Serious XM Radio Show Interview: November 1st, 2024
Ed Mylett: Best-Selling Author, Entrepreneur, Inspirational Speaker, Life Strategist & Coach of MAXOUT.
Jake Culbertson:
Prayer Warrior, Husband, Father, Son, Entrepreneur & Best-selling author of
AIXELSYD: A Bassackwards Life.
As we enter the home based studio of Ed Mylett, the sound of the ocean waves & his kids talking in the background with their dogs echos through his house in Chino Hills, CA. His wife, Kristianna, greets us at the door with a welcoming “hello….& welcome to our home”. It feels amazing to be in the exact spot as so many influential people have been before us. Ed brings us in & introduces us to his kids, dogs & staff. Everyone is welcoming & kind…..it feels like “home”.
After talking a bit & “making ourselves at home” as Ed & Kristianna insist we do, we head into his studio. The warmth & silence of the studio forms a warm cocoon of comfort around us as we take our places for the show. Stefanie & Kristianna sit together in the sound booth near the back of the studio. Ed & I take our places with the technicians in the studio as the intro video to the Ed Mylett show, plays in the background…….& the show begins…..
Ed:
Hey everybody, welcome to the show. My guest today is Jake Culbertson. He is a Colorado native, father, believer & husband to his best friend & soul mate, Stefanie Hoffa, who has also joined in studio today. He has also written a best-selling book entitled AIXELSYD: A BASSACKWARDS Way of Living. How are you today my friend?…..by the way….your book title is hilarious!
Me:
Hey Ed, ty so much for having me on your show today, it’s such an honor to be here! You & Kristianna are such an inspiration to so many people through your encouragement, hospitality & the hope you all give to so many people, ultimately making us ALL, better people.
Ed:
Thx man, we feel the reciprocated love, from everyone we invite here, so ty for adding to that love today brother!
Me:
You bet!
Ed:
So…..the title of your book, so creative & funny. How did you come up with it?
Me:
Well, dyslexia is a humorous & humbling way to “look” & experience life & with 4 different diagnosed forms of dyslexia there is plenty of humor & humbling truth to go around. (Everyone in the studio laughs.)
I titled it the way that I did to cause people to do a double-take of curiosity with a side of puzzlement.
Ed:
Puzzlement?!……is that even a word….(laughing out loud).
Me:
No, but it sounds funny & fits, so maybe it should be…..(laughing out loud).
Ed:
So what does it all mean?
Me:
As a dyslexic, many things in life are like puzzles. We have to take what we’re given & put it back together in our minds to create or solve the overall picture, situation, problem, etc. However, the information that comes in is scrambled up like eggs, so trying to put that type of a disorganized mess together can be a little difficult, especially when we are done putting something together & we show it to another person & they are like…..ummm…..’ok, what is this?’ we think it a Michael Angelo, but it’s really just a mess. The difficult part, is that we were given the exact same directions, materials & abilities as those around us, but the outcome & overall results are very different than the way ‘it was supposed to turn out’. This can be something physically constructed/designed, or it can be something written/composed. Due to this, we have to view & review what the task is at hand to make sure we are doing & following things correctly….& even then, that’s no guarantee that it will turn out ‘correct’. Being dyslexic is a constant smorgasbord of endless puzzle pieces & constant reviews. As I have grown & matured with my dyslexia, I have learned to be a master of patience, an acceptor of grace & a person who laughs…..a lot! I have also learned to turn my embarrassing events into acceptance instead of beating myself up over & over & allowing negative self talk to destroy me from the inside out. This road was extremely difficult & honestly hard to even face, until my life changed in my early 40’s with my divorce, my DUI & getting arrested twice. At the lowest point, that I had ever been at, I found God’s grace that was poured into my spirit by my parents. I became enveloped by unconditional love by God & my parents & I clawed my way out of the hole I had dug myself one day, one step & one situation at a time. In the midst of everything that I was going through, God brought my soul-mate & best friend Stefanie, into my life to pull me out of the hole because she was made purely of God’s love & mercy. She was the only one who could accept, tolerate & understand my toxicity. The majority of my friends & family completely abandoned me & left me to perish. But I learned two major things through this God moment. One is, those who left me there, couldn’t help me because they didn’t even know how to help themselves in their own lives & situations & two is that God was clearing the path for Stefanie to enter my life when I needed Him, through Stefanie, the most.
Ed:
WOW!
Me:
Yeah…..I also became homeless for a period of time, with one of my daughters, who was still in my life, then when covid hit & I lost my 20 yr cleaning business….that was the ‘icing on the cake’ of my depression & anger.
Ed:
Holy smokes!
Me:
Yeah it got pretty bad, but don’t we all experience our own versions of ‘bad’? Right? So I became extremely cautious of who & what I allowed in my life & I started to ‘try’ & open my heart & mind to people again.
Ed:
Dude…..I love you man……I can just feel your spirit….it feels like it is consuming the room right now…..do you all feel this?!
Me:
Thx Ed, love ya too man. I’m glad you can feel God’s spirit, when it is present, that’s so awesome & powerful.
Ed:
So when all of this was going on Stefanie came into your life?
