Episode 62. KSTP's Joe Schmit

This week we sit down with Channel 5’s Joe Schmit who shares that through “silent impact,” we make our biggest impressions when we are not trying to be impressive. Success and happiness are not related to titles or how many awards one has received, but to the impact we have on others. 

Joe covers a variety of topics, from the long sports drought for championships in Minnesota, his experience as a lymphoma survivor at the Masonic Cancer Center, and how all of us can reconnect in a meaningful way. 

“If you become more aware and intentional, that’s when you have that impact on others. How consistent are you aligning your actions with your values when nobody’s looking?” 

Transcript

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Hello again, everyone. Welcome back. It's another episode of Minnesota Masonic Histories and Mysteries. My guest today is a natural storyteller who knows how to engage audiences in a way that leaves them feeling inspired. He was inducted into the National Speakers Association, Minnesota Chapter Speakers Hall of Fame in 2019. Through research, he has discovered that through silent impact, we make our biggest impressions when we are not trying to be impressive. And that is what silent impact is all about. Success and happiness are not related to titles or how many awards we've won, but to the impact we all have on others. With over 30 years of experience as a television broadcaster, he has a knack for asking the right questions and helping people of different personalities come together for a common purpose. The Silent Impact mindset is a game changer, and I know this because our guest spoke at the Grand Lodge Leadership Academy earlier this month. You know our guests from Channel 5 on KSDP. Welcome to our studio, Joe Schmidt. Well, thank you, Reid. It's great to be here again. It was really fun to speak at your leadership event, too. Well, and having heard you speak a few weeks ago, Before we discuss that and Silent Impact, tell us more about you. Where did you grow up? Where'd you go to school? I grew up in a small town outside Green Bay called Seymour, Wisconsin, about 13 miles from Green Bay. And I went to school at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse. We like to call it the Harvard of the Midwest. Um, it's really, but, uh, you know, I went to school read with the idea. I wanted to be a TV sportscaster. Really? Yeah. From way back all the way. Yeah. You know, I was a high school athlete and I was a pretty average athlete, but I loved sports And I all of a sudden realized I was never going to get a college scholarship. And somebody said to me, you know, Schmidt with your love of sports and your big mouth, you ought to become a sportscaster. And really, it was the first time It even crossed my mind, and from that day on, I wanted to be a sportscaster. Being an average athlete myself in those formative years of school, what sports were you passionate about, or what did you play? Well, in high school at that time, we could only play three sports. If we could play more, I would have. I, I played football, I wrestled, and I played baseball, but I golfed and, you know, I did, did a bunch of other stuff too, you know, with, with, uh, friends and, you know, I always say we didn't have ESPN back then yet. If we had ESPN, I would have been sitting there watching TV like crazy. I learned math by studying box scores and I knew everybody, you could name a major league team and I could run through their. Batting order and they're lying up. Really? Yeah. I was that crazy back then. So it's probably a good thing that SportsCenter wasn't around yet. what was your favorite baseball team in growing up? I liked, uh, the Atlanta Braves and Hank Aaron. So, uh, I followed Hank Aaron on his pursuit of Babe Ruth and in my house in Seymour, the radio. So I would go. We'd go upstairs in the upstairs bathroom, and I could get WSB at 7 50 a. m. And I listened to Hank Aaron, probably from about 650 home runs past 7 14. Wow. And that radio station was that local? Was that a flamethrower from somewhere across the country? Because look, flamethrower. Yeah, it was Atlanta. It was, uh, skip carry. and his son, I don't think it was related to Harry Carey, but his son became a big broadcaster too. for years, uh, you know, um, that, that was my deal. Even back then we didn't even have jerseys for sale. Out of sporting news, I bought a t shirt that said property of the Atlanta Braves and I wore that sucker out. But You know, you think back to the day that marketing people weren't even thinking in mind, you know, if we made a Hank Aaron Jersey, some kids might spend money and buy it. I would have had five of them. that's very true. How did that not cross someone's mind along the way that we could sell souvenirs? On a mass scale that would very likely turn a few dollars. Yeah. Think about the souvenirs from back in those days in sports, you might get a pennant and it's, yeah, you might get a button, but nobody did people not know what marketing was. I mean, seriously, all the