Christmas as an Everyday State of Mind, Even in COVID

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What's working on purpose anyway? Each
week we ponder the answer to this question.

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People ache for meaning and purpose at
work, to contribute their talents passionately

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and know their lives really matter.
They crave being part of an organization that

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inspires them and helps them grow into
realizing their highest potential business can be such

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a force for good in the world, elevating humanity. In our program,

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we provide guidance and inspiration to help
usher in this world we all want working

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on purpose. Now Here is your
host, doctor Elise Cortes. Hi there,

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welcome back to Working in Purpose program. Thanks for tuning in again this

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week. I'm your host, Doctor
Release Cortes. Join you live from Dallas,

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Texas, which is home base for
me. If you don't know me

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yet, I'm a management consultant specializing
in meaning and purpose, organization, logotherapist,

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inspirational speakers, social scientist and author
Fight Team and I help companies discover

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and articulate their per bister throw it
through their culture and operations. We work

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with forward thinking or forward reaching organizations
to develop inspirational leaders who create cultures where

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people actually want to come to work
and do their best. And we provide

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programs like the Grab Your Gust that
enable individual team members to discover and unleash

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their passionate purpose at work to catalyze
fulfillment, engagement, and productivity. You

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can learn more about us and now
we've been work together at a last Cortes

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dot com or Gusto Dashnow dot com. A surprise for you today with us

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as a very special guest, we
have none other than Santa Ronnie Watson,

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also known as the Praying Santa,
who says he's found it one of his

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hardest yet most rewarding things that he's
ever had the pleasure of doing. His

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wife, Missus Claws, joined the
fun a few years ago, which has

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made it even more rewarding. They've
been everywhere from country clubs, private homes,

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schools, and even cross country for
the right events. Being Santa Claus

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is great Heart Medicine. We'll be
talking today about why the spirit of Christmas

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Cannon should be lived all through all
year long, and how he and Missus

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Claus helped keep that spirit alive year
round through their ministry. He joined it

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today from the Dallas Fort Worth area. Santa Ronnie, Welcome back to the

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Working Purpose Show for the fourth time. Oh, so good to see you

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again, Elise. It sure is
Santa Ronnie. Well, first, let

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me say thank you for filling in. Melanie Pump was our scheduled guest today

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and Melanie reached out to me earlier
this morning. She said, Lise,

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I'm so sorry. I've got my
boosters got shot scheduled. The only time

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that I can come is exactly when
your show is scheduled. Worries will reschedule

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you for March, and I'm going
to call Santa RONI. So thank you

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Santa for saying yes. And I
got the text that, oh it was

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early this morning. Yes, yeah, it. You know, God always

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makes a way for me to step
out there and talk about his precepts.

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This is going to be fun.
I do too. And let's first and

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let's remind our listeners and viewers who
haven't heard the story yet of how you

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and I met, how I like
to say I picked you up. So

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it would have been early December twenty
sixteen, when you were minding your own

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business doing Santa work at a movie
theater in Richardson, Texas, outside of

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Dallas. And that was for the
Dallas Opera, which was featuring eight children's

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opera, so of course they had
Santa Claus there, and seeing you sitting

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there on your perch all dressed as
you are right now today, I made

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a bee line for you and I
plot myself right down on your lap and

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I put my arm around your neck
like so, and I said, Santa,

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I have a couple of things for
you, and you're like, shoot,

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And I said first, I said, you know, Santa, I

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have been a very good girl this
year, and I would like a man.

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Yes, And you said, well, let's talk about that. Are

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you sure ready? You and I
the show was I, uh, I'll

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get to it. Probably look becoming
Santa Claus. I'm becoming Santa Claus.

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Thank you? Yes, yes,
And it was great because i'd been I

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had been sitting there talking to your
daughter and some of her friends, and

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they were just gathered around and they
were, you know, they were asking

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all kinds of questions. Where's the
sleigh, where's the reindeer? You know?

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How about this clause? Did she
come? And that here came at

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lead? She just she's just right, she said, I just plopped myself

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down, just plopped and she said, actually start this way. It's my

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turn now. So you remember that, and I just looked at you know

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when you said you were interested in
finding the man in your life, and

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I just said, well, you've
already had one, right, And I

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said, how about we pray for
the right man this time? And actually

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you were just I think you were
taken aback and you're like, how did

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you know? And I said,
well, I've been talking to your daughter

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for the last fifteen dollars. I
think I can put the thoughts together.

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Yeah. So anyway, I was
looking for mister rat and he wasn't around,

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so I agreed, and that's how
that's how we met right there,

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and you asked me to come on
your radio show. And so that's been

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what four years ago? Is that? No, it's five years ago,

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my dear back on the patients front
right. Well. The other thing that

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I remember handily about that is I
got so comfortable approach there on my seat,

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you know, and we were having
a philosophical, philosophical conversation about life

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and romance and love and everything else, and all of a sudden I felt

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this jab on my shoulder or somebody
pointing on my shoulder, and I looked

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up and it was the woman from
the Dallas Offer She had her hands on

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her hips and she said, Alice, could you get up. There are

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children waiting to see Santa Claus.
I'm out of your Sia, Santa.

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I think I was a prop you
know, for becoming Santa Claus. And

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it was the opera and I was
and I felt like I felt kind of

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like a prop six. But you
know, I don't believe in accidents.

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I believe that we have a purpose
and when we step out in the right

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spirit, then that purpose just starts
revealing itself as we walk it out,

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you know. And that's what keeps
life amazing. Every day it's something new,

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it's something Oh my goodness, really, I get to do this.

