Transcript
David Isaacs: Welcome everyone. it is the last day of July, 2026. And we are back. It's been a little while schedules, a little frantic. Sorry about that.
David Isaacs: Um, no one really to blame, but, uh, it's feels good to be back and sit down and we're talk through some stuff, um, and some things, right, Brian?
The Big Dog: Yeah, I like talking about things more than stuff, I'm being honest, but ah good evening everyone. um Yeah, glad to be back and glad we were able to meet um on the final day of July.
The Big Dog: I don't know if if there's some sort of special holiday, but, you know, just ready to get into it and figure some stuff out. So, David, why don't you start us off? What are we what are we looking at? What's been going on with you last couple of weeks?
David Isaacs: ah You know, just busy, man. I
The Big Dog: feel that. i feel that.
David Isaacs: had a tandem of bachelor parties last weekend.
David Isaacs: Yeah, yeah, I know, right? So it's probably the gaining an experience with age and trying to navigate, you know, as we get older and staying out late and trying to relive the glory days and all that.
David Isaacs: But, you know, I had Thursday and Friday off at work last week and
The Big Dog: Yeah.
David Isaacs: I got done on Wednesday and just had this feeling of, damn, I really wish I would have just taken time off to just not do anything. Because this is you know even more work.
The Big Dog: Right.
David Isaacs: And was fun. It was well worth it. But you know getting up the next day, got a pack. You got make sure you got everything. you know Who's bringing in what? What do we need?
David Isaacs: Where are we staying?
The Big Dog: Yeah.
David Isaacs: you know, that whole communicative process. So,
The Big Dog: That whole communicating thing, right?
David Isaacs: third yeah, yeah. So I want to touch on that ah bit, you know, communication with other people, but also communicating with myself. So one of the feelings that I had, know, when I did get clock out,
David Isaacs: Wednesday of last week, I was like, man, I really wish I would have just took time off not and didn't do anything. That hindsight of, yeah, I really just need a break to refresh and just not do anything.
The Big Dog: Right.
David Isaacs: And I had been that night specifically, you know, up kind of late trying to make sure I remembered everything. Everything was taken care of before having to, um,
David Isaacs: or getting to go on that trip. But I feel like communication with other people and communicating things, like especially at work, I think it's pretty easy. It comes with a job. It's kind of structured. But communication outside of that, you know some of the more abstract conversations or even communicating with myself, like, why do I not, I get to a certain point and I get to a feeling like, oh, I feel like I'm, know, doing too much. Like I'm, I'm out of touch. I'm out of balance.
David Isaacs: And, uh,
The Big Dog: Right.
David Isaacs: even talked to my therapist today about this, uh, this whole thing. Um, so it's not bad in any ways. It's just like, man, if I could really, you know, I could really get more in touch with myself and understanding some of this and having, you know, more of the balance during the day, cause I still have all the techniques of, you know, how am I feeling?
David Isaacs: how is the work going this doing too much um do i need to take a break do i need to you know stand up which i still do you know get up from the desk quite a bit walk around um but yeah and uh even this past week on tuesday
David Isaacs: you know we had taken over someone else's work because they had left the company and there's a report on tuesday which i'm going to make better, but it takes me like three or four hours to do and cross check, verify all the information's correct and all this.
David Isaacs: So, uh, I had been in the office about 12 hours and got up to leave and, uh,
The Big Dog: Yeah.
David Isaacs: i felt fine but on the way home like oh man I'm really wore out. But that whole day, I felt fine, and felt great. And like, you know, and I got the energy. going to get through this. And then, you know, just kind of hit a wall.
David Isaacs: I'm like, where did this come from? I don't really understand it. And, um, You know, kind of getting out of rhythm of, you know, I was going to bed around like 10 p.m.
David Isaacs: I think that night I was up till, you know, well past midnight. Had to get up the next day and it was the day that we were going to be out late.
David Isaacs: So I was out late again. Came back the next day. So had like, you know, six, seven hours of sleep. of Those two days.
David Isaacs: And the last night was a little bit better. But yeah, just kind of, you know. I feel like I kind of thrash myself out of the balance that I've worked so hard to get into that, you know, coming back to it is, it takes time. Like I'm patient with myself to, you know, get back on a good routine, but, um, we're really getting thrown through the loop.
