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Growing Our Future
Growing Our Future
It's Life Changing to Change Lives
In this episode of Growing Our Future, host Aaron Alejandro sits down with Chip Baker, a dynamic speaker, educator, author, and host of The Success Chronicles. Together, they dive into the power of passion, personal growth, and leadership. Chip shares his inspiring journey from a small-town upbringing to becoming a nationally recognized figure in education and motivation. His story is filled with lessons on perseverance, faith, and the importance of a strong foundation.
Chip’s message is clear—success leaves clues. By learning from others, taking ownership of your actions, and maintaining a strong work ethic, anyone can create a lasting impact. The discussion covers core values, competitive edges, and the importance of staying focused on personal and professional goals.
Story Notes:
• Importance of valuing time and being present
• The role of gratitude in overcoming challenges
• Education as a foundation for character development
• Essential leadership principles: ownership, hard work, and communication
• Encouragement for cultivating a growth mindset
• Discussing the transformational power of mentorship
• The connection between opportunities and outcomes
• The significant impact of storytelling in shaping lives
• Messages of resilience and moving forward amidst adversity
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 or good evening, or whenever you may be tuning in to the Growing Our Future podcast. Hey, we appreciate you stopping by. You know there's only one thing we can do with time is spend it, and the fact that you're spending a little of your time with us today, man, we appreciate it. You know I like to tell people in the world of agriculture if it's taught me anything, it's taught me this If you want to know what the future is, grow it. If you want to know what the future is, grow it.
Speaker 2:Well, to grow something, you got to plant the right seeds and you got to make sure you take care of it. But getting the right seeds is important, and that's what this show is about. It's about reaching out and bringing on subject matter experts, people with strong testimonies, experiences that are willing to share and pour into others. Today is no different. I'm excited for today. I can't wait to hear all the incredible apples of gold we're going to receive today. But we're going to get started. Here we have the Success Chronicles himself. Author, writer, speaker, chip Baker. Chip, thanks for being with us today.
Speaker 3:Let's go. Thank you so much for that intro. That's exciting, and thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2:Let's go, yes, sir. Hey, you know we're not even into this shit, but I got to tell you how much I like that. You know why? Because I tell people all the time move. God does not have a problem hitting a moving target, Just move.
Speaker 3:Yes sir, let's get it.
Speaker 2:So we're going to go Okay.
Speaker 3:Yes, sir, let's get it. So we're going to go. Okay, Chip, we start every episode the same way. Every episode, every guest gets the same question. That question is this what I'm grateful for today is the ability to be here to be able to do this, and what I mean by that is it's taken a journey for me to get to this place of where I am today Lots of hard work, lots of people loving me, lots of people looking out for me, helping me, lots of growth, lots of mistakes. You know it's led me to this place and for you to think enough of me to have me on this amazing platform. I'm truly grateful for that, and my hope is that I can give some gems based off of my experience that will help others move more efficiently and effectively. So I am grateful to be here with you doing this.
Speaker 2:All right, we can just stop there.
Speaker 3:That was great.
Speaker 2:Great interview that's exactly, though you know you said something, the reason we start every episode with that, though one of my board members you you probably know, know his dad and know him, but the late Zig Ziglar. Tom Ziglar is on my board and Tom and I talk about this all the time, about how, when we think about gratitude, the emotions that that stir, or hopefulness, encouragement, they're, they're all positive. But but when you look at the opposite of gratitude like Tom was on the East Coast talking to some college kids and he asked them what is the opposite of gratitude? And he said the answer is entitlement. And when you go from being grateful to saying well, that's not fair, give that to me, that's mine the attitude changes.
Speaker 2:And so I think when young people or educators can start every day with something that they're excited about, that they're grateful for, that is contagious to other people. And I love the way you couched that, chip. I love the way you couched it as you couched it about this journey that led to today. I love the quote by oh, I'm embarrassing myself because I was fixing to give you the quote Tony Robbins and I love.
Speaker 2:Tony Robbins says success leaves clues. Yes, and you just said it, when you take somebody's journey and their testimony and what led them to where they're at. Yeah, we see the look at this guy. We're looking at this big man here that's composed, he's smiling, he's confident. But I guarantee you there was some challenges, some storms in life that came along that chiseled him into who he is today. But if we're smart, we look at that and we say, okay, success leaves clues. So, chip, that's what we're going to talk about today. Okay, if you want to do that, I'd sure like to do that. So you're very accomplished.
Speaker 2:Again, you know we were talking off air. You're a speaker, you're an author, you've got the Success Chronicles. I mean, your fingerprints are from coast to coast. Something tells me you did not just fall into that chair coast. Something tells me you did not just fall into that chair. Something tells me that there was probably something that led you to where you are today. Give us a little bit of your journey and tell us how did you get to where you're at today and why you do what you do today.
Speaker 3:I love how you set that up. It gave me chills when you said that my fingerprints are coast to coast and a lot of times, when we are focused in on just striving to make a difference and doing the work, we don't get a chance to take a deep breath and just think about all of those things you know if you're doing it the right way, I believe. Think about all of those things you know, if you're doing it the right way, I believe. And so just to hear that, I'm grateful for that and grateful that people have seen the things that I've strived to do to help others. And you know, in answering your question, the way I got to this place where I am currently is because there was lots of people that came before me family, people that I worked with that looked out for me, people that I've been blessed to learn from, that I coached or taught people that I've come across with the YouTube channel podcast, with the books writing, and I've learned so much along my journey and it's allowed me to be exactly in this space.