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So that keeps me young at heart. Because Santa's getting a little bit down

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the road. Well, let's call
that experience, shall we. Yeah,

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I didn't have any wisdom, and
that's why I said, I read proverb

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for fifteen years, so just kept
trying to find a meaning. Well,

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so let's talk about this. I
want a couple of things I want to

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do in the show. I want
to I want to celebrate the spirit of

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Christmas and listeners and viewers. That's
for whatever your faith is, whatever you

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observe. It's the spirit of Christmas
that we're really talking about here, And

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absolutely I love what you said,
Santa Claus. Under that, of course

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is the purpose piece. And so
what does Christmas mean to you? I

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believe, actually, Missus Claus and
I both we believe that every day is

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Christmas. Every day is a gift
and it's to be celebrated. And why

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would I get high on any other
day when I need to be, you

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know, experiencing that high every day? And I like sometimes I like to

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just get in front of the mare
and tell myself who I am and get

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my face, you know, countenance, count right now, you come in

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with an oak grumpy attitude, and
you know you're going to read what you

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sew. And so if you go
in with a great attitude, and sometimes

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I had to work that up in
the morning. Now. Used to tell

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kids that joys like a T shirt
and you had to put it on every

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day and it's perishable, it only
last one day. That's the way God

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made it. So we've had to
get up and make that choice to put

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on that joy T shirt. And
then I can approach people that are some

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may consider unapproachable. And I like
to seek those kind of people out myself.

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You've told us that before in the
show, you said you'd like to

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go out for the people that you
don't think maybe are reachable. Well,

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I just seek that they need it, you know, because hurt people hurt

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people, you sure do. Sometimes
they're the ones that need that encouragement just

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to look right in the eyes and
just you know, and just say,

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hey, you know what this means, means I love you and just kind

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of spread that around. But I
believe in those cases all the time that

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the Spirit gives me the right thing
to say at the right time, and

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I just need to get myself out
of the way, participate and what's really

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going on here. And that's of
Christmas, and it can it can be

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all year, but some days we
just have to work it out. We

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had to work it up, Andy
and make that choice not to go out,

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you know, with a burden,
because the you know, the opposite

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of what I do, they say, it's just laughs. It's the things

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that want to bring us down,
and it's things that we can't control.

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It's things that we had to cast
our care unto God so that he can

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take care of it, because we
can't take care of it, but we

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carry the burdens like backpacks. I
used to sit in boardrooms and you know

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what amazed me was, I don't
know if it's a gift or what,

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but I could see a person's agenda
and it's like a backpack that they were

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wearing and when they walked in the
room and I'm like, oh my goodness,

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this guy's going to really bring it
today, you know. But he

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had he had an agenda, not
for and you know, if you build

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in a company, you would obviously
want all for one, one for all,

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you know, with the same goals
and objectives. So but a lot

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of times people don't operate that way. And so I would guess that that's

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so beautiful that sensitivity intelligence. I
got to believe said that you bring that

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with every time you interact with a
kid. So I'd love to hear you

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share a couple of stories of like
if you've gone to schools this year,

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or where you've gone where you've gotten
to be with maybe a couple of kids

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that you just something was going on
and you got to go there with them.

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Yeah, And what's really been tough
the last year is with the COVID

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outbreak, we haven't been able to
go into the schools that we've normally been

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into, but my photographers they have, you know, they have the green

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screen, and so I can be
there in spirit and I can stay pray

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for those kids because they've become family
to me. It's a couple of schools,

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and actually that's how I got started. A lady in church asked me,

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you know, once you do something
with this beard, you know,

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had come and we've adopted the school
in the north side of Fort Worth and

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went over by six Flags and there
was about sixteen hundred Hispanic children under privilege

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in need. And so the first
time I went there, it was like,

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oh my goodness, I need to
pray for these kids because some of

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the things that they were asking me
for were just it just breaking my heart,

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ready to pray down, you know, because some things we don't build

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in the workshop. So how am
I going to address these needs that one

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person can't meet all these needs?
There were some that were immediate needs,

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like one boy asked for a heater
and that was a place and missus Claus

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She's like, stop everything, get
somebody go get this boy a heater,

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right, So things like that,
if we could do it. We could

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do it. But if I have
a child, ask me for one of

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their parents to get out of prison, you know, their mother or father

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or both. And just because there
won't spend Christmas with them, that's all

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they want for Christmas and them that
will. Santa gets on his knees every

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morning every evening. You want to
join me and will just be an agreement

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and we'll see. I can't think
anything more powerful. The Bible says that

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we have the power to demolish strongholds, so and we should pray for the

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people that are in prison. You
know, it's easy to love the lovable,

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isn't it, And we're called to
love the unlovable and leaps out to

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everybody. So I think that deepens
our care and empathy for others, and

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it makes us look at them differently. I would agree with that, Santa

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Roni. And I've had doctor Arthur
Cerah mccollay on the show also four times

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because he'ps writing interesting books and
he really does talk about the importance of

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everyone developing empathy and that w would
be such a better place, more peaceful

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if we would all just do that. So I love that you're spreading that

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throughout the year. Santa. Well, you know, it used to be

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about what's in it for me before
I put on this suit, but now

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it's what's in it for everybody.
When I take care of Santa, everybody

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gets the fringe benefits, and so
it's not self it's just a paradox.

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It's something it's kind of upside down. But when we do that, then

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it's true. Everybody does get the
fringe benefits and we don't go through the

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world like a wrecking ball, but
maybe like somebody that's trying to help build

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something for the future and something that
will last through the future too. So

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yeah, easy, peasy, lemon
squeezy. It's just one day out of

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ten, all right, right,
And to that end, Ronnie, Santa,

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Ronnie, let's go to our first
break, because to what you just

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said, there is going to queue
up what we talk about right after the

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break. So I'm your host.
We had on in the area with Santa.

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Ronnie Watson, also known as the
Pring Santa. You just talked about

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the notion of when he puts on
a suit, what that actually does for

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the world. It's not for him. After the break, I want to

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share a story about a new tradition
that my daughter who's eighteen, and I

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have found for Christmas Eve. We'll
start with that after the break see then

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we'll be right back. Doctor Elise
Cortes is a management consultant specializing in meaning

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and purpose and inspirational speaker and author. She helps companies visioneer for greater purpose

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among stakeholders and develop purpose inspired leadership
and meaning infused cultures that elevate fulfillment,

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performance, and commitment within the workforce. To learn more or to invite Elise

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to speak to your organization, please
visit her at Eleasecortes dot com. Let's

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talk about how to get your employees
working on purpose. This is working on

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Purpose with doctor Elise Cortes. To
reach our program today or open a conversation

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with Alise, send an email to
Elise Alise at Elisecortes dot com. Now

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back to working on Purpose. Thanks
for saying with us, and welcome back

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to working on Purpose. I'd like
to invite you before we get back to

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the program to check out my first
book that came out in November of twenty

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twenty. It's called Purpose Ignited.
How Inspiring Leaders ignite passionate, elevate cause.

