Today we’d like to introduce you to Monson Flake.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My life has been a series of challenges and lessons. At the age of 2, my parents were already deep into the divorce process. Being the youngest of 8 children at the time, I grew up through what I call, “the great divide”. Half the family wanted to live with mom, and half the family wanted to live with dad. This left me wondering where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to think. It caused a number of challenges within our home and left me as a young boy, confused and lost.
The years following this were very hectic. Several of my siblings developed severe drug addictions and have taken many trips to different jails and prisons. Unfortunately, at some point or another, several of my siblings went to some form of confinement, jail or prison.
So this was my childhood. One half of the family was religious, while the other was living a more wild lifestyle. I was the youngest, and growing up through this was unique. It taught me things that some people never learn, and it helped me view the world the way that I do now.
Eventually, when I was in the 4th grade, my father re-married my stepmom and I gained two younger siblings. Unfortunately, nobody could mesh with my stepmom. She caused so many challenges and trials in our lives, that my two older siblings that lived with her couldn’t handle it and moved out while still in high school. She was very emotionally abusive and manipulative. She treated her kids very differently from the way she treated us. She withheld money and privileges from us that she wouldn’t from the others.
Learning from my siblings, I actually made it through high school while still living with her, however, that was not without issues. I was kicked out several times and forced to apologize time and time again, even when I was not in the wrong. The first time I was kicked out of my home, I was probably 14 years old. My entire life knowing my stepmom, I never heard the words “I’m sorry” come out of her mouth. Not once. She would hold grudges from childhood that nobody should hold.
That statement remained true until recently, when she got really sick. She developed tinnitus which is an intense ringing that remains in her ear. It brought out everything from her. I truly believe that years of anxiety, depression, anger, grudges, and hatred came out all at once. She slowly began losing her mind and attempting suicide. She was a completely different person and her behavior was something I’d never seen in her or in anyone.
During this process, for the first time in my entire life, she apologized. Shortly after apologizing to my siblings and me, she committed suicide.
This took a toll on everyone, especially my father. I”m not the type to hold a grudge so I use it to learn from it and to grow from it.
All these challenges may seem hard and tough, but they are only lessons for me. They were hard at times, but in the grand scheme of things, they have brought me joy beyond anything I can comprehend. They have molded me into who I am, and they are still molding me into who I want to be.
My life goal is to help others learn from their challenges the way I have learned through mine. Not everyone is as positive as me, so I will do my part to help them get there.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Starting the podcast and getting it to a point of success has not been smooth. You have to learn to live with things going wrong. I have had equipment randomly fail, scheduled interviews cancel, sicknesses, mis-schedulings, the whole 9 yards. It is very difficult to put yourself out there when you don’t know exactly what you are doing, but you have to keep trying and trying, and eventually, things really do begin to work out.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am the host of the Life Must Go On Podcast. I turned it into an LLC because of the great success that I began to see. I interview individuals who have been through traumatic experiences and I find points in their lives where they had to say “life must go on”. And we discuss how they were able to overcome those challenges, and what pushed them through it.
I am a master interviewer and my specialty is being able to get people to open up even the darkest parts of their hearts, in order for me, the listeners, and them, to learn. I am known for that, and I am known for an overwhelmingly positive attitude.
What sets me apart from others is my speaking skills and the people I interview. There are only a few people on this earth who can speak and it carries heavy weight with it. I truly believe that if you gave me a piece of paper, and someone else a piece of paper and both papers said the exact same thing on them, if we both read them, the words which I read would carry more weight. There are only a few people who can do that, and I truly believe I am one of them. On the other side of things, the people I interview come from all walks of life, but everyone can find something beneficial from each interview. We’ve had therapists, and amputees, war veterans, and everything in between. Each story is different but brings something to everyone.
Brand wise I am most proud of our success thus far. We got into the top 10% of podcasts within 5 episodes, and are currently in 20 different countries. It has been a blessing for us, and hopefully for those listening.
I offer amazing entertaining content, both free and subscriptions. The subscription includes an additional 3 episodes per week that are pure motivation, everything is free in my interviews. Aside from the podcast, I am a public speaker currently finishing public speaking school. I am going to be speaking firstly to college students about finding out who they are in order to help them see where and what they want to be. So you can book me!
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Discipline is FAR more important than motivation.
If I only did things when I was motivated, I wouldn’t get much done. But, because I am disciplined, I am able to work even when i don’t want to, and in the long run, that makes all the difference.
Pricing:
- 5 bucks per month for a subscription.
- Speaking is between 1-5000 a gig
Contact Info:
- Email: Lmgopod@gmail.com
- Instagram: The_lmgo_podcast | .Mballah41
Image Credits
Devin Nez (@the.native.barber)
Amelia McEwan (@beautymarkedby_mel)
