Pay it forward

Introduction and Jeffrey Aguilera's background 0:00 University of Phoenix, supported me with the learning credit, the real life. I got credits for living life. 0:07 And here I am thinking, I'm not a traditional student. And they're like, no, you've actually gone through some stuff that education can't teach you. 0:15 again, that's one of my biggest things is like, no, there's some stuff you can't learn in books. But what can you experience from being a father, from losing a parent, from being a brother, from dealing with 0:29 you know, family and all these different things, addiction, whatever, whatever we, you know, we go through and we all go through it. 0:36 And I realized we're way more alike than we are different. 0:45 you 0:51 Hello and welcome to the Degrees of Success podcast. I'm your host, Keith Chandler, and today we have an incredible guest, Geoffrey Aguilera. 0:58 Geoffrey is a proud father, a mentor, and someone who believes in paying it forward. He started his nonprofit, Helping Our Own Daily, with a mission to serve his community. 1:09 He is a phoenix, earning his bachelor's degree while making the president's list and later his master's degree with honors and distinction. 1:17 Along the way, he became a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society and the National Society for Leadership and Success. 1:25 He is a certified personal trainer, a marathoner, and a recipient of the Founders Dream Award at Discount Tire, where he now serves as a regional recruiter and an advocate for 1:36 community partnerships. Welcome, Geoffrey. And you said I could call you Geo, correct? 1:41 Yes, yes, definitely. I go by Geo my family calls me Geoffrey, but either one works. Geoffrey, I guess if I'm in trouble so you can you can say Geoffrey so 1:49 You're not in trouble with me, so I'll call you Geo. So before we dive into more about your incredible journey, I have to ask, you mentioned that you are a marathoner. Motivation behind running a marathon and personal growth 1:59 I've run a couple of half marathons in my life. I've never been motivated to actually complete a full marathon. 2:06 So curious what made you to want to make that leap to do a full marathon, and how do you get yourself in that mindset to run 26.2 miles? 2:15 Because I can... barely get myself in the mindset to run the 13 that I have to for a half. 2:21 Oh man, it's funny because I always feel like it's cliche because nobody wants to run miles. 2:28 I don't even want to run that many miles. I took it more of a challenge and a goal and it was something I wanted to strive for. 2:37 I knew it was going to be hard and that's kind of why I wanted to do it. I had ran a couple of half marathon and I felt the same way you did and it was just suggested to me. 2:48 It was a challenge to me. uh looking back and if I were to try to run one I was like, no, don't want to run one. 2:55 One's enough. So I don't even know what motivated me other than I wanted to push myself. 3:00 wanted to, uh I know I could do it, you know, and it's just a process same as anything else with growth. 3:07 You put yourself through it and uh you realize you can do something like that. So same to you, man. 3:13 You could do it the same as I did. It was hard. I would have took it a lot more serious had uh I 3:19 if I could go back, hindsight is 20-20, but yeah, it was definitely worth it. 3:25 Awesome, I might ask you for some pointers a little bit later, don't worry. uh Good playlists and something to drink. Early life, family influence, and educational journey 3:32 I'm all about the playlist as well. That's what keeps you motivated throughout the entire journey. 3:38 So let's dive back a little bit. So as I mentioned in your introduction, you have a bachelor's degree, a master's degree. 3:45 um You've had an interesting journey with education uh during your entire life. 3:51 So let's kind of start back at the beginning. how did education play a role in your life as you were growing up? 3:58 And then how did your family play a role in your education as you were growing up? Oh, I'd have to say, you know, looking back and reflecting, you know, sometimes when I speak about this journey, I came up, I'd like to feel in this generation where education 4:14 was so important. My parents often spoke about it. My parents didn't go, uh you know, anything past high school. 4:21 So uh I am a first generation graduate in my immediate family. 4:26 And I have cousins that have done as well, but they are also first generation graduates. It was so important. 4:32 It was something that was stressed to us early. ah And I knew it was important. ah And as a teenager, you know, I knew I had to do well in school. 4:40 ah As an adult, I didn't know how much that would have affected me if I didn't. 4:46 you you hear about the opportunities and I had dreams and different aspirations. uh So I knew education was the way I had to go. 4:54 And I think that's still relevant to this day is, you know, some. some paths require higher education, any path. 5:02 uh So in high school, I did good and some things happened in my personal life. 5:10 uh My parents split up uh my senior year or right before my senior year. So my grades really took a fall. 5:17 I was in advanced classes and I didn't apply myself, but I knew things, but I didn't apply myself. 