WEBVTT 00:00:02.786 --> 00:00:04.873 Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast. 00:00:04.873 --> 00:00:19.969 In this show, the Texas FFA Foundation will take on a journey of exploration into agricultural science, education, leadership development and insights from subject matter experts and sponsors who provide the fuel to make dreams come true. 00:00:19.969 --> 00:00:22.460 Here's your host, Aaron Alejandro. 00:00:30.144 --> 00:00:39.948 Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening or whenever you may be tuning in to the Growing Our Future podcast, we really appreciate you stopping by. 00:00:39.948 --> 00:00:55.377 We enjoy this podcast because it's an opportunity for us to find folks that are willing to pour into others, to share their time, talent, testimonies, experiences and, like we always say, if you want to know what the future is, grow it. 00:00:55.377 --> 00:00:58.978 Well, the way you grow something is you got to plant the right seeds. 00:00:58.978 --> 00:01:02.121 Well, today's no different folks. 00:01:02.121 --> 00:01:03.383 We have got an extraordinary guest. 00:01:03.383 --> 00:01:16.882 Well, today's no different folks, we have got an extraordinary guest, and I cannot wait to get to their seeds of greatness that I know, if we plant them in our lives, we're going to grow something mighty, have a harvest and a bounty we're sharing. 00:01:16.882 --> 00:01:28.593 And so, ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor and you're going to get to hear more about this man here in a second, but it's an honor to have Dr Coach Nate Hearn Coach thank you for joining us today. 00:01:36.263 --> 00:01:42.932 My honor to be here and I love the way you talk about seeds because, oh man, those seeds were poured into me by some great people over the years and many of them. 00:01:42.932 --> 00:01:45.614 That's an eternal friendship. 00:01:45.614 --> 00:01:51.406 It's, it's gonna last forever, I'll never forget them. 00:01:51.426 --> 00:01:52.269 I'm with you, trust me. 00:01:52.269 --> 00:01:54.174 That's the power of testimony. 00:01:54.174 --> 00:01:56.302 What you just said, that's the power of testimony. 00:01:56.302 --> 00:02:17.021 Uh, we stand on the shoulders of the people that went before us and we're grateful for the seeds that people share, which is why, coach, we're grateful that you're with us today, so that you're going to get a chance to share with the audience of students, with adults, with sponsors, with educators, and it goes around. 00:02:17.021 --> 00:02:21.453 Amazing, coach, how many people around the world watch this podcast Blows me away. 00:02:22.480 --> 00:02:25.929 So, just know that your words here are going to become seeds of greatness. 00:02:25.929 --> 00:02:29.144 I appreciate you taking time to join us. 00:02:29.144 --> 00:02:30.588 I'm honored. 00:02:30.588 --> 00:02:43.179 Here's the thing Every person that comes on this show, everybody gets the same first question Coach, what are you grateful for today? 00:02:43.179 --> 00:02:45.588 What are you grateful for? 00:02:47.300 --> 00:02:53.614 I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here today to know that our future is with our students. 00:02:53.614 --> 00:03:13.787 That's been my heart forever, to know that they're out there, they want to learn, they want to grow, they want to make a great nation and I'm honored to be a part of that, to know that we can do this and it has an effect for the future. 00:03:15.861 --> 00:03:16.925 I'm going to agree with you. 00:03:16.925 --> 00:03:32.346 You know, when Tom Ziegler by the way folks, coach Nate and I have a mutual friend and Tom Ziegler, the son of the late great Zig Ziegler, and when Tom and I first started talking, coach, we were talking he said, well, tell me what you do. 00:03:32.346 --> 00:03:34.866 And I said I'm in the future business. 00:03:34.866 --> 00:03:36.966 And he said what do you mean? 00:03:36.966 --> 00:03:42.405 I said I'm in the kid business, and if you're in the kid business, you're in the future business. 00:03:42.405 --> 00:03:47.875 And so I appreciate what you said because it's an honor I know you're grateful for that. 00:03:47.875 --> 00:03:53.840 It's an honor too for me to sit in the seat that I sit in and have an opportunity to work with young people and to work with educators. 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:58.441 So thank you so much for what you're grateful for, coach. 00:03:58.621 --> 00:04:07.824 I know that there are some that may be tuning in that have heard your story, have heard of you, but we've got a lot of young listeners that might not know. 00:04:07.824 --> 00:04:16.132 When we talk about Friday Night Lights and we talk about Zig Ziglar, sometimes it's not something that's immediate in their wheelhouse. 00:04:16.132 --> 00:04:25.226 I know the success that you've had as a coach, as a husband, as a father, in so many roles that you've played. 00:04:25.226 --> 00:04:27.528 I know you didn't just fall into that seat. 00:04:27.528 --> 00:04:39.427 Something tells me that there was a journey, there was things that happened, doors that opened, doors that closed, that led you to where you're at today. 00:04:39.427 --> 00:04:47.045 If you would take a moment and just kind of walk us through Coach Nate's journey and how you got to where you're at today. 00:04:48.069 --> 00:04:48.831 It's just awesome. 00:04:48.831 --> 00:04:58.971 Yeah, the main thing is, like you said, I had seeds poured into me, watered and nourished by some great people. 00:04:58.971 --> 00:05:05.050 Now, my parents were great, wonderful parents. 