A Call To Leadership

EP261: Pouring God's Grace into Business with Joe McGettigan

• Dr. Nate Salah

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Experience the transformative power of faith and human connection in this episode with Joe McGettigan as we explore a remarkable story of compassion and perseverance in the face of adversity. Discover how small acts of kindness can create ripple effects of positive change, and learn how to model Christ-like compassion in your own life. Listen now for an inspiring story of hope and redemption!
 
 Key Takeaways To Listen For

  • How a real estate deal turned into a quest to reconnect a family
  • The value of relational capital over financial wealth in life and business
  • Strategies for staying disciplined and faithful during challenging times
  • The role of grace and prayer in entrepreneurial success and personal growth
  • Lessons in modeling compassion and faith for future generations


 Resources Mentioned In This Episode

About Joe McGettigan

Joe is a real estate agent known for his compassionate and resourceful approach to serving his clients. He is a driven professional committed to making a positive impact in his work and the lives of those he encounters.
 


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[00:00:00] Dr. Nate Salah
We don't talk a lot about grace in life and you wonder just how powerful it is in business, in family, in everything we do. Man, it's so powerful. It's so powerful that the scripture in itself says it is by grace have been saved through faith, not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. Wow. It's the power of grace. The grace that has the power to save, not just when you're looking at it from a spiritual perspective of your relationship, our relationship with God, our relationship with each other's grace has such saving power when we use it in our daily lives. And I've invited a dear friend, Joe McGettigan on the program, and he is in the real estate such a powerful story to tell about the impact of grace when we live by it, when we utilize it, when we allow it to enter our lives and through us. Massive impact, massive significance, massive purpose, massive contribution, massive potential. I can't wait for you to listen in. I'm Dr. Nate Salah, and this is A Call to Leadership. Joe, thanks for being on the show. It's an honor to be here. Glad you're here. Thank you. This has been a long time coming. Yeah. We have great conversations. You and I talk a lot about business, life, family, faith, and uh, being able to share it with our, our listener, our audience will resonate. You, you've had an interesting, interesting, uh, last, what, 24 hours? 

[00:01:48] Joe McGettigan
It has been. I would say it actually started on Friday. I'm just going to give you a quick little backstory in order to close a real estate deal. I'm a real estate agent, and you know, uh, when there's heirs to a property, you have to have everybody sign. And this was a very unique situation where the family had a lot of siblings and some of them were in poor health. So, we really had to think outside the box and how we were going to really help this family have closure with this property. And, uh, the last piece of it was finding a sibling, uh, who was homeless. And, uh, had a chance to talk to family, had a chance to talk to other people that he knew, letting me know where he was. And I went out looking for him on Friday to help him to talk to him about this. And how do you look for someone who's homeless? A lot of prayer. Um. Heh. But, uh, it was talking to the people that he'd lost touch to into the areas that he kind of. Went around. So Friday, I was talking to hospitals to see if he had checked in. It was, it was cold outside. They mentioned that he was around Kirkwood a lot. So, I reached out to Kirkwood Police Department.


[00:02:53]
 They knew him. He said that he comes into his lobby a lot when it's cold outside. Went around to Denny's, to the library, try to find out other areas that might, you know, be shelters for, for this man. And he, he would go from, uh, Kirkwood to South County. Apparently, and, uh, you know, a few of the hotels in the area had worked with him and just hadn't been able to stay there long term. And, uh, you know, we weren't able to close on this property without this man's signature. The only other thing we could have done is spend another 90 days with courts and fees from banks. You know, the family would have had to bring more money to the table to close on this property. And was on the phone this morning at about 815 with an attorney and the owner of freedom title, who has really been wonderful for us and worked with us and helped us kind of get outside the basic knowledge of closing title and really find creative ways to find this. And they said the fastest way to do this was to get the homeless man to sign and, uh. I spent all day Friday looking for him Sunday after an open house. I went back through this area looking for him again, seeing if I use just out on the road or anything. I didn't find him. Well, 


[00:04:07] Dr. Nate Salah
You knew, I suppose you had like a description. 


[00:04:09] Joe McGettigan
I had a description. Family sent pictures with me and kind of gave me, you know, what he looked like. And there are people that were out there that I was asking them. Are you this? Are you Anthony? And, you know, no, my name is Kelvin or I have a brother. 


[00:04:22] Dr. Nate Salah
You're literally. Seeing people who are homeless are homeless, and you're asking them if they're that person this person. Did you have an idea of what you were planning on saying when you did find him? 


[00:04:33] Joe McGettigan
My name is Joe. I'm here to help. You know I'm working with your siblings and I'm helping the family try to find closure with this property. This was their deceased siblings property that was, we were trying to close on, and there was people that were ready to move in, you know, and we had this deal since may under contract, and because of the challenges when a person is deceased with property and if an estate is not left neat and tidy, it can be really detrimental to the family. You know, and, and the people involved to help. 


[00:05:08] Dr. Nate Salah
I mean, I see this. Is this typical for real estate professionals? 