5:25 And when my parents split, uh Me and my twin brother, we stayed with my dad and uh work was all that was important to me. 5:35 you know, I mean, I'm coming from a history going that far back. Like I would, I would skip school to go to work and help my dad with the bills. 5:46 yeah. And, and, uh I mean, you know, so it just, it just shakes me because I felt like that was the wrong thing to do at the time or that, 5:57 I knew it could affect me, but my dad was my hero, so I wanted to help support. 6:02 So I kind of just put that stuff to the side for the time being. 6:08 And I didn't graduate on time. I ended up having to go to summer school to graduate. uh the crazy part was I had enough credits to graduate. 6:16 I didn't have the right credits. I had like more than enough. It was like 28 credits to graduate. And uh I think I had 33, but I didn't have the one algebra credit that I needed to do. Early career aspirations and changing dreams 6:27 because of truancy and missing. So I had to end up going to summer school. I didn't get to walk. 6:34 again, looking back at how important that was for my dad, I think it broke his heart uh because he wanted the best for us and he wanted us to go to school and go to college and 6:44 just a better life for us. As you're talking about your education, uh what did you want to be when you grew up? 6:51 I always like asking that and understanding like how people have changed over the years. I remember my first grade career aspiration was to be a bus driver. 7:00 uh I was dead set on it. Yeah, I was just like, you know what? This looks like a lot of fun. You get to meet all of these interesting people. 7:07 They come on and off the bus. Like this is a rockin gig. So like what did you want to be when you grow up? 7:12 What were some of your early career aspirations? Oh man, it changed. That is also one of my favorite things to ask too, because you do get a little bit inside of what people have dreamt over the years and how it's changed. Overcoming setbacks and finding support in life 7:24 Because as an adult, you don't look at bus driver like, you get to meet all these random people and all these different people. 7:30 But I know one of the first ah dreams was to be a pilot. I don't know if it was Top Gun or something that came out. 7:38 I wanted to be a pilot. And then for the longest, I mean, from my teenage years all the way up to 7:44 like young mid 20s, I wanted to be uh a detective and wanted to be a police officer. 7:50 So I wanted to give back. I think even then, to me, I always wanted to help people. 7:55 I wanted to uh help people in the community. I wanted to uh just change their lives for the better ah and essentially catch bad guys, know, slide over the old school car and, you know, uh be a cool detective. 8:08 But that's what I wanted to be for the longest. That's wonderful. You know, your journey includes uh some setbacks and comebacks. 8:15 So in your journey of that experience, you know, what kind of kept you moving forward when life didn't necessarily go as planned and threw you some curve balls along the way? 8:24 When looking back at the same time I was thrown curve balls and reflecting on it now, life also brought me a lot of great people. 8:32 that's essentially what happened is at every single one of those setbacks, uh I was blessed to meet somebody. 8:42 I was blessed to have something moving forward. So you know, whether it was my daughters, it was definitely my daughters at one point. 8:51 uh you know, after losing my dad, it was it was my daughter's after, you know, uh going through a divorce and uh not getting into the police academy because of something that Self-care, community, and staying motivated 9:03 happened when I was 17. And and, you know, all these different things, I felt that somebody I realized there was somebody there with me, whether it was a close friend, somebody I met at work, somebody 9:14 that was really helping me in life, somebody that encouraged me. And that's what inspires me to pay it forward, because I know 9:22 regardless of who we are, where we're from, any of that, that we're all gonna get thrown a curve ball, that's for sure. 9:28 And that we're all gonna go through something that we just need that encouragement, we need that belief, we need that uh pep talk, we just need that shoulder to cry on, whatever 9:38 it may be as cliche as that may sound, uh that was always given to me at every single one of those moments in my life. 9:45 So I aim to try to be that for somebody else. That's beautiful. um You wear a lot of different hats. 9:52 You know, you mentioned we've talked about marathon running. We've talked about fitness trainer, the work that you do at Discount Tire. 9:58 ah You wear these hats. um How do you manage and how do you fill up these cups and how do you make sure that you're not overworking yourself? Work at Discount Tire and community involvement 10:08 How do you make sure that you're taking care of yourself in the process of your journey? 10:13 you got to forgive me because I'm a romantic. I believe there's so many cool, amazing, beautiful people. 10:21 There's so many different things you can learn, whether it be food. Music is always big, food and music. 