with guest Herb Lang

An active speaker, actor, entrepreneur, motivator, and author, Herb “Flight Time” Lang is an 18-year former player and coach with the World-Famous Harlem Globetrotters. He is originally from Brinkley, Arkansas, where he was a former All-State standout student-athlete graduating at the top of his class while serving as senior class president. Herb later obtained his degree in Education from Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport. During his tenure there, he led the Trans-America Athletic Conference in scoring and won the National Association of Basketball Coaches Slam Dunk Contest on ESPN. 

Throughout his travels, to nearly 90 countries while entertaining as “Flight Time,” some of Herb’s most memorable moments include meeting Pope Francis, President Obama, and appearing on numerous national television commercials and reality TV shows—most notably CBS’s “The Amazing Race.” He currently resides in Ruskin Florida with his wife Elena. Herb is the proud father of three Antonio, Nicholas, and Reya Lang, and continues to make a difference through kindness and his life experiences, which he believes are the keys to maximizing what we get out of life. He is a true believer in that we are all rich with love and kindness. #kindnessisfree

https://www.linkedin.com/in/themotivationalspeaker

Instagram/Twitter @datrotter4

Joe Bukartek empowers people to live intentionally. As host of the podcast, Intentionally Ever After [www.IntentionallyEverAfter.com], Joe is an ultramarathon runner and pickleball enthusiast, living at the beach with his family as part of his own curated intentional lifestyle.

As a board certified Intentional Lifestyle Coach, Joe helps individuals to have lives and careers that are wildly more fulfilling. Ready to curate a life of intention? Connect with Joe on his website [www.joebukartek.com] or LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joebukartek/.]

Joe also helps emerging adults build lifelong success beyond the nest in his specialized program, Intention to Launch. This results-driven partnership guides participants as they prepare to leave home and discover their ideal lives. Ready to launch? Check out [www.IntentionToLaunch.com]

If you would like to have your own intentional conversation with Joe, either on or off the air, visit https://www.joebukartek.com/contact

Check out more episodes at intentionallyeverafter.com

Transcript

0:07

Well, for me to live intentionally means to kind of have a in your mindset, a purpose. Like, for example, myself growing up, it was probably around the age of, I'd say ten years old, but I knew that I wanted to become involved in sports. I knew that I wanted to become an athlete or players thought I'd somehow become involved in it. So what I begin to begin to do is I begin to surround myself with people with those same intentions, those same ideas. I begin to educate myself a little bit more on the things that they do and what it took for them to get there. This is intentionally ever after. Join Intentional Lifestyle Coach Joe Brokercheck for series of personal conversations and coaching sessions with various people about how living with intention shows up for them. Greetings everyone. Welcome to another episode of Intentionally Ever After the day. I have the great delight and privilege of speaking with Mr. Herb Lane. Herb, welcome. Thank you so much for having me on your show, man. I appreciate it. Thank you. Much Gratitude. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Herb, will you kindly introduce yourself to folks? Well, my name is Herb Lang. I am a small town guy from. From Arkansas. I grew up with a young mother, and mother had me at the age of 16. By the time she was 25, there were six of us. I mean, we never had a lot growing up. We had pretty much had everything that we needed. And growing up the way that I did it taught me a lot of gratitude and made me a lot of who I am today. Eventually, you know, from growing up in the small town of Arkansas, I ended up with a basketball scholarship to the smallest Division one school in the nation, which is sent in their records, is located in Shreveport, Louisiana, where I went to have a pretty good basketball career winning the NCAA College Slam dunk contest back in 1998, which this is the 25th anniversary, which is pretty cool of me winning the dunk contest on ESPN back then and that which kind of led me to my Harlem Globetrotter career. I played for the Harlem Globetrotters as a player coach, as flight time and as flight time or flight time length with the Globetrotters. A lot of people may remember me from my three seasons on CBS is The Amazing Race with my good friend and former teammate and partner Big Easy Lofton, who played a few years after me. But I mean, it was a great run that we had and since retiring from the Globetrotters in 2017, I've gone on to become a motivational speaker. I had a chance to do some acting and just had a chance to sell insurance. I mean, you name it. I've experimented and tried a few different things out, just trying to figure out exactly what this journey is. And I know for the most part of it is spreading kindness in the way that I did those 18 years, traveling to almost 90 different countries around the world. I was a globetrotter. Wow. I wasn't wasn't totally tracking the number. But you looked at least three or four people's life experiences in that bio easily. What what a fascinating, fascinating life. Thank you again for for being on to share your perspectives here. Very, very excited to be talking to you. What I'd like to do, Herb, is to kind of do a rapid fire in the beginning here, get some very brief responses to these questions, and then afterwards dig a little