Unlocking Emotional Intelligence and Mental Health

Rhonda Parker Taylor

[00:00:00] Ed Watters: To overcome, you must educate. Educate not only yourself, but educate anyone seeking to learn. We are all Dead America, we can all learn something. To learn, we must challenge what we already understand. The way we do that is through conversation. Sometimes we have conversations with others, however, some of the best conversations happen with ourselves. Reach out and challenge yourself; let's dive in and learn something new right now.

[00:00:56] Today we are speaking with Rhonda Parker Taylor, she is an award winning author. She has her book on the number one bestseller on Amazon, and the book is titled Crossroads. Rhonda, could you please introduce yourself and let people know just a little more about you, please?

[00:01:21] Rhonda Parker Taylor: I would love to, and thank you for having me. I really appreciate you meeting with me at 7pm, making yourself available. You know, I know, you know, your time is valuable. Um, like, like you said, my name is Rhonda Parker Taylor. I'm an author. I am, originally started, um, in academics as an academic researcher and writer. And I know we'll probably talk a lot about my emotional intelligence study.

[00:01:46] I delivered that for the UN Global Compact Committee, which is part of the United Nations, um, when they, when they were at, um, Case Western in, um, in Ohio. And that particular model and that particular committee is, um, all about sustainable. How do we make our, our lives more sustainable? How do we make people more, um, resilient?

[00:02:13] How do we make, you know, communities more resilient? And the purpose of the emotional intelligence study was to find out what the difference was between, um, multinational leaders and domestic leaders in their leadership skills. And we use the emotional intelligence model to be able to figure, figure that out. And I am so looking forward to talking to all of you about the journey between being an entrepreneur and academic and then following my passion, which is writing.

[00:02:43] You know, and so many of us out there, you know, really, you know, we say, Oh, I would love to write a novel, or I would really like to do my music, or whatever it might be that, you know, you have a passion for. And I would like to tell everybody, Follow that passion too. It [00:03:00] doesn't mean that you have to uproot your whole career, it means that you have to saw out a little piece of your life that gives time for that, that passion. It may be, you know, gardening, it, whatever the passion may be. It doesn't have to be something where you're in front of people.

[00:03:17] Ed Watters: Well said, Rhonda, and I like that. You know, let's start off with, you did not go to school to become a writer. It, like you just stated, it's a passion. So, what did you go to school for?

[00:03:37] Rhonda Parker Taylor: So I went, went into school, well, first of all, there's a whole journey that goes a part of that, but I went to school thinking that I would be in business. I thought I would be a buyer in fashion and I went that route. I went to Dallas because, of course, that's where all the, the rich, beautiful, um, single people are supposed to be, at least in my generation. Because the show Dallas was out, right?

[00:04:05] So I went to school just outside of Dallas, Arlington. And I picked up my bags as a young person and thought, You know, I'm going to meet the world head on. And I didn't know a soul there. And as I started that academic journey into college, I found out that I was smarter than I thought. And I think many of us equate, um, academics with how smart or successful you're supposed to be.

[00:04:37] And so I thought, you know, this is the journey I have to do. And, and what I found in that process was not only was I smarter than I thought, but my life experience was going to make me more successful than most people would have ever thought. Because I had learning challenges when I was younger and, um, I was more considered social than, than academic.

[00:05:00] And now I have a doctorate. And all of it's because, as you start to follow the steps and put the, the things in place for you to be successful, then it's all about opportunity, meeting, preparation. And when you have opportunity, and preparation, meeting, what happens is you have luck. Because what everybody's like, Oh, you're the luckiest person in the world.

[00:05:30] No. You have to be driven, you have to, you know, work at it. And I have to contribute part of that success to, uh, family mottos, which is, if it's meant to be, it's up to me. And that means if we want something to happen, we can't expect someone else to fix it for us, make it happen for us, open doors for us. That we have to go in there and we have to make it happen. And so I kind of took [00:06:00] that, you know, um, Middle Eastern motto and just took off with it and did the best I could. And you know what? Hard knocks comes along with it, but you just keep on getting up and doing it.

