The Power Transformation Podcast

135. From Polio to Podcaster: A Masterclass in Resilience and Voice with Sifu Rafael

• Alethea Felton • Season 3 • Episode 135

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Do you know that your greatest pain could actually be the gold that makes you shine? Well, in this soul-stirring episode, Sifu Rafael shares how childhood polio, being an immigrant in a new country at a young age, and deep personal loss became the very foundation of his power. From learning to walk again to becoming a sought-after speaker, podcaster, and renowned martial arts guru, Sifu shows us that resilience isn’t about avoiding the cracks - it’s about honoring them. You’ll hear how forgiveness, perspective, and identity shaped his healing and how you, too, can turn your broken pieces into brilliance.

Connect with Sifu Rafael:

Episode 135's Affirmation:
I am a confident and capable communicator, using my words to create understanding and inspiration.

I invite you to leave a positive message with your insights, feedback, or uplifting message.

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Alethea Felton:

it's always extra fun when you can actually interview somebody that you can say that you know. And my guest today is someone that I am honored to know and respect and value, and that is none other than Sifu Rafael. Oh, my goodness, if you don't know his name, you will after today. He is a masterful communicator, he works with people in communication and leadership and y'all. He has a ton of podcasts. You hear me? I think Sifu has seven podcasts, if I'm not mistaken. I think Sifu has seven podcasts, if I'm not mistaken. But he is a truly incredible human being and I'm just not saying that and he lives with such humility and a reverence and a quiet strength about him. Now, although he has the smoothest speaking voice that you will ever find, don't forget y'all. I said that he is a martial arts expert, so Sifu can fight, so don't take his mild, even temper and tone as weakness. But, all jokes aside, sifu is extraordinary and it is so fun having him as a guest today. And, with that being said, welcome to the Power Transformation Podcast. I am your host, Alethea Felton, and it is truly a privilege to be here with you today and we are going to learn about Sifu's journey and what led him down this road of helping people communicate. What a story he has from his childhood all the way until now.

Alethea Felton:

This is an episode you do not want to miss, and so we want to jump right into this. Thank you again. Go ahead and subscribe to the Power Transformation Podcast. We are on all audio platforms and our YouTube channel is now launched. I am still gradually uploading videos onto YouTube, and so thank you so much for your support in keeping this show going and thriving. We're going to go ahead and start with our affirmation. I'm going to say an affirmation here. On all of the audio shows, we do an affirmation, speaking those things into existence and speaking them with confidence. So I'm going to say the affirmation once and then you repeat it I am a confident and capable communicator, using my words to create understanding and inspiration. I am so excited today to have this guest on the Power Transformation Podcast and, as you heard from my intro, he is a podcasting genius, a podcast guru, a speaking expert, but, more importantly, he is someone that I am getting to know as friend, and that is none other than the legendary Sifu Rafael. Welcome, Sifu, to the Power Transformation Podcast.

Sifu Rafael:

Alethea, it is such a pleasure. And, by the way, where do I send the check for that beautiful introduction?

Alethea Felton:

Oh, wow, thank you so much. The pleasure is all mine. You have truly, in just these several months that I've known you. I've met you about June, and when we're recording this it's November, and I just have to tell you what an impression that you made on me when I first heard you speak, and it took a while for us to have a one-on-one, but I'm so glad that I scheduled that. So this is going to be such a delightful, insightful conversation, and I always like to start with a fun, lighthearted question in terms of just asking something about guests as an icebreaker, so we can get to know you more as a person. And so, sifu, this is my question for you If you could have one hero's superpower, so say, you were a hero and you had a superpower. Which superpower would you not want to have, and why?

Sifu Rafael:

Not want to have Death touch.

Alethea Felton:

Really.

Sifu Rafael:

Yes.

Alethea Felton:

Tell us more.

Sifu Rafael:

I believe that there's a lot of people out there who already use that power. I want to use mine for good, not evil, so we all have that ability to take someone else's life.

Alethea Felton:

Mm-hmm.

Sifu Rafael:

But we also have an ability to empower someone to live a better life. So that's the superpower I want to have to help other people in need and we're going to learn more about it.

Alethea Felton:

But I appreciate that thoughtful response and I intentionally switched it up because of the fact I wanted to see which way you were going to go with that, and your answer is perfect. So now I want to dig a little deeper into this human that we know as Sifu Raphael. If I didn't know anything about that person, how would you describe him?

