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Growing Our Future
Growing Our Future
What Does Success Look Like?
George Couros, author of "The Innovator's Mindset," shares his journey from reluctant teacher to educational innovator and how exceptional leadership transformed his perspective on education. He explores how creating environments where both adults and students can thrive leads to better educational outcomes while preparing communities to navigate an uncertain future.
• Originally from a small Canadian town where community shaped his educational philosophy
• Found his passion for education through an exceptional principal who gave teachers ownership
• Focuses on developing all learners in an organization, not just students
• COVID provided opportunity to rethink priorities and approaches to education
• Teaches his children skills he never learned, preparing them for challenges he can't predict
• Believes in the importance of modeling lifelong learning for students
• Emphasizes engagement comes from seeing purpose, not just making learning "fun"
• Identifies three competitive edges: the "sponge factor" (willingness to learn), taking action on feedback, and personal connection
• Strives to make every interaction the best part of someone's day
Make it your goal to be the kind of person who brings out the best in others. When you focus on being present, continuously learning, and building genuine connections, you create opportunities for yourself and those around you.
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, listen number one. We appreciate the opportunity to have this technology platform to be able to bring incredible guests on to share insights, experiences, expertise. You know, I tell people if agriculture has taught me anything, if agriculture has taught me one thing, it's that if you want to know what the future is, grow it. Well, how do you grow it? You got to plant the right seeds. That's why guests are so important, because they share things with us that could become the seeds of greatness. So with that, george, I'm going to tell you where I met George here in just a second. But, george, would you just bring us a quick introduction of who you are, and then we're going to start talking about what we're here to talk about.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and thanks, aaron. When we met you were one of the most positive people I've ever met in my life and so I was like, when you asked me, I'm like, of course I'm gonna do this for you, so I'm glad to to be on here. Uh, my name is George Kroos. I'm originally from a very small town in Canada and I think about that quite a lot because I was in a very small community. I actually had to call last week for vaccination records, which is not easy to get because we're basically going through the immigration process here in the United States and it was like a good reminder of like how important community is, because they're like we know your dad and it was like just kind of a beautiful thing. It's really shaped a lot of my views on education is how important it is really to build community. I know you had Dr Terry on here recently and I know that's he's a huge advocate for that as well and building. You know really incredible things there in forney isd with the community.
Speaker 3:But you know I actually trained to become kindergarten teacher. It's the only grade I've never taught taught grade one to 12, vice principal, principal, worked central office and then I've written several books. Uh, the one obviously most well known is probably the innovators mindset, and texas specifically, really, uh, gravitated toward it, and not because it was really good I don't want that credit but just because they started doing districts of innovation at the same time. The innovation mindset came out and it shows you how much timing really matters, because I think a lot of them are like let's just read this guy's book.
Speaker 3:So I've done a lot of work in Texas over the years, but I've had the privilege to you know, write several books and, yeah, and just connect with incredible educators all over the world. And, like yourself, and that that, to me, is really when you talked about the importance of growth, it's not something that I think we have to reserve only for our students, but do we do that ourselves? And even before we got on here you said you know you've watched my interviews, you've seen my development over time and I pride myself on. I am an avid learner and that is my number one focus in the realm of education. I don't tell anyone how to teach, but I really focus on how do I learn and what are some of the lessons I can share through that process with others.
Speaker 2:Number one. All this is great. I think everybody sees quickly why I wanted to interview George. So here's the funny thing. I mean, I've had the pleasure of speaking coast to coast. The only state I've not been in is Alaska, but everywhere you go it's kind of funny because I remember one time I sat by myself in a room of 4,000 at a table up front and these two twins walked by and they said oh look, there's the keynote speaker. And they looked at me and they said I hope you're good and I said I hope so too.
Speaker 2:Well, I come into an event I'm at this event with Dr Terry, this Designing the Future of Public Education at the OC in Forney and I just come in and find a seat at the table. Little did I know I was sitting down next to the keynote speaker, and so I get to talk into George and I'm just intrigued, as we started talking about AI and applications of information and how we channel that through educators and the importance of that to students and to communities, and so I just wanted to share the backstory of how we found George and his wisdom and, through our common friend, dr Terry, and I think you're going to see as we go through this, why I was so intrigued by what he had to say. But, george, I start every podcast off. Every one starts off the same way and you get the same question that everybody else gets, and that is today, george, what are you grateful for? What are you grateful for today, grateful for?
Speaker 3:What are you grateful for today? Well, you know, I'm really grateful for, honestly, the health that I have, and it's been a journey for me because, I was probably pretty unhealthy.
