Lessons of Gratitude & The Rise of the Chicken Doula with Douglas Whatley

When Douglas Whatley sits down at the piano, I wouldn't be surprised if his chickens are his most attentive audience. Lol. It's that delightfully unique blend of urban farm life, music, and heartfelt wisdom that makes our latest conversation with this renaissance man a stand-out episode. Doug, an author, musician, and yes, a chicken farmer, shares his journey in the book "Dope Life, No Hype," which isn't just any workbook; it's an invitation to master the art of appreciation.

Throughout our time together, Doug's reflection on life's imperfections, the power of affirmations, and the daily practice of intention set the stage for transformation – something we all can benefit from. 

Bottomline: This isn't just another interview; it's a shared experience brimming with laughter, personal growth, and a genuine invitation to embrace the greatness within each of us. So come for the chicken tales, stay for the life lessons, and leave with a renewed sense of what it means to live a thankful, intentional life.

For more information about our guest, Douglas Whatley please follow him on Instagram and TikTok @thewhatley.  To learn more about his youth program, Sparks United, please visit www.thesparksunited.com. For details regarding his upcoming podcast, Gro Fam, please follow @grofam on Instagram for the most up-to-date information.  To purchase his book, Dope Life, No Hype, click here or copy/paste the following link into your browser: https://amzn.to/3I8mbj4

About Our Host:

Intimate Details with Dr. Tiff is hosted by Dr. Tiffanie Davis Henry and produced by Rideia Wilson. Follow Dr. Tiff at @DrTiffanieTV on Instagram.

For media inquiries, feel free to email at hello@drtiffanietv.com. If you're interested in supporting the podcast through sponsorship or wish to book your client to be featured on our program, email us at intimatedetailspod@gmail.com

All interviews are available for viewing on YouTube. Click the link below or tap HERE to WATCH EACH EPISODE! https://www.youtube.com/@DrTiffanieTV/podcasts

Transcript

Dr. Tiff: 2:25

My guest today is an accomplished musician, chicken farmer, photographer, professional do-gooder, greeting card curator and just a good human remains to be seen. He's also a best-selling author of the book Dope Life, no Hype, a workbook on gratefulness, which you can pick up right now on Amazon or by clicking the link in the show notes below. Welcome the new face of gratitude, mr Douglas Wotley.

Douglas Whatley: 2:54

Hi, hooray, hooray for me, hooray for me.

Dr. Tiff: 2:58

Yes, you made it, we did it, we did it we did it, we've done it, and actually this is a bit of deja vu because I'm going to be very transparent with my audience. Doug was ill-equipped the first time we recorded this episode. This episode was supposed to air during last season. It was going to be the last episode of the last season but we had some technical difficulties.

Dr. Tiff: 3:27

The sound was less than stellar, I'll just say that. And we could not. I could not put the episode out because I just couldn't get the sound right. So I'm just going to say that episode was fire though it was fire, I really hope that you can bring it again today.

Douglas Whatley: 3:46

I make no promises. I make no promises. I reserve the right to suck at all times. Also, I'm not using a computer that has a crank this time. I'm not using a computer that has a crank this time.

Dr. Tiff: 3:59

So I think we may be able to get through it, that's helpful, that's helpful.

Douglas Whatley: 4:03

I didn't know You're not on your Macintosh. The Big Booty, the blue one. I had the blue one in high school.

Dr. Tiff: 4:12

Fantastic.

Douglas Whatley: 4:13

Well yeah.

Dr. Tiff: 4:14

So I think you know we did a great job last time, but we're going to recreate the magic and add some new touches, add some new things that people don't even know what they're missing. So it's going to be a phenomenal, phenomenal, phenomenal episode.

Douglas Whatley: 4:27

Yes, I was dinner back there too, I think, so I hate that you look a little bloated today All right man. You know you are truly the kindest person I know. I think I like about you. You look great. You're kind spirit, yeah.

Dr. Tiff: 4:41

You look fantastic, friend. You know you do. Doug was ginging his hair before we started. He's got a fantastic fro today. If you'd like to see the fro and you know what he was doing to his hair. You can just tune in. This podcast will be up on YouTube so you'll get the video version on YouTube. You can see this fantastic human, his great smile, his beautiful gray sweater and Green, but whatever I'll take it.

Dr. Tiff: 5:08

I mean it looks gray, but whatever you know, green gray olive, but you know, whatever your pleasure, just you know, pull up, pull up to YouTube and view the specimen that we have right here.

Douglas Whatley: 5:21

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

Dr. Tiff: 5:25

It really is a visual moment, so you really do need to just pull over. Download the podcast on YouTube.

Douglas Whatley: 5:32

Pull over right now.

Dr. Tiff: 5:34

The audio will not do it justice. So I feel like all of my guests most of my guests anyway, really all of my guests have been these multi-hyphenate people and I just ran down a couple of things that you do. Chicken farmer, I mean, come on A photographer. I just saw a TikTok with you and that chicken coming out of the house. Now, did the chickens actually get to go in the house?

Douglas Whatley: 5:56

Well, okay. So when I'm feeding the chickens, sometimes I'll leave the door open and there are a couple chickens who are my. I call them my grace chickens, because my grace chickens are the ones who I love on the most. You have to pick a couple chickens. I picked a couple that you love on like a rooster. I have to become the rooster, so some I have to love on feed a little bit more hold so that they're. So. I create the pecking order in the flock.

