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Growing Our Future
Growing Our Future
Smart. Humble. Hungry.
On this episode of the Growing Our Future podcast, we meet Colton Kyle, president of American Sniper, discussing themes of growth, leadership, and the importance of discernment. Colton shares his journey, emphasizing the significance of gratitude, vulnerability, and effective communication in leadership. The conversation highlights the value of asking questions and seeking truth in an age of misinformation, while also reflecting on the lessons learned from agriculture and personal experiences. In this conversation, Aaron and Colton discuss the importance of connections, competitive edges, and living one's faith in business. They explore how personal relationships can enhance professional opportunities and the significance of authenticity in branding. The dialogue emphasizes the need for young people to find their unique advantages in a competitive world while also highlighting the role of faith and purpose in achieving true joy and fulfillment.
Story Notes:
- Colton Kyle: A Journey of Growth and Leadership
- The Importance of Discernment and Asking Questions
- Vulnerability and Leadership Traits
- Effective Communication and Strategic Thinking
- Gratitude and Life Lessons from Agriculture
- The Power of Connections and Timing
- Finding Your Competitive Edge
- Living Your Faith in Business
- The Importance of Personal Connections
- Understanding True Joy and Purpose
Learn more at MyTexasFFA.org
Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast. 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. Here's your host, Aaron Alejandro.
Speaker 2:Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening or whenever you may be tuning in to the Growing Our Future podcast, hey, we just appreciate you stopping by. You know time's one of those things. We can't save it, we can't hoard it. The only thing we can do with time is spend it, and so the fact that you're stopping by and sharing some of your time with us, let me tell you it's an honor. We appreciate you being here.
Speaker 2:The podcast itself, growing Our Future, you know, I tell people, if agriculture's taught me anything, it's taught me this If you want to know what the future is, grow it. Well, how do you grow a future? You've got to plant the right seeds, you've got to take care of those seeds and then you've got to harvest it and then share it with other people. That's what this podcast is about. We bring on people that I consider subject matter experts, people with incredible stories, testimonies and seeds of greatness, things that, if we listen, we can find something that we can plant in our lives. Today is no different. I have been looking forward to this interview. I remember reaching out to this young man's mom. She said, well, he's got to do these other podcasts first. I said, okay, let him do them as soon as he gets them done. I want a shot at him and we got him. Today we've got Colton Kyle with us.
Speaker 3:Colton Kyle president of theamericansnappercom Colton, thank you for joining us today. Thank you very much for having me. I'm looking forward to this. I am by no means an expert on anything, but I do my best.
Speaker 2:Yes, you are, you've got a testimony and we're going to talk about that testimony. That's what you're an expert on, so I always think that that's really kind of fun. Sometimes I ask the kids in the FFA. I said tell me about your business. And they always look at me and they say, well, mr Alejandro, I don't have a business. I said, yeah, you are, you're it. I said what time do you go to work in the morning? What kind of customer service do you deliver? I said you are your business, and just like you, colton, I've been following your brand and I'm telling you that that is extraordinary to have a business, it's extraordinary to live a brand, and that's the reason why I wanted you on this show. We're going to talk about that. We start every episode off the same way, though, so I would like to start this episode off with a simple question, and that is Colton, what are you grateful for today?
Speaker 3:Today, I could think of a million and one things to be grateful for. Specifically, this morning I was able to work out with my girlfriend, and so I'm very grateful for an able body that I've been blessed with, that I can go to the gym and work hard and reap those rewards through the rest of my non-training activities oh that's good. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Ability to get out, get a little blood flow.
Speaker 3:With people you enjoy hanging around. What. A lot of people don't have that opportunity.
Speaker 2:Well, and with people that you enjoy hanging out with.
Speaker 3:Agreed Good company.
Speaker 2:I was going to say what a better deal than that? Not many, yeah, I'm with you.
Speaker 2:I'm like you. I like I don't know about you I love the great outdoors. Yep, I love, like you said, to kind of get the blood flowing and good company and live in a country and under an umbrella that allows me all those incredible freedoms and liberties and opportunities, and I just can't be thankful enough that this is where God allowed me to be born and to raise my family here, and so I appreciate you sharing that. Yeah, absolutely, colton. We talked a little bit.
Speaker 2:You know, before and after we'll talk some more, but you know, everybody's got a testimony, everybody's got a story and sometimes we kind of find our paths through those testimonies and we find our paths through those stories. And you know there will be people that might tune into this podcast which may not have a background, they may not have a full understanding of who you are, maybe your lineage, your background. So if you could, colton, just kind of take us through a little bit, then tell us a little bit about Colton Kyle. Where did you grow up, how did you grow up and how have you found yourself into this position that you're in today with American Sniper?
