Gregory Vetter Podcast
Gregory Vetter shares the raw realities of entrepreneurship—the struggles, breakthroughs, and lessons that shaped his journey, as told in Undressed. Tune in for unfiltered insights on resilience, reinvention, and the true cost of success.
Gregory Vetter Podcast
The Stories That Shaped Us
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For this special Father's Day episode, Greg does something he's never done before.
He sits down with his four children and his father, Steve Vetter, for a candid conversation about family, fatherhood, legacy, and the lessons that get passed from one generation to the next.
Together, three generations of Vetters reflect on what it means to be a father, a son, a grandfather, and ultimately, a person trying to leave the world a little better than they found it.
Along the way, they share stories, memories, laughter, lessons learned, and honest observations about growing up in the Vetter family.
This episode explores:
• The values that shape a family
• Why great parenting isn't about control
• The balance between guidance and freedom
• The importance of work ethic, character, and resilience
• What children remember most about their parents
• The unexpected lessons fathers teach without ever saying a word
• And why legacy has far less to do with money than most people think
Steve shares his philosophy on raising children, Greg reflects on becoming a father of four, and the kids offer their unfiltered perspective on what it's actually like growing up as a Vetter.
At its core, this isn't a conversation about success.
It's a conversation about family.
Because long after the businesses, achievements, trophies, and titles are gone, the relationships we build with our children are what remain.
Happy Father's Day from The Gregory Vetter Podcast.
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I've learned from watching dad that there's no excuses. No one's gonna comfort you when you complain. So you just need to work harder.
SPEAKER_07I would say give it y'all one quote that represents my dad that I'm trying to learn is hard work beats talent.
SPEAKER_06If talent doesn't work hard, one thing from watching dad is one quote that he always says how you do something is how you do everything.
SPEAKER_03And then I'll have one about my dad and a universal truth that I believe, which is if you're gonna be a bear, you might as well be a grizzly. The reason that I think that quote is so universally true and beautiful, you don't have to do anything. If you choose to do something, you should go give it every ounce of everything that you have. And when you look at life and you look at the people that are successful in life, they're just the ones that work hard, that care, that give it a full effort, and that complete the job. They finish the job. And that is just a habit that needs to be developed. We're live. Mo had a vision. We are going to execute this vision. We're gonna see how we roll here. I am a father of four. You can see them next to me. I am a son of Steve Vetter, my dad, who is here. And in true Steve Vetter fashion, we gave him adequate heads up on being on the podcast today. You did. And he's busy doing his own shit. Because that's how he rolls. Always. So he was trimming roses, he's mowing grass, he's repairing roofs. What else today?
SPEAKER_00Well, I'm here because I knew this would be very important. And I'm glad Mo reminded me because at the young age of 82, I realized that I really don't like schedules either. And so um So you do what you want. But I thought this is very important, and uh, so I'm delighted to be here.
SPEAKER_03All right, we'll go oldest to youngest, broadly veteran the house. Introduce yourself.
SPEAKER_05Um, I'm Broadly and I'm 15. I'm seven, I'm 14.
SPEAKER_06I'm Waverly and I'm 12. I'm Forrest and I'm 10.
SPEAKER_03I'm Greg and I'm 43. I'm Steve, and I will be 82 on June the 13th, Friday. Magnificent day. The day before my wedding anniversary, June 14th, flag day. And so, guys, Father's Day is coming up. I am your dad. This is your grandfather. Uh, as a general random stream of consciousness, if you had to summarize being a child with the last name Vetter, what comes to mind broadly starting with you?
SPEAKER_05Um, everyone knows the last name by being a crazy loud athlete. Like everyone knows me from my dad and my uncles, and from our big family that all goes to the same school as right now. So everyone knows this pretty well.
SPEAKER_00Loud.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, I would say everyone knows last name better by being loud, um, inviting, caring, and athletic.
SPEAKER_03Waves?
SPEAKER_06I would say elite.
SPEAKER_03Elite.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Forrest, what do you got?
SPEAKER_06I would say the last name people know me by like yeah, like my dad and my uncles, and like being yeah, elite and strong and athletic.
SPEAKER_03So Father's Day's coming up. If you had the option to switch out a dad to somebody else, would you do it? And if so, who would it be?
SPEAKER_05No.
SPEAKER_03Money's coming your way, Sever?
SPEAKER_07I wouldn't change my father.
SPEAKER_06No, I would not do that.