Dr. Tiff: 6:24

Is that what people do? I don't know what they do. That's what I do.

Douglas Whatley: 6:28

No, you got to create pecking order. Yeah, you got to create the pecking order.

Dr. Tiff: 6:31

Absolutely Fascinating. I think it is so. You bring, so the chicken comes in the house, or you bring the chicken in the house.

Douglas Whatley: 6:37

You know like if I leave the door open, they'll come in and say hi, my wife is terrified of them, by the way, but they'll come in and scare her a little bit and I'll pick them outside.

Dr. Tiff: 6:46

Or if I need to you know, just take care of them.

Douglas Whatley: 6:48

With their they can't get an egg out, and I got to pull it out, something like that so you delivered eggs. Oh yeah, I deliver the egg and then I put it in the skillet.

Dr. Tiff: 6:59

Then let's Okay, let's stop for a second, because this was supposed to be about something else. I know what is this. So you're basically a doula for chickens.

Douglas Whatley: 7:13

On occasions.

Dr. Tiff: 7:14

A midwife, if you will.

Douglas Whatley: 7:16

Yes, I am. I am a mid-husband for chickens. Yeah, sometimes they get, They'll get stuck in there and they'll die from that. So if I see that they have an egg or kind of just stuck in their booty, I'll pick them up, bring them in, get them comfortable.

Dr. Tiff: 7:31

Don't leave us there, booty. So do they. I don't know the anatomy of a chicken. I don't know.

Douglas Whatley: 7:35

I don't.

Dr. Tiff: 7:37

Somebody, can Somebody call in or text me and let me know? The actual anatomy for what it comes out of.

Douglas Whatley: 7:46

Well, let me keep it real with you Come out of the same space. I don't know the anatomy of a woman, barely so the anatomy of a chicken. I'd be like labious, labious, flip-flop, dally-wag. I don't know what these things are, just bring it over here. So I think they come out the same hole, but I might be wrong.

Dr. Tiff: 8:06

Okay, all you know is you stick your hand in and get it out.

Douglas Whatley: 8:09

Oh, I don't stick it. It's usually like the head of it or a little bit of it. You know what I mean. So I have to massage it out a little bit of it and get it out there. It's disgusting. It's great, though. They're my babies, so I don't mind. You have a child, you know how it is.

Dr. Tiff: 8:25

I've never, even as a baby, thank God had to go in and get something.

Douglas Whatley: 8:33

Never, ever.

Dr. Tiff: 8:33

One time though no one time I was putting beads on her hair, and she did stick a couple beads up her nose and I had to go get in there and get it out.

Douglas Whatley: 8:41

Oh no, you're supposed to let those. You're supposed to let those stay.

Dr. Tiff: 8:47

That's fashion. Totally doesn't compare. I cannot believe you are a chicken doula.

Douglas Whatley: 8:58

Oh yeah, We've got to add that to the list. I would love to Add that to the list. I dream actually. You should leave with that? I do. I do leave with Chicken Farmer in most cases, like hey, what's on your red light Chicken doula? I'm sorry, I will restructure my resume immediately.

Dr. Tiff: 9:15

Please do Please do.

Douglas Whatley: 9:18

Thank you for your guidance friend, you're welcome.

Dr. Tiff: 9:21

All right, chicken Farmer, photographer, musician, author doula, like you're doing it all and I don't even know how you have time for me today. Thank you, I appreciate it. I've been loving the workbook and I'm feeling like this is it's the right time. This has been out for a minute, but I'm trying to get it in the frame so that people can see it, see how beautiful it is and know what they're looking for when they go on to Amazon. This season of intimate details with Dr Tiff really is all about relationship enhancement and intentional self-care, and that could be why here's the thing Doug the blessing the blessing of the previous recording not working. It could be that we are just so in alignment right now with this book because I'm feeling like gratitude. Gratitude is the way to tackle both of those things relationship enhancement and intentional self-care. What do you think?

Douglas Whatley: 10:22

Oh, I always say that God never gives me what I want when I want it. He gives me what I want when it's best, and that's been a story of my life. And so, because of that, I have to be very deliberate in being grateful and trusting of where he's guiding me and where he's taking me. But I think that starts with saying where am I now and how am I blessed? And I think that's what the book is all about. It's looking at where you are. It's not comparing yourself to those around you, which I have a problem with sometimes, but it's looking at.

Douglas Whatley: 10:52

The first line of the book is comparison is the thief of all joy, and I think that's where many of us stand. We have social media, we have everybody's balling for some reason, everybody's balling and I'm like how y'all do it? Show me the way, because I don't get it. But being able to look around you and say, god, you blessed me with this, I'm so grateful for this. I'm grateful for relationships, I'm grateful for friendship it could all be worse. It's the first step in starting a new life. It's the first step in walking in your destiny Not be stagnant, looking for what's next, but also but more so, more than anything, being grateful for where you are, because some people didn't make it to where you are right now. Whether you're a McDonald's, whether you work at Dollar Tree, whether you're watching cars, whether you're a millionaire, some people didn't make it to there and some people that are there are not happy. Millionaires aren't happy. You know what I mean. Yeah, yeah, even though I want to be one, I want to be unhappy with you. Let me join a team.

Douglas Whatley: 12:06

Rough hands, rough hands rough hands.

