56. Following My Heart Didn't Pay Off This Time
In this episode of Aware & Aggravated, Leo Skepi discusses recent business and personal setbacks, including a $1,000 scam and a major FedEx shipping disruption that affected thousands of customer orders. Skepi shares how he handled these challenges while organizing a successful charitable initiative that raised over $50,000 to address school lunch debt.
The episode also explores Skepi's journey with sobriety and its impact on his emotional stability. At 65 days sober, he describes his improved ability to process stress and maintain composure during difficult situations, contrasting his current approach with past behaviors. Skepi also addresses his views on spirituality and explains how his charitable actions stem from genuine care rather than religious motivations.
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1-Page Summary
Personal and Professional Challenges
Leo Skepi shares his recent struggles with financial setbacks and personal challenges. After falling victim to a $1,000 scam, he faced significant disruptions in his business operations when FedEx lost most of his inventory shipment, leading to over 2,000 unfulfilled orders. Despite these setbacks, Skepi demonstrated his commitment to customer satisfaction by covering expedited shipping costs and offering refunds.
Relationships With Followers and Faith
In the midst of these challenges, Skepi made a significant impact through charitable initiatives. He donated $25,000 to All for Lunch to address school lunch debt, which inspired his followers to contribute an additional $28,000 in less than 12 hours. While discussing his spirituality, Skepi expresses frustration with those who suggest his challenges are the work of the devil or those who imply his charitable actions are merely for heavenly rewards. He explicitly states that his actions come from genuine care rather than fear of punishment or hope for afterlife rewards.
Handling Adversity and Maintaining Emotional Stability
At 65 days sober, Skepi describes maintaining remarkable emotional stability during recent turmoil. Where he might have previously responded with anger and violence, he now finds himself able to acknowledge stress without being overwhelmed by it. He credits his sobriety for this newfound clarity and emotional resilience, noting how it has helped him navigate challenges more effectively and find genuine enjoyment in life without substances. Despite contemplating breaking his sobriety during stressful moments, Skepi remained committed to his recovery, demonstrating an improved ability to process emotions and maintain peace amid chaos.
1-Page Summary
Additional Materials
Actionables
- You can create a personal accountability plan for handling setbacks by identifying potential risks in your life and outlining proactive responses for each. For example, if you're a freelancer, consider setting aside an emergency fund for lost income due to a client falling through, and draft a template apology and compensation offer for late deliveries to maintain client trust.
- Develop a habit of daily reflection to foster emotional stability, using a journal to track your feelings and reactions to stress. This could involve writing down three things that caused stress each day and how you responded, aiming to notice patterns and improve your reactions over time.
- Start a small, personal charity challenge by selecting a cause you care about and setting a modest fundraising goal. Share your intention with friends and family, and match their donations up to a certain amount to encourage participation and multiply the impact of your initiative.
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Personal and Professional Challenges
Leo Skepi opens up about the various personal and professional issues he's been facing, ranging from financial setbacks to internal struggles regarding his beliefs.
Navigating Financial Setbacks and Disruptions To Business Operations
Skepi describes a series of professional challenges, including being scammed and dealing with major disruptions in business operations.
Financial Losses From Online Scams and Order Issues
The speaker was scammed out of $1,000 by a fraudulent website offering a black panther head taxidermy. Adding to his woes, massive delays occurred with his merchandise shipments, causing half the inventory to be delayed for weeks. He paid $32,000 to ensure the on-time arrival of the inventory at the warehouse, but FedEx lost most of the boxes, leading to over 2000 unfulfilled orders, as Leo Skepi points out. With inventory inexplicably split and scattered, Skepi took action by covering expedited shipping costs for each delayed order, personally ensuring customer satisfaction, and offering refunds and gift cards for the inconvenience.
Struggled With Emotional Stability and Substance Abuse During Challenges
During these trying times, Leo Skepi shares his commitment to maintaining high-quality customer service. However, these financial blows impacted his trust with customers. His efforts seemed to be met with constant adversity, which he initially attributed to being punished by God, especially after charitable acts like buying a truck and donating to a cause resulted in a merchandising disaster equating to the truck's value. Skepi conveys his significant worries about financial stability and makes it clear that he is not interested in playing with his listeners' money or defrauding them, unlike other companies.
Amid these challenges, Skepi mentions staying sober, implying past struggles with emotional stability and substance abuse. Even though the details of these struggles aren't fully expounded upon in the context of the conversation, it's evident that these issues have compounded the obstacles he's been facing.
Confronting Disappointment and Frustration With God's Role In Challenges
Skepi’s financial and emotional struggles have also led him to confront his feelings towards God and the role he believes God plays in his life's challenges.
"Punished" by God For Donating and Buying Truck
Leo Skepi discusses a pattern where he feels "pun ...
