1 00:00:02,786 --> 00:00:04,873 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast. 2 00:00:04,873 --> 00:00:08,811 In this show, the Texas FFA Foundation will take on a 3 00:00:08,891 --> 00:00:12,663 journey of exploration into agricultural science, education, 4 00:00:12,663 --> 00:00:15,990 leadership development and insights from subject matter 5 00:00:16,071 --> 00:00:19,669 experts and sponsors who provide the fuel to make dreams come 6 00:00:19,708 --> 00:00:19,969 true. 7 00:00:19,969 --> 00:00:22,344 Here's your host, Aaron Alejandro. 8 00:00:30,150 --> 00:00:32,594 Speaker 2: Well, good morning, good afternoon or good evening 9 00:00:32,694 --> 00:00:36,097 or whenever you may be tuning in to the Growing Our Future 10 00:00:36,116 --> 00:00:36,777 podcast. 11 00:00:36,777 --> 00:00:40,649 We're just honored that you're with us today and we appreciate 12 00:00:40,670 --> 00:00:41,350 you joining us. 13 00:00:41,350 --> 00:00:45,070 And, as always, we're really excited about today's guest. 14 00:00:45,070 --> 00:00:49,088 I just love bringing on subject matter experts, people that 15 00:00:49,209 --> 00:00:52,704 share their insights, experiences and they're just 16 00:00:52,804 --> 00:00:55,844 encouraging and willing to pour into others, and today is no 17 00:00:55,905 --> 00:00:56,307 different. 18 00:00:56,307 --> 00:01:01,229 Today we have James McLamb, generation Youth founder and 19 00:01:01,290 --> 00:01:02,412 executive team leader. 20 00:01:02,412 --> 00:01:05,784 James, thanks for joining us today, thank you, aaron. 21 00:01:05,884 --> 00:01:07,548 Speaker 3: It's good to be with you, my friend. 22 00:01:07,548 --> 00:01:09,802 We've been friends a long time and I'm grateful for this 23 00:01:09,902 --> 00:01:13,972 opportunity to be able to share something with you today. 24 00:01:14,500 --> 00:01:15,843 Speaker 2: Well, I appreciate you coming on. 25 00:01:15,843 --> 00:01:18,572 It's always fun, like you said, when you know people. 26 00:01:18,572 --> 00:01:21,926 But I love podcasts because it's an opportunity for me to 27 00:01:21,965 --> 00:01:26,320 shut up and listen to you and to say you know here, jane, you 28 00:01:26,361 --> 00:01:29,728 know, share all the good stuff, all the good conversations, all 29 00:01:29,769 --> 00:01:33,765 the things that we talk about, about what our passions are, and 30 00:01:33,765 --> 00:01:36,691 a lot of our passions lie around developing young people, 31 00:01:37,460 --> 00:01:39,725 and we're going to unpack some of that today. 32 00:01:40,347 --> 00:01:42,480 Speaker 3: Well, I'm grateful to be here on you and I've told 33 00:01:42,501 --> 00:01:45,950 you this story before is you were influencing me before I 34 00:01:46,030 --> 00:01:50,445 even knew you, because as a young teacher in the early 90s, 35 00:01:51,108 --> 00:01:55,075 I was buying videos about how to teach parliamentary procedure 36 00:01:55,159 --> 00:01:59,548 and there were some young guy from Texas that was the host of 37 00:01:59,587 --> 00:02:06,801 those videos going through those things, videos going through 38 00:02:06,820 --> 00:02:07,102 those things. 39 00:02:07,102 --> 00:02:08,504 So I got to see a young Aaron Alejandro teach parliamentary 40 00:02:08,525 --> 00:02:10,628 procedure as I relayed that to my students in the early 90s. 41 00:02:11,270 --> 00:02:12,980 Speaker 2: Well, you're awful kind and I can tell you. 42 00:02:12,980 --> 00:02:14,885 I can tell you one thing that hadn't changed. 43 00:02:14,885 --> 00:02:17,984 I know I've got a lot less hair , got a lot more pounds, but I 44 00:02:18,024 --> 00:02:22,037 can tell you that I don't mind arguing still, and that's the 45 00:02:22,157 --> 00:02:22,479 one thing. 46 00:02:22,479 --> 00:02:24,925 Parliamentary procedure gives you an edge when it comes to 47 00:02:24,944 --> 00:02:26,769 talking and discussing things. 48 00:02:26,769 --> 00:02:28,992 So thank you for sharing that with your kids. 49 00:02:28,992 --> 00:02:33,409 By the way, james, we start off this program every guest, every 50 00:02:33,409 --> 00:02:37,284 guest I've ever had on here we start off with the same question 51 00:02:37,284 --> 00:02:41,493 and that is James, what are you grateful for today? 52 00:02:42,901 --> 00:02:45,449 Speaker 3: What I'm most grateful for today is that in 53 00:02:45,509 --> 00:02:50,324 just three days my family and I will be leaving for a much 54 00:02:50,403 --> 00:02:53,491 extended vacation in the mountains of North Carolina to 55 00:02:53,512 --> 00:02:54,221 be in a cabin. 56 00:02:54,221 --> 00:02:56,306 I've been monitoring the weather there. 57 00:02:56,306 --> 00:02:57,909 It's going to be very cool. 58 00:02:57,909 --> 00:03:02,728 We've got lots of relaxing enjoyment and I just am eager to 59 00:03:02,728 --> 00:03:07,460 get and and relax and spend time with most of the family. 60 00:03:07,460 --> 00:03:12,229 The oldest is is a teacher, an agriculture teacher herself, and 61 00:03:12,229 --> 00:03:14,824 her first year, so she'll be not with us the entire time. 62 00:03:14,824 --> 00:03:17,274 She'll catch the latter half of the the trip. 63 00:03:17,274 --> 00:03:20,423 But that's what I'm grateful for today is is I'm counting 64 00:03:20,443 --> 00:03:22,667 down the, not the days. 65 00:03:22,667 --> 00:03:24,850 We're down to counting down hours now. 66 00:03:25,973 --> 00:03:26,554 Speaker 2: That's awesome. 67 00:03:26,554 --> 00:03:30,361 I couldn't agree with you more. 68 00:03:30,361 --> 00:03:33,610 By the way, you know, as you and I have discussed many times, 69 00:03:33,610 --> 00:03:40,778 if you turn on the news or you get to scrolling through social 70 00:03:40,799 --> 00:03:42,362 media, sometimes it's real easy to get a little negative and 71 00:03:42,424 --> 00:03:44,871 forget all that we have to be grateful for. 72 00:03:44,871 --> 00:03:48,783 And I think those moments of pause where you look around and 73 00:03:48,804 --> 00:03:53,581 say, wow, I got a family, wow, I got a family Not everybody can 74 00:03:53,622 --> 00:03:57,637 say I got a family, wow, I've got a good job that provides me 75 00:03:57,657 --> 00:04:00,893 a little liberty in a great country, that provides all these 76 00:04:00,893 --> 00:04:05,246 incredible natural resources and the capacity to get away and 77 00:04:05,246 --> 00:04:06,729 enjoy those moments together. 78 00:04:08,032 --> 00:04:10,305 You know, like I said, sometimes you just got to look around and 79 00:04:10,305 --> 00:04:13,667 realize how, how fortunate we are and how blessed we are. 80 00:04:13,667 --> 00:04:17,365 And I don't know about you, but I like to be around people that 81 00:04:17,365 --> 00:04:17,807 are grateful. 82 00:04:17,807 --> 00:04:21,249 I have found that people that are grateful have a lot more 83 00:04:21,309 --> 00:04:21,589 energy. 84 00:04:21,589 --> 00:04:24,564 They're more optimistic, they're always looking for 85 00:04:24,625 --> 00:04:27,689 something good, and I kind of like hanging out with people 86 00:04:27,730 --> 00:04:28,091 like that. 87 00:04:28,992 --> 00:04:29,473 Speaker 3: I do too. 88 00:04:29,473 --> 00:04:33,985 I do as well, and I'll be grateful for every minute that 89 00:04:34,026 --> 00:04:35,048 we get to spend there. 90 00:04:35,048 --> 00:04:38,144 Probably the only thing I will be ungrateful for is having to 91 00:04:38,184 --> 00:04:41,672 pack up on the last day and come home, so there you go. 92 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:42,922 Speaker 2: There you go. 93 00:04:42,922 --> 00:04:45,771 All right, james McLam, here's what we're going to do. 94 00:04:45,771 --> 00:04:49,146 You've already said that we know each other, but not 95 00:04:49,206 --> 00:04:53,925 everybody knows you, and so I do , and I know your background a 96 00:04:53,966 --> 00:04:54,346 little bit. 97 00:04:54,346 --> 00:04:57,682 But for the listeners and viewers that may not be tuned 98 00:04:57,742 --> 00:05:00,529 into your podcast, they may not have read your book, they may 99 00:05:00,569 --> 00:05:03,990 not be aware of your pedigree, why don't you take a moment? 100 00:05:03,990 --> 00:05:06,742 Because I know you did not just fall into that seat that you're 101 00:05:06,742 --> 00:05:06,944 in. 102 00:05:06,944 --> 00:05:09,971 Something tells me there was a journey, there was some 103 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:12,829 experiences, and there's something that brought you to 104 00:05:12,850 --> 00:05:16,742 this place in life and why you've chosen to do what you do 105 00:05:16,822 --> 00:05:20,031 right now empowering, encouraging and equipping young 106 00:05:20,072 --> 00:05:20,351 people. 107 00:05:20,351 --> 00:05:24,769 So take us through your life and take us through how you got 108 00:05:24,809 --> 00:05:26,012 to where you're at today. 109 00:05:27,180 --> 00:05:29,810 Speaker 3: Well, like so many people and you can attest to 110 00:05:29,850 --> 00:05:34,642 this as well I'd wandered into an agriculture classroom in the 111 00:05:34,744 --> 00:05:38,011 ninth grade at South Johnston High School in North Carolina, 112 00:05:38,672 --> 00:05:40,742 not knowing what it was about really. 113 00:05:40,742 --> 00:05:43,487 Just went there because I grew up on a farm, specifically a 114 00:05:43,548 --> 00:05:47,074 nursery, and I knew I had to be a part of that in some way or 115 00:05:47,134 --> 00:05:47,475 another. 