Importance of Being Happy | Brian Propp NHL, Author of "Angel on my Wing" - Ep 155

0:15 Dr Steve: Hey! Hey! Good morning! brianpropp: Good morning! Dr Steve: Yeah, let me just check a couple of things here, sort of technically. Dr Steve: We'll make sure the sound is good and all. brianpropp: Okay. Dr Steve: Alright. Just just talk a little bit. I'm gonna just check a few things. brianpropp: Checking, (123) 123-1234. Dr Steve: Yeah, that volume's good. You don't have to be any louder than that. It's good.

0:55 Dr Steve: So here's what we're going to do. Dr Steve: I'm trying to find. I know you sent me Dr Steve: some things to talk about, but I Dr Steve: let me just see here. Dr Steve: I know it's here somewhere. Dr Steve: Alright. I swear I put it. I usually put it in the same Dr Steve: places where I keep these notes. But yeah. brianpropp: Well, it might have been different, because like, like, where you ask the questions and set things up might be in different different place.

1:43 Dr Steve: Yeah, no, but they're they all came in through the email, though. That's why. brianpropp: Yeah. Dr Steve: I mean, it's not a big deal. It's an easy workaround. Dr Steve: Well, obviously, we wanted to. Let's let me just do it this way Dr Steve: we could talk about. Obviously, you want to talk about your book right? brianpropp: Yeah. Dr Steve: What else do you want? What else do you want to get into? This would be like 1520 min. It could be a little longer. Dr Steve: But it we don't really need. We don't want to do like 2 h, either. brianpropp: No, no, no, no, no, just kind of probably like I'll run in through brianpropp: growing up in Saskatchewan with my dad being a minister, and and then a little bit of hockey, and then then my career, and then the book.

2:35 Dr Steve: Okay. Dr Steve: One thing I always ask people Dr Steve: is like, what would be your lesson for listeners. I call it lesson for listeners. Dr Steve: Like, never give up, or, you know, never settle for anything. brianpropp: I think for me it's gonna be my dad brianpropp: taught me when I when I was leaving for Brandon when I was 17, to be happy with your your own life, and because everything takes care of itself. Dr Steve: Yeah, that's good. No. But like like, that's a question I'll ask you towards the end. brianpropp: Yeah, yeah. Dr Steve: No, it's beautiful. Got the book.

3:18 Dr Steve: bio. I know there was one other thing I can't remember what it was. brianpropp: How about do you want to talk about this, my cigars. Dr Steve: Yeah, yeah, we can get in it. May. I'll just talk about business business ventures. Dr Steve: Okay, this will be good. So the whole goal here is that you could take this recording and send it to people. I would help you promote what you do. brianpropp: Yeah. Dr Steve: Books help you sell your cigars. So you know, at any point, you know. Don't be shy about that. We don't want it to be over the top, either. Dr Steve: But you know, that's the idea. This this is here gives me some content. Gives you some promotion.

3:58 Dr Steve: So that's the idea. Dr Steve: All right, you ready to rumble. brianpropp: One question I had before like, like for the the millions like the things it's it's like, brianpropp: kind of like the same thing for the brianpropp: tokens, or something like that. But I'm not. I don't understand what the millions is. Dr Steve: The the company account. Dr Steve: I let's get into that when we're done. brianpropp: Yeah. Dr Steve: I think it seemed to me it was like, it's like a pay for play. Dr Steve: which I'm not a fan of, but for somebody in your situation. It might work better, but it's not something that's ever worked for me.

4:41 brianpropp: Yeah, cause I don't. I don't have to. Dr Steve: The way I read it. Well, the way I read it is, basically you have products to sell and they help you sell them. But you got to pay them ahead of time. You sort of prepay a commission to them. brianpropp: Yeah, yeah. I don't wanna do that. Dr Steve: I don't think you need to. You're doing okay on your own. Dr Steve: Yeah, yeah, with all of the the things coming on like with brianpropp: Like. I know that my brianpropp: my server was like September 20.th And so that's been 4 months. So like I'm just waiting to see like if they if they set it up. But it's still in pro in process right now, after 4 months, and so I just wanted to get it set up, and then then I'll start getting paid in next year.

