Why Trying Matters In Midlife

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Knowing how short life really is is part of it. And not not fear is not the right word, but I I don't want to get to the end and and not have tried something or or taken a shot at something or explor chased every curiosity. Let's take this this content creator thing for for example. Is it I think it's easy in life to go, oh, if I did that, I'd be successful at it. But the only reason I haven't been successful is because I haven't tried it and really given it my all.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Welcome to this Empty Nest Life, the podcast dedicated to helping you embrace this transformative season with purpose, passion, and joy. In each episode, we explore stories, strategies, and insights to help turn your empty nest into an exciting new chapter. Whether you're redefining your identity, pursuing new passions, or finding peace in the pause, you're in the right place. Here's your host, the Empty Nest coach, Jay Ramsden.

The First Spark To Publish

SPEAKER_03 0:59

Hey there, my empty nest friends. Have you ever thought I've got an entrepreneurial itch, and I'm ready to run with it. Today you're in luck, as I'm joined in studio by Leighton Hart. Leighton is the creator behind Leighton Rights. It's a fast-growing social media present. It's known for its humor, insight, and relatable take on midlife reinvention. Before he became a full-time creator, where his creative spark that has resonated with, I think, more than 40 million video views, he spent two decades using his entrepreneurial background to build businesses. Leighton also serves as a content creator and marketing strategist for Turtleson. It's a national men's apparel brand. And that's where he and I connected. He helps them with storytelling, social strategy, and ambassador relationships. Now we're going to get into all of that and more. Layton's story is fantastic. Leighton, welcome to this emptiness life. Oh, Jay, thanks so much. It's really, really nice to be here. I'm excited that you're here. We connected on Instagram. You reached out, and I think what intrigued me most about like connection was like, hey, we've got our fall PR package. I'd love to send it over to you. If you want to talk about it, great. If not, I won't fight you for it. I was like, oh, okay. I like the humor in that. So let's and then we connected and yeah, back and forth there. And I was like, you know what? Layton would be a fantastic person to have on the show because of your journey. You're, I think you're in your second or third act. We've talked a little bit about that. But how did you even get started in being a content creator and the entrepreneurial spirit? Let's start there and see where this conversation takes us.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

Yeah, that's a that's a really great question. And I've been thinking about this lately about where this urge to publish things or hit post or or whatever, put things out into the world came from. And I can specifically remember when I was in high school, there was a a guy from my high school had gone on and and graduated high school, gotten into college, and then turned around and wrote a book about kind of a comedic book about you know that transition into college. And I thought that was just the coolest thing in the world that you could make jokes in a book and publish that. And I don't, I don't think he didn't have a deal to write that book or anything. It was just a project that he did. But that that was the little spark that said, hey, wait a minute, maybe there's some avenue that I can put things down, make people smile, try to make people smile and laugh and put things into the world. And so from there, as soon as I got to college, I I volunteered for the school newspaper. And I said, I want to do this. I'll write your stories about the building committee meeting and all that, you know, all the places that you want to send me to write these more boring stories or dry stories, but but in exchange, I want to be able to write something funny on the back page of the paper, just a little corner of the back page of the paper to write a little column. And lo and behold, they said yes. And so for four years in college, I had this gig, and this is way before social media. And and you know, we we we got the internet, if you will, like when I was in college. So the so this is way before all that. But for four years in college, I had a little corner of the back page that was all mine to make jokes and try to make people laugh. And so that was the that was the start of my content creation career, if you will. Looks a lot different than it does today, but that was the start of it for sure.

SPEAKER_03 4:36

Okay. So, well, yeah, we talk about, oh, it's fantastic. We didn't have social media back in the day for lots of reasons. Yeah. But then also it's oh, what if we had social media back in the day? Because of the opportunities. Now, you like you were telling me before you got involved with Turtleson because you just sent blank email and pitched them, and now you do content creation for them and brand ambassador for them. But like the gentleman you talked about who wrote the book, right? Going to college, he he didn't have any avenue other than I wrote it and I put it out there. But now we have so much opportunity with the internet and with social media. I think folks who are maybe in their late 40s, early 50s, I had another guest on. We were talking about entrepreneurship is the fastest growing in like late 40s to mid-50s. And because the internet's here. So what are we going to do with it? What does that look like? And you've done some amazing things with it.

