https://bamboolab3.com/
https://bamboolab3.com/
Hello and welcome to the Bamboo Lab Podcast with your host, peak Performance Coach, brian Bosley. Are you stuck on the hamster wheel of life, spinning and spinning but not really moving forward? Are you ready to jump off and soar? Are you finally ready to sculpt your life? If so, you've landed in the right place. This podcast is created and broadcast just for you, all of you strivers, thrivers and survivors out there. If you'd like to learn more about Brian and the Bamboo Lab, feel free to reach out to explore your true peak level at wwwbamboolab3.com.
Speaker 2:Welcome everybody back to this week's episode of the Bamboo Lab Podcast. I think we are at episode 120, I believe, and well, anyway, today we have an amazing friend of mine on. We have Scott Rethke on, and many of you will know his name in the financial industry. Scott is a 22-year veteran in the financial industry with Ameriprise Financial. He's out of Seattle, washington, and he spent a lot of his career in leadership and I've been blessed to know Scott for now 15 or 16 years and I'm honored each week.
Speaker 2:We get the chance to talk on the phone for a half hour every Thursday and we've worked on multiple projects together over the years and I asked him, I think a week or two ago, why won't you come on my podcast? And he goes. You never asked me and I thought I had asked him and he said no, but I was wrong. So he is a very proud graduate of the University of Washington. He's a Husky and obviously many of you know them as an incredible athletic school as well as academic. They came in second place this year to the Michigan Wolverines and I had to rub that in a little bit. But anyway, without further ado, I'm going to welcome this amazing man to our show. So, scott, my amazing friend of 15 years, welcome to the Bamboo Lab podcast.
Speaker 3:Well, thanks for having me and, out of the gates, thanks for bringing up the national championship game, just as it was about, out of my memory, right back to it. So thank you very much sir.
Speaker 2:You got another nine months of me bringing that up as often as I can Perfect. Well, you know, scott, it's fun because it's so fun to bring on people that I've known for so long on this show, because I know so much about you and you know a lot about me. During our weekly phone calls We've talked about a lot of things, both personal and professional, but obviously many of the people listening today don't. So can you start off and share with the audience a little bit about yourself, maybe where you're from, your family, you know, growing up, just whatever you want to share.
Speaker 3:Sure, you know you mentioned my office is in Seattle, washington, and I actually grew up in a suburb of Seattle that is called Kirkland Washington and most people know about Kirkland Washington for one of two things Usually it's Kirkland signature toilet paper and water which is the Costco brand. Or people will say, oh, little League World Series champions from 1982. So that's Kirkland Washington. I was born and raised there and when it came time to spread my wings, I went all the way across the lake, about eight miles, to University of Washington and then, after graduating, promptly moved right back and I think about I mean my childhood and really I think of it as very all-american playing sports, having fun with my sister and our dog, trips to Hawaii, camping, fishing just very all-American.
Speaker 3:And then I've been, like you said, a financial advisor for about 22 years and I'm on a team that is called the 590 Financial Group, and most people then say what does 590 mean? Seattle is at the intersection of Interstate 90 and Interstate 5. And we thought you know what? That's our location. We're going with 590 Financial Group and we say that we help clients manage the intersection of life and money. So that's just a little bit about me.
Speaker 2:I told you before, I think that's one of the coolest names because there's a story behind it, and I think every name of a company or a team should have a story, just like every tattoo should have a story. I don't think people should just go and get a tattoo that doesn't have meaning. People should not name their team or their company just on some blind whim. I know Kirkland as Kirkland Vodka.
Speaker 3:Okay, add it to the list. Toilet paper, water and vodka.
Speaker 2:Isn't Kirkland a brand of Sam's Club or something?
Speaker 3:It's the Costco brand. Their number one store was Kirkland Washington.
Speaker 2:Okay, I know a friend of mine who I think he drank Absolute or Grey Goose vodka started buying Kirkland.
Speaker 3:I don't drink vodka but he said it tastes the same for a fraction of the price. It sounds like you're trying to get some sponsorship on the show by Hawking Costco goods.
Speaker 2:Fantastic. There you go. I love it. I love it. Anybody from Costco, reach out to me. You know my number. I'll give it to you at the end of the show. All right? So, scott, you grew up in Kirkland. I didn't know that. That's funny that I just learned something about you. What made you go to the university of Washington? Have you always been a?
Speaker 3:fan. You know, when I was little, I mean growing up, we would go to football, basketball games. Basketball's a big part of my life and I was just. It was just one of those things that was. It was kind of a baked in. You will go to this school, not in a forced way, but I mean I think I really only had my sights on going to college there.
Speaker 2:Okay, Well, so tell me about I don't know much about your family, your folks. Are they still with us?
Speaker 3:They are. And then I have a sister who is, I guess, about four years older than me, who is local as well, oh wonderful.
Speaker 2:And I know you have an amazing wife, ann, and you've got a son, price, who is a big athlete, plays a lot of different sports and you're pretty involved with those sports.
Speaker 3:Yes, and you know, one of the things that I'm a big believer in is the saying it takes a village, and when I think about I've had a lot of experience coaching youth sports from all the way, I think, price being age three to age 13. Now I think about my own life in sports, constantly surrounded by good people that get to see you on an ongoing basis, and so it really takes a village with these kids. I was a product of a great village.
Speaker 2:I think that's true, and I think that's true even as we get older. I mean, I've noticed that, you know, growing up I grew up in a small town of 3000 people and played sports and everybody seems so well connected where you know if you, if you, were doing something wrong, some other parents going to going to chew your ass, they're not going to. You know, get on social media and post something. They're going to call you right out, right there, they're going to tell your parents you did something. Hey, this is what he did.
Speaker 2:And then it seemed like I went away from that for a long time. I thought I was this rock, I was an island, I could stand alone on everything. And then, when Dawson was, was born my son, who 21 years ago or a little more than that now. But I realized and even with my daughter I realized that, but I was so young at the time when she was born that I'm still in this kind of rock, island mentality, that I realized when Dawson was born because I was raising him on my own.
Speaker 2:It does take a village. It takes a village of great friends and family around us, but it also does that in a professional life. I mean, I've noticed, since I've made such good friends like you and so many other people who have been on the show or just clients or, you know, centers of influence or just colleagues around the country, that, my gosh, my life has been so much better because of the people I've brought into my inner circle. So, scott, growing up, so was there a thing, a person or any event that inspired you growing up?