Speaker 3:Yes, well, I'm Texan, so I'm going to claim to be Texan Technically. I was born in California, but the first soil that my feet touched was Texas soil. My dad made sure it was brought to the hospital, because he's proud Texan, and so I consider myself to be a proud Texan as well. So I'm still in Texas now and I probably will be for a little while at the very least. Little while at the very least. I am 20 years old. I graduated high school two years ago and since then I've been working on the American Sniper brand, so I run the brand. My mom has given me the opportunity to do that, and as much as American Sniper who is my father, chris Kyle has been a figure and a book and a movie. My mom has done enough with it so that it could stay a brand that way, in case my sister or I wanted to take on that role as part of our inheritance. We were able to, and so I had this great opportunity to do that, and that's what I've been doing these past two years. So, as you mentioned, my website americansnipercom Right now I have merchandise on there. I've got some more things coming soon, specifically merchandise expanding on that, but also in the next year or two, I expect to have some tactical gear available and maybe move into some firearms and some things like that. I'm passionate about that, so I'm excited about that. That's what I do now On the side as well. I'm really passionate.
Speaker 3:I'd say my main passion is apologetics and if you're not familiar with that, that is the reasonable or logical defense of your faith. So explaining to people who may have different worldviews, different backgrounds, or maybe even Christians, and expanding on what my faith is and why, logically, I believe that and there is, it's integral to your faith is the faith part of that? And believing in things that you don't see? There's also a large part of reason and logic. And, most likely, why does it make the most sense that Christianity is the truth?
Speaker 3:Because everything takes faith. Everything takes some belief. You have to make assumptions at some point to believe anything at all. So I just believe that my faith takes the least amount of faith or belief in trusting things that you don't see, and I think atheism and other religions take a lot more faith, um, than mine does. So I know that can be kind of confusing, but that's my passion, that's what I like to do. So I like to read and have Bible study and listen to many great speakers and authors and that kind of thing. So that's a little insight into Colton Kyle.
Speaker 2:I love it. By the way, this, right here, is exactly why we do this podcast, by the way, colton, so you know the one thing that I tell people that you cannot argue with, and that is somebody's testimony. Nobody could ever come along and say, colton, that didn't happen to you. That would be a foolish statement. The beauty of a testimony is it's built around all of those things, those experiences, those values. But something that you said and this is the reason why I share this, this is what I want people to kind of take away from these podcasts is learn to listen to what the speakers say. The guests say what they share, and one of the things that you've just shared that I really hope people are listening to is discernment. You have a real mature sense of discernment, and I think that is an incredible attribute, and I hope that young people will ask questions. It's okay to ask questions because I think it's in that asking questions that you find answers, where you become a better discerner.
Speaker 3:Is that fair to?
Speaker 2:say that.
Speaker 3:I totally agree. Yeah, I think questions and doubt is understandable. Everybody has doubt at different points, about different things. But earnestly and honestly seeking answers, I think you'll find the truth. Jesus says if you seek you'll find the truth, and the truth if you seek you'll find the truth and the truth is Him. So I'm all about asking questions and asking the hard questions, because if somebody doesn't know that they should say I don't know and I'll help you. Look, and there will be things that go unanswered, but there will be a lot of things that have good answers that in the very end you can find comfort in.
Speaker 2:So one of my favorite verses in the Bible. I was speaking to a bunch of kids down in the Houston area the other day and they asked me some pretty interesting questions by the way Kind of surprised, yeah. They asked me about how important is faith to leadership. I really appreciate that question. And then they asked me they said do you have a favorite Bible verse? And I said interesting that you would say that. I said I sure do. I said I got lots of them, but I got one in particular and it really kind of goes to what you just said.
Speaker 2:It's James 1.5. It says if any man seeks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives it freely to all men without cast and judgment. So that means anybody If so that means anybody if you need wisdom, you just got to ask and there's an opportunity there to gain insight. But discernment, I think, is really important for today's young people because I think in today's world of media, social media, entertainment, there are so many different touch points that can try to sway a value system, sway an opinion, that I think having that element, that leadership tool I'm going to call it a leadership tool that leadership tool of discernment, I think can keep your compass in the right direction.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. Yeah, I think we used to be in the age of information and now we're in the age of misinformation. So many things out there and so many. It's so easy to deceive people, kind of with the rise of AI and just with presenting things that aren't facts as if they are facts and, in our short form, content, how we don't fact check hardly anything or spend time researching anything. We just trust who who claims to be an expert, without even finding out if they are an expert. So discernment is yeah, it's incredibly important and powerful.