5:32 Dr Steve: You want to start with the book. By the way. brianpropp: Oh, it doesn't matter. Dr Steve: Okay, we'll start with the book, and you can kind of include your bio a little bit in there. Dr Steve: Then we'll go to your business stuff. Dr Steve: Then we can kind of talk about some goals you have, then some advice, and then we'll see where we are. Time wise. brianpropp: Okay. Dr Steve: Alright. Dr Steve: I got one little thing at the end. Dr Steve: I do with everybody.

6:15 Dr Steve: Alright. One last thing. Here. Dr Steve: all right. Here we go. Just let's just have a good time. Enjoy it. Just relax. And again, don't be afraid to sell yourself. Okay. Dr Steve: it's not. It's not a commercial commercial, but I I know from doing these people. You you want to just tell them exactly what you want to tell them, right like you don't. We don't want to leave it up to interpretation. Now I can also write up a bunch of stuff and put it with what they call the liner notes Dr Steve: like links and things like that, but you can mention them, and but you could say something like, you know, check the notes, or check the title, or check the show notes is usually the word that we use, for you know the link, or you know the link is guffaw cigars.com. It'll be in the show notes or.

7:08 brianpropp: Right, right. Dr Steve: You know what? Something like that. All right, you ready. brianpropp: Yeah. Go ahead. Dr Steve: So I'm gonna carry on 3, Dr Steve: 2, 1, hey, everybody! Dr. Steve Green! Here I am very excited. Why am I excited? We got a great guest today, a famous famous athlete. Can you believe it? Taking time to show up for our little chat here? Welcome, Brian! Prop, how are you doing. brianpropp: I'm pretty good. How are you doing today? Steve? Thanks for having me. Dr Steve: Absolutely. Let me tell everybody about a little bit about you. Okay. So Brian, prop. Dr Steve: a former 15 year veteran of the National Hockey League played with Philadelphia, Boston, Minnesota, and Hartford.

7:53 Dr Steve: scored over 1,000 points, played over a thousand games Dr Steve: at the all time. Left Winger in Nhl playoff history. Wow, with 64 goals, 84 assists, 148 points. That's pretty impressive. Played in 5 Stanley Cup finals Dr Steve: and 5 all-star games in 1987 Dr Steve: won the I guess world Championship right with Canada playing along. brianpropp: Cup. Dr Steve: There we go, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, a few famous people after his career. He was the general manager of the Medford Ice rink for 3 years in New Jersey. Dr Steve: and was the color analyst for 9 years with the flyers in Philadelphia, and he worked at a company called the Judge Group for 5 years in cotch in Pennsylvania.

8:39 Dr Steve: and more recently the Wolf Commercial Real Estate Group. He had a massive stroke in 2,015, Dr Steve: and he now runs a charity golf event every year at the River Winds Golf Club in New Jersey, and a charity celebrity hockey event at the Aston rink in Philadelphia, benefiting, benefitting headstrong cancer. Dr Steve: But more recently, and this is where I want to start our conversation today. Brian wrote a book with someone named Wayne fish Dr Steve: called Angel on my wing. Dr Steve: It came out about in November of 2024, about 2 months ago. So, Brian, let's start out by talking about your book. What, 1st of all, the title is the title significant?

9:19 Dr Steve: What? What's the book? Basically about? Who would this book appeal to? Dr Steve: Let's talk about your book? brianpropp: Yeah, so it's a little bit about my faith growing up in Canada. My dad was a Lutheran minister. He preached in English, German every Sunday. I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters. We're all 13 months apart. So we had our own hockey team at that time, because in Saskatchewan little town of 300 people. All you do did is play hockey and go to school, and it was a simple life, like we were like near on the farm brianpropp: in the middle of Canada, and so just worked on the farms for that. But my dad was a good hockey player when I was younger, and he taught me how to play much, much better, and he taught me all the right things, how to be fair, how to do be good sport, and then to how I read, you know, just kept going from there. But brianpropp: when I was brianpropp: 15 and 16 I won the scoring that year, when I was 15 years old, and for the Melville millionaire, so I tell people I was a millionaire once.