bit deeper. If you're okay with that. I'm okay with it. Thanks again, man. I appreciate you having me on your show. Yeah, for sure. Okay. Let's begin. Herb, what does it mean to live intentionally? Well, for me to live intentionally means to kind of have a in your mindset, a purpose. Like, for example, myself, growing up, it was probably around the age of, I'd say ten years old that I knew that I wanted to become involved in sports. I knew that I wanted to become an athlete or player sports somehow become involved in it. So what I begin to begin to do is I begin to surround myself with people with those same intentions, those same ideas. I begin to educate myself a little bit more on the things that they do and what it took for them to get there, which was academics. It was a lot of sacrifice as far as sometimes having to work out and go run and miss events that you may have been able to go to to be able to attain a certain goal. And so with that intention, I am still today in that, you know, in alignment with the things that I decided I wanted to do ten years old, that led to, you know, Harlem globetrotting, that led to coaching kids clinics, speaking in front of people. And that that's been my intentions ever since I was ten years old and is continuing. That hasn't changed very much even right now. At 46 years old. They go herb that first of all, you are the worst at Rapid Fire God, To be honest with you, that was a great answer. But I'm going to ask you much more about all of that as we move on. All right, Let's do it. What is one change in habit that has had an exponential payoff? I would say one change in habit. Since I moved to California six years ago from Louisiana, I'd have to say my eating habits have become a little bit more conscious. That's great. I'm so going to ask you about that. What have you said no to that has made a significant impact in your life? Well, certainly early on, as a child, I would say not a child, but a teenager. It would be alcohol and drugs. Beautiful. What ever in your life feels just about perfect? Let's be honest with you, Joe. Nothing seems to be absolutely perfect because I'm always striving for that perfection. So therefore, I'm never really satisfied. Who I love that Who is someone you admire and what do you admire about them? I admire my wife. I've been married for about a year now, and I just admire the way that she gets up. And I mean, she works out. She runs our businesses in a professional way. And, you know, being married now for over a year and being together six years, I definitely admire and she inspired me. What do you imagine some people admire about you? Well, for me, I think that some people that know me, they probably admire my determination and my willingness to never give up on my dreams. So good, so good. All right. Thank you for playing along to the rapid fire portion of this. Oh, that was it. And for being a good sport. That was it. For Rapid Fire. Yeah. No, now, now we're going to go back in. Right? And now, you know, the gloves are off, the brakes are off. We're going to we're going to get deeper into this. So back to that first one place of living intentional, right. The key word you mentioned right off the bat was purpose. Right. And you knew early on you you connected to the idea of sports. You wanted to be into that. Can you please take us a little deeper into what does it mean to live intentionally? Well, I mean, again, to live intentionally is to have a mindset that has a purpose, ends with the purpose. And so for me, again, beginning back at the age of ten years old and really getting into seventh grade and plan organized sports for the first time was when I really, really, really realized the impact that sports could have on my life and the impact that I could have on others life if I used the gifts that I had, you know, in a proper way. So again, early on seventh grade, that's when I met my high school basketball coach who was a fifth Ed Major, and he was a person that took me under his wings and kind of molded me into the person that I eventually became in preparation for college and, you know, instilling in me the importance of education. And so, I mean, just like him, I ended up getting my degree, college degree in health and physical education. And so with people like that behind me and surround himself with the group of friends who also wanted some of the same things that I did, we were able to graduate high school with honors. Five of us were able to get athletic scholarships, you know, which was important because a lot of us come from backgrounds that didn't have the means and finances to pay for education. And so these are things that that inspired me. And so a part of what I learned throughout my journey as a globetrotter was giving back. When you travel around the world, you get to see things from a different perspective. Perspective that's a lot different from your 3000 population town of Brinkley, Arkansas. You know, when you begin to travel to places such as Rome and Italy and Paris, London, over to China, and that has an impact on, you know, So, yeah, intention is having a purpose and making sure that you do everything that you can and surrounding yourself attain in the knowledge that you need. And, you know, doing the research, doing the information and I mean gathering information. All right, now, again, young people and even us adults, we have no excuses now because you can Google everything and find all the information that you need. True, Right. The access is more readily available than ever before, seemingly. Right. Right. Talk to me a little bit about this idea of kindness. Right. That you you've really embraced and used almost as a filter through which to live, seemingly