Are You Confusing Opinion With Fact

The hardest part of growth is not moving countries, changing careers, or chasing bigger goals. It’s learning how to be yourself without letting comparison steal your confidence. Franklin joins us to talk candidly about that inner fight, what it feels like to live between cultures, and how self-belief becomes a daily practice rather than a personality trait you either have or don’t. 

Franklin Moya

• Website: https://jfranklin.eu/
• Email: j.franklin.art@hotmail.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jfranklinme/

We also spotlight Toastmasters International, a worldwide nonprofit that helps people build public speaking confidence and leadership skills through structured meetings, supportive roles, and honest feedback. Then we lighten things up with a “Fact or Opinion” game that turns into a bigger conversation about how often we mistake feelings for facts and why respecting different opinions matters right now. 

Join us as we support Toastmasters International this month!

If you enjoyed the conversation, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review. What’s one belief you used to treat as fact that you’ve since changed your mind about?

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Transcript

Show Opening And Premise

Voiceover 0:03

Tales from the Wild. Stories from the Heart. A journey into the mind and soul of five and business professionals where they share their vision for the future. And hear from a different nonprofit organization every month as they create awareness of their goals and their needs. Dive into a world of untamed passion. As we join our host, Shireen Botha, for this month's episode of Friends from Wild Places.

The Struggle With Self-Confidence

Shireen Botha 0:34

I'm going to pop in here with a little bit of a Buzzsprout ad listeners. You know, Friends from Wild Places, we absolutely love using the platform Buzzsprout. So we cannot not mention them. Podcasting isn't hard when you do have the right partners. So Buzzsprout is an amazing partner to have. And they're passionate about helping you succeed, which is what you want. So if you join over 100,000 podcasters already using BuzzSprout to get their message out to the world, you'll be on the right track. So when I started this podcast, I didn't know where to begin and was quite overwhelmed. But using BuzzSprout makes it super easy and straightforward. One platform, it reaches all the different live stream, podcast, live stream platforms. And to start your own podcast, all you need to do is to go follow the link in the show notes, and this allows BuzzSprout to get alerted and to know that you are being sent by us and it also supports our show. So we really appreciate your clicks and likes. But with that said, Franklin, back to you. Could you tell us one of the biggest struggles that you've faced on this road that you've walked and how you overcame it?

Franklin Moya 1:56

Wow. I, if I'm honest with you, I think the biggest challenge is being myself. I am with the self-confidence and all of it. I do something that is really bad sometimes, that is compare myself to others. And that stops you from getting where you want to be. So I believe that this is my biggest challenge, it's being myself. By the way, I'm working on it.

Shireen Botha 2:46

Isn't that amazing? We're all a work in progress, right? So we're all working on the one thing that we all struggle with the most. And you're not the only one, Franklin. I think we've all been through those phases where we compare compare ourselves to other authors, other illustrators, other business owners, other entrepreneurs doing similar things. Why aren't we where the where they are? You know, we've all done it. So you're definitely not alone. Um before we move on to the non-profit, Tanya, do you have any other questions that you would like to ask, Franklin, before we move on?

Franklin Moya 3:22

Oh I would have uh sorry, I would have a hundred of questions, but um no, no, no, no. Sorry.

Tanya Scotece 3:28

So Franklin, I just want maybe um, I know we've talked a lot like philosophically and heard your journey. What can you share about the different places that you've lived? Like, for example, like you know, from Venezuela to France to um, you know, now to Geneva, Switzerland. How how have they how has it been different? Like you, because you're still you living in these three different spaces, right? So how has that evolved? How has that um, you know, how do you find it, you know, just like I mean again, and it's completely different countries with different languages on top of it.