10:28 To me, it's about meeting people where they're at. And again, somebody met me where I was at, whether that was low or whether that was high. 10:37 I'm constantly... I guess if I'm filling cups, like I would constantly get something poured into my cup just by meeting somebody, just by sharing food, sharing a moment with somebody, being there for 10:50 somebody when they lost somebody, because I know what that feels like before. I didn't know what it feels like then somebody was there for me. 10:56 So I just take a lot of these moments. essentially, it's really just about people and connecting uh with people. 11:04 And that's why the community is so big to me, because I wouldn't be who I am without the different people in my community and um throughout my life. 11:13 That's wonderful and you work a lot with your community today. Let's chat a little bit about the work that you do at Discount Tire. 11:20 What is your title, your official title? Um, so I am a regional recruiter, like talent acquisition, and, I, I'm big in community partnerships, thanks to, you know, a big part of my education. 11:33 So, um, I started changing tires, uh, same as everybody else does. And, and, you know, I was, was moving up and that is, again, I'm blessed to be a part of that company where, um, they put people first and they're big on culture and they're big 11:46 on paying it forward. And they're big on these things that have absolutely nothing to do with tires. And it's about dreaming big. 11:51 It's about. You know, being honest, it's about working hard, it's about having fun. um So I moved up, you know, I left the company after I lost my dad because I didn't know what I wanted to do. Educational challenges, perseverance, and returning to school 12:04 Again, I started when I was 18 and, you know, they're like, hey, you want to do this all the time? I'm like, tires, that's pretty lame. 12:10 Like nobody wakes up and wants to change tires or be, you know, but it was every bit of the people I worked with. 12:17 It was every bit of the people that helped me along the journey and the people I met there that I've had these lifelong connections. 12:24 And so my best friend, he got promoted to manager when I wasn't working, when I was a personal trainer and I was working at 24 hour fitness and these other places. 12:34 uh And he asked me to come back and I'd do anything for that guy. So you know, at the time we couldn't have facial hair, so I shaved my beard and that was a big thing for me, but I shaved it and I went back and... 12:47 uh you know, it was just different. I was I was a little bit older. I was a little bit wiser. 12:53 You don't you just it's funny because you don't realize what you don't know. You know, and you think, you know, we're just conditioned to think that we're supposed to have it all together after you graduate, after you graduate high school or college or 13:05 whatever it may be. We think that that success is linear and it's supposed to be on this timeline. 13:10 And my life told me everything that it wasn't. It was it was in these in these different moments. 13:15 So I wanted to be a part of pouring that back into somebody and uh they asked me to go back into management and I did. 13:25 And again, I had a different view. I wanted to help people. I wanted to pay it forward just as somebody did it for me. 13:32 And I continue to grow and move in. And I said you know what? I want to get back to school. uh I can't let it go that I didn't finish my degree. 13:42 Going through the divorce and losing my dad. You know, my academic, was on academic probation. 13:47 I was going through these things that I thought made me a failure. But again, I realized some of those setbacks, like you can't really fail unless you stop, unless you quit. 13:56 And, and you just, you, I came to understanding that everybody feels this exact same way at any given time, whether they went to, uh, you know, uh, Ivy league school, whether they 14:07 didn't go to school, they just, at some moment in their life, we just feel like we're not living up to our standard. 14:13 And, um, or our dreams and I just couldn't live after losing my dad. 14:18 I couldn't live small. And so I was like, I need to finish my bachelor's degree. And they encouraged me to go back to school. 14:24 So I'm working full time, you know, and that was another really big thing about University of Phoenix was I wasn't a traditional student. 14:32 And again, my preconceived notions and being misguided as a young age, I felt like that was a mistake. 14:38 I felt like I was missing out on something. But I've come to realize that's just part of my journey and everybody's journey is different. 14:44 And there is no comparison of success or the timeline is like, so I didn't go right out of high school. 14:52 There's a lot of people that feel like that. again, I wanted to be encouraging to those that felt the same thing, like, hey, you're not traditional. 15:01 Nothing in life is traditional, really. There is no blueprint for it. Even if we know it, some lessons are learned the hard way and some things you just have to go through. 15:10 You can't read about it. So I went back, I got my bachelor's degree, I got promoted at work, uh and I founded, I founded my nonprofit. 15:21 You know, during that time, I found my purpose that I wanted to be around people. 