to live your life through this conversation already. But the previous one we had, is this something that you've reflected upon at a certain point in your life? You identified like, Yeah, this is it, this is my theme, Or is this something that even as a kid you were told or taught about kindness, where did that kind of come from? I think that it was something that was definitely instilled in me as a kid, again by my grandparents. I was lucky enough to have my grandparents around a host of aunts and uncles around to help help raise me and my grandmother on my mother's side. She was really impactful in the sense that she I just remember as a young young boy, walking around the different older people's houses that she would go and check on them and make sure they had food and, you know, things like this for no particular reason. I don't think she was getting paid to do these things. And she was really heavily involved in the church as well. So she used to take me on a lot of the trips that she would go on with the revival services and tent revivals and things like that. So I would see preachers in front of host of people, you know, spreading hope with me. It was something that, you know, kind of inspired me, not that I'm a pastor or a preacher, anything like that, but just knowing the impact that I could have on people by spreading something that's positive is something that instilled in me today. It led to me eventually in college, taking public speaking. It led to me probably extended my career as a globetrotter from my father. It would be a 3 to 5 year career into an 18 year career because I was able to get and I'm still capable, of course, which I do get in front of large groups of people and spread hope and positivity and the message of kindness. And that's been kind of the the song and story of my life. Everything that's happened monumental, pretty much in my life has been a result of someone being kind enough to stand up and believe in me. And these are the stories that I share with the groups of people that I talk to, you know, the schools, the universities and the businesses. Yeah, well, talk to me about a 3 to 5 year life of a globetrotter making it 18. That that that's pretty significant. How does someone do that? Well coming in to the Globetrotters back in 1999, my nickname was Flight Time, so I was known for my leaping ability. But one of the things that I learned early on was that if you wanted to have a longer career, you had to pick up on other things. You had to. I had to become a dribbler. Which with what? Curly Neal, which you a lot of people know this and they're drilling that. He was a guy who slid on the floor and and dribbled around. I had to become what we call an advanced ambassador. And that's a person that could go into the schools and speak in front of a large group of people. The person who could go into the hospitals and the businesses and even sit down at some of the business meetings and try to make sure that certain partnerships and sponsorships go through. So the first part is actually being able to play basketball and and all of that. But there is other things that will extend your career. If I just came in this flight time with my leaping ability, eventually that leap in ability doesn't last as long. But if I'm able to do other things within the organization, I think that's with any other job, you know, you want to make yourself as valuable as you can and that that will extend your year from your career, from 3 to 5 to 10 to 15 or even maybe 15 to 20. Those last couple of years. For myself, I was a player and coach at the same time, so I did a dual role. Yeah, and it's fascinating. And, and also during that, that tenure, Joe, I mean, this contract that I signed, I signed 17 one year contracts and one two year contracts. So every year your job is on the line. Wow. Taco presser. Yeah, every year. Cook Wow. So how did you get that two year? That sounds pretty, pretty unique than if he had a two year contract. What happened there? Well, I think it was probably midway through my career, and they knew that they weren't at least keep me for another couple of years and the salary kind of kept going up. So we just kind of kept it the same for a couple of years. And I mean, for me it was pretty cool to know that I had a two year contract as opposed to that one year. But one of the things about that is that when you get that, you have to still remain consistent and who you are to continue to be productive, can't be comfortable. They did go back for the one year after that. But yeah, that was a little too risky for them, it sounds like. Right? Right. So what is one change in habit that has had an exponential payoffs? You referenced once you moved to California, your eating habits. Tell us more about that. Yeah, I would say certainly my eating habits, they changed up living in Shreveport, Louisiana. I mean, you have a lot of good Cajun food, good southern cooking, fried food. And I mean, even growing up in Arkansas, that was a lot of what I, you know, growing up. But it seemed like even on the road, it was a little bit difficult at times over the course of 18 years to eat properly all the time, because sometimes you get back to the hotels and there wouldn't be no proper food where you could, you know, that would be healthy for you. So you end up eating a lot of hamburger sometimes and you may get a salad here and there, but, you know, it's something that at that time when you're playing every single day, it doesn't really affect your body as much. So you can kind of maintain the weight. But when you go back home and you're not on the bus every day or pulling your luggage off the bus or, you know, walking up to a different hotel room each and