Unbreakable

There is definitely something stirring inside me. Again, the catalyst is because of a book. This is the second post in a row that pertains to a book. Which makes me think that written thoughts do matter and words have the ability to influence people beyond who we write them down for. When I listened to this book, I was alone and I found myself nodding my head, slapping the steering wheel, verbally agreeing and snorting with laughter. The title of the book is Unbreakable and it’s written by our friend Jay Glazer. We call him Glaze. 

I’m trying to decide if I should let my thirteen year old son listen to the book because there are so many life lessons and stories that I know my son would relate to or appreciate hearing. The book is filled to the rim with F bombs and other expletives which I’m positive would entice my son to stick around long enough to get the meaning and purpose of the book; even if it was only to hear every bad word. I have already forwarded the Audible version of the book to ten people because what I think would be so helpful to them, as well as for my son, is the honesty of Glaze. At first, someone who doesn’t personally know Glaze might think he is just another celebrity trying to sell a book. But it’s rare for someone to talk like he does in a book. I bet by the second chapter, anyone would trust that his mission is sincere and he is exactly who he says he is - there is no guessing or wondering - he’s the real deal. 

Something real to know about Glaze is that he makes enough money to stay in hotels whenever he travels but no matter which city we live in - Fort Lauderdale, Minneapolis and now Denver, I am always happy that he stays with us. I’ve never once thought, “Why is he staying with us when he can definitely afford to stay in 5 star hotels?” Instead, I’ve always felt some sort of pride that he would rather stay with us. I have to admit, last week when he stayed with us, I was a little stressed because we were leaving for our 9 day trip and I didn’t have the bandwidth to entertain. Plus, the decorators were installing everything in the room where Glaze was staying. I wasn’t able to clean it up before the decorators came because we left for our trip before his visit was over. Needless to say, I was pre-occupied with thoughts other than Glaze.

I so wish I would have been more present for this recent Glaze visit but I didn’t think this time was much different than past visits. Until I listened to the book. Now I have a hunch that he came to stay with us in order to get my hub to pay attention to his mission and help him possibly save more lives. My hub has been known to save a few lives and I think this book would move him to save even more. Like me, I think my hub was also a little preoccupied during this visit. But I have shared the book with him so I don’t think Glaze’s effort has fallen on deaf ears. I think my hub will easily get thru the book; especially because Glaze himself, narrates it. I think the intention of his visit was to make my hub aware of mental health and Glaze needs help changing the narrative of it. I wish I could text Glaze right now to ask him if my hunch is correct but I can’t. After his visit with us, Glaze was flying from Denver to San Francisco for a layover and then off to Thailand for 40 days. A trip to unplug, find solitude and to discover.  

A discovery about Glaze that I found out by listening to Unbreakable is that The Paton house is not the only place he stays when he goes from city to city. We are one of hundreds of homes he stays throughout the years. But I don’t care  - in fact, I think it’s even cooler that our family is part of select group of NFL/Armed Forces/MMA families who host him.  Glaze has so many friends that would gladly welcome him into their homes. All of his good friends know, that no matter what, he has our backs. He’s very loyal and that loyalty goes a long way. 

The book Unbreakable is relatable whether you are in the NFL, Armed Forces, MMA fighter or not. In fact, most people don’t belong to those elite groups. It doesn’t matter, you may know someone who does and so this perspective will help us navigate friendships and family members who may relate. Heck, even if you don’t know one person in the Armed Forces, we should all hear the raw stories that Glaze shares in the book. Knowing how vets feel and having awareness of what they face is the best way to honor them. Glaze urges us to listen to the needs of all our soldiers and this book is a wonderful effort to bring awareness to anyone who wants to honor men and women who fight for our country.

Let me share an example of applying something I learned from Unbreakable to the most unlikely target audience for the book. I am fortunate enough to have a group of special friends that I left behind in Minnesota that I call my MN Tribe (see photo above). Three of us follow football, some of us have military ties and none of us know a lot about the MMA (mixed martial arts). The other night when my MN Tribe was out together, I shared an excerpt from Unbreakable because it was completely appropriate. We were finished eating dinner at a very swanky restaurant - reservations are very tough to come by - and unfortunately we had a waiter who didn’t do his best to serve us. In the book, Glaze shares a story of a similar experience. I shared with my friends Glaze’s anecdote and we all laughed. The point that Glaze wanted to get across by sharing this experience was to remind us that we have no idea what that waiter was going thru. We don’t know if our poor service was because the waiter had something going on in his life or if he was just a terrible server. But we should give him the benefit of the doubt. Such a good point and my MN Tribe agreed, one that we will have to remind ourselves every time we encounter someone who isn’t doing their job well. 

When Glaze was on Dr. Phil to promote his book, Dr. Phil told Jay and the audience that he read the book in its entirety in one sitting. I can totally understand why. It’s addicting to want to know more about Glaze’s struggle because no one ever sees this side of him. All we know is that he is killing it because he’s everywhere - Fox Sports, the TV show Ballers, MMA fighting, his gym Unbreakable Performance, GNC spokesman etc. Anyway, on Dr. Phil, Glaze gave a book to everyone in the audience and I love that. I know, I know. Every author gives away their books on all the daytime TV shows. It’s common for Thoughtful pinches from the guests of these TV shows to be given to the studio audience because let’s face it, it’s marketing. However, I love that Glaze gave out this book because all walks of life could benefit from the messages he passionately shares in the book. Then, part of the book, all of the book or even just a line in the book, can be passed on to many others. Just like I shared with my MN Tribe the other night. Glaze told me that the book has changed lives and now that I’ve listened to it, I truly agree with him. There is no doubt that the messages will touch people for years to come.

To say that I’m proud of Glaze and his book, is understatement. The book does a great job of grabbing our attention for so many important life lessons. I am grateful that he shares his life experiences because no one should feel alone. We must share so that we can touch the lives of someone who might be feeling alone. We never know. I for one, love his section on his relationship with God and how he interprets God’s intentions. I don’t think it’s coincidental that within the last few days I’ve heard God come up in conversations and now God is mentioned in this book. It takes guts, especially these days, to bring up God because people are so easily offended. I do think the message from all these people who mention God as part of their life is the same: They have faith in a higher power. I think the stirring inside me is because I know that I’m supposed to do more - I just don’t know what (yet). For now, passing along this book is a little way to honor the message of God. Those who are looking or those in need of validation or confirmation will get a good sense from Glaze’s testimony that God wants him here to help others find reasons to be unbreakable. 

Pinches,

Barb