Overcoming Obstacles by Listening to God’s Plan, with Tracie Burress

Tracie Burress is an entrepreneur, sales executive, and author whose life story is a powerful testament to resilience, faith, and reinvention. Rising from humble beginnings on Chicago’s South Side to become a top-performing pharmaceutical sales leader and multiple President’s Club award winner, her life took a dramatic turn at age 43 when she survived a life-threatening brain aneurysm. Guided by an unshakable faith, she chose to rebuild, push forward, and pursue the vision placed on her heart—ultimately stepping into entrepreneurship and creating SockTABs, an innovative solution that took her to ABC’s Shark Tank (see socktabs.com to learn more or check out Episode 709 on Hulu, 11/20/15). After national exposure and business success, Tracie faced another profound personal challenge: the end of her 25-year marriage. While adversity tempted her to go downhill, she stayed above the fray, leaning into her faith and continuing to move forward with purpose. In her book, Survive and Succeed: From Brain Aneurysm to Shark Tank, Tracie weaves together lessons on overcoming serious health challenges, trusting God’s plan, achieving corporate success, navigating entrepreneurship, and enduring personal loss with grace and strength. A mother of two adult children, she has also developed a transformative curriculum, Ready To Be Loved, designed to help others heal, grow, and thrive in relationships and life. Her book is available at TracieBurress.com and on Amazon. Bill and Tracie dig deeper into all these topics in this moving episode. You can listen HERE or watch HERE. 

Transcript

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Well, hello With Gratitude, Matt listeners. Bill Moran here. And I'm excited to be back with you once again. This is our first show of 2026. Our goal remains to inspire more people to practice gratitude on a regular basis. Before I welcome our guest, I have a few announcements. With gratitude, Matt is excited to announce that we have a new website, the Web Pages with gratitude mat.org. I encourage you to visit the website. It's a great way to stay connected with gratitude. Matt. You can sign up for our newsletter and you can follow what we're doing. We share announcements and we have an amazing catalog and collection of all of our podcasts. So you can go back and listen to your favorite episode, or you can listen to one of the episodes that you hadn't already listened to. Yeah, for a first time. So also, we encourage you to follow us on Instagram and on Facebook. So again, I encourage you to go to with gratitude Matt dog. Org and check us out. Also, one further announcement before we get started with our guest this summer, on July 24th, we will be hosting our second Toast to gratitude at The View in Matt Adams in Cincinnati, Ohio. Information on how to sign up and be a part of this year's event will be released this spring. So please stay tuned, to this exciting event and there will be opportunities for you to volunteer. There will be opportunities for you to attend, and there'll be opportunities to you, to be a sponsor. So stay tuned. So without further ado, our guest today is Tracy Burris, and I'm humbled and honored to have her here today. Tracy, came to us via our good friend, our mutual friend, Mike need. And Mike and Tracy started their careers together in Philadelphia shortly after college. And, among many things, Tracy is a business leader and a award winning sales superstar, a mom, an author and inventor, and entrepreneur. And most of all, Tracy, you're a woman of faith. So welcome to with gratitude, Matt. I am so very happy to be here. Thank you. Thank you. So, tell our listeners just, you know, it kind of start from the beginning a little bit. And just tell us about your childhood and and where you grew up and a little bit about your family. Yes. Well, I, I'm originally from Chicago, Illinois, South side of Chicago. But I will say that I'm somewhat of an anomaly because I grew up on the South Side, but my dad raised me a Cubs fan, so I know him automatically. There you go. A lot of people right there. But, yeah, I grew up on the South Side of Chicago, you know, grew a product of the inner city Chicago public schools. You know, I grew up with my dad, my mom, my brother's sister have an older brother. Older sister. I went to Kenwood Academy high School. You know, and and just kind of grew up with the grit of being, you know, a young black girl, growing up in the inner city. You you lived a very exciting life. You and your father were very close. And as you grew up, your your father was. He was from the South, correct? Yes. So, you know, my dad grew up in Moorhead, Mississippi. Okay. Which, you know, Mississippi even present day, still have a lot of opportunity areas in terms of, just education, people, you know, live in a body of poverty line. And my dad, you know, grew up there. He was really not even allowed to go to school. His job was to pick cotton. He had 12 siblings, and I don't think any of them had any formal education. And he would tell me about his days of literally picking cotton and having to have so much cotton by the end of the day to be able to, you know, say that they, you know, completed their job