SPEAKER_03Uh, so I'll give my insights into my journey as a veter. Everybody always assumes, based on my aggression, that I had an overly aggressive dad, which is actually not true. Um, we always joked that you were more like our spiritual guide, where you sat on the outskirts, you provided guidance when we got out of hand, but you also really let the whole thing unfold with unwavering faith that somehow it was just all going to work out, and your joke about uh your tombstone, what the quote on there that you want, that you had a plan after all. I think that that's probably pretty true as it applies to um the parenting side. Because, you know, I've run into people from high school and middle school and everything else, and they always just kind of go, Yeah, man, I didn't see this one coming with you. You know, you got married young, you had a bunch of kids. It's remarkable. You started a business, you stuck together, you guys are still happy and healthy. You know, while you were running from the police in high school, I don't know if I would have seen this all shaking out the way that it did. Do you have any insights to that?
SPEAKER_00Well, gosh, where to begin? Um, you know, in terms of not being that engaged as a father, I realized early on that I had been very fortunate to have three really remarkable sons who were very intelligent. Um at least one of them. One of and very caring and really open to the early guidance that we gave you. Um I was a student of enough psychology to know that formatively um most of what parents do is accomplished really by about the 11th year. And so we really invested a lot of our time and thought uh into you all. I also was really curious about who you would become, and I had observed a lot of other fathers trying to create their sons and their daughters in the image of what they wanted them to be, and that usually ended up as a disaster. Um, you know, you're gonna be a great tennis player, and that's it, because I wanted to be a great tennis player, and I'd go, why would they do that to their son? And um, I think one of the turning points that affirmed this self-directed learning path that you were on is when you decided, you know, your your mom and I had co-coached them in um softball, soccer, um, swimming, and basketball. And we had a ball coaching these you guys as little kids. And one hot summer day, Gregory was playing baseball and he came over and said, Look, Dad, I'm out in left field, I don't get a chance to even touch the ball. The the head coach's son is the pitcher, the second assistant coach is the catcher, and the third coach is first base, and the ball just goes back around those three, but in that field over there, they're playing lacrosse, and these kids get to just run the whole time and hit each other with these sticks. Can I go play lacrosse? And I go, You can do that, but I have to tell you, I know nothing about lacrosse, and I can guide you in terms of how you might learn about that, but you'll be on your own. And he says, Well, Gregory said, Well, what do I do? And I go, identify three to five people that you think are really good, and you could ask them how to prepare yourself for the sport. And to his credit, what were you, eight or nine years old? Yeah, somewhere around there, ten maybe. He took a pad paper and went and interviewed the coach over at Annapolis High School, some of the kids who were playing in college, and he came back with a plan. He says, One of them just said, I've got to get really fast and I should play indoor track. Can I do that? And I go, let's do that. And the other one said, You need stick skills, you need to really work on this. And I go, We'll get you one of those things that you can throw against. And so he developed, and it was marvelous watching him and his brothers just grow with the sport that they chose and develop. And when we drove up to watch him get his All-American award in college, I just thought he owns this, he didn't play a sport I wanted him to play. He became the man that he wanted to be. And so as a father, I felt very affirmed that some of what I did may have been right.
SPEAKER_03Yep. Kids, as a grandfather, how is pop pop doing?
SPEAKER_05He's doing great.
SPEAKER_03What what is the when you think of pop pop, what do you think?
SPEAKER_05He's doing his own thing. Yeah, like a hard worker.
SPEAKER_03Thank you. Pass the microphone.
SPEAKER_06Um hard working and handsome.
SPEAKER_03Oh, there you go.
SPEAKER_06In shape for an 82-year-old.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, he doesn't look a detail. There's our blank bed eating bonbons. Yeah. Watching TV. And can't get up because he has a bad hip.
SPEAKER_03And what's he doing?
SPEAKER_04He's working in money tree. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02What's something dad thinks he's good at, but he isn't?
SPEAKER_03Yes. Go and go, uh, we'll go girl, girl, boy, boy.
SPEAKER_05Um, I would say he one time I got him a card and it said, When I grow up, I want to be as funny as you think you are. Because he thinks he's like the funniest person in the world.
SPEAKER_03I but I am though.
SPEAKER_05There's my point.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, he's pretty funny.
SPEAKER_05Okay, wavy.
SPEAKER_04Um I would I would also say funny, but I still laugh at some of his jokes.
SPEAKER_03Because they're funny.
SPEAKER_07Got it. Um, probably like every sport he tries. I mean, some of the sports he's really good at, but if he tries a new sport, he thinks he's the best at it.
SPEAKER_03Like why? Give me an example.
SPEAKER_07I don't know like golf.
SPEAKER_03I do not think I'm the best at golf. But I do have confidence going into new things.
SPEAKER_05That's yeah, he just has the confidence.
SPEAKER_03I have confidence. I don't lack in that category, I don't think.
SPEAKER_06I would say, as Broccoli said, uh he thinks he's the funniest person alive.
SPEAKER_03Do you laugh at my jokes? Yes. Is it because they're funny, or you're just trying to make me feel good? Side note, how good was my joke yesterday?
SPEAKER_05Yesterday he had a really great joke.
SPEAKER_03So, speaking on this topic, there's this unbelievably cringy dad who goes online and makes all these horrible dad jokes.