15:27 And I wanted to find a way to give back. I wanted to find a way to get, again, the community that raised me and that poured into me, how can I do that? 15:34 And I was, it was examples of just living life. Somebody bought you lunch one day, somebody checked in on you, somebody 15:40 asked you how you were doing, uh you know, to the extreme of, my best friend that I mentioned, he gave me a car at one point, just gave me gave me a car. 15:50 He was he was blessed. I mean, you know, we we joke about it. I tell everybody he gave me a Mercedes. 15:55 Was it like 10 years old? Yeah, sure. It was like an older Mercedes. But nonetheless, I tell everybody he was rich enough to give me a Mercedes. 16:02 But he was just blessed enough to pay it forward because it was done to him. And again, so I had all these different moments where I know it's important to Pursuing higher education and personal development 16:11 share a meal it's important to share a conversation. It was these things that money couldn't buy. So I said, how could I do that? 16:17 How could I create a place where people could do that? So, you know, uh the nonprofit, it's small things. 16:24 It's connecting people. It's giving lunch. It's giving a coat drive. It's showing up to schools and doing field day. 16:31 It's all these different things that we see every single day in our lives that we can look back and say, oh yeah, somebody did that for me. 16:38 You know, so I wanted to create those moments. And I, again, I was just blessed with my journey that I knew God had something planned for me and I wanted to be wherever, because I knew that those were blessings for me in the 16:52 time I didn't. In the time I was like, why am I a failure? Why do I keep messing up? Why am I not good enough? 16:59 And, you know, looking back, it was like, I'm glad I wasn't able to do some of the things I thought I wanted to do. 17:05 It would have kept me from who I am or, you know, so Again, I'm just grateful for the journey and I really want that to be a message to people because there is sometimes it will not sometimes we're going to fail. 17:17 We're going to fall short and you just have to keep going because it's going to take you somewhere else. 17:22 You know, long story short, ah I guess not. You know, I get a little ah I talk a lot. 17:29 She tells me my wife tells me I yap and it's only when I'm passionate about something. I love listening. 17:36 Thank you. uh I get promoted. I started my nonprofit. uh I'm trying to, you know, pay it forward. 17:45 I'm trying to do things. um And I forget a counselor calls me at University of Phoenix and was, you know, I was finishing up my degree. 17:53 And, you know, they were just, they were like, Hey, you know, you'll be finished. And I forgot how the conversation went. 18:00 But the person asked me and I wish I really wish I would have remembered the name. And because it just seems like a two minute conversation that's changed my life forever. 18:08 They said, have you ever thought about, you know, do you want to do your master's? And I just paused for like, felt like an eternity. 18:15 And I was like, I never thought about doing a master's. it's kind of like the marathon is kind of like, was like, oh, I just finished a bachelor's degree from where I started out. 18:26 I mean, the degree took forever because I left, I came back, I was on academic probation. 18:31 But the way I finished, I finished with, you know, being on the presidents list, I finished with with better grades when I applied myself. 18:38 And that was the theme. It's not about how long it takes. It's not about how you start. 18:44 It's about how you finish. So here I am riding this runner's high, so to speak. I just finished this marathon of a bachelor's degree and I'm like, I could do that. 18:53 And they were like, yeah, you could. Essentially, excuse me, if you want to do it, you're kind of already accepted. 19:00 So you just need to figure out if you want to do it. would, you know, you still apply. And I'm like, and I remember not telling anybody. 19:08 not even my wife, we were dating at the time. And because I was scared to share it, but I said, you know what, I'm going apply. 19:16 I I kind of wanted this to be more of, I wanted to share it after I was done. 19:23 I wanted to to kind of not talk about it, not brag about it or not and just do the work. 19:29 Just keep my head down. I want to do the work. So I remember not telling I eventually when I got accepted, you know. 19:35 and we're talking on the phone. They're like, yeah, so just do it. And I was like, all right, sure. And they're like, OK, well, when would you want to start? 19:42 Like, you want to wait a year? Oh, definitely not. Like, when? The earliest I can start. 19:48 They're like, well, you graduate with your bachelor's in May. uh The class starts in July. 19:54 I said, sign me up. I don't want to stop. uh Again, going back to that work ethic that you have. 20:01 So I was like, so sign me up. And I didn't tell anybody, you know, and I'm just signing up, you know, my wife at the time knew and ended up telling my best friend and, you know, my brother. 20:12 uh But I just, I didn't, I never have gave, I never gave more than one degree. 