Our latest Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast episode takes you inside the team headquarters in Henderson and offers five things that have changed with the Silver and Black.
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00:00 Hi everybody, this is Hondo Carpenter, your Sports Illustrated Beat Writer covering the
00:07 Las Vegas Raiders and the host of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast.
00:12 It is good to be with you today.
00:14 I am in New Orleans where I have been.
00:19 I want to just give quickly, give a shout out to all of you guys who have reached out
00:24 to the death of my brother.
00:27 Last night I was sitting with family and just showing them some of your thoughts and prayers
00:33 and kind words from Raider Nation.
00:36 It was very interesting to listen to some of their comments.
00:42 My brother's daughters and grandchildren and at one point my niece gave me a big hug and
00:50 she said to me, she's a woman now, she's a mama, but she says, "Man, it almost makes
00:55 a girl want to be a Raider."
00:57 I just appreciate all of your kind words to my family.
01:01 Thank you, I'll appreciate you and grateful for you.
01:04 All right, remember you can follow me on IG @HondoSR and @X formerly known as Twitter
01:10 when you go to @HondoCarpenter.
01:13 Today I want to talk to you about five emerging, I don't know that I would call them trends,
01:23 some of them are trends and some of them are observations from the start of camp with coaches,
01:30 the OTAs.
01:32 Five things.
01:35 Now I'm going to, Monday, Zeke Trezevant was there.
01:39 Obviously, I was with family issues at that point in my life, just with family issues
01:45 and it progressed into what we're dealing with as a family.
01:48 But Zeke was there, but in talking and texting with people and getting this information,
01:55 I want to talk to you because I think some things have really stood out.
02:00 Whether I'm in New Orleans right now, and by the way, I'll be back Sunday night in Las
02:06 Vegas and obviously there for all the draft and everything, I'll be back and handling
02:12 all that.
02:13 But we are, five big observations as I'm asking people, what's standing out to you?
02:25 So I've asked several people, what's standing out to you?
02:29 What's your thought process of how everything's gone?
02:33 Coaches now are talking to players, there's interaction on a football standpoint.
02:38 Or if you were a lineman and you walked by an offensive lineman and you saw Coach Greg,
02:45 your new coach, you know, "Hey, how you doing?
02:47 Good to meet you.
02:48 I'm so-and-so, whatever."
02:49 There was pleasantries, but there wasn't football.
02:52 And I had somebody say to me, "Do you really expect that there wasn't football being discussed?"
02:57 Yes, there wasn't.
03:01 You have to understand the NFLPA and the NFL make these rules and they have to hold a tight
03:07 standard.
03:08 If a rule's broken, I mean, it's a pretty significant deal.
03:15 So yes, from both parties, I particularly know a situation at another team, an NFC team
03:24 years ago, where maybe they weren't as careful.
03:29 Well then later on in the year when the player got disgruntled, they get turned in.
03:34 And so teams are very wary of that.
03:36 And so yes, they are very, very diligent on that.
03:40 Now let's get to what matters, which is the five things coming out of the facility that
03:47 are trending or maybe a little bit different than the past.
03:53 The first one I want to address with you is, and I wrote these down and I apologize normally
03:58 right off the top of my head, but I'm dealing with other stuff as well, is there's a sense
04:03 of optimism that I have not seen from the Raiders.
04:08 This is my fifth year covering this team.
04:12 It's very interesting to me.
04:14 It doesn't mean guys aren't excited.
04:17 I remember one particular year, there was a lot of talk about trips and contracts and
04:27 that kind of stuff.
04:29 And it's always been congenial, but this is a sense of there was meat left on the bone
04:38 last year.
04:41 And so when new guys have come in, it has been expressed, "Hey, we left meat on the
04:50 bone last year."
04:51 That's a hondo term, but we left some meat on the bone.
04:56 And we're really glad you're here.
04:59 You're going to help with X, Y, Z.
05:02 There's been a real sense of optimism.
05:04 In fact, one of the new players did not tell me, but told someone with their former organization
05:11 who I know really well, and I'm paraphrasing, this isn't a quote, but basically told him,
05:18 "This place is different.
05:20 It's different.
05:22 It's not like where I came from."
05:27 And they really talked about almost just, "Let's get to the season.
05:32 We're optimistic.
05:33 We're excited."
05:34 I'm going to give you a couple of examples.
05:36 Andre James talked about it.
05:48 He talked about the scheme and how last year they simplified the scheme and how they changed
05:58 the scheme over those last few games a little bit.