Blogging Fatherhood And Going Quiet

SPEAKER_01 5:31

I uh yes, and I've I've tried a lot of different things. And maybe if if there has been anything that that has paid off for me, it's the fact that I've been willing to try a lot of different things. The the next iteration of that content creation thing was, I can remember in 2007, there was a thing called a blog that was starting to be popular, or maybe not popular, but in certain pockets, people were learning how to use this. It was this technology that was becoming available to to regular people like us. And so my kids were very small, and I opened a free account on a on a site called Blog Spot. You may remember it, Jay. Oh, I do, yeah. And so I started uh a little blog, and every day I just write a funny little story about something that my kids did, and they were so small, something funny that they did was like spitting up after you know it was it was that early before they really had identities or or or anything like that. And so I could tell these funny stories about my kids, and then that sort of changed as they got older and as they became, you know, people with with feelings and identities and and and all that. I didn't feel like it was right to tell stories about my kids without their consent and all that. So when you're telling stories about babies and toddlers, it's a little bit different. So so that changed. I blogged for a while and then retired from that from that because the this the circumstances changed. And then I had more corporate jobs where it's it's not like this as much anymore, but but in the early days uh publishing and content creation, all that, uh corporate job and making content on the side were very much at odds because the company you work for wanted to either know or be in control of what you said after work. And and those things were at odds. So I figured it was smarter to continue to collect a paycheck and have health insurance while my kids were small than to have complete freedom of speech and my content creation. So went quiet for a while. And then Facebook and Instagram came around and it became really easy to snap a picture and put a funny caption and and start to tell little stories or create a a character or persona there. And and I just fell in love with that.

SPEAKER_03 8:01

Yeah. Has Leighton rights always been your handle? Or was there like a journey there with profile names?

SPEAKER_01 8:09

Yeah, that was the that was the first time I and that account is probably probably about three years old. And that was the first time I really tried to do a a public Instagram account. Uh that because before then I used Instagram, like a lot of people use Instagram, which is perfectly fine, which is sharing pictures of my vacations and family, and here's Christmas dinner and and all those things. But I didn't want that stuff to be public for the world. That's for a couple hundred people that that I'm connected to. But but there was also this other thing you could do on Instagram, which is create a public profile. And you're some people use that to make commentary about society, and some people use that to sell products, and some people use it to make other people laugh. And I I wanted to take a run at having a public profile. And so Leighton Rights was a couple of things. Number one, it was a handle that was available, which is we're running out of available handles. Spend half an hour trying to find one that worked for you. And then also it was a mental cue for me because I wanted to re-sharpen this skill of writing, finding interesting ways to say things that may not be all that interesting. And so it was a it was a challenge to myself to to continue to write and test and publish as much as I possibly could.

SPEAKER_03 9:41

Yeah, I think what I love most about your your work there is like just the wit and the satire that comes along with it. It's like every once in a while I'm like, oh, that was really good, right? Like you're like, oh, that made me think before I scroll past. So I love that about you. How did you parlay that into what you're doing now with Turtleson and the and the men's clothing brand?

