Debrief: Clint Kofford

In this episode, Chris and Colin reflect on their conversation with seasoned talent executive, coach, and author Clint Kofford. They unpack his ideas on legacy, whole-life leadership, and daily practice, exploring how those themes show up in their own lives. Clint’s message is simple but profound: legacy is a choice. It is not one grand moment, but a stack of small decisions that accumulate over time. Chris and Colin reflect on why a selfless, service-oriented legacy matters more than chasing recognition, and how that perspective shapes the way they live.

They connect Clint’s framework of character, capability, and connection to their Whole Self Philosophy, exploring the cost of wearing different “masks” in different environments, what it means to be the same person at home, at work, and in the community, and why compartmentalizing your life eventually catches up with you. The episode closes with the daily practices that shape meaningful change: Colin’s well-being days and morning routine, Clint’s commitment to prayer, and Chris’s realization that writing may be his truest form of journaling. In the end, they argue that a meaningful legacy is built one honest, intentional day at a time—especially on the Tuesdays that seem least important.

See You On The Path!

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

He feels like it's important to set that tone immediately. Right. Like when you go to a new place or you meet a new person or you go to a new organization, be proud of the choices that you choose to make and set that tone immediately. Because if you leave a different impression, it's just you're digging yourself a hole and it's harder to dig out of that.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

So welcome to the On the Path Podcast, a conversation on navigating life. Join Chris Coker and Colin Creech as they have honest conversations with fellow travelers on the path. In each episode, they explore the physical, mental, and spiritual health aspects of the whole self, striving for personal accountability and a strong community. Gain insight, learn from our mistakes, and hear from guests who have mastered these areas. Step on the path, embracing every challenge and success along the way. See you on the path.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Dude, we are back. This is recording number one in 2026, I believe.

SPEAKER_02 1:11

But yeah, I was just checking that it was 2026. I'm I'm like, oh yes, that is the year. Okay, got it.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Yes. Yes. And I like the the way we're tying the years together. We had the Clint episode. We got to talk to him at the end of December, put that out. And today we're going to debrief uh the Clint episode, which I'm very excited about because I thought we unpacked quite a bit with him. Um, but listen, everybody, you already know the deal. We like to start. I think we got to dust the cobwebs off. It's 2026 now, so we're gonna start with an icebreaker, Colin. But I'm gonna throw you what I think is maybe an easy one because you're a pretty reflective guy, but I'll try to I'll try to spice it up a bit. Oh boy. I want you to think about your New Year's resolution. And what I want from you is two. Give me two New Year's resolutions. One, what is the most generic New Year's resolution when you ask like a colleague at work and you get the most like vanilla plain answer? Like what is what is the one you would give that it seems like everybody always has? Second, I want you to give me a resolution that maybe just maybe not many people would have heard from you yet. Got it.

SPEAKER_02 2:19

This is good because I the first generic one I was really uh struggling with uh last night, actually, which wasn't my own, but I think it's usually like the gym. I'm pretty sure most gyms they're you know, the they're selling their memberships at the beginning of the year like crazy, right? And you're probably signing some contract, and then yes, it's insane. And I I wanted to use the sauna, and I was trying to figure out what would be the best time to go to my gym that I wouldn't just be it wouldn't just be impossible. And and I I knew it was gonna be hard to hard to time it, so I I went, I had to get a there was one spot left at the very edge of the parking lot, and thankfully the sauna wasn't completely full, but it was so packed, and I think that's the generic one because hey, I want that for everyone, but it's such a trend where you know people go so hard at the end of the year. Most gyms, you know, they've sold X amount of memberships and they know that only X amount of people are actually going. Yeah, so that generic one it was rough last night. I I had to walk an extra 20 yards, you know, to get into the gym, and that that was tough for me. But um and then the second one for me, something that I reflected on, and I, you know, how can I do one little thing different this year? And and I have a few different ones, but this one specifically is just this concept of a well-being day once a month, where it's you know, it's not about doing things as much as it is like a day to just to just sit, maybe activities that are well-being related, but more than anything, just that little spot check I put in for myself every month so I can check in, you know, not have a plan. Maybe it's getting a massage or maybe it's going and doing a day spa or something. I I love a I love a good day spa. But just having those little spot checks built in throughout the year, yeah, about checking in on checking in with myself and doing it intentionally.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

So let me ask you a question. I know the answer to this, but I think it'd be great for you think you know the answer to it. Don't tell me how to live my life. I'd be shocked if I didn't, but we'll let's see. I'll let you I'll be honest with you, I'll let you know if I don't. Uh for those that are listening, like what are three ways that you might do that? Like, actually, what does that look like for you if you're gonna do self-care? What are three versions of self-care for you off the top of your head? I mean, you have a long list, but what are the three that just come to your mind?