Speaker 3:You know my background is I'm a fourth generation educator, a teacher, former coach, blessed and fortunate to be raised by some great people as well as being around some awesome folks to learn from in my career, and I tell people that I come from a family of church folk and educators. You understand that I did, yeah, yeah, church folk and educators, and what that means is you know my family. We were church people, uh, and my mother was the minister of music in our churches, so you know the church was open. We were there, for sure, but I say those things because that firm foundation, if you will, um, is the firm foundation that's allowed me to be deeply rooted and grow my future, if you will, and so that's really been a blessing to me, because I was taught that it's bigger than me. It's about giving service, it's about striving to help others. It's about doing the best that you can with what you have so that you can, in turn, use that to be a blessing to others, and that's what I've strived to do in my life.
Speaker 2:So walk us through some of that, if you don't mind, chip. Walk us through, because the reason I enjoy people's testimonies is because I believe that God gave that to you for a reason. I believe that, potentially, there's going to be one person, just one, that's going to listen to this podcast, that your testimony was created just for them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and so when we unpack that a little bit. Take us back to high school. What did you do in high school? Take us through college. What did that look like? And then how did you start to craft this career as an educator and then branch out into the world of coaching and personal enhancement, Walk?
Speaker 3:us through that. Oh, that is so good. So high school, if you don't mind, I'll go back a little bit further to you know, uh, like I said, you know how I was raised, my mom, raised by a single parent, mom, my father was in my life but, you know, from afar my parents separated, uh, but great people on both sides of my family, both just great people for me to learn from, and they taught me so many things by just, yes, by what they said, but more so by their actions. I could see that they just loved people, took care of people, just tried to be of service. And so my mom had us involved in lots in high school. I played four sports for four years in high school, was involved in, you know, extracurricular activities, groups, clubs, you know, on the school campus.
Speaker 2:Can I interrupt real quick? Chip, are you from the Houston area, is that correct?
Speaker 3:So I am from Hearn, texas, over by Bryan College Station small town there. That's where I was raised and there's just so many great people in the community too that I can learn from my pastor just amazing people to learn from and so there's lots that I learned through that sports, all of those things that I didn't know at the time. They were things that I was made to do. Like my mom boy, you're going to work hard, right, you know. She put the boy in front of it, it's for real. Like, boy, you're going to work hard. Anyway, she know my name, she gave me my name, but when she put the boy in front of it, oh man, it's for real. Now, boy, you gonna work hard, right. So, but just, you know just some core common principles. You know work hard, do right, treat people right, put yourself around the right people. You know these were things that I was made to do, that that I didn't know at the time that it was instilling discipline in me. I didn't know that it was putting transferable skills in me that I would be able to take and use those for the rest of my life. Okay, so I didn't know that. So from there I had an opportunity to go to West Texas A&M University, where I played football there, and so I'm still figuring those things out, right. And so, different environment, same principles, right, boy, you're going to work hard, you're going to do that. You know, work hard, do right, treat people right, put yourself around good people, take care of your business Right. And so I did that. Played college football, got my degree again, was blessed to be around some amazing people, teammates actually that I still communicate with daily. I actually like four of them today in a group message, you know, just about an hour ago. You know just coaches that I'm still in contact with. A couple of my coaches have been in my books, just great people along that journey and and what it did for me, um, is it showed me that, okay, now I've worked hard to develop something that I can take and use that to help others, and so out coming out of college, you know, my aspiration was to be a teacher, coach. Love sports, love helping others.
Speaker 3:Fourth generation, you know, third, I didn't know I was going to be. Well, I knew, yeah, but going into it, I would be a fourth generation educator, right? So just my family lineage. The legacy piece of that is the legacy piece of that and, uh, going into it you know you talked about it gave me chills when you asked the question of if there was one person that need to hear my testimony.
Speaker 3:Because my personal goal to myself coming out of college was if I could just make a positive impact in the life of one person, I would feel that my career and my life would be fulfilled because of that. And so, 25 years later, you know that I think it's been maybe a couple more than one, hopefully. But in striving to do that, I've also learned that this is good. Right here, I've also learned that it's life changing to change lives. Come on, well, how good is that, oh my God. And so, in striving to be of service and do those things to help others, it made a tremendous impact on my life, right, those things to help others. It made a tremendous impact on my life, right, it allowed me to be humble because of my upbringing, because of the things that I learned, because of the things that I was blessed to see, but it also allowed me to be hungry, to want to achieve more. I spell hungry when I say it like that, not H-U-N-G-O, but like four O's. Right, it makes you be humble and hungry to be able to do more and help more, and so that has been my journey.
Speaker 3:I didn't talk much about my career or you know the other things, but but I believe that firm foundation when we have a firm foundation, we learn to grow, and it's solid and it allows us to weather any storm that we're faced in our life. And, like you said earlier, oh yeah, that's been lots of challenges that I've faced in my life. It's been lots of things that I've made mistakes on, but what happens is, you know, as you, on the other side of our toughest challenges is our maximum growth. Let me give you that one again. Do it again. Hey, on the on the other side of our toughest challenges is our maximum growth. And so when you get an opportunity to experience, when you're blessed, when you get to experience those challenges, what happens is you get better equipped to handle those challenges Right. And so now in my life, I'm like come on sucker, come on challenges, let's go. I'm ready, because I know that I will be better for having to grow through those challenges, Because I know that I will be better for having to grow through those challenges.