Speaker 3:I really like when you mentioned james five part of the. The end part of the verse is he gives it freely, without casting judgment. So it doesn't matter who you are, what your background is, uh, if you're, if you're supposedly the most holy christian, if you're somebody who's been in the church for a long time and has done all the right things, or if you're somebody who's never been in the church and doesn't know who god is or what he's supposed to be like, when you start asking questions and you're honestly seeking answers, god's going to give it to you and he's not going to look down upon you because you shouldn't know these things, because you've been in the church, or you should know these things because you've heard it, or anything like that. Um, it really speaks to his character that he gives that freely and his knowledge about himself I had a friend here.
Speaker 2:I live in north North Texas, I live in Wichita Falls and I was 23 years old. I just moved to this community. By the way, colton, get this I'm 23 years old, I'm the district director for a member of Congress. I got four offices. I've got an office in Denton, wichita Falls, lubbock and Amarillo. I'm the gatekeeper and I hardly know anybody That'd be like being 23 and being the gatekeeper for Marcus, marcus's brother. You know it's like it's crazy to think that that's what I did, but when we think about you know, discernment and and knowledge and wisdom and just making yourself accessible. There's also another trait in here, a leadership trait, and this one's tough for people. It's vulnerability, because I've got to be a little bit vulnerable to be a potentially a little bit wrong.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 2:Does that make sense? I've got to be a little bit vulnerable, you know. The other side of that is, you know, I tell kids all the time, be open minded, but just don't be so open minded your brain falls out. So I mean I want you to be open minded, but I want that discernment and I want that humbleness of vulnerability to say, you know, maybe I don't have all the answers, maybe I need to seek wisdom.
Speaker 2:Another thing that I share, colton, which is another reason why I wanted you on the show a wise mentor of mine once told me he said, Aaron, he goes always have 10 friends older than you and 10 friends younger than you. The ones that are older than you are going to tell you where we've been. The ones younger than you are going to tell you where we're going. And I've never forgot that. And so when I moved to Wichita 23 years old, there was a doctor here that befriended me and I befriended him and he was a man of faith. We did a lot of work with Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He's just a good man and we used to go over to his house every week and, you know, other men would come and we'd sing and do Bible studies and stuff and he got cancer and he passed away. And I remember we came over to his house after that and we were all sitting there and everybody said, well, you just got to have faith.
Speaker 1:And I was mad.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry, I'm human. I was mad and I said it's not right. I said Jerry's one of the finest men that I've ever known in my life. He's one of the most incredible men of character that I've ever known in my life. It's not right. So I was mad. I got up and walked out by the way and thankfully it's not right. So I was mad, I got up and walked out by the way and thankfully my brothers still loved me. They knew I was just mad. But I happened onto a book and the book was called by John Fisher. It was called True Believers Don't Ask why. And the don't is crossed out. Okay, good.
Speaker 2:So I remember it must have been a God thing that I just happened to walk by that book and I grabbed that book and that's what the book is about is asking questions yeah and I do a lot of stuff with teachers where we train teachers, and they get on the bus and I give them a work, a work manual, and the first thing in their work manual is the word question. And then below it it says what is the root word of the word question Go on an adventure. So to hear you at 20 years old talking about going on an adventure, of learning, of discerning and then being bold enough to share. I think there are some real intriguing leadership tips there for young people.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because they could duplicate what you're doing. They might duplicate it in an engineering space, they could duplicate that in a medical space, in a law space. I mean, I can think of several things. In other words, I think God gives us concepts that are scalable. Yeah, absolutely so. That's good stuff. What you shared. Yeah.
Speaker 3:And then I have a few things on leadership and important leadership qualities. I'd say the first one is communication, so to speak, to your vulnerability. You do have to be vulnerable, but to be able to express that effectively and communicate effectively, if you want to lead somebody, you have to let them know where you want them to go, or what you want them to do, or how you want them to do it, and if they don't know any of those things, then you really can't be a leader. So I think communication, and effective communication, is incredibly important and I think you know that when you run into a leader, that's an effective communicator, that you really understand what they're saying or how they're feeling or what they want you to do, then you're able to do it so much better. And then on top of that, so communication is the, I think, the first thing and then, once people can understand what you're trying to tell them, then that goes into how you communicate and and how you're treating others.
