Hello to all my listeners, friends, fans & family.
A question I am often asked by the people I meet, when I tell them I have a Website, Podcast and Blog is: What is it all about? What is it that YOU DO, within your Show? Now that can be a very challenging question for many if you have no idea who YOU really are at the core. In this blog post I will give you a brief history of my journey, as well as the answer to the question said above –> What is the Show/Message all about?
For me however, I discovered my passion and purpose when I was about 16, when I attended a youth leadership conference at Flagler College in Saint Augustine, Florida. Not knowing what the conference was entirely all about, my guidance counselor suggested to me that this would be an experience I would gain an abundance of knowledge from. So of course, I decided to take him at his word and attend this summer conference.
Upon arriving in Saint Augustine, I noticed immediately that the other teens who were also in attendance, seemed to be extremely extroverted and animated which intimidated me right from the start. Majority of these girls and boys were engaging with each other and had a lot to say about anything and everything. At this point, panic began to set in and I was asking myself, how I was going to get through this 5 day event.
When I was 16 years old, I was a complete introvert. Yeah, I had my small click of friends in high school, but I was in no way popular. Being raised in a privet Catholic School, I was always in the mindset of keeping to myself – not speaking until spoken to – and not to get too involved in things that were not my business. So when I graduated from the 8th grade and continued my education in Public High School, my eyes were overwhelmed by a ton of new experiences and daily events that I was just not accustomed to. Young Kids disrespecting their teachers, kissing in the hallway, using 4 letter words often, as well as seeing the development of different peer groups – unfolding in front of me day after day. Because this environment was so uncomfortable, being a student from such a sheltered early school life, I kept to myself for much of the first 2 years in high school. To this day… I am not sure if this is why my guidance counselor suggested the summer Leadership Conference, but it was safe to say I was extremely out of my element on day 1.
After getting all my stuff off the bus and walking my way to the college dorms for the week activities, I befriended a teen who shared similar feelings as I. This was a wonderful feeling knowing I wasn’t the only person there, scared out of my mind, not knowing what to do or how to act within this element. So we hit it off and decided to room together with a couple of other boys who were a little more out going. Later that evening all of the teens in attendance we divided into 5 groups. Each group received a colored t-shirt, and a conference responsibility that would be called upon throughout the event. My group color was ECRU and we were responsible for the Vespers services all week long. This was good news for me having 8+ years of Catholic School, as prayer was not a PROBLEM. The other groups were assigned responsibilities like, physical education, singing/entertainment, as well as ethics.
The purpose of this conference was to engage, challenge, and inspire one another with the help of military instructors and educators. The final goal of this conference was to give the students the tools needed to become future leaders of our world.
So by now, I hope I painted the scene for you. And to keep this anecdote short, I will limit this emotional roller coaster experience and get to the point of the story.
Alright….so to recap… 16 year old introverted sheltered young man goes to an extroverted leadership conference – totally out of his element – nervous from day one – gets assigned to a vespers group – and discovers the purpose of the event was making future leaders of America. And if that wasn’t overwhelming enough… This young man (ME) was picked to give a 5 minute speech on Patriotism to a group of 250 teenagers & 20 teachers and staff (some of which were military officers) on the last day of the event.
Scared and completely intimidated, on the last day of the event I walked up to the podium – open my notes – introduced myself – and began to speak. Thirty seconds into my talk on Patriotism, my nerves left my skin – my voice became bold – and my confidence rose to a level I never knew existed. My talk was only supposed to be around 5 minutes…It lasted close to 15 minutes. To this day I do not remember a single word of what I said, however; what followed after I finished my presentation I will never forget for the rest of my life. ALL 250+ people gave me a standing ovation, and were in shock that a quiet young man who said very little throughout the whole 5 days could deliver a speech with such confidence and articulation. Two of the teaching officers came over to the podium where I was standing after the speech and addressed the group in the microphone saying, “.. we just uncovered a hidden talent within this young man – wasn’t that talk amazing”.
This my friends was a major turning point in my life. After receiving recognition as the Honor Group of the 1994 Youth Leadership Conference, I returned back to my hometown, with a new outlook on life, and my abilities to take on the world. In my junior year of High School, I took on new challenges with the debate team, the drama club, and other such activities that would expand my new hidden talents. Upon graduating from High school, I was no longer the quiet guy who was afraid to engage challenges as were presented to me. Many future events of my life would not of been possible, if I didn’t make the decision to attend that leadership conference when I was a young teen.
The point of this story and where I am taking you, details a very simple message. Don’t live your life in FEAR. Challenges are a very important part of your journey in this life. It is what we do within those challenging moments that will determine the road we decide to travel. You are going to make mistakes – that is an absolute – but asking the questions of what you learned within those errors will keep you striding forward to what ever goal you set your focus to.
And to come full circle with this story and answer the question at the top of this post – Who am I & what is it that I Do within this website, blog, and/or Podcast? The Rollman Revolution audio Podcast is about changing the way you see the world and the way the world sees you, that is the tagline… but what does all that mean. To put it very simply I produce a podcast that Informs, Challenges, and Inspires people to listen to the voice our world, so that in turn our World can listen to you.
Politics, Economics, Propaganda, Religion, Culture, Health, Conspiracy, Philosophy and the Universe all have a story to tell, but it is up to us listen to the story or not. In a world where everyone and everything is competing for every second of your time, it is always up to us as to where we are going to focus our attention. If you are not happy with the presentation and performance of the world today, it is up to you and I to change it. These things don’t happen on their own. We all have a role to play, but it is up to us – how large of a part we want in this production. And this is why my show is Called the Rollman Revolution. I feel my role in this life is to get to the truth behind all of the things that have played a part in this poor production. And as I uncover these TRUTHS, it also behooves me to SHARE this message with my universal family…YOU and EVERYONE ELSE.
So to finalize this blog post:
When people ask me what it is that I do, my response is: I awaken the force inside of every individual -to show them that they have the power to make this world a better place for you and for me.
The podcast is just a tool to assist me in my endeavors!
Please leave comments if you have any questions.
Peace my Friends, -David Rollman