Speaker 3:And then COVID happened and then, weirdly enough, I basically got my health in check during that time and even though right before I talked to you, I, you know, was sweating profusely on a Stairmaster and I always ask why am I even doing this while I'm doing it? But then I just go back the next day, and I think the reason why I say that specifically is because the precipice for me really getting my health in order and I think for years I wanted to do it, but I was like I just want to look better. I was like that didn't really pull me, but I really realized how important it was that my kids had a dad as long as possible. And so I think about that, how grateful I am that I got my health in order, because it's not only that I get more time with my kids, I feel like I get better time with them Because, honestly, if you know anything about me, my kids are my everything. So that is really the driver.
Speaker 3:And I think the reason why I shared that specifically is because I think a lot of times when we take time for ourselves, we see it as a selfish act, whereas I think it can be a really selfless act if you're focused on why you're doing in the first place. So that was really kind of the. The push for me was I want my kids not only to like have a dad as long as possible, but also a dad that's totally engaged as much as possible, but also be a good model for them too, cause I know how important you know health and wellness is. You can't really do great stuff unless you you do have that in check.
Speaker 2:Well, number one, I just want to say I commend you. I agree with you, my youngest now. I've got two grandchildren. I've got four kids. My youngest just graduated Friday and I guess something that you just said that was really special to me is you know, I lost my dad when I was 10 years old and I got into a lot of trouble and I got sent to a boy's ranch and I was lucky. I got a second chance at life Most recently this last Thanksgiving.
Speaker 2:I was 58 years old and I remember I looked at my kids and we're blessing the food and I said look around. And they're like what I said I just want you all to look around. And they're like what are we looking at, dad? I said just look around. And so they looked around and I said you've got a family. I said I'm 58 years old and I said I cannot remember a single Thanksgiving because we were too poor. I can't remember a time that our families got together because we didn't have the means and I said I want y'all to look around and look at the blessing that you have, because you have something that sometimes I don't ever want you to take it for granted. I want you to appreciate it and the fact that you're that aware of how intentional you are about being a father, congratulations. And your kids are lucky. And, uh, I don't know if they tell you that every day, but you are. They are in your planting seeds of greatness. Trust me, you're planting seeds of greatness that are going to be harvested.
Speaker 2:Okay, so we're at this seminar and I'm a note taker Anybody that knows me, I'm old school, right, I'm still pen and paper and I'm sitting there and George says something and I just start writing it down. I said I got to write this down, genius. He said somebody somewhere is doing the same thing that you say can't, you can't do. I said I've got to write that down. That is classic. So the point is, here's a gentleman who was an educator, an administrator, and now he's pouring into others and I really want to kind of unpack that, george, and talk a little bit about that. I want to talk about why it's important and why you attack it with this innovation and passion that you do, if you don't mind. So kind of walk us through that. You gave us a little brief overview, but kind of walk us through. You know, why did you choose to become an educator. And then why did you make that next step to the administrative side? And then, what led you to want to take on this role of consulting and encouraging at a higher level?
Speaker 3:Well, yeah, and interestingly enough, I think a lot of times when you have someone in the field of education who's as passionate as I am about it and the people that I work with, they'll have a story of basically, you know, when they were kids, they knew they wanted to be a teacher, right, like something. That is not my story at all. I went to university my parents are both immigrants to Canada, from Greece and they said you have to go to university, like there was that was it? There was no discussion and I didn't know what I wanted to do and so I went and, you know, spent a lot of money, you know, on a degree that never materialized. And then I actually said, you know, I might as well go into teaching, like it was never a passion for me. And weirdly weirdly enough, I remember it was probably my second job my principal who hired me said, you know, because they were like it was such a different time, they were fighting for teachers, like it was really hard for them to get there, which is the opposite of what's going on right now. But he said to me he goes. I kind of feel you're more passionate about coaching basketball than you are teaching. I'm like you're not wrong, like that was. I was like that was just a good way to get into coaching and so I probably, you know, like I was okay as a teacher, you know, at the beginning of my career.