Building A Public Instagram Voice

SPEAKER_01 10:04

Yeah. Great, another great question. And it is it is all linked, amazingly. So most of my career, when when kids were little and and as they were growing up, and they're they're not all fully grown yet, but as they were little is as I was a financial planner in a corporate environment. And then at some point I went out and started my own business as a financial planner. Um, and then there was a time where I had an opportunity to sell that business and and really really changed the direction of my career and and almost my identity at some point. And and that was early 2000. Um, as we were going to the pandemic, it wasn't it wasn't related, but it just happened to be at the same time. And so went into the pandemic with out this business that I had sold and had this opportunity to create this new role or identity or whatever. And I opened a podcast studio before everything shut down, an in-person podcast studio in our town where you could come in, sit down, record a podcast, and walk, walk away. Tools like the technology we're using right now didn't exist yet or it wasn't very good yet. So opened a podcast studio and did that. And then after a couple of years, there was another kind of younger guy coming up in town who who also wanted to be in the podcast space, and and we had a great connection, and I was ready to try to do something else. So I sold the podcast business and client list to him, and I started publishing. I was fascinated with email newsletters. So I started publishing an email newsletter about golf apparel because I I like apparel. I like to play golf, and and so I started a newsletter about golf apparel. And then I discovered that there was in my backyard one of these companies that I would write little profiles about their products was in my backyard, 20 minutes up the road. And so that was Turtleson. And I didn't know anybody there, but I got on their contact form on their website and said, Hey, I'm a guy who likes to write. I know how to do social media, I have experience with marketing. If that overlaps with what you need, let me know. Not pushy or anything like that. And they emailed me back the next day, and and we've been connected ever since. So it's don't be afraid to shoot your shot, I guess.

SPEAKER_03 12:31

Just to let's Yeah. Don't be afraid to take the chance. Now I know I bet there's some people who are listening, like, oh, he had two businesses, he sold them both. He can just futz around on the internet. So I what would you say to that if somebody's who's listening who's having that thought?

SPEAKER_01 12:47

Yeah, I would I would say uh don't selling a business is doesn't automatically mean you're set for life, is what I would say what I would say. Definitely still have to work. And uh for financially and for sanity, it's it's good to have things going on. So yeah, it nice to be able to sell a couple businesses and it gave a little bit of of runway, but no, it's it's we are not set for life. I very much have to work. And that's motivation to to to keep uh creating content and exploring new things and taking on responsibilities, all those things.

SPEAKER_03 13:27

So yes, yeah, that's a great question. Yep. Yeah, I I just I I know my audience sometimes they'll be like, hmm, I'm afraid to do that, and I can't. I I don't have these people, have done this, they have money now, they can just do this, and as opposed to being like, no, every everybody who hops online as a content creator or an entrepreneur is taking a risk. It doesn't matter what's in their back pocket or not in their back pocket. Yes. Agree. Yeah. So what keeps coming to mind for me is like the journey between like it's they're they're similar, content creation latent rights and what you do for Turtleson, but are they different in any way? Do you drive anything different from both of them, or do they feed off of each other in any way?

Selling Businesses And Starting A Podcast Studio

SPEAKER_01 14:16

Definitely the the distinction I make in in my mind is that in in the world of of marketing or or branding, you have to embody a character or a set of attributes of the brand. And so what's on brand for my personal account, Leighton Writes, it's not gonna always cross over with what's on brand for Turtleson. And so I have to keep in mind that that that what may seem uh funny or like it may go viral or might be successful for a company, but if it's not on brand, it's probably not the right idea. Uh you can get views for the sake of getting views and all that, but but you end up, you know, this sort of mission creep uh emerges, and then it's just this weird thing. So so I I always try to be careful to be mindful of what's on brand for for the company, and then also what's on brand for my creator account over here, too, which is funny to think about what's on brand for a person, but there are there's types of jokes that I will make and that I won't make. And there are just little bits or trends or whatever that I'll follow that that in my personal account that yeah, yeah, just either feels like me or doesn't feel like me. That makes perfect sense.