Dr. Tiff: 12:08

World domination. Here we go. Yeah, I'm feeling. You know you mentioned a quote in the book I. I flagged a couple of things. That's what this little tab is. There is a couple of things in here that that really struck me. Some of the quotes that you use and you use some, you know beautiful humans To Quote in this book, a couple of which I know and we know one thing I want to. I want to Read one of them now and I'm gonna read one of them later. This quote is by your friend skyford, highland and lantern philosopher, artist, dbsc member. Don't know what that is and vertically blessed key holder.

Dr. Tiff: 12:51

Yes, skyford is that. Is that the disguise?

Douglas Whatley: 12:57

He's a man, to my knowledge.

Dr. Tiff: 13:04

So Skyford says fear is imagination rooted in ego, creativity's destructive side. Fear is imagination rooted in ego, creativity's destructive side, and you put this quote in the book. Why?

Douglas Whatley: 13:18

Well, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna take a step.

Dr. Tiff: 13:21

I love it. I want to.

Douglas Whatley: 13:22

I want to take a step back, though. When I, when I started making the workbook, I wanted to take quotes from famous people, initially I was like hey, we're booked, I want to give everybody something to look at each day. And then I started listening to people around me and I realized that the people around me have as much wisdom as people who are, who are famous, more more so. And why. And just because you're famous doesn't mean that you have insight that we don't have. It just means your path led you a different way, and so when I started listening to my friends and my family, I wanted their voices to be heard. I wanted to give them an opportunity for the world to see or Are here their perspective on life.

Douglas Whatley: 14:00

I think that's important to give voices to the people around us. I think something it's a race said that we we try to go up and we're not looking to go linear to move forward, and I'm always trying to move linearly with my friends to move forward, because I think that Success is not fine without your homies. Right, I've been. Camera hard says so much that but, but so you that that quote?

Douglas Whatley: 14:25

Oh my god, I think it's such a powerful quote.

Dr. Tiff: 14:27

It is, it is it's. I had it, I had. That's why I read it twice. I'm already getting fear. Is imagination rooted in ego? Fear, imagination.

Douglas Whatley: 14:37

Yeah.

Dr. Tiff: 14:39

Rooted Destructive side crazy, like it's crazy deep, and I read that and I had to stop because I was like shit.

Douglas Whatley: 14:49

Yes, me too, you know, I like in that phrase, I like in that quote to Nike, and that's just do it, just do it. I think we spent a lot of time with paralysis, by analysis. We're who's gonna accept it, who's gonna, who's going to think it's stupid, who's going to support it? And I'm like just do it, just throw it out there in the universe. I'm thinking and and 40 years from now, whether it's million, million seller or everybody sees it, or five people see it, you have something to look back over your life and say I did a thing. And when, as you, as we get older, all we have is memories. All we have is memories of what we did and experiences. Everything else fades away. So, yeah, I think it's just leaning in on the just do it spirit and I think that's what that's funny. You bring that up. That's what this season is really about.

Dr. Tiff: 15:43

Yeah, it is. It is, and you know, setting great intentions for the beginning of the year.

Dr. Tiff: 15:49

I'm feeling like we often walk through this lifetime just calling out all of the things that we don't have or the things that we we feel like we're missing out on, and Not really acknowledging the blessings Along the way, or even the fact that we are where we are in this moment is a blessing. You know, I talked to you, you know talked earlier about the fact that and we recorded this podcast earlier and it didn't work and just Frantic about the audio and all of those kind of things. But like, look at us right now, like it's been four months, we're able to jump back on record a killer episode. Hopefully, hopefully, it works.

Dr. Tiff: 16:30

I'm looking at the, I'm looking at the feed on the side and it's like your mind is 99% uploaded in, yours is 65, 65. It was a glitch While you were talking and so I'm like, oh god, I'm we're gonna have to do this again. I'm not doing it again, by the way, the people will get what we give them, what we say today, hey, and you eat it and you enjoy it and it will help you eat it and you like it.

Dr. Tiff: 16:57

You eat it and like it.

Douglas Whatley: 16:59

Is that what you say to your husband? I'm sorry.

Dr. Tiff: 17:09

He eats whatever.

Douglas Whatley: 17:17

Do people know you're funny? Do people actually know like you're hilarious?

Dr. Tiff: 17:20

I really believe that I am not funny. My goal in life is always to make my husband laugh, like, if I can make it, because I feel like he's super funny. Um, but, and it's like he just he pats me on my head all the time. Oh, that's cute. Hey look I can really, yeah, exactly, but when I can like make him really chuckle, like I feel like I've done the Lord's work.

Douglas Whatley: 17:46

You know what I said? The same thing about my wife, for my wife makes me laugh. I like your winner and that's why I married you, because nobody knows she's hilarious, but when she's talking to me, like she's very shy, but when she's talking to me, yeah, she's like dark humor, just inappropriate.

Dr. Tiff: 18:00

I'm like I've never seen her as you've never seen oh, oh, you shouldn't not like. Yeah, I know, I would love that side of her.

Douglas Whatley: 18:10

Oh, hang around a little like 15 minutes, let us start talking when she has a little juice.

Dr. Tiff: 18:18

She really is he wildly inappropriate.

Douglas Whatley: 18:21

Not if it's me and her. Yes if it's, if anybody else around she's, you gotta get easier in yeah, yeah. She's super self-conscious sometimes about like letting herself go for the people. I think that's why she loves me. We're polar opposite. Come like yeah, yeah, Let it happen. I don't. You don't cuz you know why? Because fear. Read that quote again.

