

It's good.

It's a good cookie cake.

I think also like, you know, none of us are designed to be alone.

Just in general.

I mean, that's like the whole point.

I think the whole point of marriage is like they have a lifelong partner for all the rest of your time here on Earth.

So are you trying to get married one day?

Yeah, I mean, but I'm not anytime soon, though.

No, no, sir.

But speaking of your arc and your story, did you did you see this looking like it?

Like it is now the podcast, like 25 episodes ago or even like 10 episodes ago?

Good cue, you know?

Yeah, it's hard to, hard to navigate creating stuff.

It's been whenever I first thought of doing the podcast, it was okay.

Getting people on that were interesting and somehow threading the needle between them and their personal story.

And then this idea of how life is better when you talk to people and prioritize human relationships.

For some people, it was easier than others.

But initially, the first few people I got on, they were people that I knew decently well, and I could have good conversations with them.

So my first guess is probably the best guess I've ever had.

Right?

You're saying that because I'm sitting next to you.

And you know what?

I'll take it.

I don't know how it'd be good information to go back and look at how many people I've had on, because I've had some repeat guests, and then I've done some solo episodes.

I would guess 40.

I'd guess 40 too.

Yeah.

Give or take.

I would guess 40 as well.

Yeah.

And so with that in mind, that's really impressive.

Yeah, thinking about having a podcast with 42 different people on it in our home.

And I'm thinking about the people who showed up for the first, like that you hadn't didn't really know that well and showed up to our house and recorded a podcast.

Yeah.

And I only did two of those episodes not in our home.

That's a trivia question.

Sean Apare.

Three of those episodes not in our home.

Wait, Sean Apare.

Why am I blanking?

And the listeners should know because at the beginning of every podcast, I always said, I'm recording blank.

So if you all know, Jeff Hall.

Yep.

Where did I record that?

Lawrence Public Library.

LPL, baby.

LPL.

Okay, give me, do I want a clue?

Christy.

I did that in the Boys and Girls Club Studio.

Okay, I got two out of three.

Yeah, so to see that change, or not to see that change, but just to look back and say 40 different people on a podcast.

I don't know what I would have guessed it looked like back then, but it's super cool looking back on it.

I'm so proud of you.

That takes guts to make the ask, especially in the beginning when you didn't have any episodes out, or you didn't have many people outside of me and some friends.

So you had to put yourself out there, and I'm proud of you.

And now 42 guests later.

That's right.

Episode 50.

Yeah.

The whole time, all those different guests, all the different conversations you've had, did you ever think about quitting or being like, oh, this is not my style?

Great.

I know you have a degree, a master's in communication.

Yeah.

Would you like it?

I was looking.

Our watering hole is already done.

Yeah.

Too bad Sonny can't go get water.

He did just go downstairs.

So.

You want me to go get some?

I did have moments where I thought about quitting.

Yeah.

I'm sure I talked to you about it.

But I don't know.

I know we talked about some things where you're like, I just don't know about the podcast.

But I don't know if you were actually considering giving it up completely.

I think at times you questioned the direction you wanted to go in and maybe re-evaluated the purpose or re-evaluated how you bring guests on.

I think that there certainly were questions around it, but as a receiver, as your wife, I don't think there was ever a moment where you're like, I want to give this up completely.

In fact, you did just the opposite where you obviously started with Talk to People Podcast, and then you built an additional business out of it with the production side.

It is a good point, but I definitely didn't have moments where I thought, what the heck?

And I think there are a lot of contributing factors to that.

One is initially the analytics really got in my head.

And I remember talking to you about this, the numbers.

Oh, only this many people listened.

Oh, I got this guest and I thought this person will listen.

Then seeing the amount of people who hopped on initially, and who supported the podcast and me, and then they trailed off was hard because a lot of people trailed off.

And now I know that that's not on them.

There's so much content out there so much that there's so much to listen to.

And it would be obnoxious and arrogant of me to be like, you have to consume or you have to spend all of your time consuming the content I produce.

That's not right.

And I don't want that to be the case because I think there's gonna be a lot of content that's gonna help people improve their life that may be different than mine.

Totally.

And one thing that's really cool, Sunny's being a little vocal.