Franklin Moya 4:05

I'm gonna be honest with you, I loved it because I have a joker in my hand, and that exact since you are, since I am a Latino, I can express some emotions, you know, how we are sometimes, and people say, okay, it's fine. But um the good thing is I can be three different persons at the same time because people will understand you are not from this country, they know that you are from some somewhere else. And sometimes when people they share their problems, they share their um whatever, I just this is not my this is not what it will suffer for. You know, just like I can I can compare selfishly. I mean it could be selfish in that moment, but it's just like a I come from a country where we lack of um punctuality, where the bath will never get on time, where the finding medicine is so hard, where this and that, we have so much problems, like real problems there. And when I'm here and you see people complaining about the weather, which I complain about the weather sometimes, but uh I think, well, I'm from somewhere else. I I I'm so grateful to be here. I can react, I can see the good things from here I didn't have there, you know. So I think it's a blessing because I can see things that people most people don't, and I can react in a way that one people don't cannot react, but they will understand because I'm not from here. So I decide what to how to act, what to say, and what emotions to leave, you know. Um they will for forgive me for that. And yeah, I think this is my joker, the one that I have him hitting my hand. So and I love it, I love it, yeah.

Tanya Scotece 6:12

Yeah, and what's your experience? And again, I not not to have a stereotype, but what's been your experience living in France? Like how how was that? And then if you could share just maybe one or two sentences on uh on Switzerland. How is how are those different?

Franklin Moya 6:27

I love the quiet, I love the cold, I love the fresh, not the cold. I love the fresh. Um, I love the people being they are so prudent, so silenced, and so distant sometimes. I love that because yeah, actually, both of countries are they are similar in that in that way. I think Swiss are more reserved than French people in a lot of ways. They are more diplomatic in the way that they are not going to express their feelings um more openly. French people they do express their feelings, even I just don't wanna say something wrong, but uh French people love to complain, for example, it's in their culture to complain about things that are not going well. Swiss people they don't complain a lot. Swiss people, they just uh keep things for themselves and they're and I like that, you know. What I like from French is when they're complaining, well, you're hurt when you're complaining. And this is a good thing because sometimes we keep things, you know. We don't say things because we don't want to bother, but sometimes we have to say that. So there is a good and bad for each country. I think that I love the in Switzerland that what I like is people being so quiet and so prudent, and they speak so many languages as well.

Tanya Scotece 7:54

Yeah.

Franklin Moya 7:54

If you want to meet somebody who speaks many languages, you have to come to Switzerland. It's unbelievable.

Home In Geneva And Dream Travel

Tanya Scotece 8:00

Well, I'm fascinated by you. I'm fascinated by you. But I just I think that's another book though, Franklin, because you when you speak, you're like, you know, you have a very, like, very calm voice. So I can envision you writing a book about the three spaces and places that you've been in, and you're still Franklin, but you've learned the languages, you've really adapted, I mean, through resilience and perseverance. But I think that's a future book because you capture things that most people don't. I guess that's what my takeaway is. You you really have an insight from, yeah, and it's because it's not coming from, even when you're apologizing about like, oh, I don't mean to, it's it's not coming from pretentious or arrogant. It's it's coming from truly like an insight, an insightful um gift. I think that that's what I'm taking away. So my question before I turn you back to Shereen, what is a future place like either you want to visit, or I understand you're a cabin crew, but is there a future place maybe that you really have not been to or you want to spend more time or even to live in? Like right now. If you could say, Franklin, after this podcast, we're we're beaming you to wherever you want to go, where would that be?

Franklin Moya 9:11

Actually, if I'm gonna if I don't want to move where I am, I'm happy. I think I am, I have my play, I have found my place. I'm happy here. I do not want to move. Wow, honestly, at least for now. I don't see myself moving somewhere else. I'm like really happy here. I love the mountain. When I open the windows every morning, I see the Le Mont Blanc. Le Mont Blanc is like a white mountain. It's a very well-known mountain here. I love it, and I say thank you for being just in front of my eyes. I have uh Le Salève is another mountain that is a very huge, very famous here, and then I have the other Le Jura. It's uh I have three main mountains in front of my apartment. The air that I breathe here is so fresh, it's so uh clear. I do not want to for me, this is this is life, and does I want to stay here for now, okay? Maybe I can change my mind from a few years, but uh I'm happy where I am. Where I want to be on vacation next time in Almafitana Costa, it's in Italy, Italy, okay, Italiano. Like I think that Italy is kind of uh the country that you can spend vacations and never be disappointed. It's just my opinion to begin with, with the language that is absolutely beautiful, and then there is the food. Oh my god, and the wine, French wines are really good, but in Italy, when you are there and you um no, no, I'm with you.

