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
Build Your Year On Patterns, Not Hype
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
New Year energy is loud, but real progress is quiet and steady. We’re stepping into 2026 without a hard reset—just focused momentum, smarter habits, and a plan that respects time, health, and the people who keep us honest. If you’ve ever felt torn between announcing your goals and moving in silence, this conversation gives you a balanced way forward.
We break down the habits that actually move the needle: using calendars and reminders to protect prime hours, replacing energy drinks with gentler focus, and carving out time to think so ideas show up on schedule. We get honest about overwork and why recreation isn’t a luxury; it’s how you keep relationships alive, expand your network, and show up in rooms your future needs. Collaboration takes center stage as the antidote to gatekeeping—share the light, tap into new audiences, and learn faster by building with people across similar lanes.
Not into big resolutions? Keep a record. Journals and quarter check-ins let you compare reality with memory and steer before drift becomes a spiral. We talk about the power of saying goals out loud to the right circle, the kind of accountability that challenges without shaming, and why constructive criticism reveals blind spots you can’t self-audit. You’ll leave with three anchors for the year: track your patterns, stack small wins that lead to bigger ones, and commit to three productive habits like journaling, reading, and consistent movement. We close on self-validation—do the work that fits your lane and brand, not someone else’s highlight reel.
Tap play, bring a notebook, and get your 2026 off the ground with clarity and momentum. If this sparked something for you, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a reset without the noise, and leave a quick review to help others find us.
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Welcome to another episode of Hops and Sun Conversations. It is your favorite silver fox.
SPEAKER_01:And is Javen here checking in?
SPEAKER_02:Happy New Year.
SPEAKER_01:Happy, happy new year, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:New Year. Yeah, we made it. 2026. Jay, how you feeling today?
SPEAKER_01:I'm feeling good. I'm feeling good. I um Yeah. I'm in good spirits today. How about you, Pops?
SPEAKER_02:I'm good. You know, I'm excited to get back in the saddle and have some conversations. You know, it's with it being a new year, a lot of times, you know, people have these resolutions and you know they want to talk about them. And it gets interesting because a lot of times the resolutions are the same things every year. You want to lose that 10 pounds, you want to make some more money, you know, you want to uh evaluate your relationship or mend relationships. So uh I think it would be a a good idea, Jay, if we just kind of tapped in the New Year's resolution. I don't want to spend too much time, but I do think that we should address it because obviously it's a new episode, it's a new year, and we got some things to say.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, for sure. Yeah, we could talk about that. I like I like New Year's resolutions. I know some people feel a certain type of way about them, but um, you know, I think that if you're gonna put it out there in the air, you know, a lot of people like to say that um, you know, words and and and these different spellings have meaning and all that different stuff. So I don't look at it with any negativity uh about the the new year's resolutions. I'm all for it.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, yeah, I'm with that. And that's that's a a real optimistic way of looking things, looking at things. And so I I think that we should though. Uh it's a restart sometimes for people, it's uh it's a reset. You know, for me, Jay, I have to be honest. This year I looked at it a little bit different because there was so much going on in 2025, so much momentum going. I don't really have anything to reset. I don't really have anything that is like a new resolution for me, man. It's just continuing to pick up on that momentum, finished, uh, un you know, resolved uh projects or even you know tweaking some things, but I don't have I don't really have anything new, man. There's just so much good stuff going on. I want to keep the momentum and and make sure that I handle a lot of unfinished business.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah, I think we're in the same boat with with a lot of that. I I did make a few that I I wanted a few things that I um I wanted to get accomplished this year that didn't even really cross my mind last year to to create a resolution around.
SPEAKER_02:Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_01:But um, yeah, this year I got I got a couple ideas and plans that I I definitely want to get executed, as well as just keeping those calls hot that's already in the fire and keeping things going with um what what I got started on on last year. Like you said, just not not a reset, but just uh uh a continuation.
