CRISTINA ROSE 0:04
Hey friends, welcome to this week’s episode of “Not Your Momma’s Podcast”. And today I’m excited. We have Gabriel, who is a 20 year veteran teacher of multiple subjects, who has taught both in the US and in China, from K through 12. College, University and beyond. Gabriel is a first time dad and the founder of first time parent company, where he teaches parents how to raise happy, healthy, and self sufficient children without added stress. Gabriel, thank you so much for coming on the show today.
GABRIEL THOMAS 0:34
Thank you so much for having me. And thank you for accepting my invitation. I appreciate it.
CRISTINA ROSE 0:38
Yeah, well, you know, first time parenting, I think it’s important. And I think I love that you’re out there trying to spread educational videos and teach people and, you know, also share your own experiences. Your company, first time parent helps new parents. And so which is awesome. What’s the number one tip you can give to parents who are just starting this wild, crazy ride?
GABRIEL THOMAS 1:02
Consult me. Obviously, 20 years of teaching experience, and three years to build my company grew as my little daughter was growing. And then as she was born and grew up, and she’s 2021 months today, the company just grew with her. I wanted to give everything that I had in my power to teach not only first time parents, but those parents who are co parenting that is very necessary. That’s some, that’s a topic that we never even talked about. We talked about the first time parenting and then giving that child to perhaps daycare or, or the husband’s mom to raise and such. But what is first time parenting that means you have to be really prepared for everything. From the moment that you see that you’re about to have a child until the baby is born, you don’t have your baby yet. And that comes from a nurse at Sunrise Hospital, I’m in Las Vegas. So she said you don’t have your daughter until you have your daughter. And she was very serious about that. Because my daughter was born six weeks early. Now, the thing is, I prepared for everything. Two years before she was born, I prepared for the first seven years of her life. Yeah, because they say the first seven years of a child’s life is the blueprint for the rest of his or her life. And for that reason, not only that I could create and build this company called first time parents for first time parents, for CO parents who are co parenting, but those who are looking forward to becoming parents one day, or perhaps going for a second or third child that maybe they want to try something different. In 2024 Things are a lot different today than they were, say 20 years ago. If I were to give my mom my daughter to raise to be raised differently than the way I’m raising her today, in this society, being a teacher, being a business person, being a father, everything is connected. I have to be in the education to know what’s happening. Therefore, I wrote 10 books in 20 months.
CRISTINA ROSE 3:11
Yeah, that is crazy. I mean, yeah, you’re a full time family, man, you know, a full time teacher, a full time businessman or writer, you know, like you said, you’ve written 10 books, you know, in three categories, like, how do you stay positive, juggling everything do you sleep like, how do you manage to balance it all?
GABRIEL THOMAS 3:32
Before I plan for my daughter, years before she was born, I prepared myself first. You know, the whole thing that they say before I went on an airplane and the airplanes going down, you have to help yourself first, run your own mask. I prepared myself not only physically, mentally and spiritually, but I prepared my wife for this incredible journey. Yeah, the thing was that if I procrastinated along the way even for one second I faltered, and my daughter was born six weeks early at the end of the COVID pandemic and the beginning of the formula shortage, six weeks early. I would have lost one or the other or both and I would have gone insane we would not be here today. Yeah, I work myself overtime, to make sure that the health and safety of my wife is of the most important more than mine more than anything else. I made sure that she has that circle of friends that if something happens to me they will take care of her during our pregnancy at least. Yeah, for my daughter. We were ready two months before but for her to be born six weeks early. Yeah, first I had to put on the mask. I had to educate myself and make sure that anything can go wrong physical disability mental. There could have been we could have lost her anything could have happened. I had to prepare myself for that. It’s a lot of work. It is. But you know what, I am sharing that with all of you with these 10 books that I’ve written on my website, first time, mom dad.com. They are a chronology of my daughter the first year and the second year, where she’s telling her story of how she was raised the first and second year, from her perspective, if she was a five year old with the intelligence of an eight year old child.
CRISTINA ROSE 5:24
Yeah, no, and that’s amazing. You know, and you were just talking about, like, your daughter and wife, and you go do all these fun things with them. I think you were talking about it with us earlier, you like to, you know, go and do all these adventures with them? What advice do you have, you know, for busy parents and for those co parenting wanting to do the same things like with their children, because it seems like you have so much passion and love for like what you do and you know, the educational growth of even your own daughter and the ones around you?
GABRIEL THOMAS 5:57
Well, first of all, I have to preface this in a way that I need to go back to that question prior. When do I sleep? I don’t. I really don’t.
CRISTINA ROSE 6:08
It’s like, do you even sleep? Like how do you do it all?
GABRIEL THOMAS 6:11
So like, maybe two hours on a couch where I just blackout completely? And that is the God’s truth? Okay. I’ll be honest with you, maybe one or two hours in bed, and that saying, I love life so much that what I have and what I’ve received, I want to give it back tenfold. And my goal for my company was to make 100 hours of pure educational content to give to everyone for free. absolutely for free. And then yes, there are services that I will be charging for. But to give 100 hours of educational videos, I have to stay up and I have to work and I have to give that’s I’m a teacher, I’m a parent, I have to. Now the second part is for those of you who will get to know me. The goal was to make 50 of the most educational videos for my daughter, in case something happens. Fathers don’t live forever. Come on. I lost mine when I was seven years old.