116 00:05:47,475 --> 00:05:52,071 So I, you know, wandered into there to find out what was going 117 00:05:52,071 --> 00:05:52,252 on. 118 00:05:52,252 --> 00:05:55,699 Well, that was just what I needed. 119 00:05:55,699 --> 00:06:00,331 It took a very shy person, someone who felt like they had a 120 00:06:00,331 --> 00:06:03,086 lot to offer but didn't know how to package it and how to 121 00:06:03,127 --> 00:06:06,906 give it to the world, and it gave me a vision for what could 122 00:06:06,966 --> 00:06:09,351 be in my life and who I could become. 123 00:06:09,351 --> 00:06:12,644 And so, like yourself, I had many opportunities for 124 00:06:12,725 --> 00:06:17,391 leadership in the FFA in North Carolina and to serve in 125 00:06:17,451 --> 00:06:32,040 capacity on the national level as well, and that led me then to 126 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:33,202 go into agriculture education in college and to teach for 127 00:06:33,223 --> 00:06:34,365 almost a decade in North Carolina as an ag teacher, which 128 00:06:34,365 --> 00:06:34,786 really inspired me. 129 00:06:34,786 --> 00:06:35,367 It motivated me, I know. 130 00:06:35,367 --> 00:06:37,211 Every day I went home feeling so grateful for the opportunity 131 00:06:37,271 --> 00:06:41,245 to share in the lives of young people, but also I was grateful 132 00:06:41,305 --> 00:06:43,331 for what I was learning from them every day. 133 00:06:43,331 --> 00:06:46,788 I really felt like I learned more at the end of the day than 134 00:06:46,887 --> 00:06:51,141 the students who were in my class when my oldest daughter 135 00:06:51,201 --> 00:06:51,723 was born. 136 00:06:53,404 --> 00:06:56,608 I decided to go back to the family businesses the nursery 137 00:06:56,687 --> 00:06:59,992 operations and some other businesses and and take over 138 00:07:00,031 --> 00:07:03,896 those responsibilities so that my wife could then stay at home 139 00:07:06,339 --> 00:07:07,762 those responsibilities so that my wife could then stay at home 140 00:07:07,783 --> 00:07:09,165 and we could provide a family and a lifestyle that would 141 00:07:09,185 --> 00:07:12,733 enable us to be able to raise a family at home and provide for 142 00:07:12,773 --> 00:07:16,446 them and take advantage of some opportunities there at my 143 00:07:16,505 --> 00:07:17,088 hometown. 144 00:07:17,088 --> 00:07:20,940 But I never lost the passion for working with youth. 145 00:07:20,940 --> 00:07:27,151 I never lost that desire to impact future generations and 146 00:07:27,293 --> 00:07:31,887 really just pour into them and help empower them so that they 147 00:07:31,906 --> 00:07:33,110 could see their potential. 148 00:07:33,110 --> 00:07:39,665 And so it was channeled then into ministry work and missions 149 00:07:39,725 --> 00:07:39,966 work. 150 00:07:39,966 --> 00:07:42,151 Through our church and through some other opportunities. 151 00:07:42,151 --> 00:07:46,543 My wife and I did mission work with youth, creating ministry 152 00:07:46,603 --> 00:07:50,982 teams that led mission trips with youth in mind, serving at 153 00:07:51,021 --> 00:07:53,855 youth camps, speaking at youth camps, doing those types of 154 00:07:53,915 --> 00:07:54,139 things. 155 00:07:54,139 --> 00:07:57,567 But all that did was just kind of fuel the fire. 156 00:07:57,567 --> 00:08:00,202 You know, it didn't quench it, it just kind of fueled it to 157 00:08:00,242 --> 00:08:02,187 make me see that things could be bigger. 158 00:08:03,331 --> 00:08:03,771 Speaker 2: That's good. 159 00:08:04,860 --> 00:08:08,951 Speaker 3: And at that same time , I had a sales staff working 160 00:08:09,213 --> 00:08:12,548 under me at the nursery that I wanted to equip better. 161 00:08:12,548 --> 00:08:15,874 And so I went back to where I thought was the best sales 162 00:08:15,934 --> 00:08:19,473 training and also along with my values, and that was the Ziegler 163 00:08:19,473 --> 00:08:19,920 Corporation. 164 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,024 I said, well, these folks know how to teach sales and their 165 00:08:23,043 --> 00:08:24,428 values, along with what I believe. 166 00:08:24,428 --> 00:08:26,800 Let me go back to them and get that material. 167 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:32,950 So I started really going back and relearning all those things 168 00:08:32,970 --> 00:08:35,514 that I'd learned in high school and college and during teaching 169 00:08:35,553 --> 00:08:38,385 from Mr Ziegler, but now from a different perspective, from a 170 00:08:38,427 --> 00:08:39,289 sales perspective. 171 00:08:39,289 --> 00:08:45,741 During that process of reconnecting with them and 172 00:08:45,761 --> 00:08:47,403 finding out all the information, I discovered that they were 173 00:08:47,423 --> 00:08:50,668 starting a new program of legacy trainers where they were going 174 00:08:50,727 --> 00:08:55,572 to equip people who had a desire to impact others with Mr 175 00:08:55,633 --> 00:09:00,163 Ziegler's timeless principles Principles, you know, on the 176 00:09:00,203 --> 00:09:03,812 steps to success and building better relationships and goal 177 00:09:03,851 --> 00:09:04,192 setting. 178 00:09:04,192 --> 00:09:06,245 And I signed up. 179 00:09:06,245 --> 00:09:07,347 I was part of the first class. 180 00:09:07,347 --> 00:09:08,831 I wanted to be there, wow. 181 00:09:08,831 --> 00:09:13,840 And that week things started to fall into place. 182 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:17,107 I began to see all these speaking and things that I'd 183 00:09:17,148 --> 00:09:20,124 done through ministry and the things that I've been teaching 184 00:09:20,203 --> 00:09:22,129 and all this business stuff that I had learned. 185 00:09:22,129 --> 00:09:26,450 This was kind of pulling it all together and I began to see a 186 00:09:26,490 --> 00:09:26,750 picture. 187 00:09:26,750 --> 00:09:32,153 I need to redirect my life to focusing on working with youth 188 00:09:32,541 --> 00:09:37,392 and equipping them and empowering them to be the best 189 00:09:37,412 --> 00:09:37,773 you can be. 190 00:09:37,773 --> 00:09:40,929 And this was in 2013 when this happened. 191 00:09:40,929 --> 00:09:46,672 And so, on that last day for those who are familiar with 192 00:09:46,971 --> 00:09:49,686 these types of training programs you have kind of a graduation 193 00:09:49,745 --> 00:09:52,121 ceremony where you get to stand up and get your certificate and 194 00:09:52,142 --> 00:09:55,596 your picture taken with the presenters and for us it was 195 00:09:55,616 --> 00:09:59,346 with the Ziegler family and share with them what you were 196 00:09:59,366 --> 00:10:01,721 going to do, and I stood there and said I want to take these 197 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,587 concepts and I want to repackage them for youth. 198 00:10:04,587 --> 00:10:10,423 And, of course, there were a lot of folks that were clapping 199 00:10:10,442 --> 00:10:10,884 yeah, yeah, we need that. 200 00:10:10,884 --> 00:10:12,027 But I could tell that most of them were, yes, they were 201 00:10:12,047 --> 00:10:14,352 excited about it, but they weren't willing to step into it, 202 00:10:14,352 --> 00:10:17,702 and so I spent the next two years trying to figure out how 203 00:10:17,722 --> 00:10:18,283 to do this. 204 00:10:18,504 --> 00:10:20,967 And to begin with, aaron, it was really all kind of me focused. 205 00:10:20,967 --> 00:10:23,912 I was like I'll get up, I'll form my own team, we'll go 206 00:10:23,951 --> 00:10:26,336 around the world, we'll go around the nation, we'll do 207 00:10:26,395 --> 00:10:29,220 speaking, we'll do workshops, we'll do great, I'll build a 208 00:10:29,279 --> 00:10:33,208 team and we'll just be great, we'll do our own thing. 209 00:10:33,208 --> 00:10:35,600 And so I was doing some of that and I enjoyed it. 210 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:39,886 I mean, I remember speaking at a youth conference and the youth 211 00:10:39,886 --> 00:10:42,871 afterwards come up and says oh, you're trending locally on 212 00:10:42,912 --> 00:10:43,192 Twitter. 213 00:10:43,192 --> 00:10:44,333 Now Everybody's tweeting you. 214 00:10:44,333 --> 00:10:45,916 And I was like that's cool. 215 00:10:46,017 --> 00:10:47,599 I didn't even know what that was at the time. 216 00:10:47,599 --> 00:10:48,721 I mean, this was around 13. 217 00:10:48,721 --> 00:10:50,527 I was like I'm trending on Twitter. 218 00:10:50,527 --> 00:10:51,450 I don't know what that means. 219 00:10:51,450 --> 00:10:56,606 But yeah, that was when those things were kind of cool to 220 00:10:56,647 --> 00:10:59,852 happen, but it really wasn't satisfying as much. 221 00:10:59,852 --> 00:11:06,826 And it wasn't until I realized that I would much rather train 222 00:11:07,187 --> 00:11:10,990 and equip young people to be the leaders and difference makers 223 00:11:11,051 --> 00:11:15,995 in their community and then be the mentor and the guidance for 224 00:11:16,075 --> 00:11:17,897 them and watch them grow. 225 00:11:17,897 --> 00:11:19,923 I'd rather do that. 226 00:11:19,923 --> 00:11:22,470 That's so much more fulfilling than really being the person out 227 00:11:22,470 --> 00:11:23,432 in front and on stage. 228 00:11:23,519 --> 00:11:25,706 I mean there's nothing wrong with that and I love the 229 00:11:25,765 --> 00:11:26,488 opportunities. 