10:38 Dr Steve: It's a Canadian team. I. brianpropp: 3 years after that, your checking account? Right? Yeah. brianpropp: yeah. Yeah. And then, when I brianpropp: and I started 3 years before the Brandon. We kings. We were powerful teams, and then I got drafted by the flyers in 1979 80 in for Brandon, like I played with Brad Mccremon and Ray Allison my whole life, and got got to know them, and but always had good coaching and good players. And so, you know, when I went to the flyers with Bobby Clark and Reggie Leach and Leach, and brianpropp: Barber and Mcleish were there, and so I you know I got to brianpropp: know them, but so I was always played with good players, and you know good way to get started.

11:23 Dr Steve: What was the was there a single reason you decided to write this book? Was it one event? Was it a series of events? Dr Steve: And and and what's the what's the message like? What what does somebody reads is going to get out of this book. brianpropp: So I think that it took about 2 years to write with Wayne Fish like he was a writer, like all throughout my career. So I've known him for a lot of years. And so he did. We did an outline together, and so it took 2 years to do it like a year to do all the recordings, and then another 9 months to edit everything. But I think Chris Tarrien wrote a book like brianpropp: 4 years ago, and Wayne helped help with that, too. So the idea of not just talking about hockey. But I had a good story, because like, I should have died when I had my massive stroke.

12:19 brianpropp: but I thankfully, still alive and doing well. And so I tell people, hey, just be happy with your own life, and take, take everything's care of itself, and brianpropp: just give back and be positive. And because your brain takes a long time to heal, and you just have to take your take your time, and just, you know, just work with it. But for me it was you just. It was a better story rather than just a hockey story, but it, you know, talks about my stroke, and how I can help other people that have had strokes brianpropp: in the book. It has lots of hints to to get better, and so I've done a lot of different things to make myself a little bit better.

13:05 Dr Steve: Those people may not know. Chris Terry was also a hockey player on the flyers. I'm pretty sure he was a defenseman. Dr Steve: as opposed to Brian, who was an offensive player. But Dr Steve: did you enjoy writing the book? I mean, I've written a couple books, and it's kind of a labor of love like you want to get it done, you want to get it done. But you also want to really make sure that it's right. You know. You don't want to put out something in a month later. I wish I had left this in or taken that out. How you find it. I know you're doing a book tour. Dr Steve: I think you're still doing that right? So how's that being received? Are people excited, I hope? Are people? Yeah. Dr Steve: it's it's been. It's going really well, because I think for stroke books we're number one like like the last couple of months.

13:47 brianpropp: Since I got it all started, and you know it's a lot of people from Canada that order the books in in Canada. It's indigo, and then in the Us. It's Amazon. So, and I went to a couple of flyers games signing some books before games, and so I talked with more people. And you know, I noticed a lot of other people had strokes brianpropp: and have other problems going on, too. So it really helps talking with people brianpropp: and with the with my story. You know I was a good hockey player, and you know, just but it just to give back and to be in Philadelphia last 45 years, and know a lot of companies and people that have gone through things. It just makes a difference of just brianpropp: talking with them, and relating, relating relating to them to about the stroke, and how you can be positive and give back and never give up, especially the rehab. The Rehab took a long time, because at the start, like I was in Annapolis, visiting with a school in the No navy in Annapolis with my son Jackson.

14:57 brianpropp: and 1st day I was okay. And then the second day I had a really bad headache, and that night, in the middle of the night, I just fell out of bed and couldn't talk or walk, hit the side of the bed. Lost a tooth all those years playing hockey. I didn't lose a tooth, and but you know it was scary, because, like I couldn't talk and communicate so thankfully, my family was there to call 911 pretty fast. brianpropp: otherwise I'm not not allowed alive right now, and so I'm thankful, I think, with my dad being a minister, you know, and my faith, it probably made a difference of being positive and getting another chance to brianpropp: to live.