satisfactorily. So, you know, people think that the disparity between, you know, people that are educated, uneducated, you know, was so long ago, but literally my dad had to pick cotton as a child as well as his siblings, which are, you know, my an uncle. And so he had a very limited, education, but always, you know, the great migration for a lot of blacks in the South for the move to the north. Okay. And so he eventually moved to Detroit because he had a sister, then eventually landed in Chicago. But he had a very, very, strong southern dialect where a lot of people couldn't understand him or some of his siblings. And so as a young person at like 5 or 6 years old, my father wouldn't leave the house without me. And it's kind of like the immigrant story that we think about today, where the young child is doing all the talking, and there's the go between between their parents, because there's a language barrier. Fortunately, my father understood English, but he just couldn't articulate it. So that kind of started me as a, you know, young five year old to be very comfortable with talking to adults, you know, very comfortable with articulating messages. And, I just think in some regard that established our closeness, our relationship, you know, I just feel like I felt responsible for him. And and always worried about him. I mean, I can remember going to college in Atlanta and asking my dad to take me back to the airport. Well, he told me later that he got lost. Now this has gone back because I got lost coming back from O'Hare to the South Side because he couldn't read the signs that just got me. And it just made me really even more protective of him and I. This is in 19 and going to college from 86 to 90, you know. So I've always had this closeness with him. And and we just, you know, we just understood each other. Right. Well, it's a and it was a beautiful relationship for so many reasons. And, and I had I also had the benefit and just for the listeners, you and we're going to encourage them to, reach out and explore and discover your books. Survive and succeed. The full title is Survive and Succeed from a Brain Aneurysm to Shark Tank How to Trust in God's Plan. So yeah, I had the benefit of reading that book. And you're here today. And so I'm very familiar with that story, that you shared. And not it's not a lighter note, but it's another note on your childhood. You had a very unique experience, unique to anybody I've known or met, when you were five years old. You're walking in Chicago and, stranger said something to you that changed your childhood from a. Yeah. So tell me a little bit about that. That's great. That's amazing. So yeah. So when I was 4 or 5 years old, I was very, very young. My mom and I were walking down Michigan Avenue in Chicago, and some lady approached my mom and said, you know what? You should consider getting her into modeling. And so she's like, okay. And, you know, so never really thought about it. And not many Southside girls are getting into modeling. And so, you know, we didn't have a lot of money, but my uncle was a photographer and he, you know, set up his dining room, put a little bedrock. When I remember my mom bought me a pretty dress and long and short, I ended up modeling. I was a child model. I worked for Sears catalog, JCPenney. And then one of my biggest claims to fame is that I was on a Betty Crocker ready to spread frosting commercial with the late Gary Coleman, of our people, because he also was from Chicago. He was from, I think, Xi'an, Illinois. And so I remember going and, waiting and waiting and he kept us all waiting because he wanted the limousine to pick them up. And they did, in fact. But this was, you know, right before he really had a big when Diff'rent Strokes and, you know, some of the other things, but, yeah, it was it was an interesting experience because, you know, I got to, you know, do a lot of, like print ad shoots and, you know, I would always go on auditions and stuff. And so it was a big deal. I was almost like a celebrity, you know, on my own. Right? You know, I remember teacher said, oh, I got the star. Am I wrong this year? So I guess, you know, you'll be missing a few days and, you know, you don't realize the impact of that, you know, and, and and because of all that I've experienced, you know, I kind of can see how some of my expectations were always centered around me just showing up and trying to be pretty and not have any more beyond that, you know, in addition to that. Yeah. No, I think and that's good for the listeners to kind of set the the context here because you know, at a young age that maybe was your identity. Maybe. Yeah, maybe even your worth was in your beauty. Obviously you're so much more than that inside and out. You've grown, you've you've been through it all. And what what kind of talk about that. And and I, you know, there's so much to talk about, I, I guess, you know, you mentioned the late, great Gary Coleman and sadly he, he did pass away from an aneurysm and we yeah, he gave the title of your book and, and in 2011, you, I guess, woke up in the middle of the night and tell us what he did. So. Yeah. At 43 years old, I woke up and, you know, was just a normal day. We had just given our son it was his golden birthday, a birthday party.