Speaker 2:Wow, Chip, this is exactly why I wanted to do this podcast, by the way. Yes, sir, Because bringing guests on and letting them share. If you listen and, by the way, I tell the kids all the time you listen with your eyes and your ears, so learn to listen. I tell the kids all the time you listen with your eyes and your ears, so learn to listen. I said listen. Already you've given us values. Yes, sir, You've given us faith. You've given us discipline. You've given us grit. Yeah, You've given us service, servanthood, servant leadership, pouring into others. And I mean we're just getting started and I'm sitting here just listening, going.
Speaker 2:Okay, you know, I don't know if you've ever had a chance to hear him, but next to Chip Baker, he may be one of the best speakers I've ever heard, but another good friend of mine he just spoke recently at the Global Leadership Summit is a gentleman out of Worcester Ohio named Dan Owolabi, and if you're not familiar with Dan and Dan's story, you need to take it upon yourself to hear the man. I will Be in his presence and let him pour his testimony into you. But Dan challenged people at the summit the other day. He asked this question. He said how many of you work hard? And everybody raised, he goes, how many of y'all work really hard? And he was like you, he's bringing it and the crowd's getting into it. And he said how many of you want your work to matter? And that got everybody stopping and thinking.
Speaker 2:He said then how many of you ask yourself what is my legacy? Yep, and he said at this point, right here, he said I'm glad you're here because, if that's the question you're asking, you came to the right place because you're asking the wrong question. Question is not what is our legacy, the question is who is our legacy? And then he talked about the quote from Ernest Hemingway, where Ernest Hemingway said that humans go through two deaths. The first death is the death that takes place the day they lay our bodies in the ground, and the second death is the day that the last person speaks our name and at that point you're forgotten forever. Wow, so when we think about legacy and we think about what you just said, it's life changing to change lives. Yes, sir.
Speaker 3:That is legacy.
Speaker 2:That is, living a legacy by design, as Tom Ziegler says. You know you're going to all leave a legacy. You're either going to leave it by design or default. But when you become intentional and it sounds like you became intentional very young in your career, in your life you became very intentional about wanting to be a positive influence to the people around you, and I suspect that that came with criticism at times.
Speaker 3:Yes, it's um, I definitely uh have been intentional. I think the big man has has blessed me with, with, um, the ability to have some sense. Boy, here we go, here we go, boy, boy, boy, act like you got some sense, you know. Uh, yeah, I think the big man has allowed me, uh, the ability to be able to focus in on what's important and keep the main thing the main thing and not worry about the things that are not important. And I kind of credit some of that to my mother too, raising me to be an independent thinker, you know, and not be so concerned about what people have to say about what I do, because really it's none of their business with what I'm doing, right, unless they're enhancing it, unless they've proven to me that they are creditable, that I need to probably listen to what they're saying, but not to get caught up in worrying about what other people think about what you do. The biggest thing is what do you think about what you're doing?
Speaker 2:Boy Dan Ovalabi had another one along those lines. He said people are going to think what they think.
Speaker 1:I'm not going to tell you his testimony.
Speaker 2:Chip, I want you to get to it and you watch it. But he said people are going to think what they think, was it Winston Churchill? Churchill said you'll never get anywhere if you stop to throw rocks at every barking dog and I was. You know you do a lot of youth stuff. I was doing some youth. I do some youth stuff too. I was at an event not too long ago and a girl asked me a pretty I could tell it was a pretty tough question for her. She said how do you deal with negativity? She says how do you deal with people that throw sharp jabs and negative comments? And you could comments and you could tell. You could tell under the surface that there was something going on. And so I listened to her and then I said can I ask you a question?
Speaker 2:and she said sure, I said, is it true? And it was that moment of reflection where she said no. And I said then, quit letting it take up space in your head. Well, it don't matter, it don't just like you just said, it doesn't matter, people are going to think what they think. You're just going to have to move on. Stay focused, like a good race, just Just stay focused on the finish line. Jump the hurdles, dodge the ponds, you know, avoid the snakes, look out for the wolves, but stay focused.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, I did an interview with someone, a superintendent, earlier today and her definition of success was running your race at your pace. Running your race at your pace and I thought that was so good because, you know, when we just focus in on our race and stay in our lane and do the best that we can do with our technique and our speed and our knee drive and our hand placement, all of those things, those technical things that we can relate to the technical things in life, or we just stay in our lane and run our race.
Speaker 3:What will happen is we'll find out. They're in first place. Come on right like hey, how good is that wow how good is that how?
Speaker 2:how many people mess up by looking around sometimes. Yes, you know, I'm a city boy. I grew up and I grew up in the, got transplanted into the country and I remember one time they had me on a tractor. Now I grew up at a boy's ranch. So I was kind of a troubled kid and I grew up at a boy's ranch. Matter of fact, up there where you were at, at Cal Farley's outside of Amherst oh yeah, I'm out there at the boy's ranch.