[00:06:14] Ed Watters: That is for sure, you know, and I like your energy that comes along with that. And it shows if you do any research on you, Rhonda. It just follows you about. You're active, you're doing what you're supposed to do in life and sometimes that involves our passion. So you're a lucky individual to have that involved into your life, for sure. Many of us, we, we get lost, and stuck, and confused with life. So that, that really follows into the emotional intelligence that we're dealing with in our world today.

[00:06:58] It's kind of disheartening, for sure. But I really think that we're seeing an uptick on that, you know, just the focus on our mental state in whole. So emotional intelligence is everything. How, how did you become associated with research on emotional intelligence and what got you started down this road? Also a three parter here, why is that so important for people to understand?

[00:07:43] Rhonda Parker Taylor: Sure. I would love to share that because, you know, so many times our self talk tells us that we're not going to be successful, we're not going to be happy, we're not going to meet our dreams. And a lot of that comes from, um, what we're told as children.

[00:08:03] You know, if you don't get A's in math, if you don't get, you know, um, great grades in, you know, English, or whatever the, the message was, you know, you're not going to be successful. Even if it's the one, only one time someone says that to you. You know, for every one time someone says something negative, it takes about ten to fifteen positives to, to overcome that message.

[00:08:34] So, um, for me, I, I just, I, I needed something. And when I was reading in college about emotional intelligence, I'm like, Ooh, this is, this is a thought. So emotional intelligence is the right brain. So you have what, what everybody else is saying, you know, which is, you know, you have to have math, reading, writing, you have to have this,

[00:08:58] the IQ does matter. [00:09:00] But the equivalent to the IQ is the EQ and the EQ is your emotional quotient. It's the ability to navigate the world, it's a, it's kind of like the yield sign. You slow down, you listen, and when emotions come from the gut of anybody in the room, you stop. Because you have to address the emotion to be able to move anything forward.

[00:09:32] It doesn't matter if it's a conversation, it doesn't matter whether it's a decision making thing. Because there's a problem that you're trying to solve. It doesn't matter if it's a family matter, if there's emotion, which is typically caused by a fear or a lack of understanding, if there's emotion in anybody in the group, then if it's not addressed and identified, then what ends up happening is there is no positive exchange.

[00:10:08] So yes, in today's world, you're absolutely correct. It would, um, it makes a difference. Because if we aren't practicing emotional intelligence development, then what we're, what we're doing is we're holding ourselves back. And it's been proven in studies, in academic studies that people with higher emotional intelligence are more successful than the ones with lower emotional intelligence, or, and higher IQ.

[00:10:36] It's not saying that IQ is discounted. That is not what I'm saying, because IQ does matter as far as ability to do your logic and your reasoning skills, et cetera, right? Because you have to make, you know, solid decisions. And part of that is your IQ or the ability of the people in the room to share their knowledge in those areas, especially in today's data world.

[00:10:59] But, um, it's the ability to listen to everybody in the room and find out what their opinions are, what their thoughts are. And when you can do that, not only do you come out with a better decision, or a better outcome, or a better relationship, all the things that, you know, emotions destroys or builds up, but you end up, um, being able to have, uh, practice positivity in your life. Which gives you a reputation of someone you can be worked with. And we've all been with people that blow up, degrade, or whatever at the workplace, or at home, or whatever it might be. And, you know, it doesn't, it doesn't fare well for somebody.

[00:11:54] Ed Watters: Yes. So, so communication is [00:12:00] key to emotional intelligence. When, when we learn to communicate, we get higher emotional, is that correct?

[00:12:12] Rhonda Parker Taylor: It's communication, it's the ability to listen. So there's twenty-one characteristics of emotional intelligence. They range from interpersonal skills, intrapersonal skills, empathy, openness to, um, experience, narcissism.

