The Rick Meekins Episode You Need to See | NO MORE TRAINING WHEELS | Ep. 226

Most leaders say they want growth, but what they really want is certainty. In this episode of The Uncommon Leader Podcast, host John Gallagher sits down with Rick Meekins—entrepreneur, strategist, media producer, and host of The Relentless Pursuit of Winning. Rick flips the traditional corporate mindset on its head with a line you won’t forget: Sometimes you have to jump off the bridge and build the parachute on the way down.

Together, they unpack how to align bold, courageous action with deep faith, unwavering integrity, and a clear brand message people actually remember. If you’ve ever felt pressured to out-produce the noise by automating everything and over-complicating your content, this conversation brings you back to the core human connections and disciplines that prevent leaders from settling for "good enough."

Key Takeaways:

• 🎯 Clarity Over Volume: Why choosing a clear, memorable brand message beats chasing mindless content volume every single time.
• 🤖 Authenticity in an AI World: How to strategically leverage AI tools for business efficiency without losing your soul, your voice, or human connection.
• 🍀 Creating Conditions for "Luck": How consistent marketplace action combined with spiritual surrender opens doors you couldn't engineer yourself.
• 🧠 Breaking Limiting Beliefs: Identifying and overcoming the quiet, internal barriers that block scaling for entrepreneurs and their leadership teams.
• 📖 The Power of Storytelling: How Rick’s venture, Polaris Story, helps organizations use podcasts and live events to tell unforgettable business stories.
• 🙏 Faith & Tenacity: Developing operational resilience through early setbacks, daily accountability, and honoring God through your work.

 
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 Rick Meekins👇
➡️ LinkedIn (primary): https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickmeekins/?ct=1783417653764
➡️ Website: https://rpowpodcast.com/?ct=1783417751793

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Transcript

Cold Open On Courage

SPEAKER_01 0:00

It is still gonna be sometimes you just have to jump off the bridge and go to car to go down. I know that, you know, I mean as a younger person that had a slightly different connotation, but you know, there's there's gonna be so many things that we don't know the answers to. There are gonna be so many opportunities that don't have a clear end zone, but uh we've gotta go out, we've gotta do we gotta do these things anyway. Now the cool thing about being able to be having a relationship with God is you know you get to attach your face. You know, like Martin Luther King said, it's like you get to start walking up the stairs without knowing what's gonna be at the top. You know, and it's a beautiful thing. I think I find it to be a beautiful thing, but when we play it today, you know, we're we're not living up to architect because we're created to influence other people. You know, we're not doing that job of influencing others, we're not serving at the level that we could.

Welcome And Why Rick Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:59

Hey Uncommon Leaders, welcome back. This is the Uncommon Leader Podcast, and I'm your host, John Gallagher. A few months back I had the privilege of being on my next guest podcast, The Relentless Pursuit of Winning, and today we're bringing him on the other side of the microphone. It's my turn to interview Rick Meekins, entrepreneur, strategist, and media producer, our titles that he adds right alongside of podcast host. Rick is a leader who blends hard systems thinking with faith-based principles, focusing on accountability, performance, and deep purpose. And he's here today to show us how to cut through the digital noise and stand out in an AI world without losing our souls. So let's jump into this great conversation. Rick Mickens, welcome to the Uncommon Leader Podcast. How are you doing today?

SPEAKER_01 1:38

Doing well, John. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 1:41

Hey, it's gonna be a great conversation. I mentioned in the introduction I was on your podcast just a few months back, and I appreciate sitting on this side of the microphone and uh putting you under the spotlight, so to speak, and asking questions today.

Creating Conditions For Luck

SPEAKER_00 1:53

So we're gonna jump right in, and I'm gonna pull a quote directly off your website that I just found fascinating. A lot of what happens in business is luck, but you have to create the conditions for luck. If you don't have the right bait and don't throw your pole in the water, only Jesus Christ is gonna show up with fish. Tell me about that quote. Where'd that come from? What does that mean to you as you put that on there? It's like front and center on your website.