06:01 You couldn't do a lot of changes.
06:03 They had no OTAs.
06:04 They had no mini camps, no training camps, all of that, but how they made some changes
06:09 and then the direction that they're going.
06:13 These Raider players, I've always said, "You got to have a leader."
06:18 Just like I think you need a GM who is separate from the coach, you need leaders, coaching
06:25 staff to lead, but if you don't have that player optimism, if players don't feel like,
06:35 "Okay, I'm going to get from A to B," then they begin to play for stats and they begin
06:39 to play for things that are not all about the team.
06:45 That's not the case with these Raiders.
06:47 There is a ton of optimism.
06:49 When I say optimism, it's not optimism that I'm going to get a new contract.
06:53 It's optimism about success on the field.
06:55 It's optimism for the right reasons.
07:01 Sometimes I'll equate it to this.
07:05 When I met Shannon and I was excited not just to...
07:11 When Shannon and I started dating my wife, I wasn't just excited to date a gorgeous girl.
07:18 She was wife material.
07:19 I was optimistic not about Friday night.
07:22 I was optimistic about a future once I saw her in that light.
07:28 Same principle.
07:29 These guys are not optimistic about, "Hey, I'm making a lot of money in the NFL," although
07:33 they certainly aren't complaining and I'm not trying to be disingenuous.
07:39 It is a statement of, "We are so optimistic about where the team's going."
07:47 It's very fascinating to me.
07:50 It's been there all year, all offseason, and it has grown exponentially.
07:57 I got a text late.
07:59 I don't know if it was this morning.
08:00 I don't even know what time it is.
08:03 I don't know if it was this morning or before the clock turned to midnight, but from a player
08:10 just checking on me.
08:15 They talked about how it just seemed like that group was ready to play right now.
08:20 It's ready to go.
08:23 The sense of optimism.
08:25 I will tell you there have been a lot of players extremely impressed with Gardner and Aiden
08:34 O'Connell.
08:35 These two are going to battle.
08:36 We know that Aiden's number one at first, but it's going to be a battle and they're
08:41 going to go at it.
08:44 There's been a lot of people impressed with Aiden O'Connell.
08:50 Absolutely.
08:53 We've got the video up.
08:54 You should go watch the video if you didn't see the video of the players from Monday.
08:59 It's up.
09:00 Go watch it.
09:03 He talked about he's competed in high school.
09:04 He competed at Purdue and he's going to compete here.
09:09 I know and I don't think this will have any bearing on who ends up winning the starters
09:14 job, but I know there's been a ton of people both in the organization and players extremely
09:21 impressed with how Aiden has embraced Gardner and treated him and just that they've built
09:29 a genuine respect relationship.
09:32 You can't build a friendship this fast, but it's impressed a lot of people and it leads
09:37 to the optimism.
09:39 You may remember last year, Jimmy Garoppolo, when Aiden got the job, was a fantastic teammate.
09:51 He was Aiden's biggest fan and he was rooting for Aiden and he was out there and helping
09:58 Aiden doing everything he could.
10:01 Jimmy Garoppolo, for all the criticism you may have, and remember pretty much everybody
10:07 under the previous regime struggled, but whatever you want to say, Jimmy Garoppolo was a fantastic
10:14 teammate, absolutely fantastic teammate.
10:19 Gardner and Aiden have that relationship already, so that's given a reason.
10:23 So reason number one, either trending or continuing is optimism in the building.
10:31 I've not seen it like this in five years.
10:35 I've seen excitement and guys wanting to show off a car or guys happy to be around their
10:41 friends, certainly it's not been, "We're back," but the optimism has been good.
10:50 Next, I've had multiple people point this out to me, multiple, so that to me is a trend
10:59 because it wasn't like we were discussing it in a group setting.
11:04 What has really brought this team even closer is AP hasn't changed.
11:13 A lot of the guys were like, "I wondered what it would be like once he got the head coaching
11:16 job," and nothing's changed.
11:20 AP really impressed a lot of the players last year when he chose not to make it about himself
11:28 and he pushed the players hard.
11:31 Now, I'm going to tell you something, I've been around a long time, I've seen coaches
11:35 who wanted to get a job and they coddle players because they want them to support them and
11:41 yada, yada, yada.
11:43 Then they get a job and then all of a sudden they tried to be a hard butt.
11:48 AP was a hard butt from day one, but he was also the guy that would jump on your back,
11:52 put his arms around you, hug you and light your cigar.