David Isaacs: And again, talking to my therapist about it today of, There's always going to be external variables. There's going to be things that affect you that you can't really control.
David Isaacs: Your son doesn't want to go to bed, so you're late to the podcast recording. The Wednesday night goes on longer than he thought it was going to.
David Isaacs: Still got to get up, still got to show up, still got to, you know, do your work for the day. and
David Isaacs: You know, with Thursday and Friday off in a week, what do I have to get done? And of course, like the timing always matches up where someone's going to be people that almost never asked for things are suddenly asking for things.
David Isaacs: Um, so outside of that too, um, with the productivity and organizing and scheduling,
The Big Dog: Right.
David Isaacs: Um, you know, time for myself to how am I feeling this morning? What do I think I can tackle? You know, what is, what do I prioritize? What's, you know, the most important things?
David Isaacs: Um, what do I need to send communications out on and, and all that. So really I've done, You know, over the years, I feel like i've it's been necessary and I've gotten better at it. But just, yeah, the last couple weeks have seemed like, you know, I'm surviving, but not.
David Isaacs: It's a little too much outside of the locus of my control, if you will.
The Big Dog: Yeah, for sure. Yeah, and mean, you know, spending all that time to build up the routine that you've had and, you know, you felt and were successful doing it, right?
The Big Dog: You know, then all of a sudden, um life comes at you kind of fast and, you know, you got this couple of bachelor parties and work-related things and then you know, it feels like you know, for, for me, um you know, I'll speak for myself and I say, you know, it sometimes feel, it feels like the world's not to get you now. I know that's not true.
The Big Dog: Um, and it's definitely hard to like get out of thinking of that mode. Like, I feel like i have to like talk myself down, talk myself or build myself back up kind of things sometimes, you know, um,
The Big Dog: And, you know, best thing you can do for yourself is just as you're, as you're doing, just kind of give yourself a little grace and patience as you, as you are doing. So, you know, great job there, but you know, it's, yeah, I mean, outcome is kind of the hard part of getting back into that, that schedule. And that's certainly not easy. um you know, you're coasting and then, you know, you kind of get knocked down a peg or so, and, you know, and maybe you're not able to, or feel like you can take time for yourself and, know,
The Big Dog: you know, kind of just, um, slow down and really breathe. Right. So, um, you know, a when I get really stressed out, I sometimes will lash out at other people or I'll, you know, i I've talked about it before, but it's like we have, you know, I have self sabotaged in habits, especially when I get really stressed out. So, you know, I, I've, I slip all the time, you know, but, um, the, the thing that I,
The Big Dog: have prided myself on is just getting back up on the horse and, um, you know, moving forward. So, um, but you know, you've built a good, and like we talk about all the time, we've built, you've built a good foundation. So it's just, you know, getting back to the fundamentals of what you were of what you were doing before. Um, you know, and you'll, you'll hit that groove again. Trust me.
David Isaacs: that. Well, think in life we talk about the ebbs and flows and the
David Isaacs: not so much necessary, but it's going to happen. You know, things in life that pop up, things that get in the way.
The Big Dog: Yeah.
David Isaacs: And
The Big Dog: Things out of her control.
David Isaacs: Yeah. Um, really just like hurdles, speed bumps or what have you. And, uh, you know, putting in the extra effort to push through it. Um, but not losing that sense of self, not losing the,
David Isaacs: the progress that you've made towards something and kind of that realization and the understanding of it is outside of my control. Um, there are things within my control. So that's the scope of what I need to focus on.
David Isaacs: Um, But really just that same prioritization of focusing on what you can control when times are good and when times are bad and, you know, kind of keeping that steady state going when things aren't so steady. It's kind of been difficult for me.
David Isaacs: You know, just kind of the continuation of where I'm at now, where do I want to go, how do I get there? And, you know, kind of the checklist each day to go through it. but Yeah, it is, you know, just kind of like one ah one of those times, you know, and I think even me a few years ago would have thought, oh, you know, this is this is never going get better.
David Isaacs: What am I doing? Yeah. it's you know kind of that it's not apathy but more so acceptance of the environment that I'm in and getting better and getting that experience and navigating it, uh, which has been a good help.
David Isaacs: You know, I think the, um, we kind of tie some things in our life to, you know, doing something that's not similar, but it kind of teaches you the same lesson.
David Isaacs: And, uh, I think too, with, um,
The Big Dog: Yeah, that's a good point.
