Cuban & Sooner: We Just Hope Nobody Gets Hurt
We didn’t know each other back then, but oddly, we had virtually the same hair. I’m not sure why Des had that sticker on her forehead, but that’s a question I will ask in a Cuban & Sooner episode. I can’t wait to hear the answer.
I can’t remember exactly how it happened or who suggested it first, but I’m nine-on-a-scale-of-10 positive there was liquor involved. And then weeks and months of nothing. Until it was something again. And now, three years later, it’s happening. By the end of March 2022, my good friend, Deseri Garcia, and I will officially launch our podcast - Cuban & Sooner: Work-Life Teetering. It’s about time.
But what’s with the name? A good question. You’ll have to tune into Episode 1 to find out the whole story, but it’s no surprise to most that I’m an Okie living in Indiana. Des can best explain why she’s the Cuban, although that probably isn’t a mind bender either. And what is this teetering thing? All will be explained, I promise.
The reason we’re actually doing this thing is the real story - but it comes in layers. It’s not because we wanted to jump on the bandwagon with the millions of podcasts already out there (I haven’t actually counted), because the massively crowded space is pretty daunting. And it’s definitely not because we love to hear ourselves talk, because well, we don’t. It’s more about our combined life and work experiences. We both happen to have built careers on communicating in different ways, listening, and sharing our truths, as wonderful or painful as they might be.
We both noticed along the way - starting with decades ago - that when just one person opens up in the room or on a stage, others come forward to say," “That’s exactly what I went through! I feel so relieved someone else can understand.” And then another, and then another. So many of us are struggling, curious, exploring options, hurting, feeling stuck … on top of the world … somewhere in between. The podcast is a forum to have those conversations about real things in an authentic way, to share truths and help each other feel heard, understood - and learn some strategies to deal along the way. We’ll laugh a lot, probably embarrass ourselves, and approach subjects from two different angles … but we always seem to end up in the same place.
A quick trip to Vegas, and while we had a blast, neither of us came back wealthy.
That’s because, even though we’re only 24 days short from being the exact same age, we don’t always see eye-to-eye on everything. For instance, Des is a proponent of vision boards. Admittedly, I have made a few in my life, but I was basically at gun point. She participates in “dry January” every single year, and my question is, why deprive yourself of one of life’s simple pleasures for any stretch of time when you don’t even get an award for it? She coaches leaders and executives for a living through her company, Vida Aventura, and takes great pleasure in calling me the anti-coach. That sounds slightly villainous, but strangely, I find it quite fitting. I tend to be a news junkie, am frequently distracted, and semi-obsessed with true crime everything. You can see the allure. We have great friendship chemistry that started 11 years ago, and as we continue to learn about life, we hope you’ll come along with us. We just hope nobody gets hurt.