every night, you're probably not as active. So you get mixed that with good fried food. And in Cajun food, you know, you begin to put on weight, though. For me, well, my career ended actually in 2017. A few months after that, I moved out to California. And one of the things I noticed was there were more healthy food options available than there were down there in Shreveport, where I was living there for almost 25 years. And so I just began to eat a little bit different, and I began to notice a difference in my weight. I began to do things like meditate, which I've never done before. I started to hike, I started to ski. So just to experience the new things along with just not saying that I don't eat hamburgers and things like that, but I also make sure that I do the things I need to do physically as far as working out and watching what I'm eating and making sure those are the things I'm consuming each and every day. So yeah, that's one of the habits that I'm starting to gather that change as my eating habits. Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. Although if I'm Go ahead. I was going to say and from that again, when I, when I retired in 2017, I was about to 25. And now the weight that I'm at now is about 195 to 200. This is the the way that I was at in college in my early Globetrotter days. So it's definitely had a significant impact. It sounds like it. Yeah. I was going to say there's just as much access to the less healthy types of foods as well, right? Well, yeah. You can get them just as easily, I imagine. Well, yeah, you can certainly get them just as easy. But, you know, when you're driving up and down the know the highway or the four lane or the interstate, you look over there again, there's healthier options even on the menu as far as like vegan and gluten free. And yeah, there's there's there's different options for sure. And I've traveled to all 50 states around the United States. And there's a difference in every demographic of the United States. Every section as far as the types of food are served, which is pretty cool. That is cool. Yeah. Speaking of travel, I imagine there's lots of places where you can access drugs and alcohol right? That is something you've said no to that has made a significant impact in your life. Tell me about that. Well, know, growing up as a young boy in small town Arkansas, believe it or not, there were access to, you know, things such as, you know, marijuana and alcohol. But for me, you know, knowing that my intention was to go beyond that, one of the things that my high school basketball coach used to tell me in high school is to say, you know, if you start doing that stuff now, what are you gonna do when you get old enough to actually do it to have a drink? You don't already have experienced it. So for me, that was something that kind of locked in. And so I think that if I had not had that wisdom, you know, as a as a young boy, it could have easily led me down a different path because I was around people who drank and smoke and did these things that I knew in my mind that if I had decided to do those things at that point, the outcome, the intention that I had for my life wouldn't have come to pass. So yeah, definitely had a significant impact. And then you chose to continue to not drink. Is that is that how that played out? Oh, no. One May 21 years old. I'm old enough to drink. And so, I mean, of course, on the road sometimes after the game we go out and have drinks and celebrate and, you know, I'm old enough now, you know, to do that. And that's something that I definitely don't do as much as I did when I was traveling around the world, which is another habit that I'm glad that I've been able to break. And this probably helped me lose some weight as well. But my wife and I, we certainly enjoy a glass of wine every now and then. And as I have mentioned to you, we recently celebrated our first anniversary. I went down to Napa for some wine tasting and dinner for the day. Yeah, that's fabulous. Not that one can't go to Napa and not drink, but it just seems like a very different experience. Well, yeah. Oh, yeah, certainly. I mean, it's a beautiful, beautiful place. The landscape and the vineyards and they have things that you can do. There are Napa, of course. Yeah. What area in your life feels just about perfect? Well, to be honest with you, Jo, nothing ever really seems perfect to me because I continue to imagine, you know, I continue to dream. And as long as I'm continue to imagine and dream, things will never be perfect and to accomplish something. But one of the things in my life is that once one accomplishment happens does mean that you get to forget about the other things that you dream about. You know, as a young boy, again, I mentioned to you that I had the intentions to become a professional athlete. I wanted to go to college and these are things that happen. But also as a young boy, I had imaginations of being an entertainer, of being on television. And these things happened during my career as a globetrotter. But even after that now post globetrotting, I still get to dream about these things. I still get to based on my experiences that I had on the Amazing Race and, you know, being on The Price Is Right and have an appearance on The Bachelor and like all these different experiences are things that I enjoy. And so even now, since I retired, I continue to explore these different avenues as an actor. Right now in a movie that's coming out April 14th called Sweet Water, that's coming out in theaters everywhere, and even documents that I'm working on right now that I'm hoping to get produce here in the next year, I'm still continuing to to explore those dreams that I had as a young boy. Although I