One thing that's really neat is that there are people who have listened so consistently, who reach out to you week by week and share with you what they enjoyed most about that episode or what they learned from it.

I wanna give a shout out to, can I give a shout out?

They are the real MVPs.

Yeah, they are, like Kristin Kalinka.

Yeah, and it's hard, because if you start giving them shout outs, then I feel like I'm gonna have to name all the consistent listeners.

No, no, but she's an example top of mind because I just talked to her too.

And I feel like she's one, oh, now I'm thinking of a bunch of other people who listen.

Right.

Kevin, Kevin listens a lot.

But we've got a lot of people, I said we, you've got a lot of people that listen consistently.

And what's neat is that I use Kristin, I think, as an example is because she talks about and will tell us how she will apply something.

And she's your best friend.

Yeah, she is.

And she will, yeah, of course.

And she'll talk though about how she applied something to her own life.

Mm-hmm.

And it's just really cool to see.

So you've got people that really tune in each and every week.

And maybe they bank a few episodes.

I mean, heck, I've listened to every episode, but there are times where I will wait a little bit to listen to one.

That's kind of a good question out there for the viewers.

If you've listened to all 50 of them or not, you know, go back and listen to them.

Yeah.

Do good stuff.

Yeah.

And I would, one thing that I, I am a big podcast fan.

My favorite podcast outside of, I really love your podcast, obviously.

But my favorite podcast is Armchair Expert.

I think I've talked about it before.

And there are guests where I'm like, I don't think, like based on the description, I'm like, I don't know if I want to listen to that.

And then I listened to it.

And 99% of the time, I really enjoy it, and it makes me like that person, or I have positive affect, even though I had like made a snap judgment before I started listening.

So I agree with Logan, I encourage everybody to go back and listen, even if you think, I don't know how this is going to relate to me, or this one doesn't sound as interesting.

I guarantee you, money back guaranteed, that you will find a nugget in each and every episode.

Yeah.

And also like, you have a different, like a multitude of people.

You have different backstories, different ethnic groups.

You have like people who are professionals, people who are not professionals, like anybody is on this podcast, everybody and everybody.

Yeah.

So it's like, yeah, you can get anything from somebody who you didn't think, and from a CEO that you talked to.

And they're like, wow, actually, this person is really relatable.

That is so true.

Like, that's a really good point.

You've got, you've had executives on, you've had researchers on, you've had somebody from Ghana on, you've had somebody from Ecuador on, you've had, I mean, you've had so many different types of people, which I love and is so representative of the way that you live your life and the people that you surround yourself with.

You are really, really good at surrounding yourself with all different kinds of people.

And I got to tell a story about the other night, because I think it illustrates who you are and goes back to the just range of people that you have on and the range of people you're able to build relationships with, is we had a couch delivered the other day, and I was moving something around inside, and I hear you striking up a conversation with them.

By the end of that guy bringing the couch in our house, you knew that he was from, where was he from?

Kenya.

Kenya.

He's from Kenya.

He used to play soccer.

He ran a marathon in two hours.

Oh, my gosh.

Two hours and 15 minutes.

They moved to the United States.

By the end of that interaction, you were able to break down so many barriers and really get to know somebody, and you'll never see him again, probably not.

You know?

So, anyhow.

And I don't remember his name.

It wasn't Peter.

Peter.

It was Peter.

You're good with names, but Peter ran his half marathon in an hour and five minutes.

That makes me want to vomit.

And when he told me that, he goes too slow.

Oh, my gosh.

And I told him Kenya Fast is not American Fast, bro.

Peter, I ran my half marathon in more than your full marathon time.

Yeah.

I don't even run.

Right.

I said, but yeah, moments, definitely analytics were hard.

Whenever I thought, I'm having a hard time.

Sometimes mentally, I was having a hard time.

I was feeling down, depressed, feeling beat creatively.

You had to work through logistical barriers like, oh, Annie's going to be home at this time, or we've got this going on because our house was the like our entire common area was the studio.

Yeah.

And there were many episodes where you sat in the room.

I would say only a handful.

Not making a peep.

Probably a handful.

My classic line was all right, I'll go get lost for a couple hours.