SPEAKER_01 2:14

You know, it's important to know, my experience has been, you know, you'll sometimes do all the right things. You know what I'm saying? And they don't necessarily produce the results that you're looking for. But if you don't do anything, you know, there's a good chance that nothing is nothing is gonna happen. You know, you know what I mean? Absolutely. You know, and it's I think about uh the stories were fishing and you know, they're out there all night and they're doing all of the right things, and it wasn't until Jesus said, Hey, throw your net on the other side of the boat that they actually caught fish. I think it's such a such a beautiful story because you know there are so many things that we do in business. There's the all the block and tackle things that we do. You know what I'm saying? And I've found time and time again where I stopped struggling, I stopped, you know, doing all the things and really, you know, said, Hey God, you know what? I I need to step back, I need to surrender, I need to let you, you know, kind of not even kind of, you know, lead the way, you know, and then things started to change. You know, it wasn't necessarily overnight, but things started to change. I started to see things differently. And the the truth is, bottom line is I mean, God was able to use me versus me just, you know, trying to push my way through.

SPEAKER_00 3:21

Love that. I love that in the story, especially you know, the story in the Bible, and then ultimately that we have to act, and it's all the way through. You know, Paul in scripture tells us all the time we gotta can't just stand around and watch. We gotta do some stuff too to make things happen and and not necessarily wait on him to do it for us. So thanks for

The Bike Story And Tenacity

SPEAKER_00 3:39

sharing that. So I I just I found I love that quote at the start, even before I jump into my traditional first question, but we'll go back there and I'll take you back in time just a little bit as I ask all my first-time guests to tell me a story from their childhood that still impacts who they are today as a person or as a leader.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

Wow, there's I mean, there's I think the the biggest thing my mother told me, um I I have no actual, you know, firsthand recollection of that. I uh was a young guy and I had a bike with training wheels on it, right? And you know, it was like, you know, I don't know if you remember the old training wheels with like, you know, if you lean so far, you know, they would take away.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Oh yeah, they're they're bending out, yeah, depending on how big you have. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

So then, you know, so I had that for a while and and I got kind of bored of it because, you know, in in my thinking, it's like, you know, every time I go to make a turn, I have to stand up, you know, I have to keep the bike upright and it just doesn't work, right? So I got my dad, I said, Dad, I, you know, can you take the training wheels off? And dad's like, Oh, do you think you can ride? I'm like, Yeah, I can ride, I can ride. And uh, so he takes the training wheels off. And my mother says that I rode up and down the street trying to figure out how to ride this thing over and over and over again, and I didn't quit until I was able to ride. She said that tenacity that I showed, you know, really impressed her. And this is something that's always, you know, always carried with me. It's like, you know, when I start to do things, when I, you know, go after a project, when I'm leading my teams, it's always like, okay, go. You know, we f we fall off, we fall off sometimes, we lose our balance sometimes, you know, you know, get off track sometimes. But you know, it's like, okay, let's let's write the ship and let's let's keep going. And it's just over and over again. I had, you know, my consulting business for 20 years, you know, and we had serious up and downs. We had, you know, very, very painful moments. We had very, you know, great highs, but you know, I think that same tenacity and my mother's coaching me in that, just saying that to me, is really part of what enabled me to go for 20 years.

SPEAKER_00 5:30

Yeah, you said it too, and that that that feeds right into both your core values, number six, relentless pursuit of winning, which is also the title of your podcast, The Relentless Pursuit of Winning, speaks right into that word, relentless. All the way back to that, you know, I'm gonna do it until I figure out how to do it. I may get some bumps and bruises along the way in terms of uh not using the training wheels, but it's time and being persistent. And when you've uh coached other individuals, you know, what's the biggest battle they're facing internally, do you think, that you hear uh where they keep that relentless pursuit going on? What are they running into?

SPEAKER_01 6:05

You know, I find that sometimes it's beliefs. You know, you work with business owners as well. I mean, it's it's so often we can see more in the people that we work with than they can sometimes see in themselves. You know, we we see the path, you know, we see all the obstacles, we see all the opportunities. And sometimes just by saying, you know, hey, we need to do this, this is this is going to be to your benefit, it doesn't necessarily, it doesn't necessarily hit them right away. I think one of the things that I've experienced though is going back and repeating the same story, you know, later. You know, so we get you know, we get a little bit more, you know, water under the bridge, so to speak. We build a little a little bit more trust. And I say, hey, you know, let's let's revisit this conversation from a few months ago because I think there's still opportunity here. I think that this is something that is really going to enable you to tell a story that people are gonna remember, you know, going forward, and this is important.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Well, I think it's it's so good because even even as you think of again, going back to your childhood story again, even as you think about what you've had to share with others with regards to overcoming. You mentioned you know 20 years of consulting and you've had ups and downs in that space on your own. I've been in this, you know, at least entrepreneurial world for just a little over six or almost six years now, in the uh ups and downs of consulting and coaching and trying to find sales and trying to find clients and continuing on and those beliefs uh that may be sometimes limiting beliefs that pop up inside our heads that can that can keep us from doing that. Being able to remember the hard stories as well, where you did overcome is so important to make that happen. And I think if as that's what to me, that's what makes some of the best consultants and coaches are the ones that have experienced that themselves throughout life and overcome that and are able to share their stories to really make that happen.

