🎤 Crazy Money and a Big Voice (Issue 112)  January 20th 2023

You Need Two Things to Change the World

I had an interesting experience earlier this week ... It's related to podcasting, and it has a happy ending, but I feel it's necessary to include a TRIGGER WARNING because it involves an injured dog.

Late Night Dogs

I live in an urban neighborhood, so it's not uncommon to see and hear people on the street, even late at night.

As I was taking my dog on his nightly walk, I could see a cab dropping off a woman and her dog in the parking lot of a 24-hour, emergency vet.

She immediately sat down next to her dog, in the middle of the parking lot, and started crying.

Sad people are pretty common at an emergency vet. With this said, the people there do good work and there are often very good outcomes. I took my cat there a couple of times when he was sick and they took great care of him.

I walked my dog around the block, coming back a few minutes later to see if the lady was OK.

She was still there, sitting in the middle of the parking lot, so I went to talk to her.

Her dog, a pit bull named Max, had been attacked by another pit bull. And she was living on the street and had no money to get him the help he needed.

I don't have all the details of everything that happened before I saw her. But I know she was there, sitting alone in the middle of the parking lot, for at least 20 minutes before somebody came out to help her. And I know it took a middle-aged white guy to go inside and say, "I have the money to take care of this situation" to make that happen.

It sucks to feel powerless and "unseen." Yeah, I had the money, which helps move things along, but as I was waiting with her, two people working at the vet walked within ten feet of us and said nothing.

I waved the second one down and once again requested help.

A few minutes later, two people came and started to assist the woman and her dog.

Crazy Money and a Big Voice

Paul Ollinger hosts a podcast called Crazy Money.

He said this ... "You need a certain amount of money to live a life that is absent of chaos."

He's not wrong – money helps. But if you really want to get things done in the world, you need a voice.

That's the opportunity you have with podcasting. And not only can podcasting be your voice, it can be a voice for other people and causes.

Like the unhoused. Or even animals who can't speak up for themselves.

A podcast can also provide you (and any cause you believe in) with the money to make good things happen.

If you're feeling ignored, like this woman was that night ... and like I was that night ... keep going. Keep showing up, keep applying pressure, and you'll find somebody there who will help you.

The two workers who eventually came out of the emergency vet did that. One immediately got down on the ground with the woman and started to look at the dog as I talked to the other.

"We'll handle it," she told me.

I got the lady's phone number before I left and gave her mine.

The next day, I got a text that read, "Thank you for your help and concern. They put a bandage on his neck and got him fixed up. I'm getting some money together to get him some antibiotics."

A happy ending? Who knows? Much like the relationship we have with a podcast guest, once this "episode" was done, my relationship with this woman ended. But not before I sent her a text back with the name and number of a woman who runs a charity for animals living at or below poverty level to hopefully help her get Max the care he deserves.

Let's make positive changes in the world via podcasting.

If you're ready to do this, or already doing it and need help doing it in a bigger way, reach out to me and let me know what you're doing and what you need help with.

David @ Big Podcast