Back in the Saddle

What if the very thing that sets you apart is the key to everything you're striving for? Welcome to Uncommon Edge, the podcast for those who are done with the ordinary and ready to own what makes them different. I'm DJ Newman, and if you're here, it's because you know you're built for more. You're uncommon by design, ready to break boundaries and build a life of purpose, success and impact. Each week, we'll dive into hard hitting strategies, raw stories from the trenches, and the tools that will sharpen your edge. From game changing lessons to deep diving interviews, this is your space to rise up, build, and make your mark. Whether you're growing a business, dreaming of starting one, or looking to level up in life, you'll leave each episode with insights and inspiration to make it happen. You weren't designed to blend in. You were designed to stand out. So if you're ready to defy the norm and bring out your best, let's dive in. Get to work. Your journey to owning your Uncommon Edge starts now. An object in motion stays in motion. An object at rest stays at rest. You've heard this quote many times in the past, I'm sure. I know I've said it on this show. Heck, I've even built entire episodes around it in the past. And then I went silent on you for over a year. So today I have to answer a question I've been avoiding. And honestly, the answer embarrassed the hell out of me until I decided to take the time to understand it. Welcome back to the Uncommon Edge. I'm DJ Newman. Let's talk about it. I just want to put the date right on the table. And you know, the last episode of the show dropped May of 2025. You know it, I know it. We're not going to pretend otherwise. And here's what actually happened. I'm not gonna sugarcoat anything. I'm just gonna give it straight. Life happened. Has life ever happened to you? I operate a multimillion dollar cleaning restoration company. As you know, if you've been listening to this or you follow me on social media or anything along those lines. And at that time, we had a ton of work going on when this show went silent and I was even recording episodes from out in the field. Matter of fact, I remember one of the episodes, probably one of the last ones that I did. A client even walked in and as I was recording, we made that awkward eye contact and communication through the eyes as. As I was recording the episode. And finally a straw broke when I just had to put this side project on the table for a minute and table it so that way I can get caught up on my main work that was happening. And I told myself a little white lie that I'm gonna get back to this immediately and I'll do a backlog of episodes if I need to, just to get caught up and everything will be good. And as we know, that isn't really what happened. And here's the part nobody tells you. Cause some people are like, hey, why'd you quit the podcast? I never decided to quit this podcast. Nobody decides to quit. At least I assume nobody listening to this, this podcast decides to quit anything. We're here for the uncommon edge, to bring out the best, know that we're designed for more, and God put us on this earth for more. And I just kept deciding not to record today or that day, some 50 some days in a row of recording schedule days that elapsed since the last recording. I decided not to for whatever excuse or whatever reason came into my mind at that time. You know, sometimes you get that voice in your head that says, oh, it's okay. And the more that passed by, the easier it got to say, I'll get to the next one. I'll get to the next one. Matter of fact, back in December, I even recorded a few episodes that never got released, which is weird because you'd think, oh, you recorded them? Why didn't you release them? I just wasn't feeling it. Maybe I'll release them one day down the road. But I recorded these episodes trying to get back in the saddle, and it just wasn't the. The right time for, you know, what was going on. Now I got to be honest about something, because if I don't say it, you're gonna think. Part of me felt like an entire hypocrite coming back to this microphone and jumping back in the saddle. You know, I. I did episodes about momentum. I was like, hey, the momentum guy. I was the enthusiastic guy that was trying to put a fire under your butts as well as my own at the time. And I had to sit in it for a second. I had to really just allow it to sink in. And that's probably why those episodes that were recorded in December really didn't, you know, really didn't do it for me and why I didn't feel comfortable releasing them. Has that ever happened to you where, you know, you say you're going to do the thing and it just doesn't pan out, and then you. You go to do it and just something feels off or whatever it might be. You know, if you're human, chances are you've lived it. Right? And that just makes me human. Right? And the thing is, jumping back in the saddle is a testament to allow me to do the thing. But, you know, when I actually sat with it, I realized something. I wasn't at rest this year. Not even close. Matter of fact, I. A lot has happened since the last time you heard my voice here on the podcast. I have since exited Speed Clean, my restoration company. I have launched Uncommon Ventures, my business strategy and consulting company. I have been working one on one with clients. I've launched local masterminds here in the Detroit area. I partnered with with Honor and Fire, which is Josh Latimer's company. So I'm officially part of Warplan, AI Profit Academy, Frapp chapters. All the things that are going on there, if you've been following me on social media and the whole story for all that stuff will be coming in later episodes. But it was wild stuff. In the last year, I've learned a lot and I'm so excited to. To talk about it and get all this stuff on record and in motion, because I was in major motion along those times. So, yes, I was in motion. But absolutely. But here is the lesson that smacked me right in the face. And maybe you can relate this a little bit. This whole episode right here is the thing that smacks me in the face. Because, see, motion is not universal. Motion happens per domain. The domain is where I publicly committed to you every single week. And I. And I allowed it to sit at rest for a year. And I don't want to, you know, kick a dead horse, but I told myself I was too busy moving, and that just happened to be too long