[00:12:30] You know, all of those are degrees of, in a person, nobody's a hundred percent of all of them. And, um, if you have a higher degree in, in all of them, then you have higher emotional intelligence. You can have one that's stronger than others. So, for instance, I, my father is a good example. All my life, and we all can relate to this because we all have parents.

[00:12:57] I used to say, You just have no empathy. You know, you just don't see it from the other person's side. And he's an entrepreneur, he's a very successful entrepreneur. And he had a very high emotional intelligence score because he was one of the domestic leaders that I, that I put on the study. We did it for fun and we did it for his development, but he's also a domestic leader.

[00:13:18] He, you know, he, he owns a manufacturing company that only works in one country, right? And his emotional intelligence was high for the domestic leaders. But he looked at the scores, he's like, You're right. I have no empathy. And that kind of impacted him because he was like, I scored almost as low as you could.

[00:13:40] I'm thinking about what other, you know, being worried about other people's problems, feelings, etc. And that changed him. You know, that changed his outlook on how he was going to be as a leader. So, when you go through all twenty-one of those characteristics, you can build a plan. What am I going to do if I'm in this situation?

[00:14:05] What are the drawbacks? And like, for instance, one of them, one of the characteristics is open, openness to experience. If you're open to experience, you're more open to listen to other people and their experiences and what's going on. And then you can get engineers, and, um, writers, and customer service reps, and salespeople all in one room and get them to communicate, which is what you had said. And, um, stay disciplined and stay focused into what you're there to achieve.

[00:14:44] Ed Watters: Yeah. So good leaders actually have high emotional intelligence levels and, and that, that, that's where they shine really, you know, because all of those twenty- one aspects of [00:15:00] characterizing your emotional intelligence value. It's like, uh, you can take a score on each one of those and have an overall basis for your, your emotional intelligence level.

[00:15:18] Rhonda Parker Taylor: Right. And how you're treating, how you treat people. I see some people, they say, Oh, I have great control over my emotions. But they're like a staunch person, like, you know, like a stick figure. And that's not emotional intelligence either. So just keeping your mouth shut, that's called a spiral of silence. You know, you, you're really just keeping your mouth shut because you're not dealing with your emotions or the people in the room. You just don't want to be a part of it.

[00:15:47] Ed Watters: Yeah, very interesting when you get into it. And a lot of people, they want to shy away from understanding their emotions. Uh, I, I think I've, I've developed so much more and, uh, I've become a better person for understanding myself more and challenging myself with that aspect of life. As we stated earlier, in our world today, we're lacking this sense of emotional intelligence. So, let's segue into your book, Crossroads. Why, why the, why Crossroads?

[00:16:36] Rhonda Parker Taylor: Okay, so the title kind of tells you a lot about the book. So I'm from Indiana, the book is, um, based in 1982, Indiana. I picked real sites so the people reading it will see real locations that would have been like it was in 1982 in Indiana. It is fiction and it's a suspense, um, novel, like an Agatha Christie or a Grisham, okay? So some of the sites are, um, the downtown Indianapolis circle, the city county building, the mayor's office, and I used real sites. And the reason I did that is I want people not only to learn from the characters, but I want them to also learn about the environment that would shape the characters.

[00:17:26] So why I chose Crossroads is, all of us reach a crossroads in life. All of us, at some point, where we have to make a decision to go right or we got to go left. I got my book here, so everybody can see. So I have the dead bodies dropped at the railroad tracks. So, um, it's not on there, but that's, that's where it's.

[00:17:50] But this, these are actually railroad tracks in Indianapolis. And one of the reasons why it was, um, endorsed by Mariel [00:18:00] Hemingway, for those younger generation people, you may not know who that is, that's Ernest Hemingway's granddaughter. And she was a very, and still is, and she's an author also herself. And she's, um, she's, um, was an actress with Woody Allen, um, Lipstick, and several other, and Golden Globe and Academy Award winner.

