Ron: In this episode, we delve into the remarkable story of proudly South African Brent Lindeque, affectionately known as 'The Good Things Guy'. Picture this; In 2015, Brent transformed a reckless challenge into a random act of kindness, setting the stage for what would become a platform that touches the lives of over 4 million people monthly. His brainchild, 'GoodThingsGuy.com' is a beacon of good news celebrating the extraordinary stories of South Africa and its people. But Brent is a man made of more than just good news. He's a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ family, a prolific blogger, influencer, journalist and a changemaker who has proven that good news not only sells, but has the power to change lives. With over 500,000 daily followers across social media platforms and numerous accolades, including being named a Primedia LeadSA Hero Brent is a force to be reckoned with. Join me in welcoming the man behind the Good Things Guy. A true beacon of positivity in a world that really needs it in this day and age. Welcome to the show, Brent. How are you, my friend?
Brent Lindeque: Jis! It's such an honor to be on the show. Thank you so much for having me. So you've caught me at such a weird week. I.
Ron: It's a weird year. What do you mean?
Brent Lindeque: It's a weird year, but it's a weird week. This is the first week since the beginning of 2024 that I don't have any keynotes which is insane because I'm doing like three or four a week. So
Ron: That is
Brent Lindeque: that's
Ron: crazy.
Brent Lindeque: yeah, that's been sort of the bulk of, of what's taking up my time. And, and now this week, I mean, I'm yours. I'm free. I'm here! Hello?
Ron: You know what, they say that good things come to those who wait. And you and I have been trying to get this done for a while, so I'm sure it happened in the right time. And you know what? I actually waited until now to tell you. I didn't tell you before the interview. You are literally the final guest of season one. So you're ending things off on a high note.
Brent Lindeque: Hey.
Ron: You see often you see how things work out for the better.
Brent Lindeque: Well, it's great to be here - thank you for having me!
Ron: It's so 'lekker' having you! All right. So let's jump in. What I normally do is ask a personal question just to sort of set the tone and have people feel comfortable knowing that you're also just a human being. As much as you're a hero, you're not out of touch and out of bounds. Let us know what childhood looked like for you. What did you dream of becoming as a kid, and how does life look now in comparison to that?
Brent Lindeque: Yoh, uhm, so, my childhood was absolutely fantastic. There were obviously moments that weren't so great. And when I look back, if I had to sort of dig deep and break down who I was and what my life was like, we didn't grow up with a lot of money. But I didn't know that back then. So
Ron: Yeah.
Brent Lindeque: that was just me growing up. And there was there was a couple of I don't know if it was months or years. I think maybe our sense of time when we're younger is not 100% accurate. But
Ron: Sure.
Brent Lindeque: I did get I did get bullied at some point as well. So that that
Ron: Yeah.
Brent Lindeque: sort of happened. But for the most part, my childhood was un-flipping-believable! I've got great siblings, I have great parents, great support, peers, friends. I grew up in the south of Johannesburg in a place called Alberton, my hometown.
Ron: No
Brent Lindeque: And.
Ron: ways. That's not far from where I grew up, how weird's that!?
Brent Lindeque: Where did you grow up?
Ron: We grew up out towards Westonaria
Brent Lindeque: Oh, wow. Yeah. So I grew up in Albertson and I think what's a beautiful thing is my friends that I had when I was young and when I was little. What, 30, almost 40 years later. And they're still my friends,
Ron: Don't
Brent Lindeque: so.
Ron: say those things out loud. Like I don't need reminding that I turn 40 next year.
Brent Lindeque: It is what it is. We need to deal with it!
Ron: All right. So whilst you're playing in Alberton, being a kid and not getting bullied, what did you dream of becoming?
Brent Lindeque: Um, I. I don't know. I think. I think I wanted to be I don't want to say famous. I wanted that fame thing. I wanted to be on TV, but I don't think that I understood what that was. I think when you're young, you sort of watch what's unfolding in front of you. You listen to radio, you watch TV. And I was like, I want to do that. At one stage, I was like, Oh, I'd love to be a K-TV presenter
Ron: Oh.
Brent Lindeque: or whatever.
Ron: Remember K-TV!? Jeez,
Brent Lindeque: Whatever,
Ron: that's a blast from the past.