can't run up and down the court and dunk a basketball the way that I used to, I can still continue to move around, be healthy, and at the same time explore the dreams that I had as a young boy. Wow. So it sounds like the idea of perfection to you is something that is done or complete. Is that is that fair to say? Yeah, I would certainly say something that is done or completed. And I don't think that I mean, in this life, nothing's ever really done. Oh, you're not done? Not from what I can hear so far. You're not. It's it's just what's next? What can I do next? We have to continue to continue to evolve. I mean, again, it is it's what's next. You have to try different things. Some of the things that I've even done since leaving the Globetrotters, I've driven lives, I've done leadership school, I've done DoorDash, I've given TED talks, I've sold insurance. You know, I've acted, I've written a book I've caught. Like there are so many things that we, you know, we can do of, you know, branded myself, swag ball, kind of safari. And so that, I mean, there are so many things that we get to do. We have to continue to learn and continue to explore until we find whatever it is that gets us up every day and gets excited. And that could be a combination of things. And for me that is a combination of things just from trying and exploring of different other things. What do you think it is that motivates you to say to stay so passionate and driven? What motivates me, I would say early on the thing that motivated me was I want to make my mom proud. I wanted to make my mother proud. She was a young mother. She had six of us again by the time she was 25, 26 years old. And I saw her struggle. I saw her provide for us, and sometimes alone as a single mother, just make magic out of nothing. And for me, at a young age, you know, around ninth grade, I was really inspired to make the grades because I wanted to go to college and I knew she couldn't afford to pay. I wanted to, you know, her to be able to open up the newspapers or turn on the TV and sometimes see me there because I knew these things, that these are things that made her proud and that was early on. That was the thing that, you know, that that inspired me. And as I got a little bit older and start to have kids now I have two kids and playing with the Globetrotters, they were my inspiration. You know, when I'm working out in the gym or when I'm running at 3 to 4 miles or when I don't feel like getting up, sometimes during those days, I would think about them and they would be the the reason why I'm able to overcome, you know, the mindset of of not being able to complete someone, not being able to do something. So it changes over time. And again, now it's still my kids, but it's also my wife, you know, newly married. So it's that, you know, she inspires me. That's great. That's great. Thank you for sharing. Of course. Thank you. Thanks for asking. Yeah. So this transitions nicely. Who is someone you admire and what do you admire about them? Well, yeah. I mean, my wife, I admire her. Me being a health and physical education major, you know, graduating in 98, I never taught in the schools other than my student teacher and my wife. She is not a health and physical education major. I'm pretty sure she has a degree in accounting, but she is one of the reasons why I'm even more educated on some of the things that I put in my body and how important it is to really have a good routine of meditating. And, you know, every now and then you get to have a cheat day. But just she knows everything, it seems like about what's bad and what's good as far as putting in your body. But at the same time, also, she inspires me because the way that she she goes about her business. No, she she runs a couple of tax businesses. She does accounting on the side. I mean, she just does it all. She's a superwoman. And I admire like even for myself, I used to always wonder before I got married what it would be like to have somebody just kind of got up every day and worked out it. We have this toner machine that really enjoy doing, and sometimes I make it out of the bed a little bit later. But to hear her and working out, it's like, Man, how can I not how can I not get up and work out with my wife? Yeah. Some healthy competition, right? Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So, I mean, she inspires me and I'm sure I sure I hope that I inspire her in some of the same ways, but yeah, that's my inspiration. That's great. So, yeah, again, you kind of transitioned into this as well. What do you imagine some people admire about you? Well, I think that I mean, even dating back to coming from a small town, you know, being able to go and play Division one basketball, being able to graduate with honors and being able to represent even my college on a national television level is something that I think I know that some people still that are those things you know, being able to accomplish those things and then being able to take that to a professional career with the Globetrotters and being able to just do more than that, make the team, because I've always kind of been a person who want to go above and beyond. I didn't just want to go to college and play basketball. I want to be great in college. You know, some people will say I was great, some people say I was pretty good, but I had a pretty good career That led to some great opportunities, which led to me traveling to 90 different countries around the world. And I know that people that that know me have been inspired because they've shared with me how I inspire them, you know, during their journey. So I think in those ways, and even now, being a former globetrotter who started a group, a Facebook group of guys