Speaker 3:I feel I'm very comfortable speaking in front of people. Kids relate to me very well, so I feel like I kind of had that going for me and I I knew about probably about seven years in I don't know if I want to do this anymore and I basically left one school, went to another school, had an incredible principal who totally changed my viewpoint on education and her name was Kelly Wilkins. I think about her all the time and think that I I always feel really special because it's like she brought something out of me and you feel like I'm the only one she ever did that to. But she did that to so many people and so many people went on to really great opportunities because of her leadership and that really inspired me to really rethink how I you know my passion for education, what I wanted to do, and it shows you how much a great leader you know can have an impact, and it shows you how much a great leader you know can have an impact. So I think one of the things that is really important to me is I do what Kelly did for me for as many people as possible, and so that's not just students but it's staff as well. And you'll see, like, when I was there and one of the things I kept talking about is really kind of focusing on learners not students, but learners, anybody willing to grow in an organization because I think a lot of times we focus really what on the students need, but you got to focus on the adults, because if you get the adults of the need, they're way better equipped to help the students. I think that's kind of why it shaped into what I was and she really, you know, she gave us you know, not just myself but all the teachers on staff like a lot of ownership over that school and it was a huge responsibility. But then you also wanted to do really well, because your fingerprints are all over the solutions, so I know that she knew that was really important.
Speaker 3:She hired me.
Speaker 3:When she hired me which is really interesting because it's not a normal practice they they put a job application for a middle school teacher, not for a grade seven science teacher, not for a grade nine, you know, math teacher.
Speaker 3:It just said middle school and her mentality was let's find the best person we can, and then we can shuffle things around, not just look for a very specific role to fill, because we could probably move somebody in the school already who might want to do the role. And so that was her mentality of how she hired she always looked for the best person possible and then she would shape roles around them, and so that was basically her. She saw something in me, she saw a need for the school and she saw how I fit it and then basically we just kind of said, okay, okay, what are you going to teach? Was the after the fact. So it was really interesting, cause I think a lot of times we maybe push away some really great people because we're so very specific when it really just takes, you know, a little adjusting to, and that that was really, you know, that's something that really kind of stuck with me.
Speaker 2:Let me tell you something you just said another one. See, I knew we were going to connect, george. I've got a real simple philosophy, and everybody that knows me knows it goes like this If you want to be the best, train with the best, so find the best people that you can and hang out with those people when, whatever it may be, because you're going to pick something you don't possess. And the reason that we focus on I'm going to tell you about something that we do with our teachers the reason we focus in on our teachers is because of that very thing If we can give them something that they can share with us. You know, I tell people to R2A2 everything. I don't know if you've ever heard that before. I tell them to R2A2.
Speaker 2:So when I was sitting there listening to you the other day speaking, guess what I had? I had my paper down there and I was R2A2. And here it is Recognize, relate, assimilate and apply. So listen and recognize what they say, relate to it. How does that relate to who I am, where I'm at? Can I take part of that in and make it part of myself? And then can I apply that?
Speaker 2:And I think that's the beauty of what you're doing is, you know you are stretching teachers and administrators' minds. You're challenging them, and I'm glad you are, because if we don't, we're liable to get stuck in a rut, and we know what a rut is, what's a grave with the ends kicked out. The bottom line is is we've got to compete for the future, our kids. We've got to compete for minds. That's another thing that I'm real big about, administrators and educators, is if you're not willing to compete, then don't be upset when somebody else wins. You either compete for minds or somebody else will and you may not like what game they're playing.
Speaker 2:So when you talk about Ms Wilkes and Kelly and being the best and making sure, you know it's kind of like good to great. Get the right people on the bus and then get them in the right seats and then empower them, encourage them, equip them. You know I picked up on it the other day and I just want to share this with you. I thought one of the most encouraging things that you said throughout your message was the importance of creating a positive, engaging and learning culture. Yeah, and I don't know if that is specific to what you talk about. I'm just telling you that was a major takeaway for me.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that is something that I really focus on and I think a lot of times people when they hear positive or engaging, they don't necessarily think that it's difficult or strenuous, or you know, like I said this morning, i'm'm hating what I'm doing, but I know the benefits of it too.
Speaker 3:But I I know the I know the results of it too, like, I'll give you an example. This is why I really focus on learners. Last, I think it was about a year and a half ago, uh, my daughter kalia, I think she just turned uh six or seven around that age, and I wanted her to play the piano and I knew she'd be interested. I knew she really liked music. But to get her going, I wanted to learn it myself. And so I'm 49 when I'm learning it. She's seven, so we're going through the same things. And I remember I took piano for about three months as a kid and I hated it. And the reason I hated it was because I grew up with two older brothers and I listened to the police depeche mode, like really, you know 80s quintessential rock bands love it and.
Speaker 3:But I'm going to piano learning how to play mary had a little land. It's not cutting it for me, right? I'm not into kids music. I'm into what my brothers listen to. So, knowing this, we are really big into like musicals, la la land you know barbie movie things like this. So I'm learning these little riffs from the movie and then I'm teaching her and she's all excited about it and she sees kind of the long term and she'll it's. You know I'm not teaching her the most complex riffs of it, but she sees that how interesting it is because that's what she likes that she's more willing to do the hard stuff, the practice, the theory behind it.