[00:18:24] But most of us think, you know, someone that's successful, their life is charmed. But they don't look at the shoe on the other foot, and I, I think she was able to kind of relate to it. And when she put the YouTube video called, um, Mariel Hemingway praises Rhonda Parker Taylor's Crossroads. When she put that out there, I, when I listened to it, I was like, Oh, she got it.

[00:18:47] And that's why they, you know, why she chose to pick it up for her book club. And she talks about some of the challenges that she had. And so the main character has challenges, she's, she's, you know, a high driven, high powered individual. And much like all of us, you know, she's learned that, you know, your career is your path to success.

[00:19:09] And, um, but she's not paying attention to anything else in her life. And when she gets called to jury duty, all of a sudden she's starting to see there is no winners and losers. Her thoughts of what the world would be like in the criminal justice system isn't really what it is. She's seeing young men in shackles, you know, walking through. She's, you know,

[00:19:34] she's questioning all this. Meanwhile, things start happening to her. And so it's up to them to figure out why. And Mariel, and Hemingway said, um, she said, Even chocolate has an expiration date. So everybody's crossroads is that you have an expiration date. You have to figure out, is it going to be that you're going to die and you didn't fulfill your passions?

[00:20:01] Is it going to be that you didn't make the right decision? Cause you wouldn't make the right decision. And she's all about mental health. So each one, I have another fiction book coming out, the working title is called Chosen. But, um, it takes, each character is going to have, it has its own book. But it will also have a self help book attached to it.

[00:20:23] So if you identify with the character, I'll put it on this side, I think this is a little bit more photogenic, each, so this is a life balance book. When you're out of balance, things happen to you. So this is a workbook to allow you to realize that when you get out of balance, any one of these things tips you over and everything falls apart.

[00:20:46] It doesn't matter whether you're a workaholic, a family aholic, um, TV aholic, gaming, social media, when you get out of balance, everything falls apart. So it helps you [00:21:00] plan this. Most of the time, we only plan, you know, for our career, finances, kids, you know, a few things, but we don't have a plan for all of our areas of life.

[00:21:16] Ed Watters: Yeah, very interesting. I like that new book and, you know, that, that's really a big part of our world is that work/life balance, uh, social/life balance. Everything has balance and once we figure that out, we can be truly happy. And, and it's not that difficult, but yet so many of us get lost in that struggle of finding that balance, which is key to Happy Me. So yeah, it's wonderful. When does that book come out?

[00:22:00] Rhonda Parker Taylor: Oh, um, well, it was supposed to be out May. They haven't given me the new deadline. I'm guessing it's August. Um, they had some graphic issues for it. Um, but I would say, I've got a question for you. How many goal plans do you have? And what areas do you plan and try to set goals for?

[00:22:21] Ed Watters: Well, actually, I am working on that struggle myself right now. You know, I, I myself have been coming out of a traumatic life experience, trying to fix myself. And that's what this transitional podcast is about, Dead America. So

[00:22:42] Rhonda Parker Taylor: Right.

[00:22:42] Ed Watters: I'm constantly looking at what's wrong in my life and trying to change that to make not only my life better, but my wife's life better. Because if I'm out of balance, she's out of balance, our house is out of balance, our community, and it just emulates out like ripples in a pond when you throw a rock. And once I discovered that, I started working on myself diligently. And digging past the, you know, fears of what I might dredge up in the swamp, because that's what your life truly is until you get that balance and understanding you're in control. So I'm setting goals for my podcast,

[00:23:38] Rhonda Parker Taylor: Good.

[00:23:39] Ed Watters: just specifically right now. My podcast, and, you know, I've, I've been trying to get my wife, you know, we're dealing with emotions there, and I want her to be more comfortable telling her story so she can bring that forth in a podcast setting and start talking to [00:24:00] individuals like I chose to do. Because it's not easy, and

[00:24:05] Rhonda Parker Taylor: No.

