#1879 Jack Be Nimble
Nineteen-year-old Jack shares how he stopped ignoring his Type 1 diabetes and took control of his health to pursue his dream of becoming a professional airline pilot.
Key Takeaways
- Taking Accountability: 19-year-old Jack shares how he transitioned from ignoring his Type 1 Diabetes in high school (resulting in an A1C in the 10s) to fully owning his management, bringing his A1C down to a 6.3.
- Overcoming Teenage Ego: Jack admits that his ego stopped him from managing high blood sugars during high school baseball games. He now advocates for checking your ego and prioritizing long-term health over short-term pride.
- Embracing Your Diagnosis: Instead of hiding his diabetes, Jack now embraces it. He actively competes in half-Ironman triathlons to prove that Type 1 doesn't have to limit physical potential or endurance.
- Navigating Aviation with T1D: Jack outlines the complex, strict FAA medical requirements required for a Type 1 Diabetic to pursue a professional pilot's license, emphasizing the need for months of stable CGM data.
- The Power of Self-Education: Through podcasts, self-help books, and finding good mentors, Jack taught himself the mindset required to stop acting passively and start aggressively improving his life and health.
Resources Mentioned
- Tandem Mobi System: tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox
- Eversense 365: eversensecgm.com/juicebox
- US Med: usmed.com/juicebox or call (888) 721-1514
- Omnipod 5 Starter Kit: omnipod.com/juicebox
- Juice Box Podcast - Bold Beginnings & Pro Tip Series: juiceboxpodcast.com/lists
- Wrong Way Recording: wrongwayrecording.com
Introduction & Sponsors
Scott BennerWelcome back, friends, to another episode of the Juice Box podcast.
JackHello. This is Jack. I'm a type one diabetic from Ohio, and my journey in life is to just inspire as many others to live with confidence with type one diabetes.
Scott BennerIf this is your first time listening to the Juice Box podcast and you'd like to hear more, download Apple Podcasts or Spotify, really any audio app at all. Look for the Juice Box podcast and follow or subscribe. We put out new content every day that you'll enjoy. Wanna learn more about your diabetes management? Go to juiceboxpodcast.com up in the menu and look for bold beginnings, the diabetes pro tip series, and much more.
This podcast is full of collections and series of information that will help you to live better with insulin. If you're looking for community around type one diabetes, check out the Juice Box podcast private Facebook group. Juice Box Podcast, type one diabetes. But everybody is welcome. Type one, type two, gestational, loved ones, it doesn't matter to me.
If you're impacted by diabetes and you're looking for support, comfort, or community, check out Juice Box podcast, type one diabetes on Facebook. Nothing you hear on the Juice Box podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan. Today's episode is sponsored by the Tandem Mobi system with Control IQ Plus technology. If you are looking for the only system with auto bolus, multiple wear options, and full control from your personal iPhone, you're looking for Tandem's newest pump and algorithm.
Use my link to support the podcast, tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox. Check it out. Today's episode is also sponsored by the Eversense three sixty five, the one year wear CGM. That's one insertion a year. That's it.
And here's a little bonus for you. How about there's no limit on how many friends and family you can share your data with with the Eversense Now app? No limits. Eversense. Podcast, and we've been getting our diabetes supplies from US Med for years.
You can as well. Usmed.com/juicebox or call (888) 721-1514. Use the link or the number, get your free benefits check, and get started today with US Med.
Meet Jack
JackHello. This is Jack. I'm a type one diabetic from Ohio, and I got diagnosed when I was nine years old in the fourth grade. And my passion and my journey in life is to just inspire as many others to live with confidence with type one diabetes.
Scott BennerJack, how old are you now?
JackI am 19 years old. I actually just turned 19 not that long ago. So
Scott Bennerbirthday. What gives you this, calling? Where did this come from?
JackYou know, it's I just feel like I came from a point in my life where I was at a point where I didn't manage my health, and I kinda let it slip. And then now I'm just kinda always trying to pursue my best self and take care of my health. And I've seen it in others that I know I can touch and reach and really help out to make them, you know, be the best that they can be and optimize their health.
Scott BennerReally?
JackYep.
Scott BennerWait a minute. What's going on here? Who raised you? Why are you such a good person? What's happening?
I'm confused. You're too young for all this.
JackMy beautiful mother and my great dad.
Scott BennerWow. Your beautiful mother. Did she pay you to say that?
JackNot.
Scott BennerThat's wonderful. We're gonna learn more about you then. So what would you say? You were fourth grade when you were diagnosed?
JackYeah. Yeah. Fourth grade. Yep. Fourth grade.
JackIt was about kinda closer to summer. So, yeah, I do remember that.
Scott BennerI had a teacher named mister Sagola in first grade or fourth grade. He hated my guts. Really didn't like me.
JackGood. Yeah. Hey. Well, luckily, had a really good fourth grade teacher that actually when I got back from the hospital, when I got diagnosed, they had, like, a huge like like, they wrote, like, all thank you cards or, like, get well notes for me as soon as I got back. So, yeah, that was a special thing that
Scott BennerVery nice.
JackShe did. Yep.
Scott BennerWell, do you have any brothers or sisters?
JackYeah. I have a brother and one sister. Yep. And they're a lot older than me. I'm the young kid in the family.
Scott BennerAre you what they call a whoops baby or, you know the term?
JackYeah. I'm familiar with it, but I I just hope I'm not.
Scott BennerDo your parents told you that's not what's going on? Don't worry.
JackNo. We just No.
Scott BennerWe just woke up ten years later and thought it would be great to have a baby again? Yep. Yeah. Yep. That's a lie.
By the way, Jack, don't let them lie to you. Okay? Right. I think your parents went to a your parents went to a wedding and probably you know what I'm saying? They came home a little tipsy, and now here you are.
Hey. God bless. Thank god you're here. Right?
JackRight. Yeah.
Scott BennerWhat do you remember about being diagnosed?
JackSo the obviously, you have, like, the early signs, like frequent, like, going to the bathroom, rapid hydration. And with that, it was I just I just felt off. Right? And it and then we noticed it. And, you know, I gained a lot of weight, also another one.
And we went to the doctors and, you know, they ran the tests and blood, and my blood sugar was, like, four hundreds, like, hype like, very hypoglycemia things. And so, you know, we went to the we got it all settled. And just like that, I was in the hospital bed and kinda remember a little bit of it because I was I mean, I was only it was a long time ago, but, you know, I remember the, you know, the having to learn everything, the charts, the tables, and, yeah, I remember all that stuff.
Scott BennerWhat are you, about nine or 10 at that age?
JackYeah.
Scott BennerIs that right? Yeah. Okay.
JackSo you're Alright.
Scott BennerYeah. You've been doing this a decade now.
JackYeah. Yeah. Yep.
Scott BennerOkay. Do you recall the division of labor around diabetes after it happened? Did one of your parents take charge? Did they both kinda share it? Did they give it to you?
JackYeah. So my mom who I was living at the time, it was a lot to take in, and my dad stepped in a lot. But it was just yeah. Parents were hands on. They were learning anything they could, read the books.
You know, they were had all, like, the food charts that ties all the carbs and, you know, like, the portion meals. And, yeah, it was pretty hands on. We changed our diets and, yeah, it
Scott Bennerwas Okay. Jack, you were living with your mom at the time your parents are divorced?
JackYes. Yes. They are.
Scott BennerYeah. Is it because they had a baby, do you think, when they were, like, too old? I'm just teasing. It's not your fault. Jack, it's not your fault.
I'm I'm just joking.
JackNo. It's not good.
Scott BennerIt's just, you know, the way you said it, I thought, okay. They're they weren't together. And so even though they weren't together this is interesting. How long have they not been together when you were diagnosed?
JackI would say maybe four or five years.
Scott BennerOkay. Yeah. And then did their relationship change after your diagnosis? Like, did they kinda come together around this, or what was that process like?
JackYeah. I mean, yeah, it kinda brought, like, it kinda brought us together because, you know, my family's never seen something like this. And, obviously, it's a very serious disease and illness to get at a young age. So they you know, we were kinda united back together, and then everything kinda clicked. And, yeah, it's also just a good thing to see.
Scott BennerWell, that's a very, like, nice hopeful thing, honestly. Like, I I feel warmed by that. Okay. So they come together, try to learn their best to do, you know, to do the best for you. And then are you using injections, a pump?
Yeah. What's all that look like?
JackYeah. So I started out with I didn't hop on the Dexcom until maybe, well, a CGM couple years after it. But, yeah, I just started with the basic, you know, just injections, you know, all the spots and just pricking and doing all, like, the meter tests and that type of stuff. And, you know, this is like the classic carb counting where you just look at the back of the label, add it up by your all the ratios. Yeah.