Brent Lindeque: whatever that was. But the reality is that when you're young, you don't understand what you want to be. You want to be many things and what that looks like now, because that's that's the question you sort of asked is I'm a business owner. I've fallen into a career that is 100% meant to be my purpose, telling these good news stories to South Africa and the world. And with that has come some really cool stuff where I do get to be on radio and I do get to be on TV. But that's I don't I don't know, fame is real and and I don't know if I well, I do know that I didn't know what it was when I was younger.
Ron: No, hundred percent. I think it's such a beautiful picture to look at what's transpired in your life. You serve as an example of chasing your passions and believing in yourself enough to really stick to them, because diligence is everything. And I mean, just taking a look at the past year of your life blows the mind of anybody who follows your journey. I mean, getting to meet Oprah! How
Brent Lindeque: And
Ron: did that feel!?
Brent Lindeque: Haha! So, that's absolutely insane, right!? I need to take a step back and I need to say I never studied journalism, so I did go to varsity twice. Both times I dropped out. But that's a discussion for another day. And so I'm not a degreed person. And I didn't study journalism either of the times that I was at varsity. But fast forward to where we are now, and I've got a career as a journalist because those are the skills and the expertize that I've acquired in the last decade doing what I do. And so the Oprah email, the Oprah thing, the Oprah meeting, it was just absolutely unreal. When I was younger, I alluded to the fact that we didn't really have money. So while all my friends got home from school and were watching K TV, it was what they did. I was about to say KFC
Ron: And
Brent Lindeque: while they
Ron: that to.
Brent Lindeque: were watching K-TV, I didn't have M-Net I was the kid that used to watch Open Time
Ron: Open Time! Yes.
Brent Lindeque: Open Time! And so when I got home from school, I would spend my TV time with free TV, which was your SABC's and such.
Ron: Yeah.
Brent Lindeque: And every afternoon, every afternoon Oprah was on SABC three. So
Ron: But.
Brent Lindeque: I would spend every afternoon with Oprah and I would watch her. And I was absolutely in awe of her. And a decade ago, when I fell into this thing, when this thing happened to me and I went viral around the world and it was all insane, I was on every big mainstream media news site and magazines and I was all over the place. And the big one that got to me was the O-Mag, when when Oprah's magazine wanted to interview me and tell my story, I was like, "How is this my life!?"
Ron: That's so cool.
Brent Lindeque: So crazy! And then you fast forward - would have been nine years, because it was last year - and I got an email asking if I would like to meet with Oprah. She had hand-selected four journalists in South Africa. And that's why I said I never studied journalism, but that's the field I work in. And and she she chose me, me and three other incredible, incredible journalists to sit down and sort of chat with her. And it was crazy. It was amazing. It was overwhelming. I was petrified before I sat down. And when I got to chat to her - because that's what we did; wasn't an interview it was a chat - It was the most beautiful, beautiful conversation that I think I've ever had. And to see her because she is this crazy, amazing, well known, one of the best storytellers in the world,
Ron: Sure.
Brent Lindeque: just seeing her as just being human. And it was beautiful. It was really beautiful. And he has the crazy thing. So they
Ron: You
Brent Lindeque: gave
Ron: mean
Brent Lindeque: us.
Ron: it hasn't been crazy yet?
Brent Lindeque: Well, it gets crazier! So they gave us 15 minutes, one five. They gave us 15 minutes to sit down with her. And by the end of our conversation, one of her team members kind of stopped us and said, we have to wrap this up. You guys have been going for 45 minutes.
Ron: No.
Brent Lindeque: And I was like, it was just what a what what what an amazing story. It was really, really cool.
Ron: No. Look, the story is amazing and the 45 minutes are incredible. But what I want to give you is
Brent Lindeque: It's
Ron: credit where it's due.
Brent Lindeque: a.
Ron: I know that you feel like you didn't study journalism. I feel like I didn't study graphic design or voiceover or radio or any of those things. Yet I do them and I've learned to just accept that I'm good at them. So I'm telling you, you are a fantastic journalist whether you want to wear that hat or not.
Brent Lindeque: Thank you. That's very kind of you. That's
Ron: Finish,
Brent Lindeque: very cool.
Ron: Klaar! But listen, just to circle back to childhood quickly. The bullying happened. You don't have to talk too much about that. But I think it's so important for other gay kids or anyone in the LGBTQIA+ spectrum to hear that bullying happens. It happens everywhere in the world. How did you handle the coming out process? When did you meet Andrew and how is your life looking now?