SPEAKER_03 15:49

And I could see where it drifts in a little bit where kind of the humor and the fun of what you have in Leighton Rights does drift into Turtleson. I think there was a clip of you, and I think I don't know if it was an intern or somebody who was working, and you guys were like challenged to make boxes, like who could make the boxes faster. I was like, okay, there's a little bit of humor in there, like how does that work? But also showing a great behind the scenes of what happens too is like how does a company actually do these things? Yep.

unknown 16:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:16

Yeah, and and that's one thing I will say, and and that that I've learned, or that's some some characteristic about me is I I I find it very hard, or I don't have the ability to just say the thing. I have this thing where I have to find some other way, some creative way or alternative way to say the thing. So the example you're talking about for your audience, we we did. We had a uh, you know, we wanted to do some behind the scenes content and take people into our embroidery room and and and show how we fulfill orders. But it's one thing to just take the camera in there and carry it around and go, here's where this happens and this happens and this happens. And did you know we use a lot of boxes and our orders come in these nice boxes and not just like a poly bag or whatever. You can just say that, or you can find a way to show people. And and I would always prefer to find a way to show people that is entertaining, pulls them in, or puts some kind of different spin on the thing that I'm trying to say.

SPEAKER_03 17:21

Yeah. And that's the I think for people who are listening, like, oh, I do want to try to maybe do the content creator thing or be an entrepreneur or do things online. It's like you hit the nail on the head, it's like it has to be something that pulls people in. There's like a hook that keeps them looking because you have like maybe two seconds to have somebody stay and watch something that you've created. Yeah. Is there a challenge between the two? Is it like harder for you to do that in Turtleson than you do for Late and Rights?

Pitching Turtleson And Creating Brand Work

SPEAKER_01 17:47

Yeah, because I always have in the back of my mind, too, that that Turtleson or or any other company that I engage with, it's not my company. There's there's a couple guys that own that company, and that's they put their blood, sweat, and tears, and that's their their nest egg and their baby. And it's a lot of I always keep in mind that I don't want to screw anything up for everybody else because it's it is easy in the online space to do something that you think might be funny, and maybe it is funny, but we have we have a team of sales reps all over the world, and I don't want them to lose an account or or get any friction because of something dumb that I said on the internet. And and so, yes, for sure, for working for a company or for a brand, there's also just this kind of stewardship element of it, too, that this is not mine. I have to take good care of it and and not get anybody hurt in the process. Whereas for my account, I've got pretty thick skin on on what happens in my comment section or whatever, or I'm not afraid to take a creative risk and you know be a little weird or a little funny. Um, so yes, it's it is different for sure, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:13

The I I think that's a great point too about the um the thick skin piece because people will come. If you build a brand and you have enough of a following, I guess people say you have a following like when people come after you, you have a big enough following. And so that I had that happen to me, and the person was spot on. Like I did something that was this quick and I thought it was gonna be great, and it was just not good. I just totally missed the point of what I was trying to create, and then I even tried to go back and forth to explain myself, which is like the worst thing you could possibly do ever, exposed to just let it sit and move on, because the media cycle will move and somebody else will see it. God, that knocked me off my game for a little bit, but now it's just I had somebody my videos are all walking and talking, and somebody said, I don't really care for the walk and talk. I'm like, oh, okay. So how do you deal with it with because you do humor? I don't like I don't try and be funny with my content, right? It's more value-based for people who are entering the empty nest, but how do you deal with that? Because you're you're you have a brand of humor that may not be everybody's brand of humor.

Personal Humor Versus Brand Stewardship

SPEAKER_01 20:53

What I've always tried to do, and because I inherently don't enjoy conflict or stirring up stirring the pot or anything like that. I want everybody to like each other, all that stuff. I don't know where that falls on the Enneagram, but but it's anyway. Um, so I don't enjoy conflict. I don't enjoy people coming into my comments and and stirring stuff up, but but I do have perspective about I'll I'll start here, is that I never I never take swings at anybody except myself or or like an objective circumstance, like trying to find parking at the airport. I will take a swing at that and I'll make fun of that. Because everybody has done that more or less has had that experience. Yeah. And nobody gets hurt. Like it's not nobody's gonna, nobody at the airport authority is gonna go home and and lose a night of sleep because somebody on the internet made fun of like how confusing it is. Yeah. Um in and so I don't take swings at at people other than other than myself. And I'm easy, it it's easy to cast myself as like the you know, the frustrated dad or the the confused dad or the why is this this way kind of dad. So so that's the first thing is I I just I don't take swings at other people. The other thing that that I am able to do that that I have practiced is is keep perspective on. These are videos on the internet. And And one one debate that's raging right now is uh in in my comment section is about uh a local colloquialism um for a very specific part of a very specific state in the US, a phrase that that is or is not used there. And people are losing their minds uh about this phrase. And it's just keeping the perspective of guys, it's it's a video on the internet. It's like it's not this isn't like life commentary, it's not political, it's not there's none of this matters. And so let's all just keep our perspective that none of this really matters.