Shout out to you.

Well, hey, it was easy.

Well, I shouldn't say it wasn't always easy.

Sometimes there was conflict, like if a guest ran late or like if the guest was late and things got pushed back and we had agreed upon, okay, like I can come back at 1 30 p.m.

Yeah.

And then it was like 2 30.

Good for you for being transparent, though.

No, that's a good thing.

I mean, it's not like-

You're being precise.

It wasn't always easy.

It wasn't always easy.

There were moments where it was hard.

But in the scheme of things, those moments were very few and far between.

So obviously, it's an easy thing to do in the grand scheme of like, okay, I can get lost for an hour or two.

And you were really good about scheduling them when I was at work or when I had something else going on.

We were a good team.

We had to be.

Every story has hard moments.

You know, everybody's story.

And you can go back and be like, wow, I went through that and now look at me.

Yeah.

Look at me now.

Yeah.

It's one of the songs that's in everyone's head all the time.

That's the mark of a good song.

When a phrase will prompt the song.

Same with like, all I do is win.

All I do is win.

No matter what.

Don't stop believing.

A great example.

And a great song.

Did you have any particular as you look back on the year, any particular moments that stick out to you regarding the podcast?

Oh, well, of course, the day that you launched.

Huge deal.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Which is hard for me.

Well, right, but obviously it's hard.

Not for you.

Like I'm not.

You launched before this happened.

Like you launched on January 1 and we got bad news on January 2nd.

The night of Jan 1 was when stuff hit the pan.

That night, it was the night of January 1st.

That's right.

The phone call.

So that morning, you had released the episode.

So like that sticks out as a positive, but I know it's hard to disentangle.

Right.

Was the first video episode, Santiago?

Yeah, that sticks out of my mind.

When you got, was it 10,000 downloads?

Yeah, that was a big moment.

Little milestones like that.

But that's not a little milestone.

Yeah.

And like every victory is a victory.

Like it doesn't have to be big or small, victory is a victory.

Yeah, it is.

Throwing stones, bro.

Hey, I didn't mean little like downplaying you, but, and I shouldn't downplay them because you're right.

Yeah, those are big moments.

Unexpected moments.

It was funny whenever I've had guests on that said things that I wouldn't have expected.

Yeah.

The conversation went places that I wouldn't have expected.

Yeah.

I wouldn't have expected a business coming out of the podcast.

That was something unexpected.

I would have never expected the impact a podcast could have.

And that's now that I'm producing podcasts for other people.

I wish I could articulate that concept really well.

You'll never know what this will create for you, but providing yourself a platform gives you so much opportunity.

Absolutely.

You really had to take a leap with all of this.

Well, both of us did.

And I think it started out as...

Can I say hobby?

Is that...

That's what I was thinking.

I think the majority of the time, I would say the majority of the time, but for mine, that's where my mind went.

It started off as a hobby, and then something you're very passionate and interested in, and then it just grew and grew from there.

And you're like, wait a minute, this could be a full-time job.

Whether it be making your own or producing it for other people.

For sure.

Because with the Talk to People Podcast...

Do you want to cross, sorry.

The only money I've made from the Talk to People Podcast has been, I have Patreon supporters, and they give me lots, and I haven't really given you guys much other than creating content.

You know what, though, you've got some great stationery sitting in that desk.

Well they've gotten thank you cards.

I know, but you could just keep in touch.

Well, yeah.

But honestly, I'm not like that good at that.

And it is something that I have to figure out.

But I'm incredibly grateful for everybody who's supported the podcast on Patreon, who continues to support the podcast.

And I promise you that it will continue to grow, and I'm going to be investing my time and effort in pushing this message that I believe will change the world about prioritizing human relationships.

So thank you.

You know what, though, Chris, with that, like, yes, they're supporting the podcast, but more than that, they're supporting you.

Like they want to invest in Chris Miller, the person.

Right, so I wouldn't stress too much about, like, deliverable, you know, an extra thing that you have to do totally.

I would just, you know, they like to see you and want to see you doing well and being happy and pursuing something meaningful generosity towards matters or causes or individuals who are doing certain things in the world that make a world that you'd like to live in is so important.

