The Living Room with Louis Jackson III

"Little Foxes:" Small Problems, Big Impact

• Louis C. Jackson III • Season 1 • Episode 5

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In today’s episode, Louis Jackson III and Eren Davis dive into Song of Solomon 2:15 and the concept of "little foxes"—those small, seemingly insignificant problems that can ruin something valuable if left unchecked.

We break down how these "little foxes" show up in relationships, business, and personal development—messing up our goals, dreams, and progress without us even realizing it. Whether it’s minor habits in your marriage, small spending leaks in your finances, or procrastination holding you back from success, these little things have big consequences!

💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✅ How small, overlooked habits damage relationships (romantic & platonic)
✅ The little financial and business mistakes that cost you more than you think
✅ How personal development suffers from tiny, daily choices we fail to notice
✅ Biblical and practical strategies to "catch" these little foxes before they destroy your vineyard

🔑 Key Takeaways & Reflection Questions:

  • What small, unnoticed habits might be ruining your relationships or business?
  • How do small distractions and compromises hold you back from your goals?
  • What practical steps can you take today to address these "little foxes" in your life?

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🌐 Want more? Visit: https://www.louisjackson3.com/ for resources, coaching, and more life-changing content.

📩 Join the Conversation! What are the "little foxes" in your life? Drop a comment, DM us, or send in your thoughts for a future episode.

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Louis Jackson III:

Welcome to the Living Room. I'm your host, Louis Jackson. I'm here with my boy, Mr. Eren Davis. What up, bro? What's going on? Brother man, I am so glad to be here today with you, our listeners in the living room, Right, because, see, here in the living room we're all about redefining our lives and pushing toward that next level, and I don't care what you try, whatever your next level is, we want to be here to help you get through it, and we're going to do it through having real, relevant, raw conversation, and I hope you're ready for that. But before we jump into our first conversation on today, I want you to do me a favor. I want you to go and rate and subscribe to this podcast. If you have not done it, I want you to go tell somebody about this podcast. Let them know hey, y'all need to listen to these dudes. They just going to be talking. It's just a 30-minute or less podcast that we just going to be talking and kicking it about some real relevant ideas and conversations, y'all. And so if you haven't done that, I want you to do that for me right now. But let's jump into today's topic.

Louis Jackson III:

So I was thinking about me. You know how we do. We normally start our new year with some goals and we always got these New Year's resolutions year with some goals and we always got these new year's resolutions and we normally do not actually get out of the month of January. Most people don't get out of the month of January with their new year's resolution intact and it got me to thinking why. What is it that messes us up from getting to that next level? Whatever that New Year's resolution is, most of the time is weight loss, or I want to save money, or I want to be better in my relationship, or, if you're a Christian, I want to read my Bible more all these things. And I started thinking what is it that messes me up?

Louis Jackson III:

And I was reading a particular verse out of Songs of Solomon. It's the second chapter, the 15th verse, and here's what it says in the NIV Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom. I'm going to say that again. I want y'all to go to 2nd Psalms of Solomon, 2nd chapter, 15th verse. Listen to what it says Catch for us the foxes that ruin the vineyards are vineyards that are in bloom, bro, when you think of little foxes, which, in this context, symbolize those little problems that can spoil something valuable. What comes to your mind?

Eren Davis:

Little foxes. What comes to your mind, little foxes? What comes to your mind when I, when I think about it? Um, one of the first things that comes to mind is the analogy of a of a shoe tripping on your shoestring. Um, it's not the soul, it's not something you know big or a malfunction with the shoe. It's not the soul, it's not something you know big or malfunction with the shoe, it's something small, like you know, you're tripping over your shoe lace, wow. So another thing that I think is in the mirror on your side. It says objects are closer than they appear because we're in bloom. It says objects are closer than they appear Because we're in bloom. So the object, the goal, is closer than it appears actually. But if our focus is elsewhere, man, the little foxes will destroy the whole thing.

Louis Jackson III:

Truthfully, it really is real. When I think about little foxes, man, I think particularly in people who are ready to go to that next level in their life. There are three areas that I feel like little foxes really pop off and most of us are not real cognizant or self-aware of these little foxes. But I think it's like three areas that I want to we're going to talk about in these next few episodes. One of them are is relationships, right, okay, the area of relationships. There are little foxes that continues to mess us up in relationships.