00:05:05.050 --> 00:05:14.201 I came from a home of seven other brothers and sisters and my parents. 00:05:14.201 --> 00:05:28.682 They poured into us the things that we were supposed to do and how we were supposed to do it, and the most important thing was to be caring and kind and helping, of service. 00:05:29.004 --> 00:05:39.156 My parents were people of service orientation, but they were not educators and grew up poor. 00:05:39.156 --> 00:05:42.572 I didn't know where my next meal was going to come from. 00:05:42.572 --> 00:05:44.622 I wore hand-me-down clothes. 00:05:44.622 --> 00:05:45.069 I didn't know if I was going to come from. 00:05:45.069 --> 00:05:45.689 I wore hand-me-down clothes. 00:05:45.689 --> 00:05:54.620 I didn't know if I was going to come home to the same house sometimes, but my parents kept us together and provided for us. 00:05:55.463 --> 00:05:56.386 School was different. 00:05:56.386 --> 00:05:57.470 You need it. 00:05:57.470 --> 00:06:02.863 You grow up in poverty and you know that you're isolated out there and things are just not the same. 00:06:02.863 --> 00:06:17.449 Sometimes a rural can be cruel and you need that teacher figure, authority figure, that can come along and say hey, you're okay, I think you're going to do great things someday. 00:06:17.449 --> 00:06:23.031 Every one of us need that a smile, a pat, an encouraging word. 00:06:23.031 --> 00:06:25.285 So I got that from two great men. 00:06:25.285 --> 00:06:43.862 A science teacher, seventh grade, and my football coach did that for me and I'm eternally grateful for the seeds that they planted in me, because Aaron and I would not have made it without their encouragement, without their encouragement. 00:06:43.862 --> 00:06:50.711 My science teacher he took me under his wing, he made me his lab assistant in his class. 00:06:50.711 --> 00:06:54.615 My football coach a seventh grade football coach, mark Wallace. 00:06:54.615 --> 00:06:58.463 My science teacher's name was Mr Clyde Hake. 00:06:58.463 --> 00:06:59.084 Where was this at? 00:06:59.144 --> 00:06:59.446 coach. 00:07:00.148 --> 00:07:01.350 This was Andrews, Texas. 00:07:01.630 --> 00:07:02.413 Andrews, Texas. 00:07:03.459 --> 00:07:03.944 West Texas, west Texas. 00:07:03.944 --> 00:07:04.507 Yeah, this was Andrews Texas. 00:07:04.507 --> 00:07:06.358 Andrews Texas, west Texas, west Texas. 00:07:06.358 --> 00:07:10.189 Yeah, little small town, maybe 5,000 people at the most. 00:07:10.189 --> 00:07:14.862 You know they took me under their wing and nourished me. 00:07:14.862 --> 00:07:23.206 I became, from their nourishment, from their seed planting, the thing that I wanted to do and I decided at an early age because of their influence in my life. 00:07:23.206 --> 00:07:29.435 I remember that I said you know I was one of those, you know, troubled children. 00:07:29.435 --> 00:07:30.886 I had lots of trouble in school. 00:07:30.886 --> 00:07:36.286 I wasn't successful until I met those two men and they turned me around. 00:07:36.286 --> 00:07:37.545 My grades were bad. 00:07:37.545 --> 00:07:40.870 I made C's, d's and F's in elementary school. 00:07:40.870 --> 00:07:43.427 You know I had behavior problems. 00:07:43.427 --> 00:07:46.600 And then I met those two men and it just flipped. 00:07:46.781 --> 00:08:05.810 I went from making F's and D's on my report cards to being on the honor roll because of their influence and I decided in the seventh grade that I wanted to be a science teacher and a coach, and in that moment I would never let it go. 00:08:05.810 --> 00:08:15.293 Wow, I never let it go Wow, and today I still follow their leadership, the examples that they set for me. 00:08:15.293 --> 00:08:22.213 Today I'm 73 years old and I still follow the things that they taught me when I was in the seventh grade. 00:08:23.701 --> 00:08:25.146 I know we've got a lot more to talk about. 00:08:25.146 --> 00:08:26.083 We could stop right there. 00:08:26.083 --> 00:08:28.331 Just listen, coach. 00:08:28.331 --> 00:08:28.892 Here's the thing. 00:08:28.892 --> 00:08:38.765 When we talk about growing the future and seeds of greatness, what I tell people the reason why people's testimonies are so powerful is if you'll listen to somebody's testimony. 00:08:38.765 --> 00:08:42.573 Tony Robbins said success leaves clues. 00:08:42.573 --> 00:08:48.363 And if you listen to folks' testimony, you start finding those seeds. 00:08:48.363 --> 00:08:50.446 Just in your first sharing. 00:08:50.446 --> 00:09:01.972 There you talked about encouragement, you talked about expectation, you talked about accountability and you also trickled in a little want to. 00:09:01.972 --> 00:09:04.096 And you also trickled in a little want to. 00:09:04.096 --> 00:09:23.179 Yes, because none of that words of encouragement and none of that opportunity that was presented to you could have ever been nourished and brought fruit if you wouldn't have had some want to, and you obviously had a little want to. 00:09:23.179 --> 00:09:27.724 I think you sounds like you wanted to maybe have a little more than what you had. 00:09:27.724 --> 00:09:33.033 Growing up, you were encouraged by what somebody gave you, so you wanted to kind of share that with somebody else. 00:09:33.033 --> 00:09:37.046 Yes, I kind of picked up on that that. 00:09:37.046 --> 00:09:40.653 You know, these are the kind of seeds of greatness that I hope people hear. 00:09:40.653 --> 00:09:44.494 One of the things that I share with some of our youth leaders, coaches. 