And I'm so grateful for those who are doing that, who've done that in all of our lives.

And I'm so excited that we have the opportunity to be generous to people like that.

So shout out to all the generosity that's gone towards the podcast.

I know we're doing like a reflective episode since this is episode 50.

So probably spending a bit more time on like technicalities here.

But also like when you're talking about earlier is your consistency.

You've been doing it for what year now?

But every Monday night is an upload.

Every Monday night is an upload.

Like that's it shows you that you're passionate about it.

And it shows people that like, oh, every Monday night, I'm going to get episode from Chris.

You know?

Yeah.

So it'll pop up Mondays.

But we'll get you an episode.

Yeah.

There's some nights where I'm like, oh, man, shut it down because it's so late, but you're dedicated.

Right.

And you've gotten so much better about not staying up late to get it done.

That has been a hard part is the editing process.

Yeah.

And like seeing the, this is a reminder for anybody who loves content out there.

It just takes a while to edit.

Just like everything else.

That's good for you to be candid about that because the content that people consume, like if you, I know, I know how long it takes to edit because I've seen your process, but prior to this, I wouldn't have known how long it takes to edit something.

You take in a 30-second clip and it's like, oh, it's really easy to assume that something is easy and fast and...

So you don't know anything about it.

Exactly.

At all.

Yeah.

And then seeing you, and I've said this on episodes before, but you have learned so much and you are learning so much on your own, like self-taught to do all of this, which is just, I'm amazed by that.

And there are several things that you've taught yourself how to do.

So, this is one of them, the whole podcast experience.

You've taught yourself how to play piano, the ukulele.

What else?

I mean, you're...

How to find a really beautiful, smart wife.

I had to teach myself how to do that.

Sorry, that's very sweet, but I'm laughing because...

Branding points.

Took a while, but...

You know...

I found one.

My plan worked.

Your plan, my plan.

My plan.

I made the first move.

Nope, you didn't.

You didn't.

No, you didn't.

What's it like being the wife of a podcaster?

Ooh, so fun.

You get so much money.

There's so much time invested with so much production.

No, it's fun.

I mean that.

Did you think I was teasing?

No, I just...

I find it funny.

No, it's fun.

Not many people can say, like when people ask me, what does your husband do?

And I get to say, he runs a podcast and runs a podcast production company.

That's pretty dang cool.

You know, like not many people get to say that.

More than anything, it has been so fun to see you pursue something that is adding value to your life.

I always say that about my job.

I feel so grateful that I have a job that adds value and meaning to my life.

And when we kind of talked about your next chapter, that was my biggest hope for you.

And I shared that with you.

And to see you doing it and living it out in this way has been really awesome.

And obviously, you've sacrificed a lot.

And I think we've sacrificed in order to make it happen.

And there have been moments where it's not easy.

And, you know, one of the one thing is that you, you know, you're running your own business.

And when you're running your own business, you don't have as set hours, like structured hours.

And I do.

And so when I come home from work and I'm done and just like, Oh, I want to eat a snack and watch TV and, you know, walk the dog, things like that, and then I want to do all those things with you because I haven't seen you all day.

And you are working on your working on something.

It's like, Oh, come on, can't you just can't just come play?

You know, like that kind of when you were a kid and you just wanted, you know.

So that's hard at times.

But we're you've gotten really good about, you know, creating better structure around it because that's not easy.

Like somebody gives me my structure for the most part, or I get assigned tasks and things to do, and I have parameters that I'm working with and deadlines and that impact a larger organization.

So I have to stay on it.

And when you have your own business, you have to create that all for yourself.

And I think you've gotten so much better.

You've really improved in that area of structure, which helps us be able to have time to do things together and whatnot.

But yeah, it's fun to watch you live out your passion.

And your story is not done either.

You're still building.

You're still like you're making this.

You got all these cool equipment here like you are growing and you're evolving into like the person that you want to be 10 years from now.

And first episode that we have a camera on you.

Yeah, that's also true.

As the as the two with two guests.

I know we've had them for our four episode series.

We have the camera on you.

But with the two guests on this, the first episode.

And I think a highlight here is to have a good team because you two are very encouraging.