David Isaacs: you working with data or, you know, whatever it is, projects, your own personal journey. It's like, well, how do we quantify it? How do we, we have the data and now, what do we do with it?
David Isaacs: And, you know, your life like, well, I've identified this issue now, what do I do with it? And I think with talk about all the time, but with the coding bootcamp, I just wanted to, you know, go out and start working.
David Isaacs: But oftentimes you learn that that's not the best thing to do. There is time for alignment, scope, who's responsible for what, and then what steps do we take to be able to get there, how do we build from the bottom and what would be, you know, kind of put on the bottom or what do we prioritize first?
The Big Dog: right.
David Isaacs: And, uh, you know, in life, it's a little bit different with just different scales of things, you know, of your own physical health, mental health, uh, spirituality, um, you know, how do you interact with others, communicate with others, um,
David Isaacs: But the same time, it's like, you know, have that grace, have that understanding and give yourself credit when credit's due and criticize yourself when the criticism's due.
David Isaacs: You know, i could definitely be doing this better or, you know, I was at this place and now I'm here, what do I do next? So maybe criticize isn't the best word, but just, you know, look within yourself to see.
David Isaacs: Like I've identified that this is a specific thing that I wanna get better at. And I have been on that road. Am I still on that road? do i What's the next step look like? Am I ready to take that next step?
David Isaacs: And we talk about it all the time, but you know those are kind of some of life's grander questions. Someone doesn't just wake up one day and decide to start running and never stop.
David Isaacs: know There's some some other stuff that gets in the way.
The Big Dog: Right.
The Big Dog: From that day on, I was running.
David Isaacs: Yeah, you know besides forests.
The Big Dog: um yeah it i I really wish I could, you know, ah wish I was one of those people like you know, I could probably name. at least three or four people in high school. And, you know, granted I was in a class of about 200 kids. So we were like kind of on the smaller end for a high school class. Um, but really of that, like 190 to 200 kids only, i could name four who knew that they were going to do from the time that they were in elementary school.
The Big Dog: um, you know, they said that they're going to do it and they, they did it. Like they just knew all the steps that they had to take everything. They laid out everything in front of them. And these, you know, to start at four or five years old and now they're I'm 37. So, and all of those guys, you know, of three out of the four who are still alive, unfortunately passed, but still got into the field that she wanted to, which was a forensics, um,
The Big Dog: But they'll they all they're all in the field that they they said they were going to be in. So I really generally wish I was in that... I do them... Less than 2.5% of people, less than 2% of people who knew what they were going to do from the very beginning.
The Big Dog: um you know I didn't know what I wanted to do when I got out high school. I didn't want to know when I got married. I didn't know what I wanted to do when you know i was laid off. right Twice. so ah You know, it's the experience that we build in the journey along the way and gives us the fundamentals and the building blocks to understand of where we came from, how we deal with something and maybe have the insight to do something differently. So, um you know, and it's not to say that those people weren't, weren't battle tested because obviously they were, they had to pass, know,
The Big Dog: they had to pass all their classes. They had to get through college. They work hard and get to the careers that they're in You know, some of us take a longer journey. Some of us need to be more seasoned. Some of us need to make stupid decisions, decisions, um, you know, fuck up really badly to understand the scope of our maybe failures and, and, and, or just things that didn't necessarily go our way and that we have to learn from them. So, and, you know,
The Big Dog: folks can be kind of pragmatic like that, right? Like, uh, they understand with what works. So, um, I guess where I'm going with my point is that I didn't know what I always wanted to do. And, you know, I'm, I'm still learning. I'm still learning to be a dad. I'm still learning to be a homeowner. Like I have had to invest in more pea gravel than I wanted to, because we have chipmunks and all sorts of burrowing creatures in our neighborhood. So it's like, you know, you find this and, you know, I frustrated.
The Big Dog: absolutely freaked out because I hate dealing with rodents, but it is what it is. There's, uh, there's no one else. We're like, uh, in gods and generals. think was that the one with this Gettysburg? Maybe was the one before that, but you know, uh, Jeff Daniels character says, gentlemen, you'll notice that there is no one to the left of us. We are the end of the line. They are going to come here and try and break us.