[00:05:13] Joe McGettigan
It is not. Yeah. It's not. When you go through real estate, they, you know, they teach you how to buy and sell property, but they don't tell you about the dynamics within real estate. And this is one of those, and, you know, after I spoke with Freedom Title this morning about 830, we got off the phone around 830, 845, I, you know, I was sitting in my car ready to go to the gym and literally called this man after sending him text messages and voicemails and, and he answered, he answered this morning for me. And I got emotional because it was like, we were supposed to talk to each other, you know, at this exact moment. And by the grace of God, I stayed on the phone with him for 45 minutes. I said that I'm, I want to help him. You know, we were talking about breakfast. We just ate at the waffle house together. The people from the title company met with us. So they were able to get everything signed. And, uh, I got to stay with him and him and I had breakfast, you know, I threw it out there. I was like, how can I help you? And he let me know that he just, he had a bike on layaway and he just wanted to get it so we could get around town. And I mean, he's been homeless for a while. You know, and it just, the ability to listen to what he was challenged with. And, you know, sometimes it's just the listening part that people need, especially in those situations. But we got to the bikes after breakfast. We got in touch with his family, let them know that everything was done. They felt great.


[00:06:39] 
His friend, uh, who's an attorney, you know, that he's talked to over the years, we let him know everything that was going on and, and, uh, I ended up giving him a ride to the bike store and, uh, he had a balance on there and we got him a helmet and a bike lock and, and, uh, the company there threw him the water bottle for him and, uh, it was just a great thing and he has my card and, you know, he just fell on really hard times and, uh, um, You know, we don't plan to get into a situation like that, you know, and, and, you know, family tries to help the best way that family can, but, you know, it was just the stuff that they don't talk to you about in real estate school or the agents that you talk to. Maybe they don't go this extra effort, but, you know, my job as a real estate agent is to sell property. And this was. The hardest deal in my almost four years of experience doing this and not, and not only within real estate, but professionally, the amount of people I've had, I had medical directors, I had guardians that were caring for other siblings, you know, and it was really.


[00:07:44] 
You know, it gives me now I feel like I have to take on a quest because I don't want anybody else to experience this, you know, from a real estate standpoint, let alone, you know, addressing the homeless need that we have in this country, you know, and as a real estate agent, you know, my job is to find everybody a house. Anthony, this man, uh, and I are going to continue to keep in touch, you know, if I can help with him, I told him that I have a background as a recruiter. So I love helping people find jobs, helping bring out the goodness in them, the transferable skills. You know, helping them communicate how they can, uh, add value to things. So, bro. Yeah. Wow. I need, I needed this, uh, this cry. You can, yeah. 


[00:08:31] Dr. Nate Salah
It's real. And you know, you didn't go into this week with a preconceived notion of everything you were going to do. Yeah. You didn't, you didn't judge. You didn't, you know, especially when you're dealing with the homeless or the unhomed, there's so many preconceived notions that come up in all of us. Right. And you set that aside. Yeah. Just to be a human being with another human being. Yeah. 


[00:08:55] Joe McGettigan
Where does that come from? The more the merrier kind of thing. Um, there's so many things that people are struggling with and it's to find the easy path. They say, you know, there's a lot of things about leaning into the challenges. I'm right, you know, that we did that today with this, with this transaction, but also find God's grace, you know, for, for that man to be able to answer the phone, agree to meet with me, to bring in the other person to the person from freedom title, to help us with this transaction, you know, and then to be able to help them with something is just. You know, helping them with a balance on a layaway bike and a couple other things, you know, I would want someone to do that for me, you know, so I've been challenged, you know, I'm sure anybody that's listening to this has always been challenged with things, you know, maybe where the transaction, the, the engagement, the, the, just the situation, you know, it, it kind of came to a position where it had to stop because there wasn't a lot of resources or creativity to get there. And I feel that because I. Yeah. I was honored to go to this extra length for this family and for them to know that people are out there at care, you know, I know that there's gonna, there could come a time in my life where I'm going to need that same kindness returned, you know, and I always tell people we're, we're paying into the karma bucket.


[00:10:23] Dr. Nate Salah
Well, and you could have taken a much different approach. You could have said, Hey guys, when you find him. We're here to finish the transaction if that happens, if not. 


[00:10:32] Joe McGettigan
It was surprising how many people were just like, this house is unsellable. You just gotta let it go in disarray and let the, let the, the amount of work that would have gone into, like, not caring for the property is what was so sad. You know, it's like, you know, as entrepreneurs, we find ways to make a win, win, win scenario. You know, it's never going to be with a, with me, it's never a win loss or a win. I have an eight year old and the biggest thing I'm teaching him right now is what's fair. And just being able to put this kind of effort and compassion and allowing real estate to give me this chance to do this. That's one of the reasons I love it so much is it really gives me. It allows that entrepreneurial spirit to really come out. 


