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After years of navigating the labyrinth of government spending and international aid, I found myself comparing it to a personal journey with Invisalign braces—a process of realignment, both financially and mentally. Join me as I pull back the curtain on the intricate world of financial transparency and accountability, providing you with insights into the often-misguided journey of taxpayer funds meant for humanitarian causes. We'll unravel the complex parallels between societal inequalities and misleading marketing tactics, shining a light on the ever-present gap between the wealthy elite and the average citizen. It's a story of understanding how these issues aren't just numbers and policies—they're deeply personal, impacting mental health and self-esteem.
Our mission on Voices for Voices® is ambitious yet simple: empower independent thought and celebrate diverse opinions. We're setting our sights on producing 300 episodes by the end of 2025, creating a platform where diverse voices resonate across various topics—from government efficiency to financial management. With platforms like TikTok and YouTube, we offer quick insights into trending issues, designed to expand into full-length episodes that explore the breadth of our mission. Imagine Chelsea Clinton's take on how US AID funds are allocated, offering a fresh perspective on old problems. Engage with us as we endeavor to impact three billion lives, one story and one episode at a time.
This episode dives deep into the unifying force of music and the importance of sharing authentic stories within communities. We address themes of resilience, the ethical considerations of charitable funding, and the personal journey of overcoming insecurities through orthodontic treatment, encouraging listeners to embrace their voices for themselves and others. • The power of music as a universal connector • Ambitious goal to reach 300 episodes by 2025 • Exploration of government efficiency and resource allocation • Controversies regarding misuse of aid funding • Personal reflections on orthodontic treatment and mental health • Navigating setbacks and embracing the journey toward confidence
Voices for Voices® is the #1 ranked podcast where people turn to for expert mental health, recovery and career advancement intelligence.
As you can see, the Voices for Voices® podcast publishes episodes that focus on case studies, real life examples, actionable tips and "in the trenches" reports and interviews from subscribers like you.
Welcome to this episode of the Voices for Voices TV show and podcast. I am your host, founder and executive director of Voices for Justin Alan Hayes. Thank you for joining us on this episode. Thank you for all the support you've given us. As always, you can give us a big thumbs up like share, comment, pass along friends, pass along friends, family, followers. We would greatly appreciate that. We have a huge goal to help three billion people over the course of my lifetime and beyond. And again, they you know to give a thumbs up to, to follow, to share. Those don't cost anything. So if you could help us out, that'd be awesome. And thank you to all who are loyal Voices for Voices TV show and podcasts listeners, viewers, those that are able to check out our transcripts as well.
Justin Alan Hayes:
We try to be well-rounded with what we're providing, depending on individual needs, and we just are just amazed at the support that we have been receiving since our inception as an organization, as a 501c3. We start like many organizations. We really started at the ground level. I thought in, in, in, in our heads and in my head and we we started that route of how, how we can help, how we can bolster, help others, provide platforms to share their stories, whether they're able to share theirs verbally or we share for them, or if they have an aide, a family member, a friend, a sign language interpreter that is able to help with that process, as well as music. Music's huge. A lot of us express our voice through music and that, as we've, as we've, covered quite a bit here on our show, you know how much music means to me and how us, just as human beings, how integrated that music is to us as humans, and no matter the geography, no matter where we live, no matter where we reside, music is something that unites us. We all don't like the same artist, the same music. There's a wide variety. So what I like, you might not like. What you like, I may like or may not, but that doesn't mean anything. What means something is what we like and what helps us through situations.
Justin Alan Hayes:
Hopefully, this TV show and podcast that we're putting on, we're going to hit 300 episodes here by the end of 2025, which is an enormous goal. We originally set out here at the beginning of 2025 that we wanted to hit 250 episodes, but as conversations really took hold, we looked at what else is possible is 255, 260, and then we landed on 300, a nice round number. So we're grinding, we're sharing, we're bringing content. Some content you may agree with, some content you might not. Some content might seem political in nature. We invite you to listen, watch those episodes.