The Big Dog: Uh, we are that person. have, even if we don't want to be, um you know, you can be like some people who i know who are in their early thirties and are now just moving out of their, you know, parents' house with no sense of direction. They finally got into a union after kind of just like, you know, and again, it's not to pass judgment on the people who who live at at home or anything like that, but it's just like, if, you know, if your goal is to, to just,
The Big Dog: live at home and do nothing with like that, then that's fine, you know, but you're not going to break out of your show. you're not going to learn anything. Whereas again, on the other side of of that, that spectrum of the people who I knew I went to high school with that, you know, everyone has them of where they're like, you valedictorian of their class and they're, you know, big, some giant corporate job, corporate pharmaceutical sales, and they're making six figures and whatever.
The Big Dog: point is for ah everyone else here in the middle we have a job to do we may not know what that job is but we have a responsibility to figure out what that is it may come in five years it kind may come in five minutes but we have to we have to learn to better ourselves um even if it comes at the cost of failing but you have to take that leap at some point so think this kind of turned on for me from ah going from, you know, just trying to pass it on to like a motivational speech. And i throw that needle so poorly. So I apologize to our audience. But, you know, it's kind of just like kept flowing and it's like, you know, if I could go back and do things differently, i don't know that I necessarily would because
The Big Dog: you know, i wouldn't have the sense of the dark sense of humor that I would, you know, I love that. I love, love everything about myself. I'm starting to learn to love everything about myself. Um, you know, but that took time.
The Big Dog: I was always so depressed. I would always get so hard on myself. I, and I still do, but I'm learning to be better. a friend asked me the other day, he's like, Hey, how's going? I haven't seen you in a while. You know, and it's, I see this person every three months if I'm lucky. um You know, I said, normal, I'll say, oh, you know, this project at work or, you know, my wife, this, son, that, you know, something to complain about. But I literally said, you know what? I got nothing to complain about for the first time in like my life.
The Big Dog: He goes, that's great. was like, I know it's a weird feeling. you know, not trying to turn mountain into an anthill or however that saying goes, but, you know.
The Big Dog: Yeah,
David Isaacs: A mountain out of a molehill.
The Big Dog: yeah there you go. Okay. And it was it was close. I always fuck up those old, old sayings. Make like a tree and get the fuck out. know, that's a, that's a popular one, but.
The Big Dog: hi think that's I think I, I think I'm good on that one.
David Isaacs: yeah, you can put that one down. Let me pick it up.
The Big Dog: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
David Isaacs: Well, I think, you know, was talking to a friend of mine, too. I think really, you know, how you're raised and what you're... For some people, things just click.
David Isaacs: For other people, it's like, you know, their parents did it and they got... um a respect for it um at an early age and thought that's what they wanted to do.
David Isaacs: And for some people, I think that holds true. You know, if both here parents work in the medical field, then you become inundated with the medical field and you have a good understanding of what to expect once you get into it.
David Isaacs: And that kind of helps bridge that pathway to get into it. I mean, there's still people that, oh, my dad was a baker or something and didn't want me to be a baker or a welder or what have you.
David Isaacs: oh But for some other people, it's like, you know, if the job's realistic or the field's realistic, for what you want to get into. You know, as a kid, I wanted to be an architect or for some other people.
David Isaacs: It's like, oh i want to be a astrophysicist or an astronaut or something or professional sports player, you know, pick us insert sport here.
The Big Dog: Right.
David Isaacs: And, yeah, i mean, just kind of the development is a little bit different. Or they went to a museum or they went to, you know, they went somewhere and something just clicked.
David Isaacs: And, yeah, I think that's great that someone could figure that out early on. And, you know, they're just on that path. from the get-go and it works out for them and I think that's really incredible for them but like you had mentioned what like two percent of people know exactly what they want to do and most other people are like well it's discovery it's figuring it out and sometimes life gets in the way and some Sometimes, you know, you thought that's what you wanted and it doesn't end up being what you wanted and you got adapt and you have to overcome, but that's just life, you know?
The Big Dog: Yep.
David Isaacs: Um, and even the people that, you know, maybe their career was set and they set out and their career, it was kind of the same pathway each time, but outside of that with, you know,
David Isaacs: relationships, you know, family things, where do you want to live? There's definitely a lot of different variables that exist out there, even if you know like one specific thing.