Speaker 3:Boy, you know it's like I said, I'm the product of a good village and so I mean, of course, mom and dad are a huge part of that village and my mom was a public health nurse. A public health nurse and I don't, I don't think I in my life will ever see anybody who is as selfless as what we witnessed my mom do on a daily basis, and that's still the case. I mean, she is just, she would rather help anybody else, but but take time for herself at times is what it feels like. And then I mean, my dad was an electrical engineer for Boeing. He worked in what was called the black hole, which was their defense department, and so classified stuff, and he took a lot of pride in being able to tell my sister and I, you know, I I could tell you what I did today at work, but then I'd have to kill you. Tell you what I did today at work, but then I'd have to kill you, and you know. So we got to see him be, I mean, quite different from my mom and be very, I mean he would show just decision-making skills, rational thoughts, and it was just that was his job and that's what he brought to us.
Speaker 3:And then I think you know, I think of two other people that I really learned a lot from in my village and I just did air quotes which one was my sixth grade teacher. And one thing as I was trying to put together some thoughts for this is I realized how much I've been shaped by reading books, and part of that is that my sixth grade teacher was just a super wise, sharp individual and what I remember most about him was he said your life will be shaped by the books you read and who your friends are. And I listened to him and I just thought, okay, I that's, if I want to end up in a good place, I better read good things and I better hang out with good people. And then I had a high school basketball coach and what I credit him with is, just, I always thought I was a hardworking, successful, ambitious person and he really showed me truly what hard work is and pushing somebody to get better and work harder than they even knew they were capable of.
Speaker 3:And, uh, and you know, one other thing that we try along these lines with our son price is books are impactful and when I was a kid, I read books about, uh, autobiographies about sports people, and I think about the book Bo Knows Bo, which was Bo Jackson. I swear I read it 200 times when I was little. Larry Bird, the Story of my Life, is another one that I read. So I guess for any of those parents out there, if you want to get your kid to read or you want to get some thoughts from a third-party voice into their head, look at the sports stars they look up to and get some of those books. Just leave them lying around, see if they pick them up. So that was a big part of what shaped me growing up.
Speaker 2:And you still to this day. I know the audience doesn't know this, but you're one of the few people who will send me quite a bit. I bet every two or three times a month you're sending me a book. Have you read this? And obviously sometimes I've read it or I've heard of it, and there are some times I've never heard of the book, and that's pretty rare as much as I get involved with reading and I still haven't read the Pete Carroll book yet, though yeah, you know, pro tip for everybody that reads books out there and I've told this to Brian is I rediscovered eBay as a fantastic place to buy used books.
Speaker 3:It is amazing the information you can get from books and it's $5 to buy these books that retailed at $40, $50. You know, it's just anyway. I guess you were hawking Costco vodka earlier.
Speaker 2:I'm hawking eBay a little bit right now Looking for two new sponsors on the Bamboo Lab podcast eBay and Costco.
Speaker 2:No, but I agree with you on that. A lot of times I'll be in the bookstore and I'll pick up three or four books and it will come to $60. And even I'm a very I need gratification right now and that's probably why I don't get on eBay, because it's a little longer and even where I live now I don't get the second, the next day delivery from Amazon. But so, but I still order from Amazon. I'm just not home enough to a lot of times a book will sit out for three or four weeks on my front porch. So I now I just find myself going to bookstores a lot and I'll buy, you know, like three or four books comes to $60 or so, and I I walk up thinking, oh man, that's, that's a lot of money. But then at the same time I think, and it's the best investment you can make, you know, you can do, I can make 60 bucks going to dinner and I get nothing out of it but a meal that I could eat for $3 at home.
Speaker 2:But I can get years of learning and lessons out of $60 worth of books. You can get it for $15 or $20 on eBay.
Speaker 3:Right, funny. Another thought on this one is I give a lot of books and I give them as gifts. I don't remember which book it was about, but Chicago Bulls, phil Jackson era. Whenever they went on road trips, phil Jackson gave every single player on the team, as well as front office and staff who traveled with him and assistant coaches. He gave every single one of them a book ahead of road trips. And so the funny thought is here's Phil Jackson, wise and philosophical, giving books to a guy like Dennis Rodman. And later they asked Dennis Rodman, did you ever read those books? And he said I read every single one that Phil Jackson gave to me. And so it's just gifts can be a really powerful gift, I think.
Speaker 2:Oh, I agree. I agree a hundred percent. You're going to make me want to get off and read now. You know what I am reading, though. That you told me about was the Elon Musk book.
Speaker 3:Fascinating guy right.
Speaker 2:I think he's an amazing guy. I think he might have saved our country in a lot of ways. He definitely did a lot for free speech. But I started listening to it on Spotify and I think it's like 15 hours long or something and I've got three or four going at once, but that's one of them. So four going at once, but that's one of them. So when I'm that's a book, when I'm traveling and I'm driving, I can really get into it because I have to be sitting down listening to his story.
Speaker 3:Man, that guy's amazing. He's amazing and I would say for anybody listening, you don't have to be a huge Elon Musk fan, in my opinion, to like this. I pretty much didn't know much about him beyond seeing him interviewed, mostly in regards to Tesla stock performance, whatever it might be or what they're coming out with next. Just a really interesting guy, Scott.
Speaker 2:I'm going to put you on the spot If you had to right now. Somebody in the audience is saying okay, I just want to get three books that I should read right now. What would you say if you had to say what are the three books a person you would recommend them read right now? What would they be? Boy?
Speaker 3:you know one that, and here's one that's top of mind and it's because I sent it to a lady this morning, actually a client of mine. Uh, it's the greatest generation by Tom Brokaw. Yeah, and the intro to that book is amazingly powerful and really this is about. It's about the greatest generation, so the people and families living in the United States during World War II, but as I know, we have an international audience. This was everybody living through World War II across the globe, and it's just these little, almost short stories about how families, how did they deal with adversity, how did they remain optimistic during World War II, and it's to me, I just think, a very interesting time period. So I would say the greatest generation.
Speaker 3:Uh, Freakonomics is another book I recommend to a lot of people and it's it's one of those books that, to me, highlights the value of critical thinking skills. Boy, it makes you think, yeah, it's all these things are going on around you on a daily basis and we're trying to solve problems, do whatever. Are we approaching the true problem or are we totally addressing something else? Or are we taking credit for something that was naturally going to happen? It's just, I don't know. I think that's a really good book and for something that was naturally going to happen, it's just I don't know.
