Pops and Son Conversations
Join US Air Force Veteran, Presidential Achievement Award Recipient, author, philanthropist, and social media influencer, Rob Malloy, and his son, author and model, Javan Anderson, as they navigate the generation gap with humor and heart.
On this podcast, Rob and Javan tackle a wide range of topics – from life lessons and fatherhood to current events and pop culture – offering a unique blend of old-school wisdom and new-school perspectives. Expect lively debates, unexpected insights, and plenty of laughs along the way.
Tune in to Pops and Son Conversations and discover:
- Candid conversations: Rob and Javan share their honest thoughts and experiences, providing a refreshing take on intergenerational relationships.
- Diverse perspectives: Hear how Rob's traditional values intersect with Javan's modern outlook, creating dynamic and engaging discussions.
- Humor and heart: Enjoy a show that's both entertaining and thought-provoking, leaving you with a smile and something to ponder.
Subscribe now and join the conversation!
Pops and Son Conversations
When Life Keeps Lifin': Finding Your Way Back to Your Goals
The world doesn't pause at the halfway mark of your journey. Goals don't care that we're only in July. But perhaps we should—because that mid-year checkpoint might be exactly what we need to realign, refocus, and rediscover our purpose.
In this reflective solo episode, I take you through the importance of mid-year check-ins and why pausing to acknowledge both your progress and your process matters. When was the last time you asked yourself if you're still chasing the same dreams you set out for in January? Have your priorities shifted? What wins have you collected along the way that deserve celebration?
I share my personal journey with Check3Times Magazine—the milestones reached, the website launch, content creation struggles, and networking growth. But beyond the external achievements, we dig into something more profound: the innate desire many sons feel to make their fathers proud, and how that motivation shapes our pursuits. It's a vulnerable conversation about measuring success not just by ticking boxes on a goal sheet, but by how we're growing as individuals.
Most importantly, we address the elephant in the room that many goal-chasers overlook—mental health and self-care. Are you taking care of yourself while pursuing your ambitions? Have you made time for rest? Because contrary to hustle culture's messaging, rest is never a waste. It's the foundation that makes sustainable progress possible.
Whether you're exactly where you planned to be or feeling miles off track, this episode offers a moment to breathe, reflect, and remember that it's only halftime. The game isn't over. Your comeback story might just be waiting to unfold in the second half of the year. Take a moment with me to check in—your future self will thank you for it.
Please follow Pops and Son Conversations on the website, popsandsonconversations.com, and social media @popsandsonconversations
Welcome back to another episode of Pops and Son Conversations. It is I, son, your host today, javin, also known as Check3Times. So this pod is going to be a little different again. All right, pops isn't in the studio with me, but don't worry, he's doing great, he's doing fine. The man just works, you know what I'm saying. So he's filming right now, so I'm taking the reins of this episode.
Speaker 1:Another solo episode. I got some good feedback on the last one, so I thought, hey, man, let's hop right back into it. You know I want to do something a little different this time, though. I know the last one. I talked about Juneteenth and kind of gave y'all some info on that, but with it being, you know, the middle of the year, I wanted to kind of use this podcast, this episode to you know, dive a little bit deeper into some personal reflections. You know it's just me and you right now, you know. So we're going to do this. We're going to kind of do this podcast together. You know, maybe you'll get some insight from this one, or you'll have a revelation or something like that. That's the main goal for this one, just like a little heart-to-heart with ourselves. You know what I mean. So it might get a little deep, but that's okay.
Speaker 1:One thing about Pops and Son conversations is it's always going to be real and it's always going to be raw. You know what I'm saying. It's nothing that that we try to fabricate or orchestrate or you know, it's all just coming straight from the heart and that's the best way to do it. You know what I'm saying. That's, that's the best way to do it. You know what I'm saying. That's that's the best way to do it. So, uh, you know, we smack dab in the middle of the year and, uh, around this time for me, you know, july is always like that. It's like that check-in point, that checkpoint. For me, you know it, it marks that, that's that mid-year mark.
Speaker 1:And as somebody who talks a lot about personal development, growth, entrepreneurship and relationships and all these things, I felt like it was only right to take stock and see where I am since January, since the beginning of the year. You know what I mean. And, like I said, we could kind of do this journey together, because I think it's important for everybody to have those moments of reflection where you kind of just take a little step back and say you know, how far along am I, as far as the things I said I wanted to get accomplished, the things that I still want to get accomplished, like, do I still have the same determination? Do I need to check myself, pinch myself and realize it's not a dream, it's real life and we got to make it happen? This is going to be that podcast, this is going to be that episode for everybody that just needs that extra little push right now. Right, because I know I need it.
Speaker 1:Y'all know, sometimes there's a saying that life be lifin' right, and it's so true. It's so true. We go through things in life and sometimes we just got to, like they say, get back on the horse, get back on the saddle. So, with that being said, I got a few questions for myself and for you. You know, this is your time to also think and reflect. Like, what's been new in your life since the start of the year? What career goals have you accomplished in the last six months? Right For me, I'm like have my priorities shifted since the start of the year? If so, why? You know, these are the kind of questions I've been asking myself. You know, what problems have I faced in pursuing my goals and how did I overcome them and, honestly, I think that exercise is valuable for anybody, not just me.