00:09:44.494 --> 00:09:46.095 I tell them. 00:09:46.134 --> 00:09:49.456 I said go ahead, get into school and you can take all you want. 00:09:49.456 --> 00:09:54.437 I said get into junior high, get into middle school, get into high school and you can take. 00:09:54.437 --> 00:09:56.581 I said if you go to college, guess what? 00:09:56.581 --> 00:09:59.327 You still may find a few opportunities to take. 00:09:59.327 --> 00:10:03.182 I said, but once you get out in the real world it's going to get a little bit harder to take. 00:10:03.182 --> 00:10:05.384 I said but once you get out in the real world it's going to get a little bit harder to take. 00:10:05.403 --> 00:10:15.352 Yes, I said, but if you can learn at an early age to serve, when you get into high school, you can serve yes. 00:10:15.352 --> 00:10:19.017 When you get into college, you can serve yes. 00:10:19.017 --> 00:10:25.004 And when you get out of college and you start a career and you live in a neighborhood and you live in a community, guess what? 00:10:25.004 --> 00:10:29.668 There are going to be needs and an opportunity to serve Always. 00:10:29.668 --> 00:10:40.528 So think big about that service component, because it doesn't matter if you become a coach, it doesn't matter if you become director of a nonprofit, it doesn't matter what your role is in life. 00:10:40.528 --> 00:10:48.529 Giving back to others is probably one of the greatest gifts, and you and I both know what did Zig always say? 00:10:48.529 --> 00:10:51.850 You know you can get anything in life you want, that's right. 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:55.907 If you help enough other people get what they want, that's right. 00:10:55.907 --> 00:10:58.047 So you were a coach. 00:10:58.047 --> 00:11:00.128 So tell me, you became a coach. 00:11:00.128 --> 00:11:02.826 I know y'all did that. 00:11:02.826 --> 00:11:05.028 You didn't just fall into a state championship. 00:11:05.028 --> 00:11:08.245 So what does that journey look like? 00:11:08.245 --> 00:11:18.212 To build a team, to build a program and here's one for you, Coach to build a culture of excellence and winning. 00:11:20.061 --> 00:11:25.092 Yeah, you have to have the right mindset to build that kind of culture. 00:11:25.092 --> 00:11:29.851 You have to have a process and you have to get the guys to believe in that process. 00:11:29.851 --> 00:11:47.159 It's like it's like anything in life If it's going to be successful, the most important thing in any entity are the people, the relationship with the people, the relationships with those young men, the relationship with the people, the relationships with those young men. 00:11:47.159 --> 00:11:53.169 We had to nurture and grow those relationships in order for them to excel in that program, because it was a very difficult program. 00:11:53.169 --> 00:11:56.200 It was based on a college level program. 00:11:56.200 --> 00:12:12.948 We instituted the first coach, instituted that and came down to the high school level and instituted school level and institute it and they begin to take off and for 35 years at permian high school we had that one percentage of 88.9 percent. 00:12:12.948 --> 00:12:26.772 Six state championships, national champions, team of the decade the times that I was there, 10 years, the years that I served there we renamed a team of the decade with uh, 122 wins and 11 losses. 00:12:27.480 --> 00:12:30.168 Just unheard of and most amazing thing about those guys. 00:12:31.541 --> 00:12:34.125 They were undersized One time. 00:12:34.125 --> 00:12:42.424 Aaron, we're playing in the semifinals for the state with the smallest team in Texas, but we're in the big school division. 00:12:42.424 --> 00:12:45.371 Our middle linebacker weighs 145. 00:12:45.371 --> 00:13:01.956 Our linemen are over 200 pounds the smallest team in the state and we're playing against another team and they have seven Division One already scholarship athletes on the team. 00:13:02.460 --> 00:13:08.767 They've got the 250s, the 260s, the 270s and those guys with the heart of a line. 00:13:08.767 --> 00:13:11.432 We lost that game 28-21. 00:13:11.432 --> 00:13:14.822 So that was the nature of that school and a culture. 00:13:14.822 --> 00:13:19.893 Because of that, the moniker was Mojo. 00:13:19.893 --> 00:13:23.429 Because of that, mojo, mojo. 00:13:23.429 --> 00:13:26.306 We had a following. 00:13:26.306 --> 00:13:31.261 They built a stadium in 1980 and people thought they were crazy. 00:13:31.261 --> 00:13:40.062 They built a stadium in 1980 in Odessa, radcliffe Stadium that seat 28,000 people for high school football. 00:13:40.062 --> 00:13:40.842 This was in 80. 00:13:40.842 --> 00:13:48.595 And they thought we were crazy and they feel that stadium every Friday night when we played at home for 31 years. 00:13:50.120 --> 00:14:07.673 But 31 years, right, and with that kind of atmosphere, with that kind of following, we had over 500 students in the band, 380 Peppettes, a community that would follow us to to the end of the world to watch us play, to support us. 00:14:07.673 --> 00:14:11.567 That program brought to that community. 00:14:11.567 --> 00:14:19.549 And when you have something like that, it changes the community, it changes everybody, it affects a lot of lives. 00:14:19.549 --> 00:14:28.115 When you have that kind of culture in the school behind students who want to excel, they want to do the good thing. 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:31.210 They want to do the right thing they're playing it's wholesome. 00:14:31.210 --> 00:14:32.263 It's mom. 00:14:32.263 --> 00:14:34.028 Apple pie, white picket fence. 00:14:34.028 --> 00:14:36.567 That's what it was Right. 