Speaker 3:But if you just start doing the practice in theory but you don't see the long-term results, so I think a lot of times we get this mixed up that the engagement is all about kids just having fun and no, it's actually kids seeing the purpose, seeing the purpose long term, that they're willing to do the stuff that's really really hard to get to. The stuff is really good. Our family model is you do not get the good stuff unless you're willing to do the hard stuff. That is what I say to my kids all the time it is. You know, like I said, some days they're not really happy about me as their dad.
Speaker 3:But they know, know, long-term right, that's a benefit because that's how you do it. But they have to see, they have to get glimpses of the good stuff. We can't just like promise this as it doesn't exist. You know, like learning to that I think that's really kind of shamey, because I'm way more in the piano now because I can, you know, I can learn all the songs I wanted to learn as a kid, because I'll just go into YouTube and someone's teaching you how to play and I'll pick it up too, right, and so she's more willing to do that. And every single morning I go in the routine, I get up before everyone in the family and they wake up to me practicing the piano.
Speaker 3:That's what I do every single day and it's good for me because it shows me like, hey, repetition is really good you know, routine is really good and so as much as I talk about innovation, the innovation comes out of being so good at your stuff that you can actually, kind of you know, maneuver it and and do different things with it. You can't, like you don't, become a a great improvisational jazz musician until you know the basics inside out. But that's where the innovation comes. Later is when you know the stuff so well that you can actually start to riff in different ways.
Speaker 2:Well, number one I love the piano and I don't play the piano, but I'm a big Bruce Springsteen in the E Street band, professor Roy Benton. When you see Roy Benton play the piano you're like that's rock and roll, you got to have a little piano, it's rock and roll Application.
Speaker 2:You said something there with application. You know one of the things our organization gives 2.3 million in scholarships every year in the state of Texas. Somebody said that we give more scholarships in Texas than UIL. But you said something that I have found that our sponsors really gravitate to, and I remember one time a sponsor asked me. He said Aaron, he goes, what is it that you think y'all do that's different than everybody else? He said doesn't fine arts teach speech and debate? Doesn't band and choir teach ensemble? He said doesn't sports teach teamwork? He said what is it you think y'all do that nobody else does. And you're probably like me, I like good questions, and that was a good question. And I told him. I said well, I think there's a couple of things. And I told him I said well, I think there's a couple of things.
Speaker 2:I said you know, there's a lot of people that argue we need to get back to the basics the three R's, reading, writing, arithmetic. If we get back to the basics, we put this country back on track. Well, okay, before I took my job that I'm in now, I used to work with truant offenders, boot camp kids, and I worked in a prison. Everybody that I worked with could read, write and do math at some functional level. But I tell people you're right about the three R's. It's not reading, writing, arithmetic, I would argue, it's respect, responsibility and resiliency. If we could teach a kid to respect themselves, their fellow man, be responsible for themselves, their families, their communities, and learn to get up when you've been knocked down, because not everybody's going to get a trophy. And I said I think we do that pretty good. I said, but here's what I think separates us from everybody else. And you just said it.
Speaker 2:I said you know, I remember there was a blizzard blowing in on the Texas panhandle and I remember my dorm parent handing me a sledgehammer and asking me to drive five miles to bust the water. Trough for the horses, and just like your kids, george, I didn't want to do it. And trough for the horses, and just like your kids, george, I didn't want to do it. And I said I don't want to. Mr Chandler, it's a blizzard. I got lost. It feels like a razor cut in your skin and I'll never forget it.
Speaker 2:He said darling, do you get thirsty when those horses, like those horses when it's cold? I said, yes, sir, I get thirsty when it's cold. And he said you think those horses might get thirsty too? I said, yes, sir, I drove five miles that day and I busted the water trough for the horses. But I look at donors and I tell them I'll tell you what separates our kids from everybody else. Because in our world if we don't do our job, something dies. Now, when you talk about that, application of success begets success. And if we can give that young person the tools to be encouraged, equipped and empowered to have a moment of success and train that learning tool where they want to keep exploring, that because success begets success, you've got to believe you're planting some seeds of greatness there that others can grow from that others can grow from.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that is a big thing for me, and the work that I'm doing with Forney and with schools all over the world is, first of all, a lot of times when we discuss success in schools, we have defined it for our students, and you could say you're successful.