Speaker 3:I think that's a really good book and I might cheat on your third and I would say I mean Jocko Willink books I just think are fantastic, as well as William McRaven books. So those are two Navy SEALs and they've written a variety of books. And then you know, I'll throw in another plug If you, for the listeners who have kids, Jocko Willink has some of the best kids' books I think you could ever give to your own kids in terms of how to instill values in them growing up. And those are I just think of those as what are called the way of the warrior, kid books. But anyway, look up Jocko Willink kid books. Perfect, that would be my quick on the spot list.
Speaker 2:Oh well, I have a copy of the Greatest Generation. I have not read it. It's in my storage unit with all my other books. I have read Freakonomics and I picked up Extreme Ownership, I think. Jocko, yeah, that's the one. I didn't buy it, but it's on my list and I was at the Barnes Noble bookstore in Lansing, Michigan, a week or so ago and I saw it. I'm like, eh, I'm going to buy it. It's on my next three books to buy, but it was like $29 or something and I can get it on Amazon for $15. So I'm like I'll just order it.
Speaker 2:I have to wait until I travel here in the next few days, so I'm at a location for more than three or four days.
Speaker 3:So I'm not at my house. You know one thing yeah, I hear you. And one thing I'd share about Jocko books, as well as William McRaven, and these are very impactful Navy SEALs. They write their books in a way that I think they are very usable for your personal life, for your professional life. They will give real life stories of Navy SEAL combat and then how they deal with different things, and you would never sit I'm sitting here standing in a tie but you would never imagine that some of the same basic leadership principles of Navy SEALs I could use on a daily basis, and that's as a financial advisor, that is as a husband, that is as a father as well. They're just, I think, very applicable and they tee it up by saying real life stories. So, yeah, that's my list for you.
Speaker 2:I had to step away from it because, as you were talking, it made me realize that I was going through my bookshelf that I do have here at home. I probably have 150 to 200 books here and I just read. This is probably eight months ago. I read Fearless Eric Blem. Eric Blem it's called the Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team 6 Operator, adam Brown. About this, adam Brown his story of him being kind of a mess up as a kid and getting involved with drugs and everything and then going into the service and becoming a Navy SEAL and of course he was killed in combat. You know that right away when you read, before you even start reading the book.
Speaker 2:But man that book was amazing, amazing, such a good book and I've read a lot of books with Navy SEALs that they've read or written and I find every one of them to be fantastic I've never gotten. They're all extremely engaging and interesting and, like you said, you learn so many things that you can apply to your day-to-day life, no matter what you are and what you do for a living. I mean. They're all so applicable, agree, scott. So if you could look back on the last year of your life, or a couple of years, whatever it might be, what would you tell us is one of the greatest learnings you've gotten?
Speaker 3:be. What would you tell us is one of the greatest learnings you've gotten? Yeah, good question. And you know about nine months ago and you mentioned this in the intro nine months ago I stepped out of a field leadership role with the firm, so I was running our Seattle office as well as being an advisor to my clients, and officially left that role of being the branch manager to just be and focus solely on being a financial advisor.
Speaker 3:And you know it's I'm still very much, I think, in that transition to be being a full-time advisor. It's, and I think my biggest takeaway on that is this might sound so just obvious, but it's behavior change is hard. I think I've been in a field leadership role for more than 15 years almost 20, and to extract myself out of that role and it's behavior change is hard, and so I've had to to really try to focus on bringing more structure to every day that I have work wise. So, uh, and I think the self-awareness part is that that is the reality, for any change like that is behavior change is hard and we need some structure, we need to sit down and be purposeful about how we adjust to that change. So, yeah, like I said, that's been in just the last nine months.
Speaker 2:Well, and I got to be honest and you know this, we talked about this a year ago as you were going through this process is I was very concerned. I thought he is going to have because your schedule was so hectic with running a obviously a much more limited practice of clients than you do now. But you had that. You had the leadership of the office in Seattle and you had the responsibility of recruiting, which was a massive part of your time. And we talked about this and I thought, my gosh, you're going to start that first day as a full-time advisor again after so many years in field leadership that you're going to have all this time on your hands and I thought that can be a real recipe for disaster. You know what is it? The idle, idle playground, or idle, idle mind of the devil's playground, or something like that. And that didn't happen and I if honestly, much as I love you, to respect you, I would have bet my last seven paychecks that that was going to happen. It never happened, it just didn't. And what I was so impressed with was how you turned that corner and, like you said, you're still going through behavioral change. It doesn't really exhibit, at least when we're talking. I don't see the challenge of the change in the way you're doing things, because the one thing for the audience out there this 590 financial group that Scott is a part of and the team out in Seattle they do the greatest of this is 27 and a half years of me coaching financial advisors and other you know a lot of financial advisors in teams. They do the best job at client events that I've ever seen in my life. It's in little touches that they offer the most amazing newsletter and if you can subscribe to it, subscribe to it. Get on that list, because I get it every month and it's the best newsletter I have seen One of the top five in 27 years anyway.
Speaker 2:But the things they do with their clients they have a. This is really cool for anybody out there, whether you're in the financial industry or not is just getting some ideas on what they do. They have Thanksgiving. They have a pie day where clients come pick up a cup pie. They have coffee. People mander around, linger around and talk. They have a movie night where this last year they brought everybody into a movie theater all a bunch of clients and prospects and they watched Boys in the Boat, which is a fantastic movie that happened at the University of Washington a few decades ago. They do a Mother's Day event. They do fly fishing events. I mean, they really go out of their way and a lot of that is Scott's impetus and him bringing these ideas to the team, and the team has just wrapped their arms around him. They do a fantastic job. So, whatever this behavioral change challenge you're facing, you've done a really good job with it, scott, much more than I thought you were that you would Thanks.
Speaker 3:I appreciate that.
Speaker 2:You appreciate my lack of confidence nine months ago.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes.
Speaker 2:All right. So, Scott, this is a question that I ask every guest on here and I think it's probably a pivotal question for a lot of the audience. They like to hear this what would you say is one of the most difficult times or things or challenges you've ever faced in your life, and how did you overcome that challenge?