Sifu Rafael:

He's someone who is God-faith. When I say God and faith they don't sound correctly, but in order for me to believe in God I have to have the faith, and he's given me the faith to believe in me, that he is on a mission to help as many people understand the beauty that God has put in every one of us. And when I say God, faith, I know it doesn't sound right, and somebody who teaches communication, I know that really doesn't sound right, but those two words truly would describe me to someone who didn't know me. I believe in God and I believe God has given me the faith to help others believe in themselves.

Alethea Felton:

Oh wow, sifu, take us back to some of your early beginnings. And when you talk about this concept of a God faith, take us back to some of your early origins and describe a moment when you first recognized that God as well as faith, and how the two combined in your life at a young age.

Sifu Rafael:

My parents raised me Roman Catholic, but it wasn't my choice, just like many kids don't have a choice whether they're born Muslim, jewish, whatever religion and I think it's up to each one of us to figure out what we truly believe. Where is the faith? And for me, I followed the faith that my parents brought forth, and there were so many unanswered questions and I kept asking and kept asking and could not find.

Sifu Rafael:

And then later on, I realized that, no matter how far I looked under what rock I looked, how far I looked under what rock I looked, it was up to me to find my faith. And I realized I've always believed in God, and it didn't matter what faith, the name of the faith was so, whether it was Jewish, muslim, catholic, whatever it wasn't. That it was the belief that there is a higher power that has put me here, and what is the mission that I've been given? Think of a soldier. A soldier is not a soldier without a mission. Otherwise they're just sitting somewhere waiting for orders. So my whole life I've been that soldier, waiting for the orders to come in.

Alethea Felton:

And when the?

Sifu Rafael:

order fully came in and said take care of you first and then help as many people as you can. So early on, the question of faith truly, truly came to me when I lost the ability to walk. No one had answers for me. No one had answers for me, the amount of pain I went through and into. No one can tell me why I was feeling that no one spoke to me. They took me to doctors.

Alethea Felton:

The doctors didn't even talk to me.

Sifu Rafael:

They talked to my parents, so I was left out of the equation of my own pain, which is a little baffling yeah because if someone is going through something, it it's worth their while to know what it is right, exactly when we go through any pain. Why is it happening? If I put my hand on a flame, I am aware that I'm getting burnt because of the flame.

Alethea Felton:

Mm-hmm.

Sifu Rafael:

But when my legs turned backwards and I contracted polio and lost the ability overnight to walk, the question is we all say why me? I don't ever remember asking that question. I was too young. I never asked that question. I still don't today and I think now, I know the answer, even though I didn't ask it because I had to go through it, because I had evolution of me to understand that pain. To me now it means I'm alive.

Alethea Felton:

Hmm, wow, let me pause you here. When you said that you caught it young, and I'm going to touch on certain points that you made, how old exactly were you when you contracted polio?

Sifu Rafael:

About three.

Alethea Felton:

Wow, wow. So in those early days, what I'd like to also bring up is the fact you were, from my recollection, the 10th of 12 children, correct? Very good memory? Yeah, right, 10. Right, okay, so you were the 10th of 12 children. So, although you, you know, describe yourself as becoming this soldier, what I already envisioned is that you were already brought up with a small army around you when it came to your siblings and your support system. So, when you are at that young age, as three, while the full and total awareness may not have been there, sifu, can you recall any type of feelings, emotions, thoughts that you had at a young age when you couldn't walk? Or did those revelations come to you later? Some of us can think back to when we were really, really young and you knew about the pain, but even at that young age, did you ever feel that you were different or that something was wrong, or did you simply just accept the fate as how it was?

Sifu Rafael:

we can talk about acceptance, but not wanting to stay in it. So for for me, it was this is happening. How do I get out of it? So if I was thrown in a hole, how do I climb out of it? That's all I knew. So I did not blame anyone, I just said okay, I need to get back to what I recall. Don't get me wrong. At three years old, I just basically learned how to walk.

Sifu Rafael:

Exactly so it wasn't that far-fetched from I'm crawling to oh, I'm crawling again. It was not too much later than that that I was given braces, full-leg braces Imagine Forrest Gump. And that was me. And for me to walk 10 feet would have taken me probably an hour, which would take me seconds now. So it was a matter of if I had given up, if I would have said I accept and stayed there. Who knows how my recovery, if you will, would have come about. But I didn't see it as a stop.