11:58 The fact that getting the job hasn't changed him.
12:04 If you would have said to me after the year, "How much more respect can AP get from these
12:09 guys?"
12:10 I would have said, "Man, I don't know.
12:12 I don't know.
12:13 It's pretty high.
12:16 It's higher."
12:18 He's appreciated them.
12:19 I had one player that told me an interesting story that he had seen AP after AP got the
12:26 job and it was probably a month or six weeks after.
12:30 AP just took a moment, put his arm around him.
12:35 I don't know if he cried, but I was told he was emotional and told the player, "Thank
12:41 you.
12:42 Thank you for the effort you gave me.
12:44 I got this job because of you guys' effort."
12:47 I'm paraphrasing because I obviously wasn't there in the conversation.
12:52 The fact, the appreciation that he showed the players and again, still making it about
12:59 himself, I mean about them, that has impressed the players and it's continued.
13:08 It is something that has really touched them.
13:15 I'm going to continue to dig on this, especially when we get into minicamp because I want to
13:25 see more.
13:26 I want to hear some more for some people.
13:27 I think there may be an interesting deep dive coming there just into his personality.
13:35 But so many players were like, "I can't believe the way he even made him getting the job about
13:44 us and about opportunity."
13:47 He told one particular player, he may have told many, but only once told me this, "You
13:53 need to understand this football is a business, but it's a life.
13:58 Never know, you could be a head coach one day."
14:01 He's really inspired his players to think about more than just their career.
14:06 That's what good leaders do.
14:08 They inspire people.
14:10 That's what good leaders do.
14:11 They get them to think more.
14:13 So when he talks about a Super Bowl, they get it.
14:16 He talks about, you want to be true to the game.
14:21 Because you know what, when you do, opportunities arise to coach, to do other things within
14:28 the game.
14:30 But what you do now builds your resume for afterwards.
14:37 One player on a podcast several weeks ago, I talked about AP earning the respect of his
14:42 locker room.
14:44 One of the players said to me, because you know that's really cool how what he did as
14:50 a player gave him the opportunity as a coach and a post football man.
14:57 He's getting those guys to think like that.
15:00 Great leaders do that.
15:02 Great leaders inspire people to think about a future.
15:09 I remember I had a teacher in high school, Mr. McMartin was his name, one of the finest
15:15 teachers at any level.
15:16 I'm educated, that I've ever had in my life, in college or in school.
15:25 He would always, there was one particular situation in my life and he asked me about
15:31 my future.
15:32 He brought up something and he goes, "You know, when I saw that today, it made me really
15:38 excited about your future."
15:41 He had a way, Mr. McMartin, of inspiring.
15:47 Good leaders know how to inspire.
15:50 Good people know how to inspire.
15:55 That is a very cool thing about AP.
16:01 He gets his dream opportunity and he inspires.
16:06 I think his, not think, I know his genuineness has really touched his team.
16:12 It's a trend coming out of camp is these guys are fired up.
16:17 They'd run through brick walls for him.
16:20 As a leader, AP's not going to go make a tackle.
16:24 AP's not going to, in a split second, make a read on something that Patrick Mahomes is
16:32 going to do.
16:33 But he's inspired those men to be more.
16:37 A lot of teams, this was one of the best ways I heard it represented.
16:44 A lot of coaches, "All right, let's go follow Max."
16:49 And AP's approach is, "Why can't all of you go be Max?"
16:56 That's pretty good, isn't it?
16:58 That's pretty good.
17:00 And so rather than, and we've seen that around here before, "Hey, follow Max.
17:07 Follow Josh.
17:09 Follow Devante."
17:10 Whatever.
17:11 Instead, it's, "Hey, go be Devante.
17:17 Go be Max.
17:18 Go be Christian Wilkins."
17:21 And again, that's inspiring and it's him just being genuine.
17:25 And after getting the job, the appreciation that he represented to his players for him
17:33 getting the job touched a lot of guys.
17:36 I had another person say to me, "It's almost like when you hear about a quarterback taking
17:41 his offensive line out to dinner or buying him Christmas presents."
17:47 He didn't take anybody out to dinner and buy Christmas presents for people.
17:50 I'm not saying that.
17:52 But it was that same appreciation.
17:54 "Hey, I wouldn't be here without you guys.
17:57 So me being in this chair is you being in this chair."
17:59 Yeah, I'm the leader, but again, it's really stood out.