Speaker 3:Boy. It's a good question, and in doing some preparation for our time together, I had to think a little bit about this one, and I have not had some amazing amount of adversity in terms of, oh, my mom died, my dad died, crazy stuff. But probably the toughest thing that I came up with was that time where you're right out of college, you're in your early 20s. It's just a. It's a bizarre time in your life and I think that for me it was especially strange because I'd been used to winning at stuff, accustomed to success. You graduate college. That's a big accomplishment and then you kind of go well, now what am I going to do? And and just the way that my mindset worked was it was like as an example. It was as if I was expecting to immediately step into a career that would be an amazingly successful 40 year career. And the reality was and I laugh as I think about some of this and I started just putting out tons of feelers, talking to a ton of people what do you do on a daily basis, just trying to find my way in that career space. I went and met with a financial advisor who was local in Kirkland and I said tell me about your day. And this guy said you know, I meet with clients all day, talk about what's important to them, talk about what they're doing, share examples of how I might be able to help them learn about what strategies they currently have in place. And I said, man, this sounds amazing. I would love to meet with people and talk about money, stuff and and putting plans into place. And then it was the dot, dot, dot. And then I go knock on doors for four hours to find my next client. And it was a massive record scratch moment and I just thought, okay, I can't do that. I think I would, I would, I would suck at it. For one, I would hate doing it, I'd probably be really bad at doing it. So at that point in time I said, okay, financial services, that isn't for me. Went and interviewed at all these places. I got a job on an accounting team and I was all pumped for it. New job this is going to be great.
Speaker 3:Show up the first day Absolutely was miserable and just was sitting there when I got back, I guess. Then girlfriend, now wife, and and I just said to her I said, oh my God, I I cannot do this. God, I cannot do this. If I stay there more than a week I will be beyond depressed. And I sat there and I mean, really, she did a good job of listening to me be miserable and I just said, you know what? I got to quit tomorrow. And so I remember going in and here I am on day two and this guy that I met the day before walked by and he said, oh, we didn't scare you off yet. And I thought, oh boy, well, yes, you did actually, but the people were fine. It was just the role was not ideal for me, and so I did quit on day two.
Speaker 3:And then I thought you know what? Basketball is a big part of my life. I will go teach coach. Maybe I'll be a principal at a school, something like that. Went back, got my master's degree to teach On my second student teaching. I thought you know what? I don't think this is what I want to do either.
Speaker 3:And at that point in time I don't think I'd ever gotten out of my head the thought of being a financial advisor and working with people, and I just couldn't get over that.
Speaker 3:Call it that sales aspect of being an advisor, cause when I heard sales, I thought insurance sales, door to door or somebody on a lot in bad pants trying to sell a 1992 Honda Accord to you or something.
Speaker 3:And so I just I went I actually got a book that was called the accidental salesperson and I it changed my thought on what I would refer to as consultative selling and went and applied for a few different financial advisor roles at different firms, saw a career preview At the time it was American Express and then we became Ameriprise, but the career preview was led by Neil Taylor, who was massively impactful throughout my career and still is impactful in my life is getting outside your comfort zone, not even on a daily basis, but almost on every 15 minutes basis. You're outside of your comfort zone. You're working in an industry where I mean back then I think the stat was that 5% of advisors last a year. So anyway, that's a long-winded way of me saying I think I mean early 20s for me was a kind of bizarre time. Of me saying I think I mean early twenties for me was a kind of bizarre time, and I think it's a bizarre time for many, but that's just what came to my mind, brian.
Speaker 2:No, and that's a great response, scott, because there are a lot of people right now in the audience who are in that age range. You know, maybe twenties, thirties, I mean hell, I'm in my, I'm 57 years old and I still question, I still go through, you know, things like okay, what's my next step in life? Or you know, I still sometimes will feel lost and wondering you know, what the hell am I going to do now? And I really I want to shout out to Neil Taylor, because he has had a big impact on your life. You have brought him up so many times in our conversations and I had the privilege my very first big contract when I started my business now that was 25 years ago was with Neil Taylor out of Portland, when he was the VP of that area, and he was one of those leaders who you just felt around him that he just deeply cares, and so I mean you were very fortunate to have him, as I don't know what was his title when you reported to him.
Speaker 3:When he, I guess when I came into the firm, he at the time was a group vice president. Yes, yes, and you know one. Just a couple other things that I would say about Neil is and we have a group of call it Neil disciples, and you mentioned Justin Samples earlier. He's one of them. There's a few other people out there and I mean the amount of fun times that we've had together after not working together probably now has exceeded the amount of fun that we had all working together, if that makes sense. So it's, it's a yeah, super, super fortunate ever to have crossed paths with him and to to still know him and consider him a good friend.
Speaker 2:Well, you think about the people I even I've had on my podcast who were, uh, who are um branches of Neil would be you, dave Dick I'm assuming Dave was out there with you and Justin Samples. Frank Mossett was the field vice president under Neil out there, and I'm sure I'm missing three or four people who were part of that branch of Neil Taylor. So hopefully Neil's listening. I did contact Neil a few months ago. Hopefully I can get him on the show here sometime in the future, but he's done a great job and he had an impact on a lot of people's lives and still does now 50, 60, 40, who are kind of wondering what that next step is in life.
Speaker 2:And I think what Scott's lesson was he tried a few different things. I didn't know that, I just learned that. That's another thing I learned today. And he tried the accounting, he tried the academic, maybe being a principal or a basketball coach, and so he tried a few different things and it's okay, no matter what age you are where you are in your life. It's okay, no matter what age you are where you are in your life. It's okay to try other things and for a lot of us, a lot of people can't just quit their job and try another career, but you can start little side hustles.
Speaker 2:You can do research on things that you're interested in. If you're not fully engaged in your current career and job. You can research outside that, talk to people, and what you said here, scott, is you you put feelers out there, you talk to an advisor advisor and ask him about what his day looked like. You actually and that's what you did is you included your village. You brought your village in a little bit and put feelers out to your village. It might've been a different village than the one you grew up with in Kirkland, but you still. You had people and you sought advice of other people. And we can all do that. And it's so much easier now than it was 20 some years ago because we can get ahold of people on email, facebook, linkedin, tiktok not TikTok Instagram or text people you know I'm not on TikTok, I always call Instagram TikTok for some reason or Twitter. I always call Twitter TikTok really good point.
Speaker 3:I think you know the raising kids or grandkids it's not just being worried about. Do they have a good supportive village? It's we all need that right. That's called community yeah.
Speaker 2:And I think that's you know.
Speaker 2:I really believe that, primarily since COVID in the, in the forced quarantines that we are, we a lot of people have lost that community, they've lost the connections.