Brent Lindeque: So if we can focus on the bullying just for a second, because it's a very interesting thing. I didn't know how strong I was when I was a little kid. And I can say that now, being a grown up and looking back, because the confidence that a little child needs to have to walk into a room when majority of the eyes in that chapter of my life were looking at me with bigotry and hate and whatever words come in that sort of space. But to have the confidence to walk into that room and to do so without being perturbed is a skill and a talent that I don't even think some adults have
Ron: Yes.
Brent Lindeque: And I mean, hate is a crazy thing because a hate is a learned behavior. So at like six, seven, eight years old, It is bizarre that kids are already hating other kids because they're different, or were back then.
Ron: Yeah, bizarre is the word.
Brent Lindeque: Bizarre. And it sort of culminated to a point where... I was physically abused by a group of kids in my school. And when I say physically abused, I was held down on the ground and I was kicked and they tried to really, really hurt me. And that was the last day of when I was bullied. I went home that day broken. My parents sort of got involved with the school and I avoided those kids like the plague for the rest of my primary school years. Moving on. High school was a totally different experience.
Ron: Really?
Brent Lindeque: Totally different. I loved high school. I had friends coming out of my ears, but it was just that chapter in my life where I didn't know why I was different and I didn't know why people or those people didn't like me for being different. And funny enough, Andrew. I had a conversation the other day because this has come around again - not the bullying but someone from my past has and they're really nice is the crazy thing. Right. So. So we
Ron: What?
Brent Lindeque: were talking about - Yeah, it's just full circle - and we were speaking about it and Andrew said, "You do understand if you were a different human, you could have taken a different path?" And I think where I'm going with this is the LGBT community have the highest rates of suicide in the world,
Ron: Yeah.
Brent Lindeque: and it's because not everybody has the skillset or the strength to keep walking into a room every day where they feel like they don't belong,
Ron: Hundred per cent.
Brent Lindeque: where they feel like they are less than. And whatever God given grace and whatever that I have. I won that battle. Right. So, like, the bullying didn't get to me. And if anything, it made me who I am today. So now I advocate against bullying. If I hear of stories, if I see people in need - I am from the South! I am afraid of no one! I think I am the roughest gay guy I know!
Ron: Yeah.
Brent Lindeque: THE roughest gay guy! And I will stand up and be stronger to bullies and I will stand up for people that are being bullied until they can stand for themselves because not everybody has that same skillset. So that's the bullying in one sort of thing.
Ron: No thank
Brent Lindeque: What
Ron: you for going there because
Brent Lindeque: thank
Ron: it takes
Brent Lindeque: you
Ron: a lot to go there. It takes
Brent Lindeque: does.
Ron: a lot to go through it and survive it. And it also takes a lot to revisit that trauma.
Brent Lindeque: Yeah, completely - completely! And then you asked about being gay. And when did I come out? I came out on Matric Holiday. Matric Vac! I was like, "I'm done with school. I don't need to be fearful of what people might think of me. I'm moving into the next chapter of my life!" So I'd moved from primary school, which was quite difficult, and I think I'd made an unconscious but really a conscious decision going into high school that I wouldn't be weak, that I wouldn't be I would be me, but I wouldn't be afraid of being me, and high school was the best years of my life. So I think when I finished high school, I was like, "Cool, now we're transitioning again - now we're going to be the real you! We're going to take the mask off!" And so I came out on Matric Vac, and the craziest thing was every single one of my friends stayed my friends
Ron: I'm so happy to hear that!
Brent Lindeque: Yeah, I've got so many best friends. It's insane. So my best friend Shelly, I've known since I was five, we eventually got an apartment together after school and my best friend, who's also - he was my first 'Andrew' Andrew Walter-Girout He's this massive, burly, straight guy who played sports and rode motorbikes. And when I came out to him, he, he I was so afraid of coming
Ron: Shame man!
Brent Lindeque: out to him. And when I came out to him, he said to me, "Are you still... are you still my Brenty?" And I was like, "100%! Nothing's changed!" And from that day, we were even closer than than we were before. So that was great. All my friends, my family accepted me. I was one of the very, very lucky few
Ron: It's
Brent Lindeque: that
Ron: the best
Brent Lindeque: had.