15:37 Dr Steve: Well, I, you know, look, you know, my background. Those who are listeners and subscribers to the podcast. Know that my background's in education, but education can take so many forms. Most people think education. They think school, they think math, they think history whatever. But you never stop being a learner right. There's things you can learn about your whole life. Dr Steve: and some of them are lessons that you didn't really think you were ever going to need or pursue, and all of a sudden they become very, very important to you. So if somebody wants to find this book, they can search on Amazon. What was the one in Canada called. brianpropp: I think it's indigo. Dr Steve: Indigo. Okay? And we'll put them in the notes. Is there significance to the title Angel on my wing? Is that a hockey left wing reference or right wing reference? Or is it obviously angel? It would have somewhat like a sacred religious connotation. But how did you come up with the title.

16:32 brianpropp: Yeah with with Wayne, helped me. But being my dad being a minister like the faith made a difference. And so the angel was kind of guiding me after my stroke, and so like and on the wing like it, just it kind of fit together with the wing, and, like Bob Clark helped the forward and Wayne Gretzky and Mary Lemieux kind of put a nate in the back brianpropp: for my stroke, and so. brianpropp: having the right people promoted, and knowing that I'm still alive and doing well and talking with them. It just it. It helps by knowing other people when they, wanna.

17:13 brianpropp: you know, get another book. Dr Steve: Well, it's an inspirational story, I hope. Look, if the book helps one person, it's a win, but hopefully it'll reach many, many more than that I happen to know Dr Steve: is fortunately, I have a friendship with Brian. He's got his hands in some other businesses. So let's let's talk about that a little bit Dr Steve: you started. How many years ago? I don't know. 4 or 5 of all things a cigar company. Dr Steve: Tell me about. brianpropp: That's okay. brianpropp: Like, 8 years ago I went with Ken Dominic, a former eagle, and my son Jackson to the Dominican Republic. We checked out a couple of factories, and so we we learned how they're made aged, and how everything's done. And so I decided to make my own brand. My Guffaw brand at that time it took a year to get it set up the right way, but I had a guy from Canada that lived in the Dominican Republic. He helped me with the bland that I had at the start.

18:12 brianpropp: So I started with 425 boxes of 10 limited edition, and when they sold, okay, then I and I. Then I also made a mild, a medium and maduro, nice variety a 6 inch. And so they've been quality cigars and everybody that likes them brianpropp: reorders them they like them. And so it's been been going really? Well. And you know it's steady. And you know, especially with golf tournaments that I have, and like book signings and other things you know, promotings so like it just but anybody that wants it. They're the distributors brianpropp: in Chicago. And so everything is up and up, and they're made in the Dominican Republic, and the cigars are really good, and and I have boxes of 5, 1025, 24, and bundles of 25 available. If anybody's interested, they could just go to my cigars.com website.

19:12 Dr Steve: So you mentioned. This is how it really comes together beautifully. If you really created a Dr Steve: a second career between the cigars, hosting, charity, events, golf. Dr Steve: You sound like a busy guy keeping busy. brianpropp: Yeah, I try to get busy. But you know I still work with wolf commercial real estate, and you know I just wanted to say that Jason Wolf like when I 1st started 10 years ago, I just got my license with him, and like 9 months later, like I had this stroke, and so he was really good about helping me. He paid me the 1st year and a half.

19:54 brianpropp: which you know at the start, you know, in real estate. If you don't get business, it's it's tough. But he did a really nice job of helping me with that. brianpropp: and also for the the flyers alumni. I know Ed Snyder really helped me after my stroke. Do this little gave me a little money to Rere, you know, just to get. Dr Steve: It's not the principal. brianpropp: The flyers, alumni, my friends, and my family helping me with everything you know, with especially with the faith, and never giving up and and getting people to understand. Hey, listen! It's not easy as as it sounds, you know, because, like again, I almost died, and I'm still happy to be alive.