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I brought it out, actually,
and I brought it into the world

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to awaken people to their passion and
purpose and develop inspirational leaders who actually bring

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people to their greatness. I love
it. It's part of what I do

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in my programs. So hope you'll
check it out with me if you're just

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joined the program today. My guest
is Santa Ronnie Watson, also known as

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the Praying Santa. I'm your host
doctor release Quartetes. So, as I

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alluded to before we went out on
the break there, Santa, I wanted

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to share with our listeners what you
and I had an exchange about on faceboo

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book, and that was that my
sweet daughter who's eighteen, she's a freshman

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at Baylor, she came home for
the holidays and she said, Mama,

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I want to make Christmas cookies on
Christmas Eve. I'm like, great,

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fantastic. She goes and I want
to go bring them to people who might

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be homeless or in need of some
cheer or some help. And I said

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that's amazing. So we iterated that
a little bit and we ended up making

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fresh turkey cookies excuse me, turkey
sandwiches, the fresh decorated cookies and then

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we had a water bottle, a
sanitizer, a truffle, and a five

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dollar bill. Had just ten of
those, and we set out on Christmas

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Eve here in Dallas to deliver them. At first, I was worried,

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we're not going to find anybody.
Nobody's going to be out. It's so

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nice and hot here in Dallas.
Nobody needs us. So we set out

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with that whole idea of hoping that
we were going to help other people.

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Santa and I know you know where
I'm going with this, And sure enough,

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we make our first round past while
not here in Hill in seventy five,

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nobody's there, go South Park Lane
in seventy five, and sure enough,

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the first the first person we found
as a divorced woman who's on her

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she's trying to find her way back
on her feet to make it on her

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own again. A vet who's trying
to save some money for his next surgery.

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So those were the first two people. We had this amazing conversation with

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them, but later we ended up
getting rid of all of the packs.

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But the number third person that we
delivered to Santa really just stole my heart.

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And so when we came up to
him we'd seen him, and we

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pulled the car around to make sure
we could actually get to him. We

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stopped the car at the light,
rolled the window down and said, hey,

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we made this sandwich in these cookies
for you, and his face just

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just filled with emotion and he just
started sobbing. His shoulders were just rocking

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as he sobbed, and as he
smiled, I could see that he had

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hardly any teeth left. And he
gave us this such a beautiful thank you

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that it was just it was beyond
profound. And so of course I was

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in a pilot tears by that just
in a moment, right, So it

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was my daughter, and it was
the beautiful things. So to your point,

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you know, we set out thinking
we were going to help these other

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people. That's not what happened.
They helped us. They lifted us in

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their graciousness, their gratitude, their
friendliness. There the connectivity that we had

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in just those moments. So I
can't imagine what it must be like to

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be Santa Claus. Oh yeah,
it's just like that twenty four to seven.

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And I'm just reminded of the you
know axiom that those one liners always

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say they stand the test of time
because they're loaded with truth, right.

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And when you're telling me that,
I was just thinking, you know,

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it's better to give than receive.
It's amazing, isn't it. It's true.

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And that encounter you had with that
third person, that's God's economy,

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you know, because I tell people, you know what I love about hugs.

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Whenever you give one, you get
one. That's economy, you know,

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and people need hugs like that.
You know. Some people go through

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their lives they might not ever have
been hug some of the schools I go

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into, you know, the abused
children that are in these special classes that

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are darkened because they you know,
noises and things like that can send them

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over the edge and you can't even
come close to them, you know,

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much less give them a hug,
and they might not ever have had that

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or experienced that. So it is
better to give than received. And that's

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what keeps me going, is to
be able to give and not just give

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the presence, you know, because
presents. I can't remember what I had

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when I was five or six,
but I can remember the people in the

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times, in the atmosphere. I
can remember those things. And so if

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I can plant, you know,
putting on the suit carries a lot of

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responsibility. I always tell you that
words have power, and that we could

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use words to encourage and build others
in the right way, and we can

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maybe take the pressure off. You
know, I told people I've been away

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with the naughty list. Oh good
you know, hey, he's already paid

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for it, and so if we
wait for it, then, you know,

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thank goodness. Otherwise we would all
be on the naughty list forever,

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right, and then that would be
bad. And I tell people that,

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and it's like lifting a burden,
and not just the kids, but the

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parents that are standing in the background. They get it too, and I

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want and sometimes I wonder about the
discussions of the way home. You know,

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Santa said, there's not a naughty
list anymore by my dad, you

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know that elf on the shelf.
You know, I don't, you know,

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I'm kind of like just make your
yes yes and you're knowing no.

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And that way, it's like you
set the boundaries, don't move them.

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I believe that. I believe that
it's in humane to have boundaries that move

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and change all the time. And
I think that's what confuses children sometimes is

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they don't know when the hammer is
going to come down, you know,

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when the das Dad's going to be
home, or the dash bomb or the

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one that's not burdened with too many
things. You know, there's the axiom

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for you less it's more, and
it is I really believe that the less

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we have, the more we have, you know, the more we can

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take care of it. We're not
made to be multitaskers, were made to

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really focus on one thing at a
time. And children ask me, you

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know, hey, what's ELF's name? And I'm like, I don't name

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them? You know, at the
dor Poe when I talk to them,

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see these right, I look them
right in the eyes and I say,

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hey, elf, because they all
want to be called elf up there.

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And then when with you you give
them a name, so I don't know

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what name it is. They're like, oh, okay, you got to

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have an answer for every one of
them. They're always trying to trick.

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You got a standard that's to school
the other day asked me what's my name?

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What's my name? I'm like,
have you written a letter to me

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yet? And they're like no,
And I'm like, I'm I supposed to

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know what your name is if you
haven't written me a letter. I know

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your name. Okay, it's called
fast Dance and fast foot. Oh,

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it's just you just have to be
ready because you know, it takes all

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kind try in across section of society. It's uh, you have the wildflowers,

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you have the extrovertse, the introverts, you have all those and you

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just had to be ready. And
that's why I say, you have to

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have the right spirit, the right
countenance, so that you know, you

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don't act like, uh, what
is what? What was that show with

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the Red Rider b begun? You
know, ho ho cool at Uh?