It was just kinda really just trying to get a fundamental base of it at first.
Scott BennerYeah. Were you thrown off by the diagnosis? Did you feel sad or worried or anything like that?
JackYeah. I definitely had the anxiety, and I didn't really know what it was because I was such a young age. I was like, what, like, what's my life gonna look like for the next, you know, how however so many years. Am I gonna have to, you know, hide about this? I'm a type one diabetic.
Am I gonna have to worry about it? So there definitely was some anxiety and maybe, you know, like, why did this happen to me kinda thoughts.
Scott BennerMhmm. Mhmm. Okay. Is that a thing that you handled talking to your parents, talking to friends on your own? Did you seek therapy?
What did you do for those feelings?
JackSo, I mean, that was kind of a thing that I kinda talked to my parents about and, like, other peers and friends kinda
Scott BennerMhmm.
JackKinda gave me encouragement a bit. But, yeah, I mean, through the waiters, through the kinda to present and couple years back, it's just kinda just have to rely on self confidence and self talk to know that, you know, like Self talk.
Scott BennerJack, where what are you? 55? Is one of your parents a therapist? Where do get self talk from?
JackNo. I just I'm
Scott BennerYou TikTok, baby. Is that where you heard it from? Where where'd you get that from?
JackNo. No. It's just, just something that I really like to you know?
Scott BennerJack, I like you a lot. I just don't even know where you would get that phrase at 19.
JackYeah. I read a lot of books and watched a lot
Scott Bennerof podcasts. You could or rest a lot of podcasts, you could say. Do you? What kind of reading do you enjoy?
JackI like a lot of, like well, obviously, like, psychological books, like self help books. Kinda just like those books, like, just, you know, the typical those type of books.
Scott BennerI I don't think it's that typical for most people.
JackYeah.
Scott BennerWhat's your favorite book you've read in the last six months?
JackIt's a book called, it's called Go One More. It's by, Nick Bear. He's a, like, he's like an entrepreneur. He's a founder of this, like, Derns company.
Scott BennerOkay.
JackAnd it's kinda just talking about, like, how you as an individual can, you know you know, where you come from or what your kind of circumstances are. You can always, you know, raise the level of your standard and just kinda go on more in life and just kinda be the one who you kinda wanna be. And Yeah. You just have to follow the principles and, yeah, you can
Pursuing Aviation
Scott BennerWhat do you wanna do? Are you in college right now?
JackNo. So I actually graduated high school last year, and I am currently trying to become an airline pilot or a professional pilot. Okay.
Scott BennerYou're a motivated young man. I feel like we're jumping around, but I don't care. What what got you interested in aviation?
JackYou know, just a like, the aviation fear in general is just it's just fascinating for me because, you know, like, I just love, like, planes, to be honest. I just love to, you know, watch planes take off and land. And then, you know, I kinda kinda dug my feet into the topic, and then I started seeing things that were like, wow, man. This is something I really wanna do now.
Scott BennerWhat's the pathway to getting your pilot's license? Or maybe you have it already.
JackSo that yeah. So that's actually a very heinous and long process for type one diabetics. So, initially, you have to go to get your exam, like, every for your medical certificate. Mhmm. And you get there, and I got there.
I was, you know, optimistic. And then they told me since I'm type one, I had to get denial, like initial denial for reconsideration. And with that, it's been a long process of you you know, you have to do a certain you have to see a cardiothoracic or or cardiovascular health for your heart, eyes, feet, and then, you know, just general controllable of type one diabetics Mhmm. To make sure that, you know, you're fit to fly, you control it well. And there's a lot of processes you have to do with the doctors.
And then also with that, you have to maintain six months of stable, like, Dexcom data or any CGM that you use, and it has to be in their, like, kinda standards and just to make sure it's controllable and you have it under control.
Scott BennerOkay.
JackBut, yeah, it's a long process, but, you know, it's something I love to do and
Scott BennerWorth trying. Right?
JackYeah. I'm I'm, yeah, I'm up for it.
Scott BennerTell me that's for, like, a large, like, a jet license? Like, can you fly, like, a you can fly, like, a small plane now. Right?
JackOh, yeah. Yeah. Like, like, I've already started training in, like, a smaller propeller plane.
Scott BennerMhmm.
JackBut with, like it's pretty complicated. But, like, with, like, the all the medical certificates, the one that you need to fly, like, passengers or for, like, higher or, like, the big jets, you have to get a first class or some type of like that. And with that comes, like, all the the strict mandatories for that.
Scott BennerThere are two or there are three pilots I can think of who have been on have been on the podcast who Yeah. Yeah. And two of them have, like like, big hauler licenses. So
JackRight. Yeah. Right. Yeah.
Scott BennerYeah. I mean, have you ever flown a a small, like, craft yourself?
JackYeah. So as a as a student pilot, you can only fly a, like, a propeller plane or the plane that your instructor's with. Mhmm. So so, yeah, the only plane I flew is, a small Cessna, just pretty much the standard.
Scott BennerHow was it? Was it exhilarating, or was it frightening the first time you did it?
JackThe first time, I actually, like, the I, like, I fell in love with it. Like, I loved it. You know, I felt the I I liked it. And then, like, right now, I have about, like, twenty three hours of total flight time.
Scott BennerOkay.
JackSo I'm pretty familiar, and, you know, it's I haven't had any problems with my blood sugars or anything like that when I was flying, which is good, and I hope it, you know, kinda stays that way.
Scott BennerYeah. Yeah.
JackBut, yeah, it's been a smooth process so far, and it's I'm really, really excited to just keep pushing for it.
Scott BennerHow many hours do you need in total to get, like, a like, that first license for, like, the small crack?
JackSo yeah. Right. So for your private pilot's license, the minimum is forty. So, like, after you get forty hours, you can get it whenever you want. But it's just kind of
Scott BennerWhen you're comfortable.
JackRight. Yeah. When you're comfortable and ready.
Scott BennerRight. And how long do you think it'll be? Like, how long does it take to get those hours? When do you think you'll have that license?
Sponsorship Break
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The Ego Trap & Accountability
JackSo yeah. So with that, I I as, like, type ones, we, I have to get that medical. And without the medical, you can't solo, and you have to do a lot of soloing time, like solo cross country time. So once I get that medical back from the FAA, which can take that's another part. That could take three to four months, or that could take up to two years.
Wow. Just kinda depends on how you send it in and what everything looks good. But, yeah, it's just kind of a guessing game at this point, but it's Okay. But it's, yeah, it's all worth it,
Scott Bennerthough. So you're all in on this. There's no plan for college or you're not looking I mean, do you work otherwise? Do you have a job?
JackYeah. So I'm a golf caddy. So I caddy at a a golf course and, you know, I do that and I love to be out there. Nice. Yeah.
But, yeah. For sure. I mean, if it comes to a possibility, I would always keep my options open for, you know, new things. But as of right now, I'm all in.
Scott BennerNice. Or do you play golf, or do you just like, how do you get involved in caddying?
JackYeah. So I've played golf my whole life. I, I kinda just played it for fun when I was younger. I played baseball all the way to my in high school, and golf was also one of my passions, but I didn't play it competitively for school. I just, you know
Scott BennerOkay.
JackThe avid golfer who plays baseball.
Scott BennerSo so tell me how you manage golfing's a lot of walking, a lot of heat Yeah. And baseball, so ton of exertion. Yeah. So how did how did all that work? What kind of gear did you have first of all?
Like, let's go back for half a second.
JackYeah. Yeah. For sure.
Scott BennerWear a pump right now?
JackNo. I did not wear a pump. I used to wear a pump, but it was I used to get really bad, like, skin reactions, and it would always pop in and out. I had bad rashes with the pump. I had the Omnipod.
And back in, like, kinda COVID time, and I I guess it's one of the things that just didn't work out for me, and we tried it. But, yeah, ever since, I think, maybe '6 or eight, I've had a Dexcom or had it as the g six or g seven. So
Scott BennerSo you were in a CGM and your Yep. Your MDI, you've used pens, I imagine?
JackYep. Yep. Pens. Yep. Yep.
Scott BennerHow long did you try the pump for? How old were you when you just was like, no. I'm gonna go to MDI, and that's what I'm doing?
JackYeah. So the pump was about, it was about, like, seventh grade. So if I gotta remember seventh grade, maybe it was, like, thirteen, fourteen, if that's kinda around the ballpark. But yeah. Yeah.
Scott BennerYou've played baseball MDI on a pump and back MDI again?
JackYeah.
Scott BennerOkay.
JackYeah. And it it it was a struggle because, you know, with the thing, it sometimes it I would go really high for adrenaline or rush during baseball games, and you have that crash, and then it'd just be kinda rough to kinda tell.