Speaker 3:Strategical thinking is obviously incredible, incredibly important to manage multiple people, but then faith and part of that being compassion and love and patience for people, because, like you said, I'm human, we're human, and when you lead people you're not leading robots and it's easy to say it's kind of cliche, but really you have to understand that people are human and they're going to make mistakes and they're also going to do things better than you would do them and you have to be okay with that and and harness that power of of people's strengths and understand their weaknesses and be able to play into that. But having patience with any people that you're over as a leader is incredibly important because when people know that you care for them, they want to do better work for you and they want to yeah, they want to run head first with you as you're leading the sharps keep going.
Speaker 2:You're doing good. What else do you got for me? Make some more leadership tips.
Speaker 3:That's great stuff well, I mean that's. I just think that's the base. And then it's kind of like you said, it's a quest and you kind of find your own answers as you ask your own questions. Um, and I could probably talk forever about anything if you wanted me to uh, just kind of inherited that, but, um, yeah, I mean, I think it's effective communication and strategical thinking, which not everyone is is blessed with in the way that they can manage people, um, but I do think that's important.
Speaker 3:And then what anybody can learn is how to treat others. And when you show people love, they understand and they respect that. And if that's missing a deadline or something, that may seem detrimental and you say, well, I want to discourage that. I don't want people to not follow through or to make mistakes, but, um, the man who's the most grateful is the man who's been forgiven the most right, and so the person who's going to work the hardest for you is going to be the person who you've forgiven the most, that owes you the most. And so at a certain point, as an employer specifically, there's a, there's a place to draw the line for people who are repeat offenders of something and they're not learning and they're not growing, but someone who is.
Speaker 3:I have a kind of a mentor who told me they got to be smart, humble and hungry. And anybody who works for you needs to have those three traits. Smart, if you can read, you're probably smart enough to do any job, because most things can be taught. And if you're humble and you can respect authority and respect orders, then you can work hard. And then hungry means they have to want it for themselves and you can kind of stoke hunger and stoke that fire. But someone who's lazy and chooses not to be hungry, you just at some point there has to be a line drawn. That doesn't mean you give up on them as a person, but maybe as an employee. So that's some of some of my thoughts on leadership, I suppose.
Speaker 2:Okay, we can stop there. That's good. No, that's the. I really related to a lot of that, by the way. So you know my mom and dad. I grew up there in the Metroplex and my mom and dad divorced when I was six. My father passed away when I was 10 and I got into a lot of trouble and I got sent to a boy's ranch. And if I'd got sent there I'd have never met the FFA. I'd have never met the FFA, I'd have never been state president, I would have never gone to college, I'd have never had the incredible life We'd have never had this podcast. But to your point, I'm very grateful. I'm grateful for the love of my mother that realized she didn't have the tools she needed help. I'm grateful for a place that gave me opportunity and an organization that gave me opportunity. And, to your point, I think that that being grateful provides some energy to get through tough times.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:It does, you know it? It allows us to to reflect and say you know, yeah, it's not good. I had a girl on this podcast. Her name was Madeline Barber. She was from Bernie, texas. She sold a pig at the county fair. She sold this pig at the county fair for $35,000. That's a lot of money, Colton, that is. She turned around and donated all $35,000 to St Jude's Children's Hospital. That's impressive. She was a cancer survivor, yeah, oh yeah. And she said you know, they saved my life, I want to save somebody else's. And I think that, to your point, when you have that kind of humbleness of humbleness, that kind of ability to be smart enough to recognize that, and then the ability to work hard I mean, that pig didn't feed itself.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:You know I tell people all the time. When people ask me about what separates our ag kids from everybody else, I said it's real easy. The reason why I like your dad, by the way because in the world of agriculture, if we don't do our job, something does. So when you can teach a kid early on that we got to get up, whether we want to or not, we got to feed it, we got to water and I know it's a pain my daughter she's tiny and she was a senior cheerleader at a big 5A school Guess what? She had to get up and go feed heifers. She had to water them in cold and in heat. But now that she's a nurse today she's so good at her job because my son too. They're so good at their jobs because I think there's things that they learned, that things depended on them, that they were able to carry on into other aspects of their lives.
Speaker 2:And I remember when I read American Sniper and I read about your dad's growing up in the FFA and talked about wanting to be an ag teacher initially when he started to go to college, it was it's the craziest thing. I think I share this with you, but I'll share one more time since we're on the air, but I had been trying to find a way to get to talk to your dad and, of course, with the explosion of American Sniper, it just got harder and harder to find ways to get there. If I'd have been smart, I would have started with the most obvious. I'm fixing to tell you what that was, but I didn't obvious. I'm fixing to tell you what that was, but I didn't About the time. I finally finally found a way.