Louis Jackson III:

Another one, particularly for those that's ready to level up in their business and their financial status, is business and leadership. That area of business and leadership, there are some little foxes that's messing you up and me up that I think we gotta bring into the conversation in the living room. Yeah, these real raw conversations, because the realness is, peeps, it ain't the big thing that's messing us up, no, it's the little things, it's the little that's getting us. And then the other area that I want to to deal with, I believe, is in our own personal development.

Eren Davis:

Yeah.

Louis Jackson III:

The little foxes in our own personal development. So, as we deep dive into this y'all, I'm going to ask a question and you're going to hear us talk about it, but I want you to be thinking about this question as we're talking about it what are some little foxes that have gone unnoticed in your relationships, in your business or in your personal growth? What are some of those little foxes that have gone unnoticed? So, bro, I know I just threw this at you, you, but give me one in your relationship before we we're gonna deep dive later. But just give me one thing that you think that if you could just pinpoint this one little thing is I see, um, in my relationship, I, I believe it's that going from being single to now being in a committed relationship and committed um and faithful let's be clear okay, committed and faithful.

Louis Jackson III:

Committed and faithful oh, they're the same thing.

Eren Davis:

Like no brothers, you can't be committed because a lot of people and we've had a conversation about this. Uh, we were talking and you said, um, we're about being together too. Yeah, you know, not just um saying, hey, you know we're committed, we're just gonna, you know, say the things and you know that's it. But actually, so, um, that that's a, that's a little fox right there, because you know, when you first um are getting to know somebody, um, of course you know that honeymoon phase, everything is great, everything is cute, everything is the gestures, all that stuff. Right, but understanding, um, the faithfulness part comes in when, um, you guys aren't seeing eye to eye, that's that's, that's the, that's the tough little fox, because a lot of times when we don't see eye to eye, um, we can't get over that, because we can't get over ourself, because we can't get over who we were when we were single.

Louis Jackson III:

Oh boy, oh hey y'all. Oh, especially in today's culture, the idea of being in a committed relationship. Oh, it's crazy. It's hard because people don't really understand that concept, because being in a committed relationship means that a part of you got to die, A part of you got to. You can't just do what you always did, the same way you always done it, and be in a committed relationship. It's true, and these little foxes, these little things because it ain't the big things and I'm not talking like some of y'all Y'all may be around here having a hard time being with one person, and that's you know. And y'all cheating and all that. This ain't for you. You know what I mean.

Eren Davis:

Because you just, you know, and y'all cheating and all that, this ain't for you, you know. I mean because you just, you know good, you know better than that, you know better than you know better, and again you know a little, again a little fox, bro, a little fox of like um, just that one detail. You can do everything right, but you're a cheater but that's a big thing.

Louis Jackson III:

I don't know if that's a little fox man but, but see, but it's.

Eren Davis:

But it starts small though, because it's a, it's a character thing and the character is big, it's, it's, it is a big deal, but there's, there's little things that you do to make your character flaw like that. Like what starts out as a little decision can turn into something big. I think it turns into something major, but I think it originally starts small because it's just a thought so for our listeners.

Louis Jackson III:

Let's break that down, then, because I'm like you said cheating. To me, cheating is the ultimate, that's not a little fox. To me, cheating is the ultimate Is the ultimate, that's not no little fox. Ultimate difference To me what I think of when I think of little foxes are you in a committed relationship with somebody? Okay, and you got somebody just throw in a DM? Yeah, some other chick give you, you know, just dm you. And here's the deal. That's not the little fox, because you can't control them. Dming, you can't. But here go the little fox. You don't delete it at all. You may not say nothing, because that's what we I ain't saying, but I still got it. But I still got it, and every now and then I'll go look at it. But I'm in a committed relationship with somebody else. I say that's a little fox.

Eren Davis:

It is. It is, and I think that's kind of where I was, that my kind of thought process around it is because, as we said in this, understanding it, because it does bloom into a lot more, and so I believe it always starts off as a little fox, but even in the example that I gave earlier, objects are closer than they appear, so it's actually a lot bigger than you you believe and it can, but it can turn that fast yeah, just as simple as okay, I got it.

Eren Davis:

I didn't delete it. Now it's a little fox. And then where it grows is now I got. I didn't delete it. Now it's a little fox, and then where it grows is now, I got it. I didn't delete it and I may have replied Now the little fox, it didn't became, you know it's really biting on some things.

Louis Jackson III:

It's biting on that vineyard real decent, oh my goodness, not just, not just one plant now Now.

Eren Davis:

I got. I got two or three things that got bites in it. You know what I'm saying. So. So I, I got two, three things that got bites in it. You know what I'm saying. So I think the understanding is understanding that things are going to grow. It just depends on what you decide to water. Wow.