Scott BennerWhat's that look like then? How did most games go? Well, first of all, let's just you were you were playing in high school or you're playing, like, travel or what were you doing?
JackHigh school, travel. Yeah. Both. Yep.
Scott BennerSo you were playing. You're, like, starting?
JackYeah.
Scott BennerOkay. Yeah. What what position did you play?
JackPretty much, the whole outfield, and I played third base.
Scott BennerSo Okay. And All around.
JackPretty much. Alright.
Scott BennerSo it's a lot of running and
JackYeah.
Scott BennerAnd like you said, the adrenaline too.
JackRight. Yep.
Scott BennerYou're a fairly competitive person. The games were meaningful to you?
JackOh, yeah. Very.
Scott BennerYeah.
JackVery meaningful. I'm very competitive. If it's, you know, a simple thing, I I I always just have I always got the competitive fire me along.
Scott BennerYeah. I think you have to be the one of, like, jump into a a plane and fly yourself.
JackIt's it's a Right. Exactly.
Scott BennerThat's the thing where you feel like you can do it. Okay. So what was your management style like? So before a game Yeah. Like, because, I mean, I'm not wrong.
Right? High school, you get up in the morning, you go to school, you live through the school day, and then it's right to the gym to get changed and out on a field or onto a bus. Right?
JackRight. Yeah.
Scott BennerSo how do
Jackyou Yeah.
Scott BennerWalk me through a day like that. You've probably heard me talk about US Med and how simple it is to reorder with US Med using their email system. But did you know that if you don't see the email and you're set up for this, you have to set it up. They don't just randomly call you. But I'm set up to be called if I don't respond to the email because I don't trust myself, a 100%.
So one time, I didn't respond to the email and the phone rings at the house. It's like, ring, you know how it works. And I picked it up. I was like, hello? And it was just the recording.
It was like, US Med. Doesn't actually sound like that, but you know what I'm saying. It said, hey, you're, I don't remember exactly what it says, but it's basically like, hey, your order's ready. You want us to send it? Push this button if you want us to send it.
Or if you'd like to wait, I think it it lets you put it off like a couple of weeks or push this button for that. That's pretty much it. I push the button to send it, and a few days later, box right at my door. That's it. Usmed.com/juicebox or call (888) 721-1514.
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JackSo in high school, I I kinda took my health for granted, to be honest. Like, I kinda talked about it earlier in the podcast.
Scott BennerYeah.
JackAnd it was to be honest, I really didn't kinda care for it sometimes. I wouldn't even check it. I would just kinda put it off to the side and just hope, honestly. Just hope I was alright. Mhmm.
And then maybe I would check-in in there. But, yeah, I but, like, a normal day, I would just kinda just kinda get to the field or get to school and just kinda turn it off and then, like, maybe check it once in a while and then do my dose for lunch. And then but, yeah, I I will have some accountability there. Yeah. It wasn't the best that I could have done.
Scott BennerJack, why do you think in hindsight, why do you think that was the the path you took?
JackJust because I I just thought that, you know, diabetes and my health didn't matter along the road, that I could just kinda coast with it and be alright.
Scott BennerHold on. What do you think your blood sugars were during the day while you were at school and when you were playing?
JackSchool, I would eat I like two hundreds, maybe even 300 sometimes. Playing, it's playing, I I would say, kinda the same thing around there. I mean, for the most part, it wasn't probably in range, but not too crazy high where it's, like, dangerous.
Scott BennerDid it affect your athleticism? Did it make you run slower, make you give you brain fog, anything like that?
JackYeah. Yeah. Right. Exactly. Like, there was times where, like you know, especially in the morning or kinda later in the day, I kinda get that rain fog.
Like, it's like, I know what is causing this, and I'm like, oh, crap. Mhmm. And or either if it's the flip side of something, if I go low, you know, you feel it. Like, that hits you like a train and you feel it. Yeah.
And it's like, you you just kinda lose that energy, lose that kinda kinda rush.
Scott BennerIt just lets the air out of you. Right?
JackYeah. Right. Yeah. And with yeah. Exactly.
Scott BennerWhen you're high and you're foggy and you know you're foggy because you're high, why Mhmm. Is the next step not, oh, I'll bring my blood sugar down. What stops that from happening?
JackI think that was just my ego and my, like, I can stay out here and ignore that mentality. Because there is times, like for example, I'm training for I did a half Ironman, which is a triathlon in September. Mhmm. And then I'm training for another one in July. And there's times where I'm working out, and I I see my Dexcom, you know, rising.
But and it's like, okay. I need to put this workout on pause and take care of what I need to do. Because that's ultimately what matters most is, you know, staying healthy, you know, maintaining a healthy lifestyle rather than trying to push for an extra thirty minutes that could lead to something that's not what I want.
Scott BennerYeah. If you don't have an answer to this, it's fine. But Yeah. Can you dig a little deeper into why that's hard to do? Like, you said your ego stopped you, which I I think I understand what you mean.
But, like Yeah. What's the mechanism? Like, is it a feeling you had? Is it, like, thoughts you had in your head? Is there anything you can share with people about, like, what actually was happening to you when you were saying to yourself, my blood sugar's two twenty.
I could easily give myself insulin for now and fix this, but I'm not going to.
JackYeah. I I I think it was like you just talked about the thought of, like, you know, I feel fine, and there's maybe a point where, like, you're on the edge and you can maybe push. But I feel like if you're ever in that kind of position, just, you know, tell a coach or tell a friend like, hey. Can I just maybe sit out? And, you know, if it's, like, inning or, you know, can I get subbed out on the bench for a second, you know, just to check it and make sure it's good?
And then, you know, do a small correction or whatever you need to do that's fitting, and then then get yourself back out there. But I think that I should have really focused on not trying to push it.
Scott BennerBut, Jack, are you telling me that what you what you were trying to avoid was other people knowing or a loss of playing time?
JackYeah. Yeah. So probably other people knowing.
Scott BennerOkay.
JackIt's just kinda that like, I banked it on earlier of, like, the confidence to, you know, live with type one and just to kinda embody it Yeah. Rather than trying to hide it. Because that's that's what happened a lot in my early life. I tried to hide it and just let it go.
Scott BennerSo you don't feel that way now about other people knowing? No. No. You could use your experience today with not caring if other people know. Like, how would you talk to yourself?
Like, you talked about self talk earlier. How would you how would you talk to a younger person or yourself at a younger age and explain to them what you know now? Like, is there a way to fast forward them to where you are? Do you think it's just a thing you had to live through?
JackYeah. I mean, there's definitely a way to fast forward it. I mean, you just I mean, if I'm talking to, you know, a kid who's kinda was in my same shoes, I would just kinda tell him that, you know you know, we have this disease, and it's a might call it a privilege, but, you know, we have to live with it and own it because, you know, it's something that we have a choice to take care of. And if we choose to be right, it could lead to really great things.
Scott BennerYou think calling it a disease would throw throw off a 14 year old you or a 13 year old you? Because they're like, would the language around that slowed you down if someone came to you and said, hey, Jack. You have a disease. You have to take care of it.
JackYeah. True. Yeah. Yeah.
Scott BennerOkay. But so the message though remains the same, which is, yeah, we have a problem, but we also have an opportunity to do something about that problem. Exactly. Yep. Per that's a privilege.
JackYep. Yep.
Scott BennerWe can live Exactly. Like everybody else if we do a couple of extra things.
JackYeah. Right. Yeah. And it's and it's, yeah, it's awesome. Like like, I banked on the like, my Ironman training, it's obviously a lot of long endurance efforts.
You know? Gotta take in a lot of carbs, you know, to kinda get your glucose stable, and and it's it's a tough challenge. But I've had times where I've seen myself, you know, with living with type one diabetes, and I've been competing with people who do not have it, and I've been kinda right at their level. So it's pretty awesome to see that.
Finding the Motivation to Change
Scott BennerOkay. Alright. Well, that's good. And you came to all this on your own? Yeah.
Contextually, how old is your mom?
Jack51.
Scott BennerOkay. Well, that's interesting. How old are your siblings?
JackMy brother is 26 and my sister is 23. Well, turns 23 soon.
Scott BennerOh, they're not that much older than you. Okay. Okay. I thought I I Yeah. So your parents got married a little early?
They were younger? Yeah. I gotcha. Alright. And they rolled you guys up and then I see.
I see. I I know what happened, John. Okay. So Yep. Okay.
Because I was thinking, like, maybe your mom was, like, ten, fifteen years older than I would assume for your age, but that's not that's not the case. Okay. No. Because I'm trying to figure out where the wisdom comes from.