Speaker 2:One time and I remember they put me on a tractor and I said what do I do Ranch? One time and I remember they put me on a tractor and I said what do I do? And they said you just take that tractor to that marker down there and you turn, you come back to this next marker and you go back to the next marker. I said I think I can handle that. But see, the problem is, like you said, we worked hard.
Speaker 2:And because I worked hard, I was now sitting in the cab of a really nice, air-conditioned, cool tractor and so with the humming of the motor I eventually took a little nap and I caught myself and when I looked up I realized I was about 10 feet off of where my target is. So I naturally kind of pulled the tractor back over to the target. Well then, instead of staying focused on the goal, I wanted to see how bad I messed up. So I turned to see how bad I messed up, and when I did I found out that my neck bones connected to my arm bone, and when I turned my head I pulled it off track again.
Speaker 2:God gave me that lesson that day to teach me we're going to mess up. We need to learn from that mess it up, but stay focused on the prize. Like you said, stay focused. Persistence I've got real simple philosophies in life Consistency creates credibility and persistence breaks resistance. Just be consistent, Just be persistent. Just be consistent, Just be persistent.
Speaker 3:And there's no telling what you can accomplish if you just stay focused. And now you're talking about language consistency and persistency. You know we mentioned legacy earlier. I think for me and I've had people say this, so that's why it brought it to my attention I didn't realize it, but I think for me, the thing that people I would be grateful if people had this to say about me and my legacy is that Chip Baker's consistent I know what I'm going to get from Chip Baker.
Speaker 2:Every time I like that.
Speaker 3:And so, like for me, I work hard at being consistent. I want people to know what they're going to get from me. I want people to know that they can depend on me. If you ask me to do something, I'm going to go above and beyond to do that. I'm going to give you more than what you asked me for. If you hire me for something, you ain't got to worry about Chip Baker, because he's going to do his job above and beyond Right, and so consistency is the key, I believe. And, just like you said, in order to be consistent, you have to be persistent, because sometimes you may not feel like it.
Speaker 3:And then you have to operate in principles over feelings, come on, and when you operate in principles over feelings, then you have no regrets. But if it's the opposite, if you operate in feelings over principles, then you have regrets at the end of the day. And so you have to have those principles in place. You have to be persistent with pursuing those principles that you believe in, and what I believe and I've seen in my life, is that it allows you to have consistency in your life.
Speaker 2:You know, golly, this is good stuff. People can find these little nuggets of wisdom in so many different ways. I know people that have found them in band and drama and athletics. I was just. Mine was agriculture, mine was FFA, yes. So I had a guy ask me one time you'll like this?
Speaker 2:I had a guy ask me one time. He said Aaron, he goes. You guys in FFA and 4-H, you act like you have a lock on leadership. You act like nobody else does what y'all do. He said doesn't band teach ensemble? He said doesn't UIL ensemble? He said doesn't UIL teach speech and debate? Doesn't athletics teach teamwork? He said what is it that you think y'all do that nobody else does? And I looked at him. I said you know that's a good question. Anybody knows me knows I like good questions. At that moment, by the way, I said a little prayer because I believe James 1, 5, where God says ask God, he'll give wisdom to any man without casting judgment. So at that point I need a little wisdom. So I said God, give me wisdom because I want to get this right. And I looked at the guy and I said I'm going to answer your question two ways. I said before I took the job that I'm in now.
Speaker 2:I used to work in a boot camp. I worked with truant offenders and I worked in a prison. And one day, outside of a small town, I was talking to these guys in the coffee shop you know where they come and cuss and discuss what's wrong with this country. And they were cussing and discussing. They told me that, alejandro, to get this country back on track, we got to get back to the basics the three R's. I said okay. They said reading, writing, arithmetic. And I'm like, all right, I'm listening. I said, gentlemen, I mean you, no disrespect, but I work with boot camp kids, truant offenders and prisoners, and every one of them can read, write and do math at a functional level. I said, but you're right about the three R's, but it's not reading, writing and arithmetic. I said I would argue, it's respect, responsibility and resiliency. I said I think those would be things that we ought to be putting in our lives to get our kids back on track. But I looked at that guy and I said I'll tell you what separates our kids from everybody else.
Speaker 2:This goes to your point, Chip. There was a blizzard blowing in on the Texas Panhandle and my dorm parent, Mr Chandler, gave me a sledgehammer and he said, darling, I need you to drive to the other side of the ranch and bust the water trough for the horses. I said, Mr Chandler, I don't want to go. There's a blizzard out there. It feels like a razor cutting through your skin and I'll never forget that man in his old country wisdom. He said, darling, do you get thirsty when it's cold? I said yes, sir. He said don't you think those horses are going to get thirsty too? I said yes, sir. I drove five miles that day and I busted the water trough for the horses.
Speaker 2:I looked at this guy in Fort Worth, Texas. I said I'll tell you what separates our kids from everybody else. Because in the world of agriculture, if we don't do our job, something dies. If we don't feed it, we don't clothe it, we don't nurture it, something dies. And when it dies, an economy dies. And when an economy dies, a society dies.