[00:24:05] Ed Watters: that's one of the goals of my life. So we're working on that, and that's just a taste of

[00:24:15] Rhonda Parker Taylor: Yeah, and you know what it will do? It will open up a whole new light for you. See, we, in today's society, like you said, we've got so many pressures and everything is built around, we have to be bigger, badder, better, and we've got to keep going. And, you know, my niece taught me a phrase and I, I've said it a hundred times since, she's gotten probably more than a hundred times since she said it. And she said, We are human doing, not human beings. Think about it, we get little checklists and we just keep doing, and doing, and doing, and doing, and doing. And then what happens?

[00:24:53] You end up doing, not being. Sometimes you do have to re evaluate, share, um, and if you look at all your dimensions in your life, it takes time. And yeah, that means you have to take time from something else. But I bet if you sit down and think about what you've been doing all day, there's spots that you could put meditation, looking, going outside cause it's a pretty day, getting your vitamin D, spending time with your animals, um, spending time with your loved ones, you know? If you're not intentional, and that is a hard practice,

[00:25:39] and I struggle with it every day. I'm like, Okay. What have I done intentional for my loved ones? Well, I made a phone call. Well, that's a good one, that's a good start. I made a text, or I, you know, I made dinner, or I would. But what have you done intentional to, to show value? And to be valued. That, then you have to communicate and that's hard. You know, how do you, how do you tell each other, you know, even if it's an aunt or an uncle, it's hard. Let alone someone that, you know, you spend a lot of time with. You know, how do you do that and stay balanced? So I felt like a workbook would help. You know, you could do it individually, you could do it as a family, you could do it as, you know, as friends together. And, and really kind of develop a plan for the, for all the dimensions of your life.

[00:26:37] Ed Watters: Yeah, I, I think that's very important and, and I like that you highlighted intention. You know, if you don't have intention for your life, you're, you're just going day by day doing nothing. So it's important. And, you know, we make it intentional on Saturdays to sit [00:27:00] down and open up a self help book of whatever and we go through a chapter. She'll read one week, I'll read the next week and then we converse over what we read. And we make that intentional to include each other in what our life is about, making it better for us. So intention is everything and I'm glad that you brought that into the conversation

[00:27:31] Rhonda Parker Taylor: Thank you.

[00:27:31] Ed Watters: today. Uh, so what, what's the end for writing for you? Do you have a goal for more books after this, or are you just one day at a time with your writing now? Because you say it's a passion.

[00:27:56] Rhonda Parker Taylor: Yeah. And it's a, it's a hard passion. You know, it's one that is in the desires and then there's reality. How much time can you spend writing with all, with everything else? Cause I do still have my, my, my consulting. So my philosophy for people that, especially creatives that want to follow a passion, or that could be anything really, is, for books, if you do one page a day, you get one book out a year.

[00:28:31] And if you, same thing, if, you know, I, I, when I was younger, I played the piano and saxophone. I'm terrible at it now, probably couldn't even read one or two notes because when you get away from it, you don't do it and I'm old. I, I'm old and senile now. And, um, same thing with music, you know? If you go through one draft, one, one lyric, one bar at a time and you get it right, you know, then you, you can still do it.

[00:29:00] Same thing with, um, you know, whether it be a podcast, or, or engaging with others, it doesn't take that you have to dedicate your whole entire life. You know, if you're wanting to engage more with a loved one, like you said, every Saturday is your, from this time to this time and you don't break it. You know, make a commitment to do it. You

[00:29:25] stay connected then, you know, in all, all, all of your ways. It doesn't mean that it's supposed to be just, see, we spend so much time comparing ourselves to others and trying to come up with another, their standard, that we don't do our own standards of, of what's important to us.

[00:29:48] Ed Watters: Uh, finding that freedom right there is the key to life because it's all about perception, really, you know, how you perceive the world. And if [00:30:00] you perceive it in a negative light, you're going to be a negative person. So, my, my number one suggestion is look for the positive in all situations. It's there, some, somehow, somewhere, you will run across that positive connection in whatever experience we've went through. So, you know, intention, positivity, and doing it, making it happen and staying relevant in our world is all about those three things right there.