JackYeah. It's just a a lot of it I've had to, you know, kinda learn on my own and, you know, take bits and pieces from, you know, my mentors in life that, you know, share the great message. And, you know, like, a lot of it's just kinda self belief and just knowing that kind of how I treat myself and how I, you know, talk to myself is really important.
Scott BennerWhere where do you find mentorship at?
JackI find mentorship with, like, know, old baseball coaches, you know, old, you know, kind of people that I like to surround myself with, like, even just a couple of people that are a little older than me. Mhmm. You know, just to get some wisdom from them, get point of views from them, and kinda bank on that. And
Scott BennerYou put yourself around surrounded by people who you think of as aspirational or who have it together. How do you do that? Like, that that's gotta be hard, right, when you're picking from a a like, the pool of, like, high school in your town.
JackIt's just kinda who you surround yourself with will kinda set you up. So whether that's, you know, someone who's very educated with, you know, type one diabetes and that can kinda lean on you, and that would be awesome. If there's someone, know, like that or, you know, someone who who just has really good experiences, you know, things to learn from, that's always what I kinda wanna surround myself with.
Scott BennerAnd, Jack, don't let me put words in your mouth. Okay? But, I feel like I'm getting this. So you got a lot of these ideas through, like, podcasts and books?
JackYeah. Yeah.
Scott BennerYeah. You're the freebie. Yeah.
JackLike, there's a lot of podcasts out there that, you know, if you find the right ones and you listen to them and you kinda really kinda dissect it, you can kinda implement those strategies in your life. Same with the books as well. There's a lot of great books out there.
Scott BennerYou hear that kids? Jack took his phone. Instead of learning how to do the Dougie, he, figured out how to live his life. Yep. How about that?
Jack's the Jack's doing his own kind of Dougie.
JackYeah. Right.
Scott BennerNope. So okay. Because I keep I keep thinking, like, you're gonna tell me, like, you know, you know, like, my mom sat me down and explained the world to me or my but it's not you went out on your own and, like, is that Yeah. Do you think it's a little bit because your parents are divorced? Right?
Because my parents are divorced. It makes everybody a little busy. Right? They're not Right. Exactly helping you all the time.
JackYeah. Right. And they do their best, but, you know, there is times where, you know, you kinda have to kinda take that self journey. Not, like, completely alone, but, like, you can rely on yourself for a little time being.
Scott BennerSo at some point, you bump into some content somewhere, and you realize, I know more now than I did before I left or before I got here. So I'm gonna go find more stuff like this. You you by the way, you guys are gonna be, like, the first generation of people are gonna have, like, some crazy success by listening to some guy on a podcast or watching some girl, like, in a, you know, a talking head video or something like that. Explain explain, I don't know, finance to you or something like that. Like, let me ask you a question.
Do you know how much money you have to put away right now to make sure that you're financially okay when you're 60? Do you have an idea about that already or no?
JackMe personally, no.
Scott BennerOkay. So you're not up to that yet because you're not making money like that yet?
JackNo. No.
Scott BennerOkay. But when it comes time to learn about that, where do you think you'll go to learn about it?
JackProbably online Yeah. Or something like a resource like that or someone a trusted person you know.
Scott BennerI try to listen to something thoughtful at least once a day. It's not
JackRight.
Scott BennerYep. It's not me. I'm not listening to myself. Right. I actually, this morning, I got up and I'm listening to a a podcast about, I mean, about taxes and finance and stuff like that.
And I'm listening to it and I'm thinking, I know this. I know that. Right. This is interesting. And I actually found myself this morning actually, I thought this morning was I'm gonna send this to both of my kids and tell them that I'm not buying them a Christmas present unless they listen to it.
JackYeah. Yeah.
Scott BennerAnd because there's so much there's so much good information. Now I've also Right. Picked up a video and you start getting into like, this is bull like, there's nothing here.
JackYeah. Right. Right. It's like, am I just kinda looking at something, or what am I learning here?
Scott BennerSo when that's such a prevalent thing on YouTube, which is someone trying to sell you something by selling you the idea that they're successful and you can be successful too. How do you sniff when you're 19, how do you figure out, like, this is just this is a Ponzi scheme. Like, this is this is a pyramid scheme here. He's his success is telling me I can be successful. How do you sniff through that when you're a kid?
JackYeah. I mean, you kinda just have to look at it from a kinda detach from a situation and just kinda look at it from, you know, different points of view. It's like, is he you know, where'd he come from or, you know, what was his step process? What was his journey? And kinda relate that to yours.
And not everything you see on social media is 100% true, guaranteed, but some of it is useful and helpful. But, you know, I it's just a lot of people come from different paths, whether that's just anything. So I think you just kinda have to
Scott BennerPick and choose?
JackYeah. Right. Yeah.
Scott BennerOkay.
JackAnd you just have to kinda make a kinda choose.
Scott BennerAnd you do that with me. I don't know this for a fact, but I'm guessing, like, you're 19 and you're on a podcast about type one diabetes. You must listen to this. Right? So
JackYeah. Yeah. And exactly. Like, you were talking about earlier about, you know, like, coming across something, like, you know, I made a decision. Like, I wanna maybe kinda learn about more type one kinda topics.
So, you know, I went to the podcast app. I opened up that or I just typed in type one diabetes, and your show came up first. And I started listening to it, and it honestly, like, changed my thoughts on it and gave me different points of views from her life, whether that's a parent, a kid, a grandfather, or someone in the business, like a nurse.
Scott BennerYeah.
JackAnd it gave me a lot of different points of views on how people, you know, have overcame things with diabetes and, you know, kinda live with it. So it's awesome.
Scott BennerWell, I'm happy it was helpful for you.
JackYep.
Scott BennerAlright. That that's really great. And so Yep. From everything from your health to, like, I'm assuming when you learned how to what your the steps you're gonna have to take to get your pilot's license and everything in between, you were just, like you're just sourcing that from people sitting down and and being willing to share their thing.
JackYeah. And it's That's awesome. Yeah. It's always good to hear what other people's have to say in other people's journeys because you never know. You might relate to it.
Like, it's a crazy story, but my stepbrother is also type one too.
Scott BennerOn your mom's side or your dad's side?
JackMy dad's side. So, yeah, that's so, yeah, that's also a kinda crazy twist too because so I had to kinda be a leader and show a full example for him as well.
Scott BennerDid that oh. Yeah. How old were you when he was diagnosed?
JackLet me see. I I think maybe 16. It was a while back too. It's it's it was kinda in the late, I think, late middle school days or maybe early high school days, but, yeah, that was a twist and turn there.
Scott BennerHow old were you when you started taking your care more seriously?
JackI would honestly say, at the end of last year, so, like, 18. So it kinda I was up and down with it. Like, it wasn't total out of control, but, know, it could have done better. Like, my a one c at the time was, like you know, it was in the tens, and then it went to the eights. And now I've got it all the way down to a 6.3.
Scott BennerOh, man. Jack, good for you, man. Congratulations.
JackYeah. Thank you. So it's just kind of like a a slowly steady process of just trying to get better each visit.
Scott BennerI'm
Jacktrying to do that.
Scott BennerWell, that's wonderful. Yeah. Because I was wondering at first, did, like, you get struck with a a sudden, like, feeling that you had to be a, like, a role model for your stepbrother, but it it wasn't that. You did try to help him. But can I ask you now, in hindsight, when you were helping him, did you feel like a fraud?
JackYeah. Yeah. I almost felt like kind of like yeah. Like, that identity wasn't there, but I wanted to help, but I didn't have the identity in myself.
Scott BennerRight. Right. He's looking for help. You're you're gonna stand up and go, I have diabetes. I can explain this to him.
But in the back of your head, you're like, well, my a one c is 10. I'm not really doing any of this stuff. Yeah. Right.
JackYeah. And it's like and, like, I it's like, on the back of my head, I know, like, I know I can be better. So you're right. Right. Exactly.
Scott BennerThis is not, like, I'm not coming down anybody.
JackBut No worries.
Scott BennerWhat did your mom, like, say to you with a 10 a one c, and why was she not move or, like, what was happening around that that argument? I imagine it was
Jackan argument. I got lectured a lot by the my mom and the doctors there. They were on me pretty hard, but I just kinda had, like, a stubborn and kinda, like, bad attitude about it. Like, I I was kinda just in the wrong headspace. Like, I multiple visits went by, and it was the same after another.
Just kinda, again, it laid into me, like, kinda take it serious with all the facts. And then there were times where it did get serious. But yeah.
Scott BennerWhat would have helped instead of the lecturing? What would have helped?
JackMaybe the doctors or whoever was there kinda just given me, like, a timeline down the road of this kinda keep continuing because that's what I kinda see myself now that how I kinda took control of it and grabbed it when I had the chance to and take the opportunity because it's something that you do not wanna have a bad relationship with a long time.