I think the last gasp from our 10: 10:15

00 went to bed and woke up at exactly 5 a.m.. I remember looking at the clock, and I just felt like I had a stiff neck, and I went into the guest room. No action went up. It took two ibuprofen because my first thought was, oh my God, these pillows. I need to go to TJ Maxx so Marshalls and get some more pillows tomorrow because his pillows terrible. And so I ended up doing, you know, taken to ibuprofen. And then I went to lay Bible. Then after that I'm like, nah, this is a little bit more serious than, you know, ibuprofen. So I went into the guest room because it's a little colder in there, kind of got a little hot. And as soon as I sat on the bed, all of a sudden I started Sam flashing lights. I heard a large ring, and then I heard a pop and it felt like somebody was stabbing me with an ice pack on this side of my head. And I literally remember my Pentecostal grandfather saying, if you confess with your mouth that God is your Savior, that he will go to heaven, you know that God is you know he will save you. And so I remember being who say, God, forgive me for all my sins and I know that you are my personal Savior. Soon as I said, it is stopped. I mean literally to the point where I woke my ex-husband up. And at that point you know, and he's a medical doctor. So I remember grabbing his toe, walking back in the room, I says, something's really wrong. And I had this stiff neck. You know, I can't do I can do this, but I couldn't go up and down, can go back and forth and not up and down. And, you know, he just kind of started looking at my eyes and, you know, whatever. And so I end up going back to sleep for four more hours. Okay. So at this point I wake up and he says, do you feel better? I want you to take a shower and put, you know, something in the back of it. So I did that. Then, you know, I said, I'm not 100%. I feel better. He says, call your doctors. Actually, you know what? I'm going to call? So I call the doctor. If he calls a doctor, hands up onto me. And then I just kind of tell her, you know, this whole story in the beginning. Yes, God forgive me for my sins. And then I just had the worst headache. And then. So my ex is like, you never said headache. I don't forget, it only lasted for like, 10s. So. But you never said headache. And so he knew immediately that I had had a bleed, a brain bleed, which the main is a sub arachnid hemorrhage. And most people don't survive. Once you your brain bleeds, you stop and you drop. And it very rarely do you come back. And if you do come back, you're deficits are so, you know, large because your brain is bleeding and so long and short. I was able to get airlifted from Rockford, Illinois, which is an hour and a half north of Chicago, to downtown to Northwestern University, where the next day they, perform an 11 hour brain surgery. Now, my doctor, Bernard Bean Doc, who I actually just saw two years ago, he has now since left northwestern for the sunny Arizona, and he started up the neurosurgery program there. And me being the person that I am, I'm like, hey, I need to come see you. I just want you to look at my brain again and fortunately, everything was fine. But, that was a very, pivotal time for me, for on so many levels. Yeah, yeah. And and so and I think for our listeners here, you talked about Doctor Ben doc and how he gave you hope, but also how your friends and your faith helped you through that. Well, let me just say this to you when you are facing brain surgery, and then you're like, okay, well, what do you say to your friends? What do you say to your family? What do you study rockets like? Because you just don't know, you know, brain in surgery. And that's a word you want the same sentence and so I, you know, I realized that all I could do was go to God. You know, there is nothing else you can do but have faith. And I just remember praying and asking God to give me another chance to live the life that is pleasing to him. That's a phrase that I used to always say, I want to live a life is pleasing to you, God, and give me the opportunity to do it. And I can tell you that, I know that I am blessed to be here, still live. I think about all the things I would have missed. You know, I'm 57 now that lives are 43, and so I would have missed so much with my kids. And you know, another quick stories that my girlfriends, you know, has just surrounded me. They came and took care of my kids, made sure they were comfortable. Because as a mom or as a parent, you know, you know, you're sitting here dealing with your issue, but what's going on with the kids? You know, my kids had a tumor and I had not cancer. The two that I saw, the two of my best friend was like, you're two does not come in. Today is awake. The kids and I are coming to Chicago. You know, I'm getting help. Like, I hadn't even told him because I wanted to. My brain have some semblance of normalcy, but that's ridiculous, you know? And so that's when they showed up and they all came in, and just to pray for me before, and that was another reason why I want to do northwestern because they, I had, you know, just such a my family is there all the time. I'm out of my friends growing up with their. And what I can tell you in doctor, I came in to kind of draw, you know, on a whiteboard just where my aneurysm was and how they could not go and do it any other way outside of literally cutting up in my skull and going inside that way. I had about 20 people in the room, and they were all friends and family and, you know, and afterwards he asked me, he was like, he literally said to me after the surgery and everything was like, I have been a doctor for so long. But because my ex was in the medical community, a lot of my girlfriends and friends were doctors too. And, you know, they're always doctors, like just 1 or 2, three people will move, he says. I have never had so many people from all over the country say, hey, the person that you're operating on tomorrow, you know, I know this person from that person. You know, I just want to kind of tell you, you know, he literally was like, who are you? And how do you know so many people? And he just is such an amazing man. I just loved Roger bean. Doc. You know, he just he just wanted to tell me that he was like, I had so many people reach out, you know? And