Find Your Purpose: The Studio That Started in a Recession, the Habits Nobody Can Stop, and a Thousand Dollars in Gift Cards

This is the Dearing Acting Studio Podcast, where we discuss the connection between life and acting. Alrighty, welcome back everybody to the Dearing Acting Studio Podcast. I am Matthew Dearing, here with the Sweeney boys, Mr. Brian Sweeney and Joey Sweeney. What's going down, gentlemen? What's up? What's up, everybody? These are crazy times we are living in right now. Crazy. It is nuts. Am I right, Brian? Why are you acting weird?

I'm going to introduce him in a minute, like you're being weird. I got real excited. Brian's being really, really weird. He's not even making eye contact with my head. Brian totally ruined the, there's supposed to be opening banter and then we introduce the guest. I know. You think I don't know? You think I forgot that he's here? No, I was just looking at him. It's just like cool to see.

No, you were looking at me, then looking at him and you were going like, do you remember that he's here? No, that's not what I was thinking. Do you have any idea like what you're doing? Did you know that we have a guest right next to me? Well, we might as well get right to it because Brian can, he's going to burst here. We have another Sweeney.

I don't know if I can call him a Sweeney boy, he's sort of the Sweeney man, the reason the two of you exist, the senior Sweeney. Thanks. Mr. Brad Sweeney. Welcome, Brad. Thank you. Brad is Joey and Brian's father and an unbelievably awesome human being. I am your father. And so, uh, so thank you for being here, Brad. There's a couple of reasons we wanted to have you in here, but, um, but let's just start off with, you have this really cool, unique perspective on the Dearing acting studio.

Cause we've obviously come so far and people who haven't seen us all the way. I mean, there's, it's, it's hilarious where we started from. So I would love to get some of your perspective on even just, you know, the studio, but also your boys' growth and development over the last decade or so. McDowell road. Yeah. Yeah. McDowell road. Oh my gosh. Your studio on McDowell. Do you remember?

Of course. Yeah. So that was studio number two. Wow. The first one was the doctor's office. Doctor's office. Then the big move was to go to McDowell. And I mean, it was not the nicest part of town. I'd say. It really wasn't. There were eight parking spots. Eight. Like legit eight. Yeah. Well, and we talk about this a lot. But we started our company in 2007, which is right when the biggest financial crisis happened.

And the difference was we didn't know better. So we were just sort of young and stupid and we're like, hey, we're not going to quit. So we didn't make a ton of money, but we also just learned how to grind. So talking about this terrible part of town, and it really was not the best. There was like high traffic, but it wasn't good traffic. It was like it came right off the freeway really fast.

Nobody was stopping to say, hey, how can I take a, well, we, and we promoted anyway. I mean, there was, there was like that middle part, like right in between. And this is where you come right off of the freeway literally. And we would go out with a sign and take turns spinning signs outside of the place. I sent my, my new bride out in the middle of that street.

We would, we would take turns for hours standing out there with a sign. That's exactly right. It was crazy. So the idea of like just finding the will to survive, I think is a, is a good, I don't know. It's a, it's a good topic right now for people because, because times are hard. There's no doubt. Well, I've, I just felt like, and I've always felt this way, the way that you've created this place to be a loving training facility that deals with each person.

I honestly have never seen it or experienced anything like that. So the idea ever of anything ever being without that is like, it's just unimaginable to me. And so it's just, it's powerful. Well, and Brian, I should go ahead. I mean, since your dad brought it up here, I should go. And for, for anybody who doesn't know, the amount of dedication Brian has given to this place and loyalty to me and the studio is just unfathom, mudnable.

I struggle with that word. But so, so when he was just a kid, he would come down every weekend from Wickenburg. So he'd make the hour trip out. You guys would drive him when it, when he wasn't able to drive yet. And I mean, talk about dedication. Like he was always there, always showing up. And then he was in high school when he first started the company, he would come down every free hour that he had.

He would put into the company for little to no money. Um, he was doing jobs he didn't love to do, but just to, just to be a part of the ground floor of this thing. Well, and that's the power of habits and creating non-negotiables for ourselves. You're going to find a way because that's something that you do every day. You've just decided that that's a habit that I have.

Well, any other habit you decide is going to be a daily thing, then it doesn't matter. How are you growing and becoming better and finding a way to impact people? And you're right. They're set up to make it easy rather than encouraging ourselves to, to work a little harder and do something extra to make ourselves better. That's a, that's something cool that you told us when we moved into our apartment was you sort of gave us that idea to chew on when we were dreaming up, uh, things we could do with our space.