because I made the commitment to do this. So before you let me off the hook, before you judge me on any of that type of stuff, I want you to look in the mirror. Because the last time something like this happened to you, maybe it wasn't a podcast per se, but it could have been, you know, your own version of it. Maybe you were crushing revenue while your health sat at rest, or maybe you were killing at the gym while your marriage coasts. Maybe you were growing the business while your friendships died on the vine. So let me just ask you straight up, what was your version of the gap in the podcast? What's the thing you committed to, the thing that mattered, that you quietly let sit at rest for a while, you stayed busy everywhere else, but you allowed that thing to just collect dust unintentionally. And here's the brutal part. That domain that you're neglecting, it's not paused. It's not waiting for you. Rest compounds exactly the same way motion does. It's really, really easy not to do the thing when you're not doing the thing right. Are you. Are you picking up what I'm laying down here? Because I. The further away I got from my goal of recording the episode that got lost, the more that talk started happening in my head. Matter of fact, one of my clients I was just having a conversation with, there's a great book by Napoleon Hill, if you haven't read Reddit, called Outwitting the Devil. And he was mentioning an audiobook to me called the screw tapes by C.S. Lewis, talking about how, you know, the devil will allow you to drift. And that's its main purpose, is to get you to drift. Maybe it'll put that little message inside you so you don't become the thing that you are meant to be. Because all of us are. Are meant to be more. Remember, God, don't make no junk according to Zig Ziglar. And that is something that you want to make sure you get out there and do the thing. And that's what I was doing. I was drifting by not honoring the commitments that I made to you here on the show. I was making commitments elsewhere, and I was fulfilling that. And yes, life can get busy, and yes, you got to prioritize. So what finally got me back in that saddle? I was actually talking with. With that client, like I said. And I re. Listened to a few of my old episodes. I re listened to the Napoleon Hill book, and I was looking at all the great things that have been happening to me, and I'm like, oh, my gosh, I'm learning so much. I want to get this stuff out there. There's people out there that are maybe two or five years. You know, I'm talking to myself from two or five years ago that really could have used this advice. Maybe you can't do the one on one consulting, or maybe you don't want to read the book or whatever, and it's just easier. Maybe you connect with it. I don't know what that is. Whether one person listens to the show or a thousand or ten thousand or however many people end up listening to this if it impacts one person. Like, I feel like I've done my. My job. And so a voice started creeping back into me again that was just like, nagging on me, like, hey, D, you got to get back into the saddle. With the podcast, there's somebody out there that's going to find it and you're going to have some really great advice. So hopefully this fires up the previous episodes and the show context is going to change a little bit too. Point. We'll get into that as well. Because here's the truth about restarting anything. It doesn't take a perfect plan. It. It takes one recorded episode. You know, in, in your case, maybe it takes that one workout, that one phone call, that momentum over perfection. You know, if you remember, I taught that back in episode three of the show. Now I'm living it on the hard side right in front of you as you're, as you're hearing it come, come through. And I want you to sit with that for a quick second. What's the thing that you've been putting off? What's the thing that's been collecting dust on the shelf that you know you should be doing and you just haven't had the thing? Maybe the devil, per se, is in your ear telling you, ah, I'll get to it tomorrow, or, you know, now's not the right time, or I'm not in the right mood or I'm not in the right mindset or whatever. What does it cost you not to do the thing? And that was what was starting to weigh with me as the days slipped by, is what if there was that one person out there that desperately needed to hear what I had to say? And not to sound egotistical about that at any, at any point, I'm saying that from like a completely self, selfless place, like, what if there was that thing? And the whole premise behind the Uncommon Edge was me talking about the stuff that I was dealing with, you know, in the past, that I grew into the edge. And then, you know, I'll be bringing guests back onto the show that will talk about their edges and how this happens. But I started to turn around instead of thinking like, oh, my gosh, I'm not gonna record this thing because of whatever the excuse might be, but I'm gonna use it as a teaching point that you just gotta take the jump. It's like restarting all over again. Dump the bad fuel that has gone in your tank, flush it out, put some new fuel in there and start that baby. And when it starts, what happens? Smoke cart starts pumping out or whatever. And maybe it's not perfect. Guess what? It doesn't have to be perfect. Matter of fact, sometimes the unpolished, raw stuff is the best stuff. So just do it. And, you know, what if this episode sucks or the first episodes sucked or whatever? It's gonna suck, and that's okay. Use that as fuel. The more reps that you get, the stronger the muscles build, the cleaner it's going to get as it goes. And chances are somebody is going to appreciate that, maybe connect with you a little bit more. Whether you're doing your own thing like I am here, or maybe it's like I said in the gym or in your business or whatever the thing is that you're putting off, just go and do it now before I let you go or wind this. This episode down. There are different things this time that are going to be happening, and I want to take a few minutes just to tell you exactly what this show is going forward, because a lot has changed. Behind. First, who's it for? This show is for business owners who are wired for more than they're currently producing. And they know it. You know it deep down. The problem isn't hustle. The problem is edge. Whether that's community or whether that's