Alethea Felton:

Yeah.

Sifu Rafael:

I saw it as a pause.

Sifu Rafael:

Okay, I'm down. I got to get back up. Okay, I can't get back up as I used to. Well, I got to get back up. Okay, I can't get back up as as I used to. Well, I got to find a way, and every day was a challenge to get better, and I knew that. The funny thing is when I was actually. I guess here's the crazy thing Even though I was in it for a while, to me it was such short lived, because all I can recall is afterwards running and I was one of the fastest kids around.

Alethea Felton:

Oh my goodness, Look at the irony of that. How amazing is that. Again, it goes back to that God faith. That's it. Wow, oh my goodness, One of the fastest kids around. And just the fact that at that young age, your resilience journey started in more ways than one no-transcript. How did you not get in your own way of staying stuck in the fact that wait a minute, I don't look like everyone? How did you reconcile that within you?

Sifu Rafael:

Well, it's very interesting A lot of babies are born with different color hair blonde, black, whatever I was, yeah.

Sifu Rafael:

Right, and then the eyes usually turn around the age of one right Mine, actually. My mom told me that they changed around the age of five. So I had platinum blonde hair. Now I am colombian, so my family's darker skin, I'm lighter skin. So yes, I am. Uh, I was called the milkman's baby, right, so people made fun of it that way, um, but but it kind of served me in a in an incredible way, because a lot of people did not take me for spanish, especially when I came to this country, and if you look at me now I have brownishish hair. It may look like I have brown eyes. I actually have hazel eyes, depending on how closely you look. If I'm ever tired, which is rare my eyes actually turn grayish, which is interesting.

Sifu Rafael:

I don't know that but people have told me that Wow. Like I've done, stints where I've been up for 36, I mean three days in a row, right without going to sleep, and somebody goes you need a nap. But the interesting part of it is that allowed me. Um, let me put it to you this way Okay.

Sifu Rafael:

You and I are both minorities, but I did not look like one, so it gave me certain freedoms that other minorities who had I look like my brothers. I may not have had certain privileges just because of the way I look. I got you yeah, just because of the way I look, I got you, yeah, and but when I spoke it was different, because they're like oh that kid's.

Sifu Rafael:

Spanish, and for me, I've never seen myself as a minority, ever I've never seen myself as a white person. I've seen myself as God's child, and that's where I was very fortunate. As a kid, when we came to this country, we lived in a neighborhood that I used to frequent a lot of my friends' homes, and they were Puerto Rican, dominican, haitian, jamaican, irish, american, you know. So for me it was pretty incredible, because I almost felt like I grew up in the United Nations.

Alethea Felton:

You know what it's so interesting. You would say that because of the fact you grew up in New York and my mom grew up over in Jersey, east Orange and Newark, with her being multi-ethnic, you know she loved the fact that she thrived with so many people Italian, polish, puerto Rican so you know this melting pot of people. And I'd also like to say you brought up the fact that you came to this country as a child, but also, sifu, you didn't speak English. So when you came here, how did you find your inner voice in the midst of that multicultural community that you were a?

Sifu Rafael:

part of things about children is that we adapt really fast and I noticed I don't know if you noticed- but I said we, because I still feel like a kid you know, I do too, and I still act like one sometimes. Oh yeah, I do too.

Alethea Felton:

That's what keeps us young Look look, ask my parents, ask my sister. They'll say yeah, she's a big kid. Anyway, go ahead.

Sifu Rafael:

But that's, that's what keeps us young Right, the way we act, sometimes the way we feel. So for me, when I first came here, it was a big shocker. I was super excited. I was super excited. I was 10 of 12, but we were divided because when my parents came to this country the US they could not bring us all. They actually didn't.

Sifu Rafael:

So it was my mom who came first, then my dad, and then they took all of us kids and they spread us out who can take so-and so until we can bring them. So they would bring two or three at a time, right, and so my parents were working all these. So I'm thinking my parents, they're in america, I'm going to america one day and it was very funny because I had a little somebody had, I, I think I borrowed a transistor radio, right, one of those little radios, and you could put it yeah, and I would only put one in, not two, because I thought I was going to be learning English.