[00:11:17] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. And, and, and, and the opportunity for it, like so many, how many hundreds of times do we not even glance at this kind of an opportunity? It's like, oh, you know, it's just beyond my scope. It's not in my job description. However, when you. When you suit up every day, when you suit up, you don't suit up as just someone who looks at life from a job description. You look at life from the perspective of someone with a calling. Yeah. I mean, that's who you are. You're, you're, you, you are called to love people, to walk in grace, man. I tell you what, I've been hearing that so much lately and we need to hear more of that. We need to hear more of God's grace, not just to us, but through us. Amen. And that demonstration, you know, you think about and then you mentioned compassion and it brought me to, of course, you know, at the recording of this, it's Christmas time, right?


[00:12:12] 
Yeah, it's Christmas time. So obviously so much about Jesus. And it reminds me of in the ninth chapter of the book of Matthew at the end, he's he's seeing these people and the Bible says that they were helpless, right? And they were harassed. And I'm thinking of Anthony, right? Yeah. Helpless and possibly harassed. And what is the next thing that the scripture says? And Jesus saw them and he had compassion on them, not judgment. It didn't say that he scolded them or told them they need to go out and get a job, figure it out, do it on your own. No. Yeah. And then, after the compassion, what does he say? He says, the harvest is plenty, but the workers are few. Yeah, that's us, man. Mm hmm. We're the workers. Yeah. We're the ones to not only share compassion, but action, right? Because compassion is not just saying, Oh, I feel sorry for you. It's actually taking action. Yeah. Right? It's and you did that. And so you're having, you're having food, which you didn't. Did you plan on, on all that? The waffle house. 


[00:13:19] Joe McGettigan
I, it was a goal, believe it or not. I wanted him. I wanted him to know that I feel the best way to show somebody that you care about him is to buy him food. Yeah. You know, like if you're, if you're a boss and you have employees, take him out to lunch. 


[00:13:30] Dr. Nate Salah
Cause food is, is the, it's the universal language, right? Humanity, if we don't eat, we don't live, right? So it is like the, it's the universal language of sustenance. Same thing when I'm here at the office and bring something to eat, right? It's, it's, uh, it's also like a peace offering. Yeah. If you think about it.


[00:13:47] Joe McGettigan
I want them to, I want them to, to feel, and when you're over food and, you know, we prayed over food this morning, him and I. And, uh, after the. The woman had to leave after she got the paperwork just to be there with him in prayer and just be grateful, you know, it's, uh, and I told him, I was like, I can't tell you the last time I was in a waffle house, you know, so the nostalgia of if you've ever been in a waffle house, you know, it's there. Absolutely. And it's a hot meal. 


[00:14:17] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. Hot meal for for someone who is in that is in that kind of situation. Mmhmm. But someone who's not going to condemn them. 


[00:14:27] Joe McGettigan
Again, if I was ever in that position, I'd want that done for me, you know, and it's so much truth. I think Gandhi, you know, be the change that we want to see in the world. You know, it's um, there's so much truth in that. And if, if you, if you live it out as, as entrepreneurs, we do, there’s so many things challenging, you lean into the hard ones, but also keep an eye out for the, for the, the grace. Yeah, yeah. It's there. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Opportunities are there. 


[00:14:56] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. They're endless. And it's not just about helping someone else. Of course, that's essential. It's good for the soul. It's good for our souls. 


[00:15:09] Joe McGettigan
We need it, man. When I left him, we shook hands, you know, he, he had his bike helmet on, he was excited about it. It's getting this nice safe bike. Um, you know, I just, I got in my car and, you know, I, I shared it, the information with the family and everybody else is just, and then knowing that I was going to come and hang out with you today, it just, uh, this is so far. It's been a great way to start my week. Oh, my goodness. 


[00:15:34] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. And it's in a divine appointment, right? Come on. It's like the timing. Yeah, it really is. So God had a story telling and through you preordained and here we are sharing it. And the, the message, you know, the message of the gift and some people might say, well, maybe that bike goes out and gets sold and whatever. You can't live like that. 


[00:15:56] Joe McGettigan
No, you can't live in that. I saw how much the bike cost and I think he only owed like 60 or 67 on it. And then, you know, I put on the helmet and the chain, you know, that he know he needed. And, uh, You know, I was surprised I was not judging her or anything. I was just like, I'm glad that he took the time. He knew he can't, he obviously knew, knew that he needed transportation. You know, this is the most economical thing for a person in his situation. You know, the bike was not cheap, you know, and for him to have that small balance, you know, and, and for those of you who aren't familiar with layaway. It really is a gift for people in, in challenging situations. My mother, you know, I grew up on, you know, it was it. As soon as he said those words, I was like, I want to help, you know, and you know, it's just, it's great. It's just a great feeling to, to be there for somebody in a way that, you know, maybe they weren't planning, you know, how many other real estate agents would sit there and, and go through that. And I'm not, Trying to put myself on a pedestal or anything like that, but it was just something that I'm, I'm grateful for the opportunity. 


[00:17:02] Dr. Nate Salah
Well, and the first thing that probably would go through someone's mind is, okay, what is my opportunity cost? How many things that I could have gotten done if I wasn't doing X, Y, and Z to help here, right? I could have maybe sign on a new, a new property, or I could have done this or that and this and that. And. I think that's a, I think we're asking the wrong questions. 