Speaker 2:And, Chip, when you said that you've got to have these inborn traits that you carry with you through life, those foundational concepts that grow your future, I was so thankful that I got put in an environment where I learned early on that something depended on me, not for a social setting, it depended on me for its own survival. But that instinct then began to show in everything that, oh, I got to go to work today. I've got to show up today. I've got to take responsibility today I got to figure that out. Today I got a problem solved. Today I've got to critically think about something today. But to your point, those foundational things that we teach our kids, that they can learn, that they can carry with them for a lifetime, may be the very concepts that open doors of opportunity for them.
Speaker 3:Without a doubt, without a doubt, without a doubt, and it continues to open doors for others, because I believe opened opened doors opens doors.
Speaker 2:Amen, brother, we're going to talk about that here in just a minute. Amen, all right. So, all right. So let me couch it. I'm going to keep going here couching something a little bit different here. I love asking the kids this question, and teachers, you may get this one right. Do you happen to know how many high schools are in the state of Texas? I do not.
Speaker 3:Okay, a bunch there you go All right.
Speaker 2:So the answer is there's over 3000 high schools in the state of Texas. Now let that sink in for a second. Every one of those schools this year are going to have a graduating class. That means there's going to be kids from all over the state of Texas getting out this year. They're going to be looking for a job scholarship or an opportunity of Texas. Getting out this year they're going to be looking for a job scholarship or an opportunity.
Speaker 2:And so my question to the kids is what's your competitive edge? What separates you from everybody else? I think a competitive edge. For some people it can be a firm handshake. It can be looking somebody in the eye and saying yes or no, sir, yes, ma'am, no ma'am. You know little things can become a competitive edge. But, chip, you've seen the country, you've seen young people, you've seen educators, you've seen coaches, you've seen business leaders. I'm curious what in your world do you see are things that give young people, educators, a competitive edge?
Speaker 3:I mean, I think you know short answer. All of those things that we talked about is the core, common principles that we teach and instill. You know, every person has to go through a teacher. I mean like, like, let that let that sink in for a minute, right.
Speaker 3:Every person in this world let's go bigger than the high schools in the state of texas every person in this world has to go through multiple teachers in their life, and just that shows the importance of what it is that teachers do and why teachers should be intentional each moment of each day with what they do. And so in life, in everything is a competition. I mean, you know, like everything in life is a competition, but you know, we can, we can look at the all of the other stuff, but really the most important competition is the competition with yourself, you versus you. Competition is the competition with yourself, you versus you. But I think that when we can teach that to the students, I believe that it builds a confidence within them to help them compete better, right, and it helps them to compete and to have continuous growth and have grit and never give up, because in that what they do is they learn that it's not winning and losing, it's winning and learning. If you have the proper mindset, all right. And so we can learn from every situation that we're faced when we compete. And I believe also that we have to support those students, those kids that are doing great things, because it means the world to them to know that they have people supporting them, not just saying, hey, you got to compete, but no, I'm going to teach you how to compete and then I'm going to show up and watch you compete, right, but? But no, I'm going to teach you how to compete and then I'm going to show up and watch you compete, and then you know if you make a mistake. I want to help you get better on that mistake so that you can compete better, because you're going to face that same thing again in your life, right, right? So now I want you to be more equipped when you see it again, right, and it helps, right, and it helps. I believe that it helps them stay on the right track because they know that they have people depending on them, they know that they have people that are supporting them. They know that they have people that's in the race, in the fight with them to be competitive.
Speaker 3:And I can say all of those things because I'm a product of that. And I can say all of those things because I'm a product of that. I'm a product of a whole lot of teachers and people going above and beyond to help me, and I just say, chip, you messed up on this. But hey, chip, you know this was a mistake. But hey, let me show you how to do this. Right is right. You know I'm thinking about.
Speaker 3:You know I struggle with math. You know growing up, and I can pretty much go through and tell you all of my math teachers that I've had from elementary school to college by name, because I know the work that they put in to help me. They stayed after, they went above and beyond, they checked for understanding with me, like they really helped me and it built confidence in me. I know now, when I got to college, some of those professors like man here he comes again asking me questions, like you know, they may have gotten tired of seeing me, but at that time I had built up my competitive edge, if you will.
Speaker 3:And so I knew that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I had an opportunity to go to college, to so I can pursue my college degree, so that I could play college football, so that I can get a degree and get out and help my family and help others. I knew that a shadow of a doubt. I was intentional. I was not going to fail this math class. I'm going to compete and do whatever it takes for me these math classes that it's required for me to take. No, I'm passing these. No, I'm going to put the work in. Whatever I got to do, I'm passing these.
Speaker 2:I hope everybody's listening right now. Yeah, because what you're talking about, chip, is what I call want to Mm-hmm and I got news for you. Want to can be a competitive edge. Yes.
Speaker 3:Mm news for you want to can be a competitive edge.
Speaker 2:Yes, and you had a lot of want to yes, sir, and that one who? Was grounded in a lot of accountability. By the way, being somebody holding you accountable is a good thing. If somebody's holding you accountable, that means they obviously recognize something special in you that means they care about you I. I used to tell the boot camp kids all the time I said anybody that cares about you will never let you off the hook.
Speaker 3:So good, so true. I said, you know the kids.
Speaker 2:One time I was a single dad, Chip, you'll appreciate this. I was a single dad and I'd take my four-year-old and six-year-old to the boot camp with me. Well, they'd get to know those kids and they're just kids, right. They don't understand that those are kids, are in trouble or anything.