Speaker 1:So I'll go into a little bit of background. You knowall know Check Three Times, three Times Magazine that's my brand, and we have been doing a lot since January. I'm actually super proud of the growth of the online publication. If you guys haven't had a chance to check that out, simply just go to check3timescom. It's real simple. Just spell it out. You'll see there the digital platform where I host all the articles, all the interviews that I've done with different creative people, all the opinion pieces I've written, just about things that I'm interested in or that I have an opinion on.
Speaker 1:I don't really classify myself as the most opinionated person. I'm pretty easy to get along with and go with the flow, but there are a few things that I see and I'm like somebody should say something about that. So there's some some articles on there. I won't, um, you know, delve too deep into it, cause I really want you guys to kind of go and explore for yourselves. Um, but this year I actually got the uh, the official website set up. Um, so that was a big milestone everything self-hosted, the template, everything designed by me. So when I say it's an independent publication. It's really really that I've written most of the articles myself and as time has went along, I've been talking to different people and kind of getting some, some contributors, but mostly it's been me. You know, it's mostly been me. So that's one of the things that I could say.
Speaker 1:Like this year I killed that. You know, I had that goal set up. I wanted to make sure that the brand was solid. I wanted to make sure that the brand was solid and I had a good you know, some some good interviews under my belt to really solidify the audience. So you know, I got my email list going. If you haven't subscribed, hey, everything is there, but you already know that we preach that subscription all day. So if you ain't subscribed yet, why aren't you? Why aren't you subscribed to the Patreon? Why aren't you subscribed to the Three Times Magazine newsletter? It makes no sense, right, god? Throw that shameless plug in there. But at any rate, yeah, so that's something that you know, that's something I'm proud of myself for Also.
Speaker 1:And the content creation content creation has seen a great uptick since the beginning of the year. I'm getting more creative with it, thinking of different ways to, you know, just kind of incorporate things and throw my little sauce on it. You know a lot of people don't tell you. You know content creation is not easy. It's not easy trying to come up with something every day or the week. Sometimes you can get burned out. Sometimes you I also suffer from hey, I'll make it, and I'm like, nah, this ain't even I don't like it, so I'll trash it.
Speaker 1:So I want to encourage anybody that's also going through that content creation journey. The best thing that you could do is just to put it out. You know what I mean. You put it out and it's not the last thing that you're ever going to put out, so you can't let it live forever, right? If you put it out and it's not the best, all right, just go harder next time. Like, you have a million chances, right, and you want to take all of them. You don't want to miss any chance to express yourself or be creative, because you never know when the time is going to come that you can't express yourself or you can't be creative in the way that you once were.
Speaker 1:So I think it's super important for us to stop being so hard on ourselves, right, check in with yourself, say you're good, that's it. You know, those affirmations go a long way. You are good and nobody could tell you anything different, right? So, yeah, that's me. Those are just a couple of things. But I also ask myself you know, like, what has shifted? You know what's shifted? I think that my focus has been a lot more on just networking. You know, I definitely could say that my networking skills have vastly improved. You know, I can't even lie about that, and I want to give myself some credit there too. I don't think I give myself enough credit, and if I'm saying that, then I know somebody that's listening to this podcast right now probably doesn't give themselves enough credit. And if I'm saying that, then I know somebody that's listening to this podcast right now probably doesn't give themselves enough credit either.
Speaker 1:So, again, this is your moment. Think about how you shifted things around. Think about what you've done to increase productivity, to increase creativity, to increase your networking output. Like, let's put it on front street. Let's not keep on focusing on what we have left undone. Let's focus on the things that we have done, and the things that we've done a great job at right, not just things that we got. Oh yeah, we did that. No, we do spectacular things every day, every week, every month. You know we just don't always give ourselves enough credit for it.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, my networking is hey, I'm not going to lie you know I've been putting the work in on the phones. I've been putting the work in on the phones not just, you know, calling, but also, you know, networking is getting out into these different events and really just getting in people's face and letting them know what you're about, but also finding out what they're about as well. You know networking is two-way street. You know you have to be a value, but you also want to find value. So it's one of the greatest connections when you can find that symbiotic relationship. Is that it? I think that's right. Yeah, that's the symbiotic relationship where you both can feed off each other. You both gain. It's not just one that's taken from the other, which is the parasitic relationship, right? I remember a little bit of biology. I think that's biology, at any rate.
Speaker 1:Another question is have your priorities changed right? Are you still chasing the things that you were six months ago? For me, nothing has changed, right? I'm still dead set, focused on the mission. I'm focused on what I need to get accomplished by the end of the year. Like I looked and you know it's crazy too, even though Pops isn't in this episode.