[00:17:28] Joe McGettigan
100 percent it's part of the story, you know, and, and as entrepreneurs, you know, people are going to invest in your product, your service because of the individual. You know, and to really be able to be there and support this, you know, it's now it's going to make me that much more effective when with my next client, you know, and maybe people are going to be like, Hey, I like what you're doing. I mean, the bigger scale thing on, on the challenges that it takes to sell property, a lot of that, you know. Kind of getting in my Elon Musk phase here is like a lot of that can be streamlined. There's, there, there, there's a lot of inefficiencies, you know, and I hope that that could be brought to an attention so we can be more effective helping families with their largest part of their legacy, their homes. And that's where this is so rewarding for me as I was talking to my wife, who is, you know, sometimes the peanut gallery, but again, but you know, as an entrepreneur, you got to have that. That's the part I lean into is what my wife is. Why are you doing this? And don't take them such hard. And I said, you know, it's part of the story, you know, I'm going to be that much more effective if I'm helping other agents. Um, if I'm stepping into, uh, another family that could be going through something like this. Yeah. It's going to give me that much more street cred, which is an entrepreneur. We need our street cred, right? Oh yeah. 


[00:18:57] Dr. Nate Salah
Oh yeah. Well, and the way you display that there's a, there's a authenticity. Thank you. And a genuinity to that. You know, the thing about our brand, you know, our brand, we, everyone has a brand, and it's, it's based on our reputation and our reputation is based on our actions, what we do. And our actions are based on our values, what's important to us, right? And our values are based on our beliefs. So if you go all the way back to like, the question is, you know, the opening question then is, what do I believe? What do I believe about how I create an experience for all of those who I get to encounter? What's the greater story in all of this? And I believe if you can be intimately, not only acquainted, but invested in improving the human condition and whatever the widget is, whether it's real estate, whether it's a tax return, whether it's a Chick fil A sandwich, anywhere along the line, you're dealing with human beings who have needs. And sometimes those needs arise, and they're just a little different. Then what the job description is, but if you believe that I'm here to provide value and massive value to improving the human condition as it arises in my day to day, I'm going to suit up for that. And who wouldn't want to do business with a person like that?


[00:20:24]
 Right? Who's committed who has massive sense of not only purpose, but it has a massive sense of principle Like that's who you want to surround yourself with. Yeah, and if you can be that person so the story goes so far beyond like Oh, yeah, you know what? I did something cool this week. No And I had purpose, I had significance, I had contribution, and I was able to help one life, whatever that looks like, we don't know this side of heaven, how that ripples, I can tell you what, I'll take that over the alternative any day.


[00:21:01] Joe McGettigan
Yeah, you just, uh, we have so much to be grateful for. And, uh, you know, it's as somebody who, you know, appreciates just working with other people. It really is that that's the fire in my belly, you know, the, the, the, the opportunity to create these relationships, these opportunities to be able to support folks without out of box thinking, you know, unconventional ways, you know, it's, that's the grace and that's the great every grace is outside the box.


[00:21:33] Dr. Nate Salah
Oh yeah, oh yeah, I love grace, unmerited favor, right? You can't earn it, ascertain it, you can't maintain it, it's given. And that's what's beautiful about grace. I love it from the straight from on high, and it's sufficient. What was said to Paul, right? My grace is sufficient. My power is made perfect in weakness. We have to lay our lives down and receive the grace because we can't give away. We never have. We have to receive it first. If you're listening and you haven't received grace, it's time to, it's time to receive it. It's time to say, you know what? I need a little grace in my life. 


[00:22:09] Joe McGettigan
Yeah, that makes things easier and it gives us, you know, is the woman was leaving the woman from freedom title after she, we were able to secure all the signatures and everything. And Anthony felt good about, you know, helping with the transaction. You know, we, I walked her out, and I said, you know, thank you so much. Katie for helping me with this and we gave each other hugs because we couldn't believe that this happened. And she's waving. I was like, Hey, prayers work. That's right. You know, we gotta, we gotta know what to ask for, and that, and that's part of it. And, uh, you know, part of those prayers can be asking for that grace. You know, just make this as easy as possible, and nothing's easier than sitting down over a hot breakfast and sign a couple documents, you know, with a, with another person. 


[00:22:57] Dr. Nate Salah
And grace has a way of quelling fear, too, because we often will live in fear of what, you know, what, maybe life has some twists and turns ahead, and we're not quite sure of the way it's going. It's some uncertainty, or we made a. We might've had an expectation of how things should have went today or yesterday or when Friday or Saturday or for you or Sunday, right? When we live in grace, we live in a state where we can, we can reject the fear that comes along with feeling like we have to control. Yeah, the situation sometimes, you know what, like you said, it's prayer. It's out of control, you know It's gonna whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen a walk-through. Mm hmm, but I walk in that that that freedom. It's a different, it's a different, completely different Mindset, it's a completely different perspective on on the day now. That doesn't mean You know, oftentimes days don't go exactly the way you want, the way I want, right? I mean, seriously, man, I mean, we, you know, you and I have been on this planet long enough to realize that plans don't go the way we desire, but both of us, as Men of faith, believers. No, really the only plan, the only there's, this is how I've, this is how I've begun to understand it. The only plan that ever works every time is obedience.