20:42 Dr Steve: Well, yeah. Well, listen. Tell me. Tell me so. You run a Dr Steve: a charity golf event every year in Jersey you run a celebrity hockey event every year, and Dr Steve: you still play hockey at all. brianpropp: I still play hockey but now I'm in Florida so like I don't. Dr Steve: Yeah, I have 2, not sure that much, but. brianpropp: February and and March. So I have a I go every once in a while, and still skate. But, you know, after my stroke like I could. It took me a year and a half to get better, but then I skated in in pensock and skate, zoning with a with a bunch of guys that I know in the morning a couple of days a week brianpropp: so I still get on the ice every once in a while, but now it's more for fun and and charity work that I do, and of course the flyers alumni like they run some events like the last one, was like a year ago, with the against Pittsburgh, with 50 years of of hockey in in Philadelphia and and in Pittsburgh.

21:44 Dr Steve: It might date me a little bit, but I remember when I grew up they didn't have to wear helmets. Dr Steve: Obviously, anybody who's a hockey fan recently, you know, everybody's wearing a helmet and sometimes a face guard and things. But what what year did people start wearing helmets. brianpropp: Well, that was the year that the League merged is a 79, 80, when the Nhl was just had one league. And so that's why, you know, at that, at this, at the start, like, you know, I just got drafted, and so like you only had one bargaining. So you didn't make that much money like my 1st 3 years. I made 50, 55, and 60,000, you know, so like. Which isn't that much? I lived in a thousand brianpropp: months dollars a month and on budget. So that's kind of tough to live on that. But you find ways, and then you work and do something else that you have to just to make it everything work. And brianpropp: but yeah, 79, 80 was when you had to wear a helmet.

22:45 Dr Steve: I remember they Goalies didn't even have to wear masks for a while. That was a. brianpropp: I know. Dr Steve: I remember one time talking to you one of the 1st conversations we ever had because you mentioned you have. You have a whole hockey team just in your family Dr Steve: pretty much. And so I said, Well, who who was playing Goalie? And your your answer was the one who couldn't skate. Yeah. brianpropp: So you you only had a like 10 people in the in a in a, in a town so like you'd be, you held every everyone you needed to just. And so the guy that didn't skate as much, he just we ended up being the goalie. Dr Steve: Well growing up in New Jersey. I'm not. I think I can skate forward. I can't. Every time I try to skate backwards I fall down. So Dr Steve: let me ask you this seriously. You've been through a lot in your life. You've had some tremendous success, I mean, just your numbers in hockey are Dr Steve: are tremendous, you know, playing in championships. Stanley cups. This is a dream a lot of people have. What lesson could you give people listening? Whether it's a business lesson, a life lesson, or both. What's your advice from all your experience? What what do you think is the most important thing people should keep in mind.

23:58 brianpropp: So I think I always remember my dad when I left for Brandon when I was 17, he told me, hey, listen! Be happy with your own life. Everything else will take care of itself, because so many people aren't happy with their own life like they. They complain about everything, but they just have to figure out how to do something and and make it better. So I always remember that from my dad. Dr Steve: Pretty simple. Dr Steve: Keep it simple. Be happy with yourself, and be happy with what you have. There you go. Dr Steve: Brian, anything new like in the coming up. You want to plug. You have an event Dr Steve: you have. I know we got the book.

24:39 Dr Steve: We've got somebody's charity. How would people find out about the charity, you know we can. I can put that in the show notes as well. Are there links or something? They can go to. brianpropp: Yeah. So like the the brianpropp: the hockey event is going to be March 20 second, and it's a Saturday night afternoon at Aston ice rink. And it's for the headstrong cancer people that I've known for the last 3 years. And so it's a 6 former alumni split up the 2 teams, raise a little money for that. brianpropp: and then my for my stroke. Center of University of Pennsylvania, like my my golf tournament, is May 12th this year. It's it's a Monday at river Winds brianpropp: golf course.

25:25 brianpropp: and so it might be sold out. But people can support it, and then everything else. But it's it's for the stroke center of University of Pennsylvania. Last year we raised like almost 40,000 for that. Next year we'll probably make like 60 or 80,000 for the golf. And so it's just a little. It's for research. And it really helps people that have strokes and brain injuries. Dr Steve: Tremendous tremendous Dr Steve: All right. Listen. I I gotta tip my hat to you. You know you got a bad break, and you made the best of it. I'm sure you worked hard. Dr Steve: And congratulations on all your success. I wish you success in your new businesses as well, but I love the fact that you're sticking with your roots. You ever get back up to Canada. I know you spend some time in Florida, but probably not in January.