Shireen Botha 10:57

I share the same, I'm I definitely share the same ideal because I have to go to Italy, I have to go for the food, for the wine, because I've just heard so many great things about it. So I I hear you. Um Frankie one more question.

Tanya Scotece 11:14

Frankie, how about the US? How about the US? You come in the US anytime soon or no?

Franklin Moya 11:18

Well, I've been in the US before and I love it. I've been in um I've been in Tennessee, I've been in um New York and New Jersey, of course. And I love it. I have to go to the US anytime soon. I have my friends, my really good friends there, and I have family there also in New York and live in. So I have to go and see them.

Tanya Scotece 11:42

Okay, well, now you have a friend in Florida, so thank you.

Shireen Botha 11:48

Awesome. Okay, so we're we're gonna chat about the nonprofit here, friends from well places. We absolutely love to support nonprofits for the month, uh, where we can lend a hand, help the community, uh, donate where we can. It's to take the focus off yourself and put it on somebody else. So this month we're gonna support Toastmasters International. Uh, we'll have all the links in the show notes for you listeners. So if you want to go and click and find out more about the Toastmasters International, please go ahead and do so. But Franklin, would you mind just taking a few moments just to let the listeners know a little bit more about who and what Toastmasters International is all about and how we can support them.

Franklin Moya 12:41

Um, Toastmasters International is a worldwide nonprofit organization that help people to get better at public speaking and gain confidence when they are speaking, organize their ideas and structure those ideas as well. But it's not only about public speaking, it is about leadership. The meetings that are held mostly in English are organized by the many roles taken there. We have the person who is leading the meeting, then we have somebody who is taking the time, somebody who is taking note of the filler words that we use. Sometimes we don't know, but when we speak, we say, you know, so somebody's listening to you, taking notes and all of it. And at the end of the meeting, uh the reports are given, and then you realize all of the little mistakes you've been doing while you were speaking. And it is amazing because as a leader, we believe that leader is somebody who is a debt, who is a no, it's somebody who is actually inspiring others and leading, leading those people to take action in somehow. Those meetings are fantastic, those meetings are full of fun and it's a learning environment. So I've been doing this like for almost three, I would say two years and a half. And the impact it got on me is that I can express myself better now, even though I'm nervous. Like I told you before, now I'm a better liar. I can pretend better that I am not nervous when I am terrified. And this is the organization that I've been working on so proudly. I loved it being there, and the people you meet are fantastic. Why? Because most of the people who attend those masters are people who want to improve themselves somehow. They want to announce themselves as an author. There are people who want to shape their brand, self-brand, you know, just so many ideas. And somehow you are surrounded by people who have incredible ideas and incredible energy, and you take that with you. You take that with you to your house and you grow with them as well. So I believe that uh I'm gonna keep attending those meetings. Um inspire other people, just like my role as well, is just like uh to give advice to people who are starting in that path. And yeah, this is and I'm telling you, I'm happy here because I also I have my community just not far from my house, and I love it.

Fact Or Opinion Game

Shireen Botha 15:36

Absolutely. Stay plugged into that community. If you've got it and you found it, stay plugged in there. It's definitely worth it. Um awesome. So we have come to the part of the podcast where we're gonna get a little bit more light-hearted, play a little game. Uh, the game we're playing is called Fact or Opinion. Uh, Tanya has played this with me before. Uh no. It's very, very basic game, but it's actually quite interesting. I'll say a sentence, a statement, and we decide whether it was fact or opinion. Um, and then I'll let you know if it is true or not. Um so with that being said, let's move on to the first sentence. And the fact the the the sentence goes like this. The cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world. Is this a fact or is it opinion? The cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world. Fact or opinion?