money they left on the table. Now, of course, they'll sell anything. They'll sell their soul to make money. Anybody who's been to Fenway park can now see the other side of the. Yeah. It's, it's pretty universal right now. It's, uh, The whole game has changed. It's, it really is about money and it has gone down to the college level and. You know, the N I l and the money these kids can now make. It's kind of wrecking the purity of the sport. And, you know, there's so many good athletes and good stories. But, uh, and I don't want to be the old guy who said back in the old days, but it is different. I agree. And I wish we had time to devote to an entire episode about the transfer portal in college. But that really is. And maybe I sound like the old guy, but there was something magical about a team hockey team, basketball that started out as freshmen. Maybe they didn't have a great season, but they came together the chemistry factor by the time they're seniors, they went to the playoffs, they won the title. Whatever that looks like. The ability of a player now to be frustrated and say, You know what? I'm not getting enough playing time. I'm not getting enough whatever. And I'm just going to bail and go someplace else. It's a little grass is always greener. Is it not? Oh, yeah. But you know, how would you like to be a coach? You're trying to develop one of these kids and you yell at them, you push them, you get them out of their comfort zone. And the next thing you know, they leave because you're yelling at them and you're pushing them and you're getting them out of their comfort zone. Yeah. And that's that's what's happened. And, uh, yeah. I would hate to be a coach today, but I once again, I don't, you either adapt to the what's going on or, you know, or it passes you by. So true. We have to keep our focus moving forward. On all fronts of life. Now, how did you end up from Wisconsin in Minnesota? Did your journey take you elsewhere before you ended up in Minneapolis St. Paul? I worked in La Crosse at a small TV station there. I started my junior year in college. And then I went to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for one year. And then I worked in Green Bay, my home market. I was called to, had a chance there. And I worked there for five years and I was Probably planning on being a lifer, but I had my, is that all there is moment. I decided to, as my contract was coming up, I decided to send out a few tapes just to see what was out there. And KSTP came a calling and um, and I took it and I've been here since 1985. Forty years. That seems impossible. I know it does seem impossible. It's, it's been, it's been crazy and I blame myself for a lot of the failure in Minnesota sports because Minnesota of all the major markets, when you look at the four main male professional sports, obviously the links have done very well. Yes. But when you look at the four main professional sports, any market in the country that has those, Minnesota's has the longest drought right now. The last time they won a championship in men's sports was 91 with the Minnesota Twins. I mean, the hockey team, the basketball team, nobody stumbled into a championship in all those years, which is crazy. But you're taking the blame? I'm taking the blame. I think that once if I, when I retire, I think then they're going to start winning just to tick me off. You can say, I was there when. Yeah. Exactly. I don't understand. so you've obviously seen some very big moments working right next to say the twins and their run in 87 and 91 and other playoff, shall we say, well, aspirations of the other sports, but how amazing has that been to have that front row seat? I consider myself pretty lucky you know, the business is obviously changed and I think the way. I like being in great venues that have great energy and there are great storylines. the big events are great. You know, going to a Super Bowl is great, but, but at the same time, you can have just as much fun at an MIAC game or a high school game or the state high school hockey tournament. where it's all kind of natural and grassroots, and it just kind of happens. And that's happened in professional sports, too. You know, I think back to when the Twins had their homecoming in 87. They had just won the American League pennant, and they came back from Detroit, and they had this rally at the Metrodome, and they expected 10, 000 people. There were 60, 000 people there. The players were crying. It was unbelievable. One of the great moments that I can certainly remember. I know you've been covering a lot of sports, but. As far as covering. I know this past weekend. You were covering the girls high school tournament is, Is there an area that you really enjoy? Or is it all sort of blur together? Well, the good thing is about the time you get tired of football or baseball or hockey. There's another season. And there are so many sports going on here. I never get bored. Um, you know, there are times a season can get long. No, I, uh, I pretty much, I go for the stories and, and, you know, you as a journalist, you're