230 00:11:26,488 --> 00:11:27,350 I have to do that. 231 00:11:27,350 --> 00:11:31,004 I really do, and I would, and I relish them to this day. 232 00:11:31,004 --> 00:11:35,601 But coming off the stage, even with all the you know people 233 00:11:35,962 --> 00:11:38,429 being excited about what you said and you know, getting the, 234 00:11:39,740 --> 00:11:42,484 the emotional impact that you see in there, that's great. 235 00:11:42,484 --> 00:11:46,708 But what's much more satisfactory is getting a text 236 00:11:46,749 --> 00:11:53,255 from someone that says James, today I served at a camp and I 237 00:11:53,296 --> 00:11:54,116 saw this happen. 238 00:11:54,116 --> 00:11:59,005 Or, because of what you guys taught me, I'm now a teacher or 239 00:11:59,567 --> 00:12:00,969 I'm going into ministry. 240 00:12:00,969 --> 00:12:04,173 That, to me, is much more satisfying. 241 00:12:04,173 --> 00:12:05,573 That's that is. 242 00:12:05,573 --> 00:12:07,015 Is is much more satisfying. 243 00:12:07,100 --> 00:12:09,469 So that's how generation youth really started. 244 00:12:09,469 --> 00:12:13,570 I was equipping young people and then we moved on into 245 00:12:13,610 --> 00:12:16,687 equipping adults because we felt adults wanted to come to our 246 00:12:16,707 --> 00:12:17,048 training. 247 00:12:17,048 --> 00:12:19,826 I just wanted to deal with youth and college students at 248 00:12:19,846 --> 00:12:26,028 the time, but when COVID hit, it gave us a time to refocus and 249 00:12:26,067 --> 00:12:29,114 provide some new products and provide some new services. 250 00:12:29,114 --> 00:12:31,839 And now we equip people who want to be life coaches, that 251 00:12:32,681 --> 00:12:37,238 that want to help coach youth to be their best selves, that want 252 00:12:37,238 --> 00:12:40,528 to pour into youth, help youth identify where they are in life 253 00:12:40,568 --> 00:12:43,441 right now, help them make a plan for where you know, find out 254 00:12:43,461 --> 00:12:45,525 where they want to go and make a plan to get there, and so 255 00:12:45,566 --> 00:12:47,751 that's what we're doing now with our coaching program. 256 00:12:47,751 --> 00:12:53,210 So that's really a very quick synopsis of where we've been and 257 00:12:53,210 --> 00:12:54,673 where we hope to go. 258 00:12:55,759 --> 00:12:58,924 Speaker 2: Well, you know, one of the things that we do here on 259 00:12:58,924 --> 00:13:04,614 this show is I really enjoy having guests that share their 260 00:13:04,934 --> 00:13:05,274 journey. 261 00:13:05,274 --> 00:13:10,510 And the reason why is because if you will listen to somebody's 262 00:13:10,510 --> 00:13:13,969 journey, you're going to pick up these little nuggets of gold, 263 00:13:13,969 --> 00:13:17,429 these little opportunities of wisdom. 264 00:13:17,429 --> 00:13:21,798 And I also believe that if you listen to somebody's journey and 265 00:13:21,798 --> 00:13:24,509 testimony, you also find their core values. 266 00:13:24,509 --> 00:13:30,572 And listening to you share your story and your journey, it's 267 00:13:30,653 --> 00:13:34,582 very evident of why you're doing what you're doing. 268 00:13:34,582 --> 00:13:37,128 You started as a young servant leader. 269 00:13:37,128 --> 00:13:40,861 You wanted to serve, you wanted to share, you wanted to help, 270 00:13:40,942 --> 00:13:42,004 you wanted to encourage. 271 00:13:42,004 --> 00:13:43,849 And you said you know what? 272 00:13:43,849 --> 00:13:45,373 I think I'm going to do that in the classroom. 273 00:13:45,373 --> 00:13:47,947 And you jumped into that classroom role. 274 00:13:47,947 --> 00:13:49,565 And what did you do? 275 00:13:49,565 --> 00:13:52,808 Trying to share, trying to empower, trying to encourage. 276 00:13:52,808 --> 00:13:56,831 And then, because you have the core value of if you want to be 277 00:13:56,850 --> 00:13:59,121 better, you've got to make yourself better, you started 278 00:13:59,162 --> 00:14:00,005 looking for tools. 279 00:14:00,005 --> 00:14:02,707 What can I do to improve myself ? 280 00:14:02,707 --> 00:14:06,250 You know who can I hang around with, who can I be associated 281 00:14:06,309 --> 00:14:06,490 with? 282 00:14:06,490 --> 00:14:10,722 And you found that incredible brand of the big Z and you know 283 00:14:11,224 --> 00:14:13,551 you pulled into that and you leaned into that. 284 00:14:13,551 --> 00:14:18,902 And then you know success begets success and you know it 285 00:14:18,922 --> 00:14:20,427 was what Zig I love Zig said. 286 00:14:20,427 --> 00:14:22,721 He said you go as far as you can see and when you get there, 287 00:14:22,740 --> 00:14:24,182 you'll always be able to see further. 288 00:14:25,082 --> 00:14:26,424 And listen to what you just shared. 289 00:14:26,424 --> 00:14:29,648 You've shared with us serving others. 290 00:14:29,648 --> 00:14:32,431 You've shared with us setting goals. 291 00:14:32,431 --> 00:14:34,933 You've shared with us having a vision. 292 00:14:34,933 --> 00:14:37,817 By the way, I believe the Bible is very clear about that. 293 00:14:37,817 --> 00:14:41,789 It says where there is no vision, the people will perish. 294 00:14:41,789 --> 00:14:45,363 Good leaders always have a very profound vision and most 295 00:14:45,383 --> 00:14:47,589 leaders will have that vision, based on their core values, of 296 00:14:47,629 --> 00:14:48,311 what they want to do. 297 00:14:48,311 --> 00:14:50,966 And I think when you look at what you're doing today, that's 298 00:14:51,048 --> 00:14:51,548 very clear. 299 00:14:51,548 --> 00:14:55,528 So the reason I share that is for listeners who are listening 300 00:14:55,568 --> 00:14:57,113 to the show, especially young people. 301 00:14:57,113 --> 00:15:02,908 When you hear people share, listen to what they're really 302 00:15:02,969 --> 00:15:05,942 sharing Because, again, they're sharing their core values, 303 00:15:06,543 --> 00:15:09,269 they're sharing what they really believe in, they're sharing 304 00:15:09,309 --> 00:15:12,765 their passion and their vision and all of those things have 305 00:15:12,806 --> 00:15:17,660 brought you to this incredible generation youth program that 306 00:15:17,681 --> 00:15:18,321 you've developed. 307 00:15:20,763 --> 00:15:22,123 Speaker 3: Well, I appreciate that. 308 00:15:22,123 --> 00:15:26,505 That means a lot coming from you and to be able to see you 309 00:15:26,586 --> 00:15:28,106 put for a reason for him to be prepared. 310 00:15:28,346 --> 00:15:50,407 Speaker 2: But if he had never struck out, took the risk and 311 00:15:50,447 --> 00:15:53,821 put on the blue jacket, if he had never struck out and took 312 00:15:53,841 --> 00:15:57,793 the risk of getting up and saying the creed, or standing up 313 00:15:57,793 --> 00:16:01,280 and running for office or saying that I'm going to pursue 314 00:16:01,361 --> 00:16:04,866 something of faith, which isn't always the most popular thing to 315 00:16:04,866 --> 00:16:05,106 do. 316 00:16:05,106 --> 00:16:08,873 If you think about all the again, when I listen to 317 00:16:08,893 --> 00:16:11,121 somebody's testimony, there's so much gold there. 318 00:16:11,121 --> 00:16:13,908 Now I'm going to add risk to your background. 319 00:16:13,908 --> 00:16:18,464 I'm going to add vulnerability to your background and I want 320 00:16:18,544 --> 00:16:22,712 young people to understand that the people that they engage with 321 00:16:22,712 --> 00:16:25,668 , they didn't just happen into their jobs. 322 00:16:25,668 --> 00:16:27,381 They didn't just happen. 323 00:16:27,381 --> 00:16:30,749 There was something behind the scenes that drove all those 324 00:16:30,808 --> 00:16:31,110 things. 325 00:16:31,110 --> 00:16:35,725 And what I like that you have done is you've been very 326 00:16:35,804 --> 00:16:36,827 intentional about that. 327 00:16:36,827 --> 00:16:41,062 You've not always had all the answers, but you've been 328 00:16:41,182 --> 00:16:44,086 intentional about the direction that you're headed. 329 00:16:44,086 --> 00:16:48,313 Yeah, cleo Franklin, who's on my board? 330 00:16:48,313 --> 00:16:49,075 He's a friend of mine. 331 00:16:54,159 --> 00:16:56,202 Speaker 3: He said, I would rather be directionally correct 332 00:16:56,222 --> 00:16:56,864 than precisely wrong. 333 00:16:56,884 --> 00:16:58,746 Speaker 2: That's a great statement, Isn't that a great 334 00:16:58,787 --> 00:17:01,892 line I would rather be directionally correct than 335 00:17:01,971 --> 00:17:07,583 precisely wrong and your path to where you're at today and what 336 00:17:07,682 --> 00:17:08,084 you're doing. 337 00:17:08,084 --> 00:17:10,250 I think if the listeners are listening, there's a lot of 338 00:17:10,349 --> 00:17:11,761 opportunity that comes out of that. 339 00:17:11,761 --> 00:17:13,909 So thank you. 340 00:17:13,929 --> 00:17:16,758 Speaker 3: Well, I've been very blessed to have those kind of 341 00:17:16,857 --> 00:17:21,487 opportunities and been blessed with the gift of being able to 342 00:17:21,606 --> 00:17:26,902 see opportunities in the midst of the things that I'm doing to 343 00:17:26,942 --> 00:17:28,946 see there's something I can do more. 344 00:17:28,946 --> 00:17:32,482 There's something that I can do more, which my wife accuses me 345 00:17:32,522 --> 00:17:32,584 of. 346 00:17:32,584 --> 00:17:36,612 It says you're never satisfied with the success that you're 347 00:17:36,672 --> 00:17:38,682 having with this organization. 