Speaker 1:They're just kids.
Speaker 2:So anyway, I remember one time, you know, they got really close to my kids and they loved them and I loved all you know we all got along well. And I remember one time I asked him I said have y'all've been to the Kmart? I said they got those rides out in front of the Kmart. And I said, you know, every time we get out of the car, my kids boy, they're ready to go to those rides. And so I got one in one hand and one in the other, but they want to pull away, they want to run across, they want to run to get to those rides.
Speaker 2:And I'd asked the boot camp kids. I said what do y'all think I did? Do you think I'll let them go? And they said no, sir. I said why not? Well, because they could get hit. Somebody could take them, they might fall, they might hurt themselves, they might get up there and fall off the ride. I said so y'all think that I held on to them because I care about them. They said yes, sir. I said okay, don't forget that the next time your parents ask you where you go and what are you doing, where are you going to be? They're like oh man, I said anybody that cares about. You'll never let you off the hook so good you just gotta let it sink in.
Speaker 3:That is so good, that's so good all right, we're gonna.
Speaker 2:We're gonna talk about some other things here in a second. I want to talk leadership for a second. Yes, sir, yes, we got a lot of kids. You met one today, maddie wilson and her brother's up at at wt, wt, yes I went to school.
Speaker 3:yeah, I was a Shout out to the Wilsons Great family, great people.
Speaker 2:Good people.
Speaker 3:Good people yes sir.
Speaker 2:So we got a bunch of those that are going to be listening. They're going to be looking for leadership skills. Leadership skills. Now I know we've covered core values. We've covered things that become instinctive want-tos. We've talked about grit, covered things that become instinctive want-tos. We've talked about grit. I believe that in life, chip, you do the only thing you know how to do. If you don't learn something new, you will default to the only thing you know. You will parent, the only way you know how to parent. You will be in relationship, the only way you know how to. You will only default to the only thing you know. But here's what I have discovered. I've discovered this that most people want to be in charge of their lives. So if we give them a skill, chip, they're in charge. So let's give them some skills. I want to know from a successful person like yourself what would be three skills that if you could tell a young person, put this place in your life, educator, put this in place in your life. What would be those skills?
Speaker 3:I think I'm going to put it in a big ball. It'll be three things, but it's going to be in a big ball. But the big ball, the core of the ball, the thing that surrounds it, the membrane of the ball, is taking ownership Right. And sometimes in our life, the toughest ship for us to navigate is ownership Right, and so what we have to do is make sure that we take ownership for our actions, and I think that that's the, that's the core of everything.
Speaker 3:But within that, you know the three things within the ownership piece, I think the first is hard work. Hard work works Right, and so you have to put in hard work, get comfortable with being uncomfortable, do things that stretch yourself, put yourself in position to where you're continuously challenged, Because what happens is you develop the muscles to get better and stronger, if you will Right. So hard work is the first thing. The second thing, I think, is great communication, and we have to make sure that we communicate effectively, and there's a number of things that fall under that for me, I think, yes, communicating with the people around you, because that shows respect, that shows want to, that shows that you care right, that shows that you're giving effort, uh, but then also the communication with yourself has to be positive as well.
Speaker 3:You know, you have to think positive thoughts, you have to have um positive self-talk, if you will, because what you think inwardly it portrays outwardly. That makes sense, yes, sir. So great communication is the second thing. And then the third thing, I believe, is having a growth mindset, and there's always opportunity for us to learn and grow. And I think when we have that growth mindset and not a fixed mindset, there's always room for us to get better, because when we're fixed on our mindset, there's people that's improving around us. We don't get better, we stay stagnant, we stay in the same place. And so first, just to repeat it, ownership is the core of leadership, and then under that you have to have hard work, you have to have great communication and you have to have a growth mindset.
Speaker 2:I love it. You know, again, I'm an ag guy, so now I compare everything to agriculture. So, yes, sir, you know, when you're green, you grow. When you're ripe, you're right. So, like you said, we want to be growing all the time. I mean, I'm 58 years old and people know that I'm always looking. What can we do different? What can we do that challenges ourselves, what can we do that stretches us and makes us better? Uh, I thrive on ideas. My staff, everybody that works with me, knows that if we're not thinking about something or doing something, I go stir crazy because I thrive. I thrive on movement. I love when you said let's go.
Speaker 3:Yes, sir.
Speaker 2:I think that everybody ought to have a a desk plate on their desk that says do something, just move, just move.
Speaker 3:Baby god does not have a problem hitting a moving target, just move yeah, and I even like to say you may have heard me say this before go get it, go get it yes, that's it I did hear you say as a matter of fact, we didn talk about that.
Speaker 2:But where you and I first met was with James McClam and the Igniting Next Generation, and that's when I remember you talked about that. Yes, sir, that's right, that's when I said I got to get that guy on this podcast. I want to get some of that. That was good, so I'm going to go get it.
Speaker 3:Go get it baby, so I'm going to go get it.