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Not America on thirty fourth Street.
That's not that one, right, Uh?

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What is it? Christmas Story?
The Christmas story with that? Okay,

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yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay yeah, oh youh shoot

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your right out, kid. But
anyway, here's the mall center. He's

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a little grumpy sometimes. Yeah.
Yeah, that's why we try to keep

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that countenance and my spirit. But
the other thing is, uh, you

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know, laughter heels like a medicine. And that's why I love to laugh.

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And I've worked on my countenance for
years and learned how to unload things

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that burden used to burden me,
and now they don't and I think even

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in business they call it value added
versus don value added. I've learned how

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to identify things that really add value
into laugh and always said I didn't have

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a I had a living problem.
I think when I was younger and not

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so wise now that I've gotten older
at times, that's twenty twenty correct.

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So we can look back and see
that some of the things that we used

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to do were not who we are
anymore, and we see things that are

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more valuable now with different eyes.
So I love giving to the children and

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watching your little eyes when I plant
those seeds, go dean, and I

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see hope come back in at the
future. When I saw none, when

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I saw nothing in those and I
saw a child with their head down and

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like they were just beaten down verbally, you know. So I just tried

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to lift people up. And you
know, grown ups need it too.

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I learned, Yeah, I know
that, because I mean, you're reminded

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me as we're talking. I just
have to share because you said grown ups

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need it too. Years ago,
when I was very involved in the in

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the Linkquoiod Service League here in Dallas, we went to go gather the Christmas

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wishes of this retirement community at Juliet
Feller Homes. And when we walked in

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Cindy, who I knew, The
manager said, a lease, if you're

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going to get a list, go
and talk with Remember the woman's name,

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we let's call her Missus Jones.
So I went and sat with Missus Jones

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and I said, Hi, I'm
Alease, I'm here with Liquid Service League.

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I'm here to learn what you'd like
for Christmas, and we'd like to

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see if we can go fulfill your
wish and talk with Santa et cetera.

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And she said, oh, no, I don't need anything, but ask

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Charlotte next door. I know she
needs a sweater. So I sat down

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with her and I spent a little
time with her, and in that time

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Santa I learned. She told me
the whole story. She said, you

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see that picture over there, that's
me. I'm actually holding my four children.

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I'm holding the fourth one up because
he has polio and he can't sit

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by himself. And then she goes
back to she knows this whole story of

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how she had polio when she was
a child, and she said, my

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father worked three jobs to put me
through school. Do you think you'll ever

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ever know how much I appreciated him. And she went and told this whole

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story. And guess what's happening is
she's telling the story. I'm over here

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in the big pile of sobbing taking
this whole thing in right. And she

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looked at me at one point,
and she looks at me kind of curiously,

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and she said, oh. And
then she wheels over, she's in

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a wheelchair, wheels over and gets
a clean xbox for me and puts it

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on my lap. And she said, yeah, we don't cry when we

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get to my age. We don't
need to anymore. We've already done all

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that. She's kind of wipe it
up, my tears. But I was

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so moved by her story. And
to your point, you know what she

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got out of that is she got
to listen somebody to listen to her.

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And you know, she told her
story and I was hanging on every single

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word. And so, Yes,
to your point, adults need it too.

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Adults need to be ministered to.
They need to be listened to,

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need to be loved, understood,
sought after, given hope to. Yes,

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I completely agree with you, Santa, which is probably a big reason

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why I made a beeline for you
well, you know, even more so

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I think sometimes that grown ups that
you know, the thing that I noticed

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that at the older we get sometimes
the harder we get. Not even the

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Bible talks about, you know,
don't let your heart get hard. And

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I see those people that are not
that they're mean, but that they're protecting

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that they just shut everybody out,
you know, because the world is just

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beating them down so much, whether
it's finances or relationships or whatever. And

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that what I'm also reminded this is
above all l so that must be an

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00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:04.359
Wharton statement. Above all else,
guard your heart because everything that you do

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floats from there, and that is
the truth. You know. If we

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are heard hearted, then we can
beat mean and snippy in. But if

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we soften our heart and have that
empathy for others and looks outside of ourselves,

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then it becomes more real. The
things around us. They're a spiritual

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00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:30.960
battle going on out there. We
can either get into it and we can

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00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:34.559
sit on the sidelines and cheer for
the ones that are you know, or

385
00:28:34.680 --> 00:28:41.839
just sit on the sidelines and have
become hard. So it's a daily it's

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00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:47.200
just a daily choice for me,
and I know that I can't be Santa

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Claus kids without doing it the right
way, because that's you know, the

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reason for the season. This is
what Christmas is all about, is the

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giving, the gifts, and what
He gave for us, the ultimate gift,

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so that we could just live free, live a real life, the

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00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:15.480
life of Zoe that satisfies, not
things things don't satisfy. I told a

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00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:18.680
guy one time, I'm like,
see this, this all this right here,

393
00:29:19.440 --> 00:29:22.039
it's part of the dirt pile,
and it's going back in the ground

394
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one day, maybe not while we're
here. And there's like and that was

395
00:29:26.720 --> 00:29:32.039
in a boardroom too, there's like, oh you can't, I said,

396
00:29:32.039 --> 00:29:37.000
don't the pyramids mean anything to you. We can mitigate, but we can't

397
00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:42.119
eliminate because we're not the chosen one. We can't make things perfect even don't

398
00:29:42.119 --> 00:29:48.559
matter how hard we try, we'll
never make perfect. But advancing, that's

399
00:29:48.920 --> 00:29:55.000
that's the key, is just continue
knowing that you can't make things perfect,

400
00:29:55.480 --> 00:30:00.839
but you make things bad, that
you can mitigate some problems and hurt others.