not really supposed to root for the home team, but I root for the home team just because then they're more relevant. The stories are better. You know, it's, you get a little more coverage, you get more time on the air, all those kinds of things. It's a lot more fun to cover a winning team than having to be negative and going and ripping them the heck because they're, you know, they, they're doing terrible on the field. So true. And speaking of the connection, when you spoke at our Leadership Academy a few weeks ago, you had a very powerful story about Joe Maurer that you shared. Can you give us a recap of that for our listeners that may not be familiar? Yeah. Joe Maumer when he was in high school. You got to realize he was the big man on campus. Joe was simply the best high school athlete the state of Minnesota has ever produced. He could have been a snob walking around with his head held high above everybody. Joe saw a young student who was blind, eating by himself in the lunchroom, and Joe invited him to sit down at his table. And it became an everyday thing where Joe literally walked Mike Halle, arm in arm, down the hallway, invite him to sit down to lunch. I knew about that story for about 15 years and didn't do anything on it. When I started speaking about people who make an impact, when I got into the whole idea on silent impact, which is the title of my first book, I said, this is the perfect story. So not only did I talk to Joe, I talked to Mike, I talked to six guys who sat around that table every day and I started seeing how much impact this one move of kindness had. Well, this story is, has gone on to You know, other heights, a charity started because of it. A woman read the story in the book and was inspired and started a mental health charity for junior high and high school kids. uh, Joe and I got together with his wife and we decided to write a book and we've been able to raise 125, 000 so far for two different charities. All the proceeds going to thumbs up for mental health, the charity that started and the Highland Friendship Club, which is Joe Mauer's favorite charity. So So the, uh, basically the one small act of kindness is having this pinwheel effect. You know, it's the snowball going down the, the hill and it's just gaining momentum and momentum and you'll hear about something coming up in about mid March. Excellent. And the information you shared at the academy, you had a video to go with this, it became very apparent immediately that Joe didn't do this to be showy or to say, Hey, look at me. I'm. He just out of the kindness of his heart, made a very sincere gesture towards someone That is something so needed in our world now with kindness and, and I've really enjoyed your book, by the way, silent Impact, looking at things a little differently. Maybe it's the social media generation where. Sometimes people get preoccupied with I'm going to do an act of kindness, but I'm going to take a selfie while I'm doing it, which any act of kindness is good. However, there's a certain level of influence and impact that can be very subtle and yet powerful. And you really nailed that. And then it becomes contagious. Because other people do it too. And you'll do it again because it makes you feel better inside. And when you talked about, you know, Joe Mauer, I've covered them all. You gotta realize I've been here long enough and covered every major professional or amateur athlete in Minnesota. Joe Mauer is the most humble superstar I've ever met. That's who he is. That's who Joe is yet today. I tell the story as Joe and I were working on the book, I mean, this is just the kind of thing that you hear stories, well, it just happens, it happens. So I was talking to Joe on the phone, it's a Saturday, and I said, Joe, you're in the car, where are you at? He goes, well, I'm about 50 miles out of Wichita, Kansas. I said, what are you doing in Wichita? Well, when Joe was in high school, he played on Team USA two years in a row, and two years in a row, um, A family from outside Wichita put him up in their home for a week while he practiced with Team USA, because that's where they practiced. He was going to their 50th wedding anniversary. No kidding. And I'm sitting there going, hold it. So this family who, you know, 30 years ago or 25 years ago. Right. You know, they put you, housed you for two weeks. He stayed in contact with them all the time. They went to a lot of his games. And on his own, you know, he got invited, I would have blown it off, right? I'm not going to Wichita for a party. Send a card. Yeah, send a card, flowers, you know, whatever. Here's Joe, flew to Wichita, rented a car and was driving 50 miles. But, but so that tells you what his heart is and it tells you who he is. And there's story after story on that. Because of that, he makes this tremendous impact. Imagine what it felt like to these people to have. A Hall of Fame baseball player walk into this party, can't even fathom. Yeah. Special memory beyond description. The story of Joe is amazing. I bet we could talk about that for an extended amount