348 00:17:38,682 --> 00:17:41,451 Now you're always thinking, you know, there's got to be more, 349 00:17:41,490 --> 00:17:42,861 there's got to be a bigger impact. 350 00:17:42,861 --> 00:17:44,521 And there's some truth to that. 351 00:17:44,521 --> 00:17:47,723 And it's not that I am dissatisfied or not grateful, 352 00:17:47,864 --> 00:17:50,806 it's just that there's an urgency I have. 353 00:17:50,806 --> 00:17:54,107 You know there's so many issues and obstacles and problems that 354 00:17:54,107 --> 00:17:55,209 youth are faced today. 355 00:17:55,209 --> 00:17:57,289 If we can just equip enough people, we can. 356 00:17:57,289 --> 00:17:58,250 We can change. 357 00:17:58,250 --> 00:17:59,431 We can really do that. 358 00:17:59,431 --> 00:18:00,311 We can. 359 00:18:00,311 --> 00:18:01,853 We can make a difference. 360 00:18:01,853 --> 00:18:02,692 We can make a difference. 361 00:18:02,712 --> 00:18:05,234 When we first started Generation Youth, it was called Generation 362 00:18:05,234 --> 00:18:08,817 Ziegler, because we were basing most of the content on Mr 363 00:18:08,876 --> 00:18:19,846 Ziegler and honestly, we thought it was really creative branding 364 00:18:19,846 --> 00:18:21,430 because then we could call it Gen Z, which was the same as the 365 00:18:21,430 --> 00:18:22,333 generation we were dealing with . 366 00:18:22,333 --> 00:18:23,757 So, as that generation is getting older, we've seen that 367 00:18:23,777 --> 00:18:25,441 we need to open up a little bit for that getting older. 368 00:18:25,441 --> 00:18:26,844 We've seen that we need to open up a little bit for that. 369 00:18:26,844 --> 00:18:28,186 But when we first started Generation Ziggler the person 370 00:18:28,207 --> 00:18:30,553 who was helping me start it is a good friend of ours, matt Rush 371 00:18:31,281 --> 00:18:33,070 used to say hey, we don't want much. 372 00:18:33,070 --> 00:18:35,000 When we would tell folks what we were doing, he said we don't 373 00:18:35,020 --> 00:18:36,988 want much, we just want to change the world. 374 00:18:36,988 --> 00:18:41,021 And that's really what I've kind of held to I don't want 375 00:18:41,061 --> 00:18:42,746 much, I just want to change the world. 376 00:18:45,050 --> 00:18:49,542 Speaker 2: I'm writing that down , let me tell you something. 377 00:18:49,663 --> 00:18:52,590 Every interview, every time we do these, I'm always listening 378 00:18:52,631 --> 00:18:55,587 to the guests, because I don't ever come into these thinking I 379 00:18:55,627 --> 00:18:56,711 know what we're going to title it. 380 00:18:56,711 --> 00:18:59,875 I'm always listening because somewhere along the way they're 381 00:18:59,894 --> 00:19:00,578 going to give me something. 382 00:19:00,578 --> 00:19:04,490 I'll say that's the name of this podcast, that that's good 383 00:19:04,609 --> 00:19:09,431 couple things that you just said , by the way, and again I'm just 384 00:19:09,431 --> 00:19:10,835 unpacking what you've said. 385 00:19:10,835 --> 00:19:12,660 I hope everybody was listening. 386 00:19:12,660 --> 00:19:15,368 Every everybody that's on the call, everybody that's listening 387 00:19:15,368 --> 00:19:18,401 in today, everybody, whether you're watching the video or 388 00:19:18,421 --> 00:19:21,784 you're tuned into one of the platforms, everybody listening 389 00:19:21,804 --> 00:19:29,469 has a birthday everybody's got a birthday, everybody's got a 390 00:19:29,509 --> 00:19:34,527 birthday, and on that day that we came into this world, the 391 00:19:34,567 --> 00:19:37,207 doctor might have slapped us on the hind end and at that moment 392 00:19:37,627 --> 00:19:38,509 we took an inhale. 393 00:19:41,997 --> 00:19:53,115 I'm here and then one day, when our purpose is served, we're all 394 00:19:53,115 --> 00:19:53,698 going to exhale. 395 00:19:53,698 --> 00:19:58,486 Life is just a breath. 396 00:19:58,486 --> 00:19:59,728 Life starts with an inhale, it's going to end with an exhale 397 00:19:59,728 --> 00:20:03,515 , and if you look at life as just a breath and you want to 398 00:20:03,555 --> 00:20:08,711 serve others, it will create a sense of urgency, because you 399 00:20:08,770 --> 00:20:12,208 know, there's a James McLean, there's an Aaron Alejandro, 400 00:20:12,248 --> 00:20:16,287 there's somebody out there that needs to be encouraged, that 401 00:20:16,326 --> 00:20:19,875 needs to hear they've got the tools, they've got opportunity. 402 00:20:19,875 --> 00:20:24,289 There's somebody that has to have that sense of urgency to 403 00:20:24,369 --> 00:20:26,413 let me know that I need to act now. 404 00:20:26,413 --> 00:20:31,888 And I tell you my experience is this Unless you create a sense 405 00:20:31,909 --> 00:20:33,374 of urgency, most people don't move. 406 00:20:36,125 --> 00:20:36,906 Speaker 3: That is very true. 407 00:20:37,127 --> 00:20:40,494 Speaker 2: I think you're wise to talk about an inborn sense of 408 00:20:40,494 --> 00:20:41,016 urgency. 409 00:20:41,016 --> 00:20:44,050 The other thing that I like to tell people is every leader I 410 00:20:44,111 --> 00:20:46,224 know and you know them too, every leader that I know there's 411 00:20:46,224 --> 00:20:50,031 one important word in their life, and that word is next. 412 00:20:50,031 --> 00:20:53,959 It doesn't matter if it's a success, it doesn't matter if 413 00:20:54,019 --> 00:20:54,660 it's a failure. 414 00:20:54,660 --> 00:20:57,111 They just look at the mirror and say next. 415 00:20:57,111 --> 00:21:01,506 And maybe your wife needs to hear that that's really what 416 00:21:01,526 --> 00:21:02,269 you're talking about. 417 00:21:02,269 --> 00:21:05,424 Okay, I got this text today from this person, but guess what 418 00:21:05,424 --> 00:21:05,424 ? 419 00:21:05,424 --> 00:21:07,972 I want to see what text I'm going to get tomorrow. 420 00:21:07,972 --> 00:21:16,467 Who's next, who's the next one? 421 00:21:16,467 --> 00:21:17,692 And if you don't look at it that way and you don't look at 422 00:21:17,711 --> 00:21:18,776 it with that, sense of urgency, you may miss it. 423 00:21:18,796 --> 00:21:20,804 Speaker 3: Yeah, the great thing is, our last coaching class 424 00:21:20,824 --> 00:21:22,747 that we did was the first one we did virtually. 425 00:21:22,747 --> 00:21:25,170 So I love stuff that's live. 426 00:21:25,170 --> 00:21:26,511 I really love in-person stuff. 427 00:21:26,511 --> 00:21:29,817 But I saw a need for a virtual one, so we did a virtual one 428 00:21:29,856 --> 00:21:38,287 back at the beginning of the month of May and we had three 429 00:21:38,307 --> 00:21:39,970 internationals that were on this call One person from Canada, 430 00:21:39,990 --> 00:21:43,719 one person who is in Guatemala and then one is in Nigeria. 431 00:21:43,884 --> 00:21:47,796 So for me next is what are we going to see in those three 432 00:21:47,836 --> 00:21:48,257 countries? 433 00:21:48,257 --> 00:21:53,570 How is that going to impact them, especially in Nigeria? 434 00:21:53,570 --> 00:21:56,894 Nigeria has the largest percentage of youth population 435 00:21:56,994 --> 00:21:57,615 in the world. 436 00:21:57,615 --> 00:22:01,615 60% is under the age of 19. 437 00:22:01,615 --> 00:22:06,250 60% of their population and by the end of this century they 438 00:22:06,269 --> 00:22:09,257 will be the second biggest country in the world behind 439 00:22:09,477 --> 00:22:09,778 India. 440 00:22:09,778 --> 00:22:11,430 Somebody's going to say what happened to China? 441 00:22:11,430 --> 00:22:13,134 Well, you need to look that up and figure it out. 442 00:22:13,134 --> 00:22:15,732 China is actually going to be down around number four by that 443 00:22:15,792 --> 00:22:16,034 time. 444 00:22:16,034 --> 00:22:21,817 They're dropping in population, but Nigeria is exploding. 445 00:22:21,817 --> 00:22:26,565 In Central America, guatemala has the highest youth population 446 00:22:26,565 --> 00:22:26,565 . 447 00:22:27,026 --> 00:22:30,071 I didn't know that until the person sent me a text the next 448 00:22:30,113 --> 00:22:31,796 week and said, hey, I just found this out. 449 00:22:31,796 --> 00:22:34,209 You know this is the opportunity we have, and they're 450 00:22:34,209 --> 00:22:38,843 going to be using this content and curriculum to work with 451 00:22:38,943 --> 00:22:41,548 missionary kids in Guatemala. 452 00:22:41,548 --> 00:22:45,857 So the children of missionaries that are coming there to spread 453 00:22:45,857 --> 00:22:47,527 the gospel in that country. 454 00:22:47,527 --> 00:22:50,986 She's going to be teaching them and coaching them in this 455 00:22:51,066 --> 00:22:51,607 content. 456 00:22:51,607 --> 00:22:55,977 So there's another ripple effect there, because not only 457 00:22:56,037 --> 00:22:57,748 is it going to impact that country, because she's going to 458 00:22:57,768 --> 00:23:00,715 be doing it with natives as well , but think about that when they 459 00:23:00,715 --> 00:23:01,426 go back home. 460 00:23:01,446 --> 00:23:04,674 Because she said they're from America, they're from South 461 00:23:04,714 --> 00:23:10,393 Korea, they're from all over the world that are pouring into 462 00:23:10,432 --> 00:23:12,676 there, not just the United States that are sending 463 00:23:12,696 --> 00:23:15,306 missionaries, or other countries as well, and so that 464 00:23:15,426 --> 00:23:20,198 international group is now going to hear this content go out. 465 00:23:20,198 --> 00:23:21,186 So that's exciting. 