SPEAKER_02 4:41

I I actually think you know, day spa is one. If you there, there's there's so many popping up, you know, where that have maybe like four different types of sauna, like hot tub different types of hot tubs or cold plunges, and you know, maybe a massage. The those bigger day spas, they're they're awesome because you can go four or five hours, get a day pass, and and really just recharge. Uh make sure you hydrate. Um good call. Trying to think what else. I I I read this book by Gabor Mate called Scattered Minds. It wasn't at all related to anything that I I think about for myself with the scattered mind, but there was one of the concepts there was almost having a day where you intentionally don't schedule to do anything. Um, so I think that's another one, just for me though, personally, where it's a day of just just don't have a plan and be intentional about not having a plan for once. Um, I think I'll stick with those two. I'm trying to think a third. Uh if anything, uh it's time with your community that you know. I if and if I hadn't learned anything the past two years, the biggest one was being like getting that intentional time with just those good people in your life, because that's that's a recharge and well-being in and out of itself.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

Yeah, yeah. Those are really good. Those are good. I was close. I was close. I had two out of three.

SPEAKER_02 5:58

I said the third one, but that was really how do I hang out with Chris, you know, on the other side of the planet. Of course.

SPEAKER_01 6:03

Of course. The only one that came to mind of the north. The one that came to my mind that you didn't say was uh a new Lego build. I thought maybe just maybe that's why I ban myself temporarily. Well, I believe that because you're doing a once a month and it's very specific and you'll be disciplined about this, one of the 12 should be your like wellness. That's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna sit down with like whatever sort of like dinner you want by yourself and just hang with some sort of I don't know, 8,000 piece Lego set or something.

SPEAKER_02 6:36

You think just one evening would be enough to complete something like that? Oh well, if you're committed, that's uh that's that's all. Do it on your do nothing day. Do it on your do nothing day. Finally get the Death Star and that'll be the whole weekend. Exactly. Exactly. No, that was good, that was good. Those are good answers. So uh yeah, I'm a big believer. Yeah, let's talk about it. I honestly, again, I I really enjoyed that connection. I actually connected it with him again this week. He's just uh you you leave those conversations, yeah, you know, feeling both heard, but both like kind of energized in more of that like very mindful way. But I I'd love to hear from you. Something that that stuck out to both of us, but that concept of legacy. I I know that stuck with you, and I'd love to hear more about you know how what you took away from that conversation and specifically around that legacy topic.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

Yeah, and this is one. So obviously everybody talks about legacy, or a lot of people talk about legacy, right? Like what is it that you're leaving behind? And what was unique about Clint's perspective is uh how he makes that so, right? Like what is he doing to then leave it behind? And he took this approach that legacy is a choice, uh, which is kind of like I think it really struck a chord with me. Like that makes sense. I've never heard it said that way, but it makes sense because at the end of the day, um, if you can reframe it, like I think legacy is kind of sort of like reputation that outlives you, right? Like when you go off from and you're somebody somewhere else, maybe you leave the organization or maybe you move and you leave your your community. Um, what you left behind, that's your reputation that's then just gonna age, and that becomes like the legacy of who you were in that place. Um, and so I think when I started going down that rabbit hole, okay, that makes total sense. That legacy then is a choice because the daily choices I make every day, who I choose to be and who I choose to show up as, is what people remember. Right. And so he told a really good story about when he was early in career and and he doesn't drink, right? He's very uh he's a very faith-forward man. He talked about that, I think, within the first two minutes of our of our interview. Um and he and a part of of that and a part of his spiritual journey is is no alcohol. Uh, you and I both know that in the corporate environment, happy hours are a thing, and and and you know, indulging in a drink or two from time to time is something that people like to do. Uh, and I think that he handled that really, really gracefully. He told a funny story about uh, you know, uh just another leader in the organization that knew he went to BYU and kind of it was one of those if you know, you know moments. And um, but but he didn't he didn't back down. And the last thing I'll I'll mention, Colin, is he said that he feels like it's important to set that tone immediately, right? Like when you go to a new place or you meet a new person or you go to a new organization, be proud of the choices that you choose to make and set that tone immediately. Because if you leave a different impression, it's just you're digging yourself a hole and it's harder to dig out of that. So um, yeah, that for me was definitely, definitely one of the biggest takeaways is legacy is a choice.