Sifu Rafael:

So I put on Spanish stations. I didn't know. So I think I'm learning English right Because I'm listening to you know what's out there. And the other one I didn't put it on because I wanted to know what's going on around. So sometimes I would lay in bed or late at night and listen, and just listen to radio stations or whatnot. And when I got here it was a big shock because, yeah, no one spoke Spanish. The only people that spoke Spanish were my family. So my parents brought me into a neighborhood not the one I was talking about earlier, but a different neighborhood and no one in our neighborhood spoke Spanish. No one in my school spoke Spanish Not my teachers, not the other students. So not only did I not know anything, I was left back because I didn't know the language.

Sifu Rafael:

So they put me in first grade instead of third, and so you can only imagine the ridicule, the bullying, the laughing at all that stuff that happened. But I just I sucked, I soaked it in, if you will, and I sucked at speaking English, right, but I would try, I would try and try and try, just like when I couldn't walk anymore, and I tried and tried and tried and eventually I would say, by second grade, I, I can speak and I was able to speak pretty well oh my goodness, in one school year, yeah, and the whole thing is uh, I would come home and watch cartoons in english, right, my mom would put on the sp channel, right, canal 41.

Sifu Rafael:

So for. Univision, if you will. I obviously thank God for cartoons, even though the cartoons I would not recommend them now because the cartoons when I was watching them were very violent. They were teaching Even Tom and Jerry. I used to love that.

Sifu Rafael:

I love Tom and Jerry Gorilla, right, catch that pigeon. Now you know all that kind of stuff, right, but they were very violent. They would hit each other on the head, they would do all these things. And then we wonder why are kids violent with one another? Because they're watching it constantly. Kids violent with one another because they're watching it constantly. I just I, I had a client who told me his um four-year-old is, uh, was getting hit by a seven-year-old, oh, and he's like oh, that's not happening to my guy, my child and um, but because kids don't know better and parents don't always say don't watch that. Nowadays, unfortunately, parents say here's my phone, occupy yourself. Here's a tablet, occupy yourself. Here's YouTube, occupy it. Even though you may put on a little cartoon thing for YouTube, the kids are going to be curious, they're going to go what's next or what comes up next? So communication has become such an important vehicle in my life.

Alethea Felton:

And so, in terms of that communication, since you learned English by the time you were in second grade and, of course, by now you had immersed yourself you started soaking everything in. The amazing part to me, Sifu, about your life is the fact that your entrepreneurial platform in this day and time is that you are a renowned speaker. You are a podcaster of multiple podcasts but everything you do centers around using your voice. Did that epiphany or aha moment that you wanted to be intentional about having some type of life or career centered around speaking? Did that start to come to you even before you turned 18? Or did that happen after you graduated?

Sifu Rafael:

I've been a performer I would say my whole life, and when I mean performer, uh, I would, uh, I would get up and do little skits in front of people and all kinds of stuff. I try to be funny, try to do all these different things. But during that time I realized that guiding someone meant more than being a clown, if you will, because sometimes when you were clowning around, you get a lot of attention, but when you were helping someone else, you made a difference in their life compared to just making them laugh. And when you can change somebody or help someone don't get me wrong, wrong, making someone laugh is amazing. I love doing it still, um, I laugh every day and I have to, uh, I have to laugh. I'm the, I'm the corniest guy you'll meet, but it's. It puts a smile on my face.

Sifu Rafael:

Yes, and for me, helping other people became my skill in helping people understand language. Sometimes, even if you did not communicate verbally, there's that body language. So I would go into. When I was in high school, I used to go and teach gymnastics at a different high school and in the high school I was at, I used to go and teach swimming to anyone who didn't know how to swim. So, through the body language, explaining to them what it was that they needed to do. Sometimes and I do this now with a lot of people that I train I say, okay, show me what I just taught you, without any words.

Alethea Felton:

And they're like.

Sifu Rafael:

I'm like, if I couldn't hear you, can you still teach me?