And for me, I've never not had a TV in my room and it was something that's like so foreign to me. It was really hard. Uh, I still keep it in my closet just like, and it's always there, but I actually have only plugged in in once on like a weekend when I had my cousins over. I'm just imagining you crawling into the closet. But no, but the thing is like, it's, it's just off.

Yeah. Like it's not plugged in. So it's just sitting in the closet. But like normally my whole life I've had it like on my dresser or like it's been the centerpiece and now like it, it hasn't been that way. So now it's like my bed or my dresser or my desk, you know, whatever, um, I choose to do for the day that becomes the highlight of the space.

But when you have that TV, when you have the Xbox in there, when you have the things that you really like, but are also super distracting, if you don't be careful with it, that's when you get yourself in trouble. And I did that all my life and just finally I'm like, Oh, okay. I mean, not having it in, having a space where I don't have that is actually really nice.

Yeah. I learned that actually in marriage counseling. When I went through marriage counseling through the Catholic church, before you get married, they, they sit you down and you have some sessions to make sure that, you know, you're both compatible and everything. And it's, it's a really good process actually. And so, uh, that was one of their big suggestions was to keep the television out of the bedroom and keep certain things out of the bedroom and, and make that bedroom sacred for your marriage and for sleeping and, and, and basically make that a priority in that room and then separate, you know, your distractions elsewhere.

Sure. Which I can tell you has been huge for our marriage, especially when, you know, when kids come around and this and that, I mean, it's, it can be tough. Of course now we've got computers, so I'm not going to, I'm not going to say there isn't any TV that happens in the bedroom, but, but, uh, what we try not to. For sure. Yeah. And, and again, just not having it as the highlight is the big deal.

Exactly. So speaking of, uh, Joey, since he started talking, Brad, uh, what, what is the, Joey's now much more recent part of the studio last couple of years. And so, you know, Brian's been here for since the beginning. So he's been here over a decade. What kind of transition have you seen from the outside in of your son, Joey? Wow. I mean, it's, it's amazing what he's doing now where he's, he's being self-taught or taught by the studio and by necessity what he would learn in, in college, but he's ahead of people in college.

It appears. He definitely is. In the editing, in the, in what he does with the computers, in what, in his confidence level. Yeah. You know what, when, when he, when we first reached out to him, we were in, we were in a need and it was kind of a gamble, but we were looking for help with Valleywood. And, and I really, I just had this like gut feeling.

I'm like, this might, you know, it might be right for him. or anything and comes down here and it's been this like grinding process to reframe your mind. And, uh, yeah. So, so from there to now, what he's, I mean, I'm amazed too, on a daily basis, what he's doing and what he knows and, and how he's like communicating with people across the seas, you know, in our web development team and whatnot.

I mean, it's just nuts. He calls me almost every day and it's, it's nice. It's, it's something that, um, uh, makes my day and, and he always calls me was, uh, every, every morning I try. That's awesome. Ah, that's a very cool tradition, Joey. So, um, so speaking of Joey, we, we have a masterclass coming up here. Yeah. I'm very excited about that. Joey's doing two scenes, right?

Mm-hmm. Uh, um, yeah. So, so I want to move on to our next topic here, uh, Brad, and it's part of the reason we brought you in today because number one, I just want to say thank you. I want to say thank you on behalf of our studio and on behalf of anybody who hasn't said thank you, uh, Brad works in the grocery business and he's worked in that business his whole life.

Well, and there is, there's, there's great moments and there's, there's bad moments and, and the bad moments are people being stressed. Um, and they're doing things that they wouldn't normally do. They have bigger hearts than that. They just are in stress mode. And the good moments, we had two snowbirds that came in last week and, and, um, ask how many full-time members I had employees. And they came back three hours later with a thousand dollars worth of gift cards for my members from local restaurants.

So they supported all the local restaurants that were closing down and it went to our members who then we would order takeout and feed everyone at the store that day. So they were supporting both the local restaurants and you, that's unbelievable. I just got like major chills running down my body. That's unbelievable. And, and that most people got the same response. My, my workers got the same response.

They got this chill that, wow, a thousand dollars. We don't hardly even know you. You walked in here with a thousand dollars. That's, that's $20, $50 gift cards to 20 different restaurants. Just to help them out. So there's a lot of good out there. There's a lot of good. And the other thing I, I would love for everyone to hear right now is just this idea of gratitude.