SPEAKER_03 23:18

Yeah, yeah, oh for sure. Yeah, I living in North Carolina Carolina for a while, every once in a while, my um we might could. My mic could slips out, yeah. Right, and people, and now that I live in New England, people are like, Mike could, what what is that? I love that. It's a it's a turn of phrase that I learned when we lived in North Carolina. I might could do that. Well we we might could do that.

SPEAKER_01 23:43

I love that. That sounds perfectly natural to me.

SPEAKER_03 23:45

So yeah, you think yeah, you're in Tennessee, and people probably use that turn of phrase as well.

SPEAKER_01 23:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:51

So and you talked about being a dad, which is great. It's like a good entree into this emptiness life. You have two in college, two at home. So how much like what's the the ex like how much longer till you become an emptiness here? What are the you got two more left to go? Is it distracted?

SPEAKER_01 24:10

Yeah, no, we're we're the depending on how you want to look at it, the light is either at the end of the tunnel or the train is coming for us, however you want to look at it. But we're we're getting close. Our our youngest is an eighth grader this year, so and high school goes fast, so fast. We'll be there before we know it. But we definitely are in this strange spot where two are two are gone and they they come home for breaks, and two are still here, and we are still very much in the thick of permission slips and field trips and homework tennis practice and homework, and yeah, all those things. And so it's this weird place of okay, rent is due on the off-campus apartment, and we're signing leases, and exams are coming up, and social dynamics of roommates and all that stuff. And also at the same time, we have to have dinner on the table at six because dance practice is at 6 45 or or whatever. It's it's it's we're in that in-between place.

SPEAKER_03 25:13

Yeah, you are you are an in-betweener for sure. What was your experience when the first one went off?

SPEAKER_01 25:19

The first was very, very difficult for me. And so the birth word of our kids, it goes girl boy, girl boy. And so it's my our oldest daughter, always been very close. And and so the summer before she was set to leave was just I was in my feelings, as they say, a whole lot pre-morning, like her her going off. But then moving her in, leaving campus all that when you drop her off at campus was not difficult for me. It was it was we're doing this, I'm excited, you're gonna fly. This is this is great. For my wife, she didn't grieve or mourn as much on the front end, but but that process on campus and then driving away was was the difficult part for her.

SPEAKER_03 26:12

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just interesting how everybody left your baby someplace, yeah. Right. Even though that's what we're supposed to do for sure. Yep. And I agree, like mine, our son is our oldest, and so dropping him off was easy, especially because we got there and we're like starting to set up his room, and and and we were like, where do you want this? He's like, I'm going to meet friends. And we were like, How do you have friends? We've been here five minutes again. The internet. I met them all on Discord. We're getting a meetup right now. You guys can go. It's like, okay. The one the youngest is a daughter, and that was kind of like, oof, yeah. Dads and daughters, right? Okay, this is a little bit more difficult for me than the boy who's like, see ya, I'm good. Yeah, sounds very familiar. Very good. 100%. What motivates you in life right now? You're in between where your kids are, you've got your own gig on Leighton Rights, plus you work for Turtleson. But what's your biggest motivator in life right now?