Ron: story, hearing that and it's those straight brothers in our lives - I think you'll agree with me that those men whom we least expect to have our backs end up being our biggest supporters and our champions
Brent Lindeque: Yes.
Ron: You can't. It's a priceless feeling.
Brent Lindeque: Absolutely. And it's a friendship that I think every gay guy needs actually
Ron: Yeah.
Brent Lindeque: is to have a couple of straight guys around him just to - you know, we're still men, so we still need
Ron: Exactly.
Brent Lindeque: whatever. Whatever. So that was my coming out story. And then I met Andrew 15 years ago. We met.
Ron: 15 already. Jeez,
Brent Lindeque: And
Ron: that's
Brent Lindeque: we've been
Ron: a few
Brent Lindeque: together
Ron: lifetimes, boys.
Brent Lindeque: 15 years yeah! Very happy, very happy with Andrew. he's the love of my life. It's a great relationship. We complement each other. We love each other. We're 15 years in and it still feels brand new.
Ron: Well done for doing that because that in and of itself takes work to meet love every day and realize that it doesn't sustain itself. You have to work at it. You have to put in your best foot every day.
Brent Lindeque: Absolutely. Absolutely.
Ron: It's a give and take, but you guys clearly do it well. And every photo we see that you're willing to share with us on your social media just fills our hearts with warmth. So thank you for sharing the way you do, especially
Brent Lindeque: Thank.
Ron: that part of your life that so many people are scared of sharing.
Brent Lindeque: Thank
Ron: It's so
Brent Lindeque: you.
Ron: cool to see.
Brent Lindeque: Thank you. Thank you.
Ron: We're going to take a quick break and then we're going to jump straight into 'The Good Things Guy' - I want to know all the things!
Ron: So let's get into 'The Good Things Guy'. For those who don't know, where did it all start? What shape is it taking? Does it look the way you want it to look?
Brent Lindeque: Hmm. So it started ten years ago. 'Good Things Guy's in its decade celebration and some
Ron: Congratulations.
Brent Lindeque: people find it now - Thank you! Some people find it now and they're like, "Wow! It's so amazing! How!?" "I know, it's ten years old, This is - " not ten years old - ten years young -
Ron: Yes.
Brent Lindeque: So. ten years ago in the beginning of 2014, there was something that started down in Australia and it sort of swept the globe. It was the first real online trend that used social media as a catalyst to grow itself. It was called 'Neknominations' and the whole idea was to drink as much as you possibly could do something stupid and then put it up online.
Ron: What?
Brent Lindeque: Yeah, it was this crazy trend. Millions of people around the world were uploading their videos of them having fun and doing silly stuff. And I saw this happening, and I just thought to myself, "You know? I drink, this is easy to join this trend." But also I don't want that to be my legacy online of me doing silly things or whatever.
Ron: Yeah.
Brent Lindeque: So I decided to do something a little bit different. I was a little bit kind. I fed a homeless person. I had a work colleague with me who captured the whole thing on my mobile phone, and I uploaded what was the first YouTube video that I'd ever put up. And within a couple of seconds, it just started trending. And the video was getting so many views. And people around the globe were watching this video, and they had started changing their 'Neknomination' into a 'RAKnomination", and that's when the random act of kindness movement was born
Ron: Oh,
Brent Lindeque: into
Ron: wow.
Brent Lindeque: that. Yeah. I woke up the next day and all of a sudden CNN and BBC and Sky News and all these international publications and local publications - 702 And Carte Blanche - they all just wanted to tell the story
Ron: You're
Brent Lindeque: of how.
Ron: joking. Wait. So. So you were an actual - you are the definition of a viral sensation! You know what that feels like! You didn't expect it to happen. You
Brent Lindeque: No!
Ron: posted something. You thought maybe a few friends would see and like it and before you could wipe your eyes the next day, you're a viral sensation. How does that feel?
Brent Lindeque: At the time, it was incredibly overwhelming because I'd never been in the media space. I was I was working in sort of eventing slash advertising. It was a totally different ballgame. And those days and weeks that followed were surreal. I had a little diary. I don't even know where it is now, but I had a diary, you know, like a work diary
Ron: Yeah.