pray for us. And, you know, Sam does want you to know that I know this young woman and take care of her or whatever. And he did. He absolutely did. You know, that's so special. And I'm I mean, having that, faith community, having your friends there, having the skill, the talent, and then also the humility of Doctor Ben. Doc, be a part of your surgery, 11 hour surgery and recovery. Honestly, they did not anticipate me recovering as quickly as I did. Like, I, you know, they they have you in the ICU floor and then they take you take two step downs. And so they at one point said, you know, you really shouldn't be on this floor because people on this floor are learning how to walk. You know, they're learning how to talk, you know, and I got a parade of people coming in bringing me my favorite food, bringing me snacks, you know, were watching TV, you know, it's like this is different. And so unfortunately, I got to go deaf, step down, because I never had any deficits. I was never to a point where I had to have any kind of therapy, whether it was, you know, physical, whether it was, you know, speech, never, ever, you know. And so I remember telling people, had I known how serious this was, I don't even know what to pray for, what I got, because it would have been almost too much to ask. And you mentioned your faith and you've met and and your faith was so strong. While you're going through this before you're going through this, but did you view this, successful surgery and recovery as a second chance at all? Absolutely, absolutely. Because it was. So what does that mean for you going forward? That meant that I could not waste this opportunity to let people know how good God is. That meant that I had to own up and make good on the promise that I made before my surgery to let the world know that God is real and that you. I mean, I'm no special, that he loves us all the same. So if he did it for me, he can do it for you. Not to lose faith and to know that you can literally live a life as pleasing to God. And so I wanted to I wanted to own up and bring forth what I felt like God wanted me to do, and that is to be his disciple. And that is to be his messenger. So whenever I have a public stage, as you know, you know, it's my book says From Aneurysm to Shark Tank. It was intentional for me to tell the world about my brain aneurysm. I'm going to tell the world about how God brought me back stronger and more feisty than ever, which was a blurb that ABC used when they were promoting, Shark Tank. But it was true. And so it was very intentional on me letting everybody know as much as I could or as many people as I could. And that's a big stage. I mean, come on now, we're still getting orders. And that we were on Shark Tank in 2015. Every time it plays, I still get orders. It's the gift that keeps on giving, but it's reaching so many people. And that was also my goal. Yeah. So so maybe kind of give the listeners a little bit more background. So I'm familiar with sock tabs, but so, before you were on Shark Tank, you know, how how did that come about? You don't just call up Shark Tank. It's like you do anything. I got a product I get on, you know? Oh my gosh. Well, I'm an entrepreneur, I guess, in some sense. And I guess I didn't realize that about myself, but I used to watch Shark Tank just, you know, because it was a Friday night show. I thought it was entertaining. And I just. I'm, I'm, I'm going to be on Shark Day, you know, and I said it with blind confidence, you know, and I said, I need to create a product that everybody can use and just so happen with that mindset, you know, because I really strongly, strongly believe in putting something out there. And in my world, I believe God. And some people just say the universe will figure out a way to make it happen. And so when I put it out there that, I'm going to be on Shark Tank, I want to be on Shark Tank. Did I have a product? No, but I had gone over to a few friends houses the same weekend, and they both were complaining about matching a match less socks, and one even had socks in the middle of their family room right by like the fireplace. Like it's a piece of furniture where every one and every day they would sift through trying to find facts. I'm like, this is so dumb, you guys. There's got to be a better way. And so long and short, I end up creating sock dabs. And my cousin, who also lives in Los Angeles, which is where I am right now, by the way, had a, marketing and PR firm. And so we created the product. And the first time I went, I pitched in San Diego and they were like, you had the best pitch, like I've seen all day, but you don't have any sales. You don't even have a product. You just have a you don't even have a proof of concept. They were like, so come back. I'm like, okay, fine, I'm on. So I've figured out a way to, you know, come up with the logo and just all that we did. My cousin was very instrumental in all of that. So then I came back, maybe two years later, maybe a year later, and my friend had a 50th birthday party and something just said, check the website to see if you know if Shark Tank is going to be there at the exact same weekend. Imagine it so literally the same weekend. I'm already there. They're having another open casting call in Las Vegas, so we fly in. My ex takes the stub to the hotel. I go directly to the casting call, and if you get a bracelet, you're going to automatically be chosen. Now about 50 at that time, 45,000 people. It's even worse now, probably 50 70,000 people get chosen. So I go there and the guy that you know, selects b boy was like, I've seen a few of you are, you know, then in the past, you know, he looking right in my face and I'm like, and he's like, if the if the shark said no to you before, then they're going to say no to you. The I don't know why you're here. And that didn't even make me flinch. I'm like, you saw somebody else. You mad dog to me. So needless to say, I go there and I go back and I'm not paying people, you know, because there's so many people you pitch to. And guess what? Two weeks later, I got the call or the email saying that you've made it to the first round. And then so every two weeks from June to November 20th, which is a day we recorded, we had a two week or sometimes twice a week call with the producers, and