Speaker 2:And I hate to use this because it's so cliche, but we are more politically divided than we ever have been or at least in my lifetime and we tend to kind of lose that sense of community, whether it's with friends or family, because they're on the other side of the aisle or whatever it might be, and that's really unfortunate but it's very true for a lot of people. But there are so many other communities out there and that's really what we did with the hope to do with this podcast is bring in other people, introduce people to the world and help them realize that they are part of a community and they have. There is hope in other people's stories and journeys and other people's lifetime experiences and that in a way, that's you know what we hope to offer here and you're doing a good job of that right now. But next question for you what for you right now at I don't know how old you are early 40s?
Speaker 3:right 46 with the hairline of a 66 year old.
Speaker 2:Yes wow, okay, I didn't know you were. You're only 11 years younger than I am, okay, so so we met when you were in your really early you must have just turned 30, 31, when I met you, I don't even remember the first. Where was it? In Seattle? Was it in the Seattle office?
Speaker 3:Seattle.
Speaker 2:Correct. I wonder what I was doing out there at the time. I don't remember. I mean, I remember, you know, obviously, meeting you. I don't remember the day or anything, but I remember the moment in my life. But anyway, at 46 years old, and you've done so many wonderful things and you've had such a longstanding career in the financial industry with one company which is very, very unique and you but you played so many roles there what would you consider to be a win or a victory in your life?
Speaker 3:Sure, you know you mentioned a couple of these bullet points earlier and for me it is just having fun on the calendar, and when I say that I mean professionally, personally having fun on the calendar. And so, as examples you mentioned, we do Pi Day for our clients and friends, two days before Thanksgiving. There's not a day of quote unquote work that I look forward to more than Pi Day. Get to see your clients, get to see your friends. We're shooting the breeze. You know you're 48 hour T minus 48 hours until Thanksgiving. They're coming up grabbing a pie to take home or take to their gathering. Everybody's in a great mood. It is so much fun and and continuing to add those. So you mentioned earlier, we did the movie night for clients and some guests in January and we had 140 people show up to that and just talking to people in the lobby before the movie started was awesome and just really brought a lot of energy to everybody on our team and just reinforcing that we're not just helping people retire and send their kids to school, but we want to have some fun with our clients. And then you alluded to the day before Mother's Day. This year we have a Build a Bouquet event for whoever essentially wants to show up. That can be moms building bouquets for themselves, it can be husbands and dads bringing the kids in building it for their wife and mom. Whatever it is, but just putting some fun like that on the calendar.
Speaker 3:And then in the personal life, to me it's the same thing. I think it's important for me to always have things that I look forward to, like vacations. Put those on your calendar. I do things with a whole bunch of people. I grew up with One of them and it's this time of year we call it the Elite Eight Triathlon, and whenever I mention it, people go oh wow, you do triathlons. I go, yeah, we have a triathlon every year. The three events are golf, bowling and poker, and these are these are people I've grown up with, known my entire life, and so I just think having those things on the calendar allows you to look forward to those and get through some of the tougher times, whatever it might be.
Speaker 3:And and you know I, you know I, I know a while ago I guess, maybe tail end of 21 or early 22, you and I talked about listing out 12 things that you want to win at for the year, and I mean for me. That's, I listed out four personal goals, for that were professional, and then four that I just referred to as potpourri. They could be anything, and I mean, as an example, one of those was I need to bring a little bit more organization to my closet. So these are not, these are not, in some cases, life-changing things. But you're just saying I want to live on purpose and it's also to me a really good reinforcement or reiteration of writing things down as powerful it keeps it top of mind, at least for me.
Speaker 3:I don't know if everybody's that way, but it's. It keeps it top of mind. And writing those things down and you know new year's resolutions I'd be the first one to say you know New Year's resolutions. I'd be the first one to say why wait until January 1st to put something into place that will positively impact your life? But earlier, 10 minutes ago, I also was the one saying behavior change is hard. Use every piece of leverage you can use to put behavior change into place. Writing it down is big for me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is, and I know I really love that quote. I've never heard that having fun things or having fun on the calendar. Put fun on the calendar.
Speaker 2:And I think, no matter what your job is, whether you're a stay-at-home parent, whether you are a doctor, you're a student, a financial advisor, a teacher, whatever you do your job, your role in life can get very humdrum, very monotonous, very difficult, very challenging, and we can get very disengaged in any role we play. But every role we play can have fun put into it. I mean, when you can put that kind of fun into being a financial advisor, I mean that's a challenge Because that role even though from the outside people look at it and think all you do is numbers and things like that, when in reality what you're doing is engaging with people and changing their lives every day. But that can get monotonous. My role as a consultant and a podcaster can get very monotonous, but I have to do a better job of that.
Speaker 2:And that really struck a chord with me is put fun on the calendar and actually plan on it. Like, don't just expect to have fun naturally. Put things on there that you enjoy doing that. Bring out that spirit, put that spirit back into your vocation or your life a little bit. And I know you guys are going to Hawaii here next week, so I think aren't you, is it next week?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's coming up, coming up soon. Counting down the days, can't wait.
Speaker 2:And then what? Two weeks ago, you guys were in Vegas watching the NCAA tournament.
Speaker 3:Yep Pac-12 tournament Correct.
Speaker 2:Pac-12 tournament In Vegas.
Speaker 3:And that was a blast as well.
Speaker 1:Your device is offline To connect. Offline To connect. Sorry, swipe down from the top of your screen, then go to settings. Okay, I don't really care about that.
Speaker 2:Alexa just must have picked up on something that I said, but it's clearly offline. It said I was gone for four and a half weeks and I got home yesterday and I had no Wi-Fi. What the hell? I don't know if you don't use it. If it, it goes off. But then I just reset my router and everything came back on, except for my Alexa or whatever this little thing is called. So, yeah, everybody find, whatever you do, man, put some fun on the calendar. I mean, that's a good reminder for me, no-transcript. And I brought my time machine with me and we're going to go back to a point. You can pick the time of your life Maybe it's your early 20s, I don't know and you could sit down with your former self and I was just going to sit there and take some notes. What would you tell that younger Scott Rethke? What piece of advice, words of wisdom, recipes for success would you share?
Speaker 3:Yeah, really tough question, and I think the only thing I can come up with there is is that advice would be hey, good news, bad news, you're on the right path, but life is tough. So I think that's both uh, that's both sides of the sword, uh, very positive and also concerning. And you know, life is a grind and I I can recall again starting in this field and you would see advisors that I mean looked like they had a great career, growing great clients, everything's great. And then you realize that they're just on a daily basis, they're still getting gut punches, professionally, personally, and so I think it's just know what you stand for, continue to pursue it, and then just realize that it's going to be really hard, much, much more difficult than you maybe would even ever imagine. And you know I have a couple of funny stories that come to mind on this topic.