Speaker 3:I could say I'm successful, but we might have totally different definitions. So we know, as adults, success is different to everybody what that looks like, what that means. Some people it's money, some people it's jobs, some people it's like family, some it's like a variation of all those things. So I think part of the role of education is to actually help kids determine what does success look like to them and what would that be Like? Where do you find that purpose? And then helping them define that path for themselves and then figure out what are the things there too, because you know I'm not really interested in someone else's definition of success for me, and so why would a kid be interested in that too, right? So if I can help define it, you know, going back to Kelly, if I see my fingerprints on the endpoints, I'm more likely to do the hard work, and that's something that you know is really important to me, not as a dad, but, you know, as an education, and again, not just students.
Speaker 3:That should be community as well, right? What does that actually look like? How do we get to this point? How do we define that success? One of the things I really appreciate about Forney is a lot of the solutions they have created to really make community want to be there is. They ask the community what would make you want to be there? And then they created it. And so you know who the biggest advocates are for schools in Forney the community, because they see they're not going to advocate against something they built.
Speaker 2:Sure, no-transcript space from florida.
Speaker 2:So you know, back when they did the teacher in space program, every state got to pick a teacher and the lady that was from florida was ag science teacher.
Speaker 2:Her name was Susan Forte and Susan was actually Krista McCullough's partner in the Space Shuttle program. And one of my favorite quotes from Krista was she said I touch the future, I teach, trying to do, and then I think about what we do through our program and we like to say around, we have a program, a leadership program for the kids, and we say the essence of leadership is to plant trees under whose shade you may never sit. And we want people to be very purposeful in trying to find ways to plant seeds in their community, in their homes, in their organization, wherever it may be, to grow strong trees that someday somebody gets to sit under the shade and enjoy. And I hear you doing that not only in your home, by the way, george. I hear you doing that when you're very passionate about it. When you look at what Kelly did for you you're very intentional about that of how you're approaching your consulting jobs or speaking jobs. I think you see the value on the other end of this if it's done right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and the interesting thing about me is that I think a lot of people that do the work that I do and I shouldn't say you know like I guess I shouldn't say a lot you know some. Their process is how do we create something where you're going to continuously need me to come in and help you?
Speaker 3:mine is how do I actually get you to realize how much you don't need me and kind of like, move away from this because the emphasis on education? I remember like I talked a little bit about ai and you know things are happening. My focus is not teaching kids and schools how to deal with AI. My focus is how do you teach communities to figure out? No matter what comes your way, you'll be able to figure it out. That's the process, right, and that's my mentality. I'm not. I'm not. A lot of people ask me like what do you see as the future of education? Like what's going to be in the next five, ten years? And my answer is the same today as it was 10 years ago, as it'll be 10 years from now. I have no clue, and neither do you.
Speaker 3:Nobody knows, right what I do know is, no matter what comes our way, I'll be able to figure it out, and that's what I'm trying to instill in kids and try and still and staff that you will be able to figure out your own solutions. That's really about that empowerment in what you're doing, because long term I can't tell my kids, hey, 10 years from now, this is what you have to consider. What I can't teach my kids, you need to be able to learn right now, because if you do that, anything that comes your way you'll be able to figure it out. That's the process, right?
Speaker 3:There's things I teach my kids right now about, like finances, stocks, investing that my parents never had a conversation with me, not because they didn't think it was important, but because they didn't know, because they didn't have access to the information that we do.
Speaker 3:And so a lot of times my kids are just like why are you telling us this? I'm like you'll figure it out. You'll understand why I'm telling you this now, but they're getting more and more interested because it's like hey, here of this stuff, here's how you figure out some of these things, because I probably won't be around to see how well they do with it, you know at some point. But my gift is and I think this is really what my parents instilled in me you know, my dad passed away a little over a decade ago my parents instilled in me a work ethic and a willingness to deal with no change, no matter what comes my way. And that's that's what I'm trying to teach because, like you know, you think about some of the things we complain about with technology my parents would have loved to have, and they dealt with change in such an admirable way that it's not that difficult for me, because I saw what my family did for me to be able to have the opportunities I do have today.
Speaker 2:Has your past ever crossed with a guy named Dale Alexander?
Speaker 3:No, I don't know who that is, so you're going to love this one.
Speaker 2:I tell you he's been on the podcast. As a matter of fact, he's the only guest I've ever had that we had to do two podcasts. Dale Alexander he wrote a book for his daughter. His daughter told him he'd write the book. It's called the Talk About Money, and the state of Georgia actually purchases his book and gives it to every graduating senior.