each time they would say, just because you made it to this round doesn't mean you're going to make it. And they kept playing it even beyond, even when they have flown us all the way to Los Angeles to record. And I guess it's true because they ask, they record what they were called a 136 businesses and only 106 are shark. So some people didn't get shot. But if you want to see an exciting episode, I will say I was another first on the Shark Tank when they recorded my show. There was something that had never happened before in the history of Shark Shark Tank. I think it's happened once or twice since, but I was a first in that episode as well. So you can go to SA tabs.com. So if you, you know, want to see the product and then episode seven. Oh nine on Hulu, if you want to see the episode. There you go. Yeah. And we'll put that in the show notes as a reminder, both for, sock tabs.com and the Hulu episode of Shark Tank. That's a it's an awesome story. And you know, just and it also, you know, kind of for the listeners, I think I don't want to gloss over it, but when you put your mind to it and it becomes part of your consciousness, I'm going to be on Shark Tank. You didn't even have a product at the time. And now, you know, you know, fast forward, you've got a product. It's a viable it's a great product. It's a very useful product. I wish I had known about it. We have bags of socks that don't match in our house and. We don't have to any longer. You know, I know thanks to you. Thanks to you. So you've mentioned your former husband or at least alluded to him a few times. And part of your journey was, as you said, you know, married at a young age, married for 25 years. And, that marriage did end and, and, so, you know, kind of, you know, not not necessarily walk the listeners through your marriage, but but, you know, what lessons did you learn from that whole experience and really, what got you through it? Tracy. Because that's, that's the and, you know, our listeners out there, they're going to go through this. Yeah. Well, I have always felt like if you give your whole heart to anything or to someone, then that's really all you can do, you know? And I really believe in my whole heart that I gave my marriage everything that I had. And I guess in retrospect, my ex probably did, too. You know, we both were very I was 25. He was 30. And he had been married before, and, you know, he had a certain look that he wanted, like, in his mind, you know, he wanted someone that, you know, had, certain look that he would always want, I guess. And I guess I, I met that requirement. And then for me, you know, I wanted someone that had a stable job that would give me a certain type of lifestyle. So we were perfect on paper, you know, we were an amazing we we met each other's needs as shallow as they may have, that. And so once I realized that I wanted a little more and that I deserved a little more, you know, and I would just, you know, say, hey, because I stayed at home for nine years, which was a beautiful gift. And my job was to take care of everything else. And all my husband had to do was go to work and be great, because everything else I handle the kids, the food, the properties, the, I mean, everything, you know. And then eventually I went back to work as a pharmaceutical sales rep, but then I still was handling everything like I got, like he didn't lose any. I didn't lose any of my jobs. He didn't gain any more. And I felt overwhelmed. Right. And I needed more emotionally. And I would say, you know what? Can you just do something nice for me? Can you plan a day, you know, can you send me flowers? And his response was, Will you ask me to do things that I'm not good at? I'm like, okay, well, just get, you know, try. And of course is deeper than that. But he didn't really fill the right to. And, you know, I realized that there was some narcissism on his behalf, but there was also some codependency on my behalf, which I owned. And I kind of started to really equip myself with as much knowledge about narcissistic disorder, how it really is attached to, MTA to foraging in the brain. That's why folic acid and, fish oil is all important. I get certain genes. Are you and you know, just a lot of leafy green vegetables when the brain development. I mean, this is just how much I become like an expert on disorders, which is what kind of help me understand how I was, you know, a dependent on someone that I feel like probably didn't even know how to depend on themselves in a lot of ways. And so I said we were a match made in hell like, honestly, he my goal was to play a town and his goals was to through for me. The point is, you know and it's it's I don't I don't regret I can tell you five years divorce or five years separated and this is my fifth year, I can actually thank God for it. Which is weird because I was sick. I didn't see it coming. I didn't know it was happening. Yeah, that shows a lot of growth in you. And and it's it's a lot easier to say it than it is to do it. You wrote in your book and I'm going to quote it, it says your deepest pain point led you to understand your purpose. And maybe, you know, maybe that speaks for itself. But if you want to expand on that a little bit. Yeah. I mean, I was devastated, when my marriage was dissolved, and I wanted my marriage, I wanted I didn't want to be a statistic. And I felt like I was kind of just not being treated fairly. And I was really, really sad, that God didn't intervene. And so, but I understand now that and this is really and maybe people are going to agree with this, but I really feel as though, you know, the Bible says you're not supposed to have any, any gods before God or put anything before God, money, other people. And I was so lost and trying to be responsible for my ex-husband's happiness that I feel like I had lost so much of who I was. And I remember realizing and saying that God did not create me to be someone's wife. I am God's child. There's so much more to me. And I had to learn that for myself because I felt as a if you love someone completely, unconditionally and you take vows and you know you do everything to serve them, that that should be enough. I do not want that, you know. And so the pain of having to see that dissolve. And then I remember being so frustrated with God and, you