Franklin Moya 16:45

I've heard before that it is, so I believe it is a fact.

Shireen Botha 16:49

Uh-huh.

Franklin Moya 16:50

Because I've heard this, but um uh I cannot tell you.

Shireen Botha 16:54

Okay, Tanya, what do you think?

Tanya Scotece 16:57

I'm not familiar with the cheetah, so I'm I'll go opposite of Franklin. I'm gonna say um opinion.

Shireen Botha 17:04

Okay, all right. So I I mean I I know the answer to this because I'm from South Africa, but it is actually fact. This is wow, this is verifiable truth supported by scientific records with cheetahs reaching speeds between 109 and 120 kilometers per hour. I don't know what that is in miles per hour, Tanya, not sure, but it's super fast.

Tanya Scotece 17:33

Wow, amazing, amazing, yeah. All right, see we learn something new every day, right? We learn something new every day.

Shireen Botha 17:40

I know, yeah, yeah, I know. Not to mention cheetahs are beautiful, beautiful cats. Um, all right, next one. Video games are a more engaging and educational way to learn than reading books. Is this true or opinion? Tanya, you want to start? Video games are more what's it what's the keyword educational or yeah, video games are a more educ uh engaging and educational way to learn than reading books. Opinion or fact?

Tanya Scotece 18:15

I'll I'll go with I'm gonna go with fact. Okay, what about yourself, Franklin?

Franklin Moya 18:22

Well, it is more engaging, of course, which it could be more educational. Like when you attract somebody, I think it's a fact, then I will go for a fact, as Daniel.

Shireen Botha 18:34

Okay, all right. Well, guys, this is actually only in an opinion. While some may find video games educational, engaging is a subjective feeling that varies from person to person. Others may believe reading is more enjoyable, so that is an opinion. Very good though, it's very interesting. Um uh just because uh and I'll tell you now after this next one why I think this is so interesting. Okay, the next sentence, right? Here we go. Water boils at a hundred degrees Celsius at sea level. Is this fact or is this opinion, Franklin? Water boils, let me say water boils at a hundred degrees Celsius at sea level. Is this fact or opinion?

Franklin Moya 19:30

No, I wouldn't say it either. I would say it's uh I will say again it's a fact, just act like that.

Tanya Scotece 19:39

Okay, Tanya? Um I'm not one on the uh water expert here, so um does water water boils at 100 degrees Celsius? Say it again, 100 degrees Celsius, correct?

Shireen Botha 19:54

100 degrees Celsius at sea level.

Tanya Scotece 20:00

Um I'll go opposite of Franklin. I'm gonna say opinion. Okay, well, it is actually a fact. Okay, I'm three three for three wrong this morning. There's three things I've learned.

Why Facts And Opinions Get Mixed

Shireen Botha 20:15

Three things I've learned. That's a good way of seeing it. This is an objective, universal scientific fact that remains constant under specific atmospheric conditions. And you know why I think this is such an interesting game to play because we live in a world where fact and opinion get very confused, you know, and we all know many people stand solid that what their opinion is actually fact, and they will die on that hill saying that their opinion is actually fact. And I think we need to back off a little bit as a it's just for all of us, all of us human beings living on this planet. I think we need to just back off a little bit and understand that our opinion is still our opinion, it doesn't make it fact, and we can actually be open to hear other people's opinions without shooting them down saying that is incorrect. There's no it's an opinion, it's not right and wrong, it is an opinion, and so everyone is a hundred percent allowed to have their opinion, and you should under absolutely accept and respect and even love each other for that opinion. And uh right now, this world is not doing that at all. We are so stuck at stating that our opinions are facts, which is just not true.

Franklin Moya 21:45

So wow, beautiful.