Speaker 2:And it's a very simple philosophy of how you, from your very first paycheck, how to manage your finances, and it's an incredible story. But anyway, for another day sitting here, you reminded me too, especially when COVID hit. You know, we're big Zig Ziglar fans around our shop and I love a lot of Zig's philosophies and one of those was, he said, expect the best, prepare for the worst and then capitalize on what comes. And the reason I think that's a great philosophy is exactly what you just said.
Speaker 2:I don't think anybody saw COVID coming, but guess what? What do we have to do? We all had to pivot. I love that word pivot, don't you? We had to pivot, we had to adjust, we had to make changes in our routines and our habits and our behaviors to accommodate a point in time. And, to your point, we don't know what the geopolitical landscape is going to look like, what the domestic economics is going to look like, what the current state of education, what technology is going to do to that. The bottom line is we've got to train our kids to be aware, to be adaptable and, like you said I mean you've said it time and again just be a learner, just be willing to be coachable.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's funny. When COVID happened, I remember it was like I was all I was doing was traveling, speaking before Right. And then I remember one day, uh event is canceled and then cancel, cancel, cancel, cancel. First day thinking, oh my God, what am I going to do?
Speaker 3:And then I remember the next day thinking listen, if I can't figure this out and I'm the innovation guy, then what does that say about me? So then I just totally shifted the way I thought about stuff and a lot of the things that I started doing. Then I continue on in in what I'm doing and, like I said, it took me. It took me a little while, like, hey, you know, um, I realized, as I mentioned before, a lot of the travel kind of caused some of the health issues because of how I was traveling. I'm like, hey, I gotta like, if I ever go back out, I gotta have some new routines and think about things differently. And I always say that COVID really it impacted everybody in totally different ways and lot of people went through different things. I looked at some of the hardships that we went through, but I also looked at some of the things that have reshifted my thinking and how do I bring that forward? Because every situation is an opportunity for growth, whether it's a good situation or a bad situation.
Speaker 3:One of the things I always get concerned about is that people who find success become comfortable because they're like hey, this worked. Like you know, they basically blockbuster themselves right, like, hey, what worked yesterday will work tomorrow, and it's like, no, you've got to continuously reevaluate and so you can learn from failure as much as you can from success. And what do you do kind of moving forward. So I think that's a really important aspect is, how do you instill that in your kids that, hey I was just saying this to my wife I don't ever get caught up in criticism and I don't ever get caught up in praise, because you can't say, hey, ignore the haters, but just listen to people who love you. It's right, you have to be able to evaluate yourself and figure out your own pathway forward. Don't get caught up on either side. Right, you have to be able to evaluate yourself and figure out your own pathway forward. Don't get caught up on either side of it. You have to that you are always stuck with you and you have to figure out how do you continuously get better and improve.
Speaker 3:So that's something I really try to model, especially like I actually was listening to a marathon runner on a run and she basically said like she's one of the most competitive, successful marathoners in us history and she's like look, I never competed against anyone else. I always looked at myself. I never got caught up in what else someone else is doing, because I would say, like, how do I push myself to basically the break. And that's how she found success. She was never caught up in what others were saying or doing. She, she did what she knew. She had the capabilities to do it. So it was beautiful. And as I'm like dying in the Florida heat on a run she's saying this, I'm like I better pick it up.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, that's it, though we're always in competition with our own best self, and I love that analogy. Irving Berlin you know, I love what Irving Berlin said. He said the toughest thing about success is that you got to keep on being a success. And you know, you've got to be intentional about that. And then another guy I don't know if your paths have ever crossed, but I hope that they will is a guy named Dan Owolabi. Dan Owolabi is out of Worcester Ohio and he's probably got one of the most powerful educational testimonies that I've ever heard.
Speaker 2:But you know, he always says if you live by the praise of those around you, then you'll die by the critics around you. You know, and that's. It's like you're saying, my job. I mean, I'm mostly yes, I'm blessed to work with students, I'm blessed to work with educators, but my role is a development officer. So I'm working with a lot of the corporate folks and I tell the young people and I tell the teachers, if I've ever taken away one word from all the corporate people I work with, that word is next.
Speaker 2:It doesn't matter if they have a success, what's next. It doesn't matter if they have a setback, it's what's next. Their whole focus is forward, it's not backward and like John Maxwell said he said, if you have a success, do an autopsy on it and move on. Find out why it was a success, but then move on Because the opportunities are what lie ahead, and I love that that is a consistency in your messaging is that encouragement to always be forward looking? The other thing that you said, george and, by the way, this is why I love this podcast I tell people just listen to what they say, bring people on and just listen to what they say. You've said two things that are really important. Number one you have been very clear to be in the present, to be in the moment. You've never not acknowledged that importance, but at the same time you said be a learner so you can be ready for what's next.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that to me is probably the biggest lesson I've had over the last few years. Is that you really want, if you put your best effort into what you're doing, whatever that is, that pays off in the future right but if you are and this is advice I give to people right, so someone is.