SPEAKER_02 9:39

What is that concept of you die twice, you know, once when you actually pass away, and then once the last time your name is ever spoken. And yeah, unless you got uh a library or something with your name on it, again, those won't be forever either. Legacy, I I think is something to reflect on. I will say this. I've had this one bit of homework from Dr. Brit, one of our previous guests, my therapists, that's maybe going on the third year I haven't completed it. And and uh that tells you something. That's where I need to lean in. That's clearly some avoidance. But in a part of it is legacy, but again, it's that okay, how do I how do I want this all to end and that that impact that I've had? And it doesn't have to be something big like a library. I think to me, where I'm really landing is yeah, those day-to-day interactions and how I'm you know leaving those or leaving those those places and the the impact that had, or more the impression I left on people in a positive way. Um, but then also if you've got a family, I really thought about too, you've you can't control your kids once they're gone. But I think for you, Chris, of oh, I I have a relationship with my kids when I pass away. That's a good start. But also, you know, I did the most I could and I made uh kids that are really adapted, well adapted for the for the real world. Yeah. And that makes me think of our YL conversation a lot too.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

Yeah. Yeah, no, no, absolutely. I think he's a really good example of uh YL is this this concept of legacy as a choice. And one of the things, honestly, now I'm thinking we could probably re-talk to both he and Clint about uh this is they both are good examples of taking a selfless approach to that, right? Like sometimes you made the comment about like, you know, getting your your name on a building. Um, not that these people don't deserve that. I want it. I don't want it, just to be clear. Yeah. Right. And I'm not saying if anybody does have their name on a building, it's not that they don't deserve that. I know jealousy, like a judgment thing, right? I I had a feeling you were gonna give me a sidebar here. Um but I think there is inherently there is a little, we're all human, right? And I guess a Freudian approach would be there is always gonna be a little bit of an ego there, right? Like, and and I think what I really like about Clint's approach, YL is another good example of this, it's a very selfless approach to legacy. It's not about, oh, well, what do I need to do so that people remember me? It's more about um, well, inevitably, for some amount of time, I'm gonna leave an impact and people are gonna remember me. So, what kind of impact am I gonna leave and what are people going to remember? That's a very that's a very servant approach to the same topic of of legacy, and I like that, I like that a lot.

SPEAKER_02 12:24

Before we transition, I I go back to the Tecumseh quote. I I love Tecumseh. Yeah and uh one of the the lines I'm I'm seeing here is seek to make your life long and it's purpose in the service of your people. And that when I was having to work on this homework with Dr. Rett or choosing to work on homework, uh was something that continually stuck with me, that concept, because yeah, that's such a a beautiful way in my mind to think of living your life, but then ultimately a legacy in a very positive way. Yeah. Back to then thinking of life more holistically, uh, I know with with leaderworks, they've got kind of this framework of character capability and um what's the last connection, connection, character capability, connection. But there's so much more with that, and I'd love to get your impressions on what does that mean for you, but how are you thinking it more holistically?

SPEAKER_01 13:19

Yeah, well, I mean, obviously you and I have a bias, but I enjoyed that part of the conversation big time because there's so many parallels to um the whole self-philosophy that you and I talk about every time we we get together. Uh, and then this concept of character capability and connection, right? It's it's two versions of the same thing, I think. Uh so for those of you that that are listening, or for those of you that have read some of the work that we put out there, this to me, this character uh capability and connection is really a framework for the whole self-philosophy. So it's I mean, it's kind of a nebulous concept, right? But if you want to kind of really sink your teeth into, well, what's how do I do that? What are the things I should focus on? That framework that Clint talked about is definitely a good one. Who are you? Who are you choosing to show up as? Um, what does your community look like, right? Connection, that's the that's the obvious one. And then capability, like how are you growing in your strengths, uh be it physical, mental, spiritual, emotional. So I want to walk the dog on this one a little bit because of all of those parallels. The one thing I want to take a step back now is this concept of whole self leadership and in being all of those things means that you have to bring them all forward, right? So I'm gonna go back a little bit to the first topic as well, where he is very intentional, Clint is about living into his purpose. And he does that by hooking into character connection and capabilities. He's very focused on what those things look like in his life. And when he does that, he then shows up as a quote unquote a whole self leader, right? So the people that meet him at work could go to his home or go to his church and they're gonna see the same guy. And that to me is an admirable trait in anybody and something that um I think all of us could continue to to work on. That's that's how we should all be. We want to be the same version of ourselves in in every place. Um so yeah, that that concept of of whole self-leadership and the way that he brings that to life through the leaderworks framework is is really, really solid. But uh what was your what was your take?