Clarity Beats Content Volume

SPEAKER_00 7:49

Now, you talk about that, you know, in your business with regards to having a clear message. And a lot of times, again, in our in our entrepreneurial world, if we listen to many of the marketing folks who are talking online, they're saying, hey, you got to put out more content, you gotta do this, you gotta do that. But you believe that clarity, the message, is actually more important than the volume of the message that's out there. So how do you work with folks to get their message clear before they move into this volume space?

SPEAKER_01 8:16

You know, it's really a process because you know, the first thing that we have to do is we we have to realize that um, and I apologize to anybody out here that takes offenses, we'll you know, sometimes we sell authority just for the sake of authority. You know what I'm saying? We we say something, we stand behind it. Hey, you've got to post five times a day across every platform, you know, and you say it over and you say it enough times, you know, people are gonna believe that. So first thing we have to do is we have to overcome that. We have to understand that, especially with smaller companies, our our businesses are really extensions of ourselves. You know, so our personality, the way that we work with customers, et cetera, et cetera, this is reflected into what we might call our brand personality. Okay, and so that means that every story needs to be different because there's going to be a group of people. There is going to be a market segment that is going to appeal directly to your particular story. You know, if you're the guy like me, you know, that would, you know, be daring and ride down a roller skate, ride down a hill and roller skates and you know, try to do a jump and fall and burst. You know, there there's a group of people that say, hey, you know what, I like working with entrepreneurs that are kind of on the edge. Those that'll take a risk. Those will take an educated risk because I need to push my company further. But there are other people that are going to say, hey, I need to work with a more consultant, you know, conservative consultant. You know, somebody that's going to say, hey, you know what, these are the individual steps we need to take. This is the backup plan, and this is the backup plan for the backup plan. You know, we have if we are authentic in telling our stories, if we go in deep and really understand our customers, our real customers, who they are, what challenges they have, what fears they have, what their goals are, et cetera, et cetera. We're able to tell a compelling story that will attract the right base. No, I think that's that's so good.

SPEAKER_00 9:59

That's how that's how you think about that, Rick. I apologize, I didn't mean to interrupt you there. You th the you know what resonates with me as you say that is too many times as entrepreneurs, we try to satisfy everybody. We we diverge and we try to satisfy everybody, and as a result, we don't satisfy anybody. So if we can recognize you know who we really want to connect with, whether you call that an avatar or whether you call that your perfect client or whatever you end up calling that, and you can talk to them based on your experience, I do but I think you're right. I think you do have a much better chance of being

Authenticity And Integrity With AI

SPEAKER_00 10:32

successful. Now, in the world that we live at today, I mean I know you touched on this, you said, how do we continue to live with people-centered integrity, being being in tech in integrity with our story in a marketplace that leads with all kinds of disruptions, especially in the world we live in today with regards to AI. And we could simplify all of our social media strategy and overburden people with content just by using AI. In fact, you know, videos, shoot, I don't know if anybody really knows if it's you and I talking or not. It might be our AI avatars that are talking as well. But how do you maintain that integrity in that world that we live in?

SPEAKER_01 11:06

You know, and it's and I'm really glad you asked that because you know, I've been asking that question to other marketers as well. You know, and one of the one of the things that came out of the conversation I had yesterday that really impressed on me, and it really, you know, really built on what I was thinking anyway, is that authenticity. And it's not just, you know, not just the the one-time, but it's consistent. So, you know, as you as you were saying earlier, you know, we've got to be able to always tell the truth so that we're connecting with our core audience in a way that is authentic. When they have, when they launch like uh agentic search, for example, that agentic search is gonna get to know you as a user. And when you're going out and looking for things, it's gonna connect you with the authentic voices that actually connect with you. Because frankly, you know, they want you, they want to be a trusted source of information for you. So if you're not trusted, if you're not sending the same message out consistently to the same market, you're not gonna get the results that you're looking for.