00:14:40.580 --> 00:14:43.160 You know, kyle, there's so much there. 00:14:43.160 --> 00:14:45.883 Again, you just, for example. 00:14:45.883 --> 00:14:50.684 I love doing these interviews because there's so many little things that people will just listen that you can pick out. 00:14:50.684 --> 00:14:59.009 Success begets success. 00:14:59.009 --> 00:15:01.330 Listen to what you just shared. 00:15:01.330 --> 00:15:02.350 It was so beautifully. 00:15:02.970 --> 00:15:11.193 You didn't just talk about the football team, you talked about how those successes were duplicated in fine arts. 00:15:11.193 --> 00:15:16.176 They were probably duplicated in other classroom activity. 00:15:16.176 --> 00:15:18.236 They were probably duplicated. 00:15:18.236 --> 00:15:27.091 I guarantee you anybody that knows small town Texas, you know there's coffee shops where everybody gathers to cuss and discuss what's wrong with the country and everything else. 00:15:27.091 --> 00:15:29.400 But when you're winning, guess what they're talking about? 00:15:29.400 --> 00:15:31.784 They're talking about success. 00:15:32.706 --> 00:15:34.129 How did they get that success? 00:15:34.129 --> 00:15:36.493 How did they plan that play? 00:15:36.493 --> 00:15:39.923 How did they plan for that team? 00:15:39.923 --> 00:15:49.216 How did we know we were going to be outmanned, we were going to be outweighed, but we weren't going to be outhearted? 00:15:49.216 --> 00:15:51.240 We, you know. 00:15:51.240 --> 00:15:54.711 And so what you just shared is the beauty of success. 00:15:54.711 --> 00:16:03.835 One of the guests that I've had on here, coach, is a guy that he just matter of fact, I worked for him when his company first started. 00:16:03.835 --> 00:16:08.150 He just made the largest gift in Texas Tech University history. 00:16:08.150 --> 00:16:17.753 He gave him a $44 million gift, oh man, and he very much humbled beginnings and just became very successful. 00:16:17.753 --> 00:16:22.270 But what he likes to say that I like is he says it's okay to win. 00:16:24.602 --> 00:16:25.568 It's okay to win. 00:16:25.589 --> 00:16:26.232 It's okay to win. 00:16:26.232 --> 00:16:29.187 Yeah, y'all put in a lot of work. 00:16:29.187 --> 00:16:31.865 It's okay that you won. 00:16:31.865 --> 00:16:36.687 It's true, no one gave it to you, no one said you're entitled to it. 00:16:36.687 --> 00:16:44.546 You were grateful for the opportunity you put in, the work and you reap the results. 00:16:44.546 --> 00:16:46.450 It's okay to win. 00:16:46.450 --> 00:16:56.961 It's okay to win, and success begets success. 00:16:56.961 --> 00:16:58.024 It does, and y'all did that throughout. 00:16:58.024 --> 00:17:06.151 I can tell you and I think I mentioned this to you before in 1985, I was state FFA president and I would travel four to five schools a day, five days a week. 00:17:06.151 --> 00:17:07.807 I traveled all over the state of Texas. 00:17:07.807 --> 00:17:28.471 I've been in high schools all over the state and to your point, to your point, in 1985, 86, and that year I remember coming to Permian and I remember driving by the football stadium and I remember saying that's where the mojo happens. 00:17:28.471 --> 00:17:33.785 I also remember you'll remember this too I remember the Monday Moguls. 00:17:34.807 --> 00:17:35.108 Yes. 00:17:35.851 --> 00:17:42.147 Yes, and I remember when they built a brand new high school and football field in Gilmer Texas. 00:17:42.228 --> 00:17:42.669 Yes. 00:17:44.022 --> 00:17:44.546 You remember? 00:17:44.546 --> 00:17:45.480 Yes, you remember. 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:53.984 And so it's amazing how a structure can become kind of a flagpole, that's true, kind of rally around. 00:17:53.984 --> 00:18:04.306 But something you said, coach, and I'm always listening in these interviews to find the title of this interview, and I'm not saying I've got it yet, I'm just giving you an example. 00:18:04.306 --> 00:18:07.133 You can have all the structures of this interview. 00:18:07.133 --> 00:18:07.869 I'm not saying I've got it yet, I'm just giving you an example. 00:18:07.869 --> 00:18:23.269 You can have all the structures in the world, but if you don't have the right people and the right culture, you just got a pretty structure and the first thing that you said when you started to tell me about your journey was you said it's about the people. 00:18:23.269 --> 00:18:25.060 That was the first thing you said. 00:18:25.060 --> 00:18:25.842 It's about the people, about the people. 00:18:25.842 --> 00:18:28.786 That was the first thing you said it's about the people and I wrote that down. 00:18:28.786 --> 00:18:33.773 That's it, because God didn't create us to be the Lone Ranger. 00:18:33.773 --> 00:18:39.991 No, life is not a solo project, and you said it. 00:18:41.364 --> 00:19:02.258 You said it was all about the people yeah, and I I know that you know this and and I hope this is what the students get from this is that anything that you do in life, the thing that makes that success is that you have to know who you are right, knowing your identity, knowing who you are. 00:19:02.258 --> 00:19:13.384 Becoming self-aware uh, john maxwell in his book self-awareness he says that's the most important thing in life that you have to be able to identify who you are. 00:19:13.384 --> 00:19:27.016 If you're able to identify who you are, then you can plan anything, you can plan your life, because you know what you want, you know who you are and that's why the people are so important. 