18:03 So the first one was in a sense of optimism that I have not seen before.
18:08 And the second one is the genuineness of Antonio Pierce.
18:12 The third thing that I thought was fascinating, and I heard this again late last night, early
18:19 this morning, was effort.
18:22 A lot of guys come to these things, even though they're optional, you want to send a message
18:30 and you go and you're there physically, but you want to be in Kabul or you want to be
18:34 wherever, Kauai.
18:41 But the effort has been amazing.
18:44 I was told that when you watch a human being the size of Christian Wilkins work and work
18:53 like he does, that it's "amazing."
19:00 And so those are big deals.
19:03 Those are important things.
19:05 Those are important nuggets you want to grasp and drop into your brain and think about.
19:12 Those are humongous details that when you understand that there is effort, a football
19:22 effort, it's not just a, "I'm going to run from A and B."
19:25 No, I'm going to sprint and beat somebody.
19:29 I'm going to push myself.
19:32 If you're a parent, you'll understand exactly what I'm about to say.
19:37 I had one child that most children, go clean up your room and they clean up their room.
19:44 Then there's some that you tell them, "Hey, go clean up your room and man, you go in and
19:47 they've organized stuff."
19:48 Effort.
19:51 It's just a matter of a little bit more.
19:54 And I'm going to get to more about this in a minute, but that has been something that
19:59 has stood out to people is the effort being offered.
20:05 And I had one person say to me that they thought it was really cool that every guy they brought
20:11 in is that kind of guy.
20:15 They were looking for a Max Crosby type player.
20:19 Remember, don't follow Max, go be Max.
20:24 And so that is, Max is an indelible on this world.
20:32 Make no mistake about it.
20:34 We know who the coach is, it's his team.
20:37 But when AP is not in the room, this is Max's team and Max, and they want Max type players.
20:45 And so all of a sudden now, you may have one Max Crosby and he's a unicorn.
20:50 There is only one.
20:53 But when you bring in players who say, "Okay, I want to be great."
20:57 And then they look at greatness.
21:00 Okay, now all of a sudden you got a bunch of dudes trying to be that, giving that kind
21:07 of effort.
21:08 So rising tide lifts all boats.
21:12 Now everybody's effort goes through the roof.
21:14 Now all of a sudden, I'm not going to use any name, but there's a player that everybody
21:19 likes, but I think it's fair maybe, I wonder if that guy's efforts are a hundred percent.
21:26 And I had a person say, "Yeah, even that guy's, everybody's in on it.
21:31 Everybody's going in one direction, effort."
21:34 And it's part of the reason for optimism.
21:37 But that's something that has come out of this is effort.
21:41 And it's not just, "Okay, I'm going to go run," or "I'm just going to go do this."
21:45 It's I want to do it with a spirit of excellence, a spirit with an effort.
21:51 I want to give everything I got.
21:54 I was told once by a Super Bowl winning NFL person, "You cannot win a game in April."
22:05 And he was talking about the draft.
22:09 You can't win a game in May, June, July, or August, but you can lose them.
22:15 That's a great line.
22:16 If you're looking to understand the game a little bit, I would really remember that.
22:21 You don't win games in the off season, but you can lose them.
22:25 And so every bit of effort that goes into it right now has a huge determinational factor
22:35 on what happens later in the year.
22:38 And that effort has been there.
22:40 Next I want to talk about purpose.
22:43 You can have guys working hard and effort is there.
22:49 Maybe they're working hard.
22:51 I will not use any names, but I remember one particular year hearing about how hard a guy
22:57 was working and someone saying to me, "Yeah, it's nice to have a guy in a contract year."
23:03 See, there's all different kinds of effort.
23:08 Inspiration without perspiration leads to frustration.
23:16 Again, inspiration without perspiration leads to frustration.
23:24 So inspiration is effort.
23:36 You have inspiration, effort, but you got to be careful because you can be inspired
23:46 and say, "I'm excited, let's go."
23:50 But without the perspiration, without the effort, you're just going to have frustration.
23:57 And so you're seeing inspiration, they're optimistic, fired up about AP.
24:05 And this point I'm talking about now, purpose.
24:09 And then with the effort on the field, the physical, the works, the lifting, all of that
24:14 stuff, you get to lead to adulation.
24:20 And adulation in this league comes from winning.
24:24 So again, inspiration without perspiration leads to frustration.
24:29 But inspiration with perspiration leads to adulation, which means that comes in this
24:35 league winning.
