Gratitude "Podcast" Interview: Steve Dunn

bekommt. Well, hi, everybody. It's the Gratitude Guide, David George Brooke, with another special guest on the gratitude podcast interview, the pandemic. My good friend, Stephen, Jay Dunn, known Stephen, a number of years. I think we're into the decades now, a decade or two. But a great friend of mine, welcome to the podcast, Stephen

Thank you very much, David. I appreciate it. I was thinking about this morning in preparation for our call, it's been 32 or 33 years

Gosh, so it's like three decades. That just freaks me out. Yeah

It's just, it's just where's the time gone. Of course, we're like anybody else, that hair color has changed a little bit for both of us

Yes, yes. So I'm blonde now. I like to say blonde, not gray. That is blonde. That's good

That's good in that desert sun, too. So let me start you off with this question

What is your best coping mechanism to deal with this pandemic? What's working best for you

Two things. Prayer has always been important in my life. And in times of uncertainty, I retreated a little bit to that

and spend more time thinking about God and how blessed I've been in my life

It's been, what, 58, almost 59 years. And I've been very, very fortunate

So I do that. And then physically I work each day, you know, getting sweat going, that kind of thing

And it's funny. The gratitude journal that you've introduced me, to, it's quite helpful to actually take the time to write down the things that you're

grateful for. And I did that this morning. And I thought maybe I just it okay I just read five or six things that are for it So in the Gratitude Journal it current events special occasion where you know our broker chat whenever you and I chat

it's a good time and we laugh. And we talk about the good and the tough things that have gone in our lives and that

But it's always a blast to talk. But number one, my faith in God is the one thing that really comes first before everything

Then I put down, I'm grateful for my wife. Gina, my son's David, Joey, and Evan as number two. Number three, I put the rest of my brothers

and sisters and my dad, who's 86 years young, is still with us. And while he's battling dementia

he's in a great place, he's in good spirits. That makes me happy. Of course, my health, my home

just the ability to put food on the table. I mean, I have very comfortable bed and I've got a

I've got a great wife and a great life. And you know what I'm thankful

The last point I wrote down here. And you share this too

For whatever reason, when we get in stressful times like this, to go back and say

okay, let's change the goals for thinking about every day to more of a six-month, year, five-year plan

And I find that kind of takes you out of the day-to-day repetitive negative that we get from the television

And it's not worth your time. I mean, I try to take a look in the morning and the afternoon, but I know what to do from the social distancing

And I try to be there for my friends if they need anything. But you know that positive attitude is I think a gift And I don know where it comes from I believe in faith and I believe in God So I lean that way But you know you always had a great attitude as well

And it's very helpful when you go. No, I just went, it went like, yeah

I was going to say when you said the attitude, you and I have very similar. that's what kind of drew each other

do ourselves to each other, just way back when those 30 years ago. But I almost consider it's kind of a gift

It's almost God-given because I had a mother who was very positive, a father that was very negative

and I came out very positive. And I'm just, I'm grateful for it. And it's interesting because you did a great job

of, I'm such a proponent of the gratitude journal because I sell them and a lot of people buy them

and it's great, and it's such a great tool. And my next question to be is, so the uncertainty, what are you grateful for

And you just listed those things off, which was excellent. So I would move to this question

So being somebody who's so positive and has such a good attitude, which, again, we've said

is such a great way to go through things. Any tips or thoughts or ideas for other people

to what to do during this time? Well, just, I don't want to repeat everything

but just the idea of working out and getting outside, I think that's such an important thing physiologically

You know, just the endorphins in your brains that kick in after a good, hard workout

Feel better after a good hard workout. So I think that's meditation

A lot of people use meditation. And you know I see a lot of people that do yoga If you look online now people are doing yoga online there just so many ways to get in touch with what great and how lucky and fortunate we are

But pretty much, you know, my thoughts for people are, be thankful for what you do have

and focus on what is good in your life. And try to block out the consistent negative

whether it's on a TV or whether it's a person or two

Mm-hmm. He does love company

Choose to hang around people like yourself. And people I like being with that I know are going to make me feel great about what I'm doing

That's really true because you are known by the company you keep. And I think that that old line about one bad apple spoils hold a bunch

And I've had people, in fact, you and I have always loved to joke about things. and I have a standard line when I'm around somebody

I don't want to be around that's negative. And I just go, listen, it's been fun talking to you

I love your shirt, but listen, I got to run. And it's like, you know, I don't want him to feel bad

Like, I just don't want to be around them. Everything's negative, you know. And it's like, I want to be positive

And I want to be, it's so easy to be negative. I mean, it's just such an easy path to go down

It takes a little more energy to be positive. So anyway, but I've asked me, my last question was me

you have a bolder philosophy, but that really is a good philosophy and knowing who and being

conscious of who you're hanging around. So, uh, because it does, it does make a difference on what our

environment creates for us. So anyway, well, thank you, my friend. That was, uh, excellent tidbits

And, um, we will chat soon. And I'm sure, but thank you so much

Thank you, David. Have a great day. I appreciate it. You too, Steve