Dr. Tiff: 18:47

Is the devil Rooted in ego.

Douglas Whatley: 18:52

And you know that's not your image. That's our most dangerous thing our ego. I think what, as I get older, I'm trying very hard to set my ego aside and I'm trying and setting your ego aside. It's very, very, very hard because we live in an ego driven society. Mm-hmm, and it's about what I can get. How fast can I get? How much can I get? And let me get the hell out of here, as Opposed to, what can I build and what can I? Who can I grow?

Dr. Tiff: 19:17

a service.

Douglas Whatley: 19:19

Yes, yes, yes I think you know what.

Dr. Tiff: 19:21

It's interesting that you bring that up, doug, because I think we don't recognize that the gifts, the blessings, everything that's gifted to us by our creator and our higher power, the universe, the things that we have, the things. The reason why we are Purpose to be here is not about us at all. Is about what we're supposed to do with that gift to Build up the lives of others.

Douglas Whatley: 19:43

I'll say this when I I met you, when I worked at a church and yes and Before that I had not been working at a church.

Douglas Whatley: 19:52

I said I played the piano and I had been a minister of music and churches for years, and it wasn't. To a friend, victor Jackson said, hey, there's a job over here that I think you'd be great for, but it I wasn't using my gift. I Before that right and through that gift I went. I came there and I started working with the youth and through that I found that I love serving you, the youth. I like pulling their gifts out. I like helping them think on the on a higher level, like to help them be analytical, I like having them explore, and through that I was able to build a company based on my gifts right. And so for the last five years I've been, I've had sparse United, in which we serve over 500 kids Five days a week, soft skills through the arts.

Douglas Whatley: 20:33

But it was me tapping into my gifts. And how could I serve others? And until I was, until I started serving others, I couldn't find success, until I started giving myself to others. No, I I have produced songs that have been number ones, I read songs with the number one, but I could not get what I needed in life until I started serving others until I start being a blessing to other people. It's very reminiscent of the job story everything went wrong until you said let me pray for my homies. And when he took his stuff off the equation and start praying for others guys like about time, my nigga, I got you. And I think right, and I think that's what we are in many ways, god is saying God is waiting for us do what he's created us do. So you can say about time, my nigga, I got you. Sorry, I'm assuming that's how God talks I, my Bible, my Bible, I got the ATL standard.

Dr. Tiff: 21:32

So, yeah, I really, really hope that that becomes published you know, Feel like there's a market for that. I feel like you could do Bible stories a Bible stories book ATL edition. You could probably do like a whole bunch of editions of that book. Oh my god.

Douglas Whatley: 21:54

That would be brilliant. We just tapped into something. I should write that down, actually.

Dr. Tiff: 22:01

Yeah, I think you should. You got to put it out this, this. Yeah, you got to put it out before.

Douglas Whatley: 22:06

It's gonna be sacrilegious.

Dr. Tiff: 22:07

I'm gonna be like you know you have the King James version. Yeah now we have the ATL version now the ATL whole version.

Douglas Whatley: 22:20

Yeah, hey, man. You gotta add the ATL whole edition as in a Ux. As in a you X. All right, we do this. Every time we do, we go everywhere.

Dr. Tiff: 22:50

Have you always been this person, this gratitude guy, the one that kind of puts things into perspective, finding the good in In others and in in life?

Douglas Whatley: 23:00

I don't think I have. I think not until my 30s did I realize how blessed I was. I think before then I spent a Whoo. I spent a lot of my life. I Was kind of positive, but I didn't understand that God's lesson. God is using me every day to work through and for me, for his kingdom and for first people, and when I started leaving, I was in it. When I lean in on that, that's when I was able to realize oh, wait, a minute. You're supplying my needs all the time. You're opening doors for me, I and you're doing it without me even noticing it. You know what I mean. I'm asking for this and you're giving me this. That leads to this, that gets me there, they get me to there, and so I think it was a process. I think it's a process of learning, process of maturing and process of a Gratefulness like the great gratefulness is a process that we must walk through, and it's a hard process to to to realize sometimes.

Dr. Tiff: 23:54

Especially when you look at things that you're not Happy that happened in your life. You might not be happy to grown up in an abusive household. You might not be grateful for a parent or loved one passing away. You might not be grateful for that grade you got in English class. Would that was a last grade that you needed in order to graduate or whatever. Like there's a lot. I mean, I'm not speaking personally or anything, but there's who told you I Found English.

Douglas Whatley: 24:27

No, I'm sorry, go ahead.

Dr. Tiff: 24:30

No, I mean there's it's it. It is a process. Gratitude being grateful, gratitude finding gratitude it's certainly a process and it's a learned skill as a habit. That I have to continue to work on in order to be more mindful of the blessings that are in front of us in the Gratefulness that we, that we can have, that we can be grateful for some things, and there's even you know we spoke with um Tiffany nunly I want to say who I think you know a couple weeks prior and we talked about Similar to this like there are certain things that you know we go through in our lives and while they stink you, they absolutely suck.

Dr. Tiff: 25:14

Other things come to us Based on those sucky things happening and so sometimes, even though those things and I think that whole phrase a Joel Olstein says it all the time beauty for ashes guy will give you, you know those things to you miss, give you beauty for ashes, that there are things that you know we grieve that we lose, that we are angry about, pissed off about that happen in our lives.