SPEAKER_02:A continuation. I like I'm feeling that. So let's kind of jump in, man. I want to talk about maybe some habits that uh you either picked up or some habits that you feel like you need to, you know, get rid of going into this new year. Like what are some of the things that you realize did work for you that you haven't done before, that you just kind of start getting into your rhythm, and then, you know, maybe one or two things that you like, you know what, this is counterproductive for me.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, for sure. For me, uh one of the things that I I realized last year that I want to get more into this year uh to help with my rhythm is just uh scheduling um and reminders, like just using uh whether that be like a calendar or just the reminders app on my phone, setting alarms and different things like that. Just those things that kind of help me stay on track throughout my day, because there's so much, so many minutes in the day, but a lot of them get wasted because they're just not um uh, you know, set for any amount of thing. Like it's just like waste time. You get what I'm saying? So I think cutting back on like the waste time and using that time for something productive, whether that be um, you know, looking up just different ideas, I think that for me, I I'm I I miss uh I underestimate that you could use time just to to think of new ideas. You know what I'm saying? Because so many times where I'm just sitting here like, man, I I I don't have an an an idea of what I could be doing right now because I didn't set any time to think of which what could you be doing later? You get what I'm saying? Yeah, with your free time, right? You get free time and then you don't know what to do with it because you didn't you didn't plan it out.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah, that's good. Um, so like what were some of the things you like, you know what, man, I gotta cut this out.
SPEAKER_01:Um now some of the stuff I I think that I need to cut out is really gonna be more so health-wise. I think that I need to get a little bit more health conscious. Um I did I did too many energy drinks last year. So I'm definitely not, I'm not doing that. I I recently started drinking more, uh going to more healthy alternatives, like drinking tea and things like that. Of course, I've always been a a water drinker, just naturally, but um just cutting back on the on the energy drinks is I think it's really a big one for me.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I remember you talking about that. We talked about that, man, on a on a specialty uh episode when we was over there backstage. I I remember you talking about uh kicking kicking the can, literally, right? Uh with energy drinks, man. So yeah, that's that's a good point. Uh man, that's some powerful stuff. And I and I hope that you know our listeners are really taking it serious because we could pick up on some bad habits and not even realize that they're bad habits until we realize that we're not getting the results that we want. So uh, and then obviously you got the bad habits to get rid of. You have to start getting in some type of rhythm or routine for some new habits, it's gonna help you. And so hopefully, you know, this uh episode we share some things that will help you guys out, or maybe just realize that something to take a closer look at. So I would say for me, man, I'll just start with the bad habits, man. I would uh I would say uh not making more recreational time, you know. Uh I definitely, you know, I'm Florida, you know what I'm saying? So uh I need the beach more, I need that the the white sands and things like that. So this year I'm gonna be very much more intentional in taking those breaks. Um I know years and years before, man, I I found out that I was a workaholic, and I didn't know that Jay until I realized I started working at 7 a.m. and then I ain't I didn't finish till 7 p.m.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_02:Right. And that may be maybe you know one or two breaks, but not a real break to where you know fresh air, get out the house, you know, that type of thing. So what that did for me is it limited uh my exposure to relationships outside of you know virtual. And um, you know, that could be that that can hurt you whenever it's time to mix and mingle and you need to shake hands and stuff. It's like, okay, yeah, I remember you online, I see you online, but I've invited you to two or three events, brother. And you haven't shown up. Yeah. So I I think uh, you know, that time management, of course, is always gonna be a factor. Um, but you know, all those things considered, I would say some of the some of the great things that has happened that I'm gonna build the momentum with is collaboration. You know, I learned how important collaboration is, and I talked about this. I even made like a declaration online maybe about three years ago, and I said I was gonna do more collaborations, I was gonna, you know, work with other people, and it doesn't matter if we're in the same field, if we're kind of in the same genre, if we're both actors, content creators, you know, uh in the fashion industry, it doesn't matter because uh you can never cover all of the audience, right? There will always be an audience that is untouched. And so if you do collaborations, man, you get to introduce yourself to somebody else's audience, and then you know, your audience is gonna say, hey, you know what? They not gatekeeping. You know, they don't have a problem sharing, you know, the light or just kind of showing how people can work together, even in similar or the same industries. And so I found that to be really, really powerful. So I love collaborations. Obviously, you know, this year coming up, we have so many projects. Um the the series, uh, the TV show, obviously, the podcast is still cracking. Um, but um just events all all over. Uh matter of fact, we got an event coming up, what, January 31st, Jay?