of time on this podcast. I'd like to hear more about what led to the creation of the book of Silent Impact. Was it a series of things happening beyond Joe's story or how, how did you, how did it come about? Well, because I'm on TV and you know, I'm, I'm no different than anybody else, but I just happen to work in public. Um, you get asked to speak at a lot of different events, athletic banquets, you know, Optimist Clubs, Lions Clubs, Chamber of Commerces, Masonic Leadership Academy. Well, but, but I'm talking about in the early days, early days, and I used to go and I would say what it was like to be in the locker room in the 80 with seven and 91 world series. And what it was like covering Randy boss. And I quickly realized I was going to dislocate my shoulder patting myself in the back. It was all about me. And I, I, it took me, I don't know how I realized it. I think some guy said, uh, some guy said something afterwards, he goes, that was a pretty good name dropping speech and it hit me. Talk about a silent impact. And all of a sudden I realized I have to start telling better stories and stories that can inspire people. So that's what I did. I changed my tone. And right about that time I, I ran into a guy who used to cover for the Minnesota Gophers by the name of Walter Bond. And Walter Bond is one of the top professional speakers in the country. Walter heard me speak at an event. And Walter said, we're having coffee tomorrow, I said, okay. And when he said, you got to become a professional speaker, here's what you got to do. He gave me 10 things to do. He was running a bootcamp in a couple of weeks. I went down to Florida for this bootcamp and I became a professional speaker. I did everything Walter said. I had 10 things out of that list. And one of them is I hired a coach, and I, I, I hired a coach who I worked with, uh, probably every week for about two months, we were going through all my stories and all my content, and I really hadn't come up with what this is all about, and I said, you know, it's, it's like these people, I was telling her, it's like these people have a silent impact on who they touch and how they, you know, they, she said, what'd you say? I said, Oh, it's like they have a silent impact. She goes, that's the name of your first book. That's the name of your speech. That's what you're going to base everything off of. Every single one of your stories is about people who make an impact and how they can be more aware and intentional, the impact they have. That's when it changed. That's when all of a sudden I had people calling me. I had people saying, have you ever spoken, you know, to, to the Masonic? You know, have you ever spoken here? Have you ever spoken there? And, uh, you know, now I'm speaking 50 times a year. All over the country, and it's not just a Minnesota thing because they know me from TV, and I just signed a deal last week with a company in Connecticut, you know, so. Amazing. Yeah, so, and it's been kind of fun, and I have enough vacation time, and I'm able to work it around, and every once in a while you'll get a nice winter trip to Florida or something, then my wife can come, we can extend for a few days, so, Little sunshine doesn't hurt, especially this time of year as we're recording in February. as you go out and speak, how do people respond to perhaps the uncomplicated way that we can have a positive impact on those around us? Do you ever find that people feel like, well, it can't be this easy, or I have to do some big showy production in order to quantify my gratitude to someone or to do an act of random kindness. Well, I think that sometimes people kind of need to be reminded. I think we all kind of know it, sometimes you give them some simple tools. I think there's power in stories and I don't use a lot of slides in my presentation and one reason I don't is because when I tell a story about my dad owning a bar, I want people to paint that picture themselves. It's like reading a book and then going and seeing the movie. What's the number one comment everybody says? The book is better. You know why they do that? Because they have painted their own picture. That character, they know who he is and what he looks like. Or who she is and what she looks like. That bar, they know what it looks like. They have placed that somewhere in the back of their mind. And so, there is power in these stories. And I think, many times, the reaction I get from people is, I was that person. Or, they come and tell a story about someone who made an impact on them. And then I'll say, have you gone back and thanked them? No. I said, now that's your job. You can have, you can return the volley. so it's, it's been very rewarding that way. I, I know sometimes that people actually think when they hire me, I'm going to tell sports stories. Well, when I talk about Joe Maurer, there's no inside pitches on Joe Maurer. I'm not talking about what his, you know, batting average is and, and, you know, how many times he was able to hit the clutch. Not at all. I'm talking about him as a human being who just happened