24:37 Purpose.
24:38 Guys, got it now that there's an understanding of why we're doing this.
24:46 AP gave a rousing speech to kick off the offseason.
24:56 Rousing speech.
24:57 One of the guys made a joke to me.
24:59 I was just glad he didn't take an offering because I had thrown money in.
25:03 I thought that was so cool.
25:06 That was one of the funniest things, to be honest.
25:09 It was one of the few times I'd laughed in a few days and it was really cool.
25:14 But there's purpose now.
25:19 It's understanding, okay, yeah, I'm not just here running and working hard because I want
25:26 a new contract.
25:27 I'm here running, working hard, giving, I have optimism, I have effort.
25:32 I'm impressed by my coaches' genuineness.
25:36 Let's go.
25:37 There's purpose.
25:39 Guys understand it now.
25:43 Guys are so much excitement for Zemir.
25:47 I'm going to be honest, that surprises me a little.
25:52 Not at all about Zemir.
25:53 I'm a buyer on Zemir.
25:56 Guys talking about on both sides of the ball how important Zemir is going to be in this
26:01 offense.
26:02 How big of a deal Zemir is going to be.
26:04 What are they going to do with Zemir?
26:09 It's guys understanding that we're doing this now in April because we want it in December
26:15 to do this.
26:17 There's a sense of purpose.
26:21 If AP has done anything, it has gotten this team on one page.
26:26 Hey, if you win, you're going to get the contract.
26:29 Hey, if you win, you're going to get the attention and get any endorsement deals.
26:34 Hey, if you win, everything goes back to if you win, if you win, if you win.
26:39 Now, one of the most difficult things in professional sports is getting guys to think, "We" and
26:47 not "me."
26:50 That's a big deal.
26:52 We, not me.
26:56 As they do that, as they're working towards that, the we, not me, that's purpose.
27:03 That's purpose.
27:05 That is another thing that has surprised me a little bit is coming out of these things
27:11 is that sense of purpose early.
27:15 I thought it would be there because of the character of these men, and they are men of
27:19 character.
27:21 I was surprised it came out so early.
27:26 I want to double-check one story and get it verified by one other source, and then I'm
27:31 going to tell you something that happened in the weight room.
27:37 It will bring all of this into clarity about purpose, just about guys understanding we,
27:46 not me.
27:50 It's just interesting to see it.
27:53 Again, I thought AP would get there just because of how he led as a player and how he led last
27:59 year.
28:01 I'm surprised that that's gotten here as early as it has, and I look forward to getting you
28:06 that story out of the weight room.
28:09 The last one I want to talk about is culture.
28:14 I talked about with AP at the NFL owners meeting.
28:18 If you didn't see the video, you can go back and watch it.
28:20 We have it.
28:21 I talked with AP about the culture he's building.
28:25 He's the guardian of the gate.
28:28 He's the guy at the door.
28:31 They have brought in players that fit the culture.
28:37 I mentioned earlier about don't follow Max, be Max.
28:43 Yes, they want them to follow him as a leader, but just don't sit and watch him.
28:50 Again, this is the fifth point that's come out, is that culture.
28:57 Guys are expected to be here.
28:59 Now, remember, these are optional.
29:03 Sometimes you'll see guys that aren't there, and guys don't care.
29:09 I remember one particular team I covered where there were several people not there.
29:18 It was almost like, "Well, yeah, it's optional."
29:22 There was no sense of, "Hey, we expect you to be there."
29:29 I've said this before, and I don't mean to be an irritant by repeating things, but our
29:33 audience is growing exponentially.
29:36 I want you to hear this from me.
29:39 Tom Izzo, the Hall of Fame basketball coach at Michigan State, dear friend, I love Tom.
29:46 He has said a million times, "A player-coached team is better than a coach-coached team."
29:53 He has said, "When your best players are your hardest workers, it makes you a great team."
30:04 It couldn't just be Max.
30:05 You may remember a year ago, I told you about the reason they get a Robert Spillane and
30:11 a Marcus Epps.
30:12 Dave Ziegler noticed he needed leaders like Max at every level.
30:18 They've got him now.
30:20 They had Epps and Spillane who were great last year, Christian Wilkins.
30:27 He's Max, body-wise, bigger and a different color, but he's Max, just hard worker.
30:35 Those two cut out of the same cloth, man.
30:38 They're just brothers from different mothers.
30:43 Great men, great effort, great all of it.