SPEAKER_02 15:25

No, I I really liked um the way he talked about it, but also have having witnessed it when you know we had no relationship and and we worked together, that that clint that I got on the podcast was the same clint I got at work, and and yeah, it just brings so quickly this inherent trust because again, it's not uh a mask, but also it's so genuine and to me it's it's very attractive and very um it's got kind of this magneticism. Is that a word? Magneticism, thank you. Magnetism. Magnetism, all right. You know, I got I've been reading the dictionary again, um, not clearly having made it to the M's yet. But um I for me, I probably five years ago, I I had this realization and and really, really focused on it of oh, I'm burning so much energy trying to be what I think I'm supposed to be in this environment, instead of let me be who I am. And then if there are things I want to work on, I can work on making those adjustments. And it's not adjusting this mask that I wear, it's a you know working on myself and it'll just show up um because that's who I am. Yeah. And again, it's it's it's so beautiful to see somebody that will admit they're not perfect, but is truly genuinely doing it in a way that is um is admirable. And and someone, if if you're not working with Leaderworks, highly recommend it because he is he is top tier next level and really is seeking to understand uh the clients they work with, the the people he coaches, and that that kind of whole self, or I know he's got the concept of family 360, but it's it's if you want to be a better leader, it's not about being the leader part. It's what are all those things combined that data points that all lead to that one thing you want to work on or be.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

Correct. Yeah, exactly. It's these things don't exist in a vacuum, right? These things that are rattling around our brain and in our hearts. Like we can't you can't compartmentalize so much that who you are at home just up and disappears when you go to uh the office. Um I haven't seen the show, but I think there's a show like that on Apple TV right now called Severance that my brother-in-law was telling me about that's great where that's kind of sort of what happens right. No, he says it's great. I haven't watched it. It's awesome. Yeah, but that we can't do that. We don't that doesn't exist. We can't compartmentalize to that degree. Um people can't do it. Well, I mean, but I I do think it it's insidious, right? Like the who you are will inevitably slip in. I have a a quick, really quick anecdote, I promise, but I'm thinking about my my oldest right now, he's 16, right? He's a teenager, he's a great kid. He's a great kid, but he's 16. And we had a conversation with him recently. He didn't lie to us, but he didn't tell us the truth either. And so we had a conversation on showing up, honestly, all the time. And what the the phrase I use with with him in this particular example was was lying through omission. Like you didn't say a flagrant lie, but you didn't tell the truth either, and you were hoping that we would believe something else something else if you didn't then speak up. And what I told him, the reason I'm bringing this up is what I told him is look, dude, when you go through life, if you are not honest with people and you have to keep track of these other stories that you're telling, you're gonna lose track of them at some point. You just can't juggle all of those things. And I think about that here in in a way that maybe we're just like kidding ourselves, right? When we don't show up as our whole self, we are a little bit lying to ourselves. Like if we are trying to bury or hide a part of who we are, uh if Clint tried to hide the faith aspect of his life in the workplace, at some point it would get muddied. It would come out. It's it's going to come out the same way that usually lies bubbled at the top and people find out, this would come out too. And so I think that for me is is just kind of a practical benefit in trying to live into the this whole self-leadership concept, this whole self-philosophy is a lot less to keep track of when you just show up genuine and authentic. You are who you are. And if you stand in that confidently, you don't ever have to get fatigued by putting on a mask to be somebody that you're not.

SPEAKER_02 19:45

And I think that brings to like what are some of those things you're doing to be more genuine, to have that more intentional life. And it it to me personally, I'd love to hear your perspective. It's my daily practices. I mentioned the well-being days kind of being that resolution once a month, but also the those days that I have that almost perfect morning routine and really are doing the things that I say are important to me to start my day, yeah, are some of my best. I don't think I've had a bad day when I really nailed that morning routine that I like of journaling, the gym, you know, some some meditation. Right now, I could definitely increase my meditation, but I I'm getting it in here and there. But again, daily practices are are important because it's muscle memory, it's that relationship with yourself and and that for us whole self-philosophy, physical, mental, spiritual, personal accountability, a strong community. If if you're not doing something, nothing's gonna change.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