Dr. Tiff: 25:41

But sometimes that is a setup To strengthen you, to grow you in a way that you wouldn't have grown had you not lost that or not accomplished that or whatever, and so that you can experience the gratitude on the other side, right and I said that I think my early 30s was all about that.

Douglas Whatley: 25:58

My other 30s was seeing who I was being a brat. And then God said, hey, I got to grow you, so I'm gonna grow you by destroying you. And I think the other pieces it sucks right is that not crazy?

Dr. Tiff: 26:14

Yes, no, it makes you hate guys grow you is to Completely destroy all these things that you work for or that you thought I gave you. You know I like who does that?

Douglas Whatley: 26:28

I grew up in here, though, thing. I grew up in church, right, and I always got prophecies you're gonna be this, you're gonna be that, you're gonna be this. And so I went through my again through my 20s, thinking any day now about the pop-up, any day he's gonna go, about the blow, and realizing that.

Douglas Whatley: 26:47

Our time. Isn't, guys, timing realizing that if I'm working on seeing the blessings around me every day, I ain't got time to worry about what I don't have. If I'm actively looking for what God is doing in our life, I'm actually looking for how, how great my life is, that I'm going. I'm not gonna focus in on, I'm gonna be ambitious, I'm gonna move forward, but I'm not gonna think about lack as much. Yeah and there and in reality, we don't need much to have a good life. You really don't need much. We live in America. We want much. You fix the lies. Get me a white tomorrow. I'm a guy. That's okay. You can call me that you like, I'll let it slide.

Dr. Tiff: 27:27

I know I say that to my husband all the time, like girl please.

Douglas Whatley: 27:31

He bought his fist up right.

Dr. Tiff: 27:47

It's interesting Intention, setting, intentions, manifestations. There are two very I I like to call them sexy words. I feel like people use those two words, they use mindfulness a lot to Setting intention, manifestation, being mindful sexy words right now, and we've been, I feel like, in this conversation, of course, we've been talking about About those and I have a free resource. I'm gonna put a link below which I'll link. I will link down below, but it's all about learning how to set intentions and how to.

Dr. Tiff: 28:20

Set killer intentions, intentions that really do help you manifest the day, the relationship, the Whatever you want, and so I do believe in calling things in To your, to your orbit. But do you feel like where we are individually is kind of representative of what we put out into the world? Like? Do you feel like if I'm like, if I'm not having a good day, is it because perhaps I was? I woke up and said Today's gonna suck?

Douglas Whatley: 28:57

Absolutely. I feel like your. Your reality is what you make it and that's why I probably so pleasant, cuz I'm so doggone, delusional, but your reality, it's what you make it. So if you want to be upset, you're gonna be upset. If you want to be driven by your emotions, which is so dangerous but if you want to be driven by your emotions, you will be driven by your emotions and you will go in circles to the roots of your life, following those emotions. My mom always says that you should always welcome your emotions in and you always say goodbye, good to see, you, had fun with you, and goodbye. Let me get back to life.

Douglas Whatley: 29:27

I think another thing about intention and affirmation I mean intention, affirmations and manifestation is it's prayer. It's prayer in a different form. One thing about the book I love, about the life no hype is that I'm Forcing you to make affirmations in your life. I'm forcing you to speak about those things that you, that you don't usually speak about in your life. I'm forcing you to look around and say, wow, I'm so blessed, whether you want to or not, you can't help it. And if you're, if we're able to look around and see where we are, but also able to speak when we are able to speak, where we're going. I think it's empowering and I think it's just prayer. It's, that's all that it is. It's it's speaking, as far as I think about sounds, that sound doesn't go like this sound expands and so by the time it gets to the heavens, it's gigantic. You know what I mean. So whatever you're speaking is whatever you're going, you're really calling in on you. So today sucks. Well, guess what it's gonna suck? No, today's great, it's gonna be great.

Dr. Tiff: 30:27

Yeah, no matter what it's gonna be great, it's gonna be great because I think that you know when we, when we set that intention, it doesn't mean that negative things won't happen. It just means that we will be able, better able, and to put those things into perspective right, and Understand that this, too shall pass, is not going. I'm not going to let it, and it won't inhibit me from having the best day ever, if that's what I.

Douglas Whatley: 30:55

No matter what, tom Hanks, no matter what, no matter what's happening, this too shall pass. Good, bad, indifferent, yeah, and like I said before, all we have as we grow older and life, or memories and experiences, so you can hold on to the bad, you cut on to the good. I'm looking for the good, you know, I mean.

Dr. Tiff: 31:15

From your mouth to guys ears. I hope we can all do that a little bit better. I want to read one more crow, and this one is from our friend Victor Jackson.

Douglas Whatley: 31:22

All right.

Dr. Tiff: 31:23

He's a friend of the podcast to ladies and gentlemen everybody. I want to say everybody loves Victor Jackson, mr At's glam rock soul at Mr Glamrock soul that is. Victor said nobody's perfect, not even you, but everyone's special, and that means you too.

Douglas Whatley: 31:43

Very doctor, susan, beautiful, wasn't it?

Dr. Tiff: 31:47

I didn't pick up on that the first time I read it. But yeah, and he is you. You've coined him the eternal Multi-haven and I have to agree with that.

Douglas Whatley: 31:55

Well, let me say this everybody, everyone's moniker at the bottom. They gave it themselves. So I asked her.