know, and God told me a few things. He spoke to me three times, but he he said the last time, I don't need your help. I was like, why aren't you fixing? That's the situation. You're about unity. You're not about divorce. Like, I was so mad. If I do something. And he said to me, as clear as I'm talking to you, I don't need your help. And so my purpose is to live the life that God has for me. And I had to learn that through my experiences with losing my marriage. But finding myself. Right. So. So did that bring about a clear conscience as all. Oh my gosh. Well, you know, there's a phrase that I love, you know, that I got I think I got it from one of the pastors that I've started that changed my life, the same as Pastor R.C. Blake's, and he's a YouTube thing. But I found him when I was living in Rockford, Illinois, by myself. You know, we had this big house dog, and then eventually it was just me and the dog, and I was just so long and just kind of found. But again, I know God was directing me to him. But the phrases there's no softer pillow than a clear conscience, because I had done it all, I had done it all. I had cried all the tears. And God said to me. He can't go where I'm taking you. But I see it now. Which is why I said a couple minutes ago. Five years later, I am grateful for it because, as we know, God never closes the door and gives you less. Like that just now. Works like anything that you aren't getting now, like you think something or rejection is the best protection. You know, that's another phrase because I begged and prayed and fast it like I would fast. I was praying I would go to church, I would do the altar call. I would get on my knees. I prayed on that at night on my knees. I did it all because I know the power of God. But the point is, I'm happy God didn't bless me with what I thought I wanted. He wanted more from me that I could even want from myself. And that is what I know. Wow. And here we are. You're talking to us from beautiful, sunny California. So how does a, young woman from the south side of Chicago make it all the way out to LA and become a sales superstar? Girl? Period. I mean, it's that simple. I mean, and that's what I tell my kids. I need you to write something down and to dream. So big so that when it happens, you'll know it only came from God. I dare you to do it. And that's where I am. I'm living this right now. So. So did you. I mean, and that's a great exercise. That is. And I'm still doing it, by the way. Good. Because I believe it. Well, it's Habakkuk two two. Well, there's also a map in the book. It talks about write it down on plain tablets and make it plain. So anybody that can see it can read it, and you just have to believe it and you write it down. And like I've included in my list in my book, in the first was a great 2 or 3 bedroom apartment in a warm climate, because I hadn't decided if I was going to be L.A. or Atlanta, a warm climate with a great view. Well, when I first moved to L.A., I was in a two bedroom apartment with this amazing view and a beautiful condo. And then two years ago, I just got a three bedroom apartment with an amazing view. And it's like. And of course, you don't realize it until I was like, wait a minute. I remember writing 2 or 3 bedroom apartment. Guess what? I got a two. The first time in a three we have to be granular and what we write and what we believe, because it really is God listening. And I really just want your listeners and anybody that I know to know this, you literally have to see it and you have to move as if it's already done. And that's exactly what I'm continuing to do. And I could not have done this if I had still stayed in the marriage that I was in. That no longer was a blessing from me. But you. In your book, you talk a lot about your daily routine and how that is important to you and maybe share a little bit about what you do and your your mantra, even. And how that helps you. My, my daily routine is, essentially to try and stay grounded as much as I can because this, this world is challenging, you know, it is so much happening that just is hurtful to my spirit. And just really is. And, so I try and listen to my, my daily Bible while I'm taking the shower. I literally put it on my legs and I listen to, you know, it's like the Old Testament, the New Testament. And then I, you know, give you certain thoughts and you listen to it every day. And by the end of the year, you, you know, read the Bible, which I love. And then I also, you know, listen to a lot of books, a lot of sermons. I find it's so important to feed my spirit in a way that is beneficial. Because you have to feed your soul because when life's challenges hit, you gotta be able to figure out where to dig deep and getting, you know, through it. And so that's feeding my soul constantly. So that's some of the stuff that I do. And I think you mentioned my mantra that I encourage people to do for themselves because, it's just a good thing. So when life comes at you. So it's something that I put is on page two, you know, so when life kicks in, I say, I remind myself of this. And my name is Tracy, and the T stands for trust God and all you do. The R says, remember all the challenges you've already overcome. Now, we've all prayed and we know that God has been there. But somehow or another, when we get a new challenge, it's almost like he has to start over from begin. It. No, we have to remember all of the challenges, all of the challenges that we've already overcome. A is accepts God's will and pray for understanding. Now again, as I prayed for my marriage to be together, I prayed for not to be a divorced woman at 52 years old. That was no longer God's will and I had to understand it. And that's something that, you know, I've chosen to have that mindset about things because I do believe that God wants what is best for me. And now that I've accepted that, it's a little bit easier. So when things don't work out, I'm really okay with it. So that's the A. The C is check your emotions. It's not always what you think. And that's okay because we can just automatically feel that someone did something or said something and get in our feelings and all that. And this is good to have a a temperature check on your emotions. I it's intentional actions and intentional living are crucial. Be