Eren Davis:

What you decide to water. Earl Nightingale has a good it's something called the Strangest Secret and he talks about that. He talks, he gives the analogy of a guy perched up driving a big semi truck and having the control over something that's so big. But just imagine if he just just let it do just anything.

Eren Davis:

He just let his hands off the wheel, but he still had his foot on the gas. It's like, you know, where would I mean? We'll probably hear about that on the news, about a semi-truck blowing up, you know, and people, it'd be fatalities. But it started with the little fox of just deciding I'm just gonna let this thing go, and I think a lot of times we do that, and then it spirals because a little, because the little fox, it spirals. I think we know that If we're being honest with ourselves, but that's a little fox in itself too. You know what I'm saying? Because people don't look at that like that, but that's, you know, it's a decision for you to be honest with yourself and because that goes into the personal development, being able to be self-aware, being able to have the people around you that you know not only push you, but they. But they hold you accountable and they and when you do slip up, you know they're going to hold you to the fire.

Eren Davis:

You know, obviously we went extreme with the cheating, but I did that to itemize the fact that you know it's often looked at. The cheating is is a big deal. That's why we get mad, so mad at women, right, because we're like, oh, it's emotional with them because it don't. It don't usually just be like bam, bam, you know, with a guy, you know we just we might just respond to the dm and then just go handle our business with a woman. She's gonna feel that guy out typically, for you know, months at a time, maybe even years, sometimes entertaining somebody. But that's that little fox even that you know, that they deal with and I love to hear that from a woman's perspective. So if y'all got anything to say on that, women ladies comment on that. You know I'm saying we want, we want y'all perspective too, because you know and we'll bring you.

Louis Jackson III:

We're gonna bring some ladies in to be able to talk to us about that. But another piece that, uh, we went a little deep on the relationship again, but I want to go to what are some of the little foxes maybe in our businesses, some of the little things that we do in our business that we ready to level up, but we allow these little foxes to be able to mess us up. And one of the things that I see is we don't actually, especially in our business or in our financial positions, we spend too much. I think that we and we spend. Here's the deal.

Louis Jackson III:

It's so easy to overspend in this culture because everything seems so little. Think about it. If you actually give, uh, somebody put something on sale for 1999, okay, there's a big difference psychologically from 1999 and 20 dollars, yeah, a person will think they're saving something and it's $19.99. Even think about this. Let's go to something real simple. When you think about the gas and the gas is usually let's just say it's $2.89. Right, okay. And then somewhere else, you know, they say it's $2.85. Right. Somewhere else, you know, they say it's $2.85, right, and we're just a little changes, even though we about to spend the same amount of money essentially, but it's them little things that we'd be like oh, it changes the psychology of what we're doing when we're spending something.

Louis Jackson III:

So people understand that. So they will be like, oh, you're saving, but you're saving like five cents, when really, honestly, you need to check your spending because you're actually spending more than what you really bringing in right, whether it is 269 or 299 or whatever the case is, if, if you don't check your, you're going to end up spending way over spending, particularly to my 20 and 30 year olds and early 40s. Y'all got to know like we got to check our spending. Yeah, because if we don't, it's going to mess up and it's the little foxes. It's not those big bills, yep, it's those one. You know. You get an app and you forget.

Louis Jackson III:

The subscription is still running, that the subscription is still running, but that app is only $2.99. Oh, man, and they got you. You know you feeling good about that thing, man, you know what I'm saying. But then, all of a sudden, now you done went two years paying $2.99.

Eren Davis:

Man and it's just taking you a little bit of money. Taking just a little bit. Come on, peeps, man bro. And then overdrafted the account.

Louis Jackson III:

And then overdrafted. Now you got $35.

Eren Davis:

You know you're working on a budget you know what I'm saying and then overdrafted the account. You know, it's just yes, yes.

Louis Jackson III:

It's those little foxes that I feel like if we're going to reach our next level, we got to tighten up level. Yeah, we got to tighten up, tighten up, we got to begin to start looking at and becoming self aware. Yeah, and then this other third space, and now I told y'all a lot, man, we only giving y'all the very bare minimum because we're going to really deep dive into each of these areas. But we, I want to talk about this personal growth, this personal development, right, the little foxes. So you really like a, a personal development type guru? Oh, yeah, tell me, what is one little fox that you feel like has gone? That usually goes unnoticed in our own personal development.