And I was talking to Logan about this earlier, but you can teach the people how to do the audio editing.

Yeah, right.

You can teach the people how to set up the lights.

But actually, the encouraging personality, that's what I need.

I need that support, right?

So the both of you provide that.

Well, you're getting support.

You deserve it.

So do all of you.

You know, it's like what Andy said.

You're also doing something that you love, and that clearly it loves you in a way.

And that's like how much people are watching, sorry, how much people are watching and how much are like people are feedbacking on you, the stuff you're saying.

Clearly, what you're doing is like people are loving it.

You're loving it.

And the system itself loves you.

People are drawn to you.

I love it back.

Logan, what was your expectation coming in and being a part of a podcast?

I don't know.

I never really had like a good example to go off of.

I did listen a lot to Armchair Expert and like a couple other podcasts, just random stuff.

So like, I don't know.

I don't really had an expectation because I'm just like, you know what?

Whatever happens, happens.

I'm here for the ride.

I'm here for a good time.

That's a good attitude.

Super good.

I'm like the, I go with the flow kind of guy.

If it didn't work out, then I'm like, all right, it didn't work out.

That was a fun little video series.

That's a good skill to have.

It's a good jaunt.

Yeah, go with the flow.

And that video series, it's cool to see people still are listening to that video series.

Each day that I check in, more and more people are listening to how to become more comfortable with small talk, 10 rules to become better in any social situation, technology versus talk, tech versus talk.

We did one other one.

Well, that was about you though.

Yeah.

That's why I questioned about you.

But looking at that, and then we did the third place last week, and that I was showing that to you earlier, it jumped up overnight.

So that's super cool to see.

Oh, hi, Sunny.

Not to mention our studio mascot has finally made an appearance.

He's here.

Sunny.

Sunny.

Do you remember the first episode whenever I was recording?

Oh, no, because he was like, he was a...

Pup.

Oh, no, I was thinking of ours.

The second episode was whenever he was sick, right?

When he was sick and like...

We did one episode where we had to cut it early because we had to take him to the hospital.

Yeah, because he was...

You look like Franken-Dog because he got a subcute fluid.

Yeah, he did.

Poor pupa.

Hey, we're so glad that you've been here, Sunny.

He has made so many cameos and he has made the guests feel so comfortable.

Yeah, he's made a lot of friends out of it.

Having a golden retriever in the house for all those who are allergic to dogs.

Sorry, sorry, not sorry.

But for all those who got encouraged and joyful from Sunny, then I'm so glad.

Got peace and calm.

Well, isn't that...

Well, I don't know.

But was his name Sunny when you guys found him, or do you guys name him Sunny?

We named him Sunny.

And it makes sense because one, he's a golden retriever.

And also, like, he brings light in every room that he's in.

He does.

He brings the sun's light.

He's got a very sunny disposition.

Yeah, we tested a lot of names on him.

What were some of the others?

Ollie.

Forest.

Forest.

Oh, yeah.

We're saving Forest for a kid, though.

It takes a different strategy to get a kid versus getting a puppy, though.

Okay, we don't...

Let's not go there.

I thought you were going to say to name a kid.

Sunny, come here.

He wants the cookie cake.

Yeah, I know.

I'm like, you can't have it, Buddy.

You can't have the chocolate chip in it.

I was going to ask you something.

Was it about the process?

Was it about Sunny?

Was it about Sunny?

Sunny's looking at you like, yeah, it was about me.

I do have a...

Go for it.

What, out of all the conversations you've had, whether it be on the podcast or not, what's your favorite subject to talk about, just in general?

Oh, I love that question.

That's a great subject to talk about in itself.

What, subject?

Yeah.

Like, what is someone's favorite subject to talk about in life?

Because we all have different subjects we love to talk about, and that's something I'm very interested in.

Typically, it's regarding people's knowledge.

When someone's very knowledgeable at something, they're willing to talk about it more because they know they can talk about it more.

I used to say, get people to talk about what they're passionate about, but I've had some people tell me like, I don't know if passion is the right word because a lot of people don't know what they're passionate about.

It takes a while to figure that out.

We get put into things as kids, and we learn things, and things give us joy.

And things change.