[00:24:23]
 Love it. Love it. Because, look, obedience means I'm just going to be obedient to, to pray, to care, to listen, to love, to, to offer grace. And the day may go completely different than what I expected. The week, the month, the year. However, if I walk in obedience, guess what? That plan works. That plan never fails, no matter where it takes me. 


[00:24:51] Joe McGettigan
You know, as for the people that are listening, this really is to have this mindset. You know, we all got into these roles for, you know, personal reasons, but, but we do the things that we're supposed to do. I listened about radio network a lot. And, um, Adrian Rogers, who's on every morning at eight o'clock, you know, some people aren't good with the yelling and the real preaching. He, he says, you know, God does business with people that mean business, and that obedience, you know, is getting up when you don't want to making the phone calls that you don't want to make doing the things that you don't want to do. And it's, it really is amazing when you do those things, It gets easier. That's the grace. Yeah. I love it. It gets easier. Yeah. 


[00:25:39] Dr. Nate Salah
That's, that's a good point you bring up. He's talking about, you know, as you're talking about obedience and, and doing the things no matter what, that's where we get the word discipline from, right? And discipline, the, uh, the root of that, right? Disciple, right? Disciple is a student. So when you're walking in obedience, you're really just walking as a student, and you're doing the work. Right. You're doing the work where students, when you were, when you were studying for your, for your real estate exam, you were putting the work, you weren't going to pass unless you put in the work. That's the reward. So far, so good. So far, so good. And, and, you know, there are days like, and you brought it up, and this is important. There are days where you probably don't feel like it. You know, there's days where I don't feel like getting up and suiting up and, and walking in grace. And sometimes maybe we miss it, maybe it wasn't a win that day. You know what? That's great. You know why? Because all the more reason for grace, right? Give yourself a little grace. Okay. Guess what? You know what I love about the night each day? It's new. You know, this never been used. Never been, I like that. I'm going to use that. Yeah. Right. And that's one of the reasons why I think we call it the present. It's a gift. Man, every single day, a buddy of mine asked me how I was doing this morning. And, uh, I said, I woke up, open up the present, open up the gift of today. Yeah. 


[00:27:05]
Never been used. Look at this. Yeah. Oh, my goodness. It's a brand new day. How do you, how do we, what do we do? Every day you were given that present, right? Yeah. From God and say, guess what I gave you? I gave you more time on this planet. You open it up. Do you, do you say, Oh, that again, right? That old thing, right? Or do you, do you open it with anticipation? Oh, my goodness. Thank you. What an amazing gift called the present that I get to open up and I get to use as a, as a steward, as a, as a servant to, to bring you glory, to, to honor you. With my time, my talents, my treasures as until I'm called home. I mean, bro, I mean, that's the way to frame the day. Yeah, it really is. So you frame it like that. I mean, you're, you're like, you know, you're, you're, you're, you're locked on. You're locked on no matter what happens. Like, okay. Yeah. You know what? That didn't work out. That didn't work out. That didn't work the way. Okay. It's all right. I still got grace in my pocket because it's sufficient. 


[00:28:17] Joe McGettigan
It really is. Uh, As a real estate agent or, you know, other entrepreneurs that are on this, uh, podcast, you know, it, it's that, uh, chance to really, um, surprise yourself, you know, I, before I had our meeting today, I was just kind of sitting in some peace and quiet in my car and, and just kind of looking through the things that are going on and just to be able to take that time to reflect, you know, before coming in here, it was, you would have thought I would have done the crying in the car, but it was being able to talk, share it with somebody else is what was so meaningful. 


[00:28:53] Dr. Nate Salah
Well, and I think that's important, and that actually is a great segue as I was thinking about. Your, your entire life experience, you know, your life experience is not compartmentalized. It's not isolated. You know, you live your life from the perspective of what are all the ways that I can create community and create a harmony rather than different buckets that everything is in a different space. You are a human being who desires to give of yourself to find opportunity, and you're involved in different kinds of things. Right. And they are both life-giving to you. You give life. I think that's important. I think it's important to flesh some of that out because someone listening maybe is in a point of isolation right now. And you would you would encourage that person to get out of that isolated space. 


[00:29:41] Joe McGettigan
Yeah, that is true. Words never spoken. It really is. Um, and because, you know, the way that, you know, our minds work, you know, sometimes you have to focus on things to to allow like things to sneak in, you know, thing for word. Thoughts to happen that maybe you weren't thinking because you're tasked with this other project or this other piece. But yeah, it's, um, you know, if it's one thing, you know, being a real estate agent, as I like to move around, you know, uh, and, and just having that, you know, and it's important, you know, that you surround yourself with the right people. 


[00:30:18] Dr. Nate Salah
And you're involved in, in humanitarian type of environments. And I think you, did you get an award for something? Yeah. Thank you for the reminder. 