Speaker 3:Our firm came out with what they called the dream book, and this is something where you would sit down with your clients they could be about to retire, already retired, and you just would have a conversation with them and, I'm sorry, you would give them this dream book. They would go home and fill it out. A husband and wife, single, whatever it might be, and it would just be what's important to you in retirement. What does five years from now look like? What does 10 years look like? What does 20 years look like? Ann and I did one of these we were 25 and I just found it fascinating, maybe two months ago, and I sat down and looked at it and again, it's that value of writing things down and you know, I've I know that for a while vision boards were big, which I think is great, but it's for us that dream book. If I read our one, five, ten and twenty year goals, we we have exceeded and and accomplished, and so that was one of those things, that the dream book and just writing that down, that that shared exercise was powerful for us.
Speaker 3:And then the other, the other one, and I I'll have a funny story attached to this one. I would say to my former self I would say start writing in a journal. And we were just talking about this a couple of days ago. We were out for dinner.
Speaker 3:I see a lady that I worked with, I mean almost 20 years ago. She runs up, gives me this big hug. We do the normal. What's going on with you? How's life? We're giggling, we're happy, and she goes. I was just telling a story about you and I said what story? And she goes. Back in the day she was a brand new advisor. I was a super veteran advisor, also known as probably 12 months ahead of her. Uh, that makes a big difference with a new advisor. Anyway, I was helping her out on a meeting and we're sitting down with this lady.
Speaker 3:Lady walks in, seems very, very normal, and I'm kind of getting these. I'm out of my peripheral vision. I'm seeing something, something happening in this lady's sweater, in her chest area, and I'm, of course, trying not to stare. Then I see an obvious movement there and I go. I got to ask you something what is in your sweater? And she reaches into her sweater, holds her fist out and, I kid you not, inside her hand is a flying squirrel. What? Yes, I mean just the most random thing I've ever seen in this job of being an advisor. And so, anyway, that was just her pet. I mean, it was like straight out of Shawshank Redemption. Right, she's got this squirrel, and so, anyway, anyway, this lady, uh, that I bumped back into in the restaurant. She leaves, dan and I continue having dinner and ann goes.
Speaker 3:How have you never told me the squirrel story?
Speaker 3:And I go, you know what?
Speaker 3:I don't even remember that happening until she mentioned it. Uh, and so it me it was. And then at that point Ann said boy, think about what, if you forgot that story, what else have you forgotten? That's fun, educational, entertaining, and so, yeah, that. And I just had that as a thought of you.
Speaker 3:Know what I wish I wrote in a journal on a daily basis then, and at the same time I'm sitting here pointing the finger at myself saying I should start doing that now, because there's there, may there might still be a squirrel story out there in the future, who knows? But we also had a thought. I guess just maybe a week ago, I said man, do you even remember what our life was like when we were mid 20s? And so that would have been. I mean, that's's 20 years ago, and we had a hard time really brainstorming out what our normal, what would a saturday, normal saturday have looked like then it's so. It's just I I really wish that I would have kept a journal for both work stuff and personal stuff, and again, probably one of those things I should start now well, what do they say?
Speaker 2:the best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is today, today is a good call. And.
Speaker 2:I'm a firm believer, as you know, scott, and most of the listeners do, is I journal five to six well, minimum five usually six days a week. I journal and I've done that since probably 25, 26 years old and I have boxes and boxes of journals and then I have like the last two or three years are stacked here and I go through one every six months. I finish it and I buy another journal and it's fun to go back through there because it's not just you know, any idea I come up with or quote, I hear or something I learn. I put it in there, but it's just I like going through, like what was my life like seven years ago on, you know, on March 4th of you know whatever? And it's just fun to think of because what you do is you notice how much you've actually grown, because you don't see your growth every day. It's such a slow process, you know and we're so, you know it's relative. You know yesterday's, today's growth isn't much bigger than yesterday, so we don't notice it until we go back three, four, seven, 20 years ago and see that growth that we've.
Speaker 2:You know how we wrote the things we were afraid of, that we no longer think of relationships that were that were you thought were going to destroy you because they ended, you know, back in the day, or something that happened that was catastrophic, and you look back and say, oh, I forgot that even happened, you know. So, for those who are journaling, keep it going. For those who don't start today, grab a piece of paper. I like it, yes, perfect. Okay, I'm going to ask you a question that I did not prepare you for. If you and I could find a way to eliminate all of your irrational fears that you have in your head for the next seven days of your life, what would you do differently this week?
Speaker 3:Man, that is a. That is a tough one, you know it's. Here's the first thing that comes to my mind. There is I have 20 plus years experience working with people across the board on financial things. I've seen people that I would never think are put together financially and they've got great plans, great strategies, they're doing all sorts of awesome things. I've seen the flip side, where it's people you go boy, I bet they're successful and on track for retirement, on track for their kids to go to school, da da, da, da da. And then you realize that they're a train wreck.
Speaker 3:And you know, if I could remove any of those irrational fears, I think it would just be. Why not offer the ability to sit down and help people get a plan financially and put themselves in a better position? But it brings up that weird boy. Is there a line here I don't want to cross? If I was to cross the line here, does it potentially ruin a really good relationship and friendship, friendship? And then, of course, there's the more rational thought, which is why would anybody ever be mad if you are truly offering assistance, or to help, or to be a second opinion? So I don't know. That's the first thing that comes to mind, brent.
Speaker 2:That's a really good one, because, you know, I think back, scott, when I was a financial advisor. For those five years I look back on the fact that I never one time offered my services. Well, I did one time to my sister and brother-in-law, but it was a disaster of a meeting because my little nephew was throwing goldfish crackers all over the table. I didn't help one person that I loved in the financial planning process. I helped a lot of strangers, but not one person that I loved in the financial planning process. I helped a lot of strangers but not one person who I loved got my help, because I was deathly afraid of asking them for my help, and that's an irrational fear. And that question just came to me as we were talking. I think of that question quite often for myself, but I never asked that to a guest yet. So you're the first one I guinea pigged it on you. So you're the first one I guinea pigged it on you.
Speaker 3:All right, happy to be a guinea pig.
Speaker 2:Okay, so what's next for you, scott?