Justin Alan Hayes:
Or we have, like I said, we have 180 plus episodes now at this point, that which, a multitude of those, don't touch on politics at all, of those don't touch on politics at all, and we're really looking at it from the humanity standpoint, we're looking at it from a career standpoint, and so when we talk about, you know, the Department of Government Efficiency and how Elon Musk is going through each department, finding where there's money that could be better spent on us as Americans, that's something that I think we could all agree that in our own lives, if we're spending money on a subscription that's not helping us anymore. For instance, maybe we have YouTube TV right now, but six months ago we didn't. We had Spectrum and we didn't shut the Spectrum cable off, and so we're still continuing to pay and pay each month for that service that we're not using, uh and anymore, and, and so I think we all agree that at that point that'd be wasteful money being spent. So when we bring up again different departments, different areas where funding may be cut in the government. We don't agree with everything and we don't agree with everything with anybody. Really, we have things we come to common ground on and then some we support one issue one way, another issue another way, and that's okay. That's why we live in the United States of America. We're able to do that. We're able to think independently of how we we want to vote, what content we consume.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So you'll have seen or heard some episodes that are talking about that, some Some TikTok videos, some YouTube shorts where we cover, let's say, hot topics, topics that we want to share in a little bit of a quicker manner than we're able to able to put in an episode together takes quite a bit of an effort even if it looks like it doesn't, it really does so to really have that time. We're not able to do that as individuals, so we find the best way to really do that, and so shorter videos tend to be a little bit more helpful in that manner. There will be and you probably have seen and heard there will be, and you probably have seen and heard there have been, you know, tick tock videos, uh, short youtube short videos that we put together, uh, again, in a shorter manner, but then we go into the studio and then we put together a full, full episode in the studio, and so that's one one thing we're going to be doing here shortly. We we did a, we did a TikTok video on the USAID, the money that it's been found, aid, the money that it's been found, that a lot of money has been going places that don't support americans, uh, and don't support our national security, really, uh, and so we put a video together on that. We're just talking about the facts, so we're bringing that out there.
Justin Alan Hayes:
May agree, may not, and so we're we're going to take that into the studio and dive a little bit deeper on some of those areas that there's been funding, year over year, millions of dollars to individuals, organizations, and one of them we can throw off the bat and is what we're going to touch on Chelsea Clinton. So she's a daughter of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, past president Bill Clinton. There's an organization that she's associated with that was getting funding every year over and over and over Millions 30 to 40 million and that money was supposed to be spent on meals for Haitians in Haiti, and what has been uncovered just to this point is that there was, I believe, three million that was of that money that she spent on her own wedding. So we can agree that that's not right, right, so we have an organization. We say we're going to do one thing, but then we get the money and then we go and do something that helps us more personally, that, hey, we're going to go help the Haitians, and that sounds like a great plan, and it is, if we're going to really truly do that, and then she's spending, you know, 10 million on a mansion.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And so there's a lot of us uh out there, whether you're in the united states or different country. Uh, you know, we're hitting 51 countries, 530 cities, and you know, we're not, we're not able to buy a mansion, we're not able to do these luxurious things, have a hundred cars and and it's no wonder, when there's money uh being uh brought in for, uh, what we call bait and switch hey, come and come and buy this. Uh, come in our car dealership and buy this, uh, that toyota camry, and then you come in and, oh sorry, but that price is actually for a Honda Accord. And so we would say, well, wait a minute, what's up with that? We came in looking for this specific offer and it's nowhere to be found and you're switching what that offer was. So maybe the dollars, the cost of that was the same, but if it's a different car, that's not what we're looking for. So that's what we call, you know, the Chelsea Clinton part, and there's many other organizations and people that are doing the like of taking money.