Brent Lindeque: where you put in your tasks for the day. and I was writing in these crazy interviews, and how people were emailing me and messaging me, and just everybody wanted to tell me their story. And the it was just, it was wild. It was a really crazy experience. Yeah, it happened on the Friday and on the Monday I was on the front page of the Metro newspaper, which - the Metro is like the biggest newspaper in the UK. It's at every tube station for free. You can get that. It was just it was wild.
Ron: This
Brent Lindeque: It was
Ron: is
Brent Lindeque: really
Ron: insane.
Brent Lindeque: wild. Yeah! CNN flew a crew out to do a little like documentary - it was wild!
Ron: Oh, my God.
Brent Lindeque: But that story doesn't actually matter because that was ten years ago and that was 15 minutes of really bizarre
Ron: Sure. Sure. But
Brent Lindeque: thought
Ron: it was
Brent Lindeque: out
Ron: the catalyst.
Brent Lindeque: of my life.
Ron: And it's a catalyst worth mentioning.
Brent Lindeque: Yes. So from there, there were all these charities, individuals and businesses that were contacting me because they wanted to tell me about the good work that they were doing in South Africa. And that's where the seed was planted for 'Good Things Guy' So I knew that these stories needed to be told. I like to say that those weeks that followed where I was like just in the middle of all this good news, it was the first time in my whole entire life where I didn't feel like South Africa was falling over. And the reason for that is because I felt that there were just these good humans that would not only hold us up, but they would help us rise.
Ron: Yes.
Brent Lindeque: And I wanted other South Africans to feel the same. So the first point of call I'd met Gareth Cliff - he'd interviewed me on 5FM during 'Neknominations RAKnominations' - and then once he'd left 5FM, he started CliffCentral and he was looking for talent to be on CliffCentral. And it was all these really big celebs that were sort of going onto the show and auditioning and eventually they did - the most amazing talent in South Africa got their different shows on Cliff Central. And at the time, while he was doing this, I just sort of got in touch with him. And I said to him, "I would love to be able to tell these good news stories on your platform".
Ron: Wow.
Brent Lindeque: And and he did. Him and Rina Broomberg - incredible human being - they gave me an opportunity, and that again was the growth of 'Good Things Guy'. So every week I had a show for three years on Cliff Central where every week I would interview these incredible South Africans doing amazing things. And at first it was quite tricky, right? So the first couple of weeks were great. I could fill that show up. It was no problem.
Ron: Sure.
Brent Lindeque: But then it got quite difficult to find these good people and this good news. And so I started a Facebook page at first where I could feature the good news stories, sort of collect the data. And then on a Tuesday when my show was on, I could then release all these good news and have the people on my show. And I realized it was a lot bigger than what I believed it to be, because so many people were engaging with this content because you couldn't really find good news anywhere.
Ron: That's the thing.
Brent Lindeque: So, Neknominations, 2014, January, February started at CliffCentral, I think in May that year approximately. And a year later on the 1st of August 2015, I launched 'GoodThingsGuy.com' as a website and that's where it started and you ask me does it look like what I thought it would look like in the beginning? And the answer is absolutely 100% no,
Ron: No.
Brent Lindeque: because I didn't know that I was doing anything when it was happening. It wasn't I hadn't planned I hadn't planned any of it.
Ron: That's
Brent Lindeque: It
Ron: mental.
Brent Lindeque: was yeah, it was an evolution of of a good seed. It was an evolution of a good deed. Maybe
Ron: Yes.
Brent Lindeque: I did. I did something good. And that's turned into what is now South Africa's top good news site.
Ron: Well, I'm glad
Brent Lindeque: on.
Ron: to know that you're the reverse of the saying "No good deed goes unpunished". I feel
Brent Lindeque: Hmm!
Ron: like you've not been punished. This has been a blessing in your life. So tell me
Brent Lindeque: The.
Ron: about recent events and milestones that you guys celebrated with The Good Things Guy.
Brent Lindeque: Jeepers. Every other week, there's something that falls onto my desk or I get an email or something just goes like, "Hey, here's another award!" It's just really crazy. So I think some of the biggest sort of accolades for the website is I think was two years ago it got named as one of the 'World's top 100 innovation success stories.'
Ron: Wowza!
Brent Lindeque: I think
Ron: a.
