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FXBG Neighbors Podcast
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
FXBG Neighbors Podcast
EP #113 Live2Lead FXBG: National Voices, Local Impact
Big voices, bold ideas, and a simple promise: leave with tools you can use tomorrow. We welcome Mike McClanahan from the John Maxwell Team to unpack Live2Lead FXBG, a one-day leadership experience that connects national insights to our local ecosystem. This conversation moves quickly from inspiration to application, showing how frameworks like Jesse Cole’s Five E's and John Maxwell’s Six C's help teams remove friction, deepen engagement, and celebrate wins that actually move the needle.
We walk through the unique value each featured speaker brings. John Maxwell grounds the day with a proven language for influence and culture, while Jesse Cole shares how the Savannah Bananas transform every touchpoint into a moment of delight and action. Craig Groeschel zooms out on multi-site leadership—decision speed, trust, and systems that scale without losing heart. Anthony Trucks adds the mindset edge, challenging us to own the hard shifts that define growth. Rather than abstract theory, you’ll hear how to translate these ideas into better meetings, cleaner processes, and stronger relationships.
At the core is a human pivot: moving from success to significance. High achievers often hit targets and feel empty. The fix isn’t more goals; it’s turning me into we—teaching what you know, building others up, and designing habits that compound across people and time. That’s why a room full of driven leaders matters. When we share patterns and compare notes, we realize our challenges aren’t unique, and we leave with clearer actions and peers who hold us to them.
If you manage people, build a business, serve a nonprofit, or want skills that carry from office to home, this is your playbook. Tune in for the preview, then join us live to sharpen your edge and strengthen our community. Enjoy the episode, share it with a teammate, and grab your seat at Live2Lead FXBG. If it helped you, subscribe and leave a quick review—we read every word.
Mike McClanahan
Live2Lead FXBG Speaker
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands. We're doing something a little different today, and I have a very special guest joining me. We've got Mike McClanahan joining me. He is part of the John Maxwell team, and he is bringing us the Live 2Lead event. Mike, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker:Thank you so much, Dori. I'm thrilled to be here. I love FXBG neighbors. One of my favorite things, actually, when I'm in Fredericksburg. And I love you, and you're great. And before we get started, I just want to point out you are an author. Everyone should get your book.
Speaker 2:Oh, I so appreciate that so much. And I appreciate your support. And I'm excited about this event. And so let's start there. Share with us. Tell us what this event is all about.
Speaker:Live2Lead, Fredericksburg, is an event that's done annually by the John Maxwell leadership team. And it features speakers in different areas of leadership. The feature speakers for this year are obviously John Maxwell, who's sold 34 million books on leadership, considered to be the number one leadership expert in the world. Jesse Cole of the Savannah Bananas, who is setting the world on fire with his ideas and expertise. Craig Groeschel, who's the pastor of a very large church with 45 campuses all over the country. And his message is not so much faith-based as it is how to manage all of those locations and why it's different than managing a single location. And then Anthony Trucks, who's a former NFL player, and his story is about how you have to own your own shift and how to how I said shift and what happens to you in life and how you have to own it and how you deal with it. Those are our national speakers that are streamed. And uh some folks have questions about the streaming, but I can promise you you will feel like they are there in the room with you. I've been part of a lot of these events, and uh it's amazing how how they uh how they impact an audience and how the audience participates. And those are just our stream speakers. I can we can talk more about our live speakers, of which you're one.
Speaker 2:Amazing. Well, I am really looking forward to those uh speakers. I mean, it's just kind of wild to think that we get all of them in one room in one day. So it's, I imagine the electricity is just gonna be amazing. And you are one of the speakers. And so I have a question for you. Without giving away all your secrets, what's one big idea you're gonna unpack on stage that could really shift how people lead?