Speaker 2:Then the tragedy that happened happened and I was at a loss because I was so eager to want to share that story and then, luckily, I found my way to your mom and then we got to reconnect and I told Tay, I said you've got to come to convention. I want you to see what Chris's life was really all about. All that, colton, all that came together. This is where the story gets really crazy. Ready for this, all that comes together I was asked to go to Level Land, texas, and speak at a banquet in Leveland, Texas, out in West Texas. I show up at Leveland and this ag teacher that I have not seen in years gets out of his truck. He starts walking over in my direction. I've not seen this guy in years. You know what he said. He said, aaron, I saw where you were doing that tribute to Chris. I saw where you had been talking to Taya. He said, aaron, I was Chris's ag teacher.
Speaker 3:That's pretty cool.
Speaker 2:Now what are the odds, colton, that all of that came into alignment? Everything that I just shared with you, within probably three months, sled up. So that's why I say, anytime we think, you know, I like to think I'm a pretty good strategic thinker, anytime I think I am. I remember the guy upstairs because he's a lot better than I am. Oh yeah, he's really crafty at what he does, but there's just a lot of really good stuff that you just shared there. And you know another thing that you shared and I'm going to kind of turn this back into American Sniper a little bit here you know, one of the things that we like to tell people is, when the opportunity arises, I need my sharpest tools.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, when, when and if I ever need it, I need my best tools. They, they have to be ready to go, and so I'll ask you a fun question Do you happen to know how many high schools are in the state of Texas?
Speaker 3:Oh man are in the state of Texas. Oh man, I can only imagine.
Speaker 2:I'll take a random guess and say like 6,000. Listen, you did good. It's just over three. Okay, that's still a lot of high schools, though Most people are way low. Most people are way low. Colton, you did good. 3,000 high schools. So, of those high schools, how many of them are going to have a graduating class this year?
Speaker 3:Well, all of them.
Speaker 2:Every one of them. So everybody's going to be out. They're going to be looking for a job, a scholarship or an opportunity. So the question that I ask young people is what's your competitive edge? What separates you from your competitor? Sometimes it could be littlest things, a firm handshake, a yes or no sir, yes, ma'am, no ma'am. Those can be little things that give you a competitive edge.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But I do believe that young people have to have something that sets them apart from their peers, of course. So, at your age, starting your kind of professional career with a lot of incredible experiences under your belt, what would you share as some examples of competitive edges that you think young people could employ to give themselves an edge in life?
Speaker 3:I have to think about that and I will get to that. I have kind of overarching. Um, I have a bible verse here. Sure, whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the lord, not for men. That's colossians 3, 23. Uh, that's in the niv version. Um, and I was even.
Speaker 3:I had a Bible study last night and we were even talking about this very similarly what I'm going to get to, but I can't remember who said it. It was a Christian in the 1600s that was significant for being a public figure, but he said along the lines of a good Christian cobbler is not a good Christian cobbler because he puts little crosses on his shoes, but because he makes the best shoes. And so I think that's that's what the verse is speaking to, and that's often what I think about when I'm doing business or coming up with ideas. Is that, well, I need a way to show my faith and I want to. I want to honor God and all that he's done in my life and show him like look, I'm not forgetting about you. I don't want to take part in something pagan that's godless, but I want to live my faith, and if it's something I'm dedicating so much of my life and time to. It's my business. I need a way to incorporate God, and so what's given me a lot of peace is that my values and how I operate and how I do business are going to be based on my faith. So that's first and foremost. Many people should be able to know that you're a Christian without knowing that you go to church without you saying that you're a Christian or anything like that, but just because of the way that you're so loving and the way that you treat people, the way you act in good faith and you keep good on your word, I think those are all incredibly important and those are ways that honoring God in the way that you do business. You know if you are, if you're breaking laws and you're cheating people, but you're putting Bible verses on your clothing, you're not honoring God at all. In fact, you're cheating people, but you're putting Bible verses on your clothing, you're not honoring God at all. In fact, you're making a mockery of him.
Speaker 3:So I think it's important to show your passion and dive into your passion. You know God's given you a passion, whatever it may be, and he's put that there. You don't have a longing and a yearning to go into agriculture, to be a skateboarder, to go into business, to be the best chief financial officer of a firm you could possibly be, unless God has placed that passion in you. And so we, I mean we can't get by. If we're all preachers and missionaries, the world wouldn't survive, we wouldn't be able to advance. So for some people, that's their calling is to be a missionary, for some people to be a preacher and a pastor.