00:19:27.016 --> 00:19:38.262 And you said it you can get a good product, a good stadium, you can have a great process, but if you don't have the people who know who they are, it's not going to work Right. 00:19:40.131 --> 00:19:47.683 They got it when my cat and I do a program called Core Clarity, and it's all about helping students identify their strengths. 00:19:47.683 --> 00:20:09.727 Because we feel this way If you know your gifts, if you're an achiever, if you're a communicator, if you're a relator, if all of those things you know about yourself, when you walk across that stage, instead of handing you the keys to the Beetle Volkswagen, they're handing you the keys to the Beetle Volkswagen. 00:20:09.727 --> 00:20:14.880 They're handing you the keys to the Audi, the Mercedes, the Maserati. 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:17.096 Right, because you know who you are. 00:20:17.096 --> 00:20:20.500 You're not guessing anymore about your future. 00:20:20.500 --> 00:20:22.798 You know where you want to go and you know what you want to do. 00:20:22.798 --> 00:20:27.598 That seed has been planted and now all it has to do is be watered. 00:20:30.411 --> 00:20:31.493 Writing that one down too. 00:20:31.493 --> 00:20:32.999 Know who you are. 00:20:32.999 --> 00:20:34.242 That's powerful. 00:20:34.242 --> 00:20:51.301 And, by the way, when you say that I don't mind throwing this in, coach, because I'm not ashamed of spirituality, I'm not ashamed of faith, and the reason I appreciate you saying you got to know who you are is because I know who made you, and God doesn't sponsor any flops and he doesn't make any trash. 00:20:51.301 --> 00:21:08.882 So let me tell you something there's not a person listening to this show that was not created for anything less than greatness, and all we got to do sometimes is look around, find that encourager, find those skills and be the best version. 00:21:08.990 --> 00:21:18.955 You know one of the guests that we've had on here, coach, and I don't know if y'all's paths have ever crossed and if you haven't, I'm going to make an introduction but his name is Dan Owolabi. 00:21:18.955 --> 00:21:28.055 Dan Owolabi, well, let me say this, coach, tom Ziegler, who's a mutual friend of ours. 00:21:28.055 --> 00:21:38.976 Tom holds you in very high esteem and he's told me he said Aaron, coach Nate could be, next to my dad, the best speaker I've ever heard. 00:21:38.976 --> 00:21:50.053 That's pretty powerful commentary coming from Tom Ziegler, and I'm going to tell you that Dan Owalabi could be one of those as well that you need to get to know. 00:21:50.053 --> 00:22:04.656 He wrote a book called Authentic Leadership and he talks about being your authentic self, yes, and not trying to be something that you're not or you're trying to become something that the world's told you that you've got to become. 00:22:04.656 --> 00:22:11.116 So when you said that you got to know who you are, there's a lot of wisdom in that comment. 00:22:11.116 --> 00:22:13.996 A lot of wisdom in that comment. 00:22:14.959 --> 00:22:23.124 Yeah, and you know you get people who will work and do a job in some companies. 00:22:23.124 --> 00:22:35.598 These people are really good at what they do, but if they don't love what they're doing, they can even be paid air handsomely for it. 00:22:35.598 --> 00:22:41.021 And sometimes if you don't sit down and ask them, you know, get to know them. 00:22:41.021 --> 00:22:44.032 Just like you said at the beginning of this, you got to get to know people, you got to talk to people. 00:22:44.032 --> 00:22:48.537 If you don't know them, you don't know if they're happy in that job or not. 00:22:48.809 --> 00:22:50.252 Even though they get paid haphazardly. 00:22:50.292 --> 00:22:55.364 Even though people come and say, oh, you're great at this, they might not like it because it's not who they are. 00:22:55.364 --> 00:23:01.363 They don't identify with that because there's parts of that that they really don't love it. 00:23:01.363 --> 00:23:11.153 And when you talk to them they go I can do it, I do it well, but I don't like it. 00:23:11.153 --> 00:23:17.068 And if if you have a gift, we do not call it a strength if you don't love what you're doing it's not a strength. 00:23:17.269 --> 00:23:30.622 It's not a strength if you don't love, you gotta love it, and you know there's millions of people out there doing things that they don't love doing right there man, that's good. 00:23:32.303 --> 00:23:33.403 Oh, coach, that's good. 00:23:33.403 --> 00:23:43.866 I've, uh, I've been the development officer now here for the texas ffa foundation for 25 years and, uh, I've had my share of opportunities. 00:23:43.866 --> 00:23:49.555 As you might imagine, I've had a lot of people say, hey, if you ever want to make a change, I'd love to have you. 00:23:49.555 --> 00:24:09.694 There's been some very attractive financial offers, but there's no amount of money that you can place on a heart that's bent for a passion and a purpose that they believe they've been given Not a purpose that they believe they've been given. 00:24:09.694 --> 00:24:20.298 And there were a lot of doors that closed on my journey and there was a lot of doors that opened to put me where I'm at, and I couldn't agree with you more. 00:24:21.010 --> 00:24:26.317 I know a lot of people that have told me, aaron, I make a lot of money, but I wished I could be as happy as you are. 00:24:26.317 --> 00:24:30.647 Thank you, told me, aaron, I make a lot of money, but I wished I could be as happy as you are. 00:24:30.647 --> 00:24:37.894 Thank you, and you know, at the end of the day, we're in charge of that. 00:24:37.894 --> 00:24:39.016 Nobody else is in charge of my happiness. 