David Isaacs: Um, cause I don't think anyone really is like, well, I want to do this. I want to live here. i want to have this. I want to do that. And is able to accomplish some of those things. But I think and hope that most people can get pretty close in whatever aspect that it, um, that it is. But yeah, I mean, you really just have to put your mind to it. you have to experiment. You have to, you know, learn as you go, regardless if you're been on that path for so long or, you you want to adapt or you know, try something different.
The Big Dog: Yeah. brother, he's
The Big Dog: my you know my my brother was he's been working in the trade industry for, he just turned 46 on when Tuesday, um, you know, so he's 46. So he's working, he's been working in trade since he was 18, but he knew he pretty much knew. I mean, he's, you know, he's very, and I always try to compliment, um, trades people being very quick problem solvers is, you know, they got, um, they have a,
The Big Dog: potential sale in front of them, you know, but they also have to be kind of quick and have a quick analysis on that thing to make sure the billable hours are fair and, um, you know, all that type of thing. But, um, so they're kind of salesperson on top of mechanic, right. Or, you know, salesperson on top of insert trade here. Um, but again, he's, he's one of those people who knew that he kind of wanted to do that since he was young. i Like, like,
The Big Dog: You know, his, uh, our dad was, uh, you know, and he was in the military. Then he was, um, kind of just in and out of different like kind of corporate level jobs within the hospital system down in Detroit. So, um, e m he was always kind of intrigued by things like, um,
The Big Dog: um Sorry, there's a light. What's going on? Yeah,
The Big Dog: he knew what he wanted to do from a long time. He's always been tinkering. He went to high school they still offered shop class. He's always interested in woodworking. Always very handy. Even if it's something need help with that maybe seem a little bit more mechanical, he's always done help. He wanted to knew what he wanted to do. Um, my sister went to college for, think just general liberal liberal arts education, OCC. She, you know, she went for a couple years, then she did a lot of waitressing. Then eventually she went to massage school when she was 24, 25. Um, and she's going to turn 45 this year. So again, kind of 20 years. So, you know, both my siblings knew what they wanted to do from a maybe younger age than I did.
The Big Dog: um you know, me being the,
The Big Dog: we'll call it... you know, kind of stereotypical youngest child where they didn't really have any sense of direction. they had felt no pressure because, uh, you know, their, their older siblings kind of knew it, but yeah, I kind of I've fondered a bit.
The Big Dog: um but you know, ah luckily it was starting nursing school while i i met my wife when i was 25 and I just pandemic happened and I just didn't, I just decided i didn't want to do that anymore. You know, I,
The Big Dog: kind of knew how underappreciated nurses were already. And, you know, there's lot of, there's a lot of fight between the local hospital and a nursing union. So, um, you know, I don't want to be like the person hindsight 2020 and glad that I did that. It just, it wasn't for me. It didn't, I just didn't have the drive to do it. I was kind of just more doing it to be like, this is a good paying job. I can get this done in a couple of years, you know, I'll figure out something then, um, it just felt like another dead end that I didn't want to commit to.
The Big Dog: Um, you know, and even the the whole reason I even got onto what a bootcamp was was because it was the i scrolling doom scrolling through Facebook after I got laid off the first time. And there is a advertisement for a Michigan state university data analyst, um, bootcamp.
The Big Dog: And All the things that they were or you know that that job would entail was something that I had already kind of done on a day-to-day. Obviously, I didn't have like the advanced, maybe data analytical skills that they were looking for if I were to look for a job, but if I wanted to do a bootcamp, long story short, I didn't even end up doing one for another six months, and that was a coding bootcamp. And I initially started off doing backend.
The Big Dog: But then I switched to the front end kind of halfway through my my pre-course. So, again, even on something like that, I didn't even know what I wanted to do. And to be honest, I'm even in even transitioning to more of an ad administrator role than an actual coder. So it's like, you know, six, seven. Right. I don't know. It's.
The Big Dog: I'm still trying to figure things out. I'm doing a podcast and, you know, with the basis of what are we doing? And we're still trying to figure things out. So I think in a broader scale, um even the experts don't even have, and I call myself an expert and with an eye roll, but um we're still figuring things out. You know, it's the game of life.
David Isaacs: Yeah, well said. I don't know why I just got hit with a rush of fatigue. So we could probably leave it there unless you have anything else you wanted to touch on.
The Big Dog: No, I'm good, man. Just kind of going to get that little rant out.
David Isaacs: All right. Thanks, everyone.
The Big Dog: Yeah, thanks for listening.