SPEAKER_00 12:03

I mean, so there's that balance all the time that we as leaders have to face, especially as entrepreneurs that have to face. We need efficiency, and AI will make us more efficient if we use it correctly. But we also want to maintain that human touch point that exists inside that space. So, how are you doing that today? How are you you how are you you using AI to help you be a little bit more efficient, but also maintain the personal touch that you need to as a consultant or as a coach?

SPEAKER_01 12:28

Well, I I mean I think we have to look at AI as what it is. I mean, it's it's a resource. You know, it's it's kind of like, you know, when we were growing up, we had we had encyclopedias and we would go to the library and we get information from there. And, you know, if we copied that information, we plagiarize the information. We didn't, A, we didn't know what the information was to begin with, B, you know, we might have gotten trouble for you know for plagiarizing the information. You know, AI aggregates information on a massive level. It doesn't necessarily mean that the information is correct. It doesn't mean that it's going to have the depth that it would have if a if a human wrote it. And so we need to look at AI from that perspective. And that's you know, just kind of the surface level. There are you know agents that we can create that help to make us work more efficiently that save steps. And we've been doing this like through tools like you know, Zapier and that sort of thing. We're automating, but we're automating on a more complex level. So we have to look at things for the you know, at the way that they are, not the way that we wish they would be. You know, we can't get mad at ChatGPT because it's giving us, you know, not giving us the answer that we want. We have to remember it's a computer, it's a robot. It's not necessarily it's not a human. It doesn't read into and understand, you know, what we're thinking. It's working on algorithms, it's looking on working on statistics, it's not working on, hey, this is a human brain. We're creating new information.

SPEAKER_00 13:46

Love that. And I I love that just talking about it using it as a tool. Um, it's one of those things that uh some will use it as the primary method for all of their communication. It just can't be that way. And folks will figure that out. And unfortunately, sometimes they don't figure that out until after you're working with them, but they'll realize that you don't have some of the knowledge, wisdom that you claim to have through all those things and and see that it's AI. And again, I think just you know, as we record this today, some of the things that are going on with SpaceX and helping the other AI companies out right now with regards to speed, and they're gonna go to the market and be a $1.7 trillion in IPO, you know, it's one of those things that, man, it's it's here, it's not necessarily going anywhere. And so we have to learn to manage that.

Faith-Based Leadership And Creativity

SPEAKER_00 14:29

Now, in your space, Rick, and again, I've seen this even on your LinkedIn profile, which I really appreciate. Uh you know, faith and faith-based principles are very important to you. How are you integrating your faith-based principles into your work and into your communication as well?

SPEAKER_01 14:44

I think it's really important for us to maintain, enhance the human-to-human connections. You know, we're doing you know, I saw something yesterday where I think it was an ad somewhere, and they were talking about how people are using like Chat GPT for their faith-based conversations and you know, for, you know, for um, you know, counseling and and and that sort of thing. And it's like, you know, I think I think to a certain degree, you know, that's kind of directional, but it's not necessarily going to be uh substantial enough for us to really make good decisions with it. I think that, you know, with our work at Polaris story, you know, the idea is to help people tell these stories, bring us back together, help us to communicate, help us to think again. I mean, this is what God created us for. We're a unique creation. You know, there's there's nothing on the earth that is as as fascinating as the human being, you know, but we're losing that, you know, or we're starting to lose that, you know, between you know just being isolated, everybody's working from home and they're not going anywhere, they're not doing anything, you know, communication is down to you know, three minute bites, one minute bites, and and it's just for dopamine rushes. How do we get real information? How do we truly honor God with the creation that He's made? How do we use that creep? How do we really develop and extend that creativity to honor God through that? I mean, think about think about the idea that you know God made Adam and Adam was to name all the animals. God wanted Adam to use his creativity to name all the animals. Then God sat back and said, Wow, that's that's cool. That's cool. I didn't realize this was gonna be a rhino, but this is cool. That's a great name. You you know what I mean? I mean, I I think creativity, Michael Jackson said it, Prince said it, creativity is like one of the highest gifts we can give back to God.