you're not doing the thing you're supposed to be doing or whatever it might be. You're just looking for that. That little refinement. You're. You're wanting to sharpen your ax in between swings and. And that's what this show is here to do. Use this as your sharpening stone for your uncommon edge. Because remember, you are made for great things. Second, what this show actually stands for. See, there's four values that I try very hard to weave into each one of these shows. So let me just put it on record, because I don't think I've actually taken the time to do that. One is authenticity over image. You'll get the real version of me. No bullshit or no version at all. I want to be raw with you. As you can tell, even in the recording this episode, there were a couple little stumbles and stuff like that. And that's okay. I'm just running them through speak in my mind. And this episode really is exhibit A to that whole authenticity thing. And I just wanted to put that out there. Number two, action over perfection. This show will never wait until it's polished to be useful. See, I want you to understand that rough and shipped beats, perfect and stuck. I am the worst when it comes to this one. So this one actually takes some severe effort on my end because I want to put out amazing value for you. I want to make sure that the eyes and the T's are dotted and crossed. I want you to, you know, I want to bring a value to you that is like battle tested. And you know what? I had a wake up call while I was preparing for the show. That by getting up and doing the thing is the battle testing. And it proves more to you, I think, than, than anything else. Number three, ownership over excuses. One of my main core values at Uncommon Ventures is own the outcome. So I want to just spend, you know, this few minutes with you on this episode just owning a year of silence instead of explaining it away. That's the standard for me and for you. And then four, truth over comfort. If the honest answer stings, you know, when it comes to your business, you'll still get the honest answer. You know, this is a big thing and I want you to understand that as we go into this whole thing, we're going to be talking about some hard hitting subjects when it comes to growing your business. And some of this you might not want to hear, but I would really challenge you to dive in and lean in during the hard subjects, do the hard things so you can figure it out. And we're going to make it fun along the way so you can win and grow in the process. That's, that's the whole thing. I want you to be empowered by these episodes as they start to come out. And then third, the map. Every episode from here on lives in one of four lanes. It's gonna be the inner game. That's the identity and the mindset, the craft that's gonna be like real business strategies from, you know, a guy that's built it or other businesses and business owners that I'll be bringing on that built it and are talking from like real life. Blood, sweat and tears, the body. Because your business doesn't get your best if your engine is wrecked and legacy. You know, talking about your marriage, kids, your team, the stuff that is still standing when the business is gone. Why all four of these different pillars, or whatever you want to call them, pillars is probably overplayed if we're being honest, because you're not four different people. This show covers the whole operator, the whole business owner, because you don't get to win at one and call it winning. There's guys that I've met that are worth billions and sometimes they say, you know, don't meet your, your heroes. And it was amazing to me when I met these people or this person that I have in mind right now. And I idolized and realized man in person was not the person that I thought he was. Matter of fact, his life was an absolute wreck. But looked so polished, and I didn't want that to be any of you guys. So go ahead and understand. That's why where we're putting all this into the four. So the schedule is going to be weekly moving forward, but this time there's a system behind it, not just good intentions. Episodes are banked ahead of time. The show's built to survive. And, you know, a bad month isn't going to put me behind moving forward. That's my commitment to you. And, you know, if you stuck around through a year of silence, do me a favor, leave this show a rating. Whether you're listening right now or later or whatever, this is going to tell the algorithm that we're live again. It tells me you're still out there, which I definitely appreciate. And next episode, I'm going to be unpacking the biggest thing that happened during the silence. I exited my company, like I said. And I'm not telling you that story to talk about me. I'm telling it because that's what it taught me about identity and how that applies to every single person listening, whether you ever sell your business or not. You know, and if this episode found you sitting on your own version of a stall podcast or whatever, that thing that you shelved like we talked about earlier, here's your assignment. Don't build the comeback plan. Just take the one action. Record the episode or make the call out in public. Book that one workout. Objects in motion. Stay in motion. But somebody has to shove the object first and be the shove. I'm going to leave you with a little funny story. It's kind of a riddle. There were three frogs that are on a lily pad and one decides to jump. How many frogs are left on the lily pad? And if you're like me, I said, well, two, duh. And the answer is actually three. What do you mean? DJ the frog decided to make the jump. Well, guess what? I decided I was going to record an episode a year ago, and that didn't happen. You might have decided you're going to do the thing that you've been putting off, and it didn't happen. See, decision doesn't actually meet action. Decide today to take the action, but take the action. And that's what I want you to want to leave you with everything moving forward. Lives at Uncommon Edge podcast.com DJ I'm DJ Newman. It's genuinely good to be back. Stand out and stay sharp. You've been listening to the Uncommon Edge with DJ Newman, where average goes to die and your next level begins. If you're ready to go deeper with real strategies to build a stronger business and a stronger life. Head over to Uncommon Ventures.net new episodes every week. Now get out there and do something Uncommon.