Like, when you're in different seasons, you're passionate about different things.

So talking to people, that's been really cool.

Another cool conversation that I've had a lot on the podcast has been dealing with this concept.

You have no clue how much it means to someone, how much a small interaction can mean to someone.

And the cool thing about talking about it is, the more I talk about it, the more you can...

I'm sorry, Sunny.

I know, he's trying to get this close to him.

The more we can wrap words around and materialize this concept, you can do it too.

You can move the push the progress bar.

You can move the needle.

Of the people around you in your life.

You can do it too.

Yeah.

So, that's an awesome subject.

I like that.

You know one thing that observing that you enjoy metacommunication in general.

So talking about talking, which is the essence of this whole podcast really.

I guess not the essence of the essence of the podcast is building connection.

Would you have to talk and interact to be able to do that?

But you really like talking about questions.

Yes.

And the importance of asking good questions.

Right.

A well-timed, thoughtful question.

A well-timed, well thought out.

I would even say a...

You like the questions that are atypical.

You don't like the cookie cutter questions of, oh, where are you from?

What do you do?

Like, certainly you talk about those things with people, but those aren't...

You don't jump to that.

Like we were helping somebody over the phone the other day.

And I went right to the...

I cut right to the script based on the context.

And you like took a beat and like you were asking questions that were less about the task at hand and more about like the human...

And I kind of looked at you like, what are you doing?

And you were like, well, I just think it's good to...

And that was a good move.

Sonny, what's been your experience with 50 episodes in the podcast?

It's scary going to lick it.

That was funny when you was really thought that clip of him with your mom, Sonny, do you like to swim, Sonny?

And he...

Yeah.

Do you like to swim?

I wish he would face the wide camera too.

Because you're so cute.

Come on, buddy.

Don't you know by this point?

Face that way.

Look at the camera.

There you go.

Good boy.

Sit.

Well, thank you all for being here.

Thank you all for 50 episodes.

Thank you all for listening, for writing in, for sharing the stuff.

But most of all, thank you for exemplifying this concept that life is better when you talk to people and when you prioritize relationships, your life will improve.

And I think a lot about young adults because I shared this study with the Harvard graduation, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Making Caring Common project.

There's a ton of young adults.

This study was 18 to 25.

They feel as if they're detached from a network.

They feel lonely.

Oftentimes they feel apathy.

They lack meaning.

And that doesn't have to be the case.

And we have people that are to the left and to the right of us.

And we can bring them into the fold by improving our levels of social connection.

I'm sorry, he just yawned.

Sunny's yawning.

He is not buying the whole thing.

Hey, as your wife, as a listener, as somebody who really values relationships and people, thank you, Chris, for being a champion of all that and for modeling what it means to really prioritize human connection in everyday life and for bringing all the different people you've brought on and for giving us tips and helping us build our confidence in relationships and communication.

And I'm just so happy for you and excited for the next chapter in the Talk to People Podcast.

Yeah.

I was like, thank you for letting me be part of your journey and your story in any way I can.

It's been fun.

And here's to another 50.

Let's try to make 100.

You're here.

You're here.

Cheers.

Cheers.

So can you give people like a little like, what's your...

What can people...

What should people be excited about in the next?

That is coming.

That's coming.

Okay.

I'm getting ahead of myself.

You can't spoil anything for y'all.

He's the man.

He's the man.

All right.

He's done a lot of the brainstorming and a lot of the production workflow here, so...

I think I know what it is.

We'll be excited.

I think I know what it is.

Well...

And you know what?

Fine.

I'll come on.

I'll be your co-host.

Fine.

You're like the CIA when it comes to surprises, so I don't want you to think about it.

I am like the CIA.

You always...

Remember last week?

You were taking me on a surprise date, and I said, are we going to Theater Lawrence?

And you were like, I'm not going to tell you.

And I said, I know it because there's a show at 730.

What's one surprise?

Has there been a surprise that I got by you?

Well, our engagement.

There we go.

End of conversation.

There we go.

I love you, Chris Miller.

The ring.

Congratulations on 50 episodes.

And hey, let's go find some dinner and let's go talk to people along the way.

Sounds good.

All of us can go find dinner.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Peace out.