SPEAKER_00:Oh, yeah. Yes indeed. And it's gonna be uh it's gonna be one of the ones, I gotta say.
SPEAKER_02:Better be one of them ones. So you guys just make sure that you look at the social media, um, you know, pops and sun conversations, all your platforms, and then you know, we'll see the poster about what's going on um as we get a little closer to January the 31st. And then there's some other stuff going on, but we'll talk about that a little bit towards the end. I I really want to, again, man, talk about a few more things as we navigate through this new year. Uh, I really also want people to understand that, you know, if nothing changes, then, you know, what will be your expectations in in 2026? Uh, if you feel like, you know, well, I had a good run, so I don't really need to tweak anything. Uh Jay, what what would you suggest? Like if somebody's like, you know what, I I I did okay. I don't really have I really don't want to set any goals. I just want to just kind of cruise into this next year.
SPEAKER_01:You don't want to set any goals? That's fine. Um, I would at least just keep a record. Um, I think a record is always gonna be good because it gives you that timeline to refer back to. Um just just of of your progress. And I I understand not wanting to set any particular goals and maybe just kind of seeing where the year takes you. And I think that you can still do that as long as you stay focused and discipline. I mean, at the end of the day, your focus and discipline is gonna matter more than um, you know, uh any goals you set, because you can't accomplish those goals if you don't stay focused and um and discipline around it. So I would say just take a record of last year so that you could compare and contrast at, you know, at different points of this year. I would say maybe even every quarter you could kind of check in and see, all right, this is where I was last year, and then um compare and contrast. So I get it. Like I get people don't want to, maybe they don't want to jinx it, maybe they don't want to uh, you know, a lot of people feel like they don't want to even uh expose it to anybody else because you know, people prey on your downfall and things like that. So I I I understand that aspect of it, but I still think that we all should be able to refer to earlier times because your memory, and and you know, I'm a I'm a journaling person, I I like to write everything down. So this might be a little bit biased, but I just feel like it's the best way to to compare and really and really get um like that analysis of of where you're headed, where you're going, and and and what you've done.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah, yeah. I I like that, you know, and uh obviously the consistency is always gonna be key. Uh, I did want to also address something, like Jay, you know how some people say um, you know, you got to move in silence. Has that been has that been your motto? Do you believe in like moving in silence, or do you feel like sometimes you have to make like a declaration, right? So that the others will hold yourself accountable, or since you put it all the way out there, then now you have to put yourself, you know, uh in a position to be accountable. So which which way do you typically lean towards?
SPEAKER_01:I'll tell you this, I I leaned, I I was the moving silence person. And I'll tell you what happens when you move in silence, is it's just like you said, your only accountability measure is gonna be yourself. So if you don't, if you don't have the strength and like I was speaking on the discipline to really hold yourself accountable, then it's almost like you can sweep it under the rug when you didn't accomplish what you wanted to. You know what I mean? So you can move in silence to say, oh yeah, I'm gonna do this next year and not tell anybody, but then when you don't follow the steps to get whatever it is done that you were saying you get done, then it's almost like you never even set out to do it in the first place. You know, so so you don't have that guilt behind not accomplishing it. And you can't grow, you can't grow like that.
SPEAKER_02:You can't grow like that.