Scott BennerNo. For sure. Jake, do are you telling me that the lecturing helped you at some point? They had to, like, bang through your thick head why this was important? Yeah.
Telling me are you telling me that the lecturing wasn't valuable and then you changed your mind? Like, be honest, like, because listen.
JackYeah. No. Yeah.
Scott BennerYeah. I would tell you that I don't think, like, shaming people about their health is a good idea. I don't imagine that that leads to any kind of change. Having said that Yeah. I have spoken to people who said, I would not have done better for myself had someone not thrown the stark truth in my face about what was gonna happen to me.
JackYeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that's what I was trying to get at. Kind of just like the kinda like people kinda just tell me, like, it's kinda time to take some ownership.
Mhmm. You know, be better. And that does come from, you know, like, people kinda raising the the voice a little bit because that kinda gets you back in to the to the level you needed to be at.
Scott BennerI missed the seventies, Jack. I I think yelling at people yelling at people is underrated. Yep. I guess my question here is is when you were younger, was the focus so much on, like, oh, I have diabetes. I can do anything.
It's okay. That you didn't really understand the functionality of how to manage your insulin and the need for it and the reasons why you would wanna do it. And then at some point, it got so frustrating for your parents that your mom just started lecturing you, and it wasn't until someone actually ex like, did you not know during those lectures what the outcomes of poor control could be?
JackExactly. Yeah. I just yeah. I just couldn't kinda get it in my mind. Like, these people were helping me.
They wanted the best for me, and that's truly what they wanted. And I just thought of it as, like like, oh, I can do it myself.
Scott BennerKinda. These people at my so I'm gonna be okay.
JackExactly. Yep. Exactly. Like, I thought it'd always be okay.
Scott BennerAll that led to was you kinda pushing it aside and not paying much attention to it.
JackExactly. And just the insecurities that came with it at that time.
Scott BennerCan you talk about that? What are those insecurities?
JackYeah. So, like, insecurities were, like, kinda grown up or at the time, like, saying I have type one, and then people always kinda misjudge it and ask, like, is that type two? And that kinda always link in the back of my mind that people would think that there's always the mix up there sometimes. Mhmm. Because not everyone knows.
Like, not everyone's perfect, but there's always that, you know, like, insecurity of, you know, pulling out a shot in the middle of public or doing a dose or pulling the meter out or
Scott BennerYeah.
JackHaving the but but, honestly, with that now, I just I live with it. It's just kind of who I am Mhmm. And I embrace it. And it's just, like, I love it. I I love kinda just taking control of my health now.
Scott BennerDid you learn that your outcomes and your health and your life are more important than what people think?
JackYes. Yeah. Right. Right.
Developing a Mindset
Scott BennerI I heard somebody say recently, it's the thing I've said before, but it was weird to hear somebody else. I mean, you you're in an interesting situation, Jack. You listen to a lot of content. Like, there's Yeah. Times when you start hearing people
JackRight.
Scott BennerAnd they're saying sort of same the same things other people are saying, maybe different words or different, like, stories to explain them. You go, oh, look. People I respect all think this thing. Yeah. You know?
And and I had a I had that experience this morning when I listened to somebody whose opinion I respect on something else Yeah. Say something that I already believe. Right?
JackRight.
Scott BennerWhich is, you know, wait till you become an adult and you realize that thirty, forty years from now, all the people whose opinions I'm worried about will be dead.
JackRight. And Exactly.
Scott BennerI might be too.
JackRight.
Scott BennerWhat is it we're worried about exactly? Like, why would I give away my life for this nebulous idea that other people don't agree with me? Meanwhile Exactly. You know what I mean? What do you care what they think?
JackYeah. And it's it's just kind of like, you can control what you can control and then what other people say and doesn't exist. Beliefs. Yeah.
Scott BennerRight. It doesn't exist.
JackYou can right.
Scott BennerI gave my kids this advice. Things ebb and flow through society, things we care about or things we talk about or we act like are the most important thing in the world. You'll see as you get older, like, Oh. There'll be the year that, oh my god, don't say this about people. And then one day, it just goes away.
Scott BennerExactly. And at this one point, it was a a lot about, like, people were talking about bullying a lot.
JackYeah.
Scott BennerThere were there were kids that were having, like, trouble, like, being bullied online. Now phones were just becoming more prevalent, and I understand how, like, a new thing pops up. But the only thing I told my kids was is that right now, there could be 10 people out in the world literally bad mouthing you to somebody else. So I'm like
JackRight.
Scott BennerDo you know that that's happening? And they're like, no. And I'm like, so just because they wrote it down and now you have access to it, doesn't actually change the reality of it. If you don't look, it's not happening.
JackExactly.
Scott BennerRight? It doesn't matter what they think. And I'll tell you, like, making a podcast, it'll it'll teach you very quickly. Like, there are people, like, flat out don't like me, and then, that's fair. Yeah.
But, you know, if they're gonna spend their time and their energy in their circles, like, talking about me
JackRight.
Scott BennerA, I'm never gonna hear about that. And b, I mean, I'm almost sad for what that means for them. Right. You know, like, I don't spend any time talking about them, like like, or or people who I disagree with or anything like that. I it felt sad to me.
So that's what I told my kids. I was like, look, it's sad that they're out there doing that. And the only reason you know about it is because this new tool that has a, you know, a screen on it, and you have access to where they put their thoughts. If you don't look, it doesn't exist.
JackRight. And it's just kinda like I said earlier. It's like, you know, they have the choice to do that. And then if they do it, you have the choice to respond in a way that is the correct way, and you can only influence it. You can't change the outcome.
You can only maybe influence a little bit.
Scott BennerThink of all the things you could do with the time that it would take to get online and complain about another person.
JackIt takes a lot of time, and you can probably do a lot of things. Right.
Scott BennerWhat are you accomplishing? Like, those people are bad mouthing kids at school. Like, do you accomplish? You explain to four other people you don't like Patty? Like Right.
JackExactly.
Scott BennerAwesome. Like, okay. Now what? Just
JackYep. Just keep on moving.
Scott BennerI say it all the time. It doesn't, yeah, it doesn't stop everybody, and I I don't imagine it ever will. But Yeah. A bad review is almost better than a good review. People see a good review, and they think like, but when somebody's complaining about me, then people go to look and see what's happening.
Interesting how people's psyche works. So the people who are out there, like, trying to knock you down end up propping you up. And my daughter had that experience where someone was talking shit about somebody. And Yeah. Instead of just believing it, one of the kids was like, you know what?
That hasn't been my experience. Like, let me look at this further. Right. Checked in with that person.
JackAnd that?
Scott BennerYeah. Realized they were good friends.
JackAnd point of view.
Scott BennerYeah. And then then they became friends from it. So a person somebody somebody's trying to poison another person, and instead of poisoning them, turned them into an ally of the person that they were trying to poison them against. And I'm like, just, oh my god, all that time. Like, Jack, you could learn to fly an airplane.
JackExactly. And, you know, I've been in a situation where, you know, I tell people I'm gonna become a pilot, and I tell them I mentioned I'm type one. Even before they, like, can't you not and then they tell me immediately, like, that's not allowed. Like, can't you not do that? And they kinda give me the doubt.
But, know, I just kinda I I I take it in, and I understand where they're coming from.
Scott BennerMhmm.
JackBut, you know, I give them my input, and then we mutually agree. And if it goes the way that I want it to, good. If it doesn't, then you just have to accept it.
Scott BennerI'm pretty confident a man named John is listening to this right now, and he's a pilot. He flies big jets.
JackOh, yeah. That's awesome.
Scott BennerYeah. And Petra has been on here. He's, like, one of the first type ones to to get that one of those licenses.
JackYeah. It's a long journey, but if you really love it, it's it's all for it. It's it's worth the wait.
Scott BennerHow did you make the decision not to go to college?
JackSo yeah. So I ultimately just thought that if I just kinda focused on, you know, pilot, just kinda becoming a pilot studying, and then I always thought that the medical process wasn't as, you know, structured as it was Mhmm. And had the weight. So I didn't apply because I thought, know, I could just go in there, get my medical, and, you know, just kinda, like, walk right out. But it didn't end up like that, so I had to kinda face the new outcome and just, you know, keep studying.
And the good thing is you can still take, like, your written exams, and you can still fly. So that's the good part of it, but you just can't proceed to the next step where you wanna go.
Scott BennerSo Okay.
JackIt's a lot of delayed gratification there.
Scott BennerBut there's no other thing in the world you'd like to do with like, I'm not saying you're not gonna be a pilot.