20:20 never gave it another thought. And again, reflecting back, I think like how much this would mean to my dad because it was so important to him. 20:28 Education was so important. The community was so important to him. And I think about, you know, what this would mean to him and what this means for my daughters. Career growth, community impact, and paying it forward 20:37 That was a big thing for me is I knew my daughters were going to grow up and at some point in their life, they were going to come to a really bad spot and they were going to either 20:47 look at me and say, you know what, dad, like kept going and he went through this or they were going to look at me and say, yeah, you know, I don't know how to handle adversity. 20:55 I don't know how to handle failing. uh So I couldn't let them down. That was my ultimate, you know, motivator. 21:01 I had them depending on me, whether I'm here or not when they're, you know, 30 or 40. 21:08 I know that our time isn't promised. So what am I doing with my time right now? And that's what's spurred me to like, all right, finish your degree, go higher. 21:16 And I, and I got, I received my first A after my first class and just something in me said, can you make, can you, let's just try to make all A's. 21:26 And I've never been a uh A student. never, never even thought about applying myself like that. 21:31 But the discipline and the things that I learned along the way, um, that I didn't know when I was 18, not because I was, you know, I was just ignorant. 21:39 I just was too young to, to know life is, the best teacher. And I just didn't have experience, but now that I had it, I said, can I really apply myself? 21:47 Can I get, can I get all A's? And sure enough, I just made sure I set the time and here I go. 21:53 And so. When I got closer to finishing the master's program, I shared it with uh my mentor. 22:00 He's an assistant vice president and we had these conversations and he knows, he started out as a tire tech same. 22:06 And uh I was sharing that I was gonna finish a master's program. 22:11 And that was the first he heard of it. And so his initial reaction was like, wow, like he was happy for me, but he said, we're gonna lose you. 22:18 And I said, I don't want that to be, that's not the case. Because to move up, you don't need degrees. 22:25 Obviously it helps, but we promote from within 100%. I'm not trying to promote it, but there's a current CFO there that started as a tire tech. 22:33 So the journey and the path is always there. But we also give tuition reimbursement. We also want people to achieve their dreams. 22:39 That's the mission is to make dreams come true. So that was my dream was to get a bachelor's, to start a nonprofit. 22:46 And we realized your dream changes. So I said, in this moment, said I don't want to leave, I said, actually I have a new dream. 22:52 And he's like, what is that? I said, if I could find a way to still work within the stores and the people and the young men and women that come through there, they're 18, they're 23, they're 25, they're 30, 23:03 just like I was at some point going through these things, I'd like to encourage them. And I said, if I can find a way to be a part, like giving back to the community, we, you know, as a company, you take in from communities, they help your business, but what are we 23:19 giving back? you know, I... And within my store had done a few things with local nonprofits. 23:24 I showed up to schools and there were things that they give us the autonomy to do. And, but I said, you know, I don't think this exists. 23:31 I know it doesn't exist uh within our company on an operations level or anywhere else. 23:37 I said, I would like to do that. And em he said, okay, let me, let me, let me do something. Let me make a call. 23:43 And that was, we talked about it and two weeks later. I'm, I didn't know what it was, but I'm sharing the same passion with a vice president of our. 23:50 of our company, you know, I know now is like a different department living our values and I didn't know what it was. 23:56 You know, I'm just, I'm just passionate about, Hey, this is what I want to do. We don't have one of these in the Dallas region. 24:02 Can, can I go to stores? Can I, can I, you know, build connections within the community? You know, I was learning about corporate social responsibility. 24:09 I just learned that in one of my classes and I was like, man, I want to be a part of that because I love the company. 24:15 I love the community. And so here, I mean, I made like University of Phoenix, I'm telling you, I was just, I was on it. 24:20 So I was making, I made a PowerPoint and I was just going all out and I didn't know essentially it was an interview. 24:28 I thought I was just sharing my dream and my idea. And, you know, they asked me, they said, would you, would you move out to Scottsdale? Future goals, legacy, and giving back 24:35 Cause it's in, it's in Phoenix, our corporate office. And, and I said, you know, I, I would, I would consider it, you know, I'm, I was engaged at the time. 24:46 My daughter, you know, she'll be 16 next month and have a younger daughter who, who is turning 13 in March. 24:52 And so I was like, I really want to be a part. I never wanted to miss out on their lives. 24:58 So I said, I will consider it. uh But probably I really want to stay here in Dallas. 