[00:30:25] Joe McGettigan
Yeah. I was, uh, nominated and awarded, uh, Hibernian of the year. Uh, this Irish Catholic fraternal organization that I've been a part of for close to 20 years. You know, we do a lot of stuff, uh, supporting Irish culture, our faith, Catholic faith. We have a ladies division and a men's division, and there was a, a. And I was awarded the high brain of the year for the organization. It was really an honor. You know, it's what has to happen for you to receive that honor. What are some of the criteria? Part of my exception speech was I love to volunteer and it's just being there. Um, stepping outside, you know, as a my most valuable. Commodity myself is really my time, you know, being able to do this, the breakfast this morning with Anthony, the support, the charitable organization of the Hibernians, um, and then also, you know, be a, uh, support and a sounding board for other entrepreneurs that I'm friends with in this network, you know, uh, this ecosystem and, you know, if I know that I get a lot from the Hibernians, you know, the support, the recognition, the, uh, If you will, but also I like to give that kind of support, you know, maybe people that were don't have that kind of, uh, that might be the isolated type. They don't have those groups of men that you can go to and support and laugh and, and, and learn things from. Uh, and it's just been. I've always been a part of clubs and organizations ever since. It's high school, and through college, I was class president, and it really, you know, kind of feeds, feeds my soul, you know, doing those things.


[00:32:00] Joe McGettigan
So it's, you know, it's wonderful when you know that you can devote the time to support an organization because you know, you're usually if you do it the right way, you'll, you'll get something from it. 


[00:32:11] Dr. Nate Salah
And, and. You know, I found the giving, giving of our time and you talked about volunteering, whether it's to serve in a soup kitchen or a group or wherever it might be. And the, the fellowship that comes from that is, like you said, it's, it's life-giving, and it might, it might just be a study you do once a week. I do a, every, every Monday we do a Bible study, and we were going through a book of Bible. And it's, you know, 4. 30 to 5. 30. And just a group of folks who are opening up the scripture, having conversation about real life, what's really going on. And me being the kind of person who I love to do that. I love to get deep into the word and what the original context was and what was happening at the time, and how that speaks to life. I get so much out of contributing in that space that I absolutely love. I mean, I, I so look forward to that hour now I could be doing something else. I'm a very efficient person. You're an efficient person, right? We can do things. And it's like, but at what cost really a truly what costs and the cost of, of really nourishing the soul. Yeah. It's so important. 


[00:33:26]
Yeah. So, so getting into that space where you can connect with others. You know, and here's the other thing I think that comes up from that when we are working with others to help, to solve, or to speak to, or just to listen to problems or challenges they face, sometimes our problems, right? You know where I'm going with this, Joe, they're not so dire. You know, I, and I'll talk with people sometimes say, well, you know, this, this, you know, this situation I've heard about this family and that family, and everything's going great. And it's like, okay, number one, no, nobody has a situation where everything's going great, right? You work in the public sphere. I work in the public sphere, and everybody has problems, right? Everybody has challenges. You might look on social media, and it might seem like they're LTD, right? They're living a dream. Everybody has. No matter what you got, you could have lots of money. You could have spiritual, emotional, mental, physical bankruptcy.


[00:34:27] 
You could have lots of spiritual health, you can have emotional, financial, etc. Right? You can have all of these domains. Uh, you can have challenges. We all have challenges in them. So, I think one of the challenges, I think one of the issues that we can have is that we live by comparison too much. And we say, oh, well, this person has that, and this person has that. You know what, let's just look at, let's maybe Let's just look at need. Let's stop looking at what we think everybody has and say, you know what, where is there a need? Because I can guarantee you that family who you might think has it all together, they probably need prayer somewhere. There's probably something. There's some unspoken need. Let's speak to that. That changes the dynamic of our entitlement mentality as if God owes us something, right? There's only one thing, and we just already discussed it, there's only one thing that's necessary, and that's grace. And it's given. Freely. Okay. So everything else is gravy, bro. It is. It can be, it can be. Yeah.


[00:35:24] Joe McGettigan
There's so much to be said regarding the, the blessings that were, I tell my son, you know, blessings come in different forms. You just got to look for them. And, uh, to find that piece of working through things, it's what, you know, gets you ready for the next one. You know, this one deal that took me since may. Yeah. Uh, with multiple title companies, multiple people to close, I mean, is only preparing me for the next big thing. You know, and, and you almost have to go through this with like, what, what is going to be the next thing that I'm going to have to take on, but I know that I'm going to be able to take it on. Yeah, you know, that's, that's when we talk about kind of walking with this, this obedience, the discipline. I'm not afraid of things, you know, and I, I mean that humbly, you know, like there's, you know, I might, you know, kick and scream for a little bit of it, but for the most part, I feel like there's somebody has a need. I want to do everything I can to support it. 


[00:36:28] Dr. Nate Salah
And you're proud Papa.


[00:36:29] Joe McGettigan
I am. Yeah. It's that out of all the careers and side hustles, being a dad is my favorite job. 


[00:36:37] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah, man, it is. 


[00:36:38] Joe McGettigan
I'm still working on it. Yeah. You know, he, he might give me a, like meets requirements until after Christmas, you know, he's been a good kid. So Santa Claus will be fair, right? No lumps of coal. Yeah. Nothing like that. Yeah. Nothing too much. 