JackNo. For sure. Yeah. I mean
Scott BennerI'm trying to get at, like, at your age, like you know, because listen. It's a long process to change the way people think. And twenty twenty years ago, you start hearing about, like, I don't know. Is college really necessary? And then there's a big pushback, like, no.
We should all be able to go to college. And, like and then it hurts the trades a little bit because everybody feels like they have to go to college. Now everybody's in this debt that they can't pay back.
JackRight.
Scott BennerBut now I I'm seeing the conversation sway in the other direction where people are like, look. I have access to all kinds of good information online. And Yeah. There's a thing I wanna do. Excuse me.
I think I can figure out my listen. I went to a I went to a meeting with my son yesterday. Yeah. This is boring. I don't know, like, how much people care about.
But, like, my my son, is a a coder and he's got an econ degree. And I know some people who are they do investing.
JackRight.
Scott BennerHe wanted to go sit sit with them and just kinda pick their brains about stuff. Yeah. So I was able to set that up, but because I was the conduit, I went along. You know what I mean?
JackYep. Right.
Scott BennerHe didn't need me, but, like, you know, I was there. Sat in the back, listened to people talk a little bit, left on the way out. And one of the things that they talked about in the room was that what my son went to college for, mean, he had an econ my son has an economics degree with a mathematics minor. I think it's a quantitative economics degree with a mathematics minor. And the guy asked him, like, what made you do that?
And Cole just said, well, I wanted to play baseball in college and I was good at math. Yeah. And but then he started explaining how, like, he really is become more of a learner since he's gotten out of college and enjoys learning more than he ever did in school. Not a 100% sure what his degree did for him other than, like, you know, put a put a school on his resume so that somebody would look at his resume when he got out of out of college.
JackRight.
Scott BennerAnd told the guy, I think I've taught myself more in the last year and a half than I learned in college.
JackRight. Yeah. And there's always different points of view on that. Right?
Scott BennerYeah. No kidding. And, Amy, not for nothing, like, it's kinda
JackFor sure.
Scott BennerKinda the same thing and kinda not. But in the last three weeks, just using the newest version of Claude
JackYeah.
Scott BennerI've completely recoded my website.
JackReally? Yeah.
Scott BennerThat's The reason I didn't do it in the past is because, like, the the cheapest bill I got from somebody when I, like, went out in the world, was like, hey. I need a website. It needs to look a little better. I wanted 30 to $50,000 to make my website.
JackWow.
Scott BennerAnd I was like, I'm just gonna leave it like this. Yeah. And then suddenly a few months ago, we I realized I could do it myself, and I'm wondering what that's gonna lead to for people like you. Like, what couldn't you decide to sit down today and learn about either through, you know, I don't know, some Yeah. Version of, you know, an AI Right.
YouTube video, somebody's podcast. Like, I think you could put together I think that joke in
JackOh, for sure.
Scott BennerYou know, Goodwill Hunting is true now. Ever see Goodwill Hunting?
JackOh, yeah. Yep.
Scott BennerYeah. Love it. He makes fun of that guy, and he's like he's like, I get what does he say? Like, I got the same education as you did for, like, the cost of a library card or something like that.
JackYeah. Yeah. Yep. Had the bar scene?
Scott BennerYeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Yep.
You seem like that person to me.
JackYeah. And, like, you know, I've always, you know, I've always keep the options open. You know, if there's any opening life that something that I wanna pursue that I love as well Mhmm. And it's open there, I'm not gonna hold back on it because I have I'm holding on to something. I'll take the risk and jump into that.
Like, one thing that I oh, sorry.
Scott BennerBut No. No. Go, please.
JackThing that I I love too is, like, sports medicine or, like, anything as dog was involved with sports or the game of kinda like that. So, you know, that's always I've always something thought before I wanted to become a pilot is maybe jump into, like, sports management, you know, or sports medicine or something that's kinda involved with that area.
Scott BennerI think it's possible that in twenty years, I'm gonna learn that you're, you know, a pilot that also does three other things. And and I think good for you, by the way. Like, this time in your life, through your twenties, this is the time to be flexible. Like, you're not Right. You're not Yeah.
You're not held down by you don't you don't own a dog. You're not married. You know, you don't own a house. You could decide to go somewhere else and learn something if you wanted to. Right.
You can be flexible. You can lose you can lose the money you have and regain it and and Right. And rebound. It's is the time to figure something like this out.
JackRight. Yeah. And that's with me is, like, the choice. Even though I have type one diabetes, I choose to live the way I wanna be with freedom. Like, I mean, I do I choose to sign up for these ironmans and take care of my health because it just matters to me, and that's something that I wanna show to other people that, like, you can do whatever you want in your life and achieve your wildest dreams, but you can also live with yourself and be confident of what you have.
Scott BennerTalk about the I cut you off. End? I'm sorry. Go ahead.
JackThat's all good. No. No. No. No.
No. You're good. How was it? Okay. Okay.
Yep.
Scott BennerIt's still an expensive thing to deal with diabetes. Yeah. So, I mean, at the moment, I imagine you're on your mom's insurance.
JackAnd Right. And yeah. All that detail.
Scott BennerTake advantage of that, man. You got five more years, maybe six more years of that to go. Like, this is your time to really take a swing at something.
JackYeah. You know? Just to live. Yeah. Just live.
Scott BennerI would say this too. I mean, if you were my kid, I would tell you, like, you know, make sure the thing you're going after is viable. Like, your passion's one thing. Right? But your passion needs to make some sort of an income for you because at some at some point, you are gonna need to take care of yourself.
So
JackExactly. Right.
Scott BennerBut the pilot's license, I mean, that's a obviously a viable job, you know, flying planes. You could absolutely make a living doing that.
JackBrand, it creates a if you choose a lifestyle that you want with it, it could be one of the best jobs, opinion based out there. Yeah. Kinda all
Scott BennerYeah. You see the world a little bit and Yeah. Do this thing you really enjoy.
JackRight.
Scott BennerNo. That's awesome, man. I I wish you a ton of luck with that. I hope that goes the way you want it. Oh, you have all the opportunity you need.
There's nothing holding you back?
JackYep. And I've got yep. I've I've got everything. Everything is good, and I've had a couple mentors that, you know, kinda lead me along the way kinda already and help me out a lot.
Scott BennerSo it's So let me ask you a question. Do you date?
JackNo. Not not at the moment.
Scott BennerNo. Is and because you don't want to or because it's hard to find people or what's the situation?
JackI mean, I I don't know. It's kind of a yeah. I just I just could say I'm just really not kinda put myself out there right now until after the summer. But
Scott BennerWhat'll happen after the summer?
JackMaybe I'll start to get back into it.
Scott BennerSo this is a thing you've done and you're just not doing currently?
JackYeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because I I previously dated someone, and we went our separate ways, kinda just like a mutual college thing. And then, ever since, I just kinda like the self journey.
And then when I you open that portal of life back, I will be willing to.
Scott BennerOkay. So you Yep. So you're with somebody in high school. Yeah. Let me just make sure I understand.
She went off to college. He went off to I'm sorry. I don't know your sexual orientation. That's not the point of this. Like, they went went off to college, and that person was like, hey.
Listen. We're gonna be kind of far apart. Like, maybe we should stop doing this. And you kind of focused on yourself after that.
JackExactly. Yeah. Yep.
Scott BennerHeartbroken at all, Jake, when that happened, or did it feel like like, okay. That's a reasonable thing, and maybe I don't love you that way, so it's okay.
JackRight. Yeah. It was definitely fifty fifty between that. There was a little bit of, you know, kinda heartbroken, like, you know, sad. But then I just kinda realized, like, a lot of people go through the same thing that I went through with the separate college distance.
So I just kinda had to, you know, own it and just kinda live my life and
Scott BennerGood for you.
JackEverything went everything worked well and we went our mutual separate ways, and everything's been perfect.
Scott BennerI once this is a long time ago. I gave a friend a piece of advice they didn't take, and I know they probably regretted it. But there's sometimes you just gotta be by yourself
JackExactly.
Scott BennerAnd figure out what it is you want and what makes you happy. Right? Right. And if you jump from relationship to relationship all the time, you might just be filling a hole.
JackRight.
Scott BennerThen sometimes when you're filling that hole, you'll fill it with anything. Right. And it maybe it's better to confront your confront yourself once in a while. Having said that, I worry about your generation and them not being as motivated by, you know, romantic stuff.
JackRight.
Scott BennerI would caution you against that. I would say go out there and find find some people.
JackExactly.
Scott BennerMake some mistakes. Have a good time. You know what I mean?
JackYeah. Yeah. You're you're totally right there.
Scott BennerYeah. Yeah. What happens after high school is, like, you're either stuck in a small pool of where you live. Right. Now it's people who didn't go off to college or going to college locally or an app.