SPEAKER_00 16:27

So good. And even as a as a leader, you know, to delegate that task to someone who he knew uh was gonna fail him anyway. Do you think about that? Hey, go ahead and name all the animals. You know, I'm gonna make them, but you can go ahead and give them a name. That's a lot of trust that has to exist in a relationship standpoint uh with someone to be able to delegate that important responsibility too. And I and again, I appreciate that. I think you've uh made that very clear uh in all of your material, in your website, uh, on your LinkedIn profile, Instagram area, and things like that. And I pull this quote directly off your in LinkedIn profile. I value my relationship with God above all others, and I am not perfect. I am intentional. Tell me about intentional and how are you intentional today as a leader, as an entrepreneur, as a as a man.

SPEAKER_01 17:10

I mean, it I find it I recognize that you know God is the supreme architect, you know, he's the conductor, he it's his, it's it's his story ultimately that that we're part of. You know, and I I find that going my own way, you know, doesn't really benefit, doesn't benefit me, doesn't benefit the kingdom, doesn't benefit God. I prefer to be in alignment with God. And so we'll find that like even before this podcast, you know, I sat down for a few minutes and I'm like, you know, God, you know, I want this, I want this show to impact lives. I want this show to I want to honor you, you know, in being here. And I do that through all of my shows, and I do that through my conversations, I do that in the morning, you know, when I'm getting out of bed. I s I still, you know, say my prayers before I, you know, go to bed and you know, when I get up in the morning, and I think that that's important because I always want to, you know, cover the people that I love. I always want to represent that. I always want to be even you know open with them about that. It was like, hey, you know, Amy, I prayed for you today, you know, that or and you know what? It just lifts her up, you know, at the very least. But it also, you know, shows that intentionality. It's like, hey, I care about you as a being, as one of you know, God's daughters. I want you to be able to overcome whatever obstacle you're facing. So that's it, that's really, really important to me. It's become and as I get older, it's just like, you know, it's almost like, you know, what else is there? You know, that's funny.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Older. I I listened to you on a couple other podcasts, and a lot of folks said they refer to you as seasoned. I think you and I are both pretty seasoned in our ways, that maybe that sounds better than old.

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SPEAKER_00 18:41

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Mentors And A Mother’s Standard

SPEAKER_00 19:18

But look, we've all had folks who have influenced us. Have you had specific mentors that have that have influenced you on your journey over the last decades through throughout your life, in your business or uh other spaces?

SPEAKER_01 19:29

You know, it's been interesting because it's always been very I haven't really had the I've always wanted, I think, you know, a mentor or mentors, you know, and I've had people, you know, just individually, you know, that popped in and, you know, just gave me, you know, little breadcrumbs here and there. You know, I think one of I would say the person that's been most influential to me, you know, just in terms of the way that I work has has been my mother. You know, she's um started out a teacher in I think Pemberton or Cherry Hill in in New Jersey, and she rose to be an administrator, and she was so impactful that when she decided to retire, you know, they made they put an article in the paper about it on the on the front page of Philadelphia Inquirer, which is, you know, you know, two-inch thick newspaper. It was just incredible. And it was, you know, it's the way that she impacted people's lives, the way that she cared about people, the way that she made excellence the standard, you know, the way that she stopped and listened, the way that she, you know, these these are things that, you know, most of it was caught. You know, she was she didn't walk around, you know, with, you know, you know, as as you know, a an authoritarian, but you know, she she just demonstrated, you know, a level of excellence that really played into like my you know, my entire career. You know, I can look back to the restaurant industry and just think about, you know, not just how we did what we did in terms of the food that we created and served, but how we treated each other and how we treated customers. You know, is you know, building the consulting agency, it's like how do how do we make people feel good, feel seen? How do we make sure that they're you know getting what they want? I didn't know, you know, for most of my career that, hey, I was striving for excellence, but you know, other people saw the pattern. I was just like, wow, that's I I remember, you know, specifically there was a report on the 50 states that I had to write when I was, you know, in elementary school, I think, and I did the first version of it, and my mom was just like, no, this doesn't look good. This isn't good enough. And she made me do the entire 50 states, you know, all you know, all over again. You know, and and that becomes the standard. That story plays over and over in my head. Would my mom say that this is okay?

SPEAKER_00 21:28

You said that word too, that that that standard was there. That that's the word that came in my mind when she said it's just it's not up to the level of expectation that that you're capable of. What is what is the standard? I first I love that moms are influences in our lives uh all that time through uh secondly, you know, what you said that really is uh should be inspiring to leaders is that you know, in essence, you catch what you're shown. She modeled that behavior. It may not have been a formal book or a lesson that she sat down and taught you or things like that, but she modeled. That behavior and you picked it up and frankly didn't even realize it until maybe others pointed that out to you as well in that journey. That's great.