careful what you do. Always understand your intentions. And if it's not beneficial and it's going to be hurtful to somebody, don't do it. And then as expectations of others must be managed. Now that is a big one. Because if you don't have expectations of others, it's very difficult to be disappointed. Say that again. So yeah, that's worth repeating. If you don't have expectations of others, then it's very difficult to be disappointed. And that's something that I've learned. That is not easy to always remember, but it has both. Well, for me, when I do think about it, like you know what, I'm just going to go in and just see what happens. That's that's amazing. So one of the things that you and and your journey and you've you've alluded to it a little bit and I know off off the air you spoke to me about it. And I think it's I think this could be helpful for a lot of our listeners. You, you sort, professional help in, in part of your journey here and, and I know you wrote about it, but what kind of message would you want to send to the listeners about if they are in need of, of that professional help? I think that the, the stigma and the shame around it is really unfair. I don't know, a person in this world is not dealing with problems or issues or trying to overcome things. And, you know, I saw professional help in our marriage. But what I also realize is that if you're seeking counsel, if you're seeking professional opinion, you can just show up or you can really do the work. Okay. And my point is, you know. I wanted help, I wanted to understand my story. I wanted to understand why I made some of the choices that I made. How did I get here in my marriage? What did I do to contribute to the demise of my marriage? It was very clear to me, you know, obviously, what my ex has done, and I'm sure he has another side of the story, what I did. But I also wanted to take some ownership of how did I contribute and what did I do. And to me, that is what I swear I spend most of my time like I wasn't after I got separated. I was not interested in dating, you know, I would tell everybody I'm separated, which means I'm still married. You know, imagine me going out on a date with somebody, and I'm so some eyes wide, like I use my time wisely. I was not interested in getting back in, in a relationship, and that was just something that I realized I had to heal. I had to understand and therapy for me was game changing because there was so much that I just didn't understand about the choices that I made, what it stemmed from. And it's just been a world of difference. And having someone that is medically trained or of, you know, psychotherapy as well trained on patterns, choices and how what it stems from. And it just to me allowed me to get closer on a track of trying to understand why and how and now what? Yeah. Well, I think, you know. Yeah. And I'm not a, I'm not a professional and I don't pretend to be at all. But I do think you're a living example of, the benefits of it. And I mean, you're just, you're exuding, confidence. You're exuding, you're doing God's will. All of the things that you wrote about and discussed, it just it's it's further testimony to the, the benefits of, of, therapy and, and seeking professional help. So I appreciate you sharing that. And, kind of trying to break down some of the, negative connotations of, of what, what is involved there and what, what it might be. It's not weakness. It's it's taking ownership and it's, seeking recovery and, and and it's a journey and it's, it's a beautiful journey. And you're, you're living proof. So thank you, Tracy, for doing that. I'm going to move on to here a little bit. Tracy, you talk about, you know, you chose peace over you know, you have patience and you chose peace. And you do live a joy filled life, but it's devoted to God. And what does that mean for you now in your life out in LA? And I understand that your mother has moved out there. Is that correct? And I'm grateful to be able to to give this to her. And I can I can just tell you that, you know, I my my heart is so filled with joy and gratitude for all that God has given me for every bit of it. Like I honestly tell people when when they're facing situations that I am not going to be ashamed of anything that God put me through. I am great for forward. As we know, James one and two his what? Count it all joy. You know that's one of my favorite verses. Count it all joy. So it it's I am humbly grateful for the tragedy of so much that I thought I would never, ever get through. I was mad at God. I'm like, I did everything told me to. And this is this is where I end up. And I, I can see that, you know, I heard another phrase, which I love, those like, you know, the good news is that whatever you go through, you know God will be there for you. But the bad news is, Jagan, Anita, if because he's going to be there for you. But Jim, for good and the bad of it. So I can tell you that having a heart of peace, joy and gratitude is to me where I'm trying to stay focus and where I'm trying to keep my center because I just know that God is is here for all of us to to be a blessing. And we can see any situation today that somehow or another, something amazing can come from it. What the what the devil can start, you know, as hey, God can turn to joy. And that's something else that I really know and believe, right? That's that's beautiful. I, I could talk to you forever. I just I want to be respectful of your time and, and, and our listeners here today, but, you know, before we close out is, you know, I, I didn't know you've done such a wonderful, job of explaining your journey and how powerful it is. So if the listeners want to find you, how do they find you and and seek your wisdom in in your guidance? Yes. Well, I did create a. Well, first of all, I don't know if this is allow my shameless plug. I do have my book. It's 100%. Allowed. So this is my book and it's me and yellow, which is a color I didn't really wear a lot, but I knew that when I created this cover, I wanted something to be vibrant and just happy and yellow. It's hard to be in yellow and what a bad attitude. So I have my nice little yellow outfit on and it's called Survive and Succeed. As you mentioned, Bill, from a brain aneurysm to Shark Tank and How to trust and God's Plan. This