Speaker 3:For a lot of us, our calling is to dive into the mission field that God has given us, because anywhere we go is going to be a mission field. They're going to need to encounter you and, through you, jesus, no matter where they are, and so that's an opportunity for you to show your faith. And then you need to do good work as if you're doing it for god, because you are. He's giving you the opportunity for that, he's giving you the passion for that, um, and we can't explain how all these things work out and when we're another and things just fall into our lap and we're in the right place at the right time for things to happen and, like you said, that's all because of the number one strategical mind out there, which is God. So, just living out your Christian faith and your walk in your daily life, in the values that you operate in, I think is the best way to honor God and through that you'll have a competitive edge. You'll be the best at whatever it is that you choose to do, uh, because that's what God has for you, and then I believe that you'll have God's blessing in his favor. And if you run into roadblocks, um, it could be an opportunity for you to persist. It could be an opportunity for you to change where you're at and what you're doing. You know that's very individual and based on your relationship with God and how he's talking to you.
Speaker 3:But, um, I'm trying to think of specific examples. I know when I speak to people and people think highly of me, it's because of, uh, three things. One of them I know I'm blessed with, and that's just God given, and then the others I believe that anybody could do and work towards. Um, I'll start with how I believe God has blessed me is immense focus, and so if I'm working on something or I'm speaking to someone, they have my focus, they have my attention and I'm retaining the information in front of me. That's number one. Now, number two and I believe a lot of people can do that and you can improve on that. I just know that I'm blessed with that ability. Number two like you said, a firm handshake goes a long way.
Speaker 3:If I shake anybody's hand, it doesn't matter how old or young or what gender. Their handshake will tell me a lot about them. Eye contact when I'm speaking to somebody, I know, when I'm writing, if I'm texting somebody, if I'm completing an email, if someone has poor punctuation or poor grammar. That bugs me. A lot of people in my generation don't care for punctuation and grammar and spelling, but it really bugs me and it tells me that someone either does or doesn't care enough to put that effort into that area of their life. And while they may not value it as much as I do, I still know that there's a.
Speaker 3:I believe that there's a proper way to do some of these things and you know, casual situations differ from formal situations, of course, but I believe that's part of the living at your walk and doing the right thing. So I said the handshake, I said looking someone in the eyes and then I believe, if you can relate, a lot of these are going to be personal. I think personal interactions are much more important than you can bond with somebody that way. But if you can relate to someone, if you can even if you're being interviewed or you're submitting a resume or whatever it is if there's an opportunity for you to take a peek into the other person's life and ask them a question or two just personally, that makes a big difference. At the end of the day, everybody just wants to be seen. We have a I forget who says this, but my mom's told me but we're all wearing an invisible sign on us that says see me, please. We all want to be seen and known and recognized and as an individual, so you're wearing a sign that says I am Aaron, alejandro, I want to be known, I want to be seen. And you may not be expressing that all the time, but when somebody answers that call, when somebody does that, you feel so refreshed and relieved and feel like you can really bond with someone. It makes a big difference.
Speaker 3:Um, so, being able to personally connect with people, I think oftentimes, when I've thought of the business or corporate or, um, some world, or it seems highly competitive I've I've thought of it as losing its humanity a little bit, that is just entirely performative and that everything you do is based on your performance and how you do the best, which, like I said, your performance is important, and that will come based on what God has given you, but being able to personally relate with people will get you so much farther than you could expect.
Speaker 3:When you run into people that seem just so incompetent at what they do and you're like, how did you get here? It's probably their personal skills and work right, and so if they're lacking in one area, they've made up for it with their strengths and their ability to speak to people, and anybody can get better at that. Anybody can personally invest and care about someone else's life, or at least a little bit of it. That you know, and so I think that doesn't necessarily work for college applications or resumes, but anything person to person makes a huge difference.
Speaker 2:If I haven't told you lately. I really like you about the way I'm going to confess something here, because everybody's going to my staff in particular is going to get a kick out of what I'm about to say Interns, everybody that worked for me. When they get their intern manual and their intern checklist across the top it's got three words. It says details, details, details. Because I'm a real details person. I'm always like take care of the details and to confess and to show you my humbleness and my vulnerability here, colton, I want everybody to know that I messed up an email to Colton when we were setting up this podcast and I'm sitting here laughing now because he's talking about this and I'm sitting here going yeah, I'm the one that messed it up.
Speaker 3:We all do.