Dr. Tiff: 32:01

I said tell me who you are in a few words it was one in here and it sounded so much like you and I was like, oh, hold on. And there was one in here that I was like Douglas, why did you put this on this person? Okay, so this was trust God. Trust what he put in you. You are your best compass. This was Priscilla tenant.

Douglas Whatley: 32:22

Oh, that's a good one, I love it.

Dr. Tiff: 32:23

Yeah, it is a good one. Listen. Singer, speaker, writer, eater, helper and twerker on blessed occasion. I felt like you wrote that, but she wrote that herself. You wrote on blessed occasions. I am Priscilla tenant, I guess that's on the Instagram. Follow her.

Douglas Whatley: 32:46

Torx, you may work something. I haven't seen a twerk online, but you know, you never know, you never know it might be in the story.

Dr. Tiff: 32:52

See, you might be missing it. That's where it all is in the story. All right, so let's talk about the book, because I love it. Obviously got it right here. What brought you the idea? What brought you to write this workbook? Because it is a phenomenal workbook. What what I want people to know, though, is like this is this is a workbook. You're gonna work. I gotta work a workbook, and that is. That is so so, so true. So what brought the idea of working with this workbook dope life? No hi.

Douglas Whatley: 33:26

Um, I Well. What's funny is I actually I wrote this in. I want to say 18, 2018, yeah, and it wasn't. I don't got released into 20, maybe 21, but what brought me to? I, man, I just started realizing that Nobody was satisfied. No, but was everybody was miserable. Everybody's looking for something and I'm like it's right there, howard, yeah, it's, it's a you, you got it. You got the sauce. You're already equipped for it all. You might have to hone the craft. You might have to dig in a little deeper. You got it. Just make it great and if you ain't great feel, do it to your.

Dr. Tiff: 34:09

Get great Love on what you got such a growth thing though, doug, like we are not, a lot of us aren't there. You know it's. It takes some gears. You know how people say you know if something hadn't happened? Well, I've never done X, y and Z, or I have never been sick, or I've never kept living you know, some of Some of us just don't haven't gotten to the point where we can reconcile that.

Dr. Tiff: 34:36

You know it's, we don't need these things. That's not important. This is not what life is about. What you know, our family, our loved one, like a Lot of us, just aren't there, and so how do we get there? And I guess getting there is through doing the work right.

Douglas Whatley: 34:52

It's doing the work. Um, it's. You know, I think a lot of people are talking about shadow work. A few years ago, um, I never was doing that really, never else is that really meant. But I think that's internal work, um, and it's not. The internal work is really looking at yourself daily, and it's looking at not only yourself, but how you treat others, how you respond.

Douglas Whatley: 35:12

Um, how do you respond when things are going your way? How do you respond when things aren't going your way? How do you love on the people around you? How do you love on yourself? How do you? How do you make yourself feel appreciated? And and what can you do for you? They don't require nobody else. Like what? How do you make you happy without nobody being involved?

Douglas Whatley: 35:30

One thing me and my wife always say that we have a. We're blessed. We're blessed at a high level. We have a nice size home, but we also know that we can live in a tiny home and be just as happy. We can live in one bedroom house or apartment and be like we did it Because we don't need, because the stuff ain't important. It's the, it's the company, it's the life. You decide, decide to live and you're, and remembering that we're only going to be on earth one time. Got to make it count one time. So if you don't, if you ain't did it, do it. If they get mad because you did it, who cares? Who cares? I will.

Douglas Whatley: 36:05

My wife, my wife, likes to sing sometimes and she's very self-conscious about that, and I let her hear a, something that Ed shared, one of my favorite artists that share. I let her hear one of his bush recordings of him singing and it was horrible. And he said it was horrible. And I had to remind her that you got to work at it. He didn't. He didn't start at the top he had. He had to get, he had to get better, get a growing to it.

Dr. Tiff: 36:28

Let me find out Me, you can sing. Let me tell you something. If I could say, that is the one thing that I feel, like God just said no, I'm not giving you that gift.

Douglas Whatley: 36:38

Oh, me too, because you wouldn't know it you would.

Dr. Tiff: 36:41

You would be so arrogant and like I feel like he would not, because I would never shut up if I could sing, oh my god. And I sing under my breath like I'll just you know, pop out a little something. But oh my gosh.

Douglas Whatley: 36:54

I'm always singing. I can't sing it off. I'm always singing around like I'll make up a song about anything. But if I could sing, oh my gosh, you wouldn't even know me. You wouldn't know me. I'll have 15 kids already. I already know I'll sing my way out of child support you know, I'm sorry.

Dr. Tiff: 37:10

Which is why he did not give us that gift, because he already knew like this would be over and be a wrap.

Douglas Whatley: 37:15

And here's the thing my, my default setting is evil. So and I think that's another thing too I purposely my default setting here's a transparent moment is negativity, and it's like how do I just throw the world, let it burn, and when I, when I watch movies, in the brain. Yeah, when I watch movies I'm like man. Why they killed that villain? I was. I was happy that no Snap, I was like let him live Leave him alone.

Douglas Whatley: 37:40

He makes sense. Um, and I? I realized that that doesn't produce good fruit all the time. No, it does not. So it's me, actively, it's me make it again, like the book, making decisions To do what it's going to produce good fruit. And once you do it long enough, it becomes habit. And once you become habit, you become, you crave it. And once you crave it, you become greedy for it. And once you become greedy for it, you want it every day, you want it every hour and you want it every second and you want it every millisecond. You want it as much as you can get it. And that's the problem I've had. Is that? That's what my life is turned into. I want and I want you to have it too. I want you to see that we're blessed, because if you know you're blessed and I know you're blessed, and I know I'm blessed and you know I'm blessed, we don't have a good time in every situation we have a great time and we're gonna accomplish so much.