401
00:30:00.799 --> 00:30:03.359
Yes, And to your point,
Santa, in the work that I

402
00:30:03.400 --> 00:30:07.599
do with that organizations, you said
something about, you know, is softening

403
00:30:07.599 --> 00:30:12.880
that people softening or whatever I know
when I meet somebody who still needs softening,

404
00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:18.279
somebody that still needs to heal,
right, because as you said,

405
00:30:18.359 --> 00:30:22.680
hurt people hurt people. So it
shows up writ large when someone really needs

406
00:30:22.680 --> 00:30:27.119
to be helped and healed, and
how they lead, how they treat people,

407
00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:30.519
how they develop people, how they
instruct people, et cetera. So

408
00:30:32.559 --> 00:30:37.519
I think maybe in some ways I've
developed some Santa sense as I've worked with

409
00:30:37.640 --> 00:30:41.759
organizations and maybe you know our friendship
has has rupped off. But so I'll

410
00:30:41.839 --> 00:30:45.480
thank you for that now and maybe
my clients will thank you to I'll give

411
00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:51.160
you a little advice if you want
to do that. Caurage some peppermints with

412
00:30:51.200 --> 00:30:56.240
you. Well, I ain't soft
of it. Like here, I got

413
00:30:56.240 --> 00:31:03.160
a peppermint for you, and it
just kind of opens the door. It

414
00:31:03.400 --> 00:31:07.400
takes you know, maybe this is
a safe place that you've got just going

415
00:31:07.480 --> 00:31:11.799
to give me a pepper pint.
Then you look them in the eyes and

416
00:31:11.839 --> 00:31:17.519
you give them a big smile,
and sometimes that I connection that you'll know

417
00:31:17.960 --> 00:31:21.960
when the door's open and you'll know
when to like me. You know,

418
00:31:22.079 --> 00:31:25.200
missus Klaus, she has permission to
kick me in the sands because I talked

419
00:31:25.240 --> 00:31:32.000
too much. I can't read you. So so anyway, that's fair.

420
00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:37.759
God gave us two ears and one
mouth. And so listening is part of

421
00:31:37.079 --> 00:31:41.759
add and value in people's lives.
And its like you listen to that person's

422
00:31:41.799 --> 00:31:47.640
story and just it made you put
you right in the middle of it.

423
00:31:48.759 --> 00:31:52.599
Think about how I'd love to read
books, you know, and the pictures

424
00:31:52.640 --> 00:31:57.240
that our mind can paint in reading
these books. And then a movie comes

425
00:31:57.240 --> 00:32:00.640
out about it, I'm like,
huh, that was not nearly as good

426
00:32:00.640 --> 00:32:05.279
as what I conjured in my mind. Yes, and you know what,

427
00:32:05.480 --> 00:32:09.519
somebody's telling us their story and we're
really listening to it and we don't have

428
00:32:09.640 --> 00:32:15.480
enough genda to interject or you know, the main thing is like, let

429
00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:19.319
me get my toolbox out and I'll
help you fix that. No, they

430
00:32:19.440 --> 00:32:23.319
just want you to listen sometimes and
just be there because nobody's never listened to.

431
00:32:24.559 --> 00:32:29.519
We have learned that, Yes,
I've learned. That's awesome. I've

432
00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:32.200
learned that after almost seven years on
this show. So let's speaking of that.

433
00:32:32.279 --> 00:32:35.839
Let's grab our last break here if
we can. I'm your host,

434
00:32:35.880 --> 00:32:37.799
Doctor Release Cortes. We're in the
air with Santa Ronnie Watson, who is

435
00:32:37.839 --> 00:32:42.640
known as the Praying Santa. We've
been talking a bit about connections and memories

436
00:32:42.680 --> 00:32:45.160
related to Christmas. After the break, I'm going to see if you'll tell

437
00:32:45.240 --> 00:32:47.480
us one more time just how he
became Santa Claus. Stay with us,

438
00:32:47.480 --> 00:32:52.960
We'll be right back. Doctor release
Cortes is a management consultant specializing in meaning

439
00:32:52.960 --> 00:32:59.680
and purpose and inspirational speaker and author. She helps companies visioneer for greater purpose

440
00:32:59.720 --> 00:33:06.799
among stakeholders and develop purpose inspired leadership
and meaning infused cultures that elevate fulfillment,

441
00:33:07.079 --> 00:33:12.440
performance, and commitment within the workforce. To learn more or to invite Elise

442
00:33:12.480 --> 00:33:16.319
to speak to your organization, please
visit her at elisecortes dot com. Let's

443
00:33:16.359 --> 00:33:27.720
talk about how to get your employees
working on purpose. This is working on

444
00:33:27.759 --> 00:33:31.680
Purpose with doctor Elise Cortes. To
reach our program today or open a conversation

445
00:33:31.759 --> 00:33:39.240
with Alise, send an email to
Elise Alise at elisecortes dot com. Now

446
00:33:39.599 --> 00:33:45.880
back to working on Purpose. Thanks
foresting with us, and welcome back to

447
00:33:45.920 --> 00:33:49.160
working on Purpose. Before we go
back to Santa Claus here, I want

448
00:33:49.160 --> 00:33:51.880
to share one of the bit of
news with you. I have been curating

449
00:33:51.880 --> 00:33:54.400
over the last couple of years in
anthology. It's a collection of twenty five

450
00:33:54.440 --> 00:33:59.759
stories for women across the world who
share their intimate stories of how they discover

451
00:33:59.799 --> 00:34:02.680
their perposon are now serving from it
here it is. It's so beautiful.