Speaker 2:I have this thing set up to populate the time, the date and everything for the podcast, and I was scheduling a bunch at the same time and, by gosh, it scheduled the wrong one and Colton caught it and he said now what time am I supposed to be? I'm like Alejandro, you big dummy. You didn't even do your own details, details, details. Real quick. I wanted to ask you. That was gold, by the way. I just wrote down several notes of what you said. Focus, details, see me please. Uh, that's one of the things coach nate hearn talked about today when he and I were visiting is. He said people need to hear when they're doing a good job, because when they hear that they're doing a good job, that what you're doing is, you're validating that gift that god gave them. You're validating that that competitive edge gave them. You're validating that, that competitive edge that God gave them. Um, I got to share this one with you, cause your mom shared it and I just love this to death. Uh, you know anybody named Kent Studebaker?
Speaker 3:Yes, I do.
Speaker 2:I love this quote the Bible is not a rule book, but rather a recipe for happiness. Yeah, that's pretty good quote. By the way, yeah, that's my grandfather, so I know.
Speaker 3:I just thought I'd share that with you because I think that was such a great quote yeah, I think it's a, I think it's a recipe for true joy, um, because and I believe that's what he meant but happiness can be fleeting and it's good to revel and enjoy happiness and the simple pleasures, but true joy is founded purpose and, uh, you cannot find a lasting purpose unless you are faithful and you have a relationship with jesus. So, um, I I 100 agree. I think the deeper you dive into the bible, the less it seems like a rule book and things to follow, um, but saying, look, these are not things for you to do to get into heaven, but this is how you can bring heaven to earth, this is how you can have kingdom in your life and have joy. And so, when, when these things go wrong this is not me punishing you, this is you reaping the consequences of your own poor actions. And when you do these things right, you'll see. You'll see the blessing that it cut that comes with it, because it's not god striking you down, saying, oh, you messed up, okay, here's your punishment. It's god saying, look, I've given you everything you need and you do these things right and you'll see the way it works out. Um, and most of the time, that's just going to be. It's going to be in your head, it's going to be in your heart.
Speaker 3:Um, the biggest stresses and the biggest joys that we have have very little to do with our physical surroundings, but really our relationships, uh, our relationship with the lord and our relationship with ourselves. We can really be at peace with ourselves and we know who we are and what God thinks of us. And I've found great peace and solace in that and, just the last year, really understanding just how much God loves and cares for us and that it's not so linear that it's if A then B, if C then D, but I love you unconditionally, no matter what, for who you are. And then, because you know that and because you know you've been forgiven, then I choose to walk in a way that glorifies God and is saying look, I'm just so glad that you've given me the opportunity to do this that I've messed up time and time again and I still have the opportunity to do good and to honor and glorify you. I want to do that rather than a fearful saying I'm going to do these things because if I don't then I'll go to hell.
Speaker 3:Right, it's. It's definitely relationship driven. Like I said, the man who's been forgiven the most, is the most grateful and will do the most in return. Um, and that's, I believe, how we're supposed to live our lives and act and see ourselves as humans. You know, paul renames us. Instead of sinners, we're now saints, knowing full well we are sinners, but we don't carry that title.
Speaker 2:We carry the title of saint because that's who God says we are well, I just think it's another example of the difference between negativity and positivity. What's going to attract more people?
Speaker 3:Yeah, they're both infectious.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, but the positive one is the one that attracts more people.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, have you read.
Speaker 2:By the way, just sitting here listening, have you read John Gordon's One Truth? I've not.
Speaker 3:I've read very few, um, faith-based books and I'm kind of starting my journey. I've started with dr frank turek. I don't have enough faith to be an atheist. It's an apologetics book. He's an apologist, uh. And then I'm reading cs lewis mere christianity and then, yeah, I love it, I love sis, she's, I love. I'm going to continue reading through his classics and then move from there. I have not. I'm really fascinated with CS Lewis and now NT Wright, just recently Tom Wright and Dr Frank Turek. He's on YouTube, so that's how I found him. He's on YouTube, so that's how I found him, and so he kind of relates to my generation in that way by being on social media more actively. But those are the guys that I've read. And then I'll be honest my mom has read a lot and I have read very little outside of that.
Speaker 2:So I want to. Of course I was late to the John Gordon bus. They we had him. He was the keynote speaker at our convention this last year and he and I were talking and I had to apologize to him. So, john, if you're watching this, I'm apologizing again. He's written, I think, 17 number one bestsellers, but his latest book he and I were talking about it and I think you would really enjoy it it's called One Truth and what he's talking about is how, when we get away from the truth that's when we typically start to have problems we lose our discernment. And if we could just stay centered into what we know is true, then everything kind of takes care of itself. And anyway, I just thought of you when you said that, so I wanted to share that with you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, it does. I mean we act on the truth. We'll see the way the world's supposed to be around us and we'll also recognize what's not right. When you bring light to a situation, you show those imperfections. You can see the things that are wrong, but you also see the things that are right and it helps you address that. So it may be scary to bring light to a situation. Hey, the perfections but it's necessary.