466 00:23:21,186 --> 00:23:22,611 That kind of gets it up. 467 00:23:22,611 --> 00:23:23,914 So that's the next for me. 468 00:23:23,914 --> 00:23:24,936 Where's this going to go? 469 00:23:24,936 --> 00:23:28,528 What's my text next year going to be about? 470 00:23:28,528 --> 00:23:31,935 Hey, they're teaching this stuff in places that I had no 471 00:23:32,076 --> 00:23:32,919 idea it could reach. 472 00:23:33,265 --> 00:23:35,269 Speaker 2: Just make sure you get that little filter thing 473 00:23:35,309 --> 00:23:37,757 turned on, where it'll translate the language barrier. 474 00:23:37,757 --> 00:23:40,693 Get these texts and you'll know where it's from. 475 00:23:40,693 --> 00:23:42,632 I want to circle back real quick. 476 00:23:42,632 --> 00:23:45,252 I don't do this with every guest for obvious reasons, but 477 00:23:45,292 --> 00:23:46,276 with you I can do this. 478 00:23:46,276 --> 00:23:50,288 Let's circle back and let's talk a little bit about the fact 479 00:23:50,288 --> 00:23:51,911 that you did come from agricultural science and you 480 00:23:51,951 --> 00:23:52,913 came from FFA. 481 00:23:52,913 --> 00:23:56,672 What are some of the things that you learned in ag science 482 00:23:56,711 --> 00:24:00,105 and FFA maybe on the highest level that you kind of still 483 00:24:00,224 --> 00:24:00,925 employ today? 484 00:24:00,925 --> 00:24:04,592 That they're skill sets you learn, then, that you can still 485 00:24:04,652 --> 00:24:08,317 employ as adults that you believe help you get along in 486 00:24:08,357 --> 00:24:08,558 life. 487 00:24:17,325 --> 00:24:18,575 Speaker 3: Well, the core things that we teach in Generation 488 00:24:18,455 --> 00:24:20,107 Youth is based on the problems that we have determined. 489 00:24:20,107 --> 00:24:20,682 Youth have the major categories that youth have based on our 490 00:24:20,564 --> 00:24:23,050 interviews, and that's dealing with self-image, building, 491 00:24:23,090 --> 00:24:24,895 effective relationships and goal setting. 492 00:24:24,895 --> 00:24:34,488 And goal setting and if I reflect back to my high school 493 00:24:34,508 --> 00:24:35,730 experience, I was blessed enough to have those kind, have 494 00:24:35,770 --> 00:24:38,896 someone in the form of an ag teacher and then through FFA 495 00:24:38,916 --> 00:24:43,614 leadership on different levels, pointing to me constantly on how 496 00:24:43,614 --> 00:24:47,028 to build and maintain a positive self-image, how to 497 00:24:47,590 --> 00:24:52,111 effectively build relationships with people and be the kind of 498 00:24:52,171 --> 00:24:53,796 person that people want to be around. 499 00:24:53,796 --> 00:24:56,053 And then how do you set goals? 500 00:24:56,053 --> 00:24:58,333 What's the importance of dreaming and setting goals? 501 00:24:59,385 --> 00:25:03,118 Aaron, those were things that a young James took for granted, 502 00:25:03,159 --> 00:25:07,202 because if I was learning them in the introduction or what was 503 00:25:07,243 --> 00:25:10,673 it called the fundamentals of agriculture class in ninth grade 504 00:25:10,673 --> 00:25:13,650 at South Johnson, then, to be sure, everybody in that school 505 00:25:13,691 --> 00:25:16,336 was learning, but they were not. 506 00:25:16,336 --> 00:25:20,575 The person in my junior English class sitting next to me did 507 00:25:20,615 --> 00:25:22,117 not know the power of dreams. 508 00:25:22,117 --> 00:25:24,192 They had not heard the things that I had heard. 509 00:25:24,192 --> 00:25:28,791 So, yes, I was learning these skills, these tangible skills, 510 00:25:29,252 --> 00:25:33,587 through horticulture classes and ag mechanics classes, those 511 00:25:33,607 --> 00:25:37,857 skills that were very employable things that I could have used 512 00:25:37,944 --> 00:25:41,255 immediately if I had felt called to go into those industries. 513 00:25:42,097 --> 00:25:45,729 It was more those personal development that they were 514 00:25:45,788 --> 00:25:47,292 learning those leadership skills . 515 00:25:47,292 --> 00:25:49,218 They were teaching me personal development that they were 516 00:25:49,238 --> 00:25:51,423 learning those leadership skills . 517 00:25:51,423 --> 00:25:56,907 They were teaching me the things that built my character 518 00:25:56,928 --> 00:25:57,990 as much as anything that I know of. 519 00:25:57,990 --> 00:25:59,473 I was fortunate enough to have four agriculture teachers and in 520 00:25:59,473 --> 00:26:04,326 my book in the back of it I dedicate part of it to them, and 521 00:26:04,326 --> 00:26:08,832 I know I would not have had the opportunities in life and have 522 00:26:08,892 --> 00:26:12,796 felt the call of service if I had not seen it modeled by them, 523 00:26:12,796 --> 00:26:17,862 and then not only modeled by them but instilled in them by me 524 00:26:17,862 --> 00:26:17,862 . 525 00:26:17,862 --> 00:26:24,294 I mean, they kept me on a path that they saw in me something 526 00:26:24,334 --> 00:26:28,920 that I knew was there, but they saw opportunities for me that I 527 00:26:28,980 --> 00:26:29,861 didn't know existed. 528 00:26:31,404 --> 00:26:31,727 Speaker 2: Gotcha. 529 00:26:32,189 --> 00:26:34,118 Speaker 3: You know, when you come along, I think every kid 530 00:26:34,159 --> 00:26:35,846 comes to that point now where they're dealing with their 531 00:26:35,866 --> 00:26:38,153 self-image and they're saying I think I can do something. 532 00:26:38,153 --> 00:26:42,792 And then they have to make that decision Do I go after it or do 533 00:26:42,792 --> 00:26:44,938 I just consider myself a failure and I'm not going to be 534 00:26:44,964 --> 00:26:45,445 able to do it? 535 00:26:45,445 --> 00:26:46,768 But everybody has that moment. 536 00:26:46,768 --> 00:26:48,490 With that I think I can do better. 537 00:26:48,490 --> 00:26:52,156 But a lot of them just don't have any support. 538 00:26:52,156 --> 00:26:53,960 They don't have any of this. 539 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:57,050 You know those soft skills to help them move forward on that 540 00:26:57,372 --> 00:27:01,289 these teachers instilled in me so that when I was at that point 541 00:27:01,289 --> 00:27:03,795 I knew I could do better. 542 00:27:03,795 --> 00:27:06,386 They gave me the skills to do it and then showed me the place 543 00:27:06,426 --> 00:27:09,875 that I could do it and they opened a door to a world that 544 00:27:09,894 --> 00:27:12,007 you know agriculture. 545 00:27:12,007 --> 00:27:14,153 Education is the best kept secret. 546 00:27:14,153 --> 00:27:16,288 A lot of times in schools People just don't know what 547 00:27:16,307 --> 00:27:18,675 they're getting into when they walk into that class. 548 00:27:20,465 --> 00:27:21,471 Speaker 2: Couldn't agree with you more. 549 00:27:21,471 --> 00:27:29,289 We could have a whole podcast on that one topic, but I do 550 00:27:29,369 --> 00:27:29,971 agree with you. 551 00:27:29,971 --> 00:27:32,128 I think there are some things that we learned through 552 00:27:32,249 --> 00:27:36,076 agricultural science and through FFA that are very unique 553 00:27:36,416 --> 00:27:38,140 compared to other classes in school. 554 00:27:38,140 --> 00:27:42,509 I simply put it like this you know, some people argue we need 555 00:27:42,528 --> 00:27:45,277 to get back to the basics reading, writing and arithmetic. 556 00:27:45,277 --> 00:27:47,652 Okay, the three R's, I get it. 557 00:27:47,652 --> 00:27:48,923 I always tell people yeah, let's get back to the three R's. 558 00:27:48,923 --> 00:27:49,582 Let's get back to respect responsibility and arithmetic. 559 00:27:49,582 --> 00:27:49,689 Okay, the three R's, I get it. 560 00:27:49,689 --> 00:27:50,292 I always tell people yeah, let's get back to the three R's. 561 00:27:50,292 --> 00:27:53,617 Let's get back to respect responsibility and resiliency. 562 00:27:53,617 --> 00:27:55,721 Let's get back to the basics. 563 00:27:55,721 --> 00:27:58,671 Let's learn to respect ourselves, our fellow man, be 564 00:27:58,730 --> 00:28:02,509 responsible for ourselves, our homes, our community, and learn 565 00:28:02,528 --> 00:28:03,971 to get up when you've been knocked down. 566 00:28:03,971 --> 00:28:06,547 Not everybody's going to get a trophy, I'm sorry. 567 00:28:06,547 --> 00:28:10,515 It's just the challenges that we face in the natural world 568 00:28:10,816 --> 00:28:12,038 require resiliency. 569 00:28:13,125 --> 00:28:16,692 But I think the thing that really separates ag science kids 570 00:28:16,692 --> 00:28:20,898 and FFA kids from everybody else is sports can teach 571 00:28:20,959 --> 00:28:25,619 teamwork, band can teach ensemble Speech and debate can 572 00:28:25,660 --> 00:28:26,904 teach communication skills. 573 00:28:26,904 --> 00:28:32,958 But there's something that you learn when some life depends on 574 00:28:33,018 --> 00:28:36,431 you that if, in the world of agriculture. 575 00:28:36,431 --> 00:28:38,416 You don't do your job, something dies. 576 00:28:38,416 --> 00:28:44,875 That creates an inborn trait that people will carry with them 577 00:28:44,875 --> 00:28:45,958 for the rest of their lives. 