SPEAKER_01:So I think it's a powerful tool to announce it, to let people know in your circle, to let people know around you, like, hey, this is what I want to do. Um, and it's also cool to be that accountability partner for somebody else and say, hey man, are you still working on a project? It doesn't have to be a negative thing, just like checking in, like, hey man, you said you were gonna try to read X amount of books. Like, where are you on your journey with that? It's nothing wrong with checking in.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that's so good because it it doesn't have to be everything, all your personal goals and and aspirations, but it can be, you know, some things that that wind up being some quick victories or some short victories along your journey, and that can actually build momentum. So I I like where you went with that. I think that's a pretty pretty big deal. Um, so when it comes to accountability though, Jay, I I also want to ask you, like, who do you or who can you call out or who can call you out uh without you feeling you know disrespectful or somebody being out of line or whatever the case is? Do you have specific people, family members, close friends that you like, okay, you know what? You got me. You're right. I I do need to reevaluate it, or thank you for pulling my coattail.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_02:So uh how does that look for you?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, for sure. So I got my my core group of friends, my homies, my uh my A1 day ones that we just been rocking for, you know, over 10 years. I got I got a small circle. So um my folks back in uh P. Cola, as we call it, um, you know, I know I could go to them and be like, yo, man, this is what I'm trying to do. And it's interesting because I um it's it's like it's almost like a super a superpower, but I forget to use it a lot of times. But it's so constructive criticism is so powerful in order just to reach your goals and reflect on what you're trying to do. You know what I'm saying? So telling somebody an idea or a goal or progress that you make and just hearing feedback from them is such a great reinforcement to what to what you want to do. Because I promise you, if you have a circle like that, they're gonna give you insight that you're not able to parse out alone. Like you're just not gonna be able to see those things in yourself. Just how we, you know, people see different things in us that we can never see. So um definitely my core group. And then of course you, Pops. I mean, you know, you you always give me um really good direction, you know what I'm saying? Just kind of making sure I'm on the right, right tracks. And I think that yeah, I don't know if if if if you do it on purpose or not, but I a lot of times, you know, it's it's not direct. It's not like, hey, yo, Jay, this is what you're doing wrong, this is what you need to be doing, this, that, and the third. A lot of times it's kind of just me observing, like maybe some of the things that you are being constructive on yourself about. Yeah. Maybe some of the things that you've noticed that, you know what I'm saying, that you'll just verbalize out loud. I'm like, you know what? If he if he's struggling with that or going through that, let me let me check myself and see if I'm, you know what I'm saying, on the on having the same issue and things like that. So um, yeah, I think those are uh, like I said, at the end of the day, you gotta have some type of uh feedback because you you just alone, it's just an echo chamber, man. You just gonna keep on running in circles and thinking that you're doing everything right, but nah, you got you gotta go outside yourself and get that.
SPEAKER_02:That's a good word, man. That's a good word. So uh I I do feel pretty much the same. I do have a small circle that I would consider, you know, some folks that I can trust and trust and that I know can trust me. And um I you know, I think you all you always have to be open to uh just hearing some things. And uh as uh the old older folks, season folks say, man, you know, you uh you chew the meat and spit out the bone. Yeah. Right? So uh whatever's nourishing uh for you, you know, you take that, and then you know, again, you can't you can't take advice from everyone as well, especially if they don't have the results or historically haven't had the results that you're looking for. So um I think that that's important, man. But I do think that you have to have some accountability partners. Uh, they can see some things that you can't see. Um and uh, you know, again, on the outside looking in sometimes give you a broader perspective. Because even if you super focused and got that tunnel vision, man, you know, there's some things to the left or right you just have to be aware of so that, you know, as you move, you can you can be very intentional and uh on top of things. So I think that's pretty dope, man, to be able uh to have some folks that you can truly trust and that understands what the goals are and either has similar goals or at least understands your goals and wants to make a contribution, you know, in your life. So uh I think that's dope, man. You know, I want to wrap this thing up, Jay, kind of talking about you know, navigating through the new year, um, you know, maybe just some some bullet points um that we can talk about. You know, we talk a little bit about uh accountability, obviously, and and consistency and you know, little actions that you can do on a daily basis that's gonna help you out, especially journaling, man. I think journaling is one of the most key things that you can do because you know, like when you have dreams, right? People have dreams and you say, Well, what was your dream about? Because you say it was intense and all that, and they're like, Well, man, you know what? I forgot. Well, if it was that intense, why would you write down some of the things that was in your dream? Obviously, you're not gonna remember it verbatim, but if you could start putting some bullets, some bullet points, man, um and journalizing that stuff, it'll it'll kind of help you, you know. Um, it'll remind you of some of the things that you experience because I think all dreams uh have some type of Of value. Even the ones where you get shook up a little bit, you still need to know what are some of those things because um and we both know this, Jay, and I think a lot of people do know that a lot of dreams are are uh symbolic um versus construct. You know, uh if you see yourself in the car and then you you know driving in into the ditch or something like that, don't mean that you actually gonna be in a car accident. You know what I mean? Yeah, it may just mean you know, some directions and some paths that you're going through in your life and and some challenges, you gotta be aware of that and where it'll take you. So, man, please journal. Jay, do do we have the uh the Pops and Sun Conversation journals on the website yet? Are we still working on that?