reconnecting and now having about 250 people who were past and present during the organization in that group, and now having a movie come out involving myself and one of my former Globetrotters tells the story of a guy who broke the color line in the NBA. So we were clipped. And, you know, he was a former globetrotter who actually, like myself, who was born and raised in Arkansas until, you know, early on moving to Chicago. But just breaking that line and being a globetrotter, too, playing in the NBA, you know, his life was amazing. And to be a part of that, that project, I know that guys in there are inspired. And even with me being a part of that project, I just really, really hope. And I know I know that more of my former teammates are going to get more of these opportunities, that opportunities to shine, because there's a lot of guys out there with a lot of talent. Obviously, some of them are, of course more talented than I am. But not getting the opportunities. No, no, no. Don't you dare say that. No, no. But I certainly love the game. Really. I just want them to know, be able to shine the way that I've been able to shine and get some of the opportunities I've been able to have during the course of my life. And I wanted to continue to, you know, explore and create more opportunities for myself as well. That's that's great. All right. Now I'm curious, what do you do when you're not feeling on Look, you've set some really high bars, right? And it's exciting. And I want to hear more, frankly. But what happens when you're when you hit a slump, especially when you know what you're capable of? You're you're capable of so much. You've done so many amazing things in different realms in so many different decades. All right. What is Herb laying do when he's feeling low? And I'm glad you asked that question because there was there were times when I didn't I really didn't know what to do. And I think that I learned a little bit more about myself once my my Globetrotter career was was over with, I became, again, I think, a more more intentional because I had to refocus, you know, I had to I had to shift. And a couple of the things that I've been able to add to my life since retiring and being consistent with it is the ability to get up in. I meditate every morning, you know, ten, 15 minutes after that, I read you are read for even if it's just for 5 minutes. If it's something, it's usually something positive. And after that meditation, it leads into a workout or a walk. And just having those three or four things to look forward to every single day, even on days when I would prefer to be busy, busier, just knowing how fortunate that I am to be able to get up and do those things. They get me going each and every day. And if it were not for those things, sometimes I don't know how I'd be able to make it. Because like you said, there are days, of course, when I don't have it. You know, there are days when I don't feel like getting up. There are days when things seem like they aren't going ever going. You know, the way that you seem. It does seem like they come in and streaks at times. But one of the things that I do realize is how fortunate and how blessed we are to actually be here each and every day. And I'll share this with you too, that I didn't share. I learned this when one of the things that I did was I worked in the funeral home business for a little bit. Of course you do. Right in high school and college. And one of the things that I learned was the importance of being grateful for each and every day, because working in that business, you would see people at funerals and you would see them crying and you'd see the, you know, the regret that they had and the wishing that they had another day with these people. So for me, being able to reflect on these moments and even now losing people throughout life, just realizing how fortunate I am each and every day and giving thanks each and every day for being able to get up. That's what gets me all. But I mean, we have those days, but also at the same time, I have way more good days and bad days. And that's that's the beautiful thing about it, too. And realizing that something simple is even like walking today, just walking and putting a smile on your face for no reason, it can change your whole mood, you know, it can inspire you in a way that you can't even imagine, or even doing something nice to somebody or waving, you know, hello to somebody. I was walking last week and I'm a big component of kindness and that was a family of three riding their bikes over two sons and a mother. And these young boys were probably about ten feet apart. And one of the complement to me was like, Hello, nice shirt. You know, like, thank you for no reason. Then the second one. Oh, cute. I'm walking my dog. He's like, Oh, man, that's a cute dog. You got that again. Thank you so much. And then the mom was like, I hope you're having a great day. So it's it's something that I think that within those people, but it's something that that something simple that makes a difference just being content. They intended to make sure that I was having a good day or do something complimentary to make me feel good. And that's what it's all about. That's great. That's great. And thank you for sharing that other experience. The work you did for Funeral services. That to me would be such a unique perspective, right on gratitude, because it's look, it's it's one thing to know, to be grateful. But when you're film though, that's not typically the first feeling that you're feeling is gratitude, right? I mean, it's a nice it's a nice thing to feel, but to have the perspective, I imagine, and maybe that's not the only reason, but I imagine that's a very real direct