Right?
JackYeah. Yeah.
Scott BennerYeah. What do you think of those apps?
JackI've never used one. But
Scott BennerIs it a thing you would consider?
JackMaybe not. I don't know. Might have to, but, at the moment, probably not.
Scott BennerYeah. I think it would be hard for me.
JackYeah. Right. Because it's just can I you know, because a lot of people in our age kinda meet off a phone or an app, and some sometimes that goes well, sometimes it doesn't? I think the best scenario is to find someone to meet someone real life and engage that way.
Scott BennerYeah. I do my best in face to face.
JackRight. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah.
Scott BennerPlus then people either like you or they don't. They get a vibe pretty quickly. You know what I mean?
JackYeah. And then you can tell rather than trying to
Scott BennerWaste your time.
JackFigure it out
Scott BennerYeah.
JackOver the phone.
Scott BennerYeah. I'm messaging with you for six weeks, and then we finally get together, and you're like, oh, I didn't know you were that tall or Yeah. Like, you're whatever, like, you know, strikes people when they see you, like, visually for the first time.
JackRight. Exactly.
Scott BennerYep. For me, they'd be like, my god. So handsome. I don't wanna I'll feel I'll feel I'll feel ugly next to this person.
JackCan't I never leave.
Scott BennerYeah. Yeah. I mean, I don't wanna be the don't wanna be the second prettiest person in this relationship.
JackRight. Exactly.
Scott BennerThat's what would happen, Jack.
JackRight.
Closing Thoughts & Wrapping Up
Scott BennerSo okay. Well, I think what, so far, I think what we figured out is you're a bright person. You did well in school. Right?
JackThank you. Yeah. Yeah. I tried my best.
Scott BennerYeah. No. No. I can tell. Like like so you're a bright person.
You're thoughtful. You're motivated. You're I mean, obviously out there trying to learn things and and figure stuff out. You're not scared of doing things. This how you've always been?
JackI mean, honestly, no. Not really. It it it kinda just kinda came to me over the couple years or so of really just trying to become the person that I wanna be and the life I wanna live. Like, for example, I have a tattoo, and it means self mastery and self improvement. And if you just, you know, take care just use a diabetes example here.
If, you know, if you take care of your health each day the best you can to your ability and you get better than the day before, it can lead to, you know, blowing your a one c to a number you never thought you could have or, you know, showing getting rid of the brain fog and the symptoms that you always experience. So that's something that I kinda live my live my experience and life by is just slowly getting better each day.
Scott BennerAnd it just happened. You just grew into this.
JackYeah. Yeah. It's just I just decided I wanna make a change, and I knew I was capable of controlling it a lot better, and I just decided to go for it.
Scott BennerThere's no, like, light switch that you can point to that made that all start?
JackTough question, to be honest. Yeah. I I don't know. I just it just kinda it just clicked.
Scott BennerYou woke up one day and you thought, what the am I doing?
JackExactly. I'm like
Scott BennerNo kidding.
JackI'm like, I know I can do better, but why am I not? So then I just took control of it and here I am today striving for things that I never could have thought I would have done.
Scott BennerYou know, put that into a bottle. We could sell it a little little little, like, dab a jack behind your ears and and get you moving. Hey. Yeah. No.
No, man. You're young. Right? Like and I don't mean that pejoratively, but you're
Jacklike No.
Scott BennerIt's But Yeah. Isn't that fascinating that you were on this path and then just through probably variables around you that you're not even aware you were seeing or things you were hearing or whatnot that just made you go, like, what am I doing? Like, I have to self correct here. And then and then you did it.
JackRight. Right. And it's I mean, when I you know, I talking about the ironmans and triathlons, it's when I did it, it was like, holy crap. I just went through that as a type one diabetic, and, you know, I felt it at the end, but it's just, like, realized that, like, I can do this if I just, you know, take care of it. And then I can inspire my other friends aren't type ones, but, you know, they were pretty impressed with what I did.
And, you know, they even started getting into the sport. It just kinda kinda makes me smile that, like, you know, I brought them into this, and, you know, it's just cool to see how my life changed.
Scott BennerMan, I I know. Like, I feel like there's just I feel like I'm not asking you the right Like, you're doing a great job. Don't get me wrong. But, like, I feel like the I feel like I'm not doing a good job of cracking you open the whole way to find out what did this for you, but it's possible you just don't know.
JackYeah. I mean, it's just honestly, the answer it's just like just the choice. You know? Just yeah. Maybe there was a decision or a time.
I just can't quite remember it, but there was just a choice that just till, you know, live with the confidence of being a type one and just taking ownership of it and knowing that if I take control of it, I can be whoever I wanna be.
Scott BennerAlright. Let's reverse engineer this a little bit. Let's just focus on the diabetes for a second. Yeah. Just trying to get to it.
Like, got you to your better care? Like, is it me? Was it the podcast? Like, I know you made the decision to go look for it, but was it just being educated about something?
JackOr yeah. It was there's two. It's just kinda being educated about it and just kinda, you know, learning about it and plus, like, you know, the, you know, the factors of, you know, not feeling great
Scott BennerMhmm.
JackBeing high all the time, being foggy, you know, just not having it control. And it really just hurt my health and mental health.
Scott BennerSick and tired of being sick and tired, and then you
JackExactly.
Scott BennerI don't have the right tools to fix this. I went and found tools. Yep. For whatever reason, like, jived well with how I talked about it, derived what you needed, applied it in your applied it in your life.
JackExactly. Yep. There it is.
Scott BennerYou think you did that with, some of those other podcasts and that other content around motivation and Yeah. And and, you know, confidence?
JackYeah. Yeah. Exactly. Right.
Scott BennerThat's it. Wow. So people out there were just, like, you know, talking about, like, you gotta take accountability for yourself. If you want success, you gotta go for it. And that kind of stuff just stuck to you.
JackRight. Yeah. And, I mean, it's not I mean and you can always lean on others in your circle to, you know, help you. And if you ever need someone, just call someone you trust, and you never know what they might do for you and help you out.
Scott BennerYou know that because you had good friends around you, because you felt supported by your family, or because someone told you that's an okay thing to lean on?
JackI mean, I had great people around me, friends, peers, family members that care for me, and that's something I always lean on when, you know, times are tough.
Scott BennerI just
Jacktalk to family or friend or maybe
Scott BennerGood solid base you had.
JackYeah. Exactly. And then if if that doesn't do it, maybe go online or find some video or example and try to kinda work it out there. But yeah.
Scott BennerDo you know why I'm asking all this?
JackWhy?
Scott BennerI'm hoping that people listening who are parents realize that if they just put down a firm base like this and it's built on trust and respect and love and you have a lot of patience for people that Yep. Maybe even though it doesn't look good, if you've been set on the right path, even though you might be tripping through it at the moment, the possibility that you're gonna come out on the other side better off is far greater when you have that firm foundation.
JackRight. Exactly. Yep.
Scott BennerThan it is if you just yell at somebody. By the way, education's everything. Like, you'd need to know what you don't know so that you can make better decisions.
JackYou know, establishing a good culture and having a good foundation can go a long way, especially if you have the right people around you.
Scott BennerI could use a little coach talk in there. Yeah. Was that from baseball?
JackYeah. I guess. Yeah.
Scott BennerDid your baseball coaches talk about culture?
JackOh, yeah. Big. Yep. Yep. Culture.
I mean, yep.
Scott BennerAll that manager talk, we go about our business. We we I like the way he does this is he he plays the game, like, stuff like that. You're here for everybody, not yourself. Like, that kind of stuff helps. Yep.
Really does. Yep. Also, what did we learn? Basically, t shirt slogans are right, and if you live your life by them, you'll be fine.
JackExactly. And you can have a little fun, but as long as there's balance there.
Scott BennerHow much fun have we had, Jack?
JackA lot of fun.
Scott BennerOkay. Booze, drugs, sex. What have you been doing?
JackZero.
Scott BennerNothing at all. Where how do you get your fun then? Look at you. The whole world thinks that's what fun is. This is not fun.
What is fun?
JackYeah. Just find it in things I love doing, whether that's, you know, playing golf, being active in sports, playing the guitar, reading, playing video games, just pretty much whatever I can just hanging around with friends, and that's kinda my thing of fun. I just kinda kinda like to get it off the right way.
Scott BennerThat's exactly how I feel. That's exactly how I feel.
JackYep.
Scott BennerYeah. I don't understand people who are bored. I don't know how, like, the day feels long to anybody. Yeah. Like, I'm never without something I wanna do.
And
JackYeah. I can't sit still, and that's one of my toxic traits.