00:24:39.016 --> 00:24:40.278 No, you know, we're in charge of that. 00:24:40.278 --> 00:24:40.959 That's right. 00:24:40.959 --> 00:24:49.239 And so, to your point, if you can find that thing that makes you happy, that thing that gives your passion purpose. 00:24:49.239 --> 00:24:52.785 You're going to be wealthy yes, you are. 00:24:52.785 --> 00:24:55.417 You're going to be rich in spirit yes. 00:24:55.417 --> 00:25:00.910 You're going to be rich with friends yes, and you're going to have enough money to pay the bills. 00:25:00.910 --> 00:25:11.919 It's like I tell people if you'll just manage what you got, maybe at the end of the month you might have a little bit left over and there might be somebody that needs a little bit. 00:25:12.109 --> 00:25:15.953 Yeah yeah, yeah, and you get to help them, and that's a good thing. 00:25:15.953 --> 00:25:17.239 That's a good thing. 00:25:17.239 --> 00:25:28.582 Coach, tell me about a time that you had to take a stand for what was right for your students or your players. 00:25:28.582 --> 00:25:37.837 What does it look like in a leadership role when you have to make those kind of tough decisions to stand for what you think is right? 00:25:40.672 --> 00:25:49.893 There's so many, aaron, but I remember one you might be familiar with this. 00:25:49.893 --> 00:26:02.221 Students back in the day started, maybe 2003, 2040 went to the zero tolerance policy and they were legislators, were hammering that zero tolerance policy. 00:26:02.221 --> 00:26:11.450 Zero tolerance policy was based on you know the weapon things, you know knives, guns, things like that. 00:26:11.450 --> 00:26:20.955 If a student was came to school had those kind of things, ammunition, things like that, that was the state was saying and it was trickled down to the administrators. 00:26:20.955 --> 00:26:22.438 That's it. 00:26:22.438 --> 00:26:33.913 You expelled, no warnings, no, you expel them and they're not. 00:26:33.913 --> 00:26:39.663 It's not to their discipline school, it was to JJ AEP, the Juvenile Justice AEP program, which is one step away from prison. 00:26:40.109 --> 00:26:42.337 Absolutely TYC used to be TYC. 00:26:42.769 --> 00:26:44.250 Yes, right, so you know right, so that's pretty tough. 00:26:44.250 --> 00:26:45.532 I see, yep, right, yep, so you know right. 00:26:45.532 --> 00:26:46.574 Yep, so that's pretty tough. 00:26:46.574 --> 00:27:06.874 And we had a situation where a young man the officer brought SRO officer, brought an arrow and an ID into my office early on a Monday morning and he just laid it on my desk. 00:27:06.894 --> 00:27:09.204 He didn't say a word, he just shook his head and he just walked back up. 00:27:09.204 --> 00:27:12.096 I knew what it was right he did too, because we talked about it. 00:27:12.096 --> 00:27:13.621 That's zero tolerance. 00:27:13.621 --> 00:27:14.872 Zero tolerance. 00:27:14.872 --> 00:27:15.634 It's an arrow. 00:27:15.634 --> 00:27:16.597 That's ammunition. 00:27:16.597 --> 00:27:17.460 That's how they saw it. 00:27:17.460 --> 00:27:20.599 That was automatic expulsion to JJ AEP. 00:27:20.599 --> 00:27:25.711 Took the young man's ID, looked him up he's a senior, he's an. 00:27:25.891 --> 00:27:26.692 AB student. 00:27:26.692 --> 00:27:29.922 He has no discipline referrals. 00:27:29.922 --> 00:27:35.096 He's got maybe one or two excused absences. 00:27:35.096 --> 00:27:48.621 Good student, right, a class of 1,100 students and he's the kind you never see, right, you never get the chance to spend it with the good ones, right, he's a good student, right, I sent for him. 00:27:48.621 --> 00:27:52.837 Comes in and he says mr hernan, am I going to be expelled? 00:27:52.837 --> 00:27:58.574 I said all the records show that I say, everything here is leaning towards that. 00:27:58.614 --> 00:28:01.018 This is an arrow, it's in your truck. 00:28:01.018 --> 00:28:06.532 And I said before we get into all of that, tell, tell me how this happened. 00:28:06.532 --> 00:28:13.103 So he said I have a friend whose dad bought him one of those high dollar crossbows. 00:28:13.103 --> 00:28:14.825 This is an expensive bow. 00:28:14.825 --> 00:28:18.152 He and his dad hunts a lot. 00:28:18.152 --> 00:28:22.897 And he called me and so we went hunting, but not like he and his dad. 00:28:22.897 --> 00:28:25.461 We were just target practicing. 00:28:25.461 --> 00:28:29.445 We shoot at rabbits or stuff like that, or just shooting some targets, and that's all we were doing. 00:28:29.445 --> 00:28:39.221 But when we finished the day, I took him home and when I dropped him off I looked in my backseat and there was the arrow. 00:28:39.221 --> 00:28:46.601 He said so I took the arrow, put it in the front seat, I'm going to pick him up, we're going to go to lunch and I'd give him the arrow back. 00:28:46.621 --> 00:28:46.962 He said Mr. 00:28:47.002 --> 00:28:48.048 Herring, that's not my arrow. 00:28:48.048 --> 00:28:49.173 I said. 00:28:49.173 --> 00:28:49.796 I understand. 00:28:49.796 --> 00:28:59.958 I said, but the state, the school district, everybody sees that possession is 99% of the zero tolerance policy. 00:28:59.958 --> 00:29:01.896 It is in your possession. 00:29:01.896 --> 00:29:23.180 If I called his parents and tell them that we have an arrow in my office, they're going to say he didn't bring it to school and they're going to get lawyers and you and I are going to become the bad guys and you might lose your best friend out of this. 00:29:23.180 --> 00:29:26.816 So I need to call your parents. 00:29:29.261 --> 00:29:29.863 He said Mr Hearn. 