Speaker 3:I remember when I was an assistant principal I did not want to go in school leadership. It was not my interest and I got an assistant principalship, like basically on a, on a whim, I applied for a job and I don't think anyone else applied for it because it was in July and all the good people were taken, so I so I don't think they had many applicants, so they just took me and basically within two days I'm like I want to be a principal one day and I was blessed. I had a really great principal. His name is Archie Lilico and his mentality was that he wasn't trying to make you the best sense of principle, he was training you to eventually lead a school on your own and he knew that was something, and so he put me in positions that I was probably not ready for in my mind. But he knew he'd have to help level me up and I remember a principal position came up and I didn't. I really wanted the job, but I didn't. I really wanted the job, but I didn't want to go to the place that I was asked being going and he said to me like what is the worst thing that would happen if you didn't take that job? You'd actually end up being here at the school you love as an assistant principal. It's not the worst thing.
Speaker 3:And I remember thinking about that because I was like what if I don't take this job? It's not the worst thing. And I remember thinking about that because I was like what if I don't take this job? It's going to like every opportunity is going to. You know, I'm going to lose all these opportunities in the future. And so I turned it down and I said my focus is, if I do the best at being an assistant principal right now and I really focus on nailing this, the principal opportunity will come. There's no way they wouldn't actually hire me. But if I'm so focused on becoming a principal that I forget the people that I'm caring for here, that's when I start losing opportunities. And that's always my, my advice to people you know looking for leadership roles just be where you are, do the best that you can, and if you really take care of the people that are in front of you, the opportunities will come your way. That's me. But if you're so focused on the future that you don't pay attention to the present. That's where you lose opportunities.
Speaker 2:Man, there again you're bringing back some Zig. What did Zig always say? If you help enough other people get what they want, you'll get what you want. You've shared a lot here and we're going to start kind of winding this down because, again, we try to keep these within a classroom structure. But one of the things that I think I like to share with young people is I always ask them I said, how many high schools are in Texas? And they always, you know, somebody will yell out a lot and I'm like, yeah, there's a lot. I said there's actually over 3,000 high schools in the state of Texas.
Speaker 2:I said how many of those high schools this year are going to have a graduating class? And they're like, well, I guess all of them. I said that's right, think about that. Every one of them are going to be out looking for a job, a scholarship or an opportunity. And so I ask the kids what's your competitive edge? What is it that separates you from your peers that when you start looking for a job, a scholarship or an opportunity, that kind of sets you apart. And I think that when teachers have an opportunity to hear your presentations, when you have that opportunity to recognize, relate, assimilate and apply information, you begin to create a competitive edge. Information, you begin to create a competitive edge. And so, when I think about what you do for students and educators, my question to you is this if you could give those folks three competitive edges, three skill sets, what would you tell them? Hey, try these.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, the first one that you kind of alluded to is what I call the sponge factor, right? So when I looked at hiring teachers I know this is like kind of a strange way to look at it I would look at if you had a teacher who their ability was above and beyond anyone else's, I wouldn't necessarily take them. I would only take them if I knew they had a willingness to still learn and grow. Because if I had someone who is at a little bit lower level, who is like craving learning, craving mentorship, eventually they would surpass that person. Plus, they are modeling to their kids what they're expecting of them to continuously learn. So I'm always looking for that sponge factor, that willingness to learn, and I take that into.
Speaker 3:I used to ref basketball at a really high level and the kind of. The second point is do you actually take action on feedback? Do you do something with it? So when I used to ref, they would. When you do college games, you'd have someone sitting in the stands watching you, so you'd get evaluated and basically they bring you in at halftime very short 10 minutes and they would rip you to pieces, not because they hated you, because they only have 10 minutes they're not going to make you feel good about yourself. They're like we need you to fix this. Do this, do this different? Whatever, the ones that actually moved up the quickest in the ranks of refereeing are the ones who tried what was suggested in the second half. They didn't like.
Speaker 3:Sit and think about it and it doesn't mean that you did that forever, but at least you tried to see. Does this work for me? Does this actually work? So a lot of times when you're like, if you're looking at this, most of my accomplishments aren't from overthinking, they're from under thinking. When I mean by that, it is I implement action right away and I figure it out along the way. And I think a lot of times that people think too much about stuff that they talk themselves out of really great ideas, whereas, like, start the idea and make it great, that willingness to be a sponge, to take action from feedback.