578 00:28:45,958 --> 00:28:49,965 They will carry that with them into everything that they do. 579 00:28:49,965 --> 00:28:55,717 So I do agree with you that ag, science education and FFA not 580 00:28:55,777 --> 00:28:58,548 only gives us some of the positive soft skills, but I 581 00:28:58,588 --> 00:29:02,417 would also argue that it gives you some internal core values 582 00:29:02,945 --> 00:29:05,009 that no other program can give you. 583 00:29:07,153 --> 00:29:10,157 Speaker 3: I think, too, you know the part of what kind of 584 00:29:10,218 --> 00:29:11,519 instilled things into me. 585 00:29:11,519 --> 00:29:16,973 Do you remember the aims and purposes of the FFA that we had 586 00:29:17,474 --> 00:29:18,076 back in the? 587 00:29:18,076 --> 00:29:21,308 It used to be in the manual before they went in, with the 588 00:29:21,410 --> 00:29:23,755 mission statement and those types of things. 589 00:29:23,755 --> 00:29:27,631 We had the it was either 10 or 12 aims and purposes. 590 00:29:27,631 --> 00:29:31,137 There was a poster that was on the front of the classroom. 591 00:29:31,137 --> 00:29:33,849 That's that where my seat was. 592 00:29:33,849 --> 00:29:36,457 Every time I sat down and I looked up, it was right in front 593 00:29:36,457 --> 00:29:39,791 of me and those things talked about things like leadership and 594 00:29:39,791 --> 00:29:43,207 citizenship and character and scholarship and so everything. 595 00:29:43,227 --> 00:29:46,135 When I sit in that class, not only was I learning about, you 596 00:29:46,155 --> 00:29:50,007 know, cows, sows and plows, but I was learning about this and 597 00:29:50,086 --> 00:29:54,855 service was on there and thrift and patriotism and cooperation. 598 00:29:54,855 --> 00:30:01,656 I remember those things that were there and just seeing that 599 00:30:01,717 --> 00:30:06,808 constantly in front of me just was reinforcing things that I 600 00:30:07,190 --> 00:30:09,296 had grown up with, learning from my parents. 601 00:30:09,296 --> 00:30:13,333 But now I was seeing it in a package, in a different way that 602 00:30:13,333 --> 00:30:15,857 I was saying you know, this can be a part of my life as well. 603 00:30:15,857 --> 00:30:17,788 I wish that I had. 604 00:30:17,788 --> 00:30:18,530 There was a post. 605 00:30:18,530 --> 00:30:19,494 I wish I had that poster. 606 00:30:20,085 --> 00:30:21,528 Speaker 2: Well, you're on to something you know. 607 00:30:21,528 --> 00:30:23,053 You and I both know this author . 608 00:30:23,053 --> 00:30:25,077 He's pretty pretty good author. 609 00:30:25,077 --> 00:30:27,950 He's written a couple of books and his dad wrote a bunch of 610 00:30:27,990 --> 00:30:28,171 books. 611 00:30:28,171 --> 00:30:32,326 But this guy named Tom Ziegler I've heard of him before Ziegler 612 00:30:32,326 --> 00:30:34,712 I think one of the things I like that Tom talks about are 613 00:30:34,733 --> 00:30:39,092 the 10 virtues, and those virtues are timeless, and I 614 00:30:39,152 --> 00:30:41,286 think that's what you're really getting at is the things that 615 00:30:41,346 --> 00:30:45,055 you were encouraged to pursue, the concepts that you were 616 00:30:45,115 --> 00:30:49,153 encouraged to empower and put in place in your life, are really 617 00:30:49,193 --> 00:30:52,971 they were virtues and, as a result, you now share those 618 00:30:53,030 --> 00:30:57,105 virtues in the role that you play with Generation Youth, and 619 00:30:57,145 --> 00:30:58,913 I think that's a cool thing. 620 00:30:59,845 --> 00:31:02,450 Speaker 3: If I remember right, the back of my first manual that 621 00:31:02,450 --> 00:31:07,179 I had had had words on it that were related to those purposes 622 00:31:07,305 --> 00:31:11,346 leadership and citizenship and scholarship were on the back of 623 00:31:11,365 --> 00:31:16,416 that manual and I just remember it very, very distinctly about 624 00:31:16,457 --> 00:31:19,415 those types of things and it was kind of like, you know, it's 625 00:31:19,435 --> 00:31:21,968 kind of like what the teacher's really purpose of being there 626 00:31:22,028 --> 00:31:22,308 was. 627 00:31:22,308 --> 00:31:25,501 You know was to do that more than just teaching us farm 628 00:31:25,541 --> 00:31:29,423 business management skills but to teach us, you know, these 629 00:31:29,482 --> 00:31:31,772 character skills, these cooperation skills. 630 00:31:33,807 --> 00:31:35,834 Speaker 2: So let's kind of stay with where we're at here for a 631 00:31:35,874 --> 00:31:36,194 second. 632 00:31:36,194 --> 00:31:41,192 So you're up in North Carolina, I'm here in Lone Star State. 633 00:31:41,192 --> 00:31:42,455 I don't know. 634 00:31:42,455 --> 00:31:44,410 Do you happen to know how many high schools are in North 635 00:31:44,431 --> 00:31:44,872 Carolina? 636 00:31:44,872 --> 00:31:46,195 I do not. 637 00:31:46,306 --> 00:31:47,151 Speaker 3: I look it up while we're talking. 638 00:31:47,151 --> 00:31:47,775 No, you don't have to do that. 639 00:31:47,775 --> 00:31:47,955 I do not. 640 00:31:47,955 --> 00:31:48,882 I'll look it up while we're talking. 641 00:31:48,903 --> 00:31:49,566 Speaker 2: No, you don't have to do that. 642 00:31:49,566 --> 00:31:50,769 I'm just sitting here thinking out loud. 643 00:31:50,769 --> 00:31:54,657 Texas has more than 3,000 high schools. 644 00:31:54,657 --> 00:32:00,273 Now think about that for a second 3,000 high schools. 645 00:32:00,273 --> 00:32:03,067 Every one of those high schools are going to have a graduating 646 00:32:03,108 --> 00:32:03,430 class. 647 00:32:03,430 --> 00:32:07,443 So 3,000 plus high schools are all going to be graduating 648 00:32:07,483 --> 00:32:08,146 people this year. 649 00:32:08,146 --> 00:32:09,653 The kids are going to get out. 650 00:32:09,653 --> 00:32:13,615 They're going to be looking for a job, a scholarship or an 651 00:32:13,715 --> 00:32:16,932 opportunity A job, a scholarship or an opportunity? 652 00:32:16,984 --> 00:32:19,606 My question to young people is always this what's your 653 00:32:19,626 --> 00:32:20,329 competitive edge? 654 00:32:20,329 --> 00:32:23,733 What separates you from your peers? 655 00:32:23,733 --> 00:32:25,675 What separates you from your colleagues? 656 00:32:25,675 --> 00:32:27,184 You have to have something. 657 00:32:27,184 --> 00:32:30,250 It could be something as simple as a simple, strong handshake 658 00:32:30,291 --> 00:32:31,233 and a yes or no sir. 659 00:32:31,233 --> 00:32:32,195 Yes, ma'am, no ma'am. 660 00:32:32,195 --> 00:32:34,366 It could be the way that you present yourself. 661 00:32:34,366 --> 00:32:36,050 It could be a handwritten thank you. 662 00:32:36,050 --> 00:32:36,270 Note. 663 00:32:36,270 --> 00:32:41,410 Little things like that could be the competitive edge over a 664 00:32:41,470 --> 00:32:43,334 similarly qualified applicant. 665 00:32:43,334 --> 00:32:46,988 Scholarship applicant, job applicant, opportunity applicant 666 00:32:46,988 --> 00:32:46,988 . 667 00:32:46,988 --> 00:32:49,596 Point being you got to have a competitive edge. 668 00:32:49,596 --> 00:32:54,855 James, in your mind, what would be three things a young person 669 00:32:54,894 --> 00:32:59,751 could do that would give them a competitive edge to succeed in 670 00:32:59,832 --> 00:33:00,051 life? 671 00:33:03,439 --> 00:33:05,123 Speaker 3: one of the things I encourage my own children to 672 00:33:05,163 --> 00:33:08,916 have and I've got two that are out of high school now 23 and 20 673 00:33:08,916 --> 00:33:15,229 , was number one to learn a hands-on skill while they were 674 00:33:15,308 --> 00:33:18,339 in high school, not necessarily something that they were going 675 00:33:18,359 --> 00:33:21,676 to use as a career or a job opportunity, but the fact that 676 00:33:21,696 --> 00:33:24,864 they learn that hands-on skill teaches them so many other 677 00:33:24,943 --> 00:33:26,955 things besides that skill. 678 00:33:26,955 --> 00:33:27,675 It teaches them patience, which is going to be very important 679 00:33:27,596 --> 00:33:27,836 on thison skill teaches them so many other things besides that 680 00:33:27,756 --> 00:33:27,855 skill. 681 00:33:27,855 --> 00:33:29,638 It teaches them patience, which is going to be very important 682 00:33:29,940 --> 00:33:30,181 on this. 683 00:33:30,181 --> 00:33:33,248 It teaches them to value the quality of work. 684 00:33:33,795 --> 00:33:37,508 For instance, my son really got into welding in his agriculture 685 00:33:37,548 --> 00:33:42,259 class and got a little certificate for doing, you know, 686 00:33:42,259 --> 00:33:46,184 welding in his class as he was getting through. 687 00:33:46,726 --> 00:33:49,470 That's not something he was interested in, but still to this 688 00:33:49,470 --> 00:33:54,881 day I have noticed, when he does work, those qualities that 689 00:33:54,980 --> 00:34:00,441 he was graded on in that welding skill it translated. 