Douglas Whatley: 38:31

Try to tell you by owning our greatness.

Dr. Tiff: 38:33

Yeah, I uh I posted something earlier about yeah, I had posted something early about like, realizing that, like, perhaps I've devalued myself, perhaps I've been giving you know I've been doing too much and not really Owning the greatness that other people see in me, you know, um, just because I'm thinking about what I haven't accomplished, or what I wasn't able to do, or what I should have said, and whatever interview and like it's, like it's so over like 2024. We're not doing that anymore. We gotta own it and be grateful for where we are, the spaces that we take up, and just own that. Whatever is said, whatever is done, whatever is accomplished in those spaces is huge, is monumental, and we have to be grateful for just having that time to be in that space and in those moments.

Douglas Whatley: 39:24

I talk about my wife so much I happen to love her. Believe it or not, I should hope for it. Crazy, right, You're lucky. But my wife is super accomplished, super credentialed, has done everything and she never walks in like that. And I've done a few things, I've been blessed. But I always tell her when I walk in the room you gotta walk in, like that House is on fire and you're the only person who knows what to do with that type of you know what I mean.

Dr. Tiff: 39:52

You do walk in there like that. You do you absolutely do. Yeah, that's what we do, I think you BS your way through a lot of things.

Douglas Whatley: 39:59

I don't mean-.

Dr. Tiff: 40:00

Letting people feel like you know things and you're just figuring it out.

Douglas Whatley: 40:03

No, I am it is fine, I am the expert in all things. Thank you very much.

Douglas Whatley: 40:08

Okay, fantastic no but yeah, I think. But I think as we walk in, as we walk in, our greatness, even when others don't see it, that's the most empowerment thing, because if we and here's the other thing, and this is just my opinion Everybody else is a figure, man of our imagination anyway. So, like we're only imagining all this stuff, this is all perception, right, everything we do is perception. And if you perceive yourself to be great, then you're great. If you perceive yourself to be that dude or that woman, you're that dude and that woman. And the more you perceive yourself to be that, the more people will say the more you want. He's that, he's that they can't take away from you. They can't take what you think about you away from you ever.

Dr. Tiff: 40:53

Right right.

Douglas Whatley: 40:54

You know what I mean.

Dr. Tiff: 40:55

Right, yeah.

Douglas Whatley: 40:57

And we can't allow that to happen. I think this is a year of not allowing that to happen.

Dr. Tiff: 41:01

Not allowing it to happen.

Douglas Whatley: 41:02

I agree with you.

Dr. Tiff: 41:04

I love that idea because, since we're and especially and this is another reason why this book is so on time for where we are, it is the beginning of the year, beginning of a new year, and I feel like it's the perfect practice for those who are looking to set killer intentions, looking to set great goals, doing vision boards and all of those things that just they just want to have set out to have the best year ever. The thing that I really like I love this book so much, but, like one thing that I do love about it this book and it's a couple of other books that I have I love workbooks because they tend to be kind of a consistent practice and part of the idea of this book is that let's come to it every day. It needs to be a habit that we work on every single day. I know why it's important to me, but, like, why is that important to you and why is that the way that this workbook is written?

Douglas Whatley: 42:04

Well, again, like I said before, you don't get good at anything until you do it all the time. You gotta do it all the time. The book is designed for every day is for 30 days of working through it, working through the idea of gratefulness, but every day there's a different thing that we're really looking at. So I think one day is just self care. Another day is where do you want to be? Another day is what have you done? Where are you now? How do you feel loved? It's focusing on different aspects of these ideas because if you tap into it every day, it's easier to see. If you paint every day, it's easier to be detailed about things, because you're getting better at it. And I want to make you detailed in your greatness and gratitude. I want you to see the details of life differently and change that perspective so that pivot a little bit, so that you can see how God is blessing you and how you're blessing the world, whether you know it or not.

Dr. Tiff: 43:05

Yeah, I love that. Well, Doug, I really and truly can't thank you enough for all of the words of wisdom. We've learned about chickens breaching eggs and you having to go in with your bare godly hands and pulling them out. We've learned that my husband will eat whatever he put in front of him.

Douglas Whatley: 43:28

Me too, not what you put in front of me, my wife. Thank you thank you, Clear that Cheetah.

Dr. Tiff: 43:35

Okay, right now Look at the tie, we gotta go.

Douglas Whatley: 43:39

Well, I do want to do a shameless plug before we get ready to go.

Dr. Tiff: 43:43

Please do do as many, and that you don't be ashamed, don't be?

Douglas Whatley: 43:46

ashamed. I'm shameless. At the top of February, I'm starting a podcast called Grow Fam and it's gonna be very simple. I wanna charge up your week with prayer. Well, it'll be every Monday. It'll be 30 seconds of prayer. Just get your week started right, and you ain't gotta do nothing. Just listen while you're on your way to work and just help somebody. Push it to somebody who needs it. I think there are a lot of people around me. One thing I found to be true is that my friends who go to church never wanna help me with ministry, but my friends who don't go to church always wanna help with ministry, but they so why is that?