Polaris Story And Business Storytelling

SPEAKER_00 22:07

You also mentioned Polaro Story, and if I say that incorrectly, you can you can correct me, but it's an that's a new company for you, a new venture. What's tell me a Polaro story? Tell us about it.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

Yeah, I'm I'm really excited about Polaris. It goes into the conversation of about stories. You know, I I work with a lot of I've worked with a lot of different businesses, you know, over the years. And you know, when you walk into a group, uh, you know, walk into a networking room and you know, there's ten consultants at the table and they're saying the same thing. Hey, I'm a growth consultant, I help, you know, small businesses, you know, get to the next level. It's just like, what are we doing here? You know, you know what I mean? And then the the worst part about it is truth be told, you leave that room, you leave that sp you've forgotten everybody. You know, but think about what think about Jesus' approach. Jesus used stories. And those stories, the Bible, the stories in the Bible are memorable. Yes. You know, we don't we don't forget them, and you know, we apply them in our lives, you know, sometimes not even thinking about it. You know, and and that's such a beautiful thing. And I I think that as business owners, as businesses, as companies, as organizations, you know, we all have stories to tell. We have stories to tell that help our audiences truly understand, you know, what we're about, who we serve, why we do what we do, what our vision for the future is. And so the first part, the primary goal with Polaris Stories to help people create those stories. The second part of it is to help them tell those stories. So what we use is we use, you know, one-time podcasts. So it might be like a we'll create a show that's branded for the company that we're serving, and we'll interview them about their story. So it's not just, hey, my name is blah, blah, blah. I do this for this, that, you know, it becomes a little bit more in depth. Why do you do this? You know, what inspired you? You know, who did you who did you see? You know, what what problems are you really, really solving for the people that you serve? And what makes what makes them special? Why this particular market segment? We can go in a little bit deeper in those conversations than we typically go. A second way we do this is we do live events. And a live event is like a podcast, similar similar format, but what we'll do is we'll bring in an audience, you know, and we'll let the audience also interact while we tell these stories. You know, we help our client tell these stories in a in a much larger way. And then in both of those cases, we create additional marketing materials and allow them to use that to help to continue to promote their company. And the third piece of that is, you know, when we have a story, you know, sometimes we need to get that story out to a larger audience. So we help create podcasts for companies. So if we had, you know, there was um there was an organization that approached us and they wanted to solve a problem that we have, a large-scale problem that we have in this country. But not everybody in this country understood the problem. And so what we wanted to do is we wanted to create podcasts to help educate the general public about the problem. And so this would be an example of how we are able to help, you know, expand a story. So it's not just the story of, hey, there's a problem in this country, but hey, we need to inform the country about these problems.

SPEAKER_00 24:55

So this is what we generate that reason for action. I love that. I love that as a as a model. Helping them tell their stories through a podcast and then ultimately helping them identify and create that reason for action in a space they need to to tell a story. And yes, you're spot on. I mean, Jesus told parables all through the New Testament where he was using those to for great teaching points, and storytelling is so important. Is there one that or a short period of time, is there one that kind of sticks out that you've you you've enjoyed putting together without maybe sharing anything confidential you don't want to, but working with folks?

SPEAKER_01 25:25

You know, it was that healthcare company was really it was really it's really interesting. I mean, I I can't really I can't really go into details with it because I I think that the approach that we took was was really unique. But I think that the opportunity that's created around what around this particular project is one that would make a make a significant impact, you know, for you know, for people, you know, across the country. I mean the the the problem that we're challenging is one that I would say you know most Americans you know are dealing with and most Americans probably hate and it's something that you know we've been talking about for the past heavily talking about heavily for at least the past you know 20 or 30 years. So I mean, whenever we have a problem like that, um, you know, I I definitely want to get in and you know get my hands dirty. You know, I mean if we you know I would love to do like some environmental project projects, you know, with somebody that is, you know, with companies, organizations that are you know look saying, hey, you know, this is this is a problem. You know, we talk about like the microplastics and that sort of thing. It's like it's kind of you know on the fringe, you know, people talk about it, you know, on a higher level, or food, you know, people talk about it on a higher level, but it's just like what does it really mean? Who are the people that are really having the conversations and where can we get real data, real verifiable data so we can make really good decisions?