690 00:34:00,441 --> 00:34:04,740 So, you know, learning that hands-on it teaches you far more 691 00:34:04,740 --> 00:34:10,402 than just that skill, but in the background it does give you 692 00:34:10,443 --> 00:34:13,478 something to fall back on, or not even fall back on but to 693 00:34:13,639 --> 00:34:14,382 build upon. 694 00:34:14,382 --> 00:34:19,159 If you find an interest in that , I think you know you guys had 695 00:34:19,219 --> 00:34:23,496 a speaker out at Texas FFA a few years ago who is very much an 696 00:34:23,697 --> 00:34:26,005 advocate of teaching skills training again and that's Mike 697 00:34:26,065 --> 00:34:29,262 Rowe, and I'm a big follower of his as well and I love the fact 698 00:34:29,282 --> 00:34:32,942 that he feels like that there's not enough of that and he's 699 00:34:33,021 --> 00:34:36,793 looking at job opportunities and the work ethic that goes into 700 00:34:36,833 --> 00:34:37,054 that. 701 00:34:37,054 --> 00:34:40,581 We're not training those folks enough, but it's so much more 702 00:34:40,601 --> 00:34:43,635 than that, so that would be one thing no, I'm gonna listen. 703 00:34:43,755 --> 00:34:46,804 Speaker 2: I hope everybody listened to what j just said. 704 00:34:46,804 --> 00:34:49,398 This is the goal that comes out of this podcast. 705 00:34:49,398 --> 00:34:53,688 Hands-on means that you're learning quality of work, 706 00:34:54,769 --> 00:34:56,876 service your service. 707 00:34:56,876 --> 00:34:58,621 Did you meet a deadline? 708 00:34:58,621 --> 00:35:00,644 Did you learn critical thinking ? 709 00:35:00,644 --> 00:35:02,228 Did you learn to problem solve? 710 00:35:02,228 --> 00:35:05,740 All of that comes as a result of that hands-on. 711 00:35:05,740 --> 00:35:07,865 James, that was excellent. 712 00:35:07,865 --> 00:35:08,807 Keep going. 713 00:35:08,807 --> 00:35:11,079 You're doing good Well, he said three. 714 00:35:11,119 --> 00:35:12,623 Speaker 3: right, let me think Well. 715 00:35:12,623 --> 00:35:16,681 The second one is and there's such a push for us anyway is to 716 00:35:16,722 --> 00:35:18,969 be involved in some kind of service activity. 717 00:35:18,969 --> 00:35:22,438 While you are doing it, Learn to serve others. 718 00:35:22,438 --> 00:35:25,204 Now in North Carolina and I looked it up there's about 719 00:35:25,284 --> 00:35:29,559 almost there's 980 high schools, both public and private, in 720 00:35:29,599 --> 00:35:30,101 North Carolina. 721 00:35:30,101 --> 00:35:34,396 But in North Carolina most school systems, public or 722 00:35:34,476 --> 00:35:37,423 private, require a certain number of hours of community 723 00:35:37,463 --> 00:35:41,539 service in order for you to do before you're eligible for 724 00:35:41,599 --> 00:35:42,260 graduation. 725 00:35:42,260 --> 00:35:44,005 You have to complete that in some way. 726 00:35:44,246 --> 00:35:47,016 So some people they're just checking it off the list. 727 00:35:47,016 --> 00:35:49,838 But some see opportunity in that. 728 00:35:49,838 --> 00:35:52,480 They see an opportunity not only to serve but maybe to find 729 00:35:52,519 --> 00:35:54,922 a passion for their life, them to be really involved with 730 00:35:54,942 --> 00:35:55,342 serving. 731 00:35:55,342 --> 00:36:10,523 Now for my daughter it was obviously through the FFA. 732 00:36:10,523 --> 00:36:11,748 She's an agriculture teacher. 733 00:36:11,748 --> 00:36:13,175 She poured her life into that. 734 00:36:13,175 --> 00:36:17,329 My son is an Eagle Scout, so that was part of what he had to 735 00:36:17,389 --> 00:36:20,036 do anyway, but that attitude that he did. 736 00:36:20,036 --> 00:36:24,246 Now, when they're going to look at opportunities for jobs and 737 00:36:24,286 --> 00:36:26,661 folks they can talk about, hey, I'm here to help. 738 00:36:26,661 --> 00:36:29,744 I'm here Cause they learn some valuable skills, so hands-on, 739 00:36:30,496 --> 00:36:34,697 making sure that they have an opportunity to serve and I would 740 00:36:34,697 --> 00:36:39,103 encourage to to find opportunities to serve in 741 00:36:39,184 --> 00:36:40,086 leadership roles. 742 00:36:40,086 --> 00:36:41,420 That would be the third thing. 743 00:36:41,820 --> 00:36:42,443 Speaker 2: I like that. 744 00:36:44,518 --> 00:36:46,114 Speaker 3: Now, when I say leadership roles, I'm not 745 00:36:46,135 --> 00:36:49,460 talking about trying to be that top officer, necessarily, or 746 00:36:49,500 --> 00:36:54,186 that top patrol leader or scout assistant, scout leader or 747 00:36:54,246 --> 00:36:57,130 something like my sons had the opportunity for. 748 00:36:57,130 --> 00:37:03,105 But there are always opportunities in schools for you 749 00:37:03,105 --> 00:37:07,172 to step up and lead in some way or another, for you to step up 750 00:37:07,190 --> 00:37:08,974 and lead in some way or another. 751 00:37:08,974 --> 00:37:12,019 Someone always needs help for some kind of project, for 752 00:37:12,059 --> 00:37:15,056 someone to stand up and say I'll be in charge of that, and maybe 753 00:37:15,056 --> 00:37:17,545 there's only a couple of people that you're working with at a 754 00:37:17,585 --> 00:37:20,905 time, but you are learning some valuable skills. 755 00:37:20,905 --> 00:37:24,304 So leadership, service and hands-on would be the three that 756 00:37:24,304 --> 00:37:24,666 I would say. 757 00:37:24,666 --> 00:37:27,561 If you got those three in your belt, you're a step ahead of 758 00:37:27,621 --> 00:37:28,242 everyone else. 759 00:37:28,923 --> 00:37:31,208 I know that some folks will say, hey, really dive into the 760 00:37:31,315 --> 00:37:33,182 coursework that you're doing and have the classes. 761 00:37:33,182 --> 00:37:36,996 I'm not negating that at all, I'm not diminishing that at all. 762 00:37:36,996 --> 00:37:40,990 But, all things being equal, those people who've got those 763 00:37:41,050 --> 00:37:46,143 other things are going to be the ones that I hired first we've 764 00:37:46,163 --> 00:37:48,086 done done a lot of these podcasts, james, but I got to 765 00:37:48,106 --> 00:37:49,048 tell you those are three. 766 00:37:49,434 --> 00:37:53,164 Speaker 2: Those are pretty solid right there, and not only 767 00:37:53,226 --> 00:37:53,927 do I like them. 768 00:37:53,927 --> 00:37:57,677 I like them because, as you unpack each one of those, 769 00:37:59,340 --> 00:38:02,007 there's three more points that you could take off every one of 770 00:38:02,027 --> 00:38:02,248 those. 771 00:38:02,815 --> 00:38:04,161 So you gave us three, but I guarantee you I could put nine 772 00:38:04,181 --> 00:38:04,784 of them on a piece of those. 773 00:38:04,784 --> 00:38:06,130 You gave us three, but I guarantee you I could put nine 774 00:38:06,150 --> 00:38:07,014 of them on a piece of paper. 775 00:38:07,014 --> 00:38:09,579 That's good stuff, james. 776 00:38:09,579 --> 00:38:12,025 Real quick, tell us how we can learn a little more about 777 00:38:12,105 --> 00:38:15,340 Generation, youth and leadership development and maybe where to 778 00:38:15,380 --> 00:38:16,182 get a copy of. 779 00:38:16,182 --> 00:38:17,746 I've got this book here. 780 00:38:17,746 --> 00:38:19,981 Maybe somebody wants to get a copy of that. 781 00:38:19,981 --> 00:38:21,266 Where might they do that? 782 00:38:22,554 --> 00:38:23,576 Speaker 3: The book Tomorrow's Youth. 783 00:38:23,576 --> 00:38:30,842 Thank you for showing that the book is our attempt to empower 784 00:38:30,902 --> 00:38:33,505 people who are working with youth with, first off, the 785 00:38:33,565 --> 00:38:36,467 knowledge of what we have discovered the major issues and 786 00:38:36,586 --> 00:38:39,570 problems the youth face today and then some practical 787 00:38:39,630 --> 00:38:41,972 solutions that they can have to help overcome that. 788 00:38:41,972 --> 00:38:45,121 They can find the book on Amazon. 789 00:38:45,121 --> 00:38:48,268 It's very easy to find there Tomorrow's Youth, and just put 790 00:38:48,307 --> 00:38:48,849 in my name. 791 00:38:50,494 --> 00:38:52,617 Speaker 2: James, tell us again a little bit about where we can 792 00:38:52,637 --> 00:38:57,005 get a copy of your book Tomorrow's Youth, and also a 793 00:38:57,065 --> 00:39:00,409 little bit about Generation Youth and leadership development 794 00:39:00,409 --> 00:39:00,951 opportunities. 795 00:39:02,014 --> 00:39:04,137 Speaker 3: Well, tomorrow's Youth can be found on Amazon. 796 00:39:04,137 --> 00:39:05,719 It's very easy to find there. 797 00:39:05,719 --> 00:39:08,202 We'd love for you to get a copy and tell us what you think. 798 00:39:08,202 --> 00:39:10,063 You'll find my email in the back of it as well. 799 00:39:10,063 --> 00:39:13,208 You're free to send an email and tell me what you agree with, 800 00:39:13,208 --> 00:39:16,271 what you disagree with, and we can have a great discussion from 801 00:39:16,271 --> 00:39:28,516 that URL of generationsiglercom . 802 00:39:28,516 --> 00:39:29,298 So they'll go to generationsiglercom. 803 00:39:29,298 --> 00:39:30,503 They'll find all the information for everything to do 804 00:39:30,503 --> 00:39:30,503 . 805 00:39:30,503 --> 00:39:33,632 It'll have a section there for our podcast, our blog. 806 00:39:33,632 --> 00:39:38,264 There'll be a link over to the coaching program or you can go 807 00:39:38,304 --> 00:39:42,579 to the coaching program URL, which is generation-youthcom, 808 00:39:42,619 --> 00:39:42,780 which. 809 00:39:42,780 --> 00:39:45,447 All of that will be merged together by the end of summer, 810 00:39:46,228 --> 00:39:49,202 but generationsiglercom will still be active for quite some 811 00:39:49,262 --> 00:39:49,523 time. 812 00:39:49,523 --> 00:39:53,001 That the URL will, and you can find out all the information 813 00:39:53,643 --> 00:39:54,606 that you'd like about us. 814 00:39:54,606 --> 00:39:55,416 How to connect. 