[00:30:39] Rhonda Parker Taylor: That's exactly right. And you, you, you're hitting the nail right on the head, because if you can work on your skills with others and learn from others and move forward with those connections and with intention, like we've been talking about, and you surround yourself with that positivity, that practice of positivity brings positivity back to you. Because of course, there'll be some that will want to wash it. Don't, but that's where you practice the emotional intelligence and you, you know, you take care of yourself. And, and make sure that you're, that, that that's, that you're learning from those lessons and you're finding the lessons and the beauty in everything.

[00:31:27] I have a practice of opening my blinds and the, you know, what does it matter if you open your blinds? It doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. You go to work and you come back and you close them, right? But in, in my, my mind, it sets the tone for my day. It's, you know, you make your bed, you look, you open the blinds, and I look out and I see the world and I see every part of my world.

[00:31:58] I see the front, the side, the back, and I can have a moment of reflection. It might be, hey, there's a branch that fell down that needs to be pulled out of here before I mow. It might be, oh, look at that cute squirrel. Or it might be, you know, um, I, I live on three acres so I have all kinds of critters that come through so I might see a baby, you know, baby deer or a rabbit that decides, decides to, um, you know, jump up with the squirrels and try to eat the squirrel and the bird food, you know? I've, I've, and actually anybody that wants to see me on social media, go on social media. I have a video, and I swear this, it's the most awesome thing. But we had a family of hawks that came through and not understand why this hawk would not attack some of the, I mean, literally stand, they don't eat the food, [00:33:00] but they were literal, but it was to gain their trust. You know, and they want the babies.

[00:33:07] They don't want, but literally sitting with a rabbit, a squirrel, birds, and a big hawk sitting there looking. And I'm like, What the, and I did take the picture, and of course, you know, it was just for that moment, you know? But I'm like, Wow, that was the most, but had I not opened the blinds to see, I would, I would have missed it. And, you know, it was, so I, I would say that, that particular day, or a couple of days, was both terrifying, because they are awesome and exhilarating. Because if you've ever had a hawk scream at you, or screech at you, literally looking at you, like, oh my goodness, this is a scene from a suspense novel, right?

[00:33:58] But, you know, it, but at the same time, that's nature. That's the way they communicate. And, you know, it, it, it's something that you can, that you can really enjoy. So I, I would say you don't have, if you want to follow me, great, but go look at that video because that's what our world should be like. Could you imagine if we could all sit at the table like that?

[00:34:20] Ed Watters: Yeah. Well, you know, that's part of my life. I live on of couple acres in Oregon in the National Forest, up by Crater Lake. And I see eagles, deer, bear, everything, you know? And, and, being so close to that, knowing that I'm encroaching on their territory,

[00:34:43] Rhonda Parker Taylor: It really is.

[00:34:44] Ed Watters: I've got to make myself at one with that scenario. And it's part of just the exhilarating life and I choose that, you know? I could choose to be in town where there's cars, planes, buses, trucks, and, you know, that's a different lifestyle.

[00:35:08] Rhonda Parker Taylor: Right.

[00:35:08] Ed Watters: So choosing our lifestyle to fit who we are is very important. And

[00:35:15] Rhonda Parker Taylor: Oh, definitely.

[00:35:15] Ed Watters: that's one of those aspects of life we forget to even think about. And that's

[00:35:21] Rhonda Parker Taylor: Right.

[00:35:22] Ed Watters: why many of us are miserable. So I think that's part of that living with intention. It, it

[00:35:30] Rhonda Parker Taylor: Yeah.

[00:35:30] Ed Watters: has to come from the heart and it starts with each and every one of us. So have we missed anything that you would like to discuss, Rhonda?