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Personal and Professional Challenges
Additional Materials
Actionables
- You can create a personal risk management plan to safeguard against financial setbacks by identifying potential risks in your life, such as job loss or unexpected expenses, and setting up an emergency fund or insurance policies to mitigate those risks. For example, if you're a freelancer, you might set aside a percentage of each payment into a separate savings account to cover periods of low work volume.
- Develop a habit of thorough due diligence before making any significant purchase or investment to avoid scams and financial loss. This could involve researching the seller's credibility, reading reviews, and checking for secure payment methods. If you're considering buying an item from an online marketplace, reach out to the seller for additional verification of the item's authenticity and request a video call to see the product live.
- Enhance your emotional resilience by practicing min ...
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Relationships With Followers and Faith
Supporting Loyal Followers Through Community Initiatives
Leo Skepi recently tackled the issue of school lunch debt through a significant personal donation and a call to action for his followers, showcasing the power of community and the impact of collective effort.
Donated $25,000 to Pay Off Lunch Debt, Inspired Followers to Contribute $28,000 More
Skepi discussed his recent initiative where he donated $25,000 to a company called All for Lunch and sold designer items before leaving Miami, adding an extra $2,000 from the owner of the company Savonches to the cause. After posting about his donation and sharing the donation page, his followers were quick to act, raising the total to $53,000 in less than 12 hours. He notes that through their combined efforts, they paid off around $20,000 worth of school lunches for kids. Skepi was deeply moved by this gesture, expressing pride in his followers for matching his donation and contributing to something positive for their community.
Handling Negative Reactions and Unsolicited Advice on Spiritual Journey
Skepi faces unsolicited advice and assumptions about his faith with frustration, highlighting the pitfalls of judgment and the misunderstanding of personal spirituality in the digital age.
In response to unsolicited advice about his relationship with spirituality, Skepi shows frustration toward comments on social media suggesting his personal challenges are the work of the devil or Satan attempting to undermine God's gifts. He finds such remarks dismissive of God's role and expresses irritation toward those imposing their interpretations of the Bible without unders ...
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Relationships With Followers and Faith
Additional Materials
Actionables
- You can support children's access to school lunches by setting up a recurring donation to a local nonprofit that works to eliminate lunch debt. By automating a monthly contribution, even a small amount, you ensure consistent support without needing large-scale fundraising efforts.
- To foster a culture of giving without expectation, start a kindness chain with friends or colleagues where each person commits to doing a good deed without telling anyone. This encourages genuine acts of kindness and discourages actions done for recognition or reward.
- Reflect on your motivations for c ...
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Handling Adversity and Maintaining Emotional Stability
Through reflections from Leo Skepi, we explore principles of maintaining emotional stability and sobriety in the face of adversity. Skepi shares his experiences demonstrating emotional resilience and deepening his commitment to sobriety, which have helped him navigate challenging situations more effectively.
Demonstrating Emotional Resilience and Self-Awareness During Crises
Stayed Calm and Resilient In Setbacks
Skepi felt surprisingly emotionally stable during recent turmoil. He recounts a time when, had it been six months earlier, he would have been angry and violent. Instead, he experienced support from God that allowed him to remain emotionally unfazed by the ordeal. Although he felt overwhelmed at times, he managed to acknowledge his stress and process his old patterns of thought without getting caught up in them.
Knew When to Rest and Recharge
Amidst feeling the strain, Skepi listened to an internal cue telling him to rest. He responded to this by going to bed and relaxing. After initially freaking out due to financial issues, he sat back, which helped him feel better. He demonstrated self-awareness by reflecting on past dissatisfaction with life and embracing trust, even when feeling the world was "fucked up from every different avenue."
Deepening Commitment to Sobriety and Experiencing Benefits
Resisted Substance Relapse Despite Stress and Disappointment
Skepi, at 65 days sober, faced moments where he contemplated breaking sobriety due to stress. He checked in with himself and realized he didn't need to escape his feelings with substances. Despite feeling life was blowing up, and experiencing stress, he managed to observe thoughts of using substances like cocaine and alcohol without acting on ...
Here’s what you’ll find in our full summary
Handling Adversity and Maintaining Emotional Stability
Additional Materials
Actionables
- You can create a "stress processing" journal to identify and work through stressors without becoming overwhelmed. Start by writing down any stressful thoughts or situations as they arise. Then, use a two-column method: on the left, write the stressor, and on the right, brainstorm healthy coping mechanisms or perspectives that could alleviate the stress. For example, if you're stressed about a work deadline, on the right side, you might list steps to break the task into manageable parts or remind yourself of past successes in similar situations.
- Develop a personal "emotional emergency kit" to help maintain calmness during turmoil. This kit could include items that ground you or bring comfort, such as a playlist of soothing music, a list of affirmations, a stress ball, or a favorite scent. When you feel the onset of strong emotions, use the items in your kit to help stabilize your mood. For instance, if you're feeling anxious, you might listen to your calming playlist while taking deep breaths.
- Engage in "passive thought observation" exercises ...
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