Handling Criticism And Keeping Perspective

SPEAKER_01 27:12

Wow. I think knowing how short life really is is part of it. And not not fear is not the right word, but I I don't want to get to the end and and not have tried something or or taken a shot at something or explored or chased every we talked before we hit hit hit record here about chasing your curiosity. I'm a very curious person and like to try a lot of different things. And I think that's what motivates me is let's take this this content creator thing for for example. Is it I think it's easy in life to go, oh, if I did that, I'd be successful at it. But the only reason I haven't been successful is because I haven't tried it and really given it my all. So with there's like this safety thing that we do. Like if I if I tried to be a really good professional golfer, I I could totally be on tour. But then we don't put in the work and the practice and all that stuff. So so I think it's a few examples. There are a few examples of of that where it's I want to know if I really pour myself into this and work hard at making funny videos and reaching out to people and making connections. Could I be successful at this at the level that at the at the level that I want to? And and so there's probably several of those things that that are still on my list that that motivate me right now, where I'm I I don't want to get to the end and go, ah, I wonder, even if I fail, I just I just want to know.

SPEAKER_03 28:54

You just want to know, all right, did I try? What what's one thing that you've always wanted to try, but you haven't yet?

SPEAKER_01 29:01

That's a that's a great question. In and I I don't know that I've ever told anybody this other than my wife. So you're getting breaking news. Breaking news here is that there's and I guess this makes sense with with what I do now, but there's there's something about um an old-fashioned like men's retail apparel store, the old suit shop that's in a college town or whatever, where they get dressed the fraternity guys for for their formals and sell dress shirts to the businessmen and and all that kind of small town men's store where they know everybody and make sure everybody's well dressed. Like that to me, if I get to the end of my life and haven't tried some kind of opening a retail experience, I think I'd be sad.

SPEAKER_03 29:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 29:51

That being said, I have no plans to do that right now, but but who knows?

SPEAKER_03 29:55

Yeah. Note to so and anybody who's Turtleson is listening, he's not trying to leave and bolt and start his own thing. He's very happy. Absolutely. Right. Yeah, exactly. And welcome to this emptiness life where we ask the hard questions and make people think, and they're like, oh, here's something I haven't shared with anyone before. Yeah. That's like hard charging news here. Right, you this empty snuffs that out of me. I love that though, though, because that's gone away. The dress for success or dress even just to be like I noticed it for myself. Like I dress when I fly. Yeah. And I notice nobody really dresses to fly anymore. I show up, show up looking nice. And there's something about it. Like, that's how it's supposed to be. Or going out to dinner, right? I want to look nice. But I would be there. Like if you start a like a small town retail, like men's suit shop that catered, I'd come visit.

SPEAKER_01 30:57

I love that. Yeah. Yeah, I I do think that the the trouble with that is there's there's like this thing or this trope that that men don't like to shop, which I I don't necessarily believe. I think I think yeah, don't I just don't necessarily some men don't. I just don't think you make generalizations like that about the entire gender of people. There we had a Christmas party here over the weekend, and I was looking for something fun or different to wear to a Christmas party. It's the holidays, let's have some fun. And we live in a not a small town, but not a big city. It's it's big enough that there should be choices and options available for for everyone, and there just aren't here. And so that sort of plays in the back of my mind of there there are guys that that want to come in and and talk about I've got this event coming up or a job interview or or whatever, or these old pants that I have are getting worn out. What do you recommend? Um I still think there's a place for that in every in every town.

SPEAKER_03 32:08

Yeah, I love that. I and I agree. We might be the only two, but it's a start. It's a start for sure. Okay, so the retail shop is something you've never tried before that you're interested in doing. I love that. It's an interesting concept for sure. Okay. What's one thing that you've done that you'd love to do over again?

Parenting In The In Between Years

SPEAKER_02 32:30

Oh, wow. Wow. Man, that's really great.

SPEAKER_01 32:42

I think, Jay, I have a you you've seen the cartoon of like the the guy who's like digging a tunnel and he's like digging, digging, digging. He's got a little light on at his pick and his tunnel, he's he's making progress, and then there's this much wall left before there's like the pot of gold and all that stuff. It's just you were so close. You just quit just a little bit too soon. And so I think in a lot of creative projects or or even you know, jobs that I've had, I've I've probably probably pulled the plug and and gone somewhere else or done something different, just a little too soon. And so I think I think back and and not with the regret, it's just I was doing the best I could at the time with the information I had. Um, but I do think if I had just picked one thing and just gone really hard and consistent and and stayed with it for the long haul, um, you know, I think that would have compounded into whatever success means for that project.