00:29:29.863 --> 00:29:32.095 I never knew my father. 00:29:33.880 --> 00:29:38.820 He left my mom and my little brother me, my mom and little brother at an early age. 00:29:38.820 --> 00:29:42.901 They got a divorce, so my brother younger he never saw him he never knew. 00:29:42.901 --> 00:29:56.025 And he said my mother is in the hospital, in the ICU unit with colon cancer. 00:29:56.025 --> 00:30:02.221 You can call her, but they're not going to let you speak to her. 00:30:04.010 --> 00:30:06.861 That situation just got darker, right. 00:30:12.371 --> 00:30:13.675 That situation just got darker, right, I mean. 00:30:13.675 --> 00:30:15.483 So I said I'm gonna send you back to class and I've got to check this out. 00:30:15.483 --> 00:30:21.497 I'll go by and check the hospital and then I'll call you in in the morning and tell you what we're going to do with this. 00:30:21.497 --> 00:30:32.999 Immediately after he leaves, about five minutes later, I get a call from the secondary superintendent over secondary assistant superintendent. 00:30:32.999 --> 00:30:34.782 He asked me what's going on. 00:30:34.782 --> 00:30:54.443 I tell him about the arrow, I tell him about the student and he's like oh, that's a pretty unfortunate situation, but our funding is based on how we handle these zero tolerance policies, these zero tolerance circumstances. 00:30:54.443 --> 00:30:57.554 He said keep me updated. 00:30:57.554 --> 00:31:02.243 The superintendent and sure the school board wants to know. 00:31:03.670 --> 00:31:04.172 So what is he? 00:31:04.211 --> 00:31:08.021 saying read between the lines. 00:31:08.021 --> 00:31:16.759 Stay in the policy, do the right thing right this is a good kid hold the policy, do the right thing. 00:31:16.759 --> 00:31:24.489 I go to the hospital and he's right and you know colon cancer. 00:31:24.489 --> 00:31:27.199 They're in that IC unit. 00:31:27.199 --> 00:31:35.255 They're covered with plastic Tubes, are running Monitors monitoring her and the head nurse on that unit. 00:31:35.454 --> 00:31:37.519 She was nice enough to talk to me. 00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:46.001 I could look inside, I could see it through the windows, and she told me hey, there's not a lot of, she doesn't have a lot of visitors here. 00:31:46.001 --> 00:31:51.152 She said maybe one or two, but the prognosis doesn't look good. 00:31:52.636 --> 00:31:53.820 Stage four colon cancer. 00:31:56.171 --> 00:32:08.875 So I leave, get up in the morning, send for him, send for the SRO officer take the arrow, I break it, I throw it in the trash. 00:32:13.263 --> 00:32:20.878 And so I said now this situation for you is over, no one will approach you again about this. 00:32:20.878 --> 00:32:23.575 I sent him back to class. 00:32:23.575 --> 00:32:34.564 Right In Tom's book the Ten Virtues Leadership Virtues for a Disrupted Time he talks about being the light right. 00:32:34.564 --> 00:32:39.020 He talks about being the light in dark situations, that we have to be the leader. 00:32:39.020 --> 00:32:47.683 We have to shine the light right, and sometimes shining that light is kind of tough because you know people put your job on the line. 00:32:47.683 --> 00:32:54.381 My job was nowhere near it as important as that young man's life Right. 00:32:55.021 --> 00:32:56.664 It didn't equate Right. 00:32:56.664 --> 00:33:04.778 So sometimes being the light means you have to take the air break and throw it in the trench Right, because you know who's in charge. 00:33:04.778 --> 00:33:07.817 God's always in charge. 00:33:07.817 --> 00:33:08.789 God's always in charge. 00:33:08.789 --> 00:33:10.997 He's always in charge. 00:33:10.997 --> 00:33:19.023 And when we have that relationship with God, we don't have to have anybody validate us. 00:33:19.023 --> 00:33:24.095 We don't need to beated by anybody. 00:33:34.352 --> 00:33:52.240 So much in that story, so much what a gift God gave you with that young man, what a gift God gave you with that situation, because there's no telling how many times you've had an opportunity to share that story and have people sit and reflect. 00:33:52.240 --> 00:34:02.499 My board chairman always says Aaron, the right thing is always the right thing Always the right thing he said it's never too late to do the right thing, Never. 00:34:03.931 --> 00:34:13.684 And when you hear stories like that, it just makes you appreciate ethical leadership, core values, confidence. 00:34:13.684 --> 00:34:16.579 It goes back to what you just said knowing who you are. 00:34:16.579 --> 00:34:18.818 You knew who you were when you made that decision. 00:34:18.818 --> 00:34:27.217 You knew what value system drove you to make that decision there was no hesitation there. 00:34:30.050 --> 00:34:32.699 One of my favorite books on leadership is Captain Sully. 00:34:32.699 --> 00:34:39.278 Oh yeah, that landed the plane there in the Hudson, yeah, and of course they got everybody off. 00:34:39.278 --> 00:34:40.846 Sully was one of the last ones off. 00:34:40.846 --> 00:34:42.130 The media is going crazy. 00:34:42.130 --> 00:34:45.534 They want to interview him, but obviously they got to do a debrief. 00:34:45.534 --> 00:35:04.815 And as they're walking down a hallway, a flight attendant she's still frazzled from the accident but she runs up to him and she hands him a piece of paper that's folded in half and it's still wet, crinkled up, and on the outside of the paper it simply read thank you. 00:35:04.815 --> 00:35:13.045 And when he opened it up on the inside it said when your values are clear, your choices are easy. 00:35:13.045 --> 00:35:18.521 When your values are clear, your choices are easy. 00:35:18.521 --> 00:35:39.420 And when you share stories like that, coach, that right there for me is a reminder that when we face those moments that we have to make decisions tough decisions that when your values are clear, your choices are easy, easy, powerful story coach. 