Sifu Rafael:

And at first they struggle deeply, but then I start teaching them how and then I say, okay, now I want you to only teach me with no body language and only with your words, and that's a struggle as well. So for me it's always been putting those two things together. That's what allows me to be a better teacher, instructor, mentor to other people, Because if I can associate body language, movement with the words, the spoken word, then I know I'm going to get through them. And a lot of times if somebody doesn't understand, challenge, challenge, let's go. How else can I make you understand it? Is it visually? Is it? Do I have to put my hand on your elbow, your shoulder? Do I have to move your arm? Do I have to walk you over here? Do I have to actually point to something? So I am actually doing the kinesthetic aspect of it and then obviously the auditory and also the most important one, I think, when we communicate is we have to ask for clarity.

Sifu Rafael:

Do you understand what I just told you? And we forget that part. We assume and you know what happens when that happens.

Alethea Felton:

Everything that you're saying is so thought provoking and loaded, but I'm thinking of you as a practical baby with polio. Then you have this totally different look than even that of your own family. Then the fact that your parents come to America, you and your siblings are spread about. You come, don't speak English all of these challenges at such a young age. And yet you still had the nerve and the audacity to say I want to help other people find their voice and to be clearer in their messaging, speaking, et cetera. And I'll have you to explain all of that. But when did you see the need for a person who was trapped in themselves and not knowing how to either move past their challenges or be clear in their messaging? When did you see that need? But then how did you first go about saying I want to coach people and teach people how to do that. Take us on that journey, people, and teach people how to do that.

Sifu Rafael:

Take us on that journey that really started very early on, For some reason. A lot of people used to come to me with issues that they had. They didn't know how to handle them.

Alethea Felton:

Almost like a counselor almost.

Sifu Rafael:

Yeah, or a mentor yeah, okay, yeah, or a mentor yeah, okay Okay. And so for me it was. I can tell you what to do but you're not going to do it Right?

Sifu Rafael:

Why don't we talk it out and we both figure out your best action? Because if it was only one-sided me giving them the advice which I already knew, a lot of times I was like oh my God, I cannot believe you don't see it in front of you. But if I said that to them and I said do this, this, this, this and the other, trust me, I'm very aware of people who say trust me and then I usually run the other way.

Sifu Rafael:

When people tell me trust me. I've had too many people say that and I see what they. The trust is not mutual, if you will.

Sifu Rafael:

So, instead of having them be told by me what to do. It was important for me to help them see their options, and I did that from very, very early on, all the way from kids trying to cheat on me. I guess I was a goody two-shoes in school. Okay, I was, and at one point I used to, you know, like I used to hide, you know, put my shoulders over my test when I was taking a test, so that nobody can see or anything.

Sifu Rafael:

Nobody can see or anything. And one day I said you know, if somebody wants to see what my answers are, that's on them, it's not on me.

Sifu Rafael:

So I let it happen. So I got caught not cheating. But there was a kid next to me and we were taking a test and he asked me to move my arm so he can see the answers. And when I said something to him like what you can't see it, I was a little annoyed. Guess what the teacher called me out. I got an F. The teacher thought I was cheating and I was like okay, from now on my, my arms are off the table. I'm just putting it out there. If anybody wants to cheat, it's on them. And sometimes it's very funny, because when somebody wanted to cheat off, I would like lean back and say okay when I'm, I'm done with my test.

Sifu Rafael:

it's done. So it's up to you and that doesn't mean that all my answers were correct. But if somebody needed to look at my answers that day, that's on them. So we have to understand that when we are willing to cheat, it's on us, because we're cheating ourselves 100%, even if the answer is right, because we did not do the work to get the answer, so we will never have that knowledge.

Sifu Rafael:

It's like reading a book and putting it down. Reading a book and putting it down. How many people have you personally known who said oh, I read so many books. Okay, tell me about one of them. Uh well, too many to remember. Okay, I get that it's important for all of us to take into account. Our actions reflect our tomorrows. What I do today will make me a better person tomorrow or I'll stay the same or I'll be less than, but it's up to me.

Alethea Felton:

Wow. You often talk about having an inner communication and my question to you, when you were speaking about people who would come to you for mentorship or they often sought you out because they were seeking answers about something they often sought you out because they were seeking answers about something. What would you say to either a client or even maybe a listener or viewer who is feeling as if they are trapped in a cycle of negative self-talk? How did you manage to not get in that type of trap? Did you manage to not get in that type of trap and what could you say to someone else that maybe they are communicating within themselves?