452
00:34:02.440 --> 00:34:07.519
I'm so proud of it. I
could just bust. It's called Passionately Striving

453
00:34:07.519 --> 00:34:09.679
and Why, an anthology women who
persevere mightily to live their purpose. It's

454
00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:13.239
on Amazon, and I hope you
take a look at it. I'm just

455
00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:15.920
so proud of it. If here's
just joining us. My guest today is

456
00:34:15.920 --> 00:34:19.880
Santa Roni Watson. He's known as
the Pring Santa. I'm your host,

457
00:34:19.880 --> 00:34:23.840
doctor Relice Cortes, So I purposely
dangled that in front of you before the

458
00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:28.280
breaks you could think about that.
I happen to know the story of how

459
00:34:28.320 --> 00:34:30.119
you became a Santa Claus, but
those who were listening may not have heard

460
00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:34.239
it. So will you tell us, Santa Rani, I know there's a

461
00:34:34.280 --> 00:34:37.639
beautiful story. Give us the real
mean of it. How it is that

462
00:34:37.719 --> 00:34:44.000
you decided and were invited to become
Santa Claus. Well, I have really

463
00:34:44.039 --> 00:34:52.840
started with the beard, and the
beard came about from my first grandchild,

464
00:34:53.079 --> 00:35:00.639
was she was adoptor by my oldest
son, and she called me big G

465
00:35:00.960 --> 00:35:05.199
and she had my heart, you
know, right from the very first,

466
00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:07.960
right from the get go. And
I remember, I'll never forget. She's

467
00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:12.559
looked at me and she's like,
big G, you can never shave your

468
00:35:12.599 --> 00:35:15.920
beer. And I'm like, hey, whatever, you say, what you

469
00:35:16.599 --> 00:35:22.079
got it? So and it wasn't
long after that, but you know,

470
00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:25.679
I think I told you the lady
in the church asked me to. She

471
00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:30.960
worked for a credit union. They
adopt those schools and they take presents,

472
00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:35.840
I mean a gym full of presents, and they have games set up in

473
00:35:35.920 --> 00:35:40.719
there for the kids and it's just
an all day game and Santa Claus and

474
00:35:40.760 --> 00:35:45.360
then they have to get pictures with
me sitting on you know, them sitting

475
00:35:45.360 --> 00:35:52.239
on my lap and a photographer his
name's Billy Buttons and he's a great guy

476
00:35:52.960 --> 00:35:57.159
Button and they can wear that picture
of them in Santa Claus, you know,

477
00:35:57.199 --> 00:36:00.280
and it might be the only picture
that they get, you know,

478
00:36:00.440 --> 00:36:06.079
because they just don't have a lot
of money there. So and that kind

479
00:36:06.079 --> 00:36:10.159
of one thing led to another.
But you know, my granddaughter, she's

480
00:36:10.199 --> 00:36:16.639
the one that started with the beard
and everything, and so it's it was

481
00:36:16.760 --> 00:36:22.760
just a matter of you know,
I've always been a had a servant's heart

482
00:36:22.239 --> 00:36:29.039
and always been a leader, whether
in business or whatever. And I always

483
00:36:29.360 --> 00:36:34.519
told I have two children, and
I said, you know, every day,

484
00:36:35.159 --> 00:36:38.679
life's going to throw a bunch of
things at you every day. You

485
00:36:38.719 --> 00:36:44.599
know, sometimes you may have fifty
decisions to make, sometimes one hundred and

486
00:36:44.639 --> 00:36:46.960
fifty, sometimes a thousand, and
you know you're going to have for these

487
00:36:47.000 --> 00:36:53.000
decip If you just take the high
road at every decision, then you don't

488
00:36:53.039 --> 00:36:58.480
have to look back, and you
don't have to carry baggage with you.

489
00:36:58.159 --> 00:37:01.400
And I think Judge Judy says,
you know, if you just tell the

490
00:37:01.440 --> 00:37:07.239
truth, you don't have to have
a good memory. But that's that carrying

491
00:37:07.280 --> 00:37:13.280
that extra baggage with you. You
know, if we start taking the row

492
00:37:13.400 --> 00:37:16.840
turner, we start looking for what's
in it for me. But we're put

493
00:37:16.880 --> 00:37:22.199
here to serve one another, you
know, And I really believe that's why

494
00:37:22.239 --> 00:37:30.840
we're here. I believe that in
that that's where life lives. That's where

495
00:37:30.880 --> 00:37:37.639
the peace and the joy and it
all lives right there. You know.

496
00:37:37.719 --> 00:37:44.280
I talked to a mission missionary guy
one time, and he was a lone

497
00:37:44.679 --> 00:37:51.719
ranger mission guy with a family in
the middle of Africa. And I asked

498
00:37:51.800 --> 00:37:53.840
him, I said, how do
you do that? You know, you

499
00:37:53.920 --> 00:38:00.079
could be like kidnapped and murder.
He goes, wherever piece is, that's

500
00:38:00.119 --> 00:38:02.559
where God is, That's where I
stay. He goes. If I walk

501
00:38:02.599 --> 00:38:06.199
in a place and the hair stands
up on my arm, I just back

502
00:38:06.199 --> 00:38:12.079
out and go to the last place
I had peace. So, I mean,

503
00:38:12.119 --> 00:38:16.199
he had some amazing stories about what
he was doing over there, but

504
00:38:16.239 --> 00:38:23.000
it's the same thing over there that
it is here. And we're so blessed

505
00:38:23.039 --> 00:38:30.000
in this country that you know.
That's why I say less is more.

506
00:38:30.880 --> 00:38:35.840
And I always say, these the
telephones and they're great, and they're great

507
00:38:35.880 --> 00:38:39.760
for work and think, but for
personal relationships, I want to sit down

508
00:38:40.079 --> 00:38:45.800
face to face like this. I
love seeing you here, but I'd lot

509
00:38:45.920 --> 00:38:50.280
rather see you face to face,
Yeah, or in my studio or in

510
00:38:50.360 --> 00:38:53.679
my dining really been shows at all? Well, So it's our body,

511
00:38:53.760 --> 00:39:00.320
you know, what is that ninety
percent of communication is body language. The

512
00:39:00.360 --> 00:39:04.519
rest of us just our work.
So I think, and like, I

513
00:39:04.599 --> 00:39:07.280
still get the boardrooms. That's why
I could tell, you know, look

514
00:39:07.280 --> 00:39:12.760
at this guy, he's bringing something
I don't know and I also learned that,

515
00:39:12.840 --> 00:39:15.440
you know, the smartest one in
the boardroom is the last one to

516
00:39:15.519 --> 00:39:22.000
speak. So uh, you know, there's a lot of people that have

517
00:39:22.079 --> 00:39:24.639
those agendas. They just come in
and just start throwing darts and see what

518
00:39:24.800 --> 00:39:30.800
sticks. But when we work for
one another, and uh, I even

519
00:39:30.880 --> 00:39:35.519
played on some sports teams whenever I
was younger, and we were, you

520
00:39:35.559 --> 00:39:39.119
know, super talented, but we
played as a team and we pulled for

521
00:39:39.199 --> 00:39:44.360
one another. We encouraged one another. Guy having a bad day. Then

522
00:39:44.440 --> 00:39:46.000
we're like, hey, it's okay, just keep going, keep going.