experience that taps you into that feeling of gratitude. Like they could be loss regret. You witnessed it firsthand. I imagine that's that stuck with you for a while. It's certainly something that leaves an impression on you again. I mean, and just things aren't always going to go perfect. I mean, I've had plenty of setbacks in my life even early on starting out. I tell people I was like Forrest Gump. I was bowlegged. I had to wear the leg braces and I had to overcome that. And then it became a height thing, you know, from 11th grade to 12th grade. I grew from 5726, three. You know, before that I was struggling. I was the best basketball player, but I wasn't as productive as I was once I became, you know, a little bit taller. And even, you know, coming into college and not being paid to play my first year, that was tough sitting on the bench when I've been used to playing all that time. And then, you know, coming to the Globetrotters, which was a blessing, but still not really understanding what my role was immediately and, you know, figuring that out and then that coming to an end at some point and trying to figure out what's next. These are things that happen throughout the course of life, but we get to figure out and in me, I understand if I did it once, I can do it again. And we're gifted in so many ways. And again, like I said, we just go out and explore different things until we figure out what it is. And my intention is to make the world a better place in my way, in the same way that I did for 18 years with the Globetrotters. And that's through speaking, you know, that's through leading groups of men and women, creating opportunities and spreading kindness. Yeah, that's. That's awesome. That's awesome. Can you take me a little bit into what your meditation practice is like? So I know lots of people ask me they want to start meditate. Do you want to get into it? What's your practice look like if you don't mind sharing? Well, for me it started out I was downloaded this app called Headspace goes a little bit right before COVID and I had never really meditated seriously before that. Before that, I had only meditated really at this leadership conference that I went to for like three months. It was like over the course of three months, that's when I really realized the power of it. But when COVID happened and all the stress came in and these new apps and stuff started, I had on my phone already to begin trial. And so I started walking and I listened to the walk meditation, and then I did that for about a year. And actually for the last couple of years, it's more of a dark room. I prefer know first thing in the morning. And it's simple. I'll get something off of YouTube or Google meditation for the morning, and I just let them play 10 to 15 minutes, sometimes 20 minutes. Nobody's in the room with me. And what happens during those meditations, they really helped me kind of figure out my day already have a little idea of what my day looks like. But they really, really help me to lock in on my day who I need to contact. What do I want to accomplish today? How many emails do I need to send out? Who do you know reached out to me the day before that I didn't get back to and it says that sets the mood for my day. And then the walk allows me to help get the blood flowing, you know, the movement. And then after that sometimes is a workout and then it's, hey, let's go. It's time to roll. The blood is already flowing and I know that's it. And that's that's a daily routine for you. Yeah. For me, that is a daily routine. I mean, except, of course, today's my wife went out. You know, we go and spend the time together. But still, even before that, I still try to make sure that I get up and meditate and walk every single day, even if I have to get up a little bit earlier. Yeah. And as we've talked about before, you you don't sit still too often. You split your time. You're you're traveling with work and and personal things. So but these things seem accessible to you regardless of where you are. Well, yeah, I mean, one of the cool things about what I do as a, you know, as a motivational speaker or I guess as a work from at home kind of person, is that, you know, my wife and I, we live in Sacramento, California, for five months, about a year. And then we're down in Florida the other seven or eight months out of the year. So just being able to live in different places and spread kindness in different places is one of the things I really enjoy. You know, I've been able to have a couple of basketball clinics down there in Florida, a couple in Arkansas since post COVID. And, you know, these are things that that bring me joy being able to go into the different schools and having the opportunity to do a TED Talk even last year. I mean, it's just a blessing. It's something that really fills me up, you know, to be able to go into two groups and be able to share my experiences and inspire inspire people young and old, you know, that's what we used to say when I played the Globetrotters. We're able to inspire people from 1 to 99. Who love it. Yeah, that's great. And I imagine your messages and all that different when you're delivering it to age one versus age 99, right? You talk to different age groups. I imagine there's pretty common examples that that are true for everyone. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's one of the cool things that I share. I have we all have had experiences. I have experiences now for 45 years or six years. And when I go in to speak to a group of elementary kids, you know, I share experiences from when I was that age and my mindset and that way that they're able to kind of connect with you when you're speaking to a middle school group. Of course, we had that middle school experiences. We're getting ready for high school. What did that feel like? What was my mindset? How did I go into it? And then, you know, leaving high school, going into college or preparing for high school, coming out, there was just so many things that we've been able to experience. And if we actually think about them, there are so many things that we can share with younger people that will help them, you know, overcome some of the hurdles, obstacles that we may have shared. And these things continue to evolve over the course of our lives. You know, so that's how, you know, kind of filled the room. If I'm speaking to a group, I'll kind of get a feel of what their intentions are, What would they like to get across? And I'll sprinkle a little bit of kindness in there with it. Mhm. Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure you don't leave that out anywhere you go. I get that sense that you're, you're always bringing that with you. This free kindness is free. It doesn't cost anything. Don't give it away with abundance, knowing that you'll never run out of it. I love it. I love it. Herb, is there anything else we haven't dug into that you'd like to talk about? You'd like to share, or any other ideas you'd like to talk about? Oh, man. Any other ideas? Well, I mean, of course, my motto is, is kindness is free and in all levels of my life, it's really, really impacted me and made a difference. And when when I think about kindness and the people that have really impacted me, I think about how proud they were and how accomplished they felt in seeing me be able to do some of the things that I've been able to do, knowing that they had a result, a direct hand in it. So anybody that's listening out there, if there is some young person or some friend or former classmate that may need a little bit of kindness right now, they may need a little bit of a helping hand. Just realize if you have that power right now, you could really, really make a big, big impact on someone's life. So it doesn't have to be financial. It could just be a telephone call. It could be, you know, having lunch with someone or it could be either war, but just take time out to help that person and figure out what they may be going through. If you imagine that they are, even if they're not just ask questions, but just, you know, be that helping hand and you never know what could happen. You could have someone turn out to travel to 90 different countries around the world, meet presidents and folks, and inspire kindness in all those different places around the world at the same time. So just be an inspiration to others. And that's kind of how I live my life. And I feel like the new generation and the new way of the world is leading with leadership, is leading with kindness and love. And so that's three people better than we can even expect to be treated. And that's what it's all about. That's awesome. I'm hearing some some real optimism from you that as far as the way forward for world and mankind, humankind. Of course. I mean, I feel like I've been here in this world. I've been able to witness some some pretty interesting things, but at the same time, I've been able to witness some amazing things. And I'm so grateful for those amazing things that I've been able to to witness. I have gratitude for all of the experiences because they make me appreciate the really, really great experiences as well. And we learn from everything. Yeah, all of it. Ah, I want to thank you again. This has been phenomenal. I love hearing about all of these experiences and just the resolve you have around kindness, around your approach, around your zest, but your enthusiasm for life and just doing good and and having fun. I hear a lot of fun in your life, too, and you got a lot of fun projects are working on now and just the optimism you have. I've really enjoyed our time and I really appreciate your careful consideration of all these questions. But I definitely appreciate it. I've had a lot of fun. And again, I mean, if there's anybody that's interested in possibly having me come out and have an experience with your group or groups, definitely reach out to me. I'm on LinkedIn as the motivational speaker or Herbert Lane. Also, of course, you can find me on Twitter or Instagram under at Daytrotter for the day tr0 ttr for me and a lot of people on those social media networks now. So yeah, I'd love an opportunity to come in and share with you guys my message of kindness. Again, I can cater that message around to whatever you guys want to emphasize. And one of the cool things I also do just as well when I go into different speaking events is opposite of the kindness is kindness is free award. So in that business or that school, if there's somebody that they want to recognize, we definitely give them that opportunity. Because for me, growing up, I was recognized for my athletic ability and making good grades. But there was a lot of people who were just simply nice. That played a major role throughout my high school that helped me get to where I am. So I just want to recognize those people. I love that. That's great. Cool. And for sure, we'll have links to all of your socials and the many projects you're engaged with now so people can take a look if they haven't already Googled you by now. I'm sure they have at this point in the conversation, but now we'll be sure to share that with everyone. Thanks again. Really appreciate your time. This is very spread the word. This has been intentionally ever after, hosted by intentional lifestyle coach Joe Booker Tech. If you would like to have your own intentional conversation with Joe on or off the air visit intentionally ever after dot com, Thanks for listening.