to be a Hall of Fame baseball player. Will you tell the story of your dad and the bar? well, I grew up in a bar and my dad ran the bar. And my dad had a gift and his gift was he made everybody feel like they were his best friend. a long story short, this bar was also one of three places in a small town that had the fire alarm for the local volunteer fire and rescue unit. So when the fire alarm rang, we knew something was up and one morning I was in the bar with my dad and The the phone rang and I could see something was wrong. Well, my dad really only had one best friend and his name was Mr Leash and what I found out later that call that morning. Mr. Leash had been killed in the car accident and Anyway, I remember my mom and dad were really really sad at the time And Mr. Leach had a son whose name was Donnie. I was nine years old at the time, Donnie was eight. And before I knew it, Donnie was coming to all of our family events. Donnie would come whether it was a basketball game or family reunion, Donnie got invited along. I lost track of Donny, even though I knew my dad was still seeing him all those years. And the next time I saw Donny, I was 25 years old and, and Donny was crying, it was at my dad's funeral. And I can still see it out of my mind's eye, Donny crying at my dad's funeral. And I thought, boy, my dad really had an impact on Donny. About a year before my father passed away, I'd become involved in the Big Brothers, Little Brothers program. I was matched up with a kid by the name of Jim from a single parent family. I wasn't sure why I became a Big Brother. After my dad's funeral, it took me a while. I was, I was running a charity golf tournament in the Twin Cities for Big Brothers, Big Sisters. And the executive director of Big Brother says to me, you know, Joe, through the years, your, your family's all come up and supported you at the tournament. I never met your dad. He said, tell me about your dad. And I started talking about my dad, and that's when it hit me. My dad had been a big brother to Donnie. I became involved in the Big Brothers because of the silent impact my dad had on me. I was not sure why I did. Now it was crystal clear, because that's the way silent impact works. You know, This organization here is all about values. And if you can ride your values and be consistent on your values That's when, and make values your purpose, that's when you can have an impact on others. And you never know when you're going to have that impact. You never know when the person sitting next to you is going through something really heavy and they just need to feel valued and acknowledged that day. and if you become more aware and intentional, that's when you have that impact. That's when you have that silent impact. And it can go on and on for a long, long time. I remember jotting down at our Masonic Leadership Academy, you said, when you align your actions with your values, that's when purpose happens. And it's a lot harder to do than it sounds like, you know, how consistent are you aligning your actions with your values when nobody's looking? it's funny, I, uh, I belong to this men's group over 50. We work, we work out together and we talk about things. And, and one of the, one of the things. One of the lines that I remember from this group is, what you eat in private, you wear in public. And I thought that was, I thought that was very profound because I think that's the way values are too. What you do in private eventually shows up in public. So, if you're a phony baloney, your values aren't going to always be very consistent. We all make mistakes, we're all going to slip, we're all going to have moments we wish we had back. but if you try to be consistent and you try to do that one extra impact every day, I think it really changes things. It's something we talk about frequently in the Masonic family. we stand for many core values. I try to take it out of the It's called the insider baseball terminology, but Freemasonry is about friendship, personal developments, community. We align ourselves with core values and how do we, how do we be known as that guy versus don't be that guy, someone of integrity, someone of kindness, but an ongoing discussion we have is that just because we say, Hey, I align myself with these core values. I believe in that, or yes, we all. Coalesce around that there's a difference between saying the words and living it and putting it into action in your life, and you really hit a Well, that's awfully nice of you to read. I have a friend of mine who says you can either be a net giver or a net taker. And I think sometimes we all need to take a personal inventory to find out are you a net giver or are you a net taker. We all have friends who only call us when they need something. Are you doing that? We all have friends who, you know, I always joke around is you have a friend for the first half hour of the conversation, we'll talk about himself. And then you'll say, okay, now that I'm done talking about me, why don't you talk about me for the next half hour? Be careful not to be the hero of