Douglas Whatley: 44:27

Well, I think church people are so busy doing church stuff that they forget ministry is important. You know what I mean. I think when we go to church, all the time we're thinking about what we can get. We go to church to receive and I think the rest of the world is looking for you, to people who are always receiving, to pour into them. And I think last year was the last year before maybe I did a series of events called Hugs and Mugs and I asked, I remember that yeah and I will probably do it again this year.

Douglas Whatley: 44:55

I asked a lot of my Christian friends to show up. None of them did, but maybe two. But my friends who don't go to church smoke, drink, whatever they're like, let's go pray for some people. Let's go love on some people. Let's go help some people. So the podcast is designed for people who don't go to church. If you love God but don't wanna be in the church setting anymore, that's cool. Rock with me. If you don't like to pass the day from the old video, you know what I'm saying. Come on over to Death Row Records If you don't want your patent to have no scandal. Come on over to Death Row Records, baby. But look out for that, guys. It's called Grow Fam. It should be on all platforms at the top of February.

Dr. Tiff: 45:38

I heard I think you sent me a snippet of that a few months ago and I really did love it. I'm so excited for it and we'll definitely put a link to that in the show notes so that people won't even have to look, search far for it. Just know that it's gonna be down there along with Doug's Instagram handles and anything else that he wants to know, and of course, a link to dope life.

Dr. Tiff: 46:01

you know, hype. We're gonna put all of that in the show notes so that you can keep up with this awkwardly charming human.

Douglas Whatley: 46:10

Well, thank you, I do what I can, hey. And here's the other thing you follow me, I follow that. I'll be your instant disciple if you become mine, oh.

Dr. Tiff: 46:20

It's a wild ride. Ladies and gentlemen, Follow at your own risk.

Douglas Whatley: 46:24

Oh man, enjoy the ride Follow at your own risk.

Dr. Tiff: 46:27

Yeah, there's great stuff. You're putting out some great content too. I loved I've been loving the TikToks and the things that you've been doing and I think it's so unbrand and so perfect for where you're going, where you're growing, and I just can't wait to continue to follow that and follow you and see how God continues to bless you Because I know when he blesses you, he blesses all of us.

Douglas Whatley: 46:49

He blesses all of us.

Dr. Tiff: 46:50

Because you're not selfish. You're not selfish with it and you give, give, give.

Douglas Whatley: 46:53

You know, I wanna say that living and my phone is probably, you're probably gonna have to hang up on me, so yes, but my phone is going dead.

Dr. Tiff: 47:00

I thought it was gonna do anyway. Oh well, perfect, I'm gonna hang up on you pretty soon. That's coming, good to know.

Douglas Whatley: 47:05

I wanna say that I encourage everyone this year not only to look at your life and really run towards those things that you love, but also help somebody along the way If you got access and that person saying hey, I just wanna learn, let them learn Like ain't nobody trying to keep hold you down by them coming up. They're trying to work with you and I want and I'd like to say to you is that I love you and thank you so being so encouraging and thank you for being amazing and you always pull me in and you always push me and you always just show up and show out every time and you're somebody who I aspire to be like. Really you are.

Dr. Tiff: 47:43

Please don't Like listen. I love you down and I really do appreciate and respect all of the gifts that you bring to the table too. Like you are such a creative human, such a great human, funny, witty, weird, but I appreciate it, I appreciate it all, I love it. It just makes you well-rounded.

Douglas Whatley: 48:06

Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Dr. Tiff: 48:07

I appreciate it, yes, no, I appreciate it all and I enjoy, I literally like totally enjoy being in your presence and there's no time that I've ever been in your presence where I didn't smile, where I didn't have a good time, where I didn't feel. I never feel in your presence like I'm wasting my time.

Douglas Whatley: 48:26

Oh yours funny. I feel the same about you. There's never a time I haven't had a great time. You feel like I waste your time. Yeah, absolutely yeah.

Dr. Tiff: 48:35

Yeah, and you always cut out in the middle of a sentence, like I don't even know what you're saying right now, because your feet cut out again. I don't know if this episode is actually gonna air. I really don't. I don't know if it's gonna air because Douglas can't get his audio video together, so we're gonna put up what we can put up. I wanna thank you guys for hanging out with us. I'm gonna just tidy this thing right on up. Just thank you guys for listening, for joining, for joining us today. It's a beautiful community we're building over here.

Dr. Tiff: 49:08

If you'd love to keep the party going, there are a few things that you can do. You can like, comment, share and subscribe to the podcast. That's a start. This episode will be available for viewing as well on YouTube. We said that earlier. So my YouTube channel is at Dr Tiffany TV. You can look for that on YouTube and you'll get to see me. Hopefully you'll get to see Doug. It just depends on how this all goes today, honey. I don't know, but you could also see all of my guests on YouTube. We'll put a link for that YouTube channel also in the bottom of the show notes. You can also just pull up on the blog. Pull up on the blog. I'll be putting links to all of those things and more in the show notes today, so I want you to check it out here, ladies and gentlemen Douglas Wiley this is the human.

Douglas Whatley: 50:01

This is the human that you have.

Dr. Tiff: 50:05

And I believe.

Douglas Whatley: 50:08

I don't know what's going on, Douglas. I don't know what I'm gonna do is tell the people goodbye.

Dr. Tiff: 50:14

Ciao.

Douglas Whatley: 50:15

Okay, Douglas, you don't hang up. Okay, Because you're in trouble. I'll see you guys next week.