Sifu Rafael:

but their communication isn't healthy. When we have that negative talk, when we self-sabotage, it doesn't start with us, it started with someone else. Someone else told us we're no good, we stink at that, we're too tall, we're too short, we're too this, we're too whatever, and we allow those words to penetrate our core. Those are hard words to get out I. The way I lead my life is based because I was badly abused as a child. Badly as a child back then and when we can say it's not my fault.

Sifu Rafael:

It's not about me, it's about them. They're broken and they don't want to stay broken alone. I found out that there's I believe it's in japan where when something is broken, they don't throw it out, they actually put it together and they put gold dust on it as well, so that you can see the beauty of the break. And every time I was broken, I put my own gold dust on my breaks because nobody else was doing it for me. I had to look in the mirror and say man, you're beautiful you're incredible.

Sifu Rafael:

You're this, you're that, but none of it was. You're ugly. You're no good. You'll never succeed none of these things, no matter how many people said it to me, no matter how many people? Made fun of me. To me, no matter how many people made fun of me, it was me seeing that if I am created in God's image and God is beautiful, then if I am made in his image.

Alethea Felton:

I too am beautiful Because you are fearfully and wonderfully made and with you being made in God's image, wow, wow.

Alethea Felton:

I envisioned when you talked about the gold dust being put on the brakes oh, my goodness and the cracks.

Alethea Felton:

That is absolutely a captivating view, because I've experienced or have seen so many people who think that their brokenness is where they have to belong and not realizing that they can rise from the ashes, that they have so much more to offer and give.

Alethea Felton:

And so, with that being said, when you this theme of empowerment, resilience, transformation, all of that, when you face new challenges, even today, sifu, in your life as a grown man, how do you draw from your past experiences, own man, how do you draw from your past experiences? But what else do you do to stay grounded and focused and forward moving? And I ask this because you have done and continue to do incredible things, where I see the successes that you've had, but all of those don't come without a cost, don't come without a price. There's a cliche and it says oftentimes people will see someone's glory without knowing their story. And behind all of that success is still someone who has to every day keep that God faith and be intentional, and so how have the experiences of your past, how have they helped to form that resilience, power and transformation?

Sifu Rafael:

Great question. No-transcript a scale. How do I weigh this? How do I weigh that? What's important what's not important. If I lost literally everything and I had to live in a cardboard box, I would be the happiest guy in a cardboard box.

Alethea Felton:

Oh, wow.

Sifu Rafael:

Because every morning I wake up in gratitude, I start in prayer, then I go into thanking God for the gifts I have that he's given me. I go through I mean, I'd have to spend days if I had to go through every little thing that I actually have. My hands, my skin, my heart, my lungs, every little aspect of who.

Sifu Rafael:

I am as a person, if I was dropped off in the middle of nowhere and no one knew me and all I had was the clothes on my back. Would I survive? I would first start with helping, because I know that if I help someone, they would want to help me back. I would never look to beg, because begging does not show, because begging does not show helping. So for me to get the help I may need at that point it would mean I have to give first to get, and all my life experiences have taught me that, that I need to give and I've given, and people have taken advantage of it and I say more power to them. They may flourish in what.

Sifu Rafael:

I've done for them and they may push me aside from being on a board of trustees to all of these different things and I did so much for a certain company and they didn't see it, and that's okay. It only made me stronger, wiser, and would I do it again? Would I help someone else? You better believe it. Why would I help it again? Would I help someone else? You better believe it.

Alethea Felton:

Why would I help?

Sifu Rafael:

them, because that's my mission. That is why I'm here when we don't know why we're here we need to take some time away from our busy life and find out why we're doing what we're doing.

Alethea Felton:

Are we wasting our time?

Sifu Rafael:

on our phone, on Netflix, on social media, and then we go yeah, I don't know what I want to do with my life. Well, maybe you should stop, sit, turn off the light so you have nothing bless you coming in.

Alethea Felton:

I know you're muted, but I had to say bless you, thank you. Yes, you all. I sneezed but I muted. But anyway, go ahead, thank you.

Sifu Rafael:

But see that right, there is body language right when we can acknowledge another human being. That's why we're here. Acknowledge another human being, yes, that's why we're here. This is why sitting in darkness is so powerful, powerful I'm going to say it again powerful thing we need to do regularly so that we can be with us. So many people have hundreds of friends all over the place and everywhere they go, they have to have somebody around because they're afraid of their own shadow. They're afraid of them. To become the person you need to become, you need to become you.