Me:
Yep, she came in bearing her own issues, battle wounds & shattered armor, but her spirit was so amazingly powerful & mesmerizing to me that God filled me with unconditional love for her immediately. It was like thunder & lightning…BOOM, & we were instantly bonded together as ‘one’.
Ed:
This is bananas!
Me:
I’m just grateful that she had the wisdom & grace to accept me where I was then….I was not in a good place.
Ed:
I totally understand.
Me:
So from there we had many more battles to go through individually & together, but as you know, we allowed God to guide us the entire way like to Lifehouse video.
Ed:
YES!!!! I saw that video you sent me to look at, before our meeting today…..so, so powerful…..it made me cry, just like you said it would! (Laughing out loud)
Me:
Yeah, its such a great skit!
Ed:
So…..being dyslexic…..I read, that reading can be difficult (laughing at the fact that read & reading are countering one another in this statement).
Me:
Yes, it can be. Words can appear backwards or jumbled. The words can actually disappear off the page & by the time I reach the end of a sentence or paragraph, I haven’t a clue as to what I read. It can take me so long to read & then make sense of something, that I can become frustrated very quickly. Due to this you can only imagine how I did in school, reading directions & testing for my CDL license.
Ed:
That’s right! I read about you getting your CDL to be a truck driver. How did that go?
Me:
I did & I got it, but we can save that experience for another show.
Ed:
Oh, ok…..yes, you need to come back!
Me:
I already planned on it! (Everyone laughing in the room…..my beautiful wife Stefanie, rolling her sarcastic BIG brown eyes…..) So yes, for so many years of my life, I allowed dyslexia to define me, instead of REFINE me.
Ed:
Whoa…..REFINE YOU!!!!…..that is a awesome word.
Me:
I agree…..it’s like all the stories in the Bible……they all have pivotal refining moments that have epic results & impacts on people that make history….literally (as I laugh out loud). The most pivotal word to me Ed is the word ‘CHOICE’. We have choices to make everyday & because of the choices that I once made, I learned the consequences & how to not make those same choices again…..although I did (laughing out loud).
Ed:
Don’t we all.
Me:
Right. So one my favorites’ words is the word catalyst.
Ed:
Ohhhhhh, great word…..I love that word! I use it all the time too!
Me:
Right, me too!
So as I have gotten older God has not only taught me patience, but He has taught me to recognize “catalystic things” in my life. Everything from people, to opportunities, to experiences & the list goes on. In other words God has USED everything from my past as a catalyst to me sitting right here…..right now…..with you Ed.
Ed:
That’s awesome! And that’s exactly how God has worked in my life as well. It is an amazing feeling when we define our walk with God & reach that next level of confidence, peace & love. Our choices become a part God’s ultimate plan & it’s like all the pieces come together….like a puzzle. HEY, PUZZLE!
Me:
EXACTLY!…..just like a puzzle. Hey, Ed, have you ever sat down to do a puzzle that has so many different pieces but they are all the same color & the only way you can figure out where they fit in is by their shape? Remember how long & frustrating of a process it is to figure out where they go? This is why I mentioned puzzlement about my book title, meaning where & how do we fit into this place we call home? What is our job, who are we now, who will we become, what do we believe, who will be a part of our lives & the list of life goes on. For me I have dyslexia, for someone else they may have another learning challenge or something hereditary, etc. The bottom line is that when we help one another ‘see things’ from our perspective or a different perspective, it usually opens our eyes to understanding, grace, mercy, peace & love, that we didn’t have before, towards the current circumstances. It’s like that puzzle piece that we know it belongs to this puzzle because it came in the box, but we just can’t seem to find WHERE it fits in, ya know?
Ed:
I do understand. I felt this way for so many years. You’ve heard me talk about ‘little Ed’?
Me:
I have.
Ed:
It took me most of find exactly where he fit in & why.
Me:
I totally understand. I saw your show with Rachel Hollis when you talked & meditated about ‘little Eddie”, that was so transparent & raw.
Ed:
It was! I couldn’t believe how she brought that out of me?! It was very cool & crazy all at the same time. It’s like I traveled back in time to the exact moments.
Me:
That is amazing! Congrats on your journey of discovery!
Ed:
Thx man, its been a process.
Me:
I understand.
Ed:
So when it comes to dyslexia & puzzles & heard you are putting these together for a great cause.
Me:
Yes sir! Have you heard of the statistics of dyslexics in the U.S.
I enjoyed reading this!
Long like mine will be…just as one would expect from a writer!
Thank you for sharing with us.
Life sure gets turned upside down making you wonder what the hell is next. My wife is dyslexic and had a lot of trouble reading and understanding in school, everything was jumbled or backwards. When she writes herself a note to remember something it’s written backwards. I have to look at it in the mirror to read it. I’ll bet you can do that. Sounds like you have come a long ways.
Love seeing this in writing, Jake! You have talked and dreamed about this a long time….so proud of you, honey!
Turning your affliction, Jake, into an inspirational point of focus for your DMP is taking creativity to the next level. Do you know the Fab Davene is slightly dyslexic? Great PR! 🙂
Thank you Jake your story touched me and got me thinking.
Fabulous interview! I felt like I was listening to it live:) I also love the title of your book, I did a little double take. I’m sure the book helps a lot of people to understand the dyslexia ‘puzzlement’