523
00:39:47.320 --> 00:39:52.559
And uh, I think you talked
to a lot of sports guys and they're

524
00:39:52.639 --> 00:39:55.079
like, if they have a workout
partner, somebody there that's to encourage them,

525
00:39:55.119 --> 00:39:58.159
you know, oh yeah, come
on, we can do one more.

526
00:39:58.280 --> 00:40:01.000
Let's just do one more set,
you know, And it helps you,

527
00:40:01.159 --> 00:40:05.800
It just it helps both of you
to keep going. It motifts you.

528
00:40:05.920 --> 00:40:10.000
So we don't do good alone.
We don't do Yeah, we're so

529
00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:14.079
social animals. And that reminds me
of another story that I need you to

530
00:40:14.119 --> 00:40:17.840
tell. I just was thinking about
this. I remember distinctly. It probably

531
00:40:17.920 --> 00:40:22.360
was the second time you were on
and missus Claus came and I asked her

532
00:40:22.440 --> 00:40:24.800
during the break, what else should
we talk about? And she said,

533
00:40:24.840 --> 00:40:29.440
oh, get him to talk about
what happens during the off season when he's

534
00:40:29.480 --> 00:40:32.880
walking through parking lots and children see
you. Tell us what happens when those

535
00:40:34.079 --> 00:40:37.679
those children, what happens in the
encounters and what do they say and what

536
00:40:37.719 --> 00:40:40.159
do you say back? Well,
you know, and I remember we had

537
00:40:40.199 --> 00:40:45.119
that lady from California she called them
one time. I didn't know Santa had

538
00:40:45.119 --> 00:40:50.960
a Texas accent. We're in the
middle of Texas, Okay, darltt I

539
00:40:50.960 --> 00:40:55.719
know I see Darling too. Anyway, it was but during the off season.

540
00:40:55.880 --> 00:41:00.280
Matter of fact, I got dressed
up for the show today, so

541
00:40:59.679 --> 00:41:04.679
I hung everything. Uh. But
uh, I put my car hearts on

542
00:41:05.760 --> 00:41:10.599
and uh and I put on my
sunglasses and that's my disguise. And so

543
00:41:10.960 --> 00:41:15.119
my wife loves for me to go
shopping with her. And if we whether

544
00:41:15.159 --> 00:41:20.920
we go to the grocery store or
wherever. Uh, kids they just start

545
00:41:21.199 --> 00:41:25.960
they see that big beard and they'll
start dragging their mother across the parking lot,

546
00:41:27.599 --> 00:41:30.960
Santa Claus. And so you know, I'm about six foot three,

547
00:41:31.920 --> 00:41:37.599
and I know it's very important not
to town. We're over a child's always

548
00:41:37.639 --> 00:41:42.280
and it's getting harder, but I
always get down on my knee and looking

549
00:41:42.320 --> 00:41:44.960
out, you know, out in
the middle of the parking lot, and

550
00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:49.440
I carry peppermints, and so I
asked some others, Okay, if I

551
00:41:49.440 --> 00:41:52.639
give them pepper wint, They're like, yeah, so, but when I

552
00:41:52.800 --> 00:41:57.199
finished talking to the child, I
usually get up and give the parent of

553
00:41:57.239 --> 00:42:00.320
peppermint too. So you know,
it's like I said, it's not just

554
00:42:00.360 --> 00:42:06.119
for the kids, but the kids
dragged their parents into it. You know.

555
00:42:06.320 --> 00:42:10.679
I just love to see their smiles
when it changes their whole countenance.

556
00:42:12.360 --> 00:42:15.960
Whenever you just plant they see something
like that, their kids excited and then

557
00:42:16.000 --> 00:42:22.400
they get excited, and I love
to see that. I love to you

558
00:42:22.440 --> 00:42:25.920
know, a crumpy checkout lady that's
having a very bad day, just look

559
00:42:25.960 --> 00:42:30.360
her in the eyes and you know, tell her, Hey, I'm the

560
00:42:30.400 --> 00:42:35.159
praying Santa. You know you need
me to pray for anything. I pray

561
00:42:35.199 --> 00:42:39.599
for you. And you know,
I just want to tell you I did

562
00:42:39.639 --> 00:42:47.280
that one time in Walmart, this
the neighborhood Walmart, and this lady I

563
00:42:47.360 --> 00:42:53.480
prayed. There was this black woman
and her daughter standing right there to check

564
00:42:53.519 --> 00:42:58.400
out, and and it was just
like in my heart. I was like,

565
00:42:58.480 --> 00:43:01.920
I need to pray for this girl. And the mother was talking to

566
00:43:02.000 --> 00:43:05.639
me, your Santa Claust that or
done. I said, yeah, I'll

567
00:43:05.639 --> 00:43:08.360
pray for your daughter right here,
and uh, he's here with us.

568
00:43:08.440 --> 00:43:13.000
I just put eight men on the
end of that. The next year.

569
00:43:13.920 --> 00:43:19.079
The next year, I was on
a Missus. Klaus put me on a

570
00:43:19.159 --> 00:43:24.840
Keto diet. So Claus she said, I run down to the store,

571
00:43:24.920 --> 00:43:29.920
grab some milk and eggs. And
I was like, okay, So I

572
00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:34.320
go down there and not thinking,
I grab a basket and I'm walk back

573
00:43:34.320 --> 00:43:36.639
and I grabbed the milk and eggs. I'm like, what do I have

574
00:43:36.679 --> 00:43:40.239
a basket for it? It was
like I couldn't leave. It's like something

575
00:43:40.239 --> 00:43:45.320
else was there. And I kept
walking up and down the back aist and

576
00:43:45.360 --> 00:43:47.400
every time I walk, you know, the scientists say what's on this out?

577
00:43:47.960 --> 00:43:52.280
Every time I walk by the cracker
owl, it was like it was

578
00:43:52.400 --> 00:43:55.559
like a neon sign, like just
blinking, and I'm like, crackers.