your own story. And, uh, you know, be careful not to play the but game. That's where you say, uh, well, I, uh, I shot a 78 golfing the other day and the wind was, you know, the wind was 20 miles an hour. I'll follow up with Yeah, but I, in a driving rainstorm, I shot a 77 two years ago or, you know, or like, you know, your success, I can top that. The yeah, but game, it's not a goal to one up someone, but it inevitably happens in wanting to, maybe the desire is to relate to someone's story and to put their own spin on it. But man, it'd be curiosity and listening until it hurts go a long way. Well, it's, it's what I kind of started with when I talked about, when I first started speaking, you know, it was all about me. And when the world changed is when I made it all about other people. And you can never be the hero in your own story. I didn't tell my story, I, I didn't tell my cancer story, I only pulled that out, you know, for certain audiences. I all of a sudden realized, how can I change this so I'm not the hero, my cancer story? And I worked really hard and I worked with a coach on it. And because, because, you know, it was a lot of positivity. Mm-hmm A lot of positive attitude and whatever. I put a lot of humor in it and, and was able to change it. So it makes the message, I'm not the hero of the story. I was the lucky guy in the story. so, and, and by the way, um, I went to the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota. So Did you Yeah. So, so it, it all kind of aligns, doesn't it? Big time. Yeah. How are you today? If you don't mind sharing more about health and then we're very Interested in hearing firsthand from someone who's been at one of our many facilities at the U of M Yeah, I had well, I guess I still have lymphoma and it's it's in remission right now and I, I went, I went to the Masonic, uh, Cancer Center so long, I've had two doctors retire on me. I mean, because I'd always have to go back for checkups and the first guy was terrific. He retired. Then all of a sudden the second guy is going to retire. And anyway, the third guy said, you know, Joe, you're 10 years out. You don't have to come here anymore. But I said, I like coming here. so I'm, I'm now, they would say I'm, I'm pretty much, um, I'm in remission, so I still knock on wood, you know, because. You know, I realize there are many other people who aren't as lucky as I am. You know, Flip Saunders, you know, of the Timberwolves. Yes. Pretty much had the same type of lymphoma I had. I don't take that for granted and I realized how lucky I am. As we get older, we all seem to acknowledge how fast time goes. Time is so fleeting that a decade took an eternity when we were younger, and now it's just, it's so fleeting. What would you say is the biggest light bulb that you've had? How often do you get feedback from an audience member at this point in your career now of having this impact on so many people and audiences? Where How often do you get feedback from an audience member even after, well after the speaking engagement has passed of really giving somebody that motivation to be the person having that quiet, silent impact? It's, it's more rewarding than the check you get. that, that really is the thing that is, uh, that keeps you going. and, and I do get a few of those and it's always very nice. And the other thing that's interesting, Reed, is that people will remember different things. Some people might remember the Joe Mauer story. Some people might remember some comment I made about listening. Some people might, you know, I, I talk about getting out of your comfort zone. Some people might remember that. And, uh, you know, you were talking about as we get older. I think it's really important to get out of your comfort zone because when you're out of your comfort zone that's when the growth happens and Yeah, I told I think I told this at the thing my wife and I put together a list a couple of years ago All the things we want to do the rest of our lives, you know, we're in the last third here You know, unfortunately, you have to say that, but we are, and it was the things we want to do, the people we want to spend time with, and then we ranked them in priority, but the priority was not what we wanted to do first. The priority was, let's get all the physical things out of the way. We can take that river cruise when we're 75. can't we can't hike up a mountain and go spend some time with mountain gorillas, which we did over the holidays. We can't we can't do that. Maybe when we're 75 because maybe one of us needs a hip replacement, you know, life goes life gets in the way. And then I read this book called The Comfort Crisis, and it basically tells you get out of your comfort zone, try things, say yes. And I think, I think too many times people play it too safe. you know, the only way you learn is if you make a mistake, or at least try something. The old phrase, someday never comes. Oh yeah. If I have another person tell me that, uh, someday they're going to write a book, write the damn book. If I didn't get set up, I was like, you sit there, you