30:48 The culture now, AP changed it halfway through the year, but was there going to be a letdown
31:00 or even a step up?
31:02 I'm here in New Orleans, so in the words of the chef, Emeril Lagasse, "Another notch."
31:08 Was it going to be, "Okay, great, we got the job.
31:11 Let's all relax," or was it going to be, "Another notch?"
31:17 You guys have been good for me.
31:20 I haven't had a lot of opportunities to laugh in the last few days.
31:23 Thank you for sharing today with me.
31:26 But it's going to another notch, and that culture has been huge.
31:34 I'm going to tell you, I think it's going to be tangible.
31:37 I think it's something Raider fans, especially when more interviews are conducted, are going
31:41 to see more of it.
31:44 I think it's going to be more spirited.
31:47 I think it's going to be ... This one's going to be hard for me.
31:55 Of course, brothers can fight, but don't you mess with my brother.
32:03 I would expect you're going to see some more spirited practices.
32:06 You may even see some fights, may even see some ... Once the practices get going.
32:13 Not because there's division, it's because it's a competitive culture.
32:17 They competed everything.
32:20 Basically everything now is competition.
32:25 It's just the culture.
32:28 Now, you and I are both resonant enough to understand you don't make a change at the
32:34 end of October, and less than six months later, change your entire organization.
32:43 I would not even remotely try to insult your intelligence by talking like that, but the
32:51 culture is different.
32:53 Now, it needs to grow, it needs to expand.
33:00 There are some areas that I'm going to watch closely, because some areas I think it needs
33:03 to ... Got to let it develop.
33:08 It's a new culture, but I'm going to say this to you.
33:14 This isn't even close to the same team.
33:16 Got a lot of the same players.
33:19 This isn't even close to the same team as a year ago.
33:24 Not even close.
33:25 Remember, you still got guys coming in the draft.
33:28 There's going to be a lot more competition, a lot more new players.
33:34 You probably are going to see 10 to 15% of your roster isn't even here yet.
33:47 That's a big deal.
33:49 That's a big deal.
33:51 You're already seeing culture change.
33:56 I think those are all reasons.
33:57 Again, I want to reiterate them to you.
34:00 There's optimism.
34:02 It's a genuineness of AP, effort, purpose, and culture.
34:11 We are beginning of it all, and a lot of the credit has to go to those players.
34:17 Has to, just for what they've done.
34:21 It's all led at the top with AP.
34:23 I understand something, and I want to make this clear.
34:27 All of this is crap if they don't win.
34:32 That is the brass tacks of the National Football League.
34:38 Just win, baby.
34:39 I get that, and I understand it.
34:44 But when you're sitting here in April, and you're wondering about what's going to happen
34:50 in September, October, November, December, January, these are all things that you can
34:57 look at as signs of what's going to be there.
35:02 So I'm reiterating.
35:03 I totally get that you can't win games today, but I also believe you can lose them, which
35:15 is what NFL people have told me.
35:18 And so doing all that they can do, they're doing it well.
35:25 That's all I can offer you.
35:26 So again, appreciate all of you.
35:29 Have a wonderful day.
35:33 Choose to make today a good day.
35:35 That's your choice.
35:36 You say, "Well, you don't know what I'm going through."
35:38 Well, you know what?
35:39 You don't know what I'm going through.
35:42 But when you start a day, choose it's going to be a good day.
35:48 Today's going to be a good day.
35:51 Today's going to be a great day.
35:52 I'm going to smile today.
35:53 I'm going to rejoice in today.
35:57 Please enjoy your today.
36:00 Lastly, I hope that you let your family know how much you love them.
36:12 I'm going to encourage you, pick up that phone, call your brothers and sisters, call your
36:20 kids, call your parents.
36:21 If you've got cousins that you're close with, just pick up the phone.
36:27 Just say, "Hey, I love you."
36:30 Never, ever miss a chance to tell the people that you love that you love them.
36:41 It is so awesome able to have people in your life who you love.
36:47 And guess what?
36:48 We all know blood don't make family.
36:53 As we get ready to go, once a week, I always like to tell you guys how much I appreciate
36:59 you, how much I love you, and how much I pray for you.
37:02 Every day we pray, ask God to bless all of you listening in the sound of my voice.
37:08 I just want to thank you for the kind words to my family.
37:12 And I want to thank you for sharing your morning with me.
37:16 I hope it, I doubt it, but I hope it meant as much to you as it did to me.
37:23 God bless you, everybody.