[00:36:54] Dr. Nate Salah
What do you, what do you think in this journey of, you know, in your, in your walk, in your faith walk and your walk as an entrepreneur and your walk as a parent, uh, and a husband? When. We walk with God in our journey. It's not easy, right? God doesn't promise easy, right? There's challenges we face along the way. However, he promises that he will never leave us. 


[00:37:20] Joe McGettigan
He's always there. Yeah. 


[00:37:22] Dr. Nate Salah
And so, and so in your journey, uh, as a parent, as a husband, as an entrepreneur, as a member of your community, faithful member of your community, When you look at the journey and say, boy, you know, this is, this is really where I need God most in my walk. Somebody listening is like, okay, where and when do you call on God and say, all right, hey, I can't do this on my own.


[00:37:49] Joe McGettigan
That's a great question. Uh, for me. You know, I always being within entrepreneurial, you know, uh, industry with real estate, you know, I, I believe sales fixes everything. When I get to the part where it's not fixing something, it's give me the time to think about it. you know, do something else. That's when we were talking about that earlier about with isolation. Sometimes, we get so involved in a situation or a problem that we tend to, you know, neglect other things. And it's, it's really finding balance, you know, and doing those things. But also, when I'm being challenged, and I can't think of an answer, I can't think of a solution. I can't think of something. I just need, I need God to step in. You know, it, it happens. You know, it's to think that it doesn't is just silly, but I mean, I, one of my favorite songs is by MC Hammer, uh, you got to pray just to make it to the day and, uh, yeah, when I mean, just with the things that we're dealing with, I mean, within real estate, it's properties, it's families, it's, uh, local governments, it's federal, the federal government, um, there's so many things that are outside of my control.


[00:39:05]
But if I can, you know, be faithful and, and just keep doing it, being disciplined and doing the things that we're supposed to be doing, you know, it works out. And today could have been a totally different with this family, but it was by the grace that this other person was able to join us with the paperwork. Anthony was able to be there, and I had the time to devote to the opportunity as a huge one.

[00:39:27] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah, there's, there's so much, uh, so much wisdom in, in what you're sharing in just stopping. Just, you know, just stopping and praying and, you know, I look at prayer as, uh, as, as a way to also hit reset, you know, in our, in our, in our spirit, um, prayer meditation, just, just it's that time that you can Quiet everything. Sometimes, we need to quiet the noise. I've, I've, I've been here. It's been busy, busy or some situation and I'll just stop, just stop and pray. Just reset the spirit and come into a place where trust becomes the active motivator. And what is trust? Trust is saying, look, I don't have all the answers. I don't control the whole situation. This may not turn out the way I expected it. At the same time, I trust you. Yep. That's that, that aspect, I think, of, of prayer that. And by the way, it doesn't have to happen when things are falling apart. 


[00:40:52] Joe McGettigan
To be consistent, be disciplined with it. You know, I not only pray during meals, I, I really try to make it a part of my daily life, you know, praying for the parking spot, praying for the song. I want to hear praying for the conversation for the meeting to go the way that I hope that it can go. Um, you just gotta Do it and and more people I'm I'm surprised how many people call on it. Yeah, now it the word is out. Oh, yeah, I love it.


[00:41:20] Dr. Nate Salah
Oh, yeah, and here's the other thing be careful what you pray for because You're likely gonna get it and and yeah, and I say that because sometimes, when we're praying to get around a situation, sometimes we're gonna be taken straight through it Sometimes there needs to be something worked out in us through that prayer. I mean in my own life, this is so true. And I know in your life and someone listening, it's like, well, I, I, this is happening in my life. Like, well, did you pray about that? Did you pray for that? Well, no, I prayed for this. I'm like, well, it sounds just like God's taking you through it. And the thing about prayer when it's situational, there's something usually deeper than, um, What we're experiencing. Sometimes, we just want to like a quick fix, but sometimes, it's just to the soul. Like you are, you know, you were praying to find a guy, but God, I mean, he revealed something in your soul and your spirit. That's like, oh my goodness. Wow. There's something here with, with this, with, with this situation that you just coming into this conversation. Like I feel like a quest and only God knows how that will be manifested. Only God knows how. And he'll continue to open doors for you to speak to this. And only God knows how even our conversation today will resonate across time and space. 


[00:42:45] Joe McGettigan
Yeah. Powerful. 


[00:42:46] Dr. Nate Salah
Isn't it? I love it. I love it. Yeah, but it started with obedience and you could have given up Friday. You could have given up Saturday. You could have said, you know what? I did my part. I did everything I can do, but you didn't. 


[00:42:59] Joe McGettigan
Yeah, this morning when I was on the phone with the owner and, uh, a freedom title, we, I was really trying to walk through different scenarios to make this work and, uh, you know, and I think that that's part of the bigger picture, you know, that's where I want this, you know, purchasing a property and selling a property, you know, managing a property with a family estate, um, is, uh, challenging, but it should be easier. There's a lot of families that are put through the ringer as this one was, and I'm just grateful that the flame stayed lit. Um, you know, um, I didn't want to have this, I didn't want to walk around thinking that I couldn't have sold that there was stuff outside of my control that I couldn't manage because we tried, we really did and it was a team effort to make this work, you know, the, the family, the, the guardians, the attorneys. The medical directors, everybody. I mean, it was close to 25 people involved in this one transaction. Yeah. You know, little old house, little old house. 