Speaker 2:We have that discussion sometime with the young people. I always tell them the truth is confrontational, yeah, but it doesn't have to be mean right, you know what you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:It doesn't have to be mean, but it still can be the truth. Um, okay, the other thing that I want to compliment you on one of my big deals everybody that knows me on social media knows me by my handle is Live your Brand, because I'm a big believer in living your brand. I'm a big believer in what you share, what you post, what you comment on, all the things that we do, all the touch points that we have. They become your brand by the way, and so when I was doing my search on you that's one of the things I wanted to compliment you on is it's very clear that you're living your brand. Thank you, and I think that's a good thing, because consistency creates credibility. So the more consistent we are, the more credibility that we create for our brands. So when we live our brand, obviously and consistency creates credibility Then if I talk to you, I'm apt to trust what you say. More right, because you've been consistent. So I just wanted to compliment you on living your brand.
Speaker 3:So thank you, I appreciate it.
Speaker 2:We might have to come back and do a part two, because I think there's several other things you and I could just take off and talk about. But we need we do need to wrap up today. But before we wrap up, every yes gets a fun question. Okay. So here's your fun question Colton Kyle, what's the best concert you've ever been to?
Speaker 3:okay, that is a. That is a good question. Unfortunately, I've not been to many. I think I can remember two. I may have been to three.
Speaker 3:I went to a mercy me concert. It was my first concert and I was probably 10, so I don't remember it all that well. Um, and then I went to a really small, really small concert. I mean there were maybe 50 of us um in the crowd and my friends found this band that they really liked. They were a lot smaller. It's called harbor as the english spelling, so h-a-r-b-o-u-r. Um. They're just kind of like indie, uh, indie pop punk, kind of um, and so, like that, I got a shirt for merch and I I found all the band members and got them to sign it because there were not very many of us, right, um. So that was probably the best concert that I've been to. And my girlfriend loves concerts, so she's been to like niall horan. Uh, she would love to go to cody jinx um, of course I'm forgetting now, but Morgan Wallen. So she's been to some really fun ones. And I love music. I listen to it all the time, but concerts are a little overwhelming for me, so I just listen at my house.
Speaker 2:It's okay, that's good stuff. I'm curious about yours. Oh, don't get me started. I'm a big live music person. I'm a diehard Jimmy Buffett buffett fan. Yeah, that's good. I'm a diehard, uh, bruce springsteen. Don't agree with either of their politics, just it's their music, their talent that I like. Yeah, but yeah, I just love live music and uh, but if you were to get a hold of my playlist, you would be, you would wow. He's got everything from Christian to Tejano to a big band sound like Sinatra, uh, all the way that country music, classic rock I've got the whole spectrum and Mercy Me's in there, obviously. So yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you for asking, though, uh listen, I just want to tell you again how much I appreciate you sharing some of your time with us today. I know I'm not the only one to say this, but really proud of you, and I hope you keep up the good work and you keep being a positive influence on the folks around you and share your wisdom so that people can be discerning and keep sharing seeds of greatness where people can grow into oak trees of success. Thank, you.
Speaker 3:I really appreciate that. I'm honored to have the opportunity to speak to you. I've really enjoyed our conversation.
Speaker 2:We're going to keep going. We're going to keep talking. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for taking time out of your schedule again to join us today. We appreciate you sharing some of your time with us. Remember, you know, if agriculture has taught us anything, it's taught us. If you want to know what the future is, grow it. It requires a little work. You got to plant the right things and, and then you got to harvest it and feed, feed others, feed yourself and feed others, and just doing that just makes our world a better place, and we appreciate you coming by today and joining Colton, and you know again, have 10 friends older than you, 10 friends younger than you. Ladies and gentlemen, you just got to see a little bit about where we're headed. So, colton, thank you so much for sharing Everybody else, thank you for joining us, and we will see you down the road until we meet again. Go out and do something great for somebody. You'll feel good about it and, guess what? Everybody's going to benefit from it. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:We hope you've enjoyed this episode of the Growing Our Future podcast. This show is sponsored by the Texas FFA Foundation, whose mission is to strengthen agricultural science education so students can develop their potential for personal growth, career success and leadership in a global marketplace. Learn more at mytexasffaorg.