SPEAKER_00 26:39

I think that's really I think it's really cool. Again, I I've not heard of that type of business model before. Helping to write the vision, yeah, there's organizations that help you do that. But using the you know the platform of a podcast uh to both share the vision and also you know identify and and uh a problem so that people act on it is really cool. You go back to your creative juices in that, Rick. I can feel it. Uh your Michael Jackson and Prince inside of you that are making those things happen. You have to do that all the time, and we have to have those unique questions on podcasts to try and draw those stories out from individuals. You know, as the host of the Relentless Pursuit of Winning podcast, is there a favorite question that you like to ask to get that out of folks and uh really get them to tell their story?

SPEAKER_01 27:23

You know, the the question that I ask people at the end of every show you didn't get the question, it was uh it came after you. But you know, the name of the show obviously is the Relentless Pursuit of Winning podcast. It is very easy to define what winning looks like. But the hard part is maintaining that relentless pursuit. And so the question I always ask my guests is what would you educate to someone or what do you suggest to someone in order to help them maintain that relentless pursuit after you know whatever their goal is? That's my that's my favorite question. I've got some really, really brilliant, really, really creative responses to that.

SPEAKER_00 27:57

Love that as a question. May hear that here again before we hang up. I want to ask you something pretty specific and fun to learn more about you.

Fun Questions And How To Connect

SPEAKER_00 28:04

Are you a baseball fan at all? Being down there at Atlanta, Braves fan, they're doing so well this year. I'm not, I'm not. You're not?

SPEAKER_01 28:09

I always say uh I was a player, you know, I I hate watching sports.

SPEAKER_00 28:12

Fair enough. Okay, so but Michael Jackson and Prince maybe have influenced you. What would be your karaoke song that you'd be singing, Rick? Uh you're out with friends on a Friday evening and they put a microphone up inside, and you're like, hey, go sing a karaoke song, Rick. What are you gonna sing?

SPEAKER_01 28:27

Uh I'm probably gonna sing what is that song? Uh of course I can't remember the name of the song.

SPEAKER_00 28:33

Sing it for us and we'll figure it out. I'll I'll see if I can name that too.

SPEAKER_01 28:37

It's a hard song to sing to. Uh oh wow, I can't remember the name of it. Let's see. Let's let's pick another one. Hootie and the Blowfish Only Wanna Be With You.

SPEAKER_00 28:44

I love that. Okay, Hootie. I just listened to and shared a song, Hootie and the Blowfish, or a Darius Rucker song with my brother yesterday. He was uh working on a little project and shared it with him to uh pick his spirits up just a little bit. Love me some Darius Rucker, Hootie and the Blowfish, 1993 or 4. I went to see them in concert. Goodness gracious. There we go, back in that seasoned world again, Rick. Thanks for sharing that. The reason I was asking about baseball is like, what would your walk-up song be? You're getting ready to go up to bat. What will be the song they would play for for you to uh be coming up to bat? So no worries there. Hey, how do folks get in touch with you, Rick? I want to honor your time. We're coming up on some things. How do folks get in touch with you where you want them to go to learn more about you?

SPEAKER_01 29:24

You know what? You know, my landing page, uh, rickbeacons.com, is a really good place. You can see all of you know a lot of what I'm working on. If you want to email directly, um you can email me at Rick at Polaris Story, P-O-L-A-R-I-S-T-O-R-Y dot com. Um, that's that's gonna be the easiest thing to do. Uh my podcast is uh rpal r po w podcast dot com where people can go and check out the shows. And it's on LinkedIn and YouTube and Spotify and all of that good stuff.

SPEAKER_00 29:49

So yeah, I'd love to hear from anybody about uh Yeah, well put those uh put those things in the show notes, make sure

Discipline And Accountability For The Long Haul

SPEAKER_00 29:55

folks can get to them. Rick, I just got kind of two more questions. Uh one of when I think about what you talked about with regards to your question, maintaining that relentless pursuit. I think it's a I think it's a gap, it's a barrier that many leaders face today, whether it's in business, in their homes, and building their faith, maintaining that relentless pursuit, the the barrier is complacency or good enough. Hey, I'm doing good enough, but uh as as certainly as men of faith, we know that we were called to more than that. Okay, so how do you I I sometimes call it the the day 76 effect kind of thing. Like we do 75 hard to keep us in shape for s get us in shape for 75 days. What are we supposed to do on day 76? How do we keep that going, kind of thing? How do you maintain that relentless pursuit? How are you doing it, Rick, to make sure that you're continuing to add value to others and grow yourself?