Speaker 2:Go get it, baby. So one of the things that you said that I really like and I'm going to share this with you because I like what you said. On a personal note, I grew up in a broken home. Mom and dad divorced when I was six. My dad died when I was 10. I remember I came home from school one day and there was my mom at home. She shouldn't have been home and I went to the back of the house and opened up her bedroom door and there was my mom on her knees at the foot of her bed with tears coming down her cheeks because we had nothing to eat, and she was wailing out to God. She said God, will you please just bring my son something. Please bring us some food, please, lord, bring us sustenance. But the words that I never forgot was, she said God. She said God, please, please, give my son an opportunity.
Speaker 2:Now, fast forward, years later in my life, my oldest son his name is Chandler, after the guy that raised me at Boys Ranch we're working in an orphanage in Chihuahua, mexico, and I asked the lady that ran the orphanage. I said sister, what can we help you with? Do you need food, clothing, medicine, money, sister, what is your prayer for these children? And she said, sir, I just pray that these children have an opportunity. I tell the adults all the time our job, our job as adults, our job is to create opportunities. The students, your job is to determine the outcomes. We create the opportunities. We're going to give you every tool we can give you to get you there. The students, your job is to determine the outcomes. We create the opportunities. We're going to give you every tool we can give you to get you there. But when we get there, guess what? You've got to determine the outcome.
Speaker 2:My oldest son going back to what you said earlier, my oldest son was in fourth grade. It was bring your daddy to school day. What does your daddy do? Now? I live in a community that's got NATO pilots and we got doctors and lawyers and college professors and teachers and nurses and really some cool jobs. And we got me. I'm a professional fundraiser. You know what am I going to tell them? I'm a professional beggar. I ask for money. That's what I do. And I remember I went up to the board that day and I thought about you, chip, when you said this earlier. But I went up to the board that day and I drew a little bitty door and I asked the fourth graders. I said how many of y'all could get through that door? And they said no, sir. And then I drew a really big door, took almost the whole whiteboard and I said now how many of y'all can get through that door? And they said yes, sir. I said that's what I do. I make doors bigger. I want more kids to get through that door of opportunity.
Speaker 2:As you said, it's life-changing to change lives. God blessed you with a lot of really good stability, faith that God knew that you were going to be purposeful in sharing that with others. God gave me some challenges, but I tell people all the time, chip, I said if you want a place that never rains, I'll take you there. It exists. I can take you to a place that it never rains. It's called a desert and nothing grows. But you show me somebody that's had a little rain, somebody that's got all the stuff that you talked about today grit, determination and values. I'll show you somebody that's poised for growth.
Speaker 3:So you kicked us off well, it's life changing to change lives sir, I love that, um, all of that that you talked about, and it gave me chills just to hear like chill written like it still kind of chills on my arm now because of that and it's it's that way, because I'm reflecting on all of the people that have created opportunities for me my life but then set me up to be successful, to create the outcome of greatness Right, and so I'm truly grateful for that. And what that has done is sparked a fire within me to give everything I got, but every fiber of me to give that to those people that I'm blessed to be around every moment of every day is serious to me. I'm intentional about it.
Speaker 3:It means something to me because I know what it feels like to receive that and so, um, I have a quote that I always, and so, um, I have a quote that I always say and I have have it on the shirt as well that opportunities bring opportunities. I'm gonna give you this story.
Speaker 3:It's one of my favorite stories that I love to share when I speak, um, and I strive to switch the story sometime, but it's so good that I have to continue to share it. So, growing up, I've shared a little bit. Growing up, I was taught some firm foundation core principles that you know to believe in and operate by Work hard, do right, treat people right, put, put yourself around great people, take care of your business right. And so I saw the work that my family did, how they did it, and my goal was to do those things to hopefully make them proud. And what I didn't know, what I didn't know in doing those things, is that people around me saw that right. And so, um, I had this, my little league baseball coach, who was also my elementary school principal, who also ended up being a superintendent, uh, in my town, in in my school district. Great man. I wanted to grow up to be just like him. Right, he smiled, the way he carried himself, the way he treated people. I wanted to grow up to be just like him and so, like I said, little did I know people saw those things that I did.
Speaker 3:So, fast forward, I'm a broke college kid graduating from West Texas A&M University. I apply for this job. Oh, this is where it gets good. I apply for this job in Conroe Independent School District. At this junior high, the principal, you know, I guess he looks on my resume and sees where I'm from in my hometown and comes to find out that that guy from my hometown my prince, that principal knew him. So he calls that principal. He says, hey, come on, I got this Chip Baker kid applying for a job here at my school. Tell me a little bit about him. And he goes on to say, hey, oh man, he's a great guy. He's going to work hard, he's going to do things the right way, he's going to treat people right, he's going to take care of his business. You should give that guy an opportunity, man, he'll be an asset to your team. And so that principal decided to give me an opportunity my very first teaching and coaching job. I got my very first teaching and coaching job off of the person that I was as a kid. Wow, wait a minute, like hold on, wait a minute. I don't know if they called it. It was my very first teaching and coaching job, so I had no experience and, I'm sure, my very first teaching and coaching job. So I had no experience and I'm sure, I'm very sure that there were more people that applied for that job, that were probably more qualified than me, but I got the opportunity.