SPEAKER_01:We still working on it. We still working on it, but but please believe it's coming. Please believe it's coming. They'll have you know some maybe some guided prompts in there and things like that. Uh some that I've used. Um, yeah, I think it's definitely coming. So y'all look out for that.
SPEAKER_02:Look out for that, uh, for sure. So, Jay, give us give us about, you know, maybe two or three um important factors as uh we navigate through 2026, man, that you think be uh be important to uh take in consideration.
SPEAKER_01:Gotcha. So uh I'll do three, I'll do my top three. Number one is gonna be patterns, right? So going into this new year, you're gonna want to start looking at what patterns um you're going through through your daily routine, through your weekly routine, even up to your monthly routine. Because as these days pass, you know, it's it's so easy to slip up. And like I was saying earlier, that time that you don't have allotted for anything just becomes time wasted, right? So you want to be really intentional with what you're doing on a on a day-to-day basis. I know it's not 100% you're gonna be able to stick to one routine on a day-to-day, but at least try to knock out some of those bullet points within your routine throughout the day. And if you can't get them uh done that day, let it carry over. But adjust your patterns, right? Adjust your patterns, adjust your routine, take note of your patterns because um, you know, it that's that's where it's gonna start at that's the root of everything. If you can't tailor your daily pattern, your weekly, weekly pattern, that those that's something that's measurable. So you can actually have hard data on where you're slipping or where you need to improve um by looking at those different patterns. So I think pattern recognition, just recognizing uh what you're repeating, what you what you want to work on more with your habits, um, that's gonna be that's gonna be a big one. Uh number two, I would say uh set some some small goals as well. When once we think about these resolutions, it's always something so grand and something so uh, you know, you don't want to set anything. Now it's okay to dream big, but also be realistic. Yeah. Be realistic because a win is a win. And I don't care what what it is, anytime you win something, it's it's motivation. So a small win is gonna motivate you more and more to get that that medium-sized win and then to the the big win, right? So you have to uh uh measure it out as steps, right? It's just like on the ruler, you got different points before you get, you know what I'm saying, to a full inch or or to a foot. So you have to measure these things out and just take it one step at a time. So uh make sure that you're making small goals that lead up to the big ones. Don't just set five big goals for 2026 with no roadmap of how to get to them. Um so I would say two uh set those small goals. And then number three is work on, I would say work on three new productive habits. Now, this these habits can be something like journaling, like you mentioned. It could be reading, maybe third people don't even know. You could read 30 minutes a day. You can read a lot in 30 minutes, which is crazy. Right. Like even with an average reading speed, you pick up a book, 300-page book, 30 minutes a day, you can get it done in in a week or two. So uh don't feel like reading is such a daunting task because there's a lot of books that will help you mentally uh get through a lot of the roadblocks that you're going through in your life. And maybe, maybe I could put together like a little a little um a little care package or or a little uh book recommendation list uh for the listeners um, you know, that could help out with your year in 2026. But definitely I would say work on those productive habits, journaling, reading, exercising, things like that, which I'm sure a lot of people have on their list anyway. But the great thing about it is all of these kind of coincide. So make sure that you're doing all three, write them down, um, you know, set your goals. And uh yeah, you know, hey, we're gonna be all right in 2026.
SPEAKER_02:We're gonna be all right. All right, but look, uh so I'll finish this thing off. The last thing that I want to make sure that we do uh personally, uh, because obviously we have to set an example, is I want people to start working on what I called self-validation. I don't want you to worry about what's going on with other people left or right, uh, their success, their success rate, what they have going on, the momentum. When we do things, man, I want you to be intentional about representing uh the representation of you, your brand. So when you're doing things, do it because that's your niche, do it because that's your project, because that's your passion, and and not trying to prove anything to anyone else, man, because you know there's a lot of fake love out there, so you got to be careful with that. And uh, you know, and we got you back. So look, we'll check you guys out next episode. Uh happy 2026, because we in the mix, and it's your favorite cereal fox, Rob Malloy.
SPEAKER_01:You already know Mr. Check three times checking out.
SPEAKER_02:See you guys next time.