Brent Lindeque: is yeah just a really cool pat on the back for not just what I do but what the team does every single day and the awards and stuff are cool because they give you clout and they make you look good. But here's what I want to say; The greatest accolade that 'Good Things Guy' has and it's on a daily basis, is that people continue to read and engage and share the news.
Ron: Hundred
Brent Lindeque: And
Ron: percent.
Brent Lindeque: I think the following that we've created of people that are inspired and motivated by hearing these good news stories and the fact that people they can fill their cup and they can find some hope in their own communities and themselves. I think that is the biggest accolade is that it keeps doing that. And I remind every journalist that works under 'The Good Things Guy' sort of roof, I remind them that clicks don't matter, like readership doesn't actually matter. If you can touch one person's heart with your article that you've written, if you can make one person feel a little bit better about their day, then you've won. Then you've absolutely won.
Ron: Absolutely. And
Brent Lindeque: And
Ron: that's
Brent Lindeque: I think.
Ron: exactly the way I feel about this podcast. It's not about the number of people listening. It's about that one person who sees a complete turnaround in their day. And you never know. You literally never know when you might be saving someone's life with a story like this.
Brent Lindeque: Absolutely. And that's the right I think that's the right energy to put out there is that, you know, you do good. You do good not for the pats on the back. You do good because you want to share that goodness of the world.
Ron: Absolutely. So listen, to wrap things up, I always end off with a little bit of mental health because that's sort of the golden thread of 'CuriousCast'. I think it's safe to say we spoke about your toughest hardship and that was bullying. And overcoming that was a pretty big milestone in your life. So let's talk about how 'The Good Things Guy' impacted your mental health. Would you say that being of service to other people has helped you?
Brent Lindeque: Yes. 100 million thousand percent. It's a gift that the universe gave me that I'm able to tap into on a daily basis where I open my emails. I wake up early every single day. So when I wake up, I think about what I get to do that day. I plan my day, I have a cup of coffee, I celebrate life, I'm here. It's amazing. And then I log on and the sun hasn't even risen yet. I log on to see sort of my emails and social media, and it's filled with people that just want to share their good news. Like, who could not be happy and
Ron: That's
Brent Lindeque: in
Ron: amazing.
Brent Lindeque: a good space. Yeah, it's no one shouting at me every now and then there might be a little rant. But generally, my communication with the world is a good one. And I think that puts me in a much better space than most people. But I have to say this, right; so, it's been ten years of me being in this space and maybe I am a little bit chemically imbalanced. Maybe I did start off a little bit happier in my life even before 'Good Things Guy', but I have to say that even though I come across as incredibly positive, which I am and super happy, which I am, that doesn't happen every single day.
Ron: No, of course.
Brent Lindeque: And even I have bad days. I have days where I'm not okay and I have days where I have to hold my sadness with kindness. I have to... you know, so my dad died very, very, very tragically. He got back from Mozambique. He'd had a really great holiday. He got back, he felt a little bit sick. And two days later, he died.
Ron: I'm so sorry
Brent Lindeque: And
Ron: to hear that.
Brent Lindeque: it was it was from malaria. Cerebral malaria.
Ron: Oh,
Brent Lindeque: And
Ron: my
Brent Lindeque: it's
Ron: God. Life is so short.
Brent Lindeque: So short! I'm 12, 13 years away from what my dad's age was when he died really young.
Ron: Hectic.
Brent Lindeque: And and I get sad. He's been gone for over a decade and I'm still grieving. So there'll be many days where I'll wake up in the morning and I don't want to be happy and I don't want to be happy for the world or share good news. And then I don't
Ron: Yeah.
Brent Lindeque: I do I do things that fill my cup. I do things that bring me a little bit of joy, because my belief is that you cannot pour from an empty cup.
Ron: Hundred
Brent Lindeque: So
Ron: percent.
Brent Lindeque: you have to you have to be filling your cup so that you can then be of service to other people. And then being of service to other people fills your cup again!
Ron: Yes.
Brent Lindeque: So.
Ron: It's a wonderful full circle thing. And it's so important that you speak about it. I really hope that people hear this and that you feel comfortable to speak about it on more than one platform, not just here. It's so important for people to realize; NO ONE can be positive 100% of the time. That is toxic positivity.