Speaker 3:And what that means to your listeners, to the people that's checking this out, is you have to understand that opportunities bring opportunities. It's important for us to be intentional and be in the moments, with the moments that we are blessed to have, because magic moments make magic memories. Right People will give you opportunities. If you show that you're competent and you are serious about the opportunity that you have right now, like it don't matter how little or how big it is. Like, if you're intentional and you show up and go above and beyond to give people more than what they're asking for, I'm telling you, opportunities will come for you. You don't have to seek for them, they will find you right and it will blow you away, uh, with the opportunities that you will have just because of that and I'm not just saying that like I've lived that, so I can say that to you right, like I'm in the midst of living that I'm blown away right, like I, I wouldn't be on this podcast, be interviewed on this podcast, if opportunities didn't bring opportunities.
Speaker 2:Oh man, there is so much that you just shared, chip, so much. Number one I hope people heard that somebody's always watching. Yes, sir, pay attention to what he just that. Somebody's always watching. Yes, sir, pay attention to what he just said. Somebody's always watching.
Speaker 2:Opportunities create opportunities. I like to say success begets success. Same thing Opportunities create opportunities. You know and I've never shared this on the podcast Anytime, chip, till right now, when you said it I got to thinking about it. Did you know? I've never applied for a job, right, I'm 58 years old and I've never applied for a job. That's from out of high school into college to this day.
Speaker 2:And it's exactly what you just said. It is, you know, one of everybody that knows me, chip, whether you're on my Instagram, linkedin and, by the way, you're really good on LinkedIn, it doesn't matter where, but everybody knows that my handle is liveyourbrand. I believe that what you share, what you post, what you comment on, what you engage in, that tells me who you are. That tells me that's your brand. That's how I get to know you. And when you said that, it just brought chills to me, chip, because I thought if more young people could hear that message of discipline, of pay attention. People are watching you. They may be the person that opens that door to that opportunity for you, that opens the door to a million dollar project. Yeah, live your brand. Consistency creates credibility.
Speaker 2:Persistence breaks resistance always be growing. Think, think about everything. Think about all that has been shared today.
Speaker 3:That's some good stuff, it's all right. It's all right, let's go get some. Let's go get it, let's go get it All right, Chip.
Speaker 2:I hate to wrap up, but we do. I keep these between 30 and 45 minutes. By the way, Chip, not only does this podcast go across all platforms, but there's a company in Lubbock, Texas, called ICEB, and they provide online curriculum across the United States. They carry our podcast on their platform and there's a lesson plan that goes with it, so I've got a staff member that will write a lesson plan. Cassie Monfer will write a lesson plan for this podcast. It'll go nationwide. So if any teachers are looking for a sub or looking for something for their class or seeds of greatness or growing the future, they can tune in and hear Chip Baker share his incredible journey and story and we'll give them a lesson plan and it's all good.
Speaker 3:That's so good, that's so good. Thank you so much for having me. I consider it an honor and a privilege to be here with you, love the work that you're doing, love how you've done what you've done over the years, and so I'm just honored to have the opportunity to hang out.
Speaker 2:Hey, we're going to hang out more. By the way, every guest gets one last question. It's a fun question, so here's your fun question. Let's go. What's the best concert you've ever been to?
Speaker 3:Man, that is good. The best concert that I've ever been to. Oh man, and I love music too. I love it, let me hear it. Oh man, let me think on that. That's, that's pretty good, because, uh, because, I love, I love music, I think, probably the best concert that I've been to. I don't know, I'm an R&B head, so I've been to the concert with 112, silk Key Sweat no Drew Hill, the like 112 silk key sweat no drew drew hill they were all at the same venue, uh, and so, like it was, it was pretty cool.
Speaker 2:I've got, let me tell you something, doing. This podcast is the coolest thing. I asked that question. I've got everything from keith sweat to metallica to pit bull, to yeah, you know, tom ziegler's is the greatest showman. I mean, we've got the whole game. I think that's what the beauty of asking that question, yeah, is the fact that everybody has something that brings them joy everybody has something that touches their, their cords yes, sir, you know I was uh also, just the experience is probably.
Speaker 3:I was at cowell field for george straight oh yeah yeah, that was. That was just probably the best experience, was probably that king george.
Speaker 2:I mean, I get it. He's pretty popular when I ask that question what's your best concert? All righty Well, ladies and gentlemen, thank you again for joining us. Chip, thanks so much. I knew again. When I met you at the Igniting the Next Generation conference, I knew that this was a podcast that I really wanted, and you did not disappoint. I'm sitting here, I'm looking at a page full of notes of what I need to be doing. You know just, and it all comes down to legacy and, like Dan said, it's who's our legacy, and when you take that on, it's life changing to change lives. How good is that? How good is that? How good is that? How good is that? So, again, thank you for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you again for stopping by and joining us for the Growing Our Future podcast.
Speaker 2:Like we said at the very beginning, if agriculture has taught me anything, it's taught me. If you want to know what the future is, grow it. Listen to what happened today. Some incredible seeds of greatness were put out there for us to take hold of. Plant them, nurture them. We put you in charge. You want to be in charge of your life. You're in charge. We gave you the skill. Skip Chip gave you the skill. He gave us the tools. Plant them and grow that incredible future. Until our paths cross again, everybody go out and do something great for somebody else. You'll feel good about it and guess what? In the process we might just make our communities, our state and our country, maybe even our world, a better place to live, work and raise our families. Until we meet again, everybody be safe.
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.
Speaker 2:Learn more at mytexasffaorg.