Sifu Rafael:

You need to be you wherever you go, because, no matter what, you're there. So we need to take the time to reflect on, yes, our lives, but we can't stay there. I can't reflect on all the beatings I took as a kid. I can't reflect on all the bad and negative things that happened in my life, because then I would still be there At the age of 18, I forgave everyone who's ever hurt me Everyone, and I mean in a bad way.

Sifu Rafael:

And I never said to them I forgive you, because that would have been not deep enough for me. It would have been meaning that I'm holding something over them and for me to hold something over them I'm basically doing what they did to me. So I never said to them I'm basically doing what they did to me. So I never said to them I forgive you for what you've done.

Sifu Rafael:

I just forgave them and I never, mentioned it to them and whether they know it or not, that's not for me to decide. I know that I created a clean slate for me, so, moving forward, when you ask me, why do I do the things I do today as a man? It's very funny because I still see myself as a boy, right, and the innocence of a young boy or young lady is that we trust and we're gonna get burnt when we trust I still can't help it.

Sifu Rafael:

I still trust. I still get burnt. Even this year I've been burnt. That does not take away from my trust in humans. And because if I stop trusting, I'm going to not trust the person who needs to be trusted the most, and then they're not going to have an opportunity to shine because I didn't give it to them. So therefore, I also have to trust me right?

Alethea Felton:

Yeah, yes, of course, and I want to touch on, as we start to come to a close, of you saying about how you see yourself as a boy. And I understand that, how you see yourself as a boy, and I understand that, and it's not anything emasculating in any sense of the term. I think that that childhood innocence and that that childhood, I think as children we're, we're more in tune and much more sensitive, and then life can have a tendency of tainting people, but we all have that choice to tap into that inner child that we are and that purity and that innocence and something I think is just with your childlike creativity, imagination, but also in your risk-taking. And it leads me to a transition in.

Alethea Felton:

I have one podcast that I started off as just something fun to do. That is totally exceeding me. But when I met you and I found out the amount of podcasts you have, I said hold up, I got to learn more from him about this. But just the fact of podcasts you have. I said hold up, I got to learn more from him about this, but just the fact of that. So I want to take a shift now, because I can dare not end this podcast episode without giving you the opportunity to share, first of all, what inspired you to getting get into this field of podcasting, and then also share with us your podcasts and how listeners and viewers can actually go about watching them, subscribing, etc I appreciate that.

Sifu Rafael:

one of the things that that made me decide to start is COVID. So many coaches approached us through email and phone calls, but there were coaches who were not coaches. They had not been doing it for years.

Alethea Felton:

And I get it.

Sifu Rafael:

A lot of people had a shift, people lost their jobs. I understand that. But to tell someone, do what I'm doing, yet they're just literally. They only started three hours before you. They, they reached out to you that and it was constant. I said I have to do something about this and that's why I started coaching call to talk to real coaches, coaches who've been doing it for a while, who even I've spoken to, people who have podcast 2015 2000,. You know and so forth before the pandemic. But I started mine at the end or the end of 2020.

Sifu Rafael:

Right, and I was going to do a martial arts podcast and I love martial arts.

Alethea Felton:

I've been doing it for 49 years, right.

Sifu Rafael:

But the more I listen to martial arts podcasts, the more I realized they have nothing else to talk about. How many times can you talk about blocking a punch to the face or getting choked out or doing a kick? And so I said, ah, that's not what I want, being that I've coached people in all aspects of life, that's who I want to talk to Different types of coaches, somebody who's taught dance? Somebody who's taught swimming? Somebody who's taught gymnastics? Somebody who's taught ice skating? Somebody who's taught somebody how to become an actor. So then, all of a sudden, I'm like, oh wait a minute, I know a lot of these people. I said those are the people I need to talk to. So that's how my first show started, and it was. It was easy enough to move forward. Once I stopped recording them. I all my shows now live.

Alethea Felton:

Yes.

Sifu Rafael:

And the reason they're live is because I don't have to make excuses for others. Just like I didn't have to make an excuse for the person that cheated off me on a test, I don't have to make an excuse for somebody who comes on and they don't present themselves well or properly or have bad backgrounds or whatever, bad microphones and so forth. So I let them know this is live. If you went on a TV show right now, if you put on channel seven, two, whatever, how would you show up? That's right. How would you show up, right? And so, considering that, once I did that, I went live. Once I did that, I went live, I've changed. I was able to now create more shows, which I'm about to do, a seventh show.