00:35:39.530 --> 00:35:41.498 Before we wrap up, give me a. 00:35:41.498 --> 00:35:44.090 We got a lot of kids that'll be watching this that want to be leaders. 00:35:44.090 --> 00:35:46.780 They want to aspire the leadership. 00:35:46.780 --> 00:35:50.755 Give me three leadership tips. 00:35:50.755 --> 00:36:06.326 If you could plant the seeds of leadership tips, what would you tell kids to become better leaders three things listen, listen, listen, got it. 00:36:07.347 --> 00:36:11.297 That's the only way to let people know that you care about them. 00:36:11.297 --> 00:36:12.000 Right? 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:15.291 I see it all the time and you do too, aaron. 00:36:15.291 --> 00:36:18.460 We get in there, we talk to people and some people ask how you doing. 00:36:18.460 --> 00:36:21.186 Well, you tell me they really don't want to hear it. 00:36:21.186 --> 00:36:28.728 Right, they really don't want to hear what you got going on, because they want to talk about what they have going on. 00:36:28.728 --> 00:36:33.365 And when you sit and you listen to a student, they know you're listening. 00:36:33.365 --> 00:36:56.632 I don't know how many times students had come from talk, come to me, coach kids that I've coached, kids in totally other sports, kids that's in my room, kids who knew me from other students talking about me, kids who I coached that I wasn't even their position coach would come to me, come to my room and say, coach, I have a problem. 00:36:56.632 --> 00:37:08.954 And when they finished they said, coach, I came to you because I knew you would listen. 00:37:08.954 --> 00:37:14.355 How many lives do we touch, aaron, just saying, just listening. 00:37:17.708 --> 00:37:29.250 Just listening, what a powerful mentorship that is, because if you can learn to listen, there will always be somebody that needs to be listened to. 00:37:29.250 --> 00:37:30.074 I remember Tom Ziegler. 00:37:30.074 --> 00:37:32.461 He tells a story about his dad. 00:37:32.461 --> 00:37:37.067 He said, tom, how do you know somebody needs encouragement? 00:37:37.067 --> 00:37:41.561 And he said I don't know. 00:37:41.561 --> 00:37:45.144 And he said if they're breathing they need encouragement. 00:37:45.144 --> 00:37:50.384 And we're all going to go through seasons of life. 00:37:50.384 --> 00:38:01.157 I had a lady once and she was really just sharing some really heartbreaking events that she's dealing with and I just listened, like you said, coach. 00:38:01.157 --> 00:38:03.322 I just I didn't have the answer. 00:38:03.322 --> 00:38:07.858 I just listened and I finally looked at her and I said I'm sorry. 00:38:07.858 --> 00:38:15.599 I said, by the way, I said if you want a place that it never rains, I can take you there. 00:38:17.304 --> 00:38:18.226 And she said what do you mean? 00:38:18.266 --> 00:38:24.545 I said sounds like you've had some storms and I said but I can take you to a place that never storms. 00:38:25.226 --> 00:38:26.429 And she said really, I said yeah. 00:38:27.476 --> 00:38:30.643 I said, it's called a desert and nothing grows. 00:38:30.643 --> 00:38:31.907 Nothing grows. 00:38:31.907 --> 00:38:49.041 But you show me somebody that's had a little rain, a little storm, yes, and with the right mentors, with the right encouragers, with the right seeds, with the right encouragers, with the right seeds, with the right stewardship, I'll show you somebody that's bound for a bountiful harvest. 00:38:49.041 --> 00:38:53.588 Awesome, so so awesome. 00:38:54.030 --> 00:38:55.898 Coach, I can't tell you thank you enough. 00:38:55.898 --> 00:38:58.264 I will never forget the first time we met. 00:38:58.264 --> 00:39:08.224 Obviously I knew a little of your story before we ever met, and sometimes you meet people and you wonder is the story as good as the person behind the story? 00:39:08.224 --> 00:39:28.483 And I've got to say, coach, not only did you meet that expectation, you exceeded it and I value what you do, I value what you've done and I value more what you're going to do, because I know God's not finished with you and there's still a lot of work to be done. 00:39:28.483 --> 00:39:36.326 There's a lot of lives to be touched, a lot of people to be encouraged, a lot of people that need an example in the mentorship. 00:39:36.326 --> 00:39:42.137 So I just want to thank you, but you don't get out of here without a fun question. 00:39:42.677 --> 00:39:43.119 Yes, sir. 00:39:43.378 --> 00:39:46.443 So everybody that's been on the show gets a fun question at the very end. 00:39:46.443 --> 00:40:02.054 So the question is this Coach Nate Hearn, dr Nate Hearn what's the best concert you've ever been to? 00:40:02.074 --> 00:40:11.981 Oh my yeah, the best concert you know. 00:40:11.981 --> 00:40:17.306 To tell you the truth, the best concert I've ever been to, I put it together. 00:40:20.516 --> 00:40:21.099 Let me hear it. 00:40:23.675 --> 00:40:25.559 I was asked after I retired. 00:40:25.559 --> 00:40:32.809 I was asked to see if I would be a chaplain in the prison system. 00:40:32.809 --> 00:40:35.463 Yeah, exit to Portland Criminal Justice Center. 00:40:35.463 --> 00:40:35.625 Yeah. 00:40:35.855 --> 00:40:39.447 So I said no problem, because I want to go in there and help. 00:40:39.447 --> 00:40:41.275