could talk about it all day. Write it. If it's terrible, that's at least you wrote it. Start somewhere, even if it's just fragmented thoughts day after day. Yeah. Write the damn book. Right, right. Write the damn book. If you, if you want to get healthier, you know, walk around the block, start somewhere. And then, you know, the whole key to the entire thing is, is being consistent. It's just a little growth at a time. And, And like I said earlier, we'll all make mistakes, but if you can kind of get consistent that it becomes a habit, that it becomes part of who you are, becomes part of your DNA, yeah, that's when it just becomes a lot easier. how might we get that 25 to 30 year old? Take notice and I, I can't get off of the, of that line of when you align your actions with your values, it's actions with your values and the purpose happens. What's a starting point for someone who's listening today, it's not a complicated starting point, is it? Yeah, it's, you know, I think sometimes people have to, you know, people do it on their own time. You know, sometimes you have late bloomers, sometimes you have people who jump right on it. but I think you can go to the old Nike ad, just do it. Just do it. When in doubt, do it. When in doubt, you know, go to that party. When in doubt, go on that trip. When in doubt, go to that funeral. You know, we've all had that where we've had to make that choice. and, and I think we learn, you know, we learn and we grow from our mistakes, you know, with, with age comes wisdom, you know, and, and at a certain point, you know, I, I think people kind of have to get over the hill a little bit and they have to really find out what makes them happy, what, what makes them tick the one line that I got from a, a fellow speaker, which I stole from and I use all the time is, you know, use what you got to get what you want. You know, we, we all have special gifts and we all have things we're not very good at where people get out of whack is when somebody tells them, you know what, when you go to college, you ought to study marketing, you know, and, and then they go to marketing and you know what the great thing about that is, then they have to hire motivational speakers like me, because everybody in their companies is having a terrible time. So, so that works. Okay, but, but, you know, do what you want to do and, um, you know, what really trips your fancy, what gets you going? And if you don't have that, then you got to keep digging to find it, because there's something out there for you. Wasn't it the Jack Kerouac quote? Because in the end you won't remember the time spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that damn mountain. Yep, and it's, it's uh, I guess I took the read, write your damn book. But it's, it's It's the same kind of thing if you don't, if you don't try it and try something new and challenge yourself and, um, sometimes you have to be brave enough to find new friends, you know, new groups of friends. And, and then once you have those friends, you have to realize you have to work on those relationships. And too many people get caught up in, I'm always the one who calls. You know what? That might be your role. It might not be in their wheelhouse. It's like when you call, do they say, why did you call? No, they're happy to hear from you. But sometimes that might be your role. So pick up the doggone phone and call. Get off social media. I mean, that's the other thing I would just tell kids is, you know, don't, don't, when you, when you're on social media, you play the comparison game. no one wins in the comparison game. It steals your joy try to figure out how to get rid of all the negativity in your life. And, and as I said, sometimes those might be friends. You know, I, I got rid of some friends over the years just because I thought, you know, that season's over. You know, they, they no longer fit into what I want to do. Their values don't match with mine. Friends and big air quotes. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, you know, sometimes they're acquaintances and I I say it's like rings on a tree and, and you're, you're in the middle. Sometimes you have to push a friend out a ringer too. That's true. When you add the social media element that we all use probably too much, Perhaps if we were to all put the device away. And have a conversation of curiosity. Like you said, instead of telling about I, me, my, all of the time, more about the person that we are with and knowing we talk about this a lot in the podcast, too, knowing what's going on in each other's lives, the good, the bad, the struggles. Having that meaningful connection is far more powerful than we give credit. And there are a lot of lonely people out there. I mean, I think the Surgeon General, basically called it the next pandemic. And, you know, it's one reason I'd mentioned before, we're trying to do a documentary on the Joe Mauer story and how all these great things have happened out of it. And one of the reasons we're doing it is we want to hit These high school kids and even college kids