CRISTINA ROSE 7:16
Yeah.
GABRIEL THOMAS 7:17
And then I made these 50 videos, and then it continued her entire life. My daughter Charlotte’s life has gone from thought to who she is today. 21 months old. It’s all recorded. It’s a chronology. I wanted to make the first video library for her. Also the first digital library for her. And I’ve accomplished those at the same time. With 190 of the most educational well made videos. You can have it all for free. It’s yours.
CRISTINA ROSE 7:47
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GABRIEL THOMAS 10:00
One more thing is what you said was how can parents start going out like we do off roading and, and such. Start small. Go to Mount Charleston, I live on less in Las Vegas. So for me 45 minutes away, or to a lake or just to a park, start there. And then let your journey continue. Never stop. Start small.
CRISTINA ROSE 10:25
Yeah, baby steps exactly. And then all of a sudden you take little skips, and then you do hops, and then you leaps and bounds. And like, you know, you just got to start where you are, you know, and not put too much pressure on yourself.
GABRIEL THOMAS 10:40
Well, we started as well, when my wife and I first met, and I was in China. I lived there for 11 years, and I was teaching there as well from 12 and beyond. We would hike on the Great Wall of China. That’s where I also proposed to my wife. Before I met her, I did a 2000 mile bike ride from Beijing to Tibet and 43 days. Well, a half injury. Yeah, I bought a one way ticket from Las Vegas to Beijing. Until I have cleared my mind, I have a clear goal. I have expanded my horizons and tested myself. And so the goal was five years. My family said three months. I came back after 11 years with a wife.
CRISTINA ROSE 11:25
Wow. That’s so great. I love that.
Well, Gabrielle, thanks for sharing your story. I’m so excited to dive into the power mom Chronicles. I cannot wait to know what your answers are. And my first one to you is who and what inspires you.
GABRIEL THOMAS 11:43
Everyday life inspires me the moment I remember from childhood when I was a little boy, the first thing that that inspires me in the morning is just opening my eyes, and then seeing a possibility that is beyond me that I can take on. And hopefully I can achieve whatever goal I’ve set out for that day. Just to open my eyes to know that I am living.
CRISTINA ROSE 12:09
Yeah.
GABRIEL THOMAS 12:10
that’s inspirational enough, don’t you think?
CRISTINA ROSE 12:13
I think so. I love that. And then what’s the essential part of your daily routine?
GABRIEL THOMAS 12:19
When I open my eyes, I say my affirmations that takes me three minutes to see my affirmations there are three sets of affirmations. Within those affirmations, I have my daily goals. When I speak them into existence throughout the day, I work on them. And hopefully by midnight or somewhere between the time I open my eyes and somehow blackout at night, I have accomplished those goals.
CRISTINA ROSE 12:46
Yeah, no, it’s so important like to just take a minute in the morning to appreciate and have gratitude and just kind of set intention for the day. Because it really keeps you like accountable and like kind of gives you that driving force to like be productive.
GABRIEL THOMAS 13:02
If we don’t have a clear goal, then what are we doing throughout the day? And every day, I have to tell you every day I asked myself and I look in the mirror and say what’s the goal? What’s the goal? What’s the goal? Just to make sure I know what that goal is. And I’m going forward with that goal.
CRISTINA ROSE 13:19
Yeah, totally. And what is something you wish you knew when you were younger?
GABRIEL THOMAS 13:25
That fathers don’t live forever? they have to impart their knowledge on to their children and society so that when they leave this world, they leave it in better hands than the way they found it. And I learned that the hard way when I lost my father, he taught me everything from what I remember age four until age seven, that he made me the person I am today he has set the standard so high that I’m still trying to reach those standards to be man that he always wanted me to be.
CRISTINA ROSE 13:54
Yeah, it’s not easy losing a parent and it must be you know, it adds that extra. You know, you want to like live in his honor. You know, and I mean, and bring honor to his name and things like that. So, you know, I commend you for just powering through and doing that I really love that message. And then my last one she was the best advice you’ve ever received.
GABRIEL THOMAS 14:18
The dreams do come true if you believe them, if you believe in them, and that is true. I believe in these ridiculous dreams that someone else would think it’s ridiculous. My family would think it’s ridiculous like going to China with absolutely nothing knowing no one no Chinese money, no Chinese phone, no job, nothing. But I just saw a bigger picture. I had this dream of becoming a better human being a better teacher a better person, a better son, more than anything. And so for me to stay here I would have limited myself. I would have taken away from my Future which is today. this is the future that I was looking at that my daughter now when she looks at me, I feel proud. it’s because I earned the right to call myself a father. I earned the right to call myself a husband and a man. That’s right that I’ve earned and dreams do come true. But if you truly believe in them enough, if you’re patient enough, if you persevere through everything that you go through every day, because the closer you get to a dream, the harder it gets. And that’s when you know they’re about to control because the universe tests you. You can handle it.
CRISTINA ROSE 15:45
Yeah, well, what a beautiful way to end this podcast episode. Thank you Gabriel, so much for coming on and sharing your story. I love your passion. Go check out his you know all of his educational videos. All of his links are down below in the show notes. Don’t be shy. Go say hi. And I hope to see you all in the next one. Thank you.
GABRIEL THOMAS 16:05
Thank you