Brent Lindeque: Toxic positivity, but here's what I am going to do. A little plug. If you're looking for a little bit of happiness, just visit. 'GoodThingsGuy.com'
Ron: You don't even need to plug. We're going to plug all the things in the show notes, my friend. And I want you to also quickly talk about the book. Tell us about the Good Things Guy book.
Brent Lindeque: Yes. So, I mean, that was something that was always going to happen, but I just didn't know it. And my team lit a fire under my bum towards the end of last year. And they said, "Ah, we have to! We have to do - not everybody has access to data. Not everybody has access to Internet. Some people need something physical and tangible so that they can read the good news in South Africa". So the team and I sat down. We fought it out as to what the top 100 stories would be of 2023. We wrote over 4000 stories last year.
Ron: Holy
Brent Lindeque: So,
Ron: shit. I'm glad I wasn't
Brent Lindeque: yeah.
Ron: the one who had to choose.
Brent Lindeque: It was a it was it was fun actually going and looking back at the year. And we chose our top 100. And thankfully there were no there were no fist fights, no punching. We all came down to what we believed was the top 100. And we had very similar ideas of that. And we put this beautiful, beautiful book together, which to look back at the year is just it's such a great thing to know that it's not all bad and that there are good things happening. So, yeah, we launched that, we published it, we self-published at the end of last year and it sold enough copies to almost be called the best seller. So we're on the cusp of being a best seller, which is
Ron: No
Brent Lindeque: very exciting.
Ron: bullshit. Its already a best seller in my eyes. So where going to wait. where can people get the book!?
Brent Lindeque: So easy. You just visit. Visit 'www.goodthingsguy.com', and under the sort of tab-section in the menu, you'll find a book section where you can order it. And I know we're in March, but I don't know when you're listening to this podcast. It could be in March 2028. So here's the deal.
Ron: Haha!
Brent Lindeque: if you're looking for this year's book from the year 2023 is when we started, and I believe that every year at the end of the year, we'll put out another book looking back at the year that was.
Ron: Awesome. That's fantastic news. And congratulations again on that, guys. Alright, so final two questions. And I always end the show with the same two questions for each guest. First up, we're going to pretend that you're a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race and you're standing in front of Ru, and Ru holds up a picture to you of your younger self. What advice do you have for that little boy?
Brent Lindeque: It's not so scary. And you will figure it all out, like - when you're young, every young kid doesn't know what they are going to be or how they're going to get there. And some days - most days don't feel okay when you're younger.
Ron: Mm
Brent Lindeque: And
Ron: hmm.
Brent Lindeque: I just want to say it's not so scary and it will all be okay and you'll get there. And when you get there, it'll be the best place you've ever been.
Ron: Oh, man, that's beautiful. All right. Last question. What can every person do right now in this very second to make the world a better place?
Brent Lindeque: Oh. Action! Action, action, action!!! So we all sit and we think about how we can make a difference. And it's not always about money. I know. We go, "Oh, I don't have my money. I can't give it to
Ron: Yeah.
Brent Lindeque: that charity".
Ron: Yeah.
Brent Lindeque: Charity sometimes need time and skills. They need you to be there to
Ron: Yes.
Brent Lindeque: sort of chaff on your skills. And a lot of the time we think about what it is that we can do to make a difference, but then we miss that step of actually going and doing it. And I think that's how we make the world a better place; by actioning our thoughts - good thoughts, not bad thoughts - action those good thoughts. If you want to make a difference in your community, in South Africa, in the charity down the road, go and do it. Stop thinking about it's a goal and a dream without action is just up there in your head. It's not doing any good for anybody.
Ron: 100% hit the nail on the head, as you usually do. Listen, Brent, my friend, thank you so much for the time you gave. Thank you for everything that you and your team do. I know Tayla's is in the background there. I know you got a massive team helping you get the 'Good Things Guy' and the good things out there every day. And I cannot thank you enough personally, because it does make a massive difference. And I love you for it. Thank you.
Brent Lindeque: Ron, I love you. Thank you for having me on the show. Thank you for putting the show together. And I hope that one listener - ten listeners, hundred listeners - I hope a million listeners find your podcast and just feel good about themselves and their lives and listening to all these stories and these incredible people that you've been interviewing.
Ron: That's the aim. From your lips to God's ears, my friend.
Brent Lindeque: Hahaha!
Ron: Take care, Brenty! Cheers.
Brent Lindeque: Awesome! Thank you - cheers, bye!