579
00:43:55.599 --> 00:44:01.280
I'm on Keto diet. I can't
have crackers. I haven't had a So

580
00:44:01.480 --> 00:44:06.039
finally I give it. I walked
down that aisle. I'm just standing here

581
00:44:06.840 --> 00:44:13.760
looking at the premium saltines, okay, And all of a sudden, this

582
00:44:13.880 --> 00:44:17.480
lady taps me on the shelter and
I turned around. I mean, the

583
00:44:17.559 --> 00:44:21.960
hair just stood up on my arm. She goes, you don't remember me,

584
00:44:22.119 --> 00:44:25.719
and I said, yes, I
do. And she goes, do

585
00:44:25.760 --> 00:44:32.039
you believe in divine intervention? I
said yes, absolutely, said you pray

586
00:44:32.119 --> 00:44:36.599
for my daughter last year and she
got worms. And I'm like, oh,

587
00:44:39.000 --> 00:44:45.800
but she hit her bottom and oh
my goodness, she has done a

588
00:44:45.840 --> 00:44:49.960
one hundred and eighty degree turn.
And I'm telling me and this lady,

589
00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:53.480
we're standing in the middle of that
cracker aisle, just just huging. And

590
00:44:53.800 --> 00:44:59.400
I didn't know her for it,
met her one time a year ago.

591
00:45:00.119 --> 00:45:02.679
And at the end of that,
I said, you know, I just

592
00:45:02.760 --> 00:45:07.639
don't always say never miss the irony
of God, right. And at the

593
00:45:07.719 --> 00:45:10.599
end of it, I'm like,
ma'am, I hope you don't bind me

594
00:45:10.719 --> 00:45:15.400
asking this, but what do black
people call white people? And she looks,

595
00:45:15.440 --> 00:45:20.800
she goes crackers. I'm like,
I'm readed by these crackers for flat

596
00:45:20.960 --> 00:45:36.679
minute me. Oh my goodness,
it's so we never know, we never

597
00:45:36.960 --> 00:45:47.000
know this discuss what's gonna happen just
that one encounter, and uh, you

598
00:45:47.000 --> 00:45:50.800
know, I don't know if I'll
ever see her again. But man,

599
00:45:50.920 --> 00:45:54.559
there was so much joy in that
out that day, and people were probably

600
00:45:54.599 --> 00:46:00.639
looking at us like them crazy people
did what a great way didn't finish the

601
00:46:00.679 --> 00:46:02.679
show of Sinaanie. We already went
through the whole time if you can possibly

602
00:46:02.760 --> 00:46:06.039
leave it, but I can't think
of a better way to finish it was

603
00:46:06.119 --> 00:46:12.679
worth The whole President mission is to
hear that last story. Thank you you

604
00:46:12.719 --> 00:46:16.079
said it means I love you.
I love you, Alice, And you

605
00:46:16.119 --> 00:46:20.960
know God says, you know,
love the Lord God with all your heart,

606
00:46:21.039 --> 00:46:23.599
with all your soul, with all
your mind. And it's love your

607
00:46:23.639 --> 00:46:30.840
neighbor as yourself. And I think
sometimes we don't love ourselves enough to get

608
00:46:30.840 --> 00:46:34.239
out there and think we don't have
anything to share. But I'm telling you

609
00:46:34.360 --> 00:46:40.320
right now, you have plenty to
offer to another human and not in things,

610
00:46:40.800 --> 00:46:46.119
but in attitude. And it starts
with that gratitude, just being grateful

611
00:46:46.199 --> 00:46:52.960
for you have. Nobody can take
that from you. They'll try, they

612
00:46:52.039 --> 00:46:55.800
will try, and that's non stop. But we have to strength and power

613
00:46:55.960 --> 00:47:00.639
because we know what it feels like
to be on that side at a give

614
00:47:00.239 --> 00:47:06.280
instead of taking Hi. I love
you, Love you too, Santa,

615
00:47:06.320 --> 00:47:09.360
thank you for coming back and who
knows what where where the road takes us

616
00:47:09.360 --> 00:47:13.800
from here, So thank you Santa
Roni for joining us yet again a fourth

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00:47:13.840 --> 00:47:16.159
time. Let's see what happens for
a fifth round. If you want to

618
00:47:16.239 --> 00:47:20.440
learn more about Santa Ronnie and Missus
Claus. While the best place to find

619
00:47:20.440 --> 00:47:22.320
them, of course, is at
the North Pole, if you can't catch

620
00:47:22.360 --> 00:47:28.000
them there, however, then check
out Facebook at Ronnie Watson or Annette kuban

621
00:47:28.159 --> 00:47:31.960
Watson Keith. It's key you be
a in Annett kuben Watson. Last week,

622
00:47:32.000 --> 00:47:36.119
if you missed the live show you
Know schedule, we recorded podcast We

623
00:47:36.239 --> 00:47:39.599
Run There with Greg Milano, author
of Curing corporate short term Termism, and

624
00:47:39.679 --> 00:47:43.960
we talked about how to create cultures
of ownership that drive long term intivation and

625
00:47:44.000 --> 00:47:46.639
financial performance. Next week, we'll
be on the air with Marshall Mosher,

626
00:47:46.719 --> 00:47:52.159
the CEO of Vestigo, talking about
how virtual reality connects remote teams to learning

627
00:47:52.159 --> 00:47:57.199
what comes from diving off with wild
abandon that can only come safely with virtual

628
00:47:57.239 --> 00:47:59.800
reality. See you there, Remember
that work is at least if they're real

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00:47:59.840 --> 00:48:05.079
life so let's work on Purpose.
We hope you've enjoyed this week's program.

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00:48:05.519 --> 00:48:08.239
Be sure to tune in too,
Working on Purpose featuring your host, doctor

631
00:48:08.320 --> 00:48:14.880
Elise Cortes, each week on the
Voice America Empowerment Channel. Together, we'll

632
00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:22.360
create a world where business operates conscientiously, leadership inspires impassioned performance, and employees

633
00:48:22.400 --> 00:48:25.920
are fulfilled in work that provides the
meaning and purpose they crave. See you

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00:48:27.039 --> 00:48:29.199
there, Let's work on Purpose.