SPEAKER_03 33:47

Right. Yeah, and I think creative types fall into that, right? Because in order to do that, you have to be disciplined, and discipline is boring, right? It's literally like on repeat, doing the same things every day over and over and over and over again. And creative types, though, I tend to be more creative. I know I have ADD, so it's like I get to a certain point and I'm like, meh, time to pivot into something that like draws my attention more.

SPEAKER_01 34:12

Okay, I'm glad you you know exactly what I'm talking about then. And that's that's the exact urge that I'm talking about. Well, this isn't super stimulating anymore.

SPEAKER_03 34:21

So yeah, that's what my coach tells me all the time is discipline's boring. You gotta keep going. You're like, I have a client who tells me I'm so glad I worked with you before you became before you become super famous and I couldn't afford to work with you anymore. And I'm like, what does that even mean? But people see it, I guess, it right in other people. They're like, oh my gosh, what you do is so amazing. I could never do that. But that's not true. Going back to what we were pointing about, is like you gotta try. Yeah. If you love an itch, you gotta try.

SPEAKER_01 34:51

And how and what an interesting comment for for you, too, that this person is saying this, and to you, it's just this is just what I do. This is I'm this is easy for me. I don't know, you know. So yeah, I think it's there's this thing, sometimes we don't know exactly how naturally what we do comes to us, or how good we are at what we do until somebody else tells you.

SPEAKER_03 35:20

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. All right, before I let you go, we had a great conversation. You're like on act one, two, three, maybe this is three, maybe four. What's one thing you've learned about yourself through this journey?

SPEAKER_02 35:34

Interesting.

Curiosity Discipline And The Next Dream

SPEAKER_01 35:38

I think and this this is a good thing. I think the the visual I have for this is almost of a of a sculptor. There's some story about somebody asked about carving the statue David. What how did you do that? And and the sculptor said, Well, I just carved away everything that wasn't that wasn't David. Yeah. And and I feel like that's the the learning process that that my career all these seasons have been is is I figured out what is me and what's not me. And so I've had roles where I supervise people and and that's not me. Like I'm not, those aren't the skills I have. Even if I aspire to that, it's just like that's just not that's not what I'm good at. I'm good at some other things, um, but I'm not good there. So it's this little piece of okay, that's that part's not me, but this part is. And so all these creative projects and jobs and and parenting for sure, volunteer experiences, all that has has helped me see what what's what's not me, so that I can really appreciate and and lean into the stuff that is.

Key Lesson And How To Work With Jay

SPEAKER_03 36:56

Yeah, what's not me. That's that's great. You just can just lean into that. And I think that's uh for many people, that's where this journey of empty nesting comes into, is like you dedicated so much to being a parent, and now that the kids are out discovering who they are, it's kind of maybe time to discover who you are or to rediscover who you are. So I appreciate that. That was a great way to wrap the show up. Folks, go check him out. Layton Heart, he's Leighton Writes on Instagram. If you have a man in your life that you're looking to shop for something, Turtleson, check them out. Golf apparel. I don't golf anymore. I uh spend four hours getting lost in the woods hiking now instead of playing golf. And I don't have to pay for it, but the apparel is fantastic. I swear by it. So check them out. Leighton, it was an absolute pleasure having you here, and thanks so much for coming on the show. Appreciate it so much. Thanks, Jay.

SPEAKER_00 37:50

Thank you for listening to this Emptiness Life. Remember, this chapter isn't an ending, it's an invitation to redefine, rediscover, and reignite your life. If today's episode sparks something in you, don't forget to take that first step and visit this empty nestlife.com and click work with me to get the conversation started. Until next time, keep your heart open, your mind curious, and your spirit shining. This Empty Nest Life is a production of Impact One Media LLC, all rights preserved.