Yeah. Yeah, I think that's true. And you know, that's a perfect segue into the third topic we're gonna bring up today, Colin, too. The change, focus, and and daily practice. Um it's you have to make a concerted effort uh to do these things. And uh I think when you do that, then you can kind of make the change if that if that is what you're you're seeking in your life. And one of the things that I liked about what Clint had said was like to not focus so much on the circumstance because the the change is gonna happen whether you want it to or not. Now, the change within yourself, I think you can control. But the change outside of that, right? Like it could, like your workplace might change and that could be completely out of your control, or your your family dynamic may somehow change. Uh, you you just don't know. Your own health could change. I I live a very healthy life, I like to think I do, but I'm not in complete control of my health, right? Like something could happen, and then I would have to adapt. So I I like his take on well, don't focus on the circumstance so much as the bigger picture, so much as the joy of your your whole life across the spectrum. And the way that he does that is through daily practice. Like you had mentioned journaling. Clint was um was saying that one of the things that he does is pray every day. I I think they're one in the same, right? Like they're I think a ver I think they're a version of the same thing where you have an opportunity to To be alone with yourself, with your thoughts, the things that you're feeling inside, and then trying to express them in a way that you can then understand and better internalize, whether that's a conversation with God or a conversation with yourself is up to the individual.

SPEAKER_02 22:16

It makes me think of our conversation before the episode where you were talking about, you know, you've been really trying to figure out how what is that, what is that environment I write best in. And you mentioned those noise canceling headphones and and the concept of almost staring at a blank wall or just again not having those distractions, even if it's a bit a beautiful view, but it's it's um something you're tailoring. You know, I recently had a conversation with an executive and was talking about, you know, really trying to nail down that you know, calendar management, priority management, all the things. And they were even, you know, expressing, hey, it I've I've made little tweaks and continue to, you know, you get more refined, more refined, but it's not like you're just gonna have it nailed one day. You still will probably oh, you know, I want to adjust this or that, and that's okay, but it starts somewhere.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

Yeah, yeah. No, I completely agree. And you, you know, well, maybe we'll maybe we'll save this for uh a future map check or something. But when I think about my own, because journaling, I think about journaling, journaling a lot, and and I don't do a good job. I never have done a good job of it. I'll try and I'm disciplined, so I'll stick at it for a while, but then I kind of fall apart. Um, and a little bit of this is stream of consciousness, by the way, Colin. I've not thought about this until right now, but you've inspired a thought. Um I think there is a chance, I think, that my own version of journaling is through some of the writing that I'm doing now. Um, because I just find it so so incredibly cathetic. Like it's it's getting me out of bed in the morning. I get my alarm's going off at 4:30. I'm on the treadmill by 5 a.m. And I flipped my workouts big time. I I now walk before I do my lifting so that I can get my my walks in. And I I walk for over an hour every day. And it's not that I want to be on a treadmill for over an hour, but I want to be listening to the book that I'm listening to. I want to be inspired by new ideas or I want to be studying techniques that other people are doing. And what I'm finding is that when I am at a quiet place with myself and I'm in my own thoughts, there's a bunch of like vibrant and inspired thoughts in there, right? And I can, I can explore that. And as I then write through the eyes of somebody else, right? Because a lot of what I'm writing lately is like just fiction stuff. Um, there's a part of me stuff in every bit of it. Thank you. Uh, but there's definitely a part of me in every bit of it. I think every character I write about or every little scene that's in there, there's a part of me that's there. Good, bad, or otherwise, there's a part of me that's there. And so uh, anyways, I wanted to share that with uh with everybody because I think what Clint does with prayer, it works. Colin, what you do with journaling, it works. And I'm starting to feel like some of what I'm doing with writing, it works. So this idea of daily practice might look wildly different to everybody, but there is something that you could be doing every day to just explore your thoughts, your feelings, and allow you to understand who you are so that you can then show up as your whole self as a as a leader, going back to the first couple of points we made.

SPEAKER_02 25:18

Well, you know, the quote I mentioned before we started was the cave you fear to enter holds the treasures you seek. And I I I love that concept. And again, with Clint, legacy is a choice, that whole life leadership, the concept of you know, change, focus, daily practices. It was it was truly um truly a good way to end the year, personally, even for me, just having that conversation, but then uh a great reflection and a and a great way to really debrief that podcast. I I really enjoyed that one. I say that probably every time, and I do, but again, it was a special way to end the year to me.

SPEAKER_01 25:54

Yeah, yeah. No, absolutely. I think uh yeah, it's the perfect conversation to have at the end of the year. Put some wind in our sails moving forward into 2026. And I gotta say, I'm excited to see uh who else we get to talk to, the conversations that you and I get to have, and and the growth that uh I'll see in myself and the growth that I'll see in you over the course of the the year. So I think, Colin, that takes us to the end of this episode.

SPEAKER_02 26:19

You know where I'll be seeing you? See you on the path. Seeing you on the path,