I mean, how far a thousand dollars can go now? I mean, how many times have you told the story do you think since it happened? I've told it 20, 20 times. And then your employees, how many times they've told it? And I've, I've told the story on your behalf a few times. Right. Now we're telling the story to how many people are going to listen to this podcast and it's just going to keep spreading.

Mm-hmm. So this idea of love and gratitude and, and I, I really liked the idea of, yes, this is a big deal. It really is. And yes, people are fearful, but we need to fight that fear with love and gratitude. And that's exactly what these people did that came through. And even the smallest act of gratitude can be, can go such a long way. So I was at Walgreens just, uh, yesterday and I walked in, I didn't recognize the pharmacist.

And I just said, I said, Hey, are you new, new pharmacist here? And he looked at me with a, just a little bit of something in his eyes. And he said, I'm floating, which obviously means they need help. They know they're working around the clock. And I just looked at him and I said, well, thank you so much for what you're doing right now. We really appreciate it.

And you could, I mean, it just lifted him. You could tell that he hadn't heard that all day, you know, and, and for other people, maybe you're coming in cranky or doing different things. It really is just to find a way to give. I find that to be so important. Speaking of, if you wouldn't mind, I'd love to get Shea on the phone real quick. We don't have time to talk about it right now, but I was on our next podcast.

We were going to go down this path of what can you do? Because right now there's a lot of people out there saying, what can't you do? And, and I just want to, I want to brief Shea on this really quick. Cause she wrote a couple blogs. Hi there. Hey Shea, we're just talking about you. Hi everyone. We got Brian, Joey, and their father, Brad on the podcast.

Brad. Hi Brad. Hi Shea. Hello, Joey and Brian also. Hi. She's less excited for you guys. She's less excited. Yeah. She's like, okay. Yeah. Good to talk to you guys. Yeah. Shea, isn't Brad just like the cutest? Oh, I love Brad. And I, I think, I think sometimes I could be like the daughter that Brad always wanted, but oh my God, no, I'm just kidding. Is this lemon and raspberry your idea?

He's talking about the sparkling water. He's talking about the sparkling water that you got. That we all like. It's like, he likes it. Does he really? I don't understand. He likes it. Yeah. It was, it was totally an accidental call on my part. I thought they were just regular Pellegrinos and I didn't look until I got back and I was like, oh, they're flavored. And the boys, it's left me.

I'm also not a fan. So I'm so glad that they are going to use. That is wonderful. In this time of need, we really need to send Brad home with all of the Spana Pellegrinos. Absolutely. All right. So Shea, we were just talking about, um, about the next podcast and, and I was, I was going to sort of introduce that topic, but I wanted to also let people know that you wrote a couple of really great blog articles that I'd love for them to read.

How can they, um, how can they find those? Sure. Yeah. So they are posted on our website, um, at dearingstudio.com. And if you scroll down to the bottom of the site, you'll see a little thing at the bottom, and that says blog, and you can click on that. Um, we've also shared it on our Facebook as well and kind of sharing it as, as widely as we can.

We would love for you guys to read it and, um, and share it with people. And I know we'll get into that on the next podcast, but yeah, so visit our website at dearingstudio.com and scroll down to the bottom and you'll find blog and you'll see the articles right there. Awesome. And chills you will get. Yeah. I was going to say, you all know how we feel about Shea, but, but if I could brag about her for a second, we've talked a little bit about her writing, uh, on this and her process.

These are good blogs. I mean, she, she's a good writer, but these are like, her heart is in this so much. And, and it's, it's, there's a reason I called her right now because I want to make sure that these articles get read because they can, they can help some people. If you get a chance to read her writing, it's really, really beautiful. They made you cry.

They did actually. That's right. I'm going to expose you. When she read it out loud, a tear glistened my eye. My body got chills and I wanted to cry, but I wasn't strong enough. Well, I appreciate that guys. And yes, thank you. And we do want people to read these. They're important and, um, you know, they're free. So it's something that I think is a big, um, deal for us during this time that we can just give as much as we possibly can.

And this is one of those ways that, um, I specifically can, can be a part of our team doing that. So, um, would love for you guys to read it and give us feedback. Thanks guys. Much love. All right. All right. So that pretty much wraps it up for the day here. We've got, uh, I believe Leeann Dearing coming into the studio later. So we're going to have to wrap and get her down here into production.

Do you have anything you want to end on Brad? Nope. I, I, I love the studio. I love my boys. Um, you've, you've helped make them amazing young men. That was, that was something to wrap up. It was. That was beautiful. All right. Thank you very much, everybody. We'll see you on the next Dearing Acting Studio podcast. Have a Dearing day, everyone.