815 00:39:55,878 --> 00:40:02,302 We are retuning, refining, reorganizing the youth 816 00:40:02,322 --> 00:40:05,217 certification program that we've done to meet new needs. 817 00:40:05,217 --> 00:40:10,920 It was a wonderful program, but the post-COVID world needs a 818 00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:11,643 different approach. 819 00:40:11,643 --> 00:40:16,240 So we're wanting to change it up a little bit and create a 820 00:40:16,300 --> 00:40:20,954 leadership certification that meets the needs of youth, maybe 821 00:40:21,014 --> 00:40:21,916 on different levels. 822 00:40:21,916 --> 00:40:25,731 We're looking at having a more of an introduction program and 823 00:40:25,751 --> 00:40:28,257 then a more of advanced program that's very similar to what we 824 00:40:28,297 --> 00:40:31,820 had to kind of get to meet the needs of youth where they are 825 00:40:31,880 --> 00:40:34,965 and to help teachers and those who work with youth be able to 826 00:40:35,166 --> 00:40:39,291 empower those young people that they work with in the best way 827 00:40:39,331 --> 00:40:39,751 possible. 828 00:40:41,275 --> 00:40:41,835 Speaker 2: Very good. 829 00:40:41,835 --> 00:40:44,920 We appreciate you sharing that, and I would encourage anybody. 830 00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:48,023 If you get a chance, whether it's their online offerings or 831 00:40:48,043 --> 00:40:53,510 their in-person offerings develop yourself. 832 00:40:53,510 --> 00:40:57,378 I tell people all the time if you want to know what the future 833 00:40:57,378 --> 00:40:58,038 is, grow it. 834 00:40:58,038 --> 00:41:03,523 Well, how do you grow something you got? 835 00:41:03,523 --> 00:41:07,385 We have to be looking for opportunities to say, oh, look 836 00:41:07,447 --> 00:41:07,766 at this. 837 00:41:07,766 --> 00:41:09,768 I think I'm going to take this concept from James. 838 00:41:09,768 --> 00:41:11,630 I'm going to plant it, I'm going to water, I'm going to 839 00:41:11,650 --> 00:41:19,235 take care of that, I'm going to grow that opportunity and that's 840 00:41:19,235 --> 00:41:19,755 how we improve ourselves. 841 00:41:19,755 --> 00:41:20,016 What is it? 842 00:41:20,036 --> 00:41:21,577 Abraham Lincoln said that the philosophy of the schoolroom in 843 00:41:21,597 --> 00:41:23,561 one generation will be the philosophy of government in the 844 00:41:23,601 --> 00:41:23,880 next. 845 00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:27,885 If you want to know what the future is, grow it. 846 00:41:27,885 --> 00:41:30,048 And how do we do that? 847 00:41:30,048 --> 00:41:31,690 It's through folks like James. 848 00:41:31,690 --> 00:41:36,815 It's through podcasts like his, this one others. 849 00:41:36,815 --> 00:41:40,005 Learn all that you can learn. 850 00:41:40,005 --> 00:41:41,579 Assimilate all that you can assimilate, because you never 851 00:41:41,599 --> 00:41:44,998 know when that one thing that you learned is going to change 852 00:41:45,039 --> 00:41:46,744 the life of somebody else down the road. 853 00:41:46,744 --> 00:41:50,860 You never know, but you got to learn it, so take advantage of 854 00:41:50,880 --> 00:41:51,362 the opportunities. 855 00:41:51,362 --> 00:41:53,842 James, thanks for being with us today. 856 00:41:53,842 --> 00:41:58,400 Time flies when you're having fun, and we covered a lot of 857 00:41:58,440 --> 00:41:58,701 ground. 858 00:41:58,701 --> 00:41:59,503 You're a good guest. 859 00:41:59,503 --> 00:42:00,447 You covered a lot. 860 00:42:00,447 --> 00:42:00,807 Thank you. 861 00:42:01,155 --> 00:42:04,860 Speaker 3: You shared a lot of great insight, skills 862 00:42:05,242 --> 00:42:09,148 development, good stuff stuff well, I appreciate the 863 00:42:09,208 --> 00:42:11,498 opportunity and this may be one of the shortest conversations 864 00:42:11,538 --> 00:42:12,619 that you've ever had. 865 00:42:12,619 --> 00:42:17,257 We cover a lot of stuff when we get together and it normally 866 00:42:17,277 --> 00:42:18,981 goes on and I get off the phone. 867 00:42:18,981 --> 00:42:20,065 I'm like man, that was great. 868 00:42:20,065 --> 00:42:21,007 Why did it end? 869 00:42:22,297 --> 00:42:25,083 Speaker 2: so everybody on the podcast gets one last fun 870 00:42:25,123 --> 00:42:25,585 question. 871 00:42:25,585 --> 00:42:30,596 So you get the question what is the best? 872 00:42:30,615 --> 00:42:31,637 Speaker 3: concert you've ever been to. 873 00:42:31,637 --> 00:42:35,380 Best concert I've ever been to is the very first big time 874 00:42:35,440 --> 00:42:37,724 concert that I ever went to as a high school student. 875 00:42:37,724 --> 00:42:40,106 I grew up very rural area so there were a lot of 876 00:42:40,186 --> 00:42:40,708 opportunities. 877 00:42:40,708 --> 00:42:49,014 But we traveled from my area to Raleigh, north Carolina, and I 878 00:42:49,034 --> 00:42:50,257 saw Alabama in concert at Reynolds Coliseum at North 879 00:42:50,278 --> 00:42:52,443 Carolina State University and the opening act was the Charlie 880 00:42:52,483 --> 00:42:53,266 Daniels band. 881 00:42:53,266 --> 00:42:57,619 And I mean I've been to some that have you know, were bigger 882 00:42:57,659 --> 00:43:01,876 and had you know other stuff but that one I can always. 883 00:43:02,036 --> 00:43:06,284 I can remember the song sequence , I can remember every bit about 884 00:43:06,284 --> 00:43:10,398 it because I was just so enthralled and we got what we 885 00:43:10,557 --> 00:43:14,788 thought were bad seats because you know it was in a coliseum 886 00:43:15,155 --> 00:43:17,344 and so the stage, you know, cut off the back half. 887 00:43:17,344 --> 00:43:21,784 We were right at the edge where you were looking vertically to 888 00:43:21,824 --> 00:43:22,005 them. 889 00:43:22,005 --> 00:43:27,148 But it actually ended up being really good because we could 890 00:43:27,188 --> 00:43:30,271 actually see a little bit behind the stage and we could see them 891 00:43:30,271 --> 00:43:32,141 behind hand and they were waving at us. 892 00:43:32,141 --> 00:43:35,827 I was like it's so awesome, I just got to wave. 893 00:43:35,827 --> 00:43:38,842 Randy Owen waved, charlie Daniels just waved at me. 894 00:43:38,842 --> 00:43:45,003 I'm a 16-year-old coming out of Benson, north Carolina, driving 895 00:43:45,003 --> 00:43:45,675 up to this concert. 896 00:43:45,675 --> 00:43:48,503 There might have been bigger ones. 897 00:43:48,503 --> 00:43:49,545 There probably have been. 898 00:43:49,545 --> 00:43:51,961 I know I've been to stuff that's been and had a lot more 899 00:43:52,001 --> 00:43:57,065 people in stadiums, but that to me is the best concert I've ever 900 00:43:57,065 --> 00:43:59,380 been to and the one I remember the most. 901 00:44:00,103 --> 00:44:00,724 Speaker 2: That's awesome. 902 00:44:00,724 --> 00:44:04,998 I was actually at that not that same concert but I did see 903 00:44:05,097 --> 00:44:08,780 Alabama with Charlie Daniels back in the day at Shepherd Air 904 00:44:08,820 --> 00:44:12,213 Force Base, their July 4th celebration, and I'm like you, 905 00:44:12,293 --> 00:44:13,177 I'll never forget it. 906 00:44:13,177 --> 00:44:15,746 Charlie Daniels came out, he rocked the house and then 907 00:44:15,847 --> 00:44:19,579 Alabama came out and everybody knows every Alabama song and 908 00:44:19,619 --> 00:44:23,668 we're all singing along and this podcast will probably come out 909 00:44:23,695 --> 00:44:24,617 in 2024. 910 00:44:24,617 --> 00:44:28,706 So the material that we share here today is evergreen material 911 00:44:28,706 --> 00:44:31,878 , so folks can pick it up and it's going to be just as 912 00:44:31,998 --> 00:44:35,346 applicable when they capture it as then, as it is the day that 913 00:44:35,365 --> 00:44:36,068 we recorded it. 914 00:44:36,068 --> 00:44:40,336 So, james, thanks again for being on the show, and all of 915 00:44:40,396 --> 00:44:43,065 our listeners thanks for joining us for the Growing Our Future 916 00:44:43,105 --> 00:44:43,686 podcast. 917 00:44:44,135 --> 00:44:48,364 Remember, if you want to know what the future is, grow it, 918 00:44:49,166 --> 00:44:49,708 Grow it. 919 00:44:49,708 --> 00:44:52,666 You got to plant the seeds, you got to take care of them, you 920 00:44:52,708 --> 00:44:54,835 got to nurture them, then you got to harvest it and then, when 921 00:44:54,835 --> 00:44:56,583 you do, you got to feed others. 922 00:44:56,583 --> 00:44:59,885 Remember that the essence of leadership is to plant trees 923 00:45:00,396 --> 00:45:02,103 under whose shade you may never sit. 924 00:45:02,103 --> 00:45:05,375 Go out and grow an incredible future. 925 00:45:05,375 --> 00:45:08,675 Until we meet again, everybody, be safe and do something 926 00:45:08,735 --> 00:45:09,978 incredible for somebody else. 927 00:45:09,978 --> 00:45:11,440 Thank you for joining us. 928 00:45:16,010 --> 00:45:17,976 Speaker 1: We hope you've enjoyed this episode of the 929 00:45:18,016 --> 00:45:19,621 Growing Our Future podcast. 930 00:45:19,621 --> 00:45:23,835 This show is sponsored by the Texas FFA Foundation, whose 931 00:45:24,014 --> 00:45:27,023 mission is to strengthen agricultural science education 932 00:45:27,425 --> 00:45:30,304 so students can develop their potential for personal growth, 933 00:45:30,664 --> 00:45:33,876 career success and leadership in a global marketplace. 934 00:45:33,876 --> 00:45:36,244 Learn more at mytexasffaorg.