25:03 And they said, OK. And I never heard back again. I didn't know it was an interview. But I'm used to trying or something not happening. 25:13 I'm used to stuff not going perfect right away. So I said, OK. 25:18 I remember telling myself, I'm still going to do what I said I was going to do. I want to be the person I said I am. So I'm still going to work with the community. 25:24 I'm still going to work with this nonprofit. I'm still going to mentor people. I'm not leaving. 25:30 And six months later, they said, we want to create a position in the region. 25:36 Would you take it? And I immediately said, yes. I didn't even know. I've never recruited before. 25:41 And they were like, it's essentially recruiter, they deal with. You can work with community partnerships. 25:46 And, you know, I've been there a year and half and, and, um, I, my second quarter, I got recruiter of the quarter. 25:54 I'm again, it's just building. It was connecting with people. Recruiting is just meeting people where they're at. 25:59 It's just knowing them there on the journey. I get to, I get to talk to these candidates that say, Hey, I want to go to school for this. 26:06 And I know from my experience that there's places that support them and there's, there's colleges like university of Phoenix that exists that again, knowing. 26:16 knowing what I know now as an adult, like it wasn't transactional. It wasn't like, hey, pay us your tuition and we'll give you this diploma or this degree. 26:27 It was meeting people like Vicki at the ceremony. It was meeting all these different people in my class that were going through life. 26:36 And it wasn't traditional. So I knew I had a really good place to be uh to guide them. 26:44 whether it be to university or Phoenix or not, but that was my experience. So again, I was sharing what I had in my own journey, sharing that. 26:51 So when I talk to these candidates and I tell them I got a bachelor's degree and a master's degree while working full-time here, and I got it from here and there, just like, 26:59 wow. And I would have never thought, I told them 20 years ago when I started, I would have never thought I'd be in a new corporate, I was a blue collar worker. Closing remarks and gratitude 27:07 I thought my hands were always going to be dirty. I'm not used to sitting behind a desk or a camera. 27:14 But now I'm saying things like, uh you know, bandwidth and, and let's circle back and saying things like that, which I never thought I would say you know, so, so it's, just, 27:26 that is, that is essentially how life works. Like you never know how far you're going to go until you just, you just go through it. 27:34 You try, you stay positive. You, you dream big, you know, you give back, you pay it forward because 27:40 somebody helped you get there. again, through this path, there's been, whether it was my mentor who said, let me make a call, whether it was my best friend who said, hey, I need your help. 27:49 Can you come back? Whether it was my fiance saying, yeah, you could do that. You could do a master degree all the way back to my dad saying, hey, just be proud, work hard, go to school, get an education, give back. 28:03 Or my daughters who, they're teenagers now, and so now it's a big heartbreak. 28:09 But back when they were younger, they just thought I was the best thing out there. They thought I was stronger than Captain America. 28:14 They thought I was a hero. So I rode that high for a very long time. oh you know, they loved me the way I needed to be loved in that moment in my life. 28:23 And, and, you know, so there's just, there's these different things along, along the way that, that, that I realized that have helped me. 28:31 There's people, there's these conversations, there's these moments you have with people. What do you have coming up um and what goals do you have set forth for yourself? 28:41 I think learning is always in there. There's some certificates and things I'm looking at, even if it's not a doctorate. 28:49 Maybe we can compromise on um some other things. But um I think just growing and I think a legacy and I think of, obviously my dad, I mentioned him a lot, but his legacy is within me and what I do. 29:07 um The reality is, when I'm gone someday, I I wanna leave a legacy of optimism, love, encouragement. 29:18 Because these are just moments um in the grand scheme of things. 29:25 what will my daughters remember? What will the people around me, what will we remember when we look back and we reflect? 29:34 I want it to be, you know, of love and encouragement. Maybe it's a song, maybe it's, you know, oh maybe it's a meal, maybe it's a, you know, the first time trying a certain food with somebody. 29:46 So just these everyday gifts that we have, oh you know, I want to leave that, you know, I want to leave that impression of helping somebody, of encouraging somebody, giving kind 29:59 words, using words for good. Geo Aguilera, thank you so much for joining Degrees of Success podcast. 30:05 Thank you. Again, I'm grateful to be a part of this. Thank you for having me. I'm just super grateful. 30:11 Excellent, Geo Aguilera, thank you so much for joining us. That brings us to the end of this episode of the Degrees of Success podcast. 30:18 Don't forget to like, subscribe, and comment. And thank you again for joining us. We'll see you next time.