[00:44:01] Dr. Nate Salah
Well, something else that comes up and, and I think this is important to discuss it as well in this whole process. And this whole example in this whole story is. Modeling and I'm not talking about modeling in front of, uh, you know, in front of a camera, although you have done that, uh, yeah, easy, easy on the eyes, right? It's modeling behavior. What is what behavior am I modeling one, right? So we have to examine. Our surroundings, we have to, and we, we briefly discussed that to examine our environment because our environment shapes, we're pliable, human beings are pliable, whatever environment we're in will shape, shape our beliefs, our values and so on to our reputation and to our brand. Number one, number two, then what am I modeling to have the self-awareness to examine daily? Hey, what behavior am I modeling when it comes to my business practices at home? Tell you what, man. Kids see it all. Yes, they do. They know us inside and out. They are observing. They are observing. They are observing. And so we don't, I don't say that to like create anxiety. However, awareness. In fact, years ago, I had the blessing of being a part of our Easter play many years ago. And this was a younger, younger date. And I, I was blessed. I portrayed Jesus during the Easter play. And there's a backstory to all that, which is talk about prayer.


[00:45:26]
 Right? I didn't, I didn't want to do it, but God had called me to do that. And so as I'm preparing for this role, memorizing the scriptures and so on and so forth. However, the other part of it was a lot of folks from church knew this. And. I became, I don't want to call it self conscious, but self more self-aware when I was out and really understanding how I am portraying Christ. In my day, because I didn't want to be that guy who somebody from church saw me in front of the department store yelling at my son, like, isn't that the guy playing Jesus at the play? Oh, my goodness. Look at him. He sure isn't acting like Jesus. And it's not that we're doing this falsely or insincerely. However, We're doing it from the perspective of, am I being obedient to model Christ in my activity and who I am? Because sometimes, and you know this, the only Jesus someone is ever going to see is the Jesus in you, the only scripture they're ever going to see is the scripture laid out in you, in your actions. And that is something I believe that we need to be massively intentional about. Again, not insincerely, but sincerely, because we do believe that this modeling is just good for humanity. It's good for business. It's good for life. 


[00:46:56] Joe McGettigan
It's good for business. It's good for, it is a hundred percent, a hundred percent. I tell Evan, it's like, let's try to be like Jesus today as I drop him off. Yeah, I love it. Yeah. 


[00:47:09] Dr. Nate Salah
So, so one day. I don't always have the opportunity to ask this question to our guests, but I get to ask it to you today. And this isn't something that you've heard me ask, so this will come off, you know, this will be something you'll have to think about for a moment. One day, you'll be, uh, on the, uh, the Great Summit just before you do meet Jesus. And you'll get to see all of those lives you got to be a part of. You'll get to see Anthony. And his bicycle. You get to see all the, all the wonderful, wonderful opportunities you had. And if you can, if you could, if you could say one thing, one thing, or one phrase, one thing that you would like others. To have said about Joe while he was here, what would that be?


[00:47:58] Joe McGettigan
Another great question. Uh, you know, cause you, you don't think about that. And, uh, you know, I've been very fortunate, as I briefly talked about having a lot of different careers and thinking about things. And I always wanted to make the people around me to feel good, you know, feel safe, feel like they had a cheerleader behind them, you know, an ad-like advocate. And just, he's one of the good guys, but you're on your way. 


[00:48:31] Dr. Nate Salah
Thanks, man. Thanks for being here.


[00:48:31] Joe McGettigan
But yeah, this is, I love you. This was great. So, I hope all the listeners don't lose faith. We're working on, you know, what's going to make a good story. And that's, I love my wife and family and I, we love watching Shark Tank, and it's wonderful to see those people that are on that show and, and just the, the, the commitment that they make and, you know, not only making that commitment to yourself. But the people you do business with, you know, it really is, you know, our, our relationship, you know, the things that you've been able to, you know, open me up to and, and help me along the way has just been unbelievable. You know, today is, I was really looking forward to this, you know, it's good stuff. Yeah. Well, it's an honor. Yeah. Thank you. 


[00:49:19] Dr. Nate Salah
Well, my friend, we did it. I'm so honored you were able to join me on this episode of A Call to Leadership. Now, this might not be for everyone because you really have to be in a certain place. In order to take the kind of steps to level up your leadership. And I want you to be taking steps. And for those of you who feel like you're ready for something like this, there's a place you can go. You can go to our website, greatsummit. com. I'll make sure that's in the show notes. But here's the cool thing that we have. We've got a master class. We have all different kinds of events. We even have our leadership club, where you can meet other people just like you to go deeper in your leadership journey. You and I all get to spend some time together and really focus on aiming for greatness. I can't wait to see you there. I'm Dr. Nate Salah, and this is A Call to Leadership.

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