Justin Alan Hayes:
Millions, millions, millions of dollars of our tax money, of American tax money, has been doled out. So you know, the elite, the 1% or 5%, whatever that number is, so they're able to spend $3 million on a wedding and $10 million on a huge mansion, and so that's why, when we put that TikTok together, we wanted to put that together in the short span, and so that's why the TikTok really worked better in that instance, that we were able to talk about the USAID, that there are organizations and people that have been profiting and programs that are going to topics that really shouldn't be spending taxpayer money for that, and so we're going to cover that in a full studio episode. So that's an example. So you may agree with it, may not, but I think we can agree that $10 million that's supposed to be donations, tax money that's going to organizations. We're going to go provide meals to Haitians that need it, and then we're going to pull the wool over everybody's eyes and take part of that and help us have a $3 million wedding and the purchase of a $10 million mansion. So those are the types of things that we feel that are important, whether we agree with them, whether we don't, the fact is they're facts, they're news and we need to continue to share when we find stories and experiences. And so there's again. There's episodes with awesome guests, we have celebrities, we have the everyday person. We talk about issues and topics that are affecting us in the United States. There's sometimes issues that we cover here on an international level that might impact your country or might change your thinking a little bit and say I wonder what my government's doing, I wonder if what they're doing is on the up and up. So those are just thought-provoking ideas and topics that you may see again. A episode may air prior to that in studio episode, or it may air after. We have a lot of content, which is incredible, and so at this point, we'll put our heads together to figure out what makes sense from a release schedule. We'll put our heads together to figure out what makes sense from a release schedule. So that's just some honest, transparent conversation thoughts with you.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So I went to the orthodontist today. You might say, well, what's the orthodontist have to do with Voices for Voices? No, our money is not going our Voices for Voices, money is not going for my Invisalign braces. But it's a talk about really about our mental health expectations etc. So I had this appointment this morning and prior to the appointment it was, you know, from from the staff at the orthodontist, which I love the orthodontist.
Justin Alan Hayes:
I didn't like it growing up, probably because they didn't have the Invisalign at the time and it's a little bit easier to manage with Invisalign versus the other braces which I had twice as I was growing up. And so the staff had reached out about this appointment this morning, about, hey, you might be done, you might be finished with the braces, which would mean that there's what they call attachments, but they're little clear braces and so these trays, so I'll take so it just looks like a retainer. So there's a top and there's a bottom, so put that back in. And where we're asked so you know where, where them, 21 or more hours a day. So really, just for eating, we can drink water with with them. And so it's been a year since I started with uh, with these braces, and and so, again, the the thought was for this appointment this morning that I might be done, and so I wouldn't have to. And so these they call them aligners uh, the retainer that I took out. So top and a bottom, uh, every week you have a new number, and so I was on number 22 of 22, which was the second batch, so I I believe I had maybe 30 or so in the first batch, and then they take pictures and then they send those to the organization that puts, actually does and manufactures these retainers I call them.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And so I was, from a mental health standpoint, I was like, wow, the braces was huge for me because I had crooked crooked teeth and, having had braces twice, it really kind of I mean, it bothered me, not that I was particularly mad at anybody, it was just more of a self-conscious embarrassment having crooked teeth, yeah. And so when I made that decision last year to go ahead with the Invisalign, I knew it was going to be a period of time, a year or two, that I was going to be going through this process, and so I was happy I was. You know, my headspace was really good, still is good today. You know, every day we're a little bit up and down, and that's just the way, you know, life goes. And so mentally, I was like, oh, wow, like this is earlier than expected, that I'm going to be able to be finished, and so they would take the attachments which are connected to the teeth. So, you know, they cement those. And so I was like, oh, this is going to be sweet. You know, for the first part of 2025, I'm gonna get get the braces off and then I'll have a retainer that I'll wear at night. And that's really to keep things in place, because in the past, when I had braces twice, the research out there did not specify that somebody who had braces needed to wear a retainer, that once you had the braces at that time that was good enough, and so that's not the case. And so after this treatment having these braces then I'll have, you know, the nighttime retainer. It'll look very similar to what I what I have.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So I was going in to the appointment with, I guess, high hopes that I might be able to like turn that page from being done with the braces part to just having, you know, the maintenance with the retainer. And so I went in the orthodontist, the doctor, he came in and said everything looks great. And then there was a little bit of a hesitation and, yeah, the next part was hey, here, take a mirror. And so I had a mirror and looking at my teeth, and so I had a mirror, looking at my teeth, and he showed a couple of areas that he wanted to be more. You call them perfect, we know things aren't well, they're not perfect, but as good as they can get. And so he showed me a couple of areas and he said you know, I like to get that, you know, fixed, fixed up.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So we'll have you come in three weeks, which is how long it takes for the retainers each week to be processed and put in individual packaging and and all that. And so he mentioned and all that, and. And so he mentioned uh, because I said, oh, how long? How many more do you? How many more weeks do you think that I I'll need these? Uh? And and he said, you know, hey, I don't, I don't know for sure, like maybe 10 to 16 weeks. So we're looking at, you know, say four weeks a month, 16, 16, that's four months, and so my hopes were dashed because I wasn't able to move on to that next phase.