that are lonely and, and are struggling and show them that, you know what, that's not the time to curl up in the fetal position. That's kind, that's the time to go do something kind. That's the time to go volunteer. That's, that's, that's the time to push yourself into that different area and that will get you out of it. The next thing you know, you'll meet people that are like, like, like you. I mean, I think that's why the Masonic, that's why it works. Yes, definitely. The commitment to becoming that better version of ourselves is a real appeal I'm finding, especially with young men that. Want to meet not necessarily men or people just like them, but that do coalesce around core values of being known for integrity, being known for goodness or kindness Respecting each other's differences at the same time is a, is a really big part of that social media, obviously a real, shall we say pain in the butt? Yes. And it only adds to the divisiveness of, of, of when we, we just focus on, we spend so much time on social media, focusing on what we're against or what makes us angry versus what makes us happy. What did I do? What did you do? That, that was. Uplifting that gave you a sense of purpose. There, there really could be something said about less screen time and more face to face. Let's get back into the relationship business. Shall we? You know, it's kind of funny. They they call them the soft skills. Yes. You know that I look at it. Just the opposite. I think they're the hard skills. They're the hard skills to master because you've got to be thinking about it a little bit. It's got to be, you know, that's that awareness that I talk about. It's it's easy to be a tough guy. It's easy to be negative. It really is. It is. You know, it's a it's a heck of a lot easier. Joe. I feel like we could chat for several hours on several topics. It's difficult to keep this succinct. as we wind down today. Tell us perhaps a aspect of yourself that the TV viewer doesn't know. What else do you like to do for fun hobbies? Probably the one thing people don't realize about me is there are times of the year that I go to theater more than I go to sporting events, but let me explain. My wife directs plays in Bloomington. She directs plays in Bloomington Jefferson, Bloomington Kennedy, and the summer program. She started a a small children's theater camp in our backyard with neighborhood kids 25 years ago. Well, it has since grown. My daughter, who is also in theater and also directs plays, took over the camp. It's called Children's Fantasy Theater, and now it's run out of a church in Bloomington. They have a full summer session, so they're always doing plays. And then my other daughter was a BFA at Drake, a Bachelor of Fine Arts, so she went through the whole acting, directing thing. She now lives in Des Moines. She's directing plays down there. Not only do I see all their plays, but we were just in New York seeing my son, who lives in New York, and of course, what did we do? We hit Broadway. My wife and my daughter saw three plays. I only saw one. My son and I had a couple things we wanted to do together, so I only saw one and it was a terrific play. So, that would probably be the side of me that people are going to be a little bit surprised on. I mean, the fact that if Daddy Warbucks got sick before a play. I could go and take his spot and recite his lines. No kidding. what's your favorite play or musical of all time? Could you pick just one? That's really hard. I, you know what? I think I would probably say, um, Les Mis. And, um, I mean, I, I like, I like wicked and I like, um, other ones, but Les Mis was, my wife and I were on vacation and we were in Vancouver, in we found out that, Long story short, we went down there. Got there two minutes before the play started and they saved like these VIP tickets in case anybody big shows up like the prime minister or something. We ended up getting two tickets, second or third row, right smack dab in the middle and we saw this amazing play which I knew nothing about. I knew nothing about it and it was like, this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Were you sitting next to a dignitary? Was the Prime Minister there? No, there was, there was no big shots there. And everybody was looking at us like, you know, you know, who are those guys? Should I know who he is? He and his wife? They look like a couple of Yankees. Excellent. Well, I really appreciate you stopping by and chatting today. And it was, again, it was so great to have you at our Masonic Leadership Academy in St. Cloud a few weeks ago. Silent Impact. Truly remarkable in something that anyone and everyone can get on board with. Well, thank you. It's, uh, it's become my mission. It's my passion. I've been blessed with the ability to tell stories and tell other people stories. yeah, I, I'm gonna do this for as, as long as people will listen to me. KSTP channel fives, Joe Schmidt. Thank you so much for being with us today. You bet Reed. It's been outstanding. This has been another episode of Minnesota Masonic histories and mysteries.