26:21 brianpropp: Yeah, I haven't. I haven't had any events last August with with the 3 of the other brianpropp: Stanley cup guys like Salaski, Schultz and Ingerchuk Kinderchuk. We did it in the outside of Saskatoon, in Saskatchewan, but every every year, and the 1st week of July we go fishing with my family like I've got 2 brothers and sisters, and they've got a bunch of young ones, and so we go fishing for the week at Jan Lake way up north. brianpropp: for you know, for Northern Park and Walleye. And so it's a good trip to get get back with everybody. Dr Steve: They're like so far north. It doesn't even get dark at night. Kind of.

27:03 brianpropp: Yeah, a little bit. It's like a 1130 at night like. And it's right right, like 45 min for Bob Clark is. He's he's in July in July. He he's in Flynn flung, which is a 45 min drive, and so he. I see him every once in a while. There, too. Dr Steve: Well, you know what it's. It's obviously sports. Have a fraternity, and you get very close with people you play with. But it's amazing it. What's it? 40 years later you're still tight with these people. Dr Steve: So good for you, hey? One thing you gotta promise me we're going to get on the golf course next year. brianpropp: Yeah, of course. Dr Steve: I just just, you know, full clearance. I stink, but I like to play. brianpropp: We'll have fun.

27:43 Dr Steve: That's there you go. That's the bottom line. So we're going to make the most of it. Right? We're happy. We get out, of course, on a nice day we hit some balls, go, have some lunch, and whatever comes with that, listen, let me do something I do with a lot of my guests real quick. All right. Just let's learn a little bit about Brian prop. Okay, I'm just gonna these are very easy questions. You just tell me. You can give me what is your favorite flavor of ice cream? brianpropp: Vanilla. Dr Steve: Oh, man, same with me. Dr Steve: Same with, did you listen to somebody old podcast. Because nobody ever gets not yet all right. Dr Steve: What is your favorite color. And there's 1 right answer. brianpropp: Blue. Dr Steve: Blue. Okay. I was hoping you'd say green. Favorite song. You got a favorite song.

28:27 brianpropp: The Duran Duran sign. Dr Steve: Duran, Duran, man. brianpropp: Around, around, yeah. Dr Steve: Like hungry, like a wolf. brianpropp: Yes. Dr Steve: Hop on the ground. All right. Favorite food. brianpropp: Pasta. Dr Steve: Asta last. One favorite place you like to vacation. brianpropp: I love Italy. Dr Steve: Oh, the pasta! Oh, comes the guy, except there you got to get gelato right. brianpropp: Yeah, yeah, of course. Dr Steve: You have a little pasta, you get some vanilla gelato. You live in the dolce vita.

29:12 Dr Steve: All right, Brian. Any closing words, anything we have not talked about. You want to share. brianpropp: Yeah. So if anybody wants like, if my Brian prop.com website is is available to like they can read a lot about that, too. I've got lots of things going on with that. Dr Steve: Appreciate it, appreciate it, Steve Green. Here the make, the great podcast today's guest, Nhl superstar, Brian prop Dr Steve: turned advocate for stroke and brain injuries turned. Businessperson, turned cigar aficionado. Dr Steve: and doing a lot to give back Dr Steve: to the community, to his fans, to his friends.

29:57 Dr Steve: and to his faith, really appreciate you being here, Brian. If you want to learn more, please look at the liner notes, check out Brian's sites, support his events, support his charities, because you never know. If it helps one person, it's changed somebody's life right? And that's really critical. We got a lot of great stuff coming up in future podcasts. But please put some comments what you think about this one Dr Steve: and appreciate it. And please more importantly, please share this, because this is not a selfish thing on my end. But I really believe there's so much things in here that can help people. And again, if we can just help one or 2 people, or 10 or 15, and they can share it. You never know what kind of impact you can have. So we're going to close this out, Brian once again. Thank you very much, and I look forward to next time we can connect.

30:48 brianpropp: Thanks, Steve.