[00:35:44] Rhonda Parker Taylor: You know what I'd like to discuss? I think I'd like people to realize that if they want something, if, if they truly want something, they can have it. [00:36:00] Be who you are because you're beautiful. You're wonderful, all of us are. We're unique, we're wonderful, you know? And stay disciplined to who you are. Don't let, let envy, and fury, and anger, and jealousy destroy your own peace. Even if you're not where you want to be because we all go through those downward cycles and then we have to get ourselves back up.

[00:36:31] You know, put one foot in front of the other. Put your chin up and enjoy where you're at. Play some dominoes, you know, you know, do, you know, go for a walk and, you know, go to, go to the places that, that, that inspire you. And just realize that this is just a moment. We have life to live, so be unique. And be, and love yourself and, and you will be fine.

[00:37:01] Ed Watters: Yep, I like that. I think that's very good advice. And I think, uh, if people really want to be happy, put one foot in front of the other. Baby step your way to a better life. And if you need help, reach out to those individuals out there giving out help. And, you know, inspire your way to a better life, if you need to do that. Because we all need a hand up sometimes

[00:37:32] Rhonda Parker Taylor: Oh,

[00:37:32] Ed Watters: and that's critical.

[00:37:34] Rhonda Parker Taylor: Definitely. I can tell you a story that, um, I had adopted a young man, um, and raised him. He was at work, he got shot and killed. And during that moment, um, I was a mess. I was just a mess. I'll just admit it, I was a mess. And when you say, Reach out to people, you know, I would pull into a church parking lot, not knowing which religion it was, not knowing what denomination it was and I would be, I just. In there, it could have been downtown Indianapolis in the worst neighborhood. It could have been, you know, in the suburbs, it could have been, it could have been anywhere.

[00:38:17] It didn't matter. I just pulled my car in and just started crying and bawling. And, and you know what? I found the best people that way. Because I went to the resource, there are people, where people can help me. You know, and you, you, your point on that is perfectly on cue because sometimes you do need help and it may be just to bawl your eyes out and let someone listen.

[00:38:47] And you know what? You can't do it to your, your family every day because guess what? They have to work, they have to feed their kids, they get tired too. And sometimes you need an expert, that expert, you know? [00:39:00] If you have an addiction and if you have, you know, we're not, you know, family's not therapy.

[00:39:07] They're to love you. So if you need spiritual guidance, family may know, know, you know, different parts of the Bible, or Quran, or whatever it might be, right? But they don't know how to help you because they're not an expert. So you're right. Reach out, go to those places and get the help you need and counseling, whatever it might be.

[00:39:34] Ed Watters: Yeah. I think this is a very powerful and motivating conversation that we've had today, Rhonda. And I would like to have you share how people can reach out and get in touch with you.

[00:39:51] Rhonda Parker Taylor: I try to make it easy for all of you. Um, I'm sure my name's on the, on the screen, Rhonda Parker Taylor. It's rhondaparkertaylor.com. All the social medias are Rhonda Parker Taylor. Um, I'm on, um, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Um, which one did I miss? I'm starting TikTok. I'm trying to get it, get it up and going. I'm, I'm an old dog trying to learn a new trick. I'm a little slow and I'm a little, I'm not quite as engaging, but guess what? I'm, I am getting you some videos out there, there too. Um, also, my website, obviously, rhondaparkertaylor.com. That has all my social media at the bottom for you to click the link.

[00:40:34] Ed Watters: Rhonda, it's been a delight speaking with you. You're very knowledgeable and I'm so happy that you're out there sharing it with people openly and getting that discussion flowing. Thank you so much for sharing it here today on the Dead America Podcast.

[00:40:52] Rhonda Parker Taylor: Thank you, everybody. I hope you have a great night. Make every day great.

[00:40:59] Ed Watters: Thank you for joining us today. If you found this podcast enlightening, entertaining, educational in any way, please share, like, subscribe, and join us right back here next week for another great episode of Dead America Podcast. I'm Ed Watters, your host, enjoy your afternoon wherever you may be.