Speaker:Um, there are a couple, but the one primary one is we are most of us and most of the people who will be in this room are achievers. They are type A's, they are achievers. So sometimes when you achieve success, you get there and you realize is this all there is? I don't I'm not fulfilled by achieving this success. So my message that day will be turning success into significance. And the difference there is when we are striving for success, we are achieving it's all about me. But when we are looking to be more significant, it's about we. And so, in order to hit that significance, you have to be able to translate your success to other people and be less selfish and be more open in helping others.
Speaker 2:Turning success into significance. I love that.
Speaker:It's the title of my upcoming book, by the way.
Speaker 2:Ah, well, that's exciting. I'm gonna have you back on the podcast once you've got that done. That's exciting. I love it. Okay, so what happens when a room full of driven leaders gets together for a full day? Why does that matter?
Speaker:It matters because we we have a tendency to be in our own silo and our own bubble, and we think some of the problems that we're facing are just our problems, that some of the issues we're looking at are just ours. There aren't very many original ideas, so this is also an opportunity to hone your idea, to make it more realistic, to make it more palatable. Just for I'll just go through two of the two of the national speakers that we have. Jesse Cole is going to talk about his five E's in a very entertaining way, and that is eliminating friction, uh, entertain always, experiment constantly, engage deeply, and empower action. And then John Maxwell is going to share his six C's, which are communicate, create, collaborate, concentrate, consecrate, and celebrate. And just these ideas alone, taking them away and using them in your business, in your organization, whether you're a solopreneur, entrepreneur, or you run a large company, this is going to help you and your team along the way.
Speaker 2:Amazing. I'm wow, I'm really excited. And that leads me to my next question, which is who? Who is this for? Like who should be in the room? Who needs to make make it a priority to be at this event?
Speaker:Um, this event is primarily, well, not primarily, this event is is a community-based event. So if you're involved in running a business, if you want to start a business, if you manage people, one of the biggest problems we have in um in business today, most managers are not taught how to be managers, much less leaders. So this event can help you move forward in your leadership and managerial career. So if you manage a group of people, if you're a real estate agent and you have a team, if you are looking for more sales, this event is going to help you connect better, not just communicate, but actually connect with people. So if you're a solopreneur, entrepreneur, if you run a nonprofit, if you're involved in a nonprofit, if you're involved in local government, this event is for you.
Speaker 2:Amazing. It it kind of seems like it it anyone could probably benefit from something at the event.
Speaker:Anyone and everyone can benefit from this because these are techniques and skills that don't just work in business, but they help you in your relationships. They help you at home, they help you understand people better. So this really is for everyone, but usually it's business leaders and people who want to be in business that are the primary audience. But these are skills that can really help everyone in their day-to-day life.
Speaker 2:So powerful. And we're so we're so lucky uh that we get to experience this. We haven't had something in the Fredericksburg area of this scale. So I I really hope everyone gets out there and comes to the event. And like you said, there's something for everyone. So it have I um, would you like to share anything else? Like what else should the listeners know about the event?
Speaker:Um, this event would not be happening without our partners, of which you're one. Uh GCubed uh and Vernon Green, who's going to be one of our speakers at the event, has been a great supporter. And uh this this event wouldn't happen without him. WFLS Radio, uh FXBG Neighbors, and your publications. This wouldn't be happening without you. The great Jimmy Kingman, who does everything behind the scenes, and Kirstin Purcell, who's really my partner in putting this event together in Fredericksburg. And she has reached out and made all of the contacts, and we wouldn't be able to bring this event to Fredericksburg if it wasn't for her.
Speaker 2:Such an amazing powerhouse team, and I am honored to be a part of it and and can't believe I'm I'm even in the company of these great leaders. So it's it's all very exciting. And if anyone wants to uh purchase a ticket, it's live 2leadfxbg.com, and the two is the number two. So live 2leadfxbg.com. Mike, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today and sharing this event with us.
Speaker:I'm happy to be here and I'll look forward to seeing you soon.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to FXBG NeighborsPodcast.com.