Eren Davis:

Um, I wrote something now now, um, and this is just a reminder to myself and I said um, remember, you can write it down as many times as you want, long or short, but unless you do them, they will not matter, because personal development is this I'm holding myself accountable and I do it. That's it. That's it. Oh, it's because, bro, like, we get so a little fox is this, we get all this information but we never apply it. It's like it's ridiculous, because we have so many, so many ideas. You know, we come up with so many different ideas, but the reason that we're not moving on them is because we don't act on them. We procrastinate. It's real man, it's and it and everybody's dealing with it. That's the, that's the thing like.

Eren Davis:

But again, if we want to reach other tiers after the understanding part of it, um, we're going to talk more about that man, and that's the reason why it's important that you know you got your listeners. Stay with us, because we're going to be really, really talking a lot about personal development. But the but, the little fox in it is just simply, you know, not doing it. That's, that's a little fox. That daily discipline, that daily discipline, and it's so small, getting up on time every day. So small, but it can set the tone for the day, though. It's real man. It's something that I'm learning in my relationship bro, it's my girl, bro.

Eren Davis:

She's very particular about the bed being made a certain way. Bro, I'm like, you know I'm getting up. You know I'm flinging the covers off. You know I mean now don't get me wrong, I make the bed up, but not to her standards. And it had me really thinking, bro, one time, like I'm like, bro, what I'm like, it's not. It's not that big of a deal, you know I'm right, but it's that little fox for her that sets a tone for her day. So even in that, you got to be able to, got to be able to learn from that man, got to be able to learn from that. But a lot of to do with the personal development is, um, just, you know, after understanding it, actually applying it see, I feel like if we're not careful, we are like information hoarders.

Louis Jackson III:

I don't even want you to know we are so much we hoard information Mm-hmm. But like you said, we will not work off, we will not put it into action. So now, if you really looked at people and you could see them in a different way, you would think like man, y'all are so fat on information. But you got to work off this information by putting it into practice, and that is hard, yep. So you think that we're moving forward because you got more information, but what you're saying is that information means absolutely nothing if you do not apply it.

Eren Davis:

Absolutely. And you start to realize too, as you're applying it, you start to see, oh, I got to tighten up right here, oh, I got to tighten up right here, and those are, and that's a little fox there, you know, knowing that, going from OK, I got it written down, to now I've got, I've got it structured, I have a real skeleton, that's something that you really are great at doing is having a skeleton in place and being able to work that, Because it gives you parameters, but it also gives you freedom once you really, because now you know the details. Yeah, the details are the little foxes, because a lot of times we can think big, you know, but we can't get down to the details of it. I seen a lot of guys in my neighborhood fall victim to that. Yeah, they're really good, they actually have the mindset of, uh, some, some of the big names that you may even know, but they can't get to the details of the situation.

Eren Davis:

And that is that has a lot to do with personal development. Personal development you're developing. Come on, man you're developing.

Louis Jackson III:

So, as we get ready to wrap up this very introductory podcast um episode talking about little foxes, small problems, big impact, I want you, if you're a listener, before our next podcast, before the next episode drop, I want you to start thinking about what are the small things in your spiritual life, in your relationships, in your business, in your, your personal development? What are those small things? Begin to start doing some self-inventory, peeps, because see, if we're going to get to the next level, we're going to have to deal with these small, seemingly insignificant problems that can spoil something very valuable. We need you to go ahead and start thinking through because, in the living room, peeps, we're here to help us to get better. We're here to have those conversations. Yes, as you see, me and Aaron, we just sitting in here just chit-chatting. We kind of got an idea where we want to go, but these are regular conversations that we want you to feel like you're sucked in and I want you to really think about man, what are the little foxes in my life? And I got to do something about them.

Louis Jackson III:

Our next episode we're going to deep dive into like for real deep dive into the little foxes of relationships. As you've seen like we almost got to, we almost about to go in. Yeah, definitely. But here's the deal. And it's not just those romantic relationships, marriage relationships, but these are. I'm going to tell you that relationships are the most important thing on this planet relationships, relationships. One relationship could change your financial trajectory. One relationship, one relationship could change, I mean, your whole generational family line.

Eren Davis:

Yes.

Louis Jackson III:

One generation, one relationship. So we got to start looking at those little foxes that are messing up our relationships, and if you are ready for this, I want you to come back to the next episode, and we're going to deep dive into this. So, as we get ready to go, y'all. I want you to deep dive into this, so, as we get ready to go, y'all. I want you to start thinking about this. If you have not liked and subscribed to the living room, I need you to do that today, and if you want to know more about what we do and how we do it, I want you to go to lewisjackson3.com and see what we're doing. We will holler at you later.

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