SPEAKER_01 30:44

You know, foundationally it's it's discipline. You know, it's the learning to do the same things, you know, over and over again. It's it's removing the emotional component from it. You know, um, I go to the gym every day at five o'clock. I don't think, hey, do I feel like going to the gym? I don't say, hey, you know what, I'm sore, I'm not going to the gym. It's like, okay, I this is this is where I go. If I walk out of the house, I'm probably going to end up at the gym without even thinking about it. This this is important, but I mean it's the same thing with with the business. You know, at you know, eight o'clock, I'm sitting at my desk and I'm doing the things that I need to do. You know, um, it's that that that discipline of being able to be in the right place regardless of how you feel, is really, really important for us to get anything done in life. The other piece to that is is accountability. You know, and I look at you know, accountability to to my creator. You know, I think about I think about the you know the story of the talents, you know, where we had the the the three people that had the talents, you know, the 10, 7, and and the three. And I always think it's just like, okay, God invested, you know, all of this, invested 55 years in the you know, training, et cetera, et cetera. What do I what do I need to give him back? You know, how do I honor that? Because if you think about it, God put a lot of trust into us to be vocal, to influence other people, to get the word out, you know, about our faith, about work, et cetera, et cetera. It's it's a huge responsibility. When you look at when I look at it like that, I know I've got work to do. I know I have work to do until the day I die.

SPEAKER_00 32:14

Yes, you do. Yes, we do. Thank you for sharing that with regards to that relentless. So the discipline and accountability. Um, and I love that the j every day at five o'clock I think about that. You know, I don't care how you feel, right? I mean, we can we can not feel well, but the you know, the discipline and accountability is we gotta be there. That's doing it even when we don't want to do it, is that absolute definition of of discipline. Thank you for sharing.

Billboard Advice And Closing Challenge

SPEAKER_00 32:38

Rick, this has been a great conversation. I hope you've enjoyed it. I know I have one more question. It's my ending question for the Uncommon Leader podcast, but I'm gonna give you a billboard. You're in that Atlanta area, you can put it anywhere you want to. Uh, a lot of people are gonna see it. But you know, for those entrepreneurs, for those leaders, for those individuals who are looking for that inspirational message, on that billboard, what's the message you're gonna put for them and why do you put it there?

SPEAKER_01 33:03

It is still gonna be sometimes you just have to jump off the bridge and go to parachute on the way down. You know, I know that, you know, I mean, as a younger person that had a you know slightly different connotation, but you know, there are gonna be so many things that we don't know the answers to. There are gonna be so many opportunities that don't have a clear end zone with uh we've gotta go out, we've gotta we've got to do these things anyway. Now, the cool thing about being able to be having a relationship with God is you know, you get you get to you know test your faith. You know, like Martin Luther King said, you know, it's like you know, we get to you know start walking up the stairs without knowing what's gonna be at the top. You know, it's a beautiful thing. I think I find I find it to be a beautiful thing. But when we play it safe, you know, we're we're not living up to our potential. We're not, and because we're created to influence other people, you know, we're not doing that job of influencing others, we're not serving at the level that we could.

SPEAKER_00 33:55

So jump off the bridge. It's gonna be alright. Excellent. Hey Rick, this has been fun. Thank you so much for sharing your message with listeners of the Uncommon Leader podcast. I work, I wish you the best with Polera's story and all the other endeavors you go forward with. So thanks again.

SPEAKER_01 34:10

Thanks, John, so much for having. I really enjoyed our conversation.

SPEAKER_00 34:13

Such a good message from Rick Mickins. I truly enjoyed that conversation today. I know that you did as well. Some of the things that stood out to me, especially at the very end, was the you know the message about discipline and accountability and how that was so important to him with regards to being relentlessly pursuing that winning. Certainly, his message at the end. Take the leap, jump off the bridge, build that parachute on the way down. That's quite an interesting picture. But we gotta have faith, we gotta take that first step and show others how to be courageous in their space. Hey, if you heard something on this podcast that you know someone who needs to hear it, please share it with them. That'd be great. That's how we get it into the hands of more uncommon leaders just like you. And if you get a chance, if you haven't already, please drop us a five star review on the platform that you listen. It's just another way that, again, that we continue to grow this audience of uncommon leaders on making a difference. So, until next time, go and grow champions.