Speaker 3:Yeah, good question, and I'm afraid I got kind of a boring answer here. I think it's just more of the same. I think, as I mentioned earlier, I'm still starting to hit my stride of being solely focused on being an advisor, and so I think, professionally, it is just more of the same. Happy to be on our team. Our team does a great job assisting clients. We have a lot of fun along the way, and I think it's just it's I have. I'm a very big creature of routine and just putting things on the calendar that I know are important, and so, yeah, it's just more of the same. We're trying to. Our team is trying to add younger financial advisors. Just, we had a guy on our team retire last year. We have other retirements. Our industry is like many, we're not getting any younger. We need the next generation of financial advisors, so we're trying to bring more of those onto the team, and so that's that's a focus item for us.
Speaker 2:Well, if you're a, if you're a young, uh uh future financial advisor in the Seattle Washington area, I'm going to include the website to 590 Financial Group at the bottom of the show notes. Click on there, man. Maybe there's a job opportunity for you, a career, vocational opportunity for you Awesome, you know I think that question. Had I asked that question to you a year ago on the show, the answer would have been completely different. You have gone through a massive professional change over the past nine months, and so I wasn't really expecting any massive change coming in the next, over the next few, the next year or so, from you. So you're still in the middle of a massive change with your new career move. So, all right. Last question, scott, kind of a question that catches anything I might have missed. Was there any question I didn't ask that you wish I would have? Or is there any final parting message you want to leave with the Bamboo Pack audience?
Speaker 3:Sure, as part of preparation, I jotted a few thoughts here, and one thing that I've realized about myself is I grab onto one line nuggets of leadership advice, and just nuggets, and so I thought you know what? Hopefully people have gotten something from our time so far together. Maybe, if they haven't, this is the last gasp to throw something their way that they can use, and so I'll just shoot a few of them. I mentioned one of them earlier, which is your life will be determined by the books you read and the friends that you spend your time with. We've hit that one a lot. Another one that I talk about and think about a lot is just it's called the rule of 168. Do you know what 168 is, brian? That number? I don't think so. The number of hours in a week is 168. And what I think is interesting and it sounds so corporate, but it's so true it's this whole living on purpose. And so if you actually sit there write 168 on a paper let's say you sleep eight hours a night, so you subtract 56, then you say I'm going to work 40 to 50 hours what you realize is you end up with probably 40 to 50 more hours. That's due with with it. Whatever you want, and that's I've mentioned it a few times get stuff on the calendar. So if you put work, if working out is important to you, put it on the calendar. If date nights are important, put it on the calendar. Vacation's important, put it on the calendar. If seeing old friends is important, put it on the calendar. Vacations important, put it on the calendar. If seeing old friends is important, put it on the calendar. And this rule 168, I just think, is especially.
Speaker 3:We live in a point in time when there's no shortage of things that are really truly distractions, and I think you know the quote you mentioned earlier devil's hands, idle time is. With idle time and that rule of 168, what do most people do with it now? It's scrolling on some stupid internet phone. It's spending way too much time there. It's watching TV. It's spending way too much time there, it's watching TV. And so if you were to fast forward I mean back to the whole thing and conversation about journals In 20 years, would you say, boy, my journal says I was on Instagram three hours in March of 2024. I don't think you're going to be excited about that. And so it's just know what your time is, know where your time is going is the rule of 168.
Speaker 3:Another one that I mention all the time people roll their eyes is if you want to impact it, you track it, and that can be. I mean, that's a perfect application of the rule of 168. If you want to say, I want to read more, write down how many minutes a day you're reading, you know. So the second you start to track it, you will see that, uh, that going in a very positive direction. Uh, you know, another one that I really like is ready fire aim and I just I a recommendation that I have for people. I mean, I'm looking out my window right now at six amazon buildings in downtown seattle.
Speaker 3:Take some time, look up on google amazon 16 leadership principles. One of them is bias for action, and to me, what Ready Fire Aim says is let's not overanalyze stuff and think too much about stuff. Let's get started and just kind of figure it out. That doesn't mean you're winging it, but let's get started. Let's get started now. Let's not wait four months until we think we have a perfect plan.
Speaker 3:And so the Amazon 16 leadership principles, by the way, are absolutely fantastic.
Speaker 3:They are concise, they are just and, as a company, when you read through that, think about your interactions with Amazon and think about if they're living up to those principles, and I'm willing to wager they likely are.
Speaker 3:So you know another, I guess two that I like state what you're for, not what you're against, I think is a super powerful way to think about not coming across to anybody as a complainer, because what do most people do? They state what they're against. They might not ever make a mention of what they're for, and so I think it just it changes that paradigm. It makes people be more solution oriented and just thought of in a more positive light. And then the last one that I really like is this phrase wherever you go run for mayor and so if you're running for mayor, you're smiling, you're shaking hands, you're kissing babies, you're getting to know people it's like you're running for public office but wherever you go run for mayor, there is no downside to acting that way on a daily basis, right? So those are just one-liners. If I was, I could probably talk 39 more hours about one-liners that I recite ad nauseum, but they are definitely ones that shape the way that I think and act on a daily basis.
Speaker 2:Those are very, very powerful. I wrote every one down and I actually wrote the 168, as you were talking, and I just pulled up the leadership principles customer obsession, ownership, invent and simplify. That's the list, right there, right, yep, correct, be curious, hire and develop the best, insist on the highest standards, think big. Everybody out there. I'm going to ask you to go down just Google. I just typed in Amazon 16, then it came up leadership principles and I pulled it up. Those are incredibly powerful and if anybody notices, when you look at the picture of today's podcast, you'll see Scott's picture on the right-hand side. That's a man who definitely looks like he could be running for public office.
Speaker 1:He's got that conscious smile on his face.
Speaker 2:He is definitely kissing babies and shaking hands and passing out business cards kind of person, and but that goes back. And, as you were talking earlier, scott, about you know, putting fun on the calendar, that made me think of that picture. You know, every time I see your newsletter or I pull up your website, it looks like you guys are having fun. It really does. And even the team picture it's a cool team picture, that new one you guys took.
Speaker 2:You guys, you definitely are living that principle, you as an individual, which I think your team is as well, and your family with Ann and Price. So I think you are one of the people out there that I've learned over the past 15 years. You do walk your talk Like a lot of people spread bullshit. I'm one of those guys that has, over my life, has spread a lot of bullshit that I don't really do. Or when I was younger, I would say things I'm like I don't even do that you know I've gotten a lot better to. You know, I learned that I start living my life as if there's a documentary being created on me. So I try to live my life as if there are cameras in my face and microphones in my face all the time. So I do have to pretend like in my mind. I pretend that I'm living with a documentary crew following me around. So I do try to live those principles.