Speaker 1:One of the things that he did that was so dope. He sent me a message you know what I'm saying Just like a mid-year check-in, like, hey, son, what's going on, how you doing? I'm just sending this, you know what I'm saying, so you can have it on record. And you know, he basically just sent me some encouragement and sent me, you know, just kind of like some affirmations and just reminding me, like you know, what the goal is, what the mission is, and so that was, that was, that was super helpful and it and it and it really, and I and I needed it. You know what I mean. I needed that, that reminder to say, yo, yeah, we, we made a year.
Speaker 1:Maybe you didn't reach, you haven't reached all the goals yet, but it's halftime, like you could still win the game, you could still come out on top. So you know, as we kind of look at these different goals that we set for ourselves and we're constantly chasing them throughout the year, trying to adhere to every little detail that's going to make that goal and achievement impossible, we got to remember that we still have to take time for our self-care and our mental health. You know what I'm saying. So that's a big part about it too. That's a big part about it too. Yeah, we grind, we do what we got to do, we chasing these goals. But don't lose too much sleep. Rest is never a waste, and I'm going to get to more about that later on, but I want to finish this topic. So are you still chasing the same things you were six months ago? Ask yourself that Are you still chasing the same things six months ago? Has it switched up? How are you navigating that? You know what I mean. I know for me, like I said, it's just been one target the whole way through and I'm making sure that everything is all lined up and it's coming together beautifully.
Speaker 1:Pops has been such a major influence. You know what I'm saying. I even ask myself sometimes how would Pops react to my progress this year? You know I don't want to say that I actually, you know I'll go ahead and say because I feel like, I feel like as sons. Let me talk to the sons here for a little minute. Right, it's just us. You know why am I even fronting Like? You know, it's sons listening to this right now.
Speaker 1:So, suns, you know we try to hit that bar for our pops, right. You know we don't want to let pops down, we want to make them proud and you know we don't want to end up like, you know, a screw up. You know you want to be. You know, just having that success and having that, you know, whatever it is that will make your pops proud. And you know, a lot of times I feel like that's pressure for us, for us sons. You know what I'm saying and it might not even be implied, like it might not even be pressed by our fathers, impressed by our fathers, but it's just one of those innate things that we just kind of have in us, that we just kind of want to impress our pops and make them proud. So think about that. You know what I'm saying. Think about how, not only because this is the thing about it Like, yeah, you want that right, you want to be able for pops to say you know there's my boy, that's my son, but we also got to do it for ourselves, right, and that's why I talk about earlier I was talking about the self-care.
Speaker 1:You know that's another big area of reflection Middle of the year, man, we've been through some things. You know we've seen some things. You know we halfway there, so you know there's been some hills, right. So in this moment, yeah, we can get caught up in the grind Goals, you know, trying to make it, trying to impress pops. But it's also crucial to ask how is your self-care routine going Right? Just as recent, as you know, this summer, like maybe it wasn't the best at the beginning of the year but, like I said, half halfime we can always improve right.
Speaker 1:So self-care activities we got to figure out and I'm saying we because I'm also, this is for me just as much as it is for y'all. You know what I mean the self-care for me. I got to make sure that my mental is right. We speak about it and we talk about it on the pod and we talk about the importance of men's health and all these things. But, guys, we have to really implement and do the work. You know what I mean. So I've been going to, you know, some different events. I went to the Black Men's Health, the Black Men's Health Conference and you know I've been through to some other different sessions. You know what I mean. Some it's kind of just like some open forum sessions where everybody could come and kind of, you know, get some healing and speak. But I haven't done. I still have yet to do the one-on-one therapy. So that's on my list. We'll get it done before the end of the year and I'll let you guys know how it goes, because I think it's important to talk about that journey as well.
Speaker 1:Self-care is extremely important. I know we talk about it all the time, but I feel like you just can't talk about it enough. So you know, guys, I've been talking and I'm not going to lie. When I'm on here by myself, it feels like a constant ramble, like am I just talking and talking? But I have to remember, hey, it's a solo pod baby, it's just sun today. It's just sun. So that's all right. I just want to let y'all know pops will be back, you don't have to worry. I got some good feedback last time, you know. But hey, if y'all tired of hearing my voice, there's no, possibly back man. I know y'all missed the silver fox, but it's all good. So I do want to wrap it up, guys. You know there's.
Speaker 1:It can't be overstated just how important these midpoint reflections are, how important it is for us to really kind of check in on ourselves. We talk about checking in on our friends and our family and things like that, but we got to check in on ourselves as well. So I hope this pod today was that for you, on ourselves as well. So I hope this pod today was that for you. You know, if you're listening and it's been a while since you asked yourself some of these questions, or it's been a while since anybody asked you. You know, either way it goes, these are things that we need to think about, right, because if we don't do it, then we kind of just going along the path with no guidance and no real structure. So that's it for today's podcast.
Speaker 1:You guys, thank you for tuning in. You already know where to get all your info popsandsunconversationscom. And we are still on Patreon. There's some goodies there for you and continue to give us feedback. Continue to hit the DMs with questions. We do have some questions that we have in the DM, but I'm going to wait until Pops get back to really address those. But until next time, it's been a great episode and it's been great chilling with you guys. I hope you have a great day and I'll see you next time. Peace.