is my book. It's actually available on Tracy breast.com. Where if you know, you want to order it, I, you know, process all my orders. I'd be happy to, you know, give a little, sign copy as well. Or you can do it on Amazon. It's also available. And then one of the things that my goal because as a woman at 57 years old and I was divorced at 52, as I mentioned, I met my ex at 25, married at 27, divorced of 52. The world was very different and I just didn't know how to pick up and where to start. And I kind of feel like through my therapy, through a lot of things that I have, experience coaching, really can tell you that once again, God is faithful. He is so faithful. He will put things in front of you when you're ready to receive. So I know I read about 70 books that first two years and I remember like, wow, God, had I got this before I probably wouldn't have got it. But the way things are positioned is when you're able to receive it. And I can tell you that I kind of have chronicled that. So if there are women or anyone in general that has had some challenges, again, you can go to Tracy. Com my book is available. And one last thing, I kind of created a little curriculum for women that are trying to start over, you know, and it's called ready to be loved, not ready to love, ready to be loved because there is a difference. And I really believe that God got me in a position where I was ready to be loved. And it's been an amazing journey and I'm very, very grateful for it. It takes a lot of courage and and drive and desire to tackle writing a book, but how did you do it? Like what? What what inspired you to do it and what was your purpose behind it? Well, my purpose behind writing the book is because it was a promise that I made to God that, you know, I really wanted to be able to, you know, cleanse a lot of what I was experiencing, a lot that I had not really shared or talked about, like my with my ex, we never really talked about much. We just kind of separated and divorced, and I felt like this book was going to be very cleansing, very purging. And, you know, so I've not really been on like social media to try and monetize it or anything like that. I really felt that get in and out there would be beneficial to a lot of women, a lot of people that were starting over. And so I kind of just wanted to to have that as something that, you know, people will be able to use or see. So perhaps, you know, get it on social media to promote this because the people that have read it without fail have told me how much of an impact it has made and had on their lives. So, and I can actually tell you, two men that have I met a guy in Australia. Okay. And I know he was in Los Angeles, but he was from Australia. And somehow I know that my book came out and he said to me, wow, I was blown away by your face. And that to me also was it was powerful. And then another guy, I was in London and I told him about the book and he literally right there, one on Amazon bought the book, and then later we talked. He says, I'm going to tell you, I don't know, Guy, but the way you talk about him in this book makes me want to. And literally I said, and that's exactly why I wrote it. So having that and again, I'm not even really promoting it, but I know it's powerful. So, I hope, you know, people will select it and read it and get something out of it. That's my prayer. Well, thank you and and thank you for writing it. And thank you for putting in all the work and, and, it's it's really meaningful and, and it's making an international impact. So that's. That's I know I was so excited. Right. So I do want to go back to one of the things you said and and accepting God's plan, but on his at his speed and my brother, you know, he's the one that started this awesome podcast. And and we're continuing his efforts and he he would always close it. And I'm not going to close it yet, but he would always say Godspeed. And I look that up. It's kind of just like, you know, I thought it was a a nice phrase. I think it's what the mission Control said to the astronauts when they were orbiting the Earth. And, and I asked Matt about it and he says, no, it's it's life is at God's speed. Not my speed, not your speed. It's at God's. So it's another way of you saying it. It. When God presents it, it presents it on God's time, you know? So I like that. So I have never read all that. Well, thank you for breaking that down because God speed in, in my mind even still means as quickly as a compact happen. But no, he I get that it's God's timing here. It's at his speed. Yeah I love that. Yeah. No. So that was great. So, sock tabs, how do we how do we find those. So exact have.com. Very simple very easy a basically for tabs is for anyone that has feet and wear socks. Do you know anybody like a. I know for you. Yeah. So anybody that has feet wear socks has wasted time trying to keep, you know, find the, the match, the mate and then wasted money to buy more just to contribute to the problem. So Sock Tabs is a very simple solution. You wear one tab on one sock at all times. So as soon as you take your socks off, guess what? You're don't. They kind of match them up right there. So that way they go into the washer together, into the hamper, then into the washer. And then guess what? They come out together. You don't have to wait on the back end to match them up. You match them right there where you are on the front end for. Our listeners will have all this information in the show notes, but, sock tabs.com and Tracy burris.com. So kind of before before we close off here, my brother always reminded us to do three things every day to live life to the fullest. And, one was find something to be grateful for. For regardless of how powerful the storm is. Be truly present with those that you're with. And I think, Tracy, the third one you commented a lot on in it's pay attention to what you're feeding your mind, your body and your soul. So again, thank you to our guest, Tracy Burris. Thank you so much to our listeners. Remember to subscribe to the show. Share it with friends. Also, please go to our website with gratitude mat.org and stay tuned for more information regarding our July 24th toast to gratitude. With gratitude, Matt. Listeners, until next time, find the courage to be grateful. Godspeed my friends.