Speaker 3:You do that as well as anybody. I know I'll take that and a couple of themes that we've hit on today is that takes a lot of work. Being positive is tough on some days and having fun on some days can be really challenging. Our team is awesome and I mean we'll have arguments about stuff. My family is amazing and the best thing in my life, and there's times that Ann will say, leave, I don't even want to see you, right? I mean, that's, that's normal. So maybe not normal, but it happens, so it's uh, it's just part of the part of trying to get better every single day, I guess.
Speaker 2:Well, you, you definitely are lucky. You're a lucky man to have Ann and price in your life and be your core family. So I mean, I've never got the pleasure of meeting them, but I've seen enough pictures and I've heard enough stories over the years that you're a blessed man and they're blessed to have you All right, brother, I appreciate you man, I really do. I was so glad we did this. I got a lot out of today. I got a ton of notes here and, the cool thing, I learned two new things about you personally. But I learned a plethora of things that you talked on. That, you, that you like.
Speaker 2:I love the 168, the rule of one, 68. I love that track and impact and I always say we respect what we inspect. You know, kind of the same thing. Um, state what you're for and out what you're against. I love that and this, wherever you go, uh, uh, run, run for mayor. I mean, just have that mentality.
Speaker 2:It's because we see so much negativity out there and so many people with scowls on their face and it's one of those things that I've talked about so many times on the show. That has been my greatest blessing over the past 12 months is practicing seven acts of random, seven random acts of kindness every week, and I do track that, I have a list of and I, and so today, like holding a door for somebody, you know talking to somebody how's your day doing when you're checking out at the grocery store, calling them by name, commenting on their hair or whatever you do, you know offering somebody for help. Can I help you? I'll take your grocery cart back with little things like that. You know, when you do that, it's amazing how much that builds. It lifts not just their spirit but yours as well, when you can, just like you said, run for mayor.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, brother, funny. Sorry to give you one more, but just listening to what you said, those of us who are fortunate enough to work at our firm, ameriprise, or the predecessor, which was American Express, know Doug Lennock, and many people in our industry know Doug Lennock as massively impactful. And what's funny is, along the lines of what you were saying, is Doug Lennock, every time he gets into an elevator he plays a game, and the game is I want to make everybody in the elevator smile, and so if you think about doing that on a daily basis and the thought of him doing that is just it makes me laugh. I've seen him do it and it is awesome, and so you think about being the silver lining in someone's day. I mean, that's, that's an easy way to start is to get people in an elevator to smile and laugh maybe or no.
Speaker 2:It was before then 91 92 in chaska, minnesota, doing doug daybreak daybreak with doug and uh, and I remember thinking who in the hell is this guy? He was a senior vice president, I think, of american express at the time and then everybody got to take away, um, a cassette recording of his of that same talk and I listened to that thing. Every time I got in my car and would drive. I would listen to that thing over and over to the point where it no longer is. You know it didn't work anymore, wore down or whatever. Um but um. I'd love to get a copy of that, and Doug was on the podcast in the summer of 2022, I think it was um, yeah, sounds right yeah, and he did.
Speaker 2:We did a fan, he did a fantastic show and his books that he's the books he's written and now the newest one with Chuck Wackendorfer, uh, I think is amazing as well. Um, it's very, they're all very good. Um, he has a way of just bringing life to its most simple core of it. It's about you know cause? I remember him saying you know, everybody should have six, um, uh, uh, uh, key tasks they do in their job. And he helped us and then, you know, we put them together and he said what's the last one now you have? If I had to put a number seven in there, what would it be? And nobody could come up with. And he says have fun, have fun. And I was like that's so perfect.
Speaker 3:What's funny? I remember the first time I ever saw him do the elevator trick stunt, whatever you uh, whatever you want to call it. This lady turned to him and she's now smiling and she said how are you having so much fun with your life? And this is she'd never met him, right. So she said how are you having so much fun with your life? And he said I only do things and spend time with people that I have fun with. And I just thought, wow, that is a really good, that's a. That's a great philosophy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and the thing is we can choose that for the most part. I mean, sometimes we have to work with people we don't like, but you know we can. Who we put, like you said and I've, I've loved that I always remember the. Forget the number. It was like the the top 10 books you read and the top 10 people you associate with most in your life will determine the direction of your life, or something like that. And that is very true. Who we associate with in our lives makes a massive difference in who we become.
Speaker 1:Massive difference.
Speaker 2:And it doesn't matter if you're 15 or 95 right now. You can change the people you associate with can improve your as you call it, your village. You know you, we can and we can just make sure that our village gets stronger. And our village should get stronger every day, even if the village doesn't change, because you have really solid people around your. Your village should get stronger because everybody in the village makes everybody else stronger and or it makes everybody else weaker. It's one of the two. We have a choice, right? I agree. All right, brother, we'll wrap up. For now I just say this means a lot to me to be able to have you on here after so many uh, you know, 15, 16 years of friendship and and working together. So it's an honor to have you on here and thank you for being such a wise and inspiring guest. On the bamboo lab podcast thanks for having me.
Speaker 3:Good to have the conversation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a pleasure, my friend. All right, everyone, thank you for tuning in this week. Please smash that like button. Please rate and review us, and I've had a lot of people this week ask me how do they rate or subscribe on Buzzsprout? You can't. If you listen to the podcast on Buzzsprout, which is my homing platform, you can't rate review. So if you could go to Spotify or Amazon or Apple Music and listen to it, you can rate and review and subscribe on those other platforms, but through Buzzsprout you cannot. So please get on those other platforms and rate us, review us, tell me what you think.
Speaker 2:Please keep those heart letters coming in. We got a lot in the last two weeks. A lot of heart letters came through text, email and other sources that sort of tell us what the podcast is doing through their lives. We are now, as of this week, we have subscribers on all six continents, of course, or seven, whatever, how many continents we have, and now we are in 71 countries around the world. So thank you for all of your support, all of the sharing of the podcast. Please continue to do so and just know that I care about you all. I'll talk to you all in one week, same time, same place and in the meantime, please get out there and strive to give and be your best. Please show love and respect to others and remember to show it to yourself as well. And please get out there and live purposely and live intentionally. Thank you all so very much.