Speaker 3:But I think, especially in a time with technology, it is that personal connection is the most thing. You are you relatable, right? Like I? I look at everything like that I pay for. You know, in services and I know this is more of a medical term is is bedside manner, right? Do you do I feel like I'm listened to? Do I feel like you're listening to what I'm saying? Do you make me feel appreciated as someone in this space and when you're having all the content, all the information in the world, being the smartest person that no one can relate to doesn't necessarily bring out any great ideas.
Speaker 3:It is that connection that really, really matters. So, like I know, when you saw me here and I probably talked a little bit of my kids, talk a little bit about my family, and you kind of mentioned this earlier what you're trying to do is get people to see themselves in your story, right, but it's also I'm trying to build rapport with people like, hey, I'm not, I'm not some brilliant academic, I'm a, I'm a dad trying to figure stuff out. Because a lot of people are like you know what I'm, I don't really know what I'm doing either sometimes, so they start seeing themselves in the picture, right, I think that relatability really can separate you in a totally different way and it's in everything that you do, right, like one of the things I tell my kids, doing a task is not good enough for me. It is your attitude when you do the task. If you are grumbling the entire time, I've asked you to do something. Do you think I would want to work with you? Right, it is like you put your best foot forward. You really make that connection and those opportunities will come.
Speaker 3:Like everything that I do, whether I hate it or not, I try to treat everyone around me as best as possible. One of my own personal mantras is the best interaction every person you interact with has in that day. Now I fail more than I succeed, but that is something that's like hey, if I have like a one-minute interaction with somebody that I've never met before, my hope is that it was so good they remember it the rest of the day. It leads them to something and if you can do that no matter your role, no matter if you're doing a job or not that really you know we'll get you to stick out to people in a totally different way.
Speaker 2:So I'm a big believer in um R and D. You know what R and D is, I'm sure.
Speaker 3:I know, I know you got different definitions.
Speaker 2:Yeah, most people call it research and development. I sometimes refer to it as rip off and duplicate. So I just want you to know that was absolutely, george, brilliant. I love that. I'm going to tell you that right there. All three sponge factor take action, personal connection, relatability. But what a genuine and incredible comment to say let me be that person that person is encouraged by for the rest of the day. Wow, that is powerful. Thank you so much for sharing that.
Speaker 3:I try that.
Speaker 2:I'm telling you.
Speaker 3:I try that as much as possible. I feel more than I really think about.
Speaker 2:Yeah, really good, all right, well, listen, I really appreciate your time again. We try to package these podcasts so that they can be used in a classroom and I think we try to do it in a way where both the educator and the student can find some value in the time that we spend together. But every guest gets one last fun question, so you get one last fun question. Here it is Tell me what is the best concert you've ever been to.
Speaker 3:Oh, the best concert. Well, I've been to several. I am probably. It's kind of interesting because they're so different. Probably one of my favorite concerts ever was Coldplay and Coldplay, yeah, gigantic, unbelievable arena show. I know they don't even do arenas, they're too big. Now they do stadiums. It's just like an amazing thing and it felt so personal and like I actually talked about this. And then probably my other one is the avid brothers. They're like uh, kind of, they're not as well known, probably one of my favorite bands ever but they do smaller venues and it's actually like just interesting to think about the contrast of how different those concerts are. One feels so intimate and personal. The other one is so over the top and it kind of reminds you whatever you have in front of you, just make the best out of it, because Coldplay does these incredible stadiums, ava Brothers do these small concerts and they just seem to be the perfect fit in each one and it just gives me energy every time I see both of these bands.
Speaker 2:Love it and, by the way you can imagine, with almost 80 episodes I've heard the spectrum of concerts. Anyway, thanks so much for sharing. Hey, everybody, thank you for stopping by. I mean, we always talk about the fact that the only thing you can do with time is spend it. So the fact that you shared some of your time with us, the fact that we brought on an incredible guest who shared some seeds of greatness that we can plant and put in place not only in our lives, in our families' lives, in our classrooms, in our communities, in our state and country, that's a win for everybody involved.
Speaker 2:The fact that we've now been challenged I love it to be that voice of encouragement today that the people that we encounter take it away and say I'm glad I ran into George today, my day is going to be better because of it. Until we meet again, if you will do me a favor, go out and do something great for somebody else. You're going to feel good about it. You're going to make this world a better place to live, work and raise our families. So, until our next episode of the Growing Our Future podcast, we'll see you down the road and remember if you want to know what the future is, grow it. Thanks so much for joining us.
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.