Alethea Felton:

Wow, I love it. Yes and yes you all heard him right. He said he's about to do a seventh show. I intentionally did not say how many podcasts he had because I knew he would say them, but yes, currently he has six. As of when we are doing this, this is november. By the time this airs, that seventh one will probably be ready, so I will give an update.

Sifu Rafael:

But anyway, go ahead, yeah it's either coming out in December 24 or January 25th.

Alethea Felton:

Yeah, ok.

Sifu Rafael:

When, when we, and the reason I do the shows is because I realize that my voice Is my voice. But if I can resonate A message, but if I can resonate a message for anyone to do better, to feel better, to become more, and I can bring other experts on board, wow, that's what excites me the most about the shows I do.

Sifu Rafael:

A lot of people say well, why do you do so many? Because every one of them is unique. I've created every single episode. I've created every single show myself, and the reason for that is because the message that we have to put out there to help one another, to create a community of people who say I need to do better. No matter how good you think you are, you could do better.

Alethea Felton:

Wow.

Sifu Rafael:

Don't ever compare yourself to anyone else. No matter, you can't compare, you'll be living looking up to the Joneses, and the Joneses are looking up to the Johns and the Johns are looking up to the Smiths and so forth.

Alethea Felton:

Ongoing cycle.

Sifu Rafael:

And no one knows the struggles that each other have. But when we focus on us, then we can focus on helping others. So prosperity is not selfish. Prosperity, if done well, is to help others. Help those who are in need. Right now, through my church, they're doing a shoebox giveaway. Everybody takes home a shoebox, they put stuff in it and they're giving it to other countries.

Sifu Rafael:

Now the other thing that I'm doing is I'm having people bringing me gifts and stuff like that Toys, brand new toys, books, things of that nature and we're going to be donating those as well. So it's always how can I encourage someone to do a little better? And the ones that we need to encourage are our future kids. They need the most encouragement.

Alethea Felton:

They need to get off those darn tablets. Yeah, and show up for their lives and to be. I totally get that and so, in terms of your podcast being live, how can a person connect with you, say, if they wanted to inquire about your coaching services, about your shows? What's the best way for people to connect with you, sifu?

Sifu Rafael:

Sure, I'm going to actually give you my email, but anybody who comes and tries to sell me something, I'll delete them, right.

Alethea Felton:

It's easy.

Sifu Rafael:

So it's Sifu S-I-F-U at speakingprowesscom. That simple at speaking prowesscom. That's simple. If you want to see all the shows and everything that's going on, you can find me, uh, either coaching call on YouTube or, uh, I, just, I, just, I'm, I'm putting it out there today so you guys can all know it's going to be seafood TV, uh, seafood Raphael TV on YouTube, and, because it's going to showcase all my shows, it's got all kinds of fun stuff on it.

Alethea Felton:

And then you can always find me on Facebook C4RafaelG that's right and, please, I encourage all of you to learn so much more about him. We didn't even scrape the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Sifu's life, but as this interview comes to a close, I do have one question for you as we leave. That question for you, sifu, today is with you, saying how you still inside, you know, feel like a boy and you still have a lot of that childhood energy and excitement. I'd like us to go back briefly. Imagine that that young boy who came from your country, colombia, and didn't speak English, was experiencing certain things behind the scenes that maybe a lot of people didn't know. And suppose that, although, yes, you've had this God faith. Suppose it was just a tough day for that young boy, but he wasn't hopeless. It was just a tough day. What would you say to that young boy as a word of encouragement for him to continue being a shining light, no matter the obstacles that he faced?

Sifu Rafael:

what would you tell him?

Alethea Felton:

You have so much more to give Today's just an obstacle that's been putting you away, go around it, jump over it, break through it, whatever it takes.

Sifu Rafael:

Don't let today define you.

Alethea Felton:

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Power Transformation Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow or subscribe, leave a five-star rating and write a review. It helps us inspire even more listeners. And don't keep it to yourself. Share it with someone who could use a little power in their transformation. Until next time, keep bouncing back, keep rising and be good to yourself and to others.

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