Justin Alan Hayes:
However, as life goes, you know, we're throwing curveballs from time to time, balls from time to time and I would prefer to have, uh, I said, the teeth fixed, but to go that extra time with the retainers and, uh, you know, for if it's 10 to 16 weeks, then that's what it is. We'll. We'll find out in three weeks when I, when I go in, go in, how much actual time it'll be. And then, at the end of that point, then the hope is to have the attachments or the parts that are cemented onto the teeth, have those removed and then again move on to the next phase of just maintenance with the retainer. So, mentally I was I don't say I was let down, but then again, on the flip side, we know that things cost money, and so Invisalign costs a lot of money, thousands of dollars, and I would rather go that extra time with the aligners, with the retainers. You know, hey, we're finished today and there be a couple of areas that I might not be happy with.
Justin Alan Hayes:
So I took a situation. Again, this wasn't a life or death situation that was happening, it was a situation that came up. I had a little bit of expectation, but a little bit in the back of my mind and the subconscious I thought there would probably be a few more weeks that I would be wearing these aligners. So I'll be wearing the top and the bottom that I have in now for the next three weeks until my next appointment, at which time I'll go in for a checkup, and then I'll swap these for the first week of the new retainer aligners and then, depending on how many that goes to you know, if it's 10, if it's 16, if it's 12, if it's 14, 13, whatever that number is then we'll just go that amount of time and we'll be good because at the end of the day we want to be happy, and I wasn't happy with having crooked teeth and luckily I'm able to do something about that. I know not everybody can Different insurances cover some, some don't, and so I was able to do something about that.
Justin Alan Hayes:
And so, again, it's a work in progress. It's just like us as humans, we're works in progress. There's times where things are going great, where everything seems to be hitting on all cylinders, and then there's times where we're in the valley, feeling like we're never going to get out and feeling at times like, like well, I'm worthless, I'm not, what am I here for? Uh, what what's the point? Uh, I've had to take in those thoughts and with this situation, uh, which, in the grand scheme of life, it's a very minimal inconvenience because I've already been wearing them for a year, so it's just a continuing of that, so it's not as big of a deal as it could be, even though I did again have the hopes that today I'd be able to turn that page.
Justin Alan Hayes:
But again, I'd rather finish strong, have things be as best as they can with my teeth, and I mean there's already you, you know a huge difference that I've noticed. See before, you know, smiling I would smile, but I again I would be embarrassed and just almost fearful in a way, like I don't want to smile because they're going to see my crooked teeth it was right at the bottom, uh, in the middle, that were out of, out of place over the over the years. So I think it is because of that progress that I am okay with a few more weeks. What's a few more weeks with a process that I've already been doing for a year? And again, at the end of the day. It's a minor inconvenience, but I'm glad to be in the position to be able to do this versus not, and so I've been smiling more in pictures and even just talking. Feel just so much more, I want to say calmer, more natural talking, whereas if this was prior to the braces, this time I would try to talk and not open my mouth as much because again I'd be.
Justin Alan Hayes:
I was insecure about that For a long time, my teeth were straight and then when things started shifting around and my confidence and stuff, so that was an area that was definitely affecting my mental health. Because in situations where, hey, come over, grab a picture, I was like Because in situations where, hey, come over, grab a picture, I was like, no, that's okay. Or I would try to do a fake smile or just to see the top teeth because those were in better shape from an alignment standpoint. So we've covered a lot on this episode. I'm just excited for what the future is going to hold, not just for my teeth and my smile and the organization, but for you, and so we want to thank you again for joining us on this episode of the Voices for Voices TV show and podcast. Until next time. I am Justin Allen Hayes, founder and executive director of Voices for Voices, and please be a voice for you or somebody in need.
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