Closing Thanks And Where To Find Us

Shireen Botha 21:49

I just thought I'd mention that, but anyway. Beautiful, Shereen, beautiful. Yes, I love this. This is Franklin's. We I'm bringing it. I'm bringing it. Franklin has shown the The sign if you're watching us on the Shereen, look at Shirie's heart. I don't know. If you're watching on YouTube, uh listeners, you'll see that Franklin has literally been showing a heart sign with his hands about three or four times during the podcast. And so Tanya and I are currently holding up the same sign. And for some unknown reason, when I put brought it up, there's hearts all around my face, and now I can't seem to do it again. Anyway, I can't believe we've come to the end of this podcast. It has been so much fun and so awesome to have you, Franklin. As Tanya says, your story is so beautiful. You're so beautiful. We're so proud of you, the leaps and bounds you've come. You can only be an example to so many of us. Doesn't matter the age, you can be an example of so to so many of us of how if you want to do something, do it, right? Do it. You want to move to a different country, do it.

Franklin Moya 23:08

But you're being an inspiration too many with this uh intervention that you have from many people, you know, sharing their experiences. This is something that is so meaningful, and thank you for that, because this is your contributions in this planet to make something better, even better people, better versions of it. Thank you so much. It's uh something that for me means a lot.

Shireen Botha 23:34

Well, thank you. It means a lot to have you here. So uh, with that being said, uh just gonna take some time because listeners, if they've really uh connected with you, with with your story that you've shared, and with our stories that we've shared, um, I'm just gonna take some time for each of us just to share where the listeners can find us, right? Social media, whatever, number, email, you you can decide what you want to share. But Franklin, you go first. Let us know where the listeners can reach you if they want to try and touch base with you.

Franklin Moya 24:08

Well, I'm very active in LinkedIn and also in um Instagram, and then I have my website, of course. My websites leave a room to my email, professional email that is j.franklin.arthotmail at hotmail.com. Anyway, just it's all breathing in there, and I would love to hear about people. Just I want to know their stories as well. That's what makes everything more interesting. What are all the differences?

Shireen Botha 24:40

Yes, yes, yes, absolutely. Tanya, what about yourself?

Tanya Scotece 24:45

So, like Franklin, uh LinkedIn is my home away from home. Um, for the listeners out there that are new to us, um, I do oversee the mortuary program at Miami Dade College in Miami, Florida. I also serve as an expert witness for funeral home and cemetery litigation for cases. Um, and I also do senior placement, matching people with communities who can no longer live alone due to dementia and any type of dementia. So that's my wheelhouse. Um, any any area that I can help, feel free to reach out on LinkedIn and I would be happy to help you with your journey. And how about you, Shireen?

Shireen Botha 25:25

I love it, Tanya. Yes, so first of all, you can find me, Shireen Botha, and my travels are not only on BWild1985, which is my House and Wheels, but also Shireen Botha on all the social medias. More importantly, you can find Shireen's bookkeeping services on LinkedIn and Instagram and Facebook. Um, Friends from Wild Places. Well, you just have to search us on any of the podcast live streaming platforms. Search Friends from Wild Places. We will come up. If you want to watch us and listen to us, we're on YouTube as well, Friends from Wild Places. The website is friends from wildplaces.buzzsprout.com. That's friends from wildplaces.buzzsprout.com. And we would really like to hear your feedback. You know, tell us what you think. Do you have any questions? Do you have any topics you would like us to cover? Uh, please put that in the the comments as well. We really appreciate your feedback. Again, if you want to support us, it's just five dollars a month. Um, we would really appreciate that from your side as well. Uh, other than that, you know, thank you so much to Franklin again for being on the show. Tanya for being my co-host, you're always amazing. Um, yeah, I wish you all the best, Franklin. And again, uh, yeah, thank you for being on the show. And remember, you got this and stay wild. Bye, guys.

Voiceover 26:56

Oh, thank you so much. You've been listening to Friends from Wild Places with Shireen Botha. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast from the links to catch every episode and unleash your passion.