Scott BennerIf I could give a piece of advice around it, I think that passion comes sometimes from something you're good at. Exactly. And that it can be a it can be a pitfall or, you know, a trap to say, well, like, oh, I I, you know, I wanna I wanna do the thing that I love. Like, some people are have really boring jobs and they're great at them.
JackRight.
Scott BennerAnd then they Right. And then they're passionate about that, and then that builds up some security for them, and then they go build a life otherwise. You're all not gonna be, like, we're everyone's not gonna be an actor or a singer or something like
Jackthat. Right.
Scott BennerLike, you know I mean? Exactly. Right. Your passion doesn't have to be your hobby.
JackExactly.
Scott BennerI guess. Yeah. Yeah. So you're not bored ever. Right?
JackSometimes.
Scott BennerDo you get bored?
JackI mean, I get bored when I'm injured. That's the only time I get bored because I can't move, but nah.
Scott BennerOther than that, like, there's always something for you to do. Like, what are you gonna do the rest of the day?
JackI'm actually gonna go on a run after this and probably study and maybe go to the driving range.
Scott BennerYeah. And at some point, you'll you'll pick up a guitar later and strum on a little bit and, like, the whole thing. Right?
JackAnd then maybe I'll go to bed if I feel like it.
Scott BennerYou guys stay up late, your your generation. Right? What time do you go to bed usually?
JackI I I mean, I I try to get the best sleep I can. I usually try to go to bed between, like, ten and eleven.
Scott BennerLook at you.
JackI don't know if it's something with diabetes, but I always wake up in the morning at the same time. I don't know what I don't know what the science behind that, but I wake up, like, my body cannot sleep in past 8AM.
Scott BennerOkay. Yeah. Well, listen. I mean, sleep's incredibly important. Like, I just I know I know that some people get overwhelmed with the idea that there's so much content or information that's available right now.
Some people stay up very late, like, listening to things. I fall into that trap sometimes. Like, I listened to something last night. I should have been asleep. And I was interested in it, and I thought, oh, I wanna absorb this before I before I go to bed.
Yeah. Yeah. No kidding.
JackYeah. We're human. It happens. Yeah.
Scott BennerI I wish you were my son. You seem you seem pretty perfect.
JackWell, thank you. That means a lot.
Scott BennerI think your parents must be incredibly proud. Like, they must hear you and think, look at look what we did. Right. You
Jackknow? Yeah. It's, yeah, it's pretty cool to call on my parents because they're awesome.
Scott BennerHow much of your success so far do you think comes from the fact that your life wasn't easy? Right? You got diabetes at a young age. Your parents are divorced already. I'm joking with you that you might have been an baby, but it sounds more like you were like, maybe if we had one more baby, we won't get divorced baby.
So, like and that you know all that. You're a bright person. Like, I yeah. Yeah. So, like Yeah.
Yeah. That kind of, like, those trials and tribulations, like, can you see their value yet, or do they just seem like trouble to you?
JackThey are a 100% the most important things that happen because everything in life happens for a reason, and it just kinda makes you stronger whether that's, you know, spend the night in the ER. Like, talked about a couple days ago, actually, I was very sick, like food poisoning. I had to go to the ER and just had a bad day. And then, you know, it's just it's just things like a long life journey. There's always bumps and roadblocks, but
Scott BennerYeah.
JackYou'll get through it. It just builds character and strength, really. Every every mishap, every wrong step in the road.
Scott BennerYou have to embrace it too.
JackExactly. You have to embrace it and just try the best to inspires others on your stories. Because after you're done, you get through them. All you can do is really laugh and just be like, hey. I went through that.
Scott BennerI was watching this thing where kind of a round table of, like, fairly successful people. As they talk about their background, you realize that not one of them said, oh, my parents were wealthy.
JackRight.
Scott BennerThey sent me to a good school, and I just I followed my passion, and here I like, it was every one of them had multiple twists and turns. Like, my parents were angry at me because I did this, or I messed up and Yep. You know, caused myself a problem. I was broke. My, you know, my family was a mess, like, you know, the whole thing.
I think there's a lot to learn from this stuff. If it doesn't knock you over, fair fair enough, Jack. You know what I mean? But but if you can wobble back up again and keep going
JackYeah. And that's, yeah, that's 100% true because, yeah, that's a lot of things I deal with in my life, it's just I get through it, and I have the strength to get through it. And then I'm like, hey. I made it. We're good.
Scott BennerListen to me. I am gonna do my best to keep this podcast going so that you can call me back in five years and do this again.
JackAwesome. Yeah. I would honest I would be honored.
Scott BennerYeah. I would love to know where you are in five years.
JackYeah. You never know.
Scott BennerAlright. Would would you consider that if I was around
Jackthis time? I would 100% consider it. Yeah. I'd I'm I'm already on board.
Scott BennerThank you. My last question for you, and then I'm gonna make sure you don't have anything else you wanna say. But Yep. How do you avoid drugs and alcohol being 19?
JackI honestly just don't have a a motive to do them. I just I know it can affect now that seeing what I see it does to other people and especially with type one, I just I don't wanna play around with something like that that could lead to something that is not good. And I just kinda I just kinda take a step back and just kinda look at it like, is this gonna benefit me, or is it just gonna make it worse?
Scott BennerHave you considered it and then thought your way through it and not done it?
JackNo. I've really never, to be honest, like, I've never thought of ever doing it.
Scott BennerWhy do you think that you don't need to feel numb when other people are numbing themselves?
JackI just feel like I have really good internal, you know, spiritual talk and that I can just resolve it through my own and rather than relying on something that isn't worth it in the long run or just for a short term kick.
Scott BennerOh, wow. Are you a religious person?
JackA little bit. Yeah. Yeah. I've been starting to
Scott BennerYou're looking into religion too? Not a this is not a thing your parents brought to you. It's a thing you're looking into on your own.
JackYeah. We were raised Catholic, but I've been get really trying to get into Christianity.
Scott BennerOkay. Well Yep. Listen, man. You're on your way. Just watch out for those scumbags on YouTube who are just selling you the idea that, like, you know, you can be successful like me, but you realize the only thing they're successful at is telling you that you could be successful.
Okay? Yeah. Avoid that stuff.
JackAway from the, yeah, the get rich in 10.
Scott BennerWould you want passive income, Jack? Would you like some passive income? Shut up. Right. Your passive passive income is getting me to watch this video where you say, would I like passive income, you son of a
Jackbitch. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
That's how it works.
Scott BennerI know. I'm watching. It made me so mad. I I did an episode with a therapist about it. I was like, please help me explain to people that they're being taken advantage of by some of these YouTubers Mhmm.
Who are just keeping you watching, telling you everything's gonna be okay. I mean, not fixing anything for you. We're giving you any valid ways out of it.
JackRight.
Scott BennerYeah. There's a guy I have in mind. Such a punchable face. I think if I ever met him in person
JackI would know him.
Scott BennerBut I would look at him and I go, you're a scumbag. Like, you know, just dressing your life up and making everybody feel like they could have what you have, and the only thing you're doing is teasing people along and telling them that they can have things. Right. Given the then
Jackbecause we need uplifting, not people.
Scott BennerAnd then sharing the dumbest common sense with them as if it's, like, genius. You see that out in the YouTube. Right? You know what I'm talking about?
JackOh, yeah. A 100%.
Scott BennerI mean, well, it's so easy nowadays. You all you do is open an app
Jackand click one button and scroll for two hours.
Scott BennerYeah. And take up your it really does kill your time if you don't do it well.
JackI am guilty, but I try to try to eliminate it sometimes.
Scott BennerI hear you. Good for you. Alright. Well, Jack, is there anything that you want to talk about that I have not brought up?
JackNo. I think that's amazing. I, really appreciate for having me on and kinda talking my story and hope it reached out to some people. And yeah.
Scott BennerThat's Well, I bet you I bet you will. I appreciate your time. Hold on one second for me. Okay?
JackYep.
Scott BennerA huge thanks to US Med for sponsoring this episode of the Juice Box podcast. Don't forget, usmed.com/juicebox. This is where we get our diabetes supplies from. You can as well. Use the link or call (888) 721-1514.
Use the link or call the number, get your free benefits checked so that you can start getting your diabetes supplies the way we do from US Med. Today's episode of the Juice Box podcast was sponsored by the new Tandem Mobi system and Control IQ Plus technology. Learn more and get started today at tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox. Check it out. The podcast episode that you just enjoyed was sponsored by Eversense CGM.
They make the Eversense three sixty five. That thing lasts a whole year. One insertion. Every year? Come on.
You probably feel like I'm messing with you, but I'm not. Eversensecgm.com/juicebox. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of the juice box podcast. If you're not already subscribed or following the podcast in your favorite audio app, like Spotify or Apple podcasts, please do that now.
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