SPEAKER_05And it's so bad that he has like a really weird fake laugh at the end of every video.
SPEAKER_03And it has like put his son into depression. So yesterday, I get broadly, Waverly, and Forrest in on this inside joke, and we all convince Severn that I'm gonna do the same thing. That I'm gonna start a social media channel just for epic, cringe-worthy dad jokes. And Severn is dying a slow death. He's like, do not do this, man. These jokes are horrible. You're going to ruin your career. No one is going to take you serious for anything else you do. Broadly's telling me everything I'm saying is the funniest thing. Forrest is in everybody's in on it. Severn is not in on it. We do this for three hours. For three hours, Severn is dying. He's like, Dad, do not do this. I go, I'm gonna go map out my jokes and I'm gonna present them and we're gonna vote on them to see if these are my first five videos. As I'm doing them, they're so bad. I literally looked up five of the worst. I put in, give me the worst dad jokes ever written. And I'm telling them to Severn, and everyone is pretending to laugh hysterically. They're like, This is the best joke ever. And Severn is dying. And then at the end, we tell him it's all a joke. He still doesn't believe it. He thinks I'm actually gonna do it. Broadly, how good was it?
SPEAKER_05It was really good. You're about to like pee yourself.
SPEAKER_00If I could offer a comment, I always thought your father's humor was one of his redeeming qualities, see? And I said to Genevieve recently, I go, when how do we get Gregory to realize that he is a natural comedian and we need to get him in a stand-up comedy club? Support. You see the support? No, but I'm seriously. And you know, they say a good belly laugh is better than a bottle of vitamins.
SPEAKER_03I pissed, I almost pissed myself and was crying yesterday, laughing so hard based on Severn's reaction. But I think if there's any trait that he was gonna leave, he was gonna leave our family if I started the the dad joke page. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Well, look, if there's any trait you take from your father and work on it, it's humor. It'll it'll serve you well. The truth comes out, yeah.
SPEAKER_02What's dad's most annoying habit?
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Articles.
SPEAKER_03Talking to you about all the articles.
SPEAKER_05I'll like start randomly complaining about like a stupid thing that doesn't really matter, and I'm expecting him to like just laugh and agree with me, and then he turns it into a life lesson and backs it up with like eight articles he read that morning, and it's so annoying.
SPEAKER_03What do you think?
SPEAKER_07I would say the same. I was gonna say that. Um, probably like eating something bad. I don't know, like Skittles or something, and then he backs it up how it like gives you a bad disease or something.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03What do you think, Forrest?
SPEAKER_06I would I would say the same thing because Severn would get like this like brand of like clay or something for his hair, and him and my mom would be like, that's gonna give you cancer.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, they say everything. Like everything.
SPEAKER_03Do we back it up though?
SPEAKER_05With your random articles, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_05So it is verified by the parents of the USA.
SPEAKER_00Uh-huh. So, if if I may, this is a multi-generational issue. One of the more funny stories in our life was uh not so much the humor, but whenever something went wrong, when Gregory did something wrong, I would have him read articles, I would make him sit down and talk about it, I might make him write an essay about it. So one day he was so tired of this, he says, Dad, you just make me analyze everything, think about everything. Why can't you just beat me like all the other dads? So I go, well, if that's what you want, son, we can do that too. So, anyways, to add to his library of humor, he says, Well, can we start right now today? I go, just don't make me talk about this anymore. Write an essay. So I said, Bend over, son. So he bends over, I take my belt out, and I go, whack. He says, Ah, let me take the first pair of pants off. Well, he put like five pairs of I put on like 20. And so 20 pair of shorts. So I go, I can't win with you. Now, go write that essay about so-and-so and read this article.
SPEAKER_02If dad had a superpower, what would it be?
SPEAKER_05If dad had a superpower, he's already pretty strong, so I would say he could fly or something.
SPEAKER_04He would make all the bat guys go blind because of how beautiful he is.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah. Try and get that money, wavy. I see you.
SPEAKER_07Um, probably like reading your mind. He can basically just tell if you're mad or sad just spy off your face. So, yeah.
SPEAKER_06I would say he'd be like the hawk because it's really strong.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. I have one. I think he would evolve and develop further his comedy routines. He would develop a podcast following of millions of people. People would be physically cured of ailments, much like miracles in the church. He would make people laugh, they would bring him into asylums and hospitals purely for humor. Humor, and it would work.
SPEAKER_03It it'd be like the superpower in uh what is it with Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool, the one woman where her superpower's luck. She's like, My superpower's luck. They go, That's not a superpower. She goes, Yes, it is.
SPEAKER_02What is something dad always forgets?
SPEAKER_05Dad doesn't really forget a lot of things. He yells at us for forgetting things.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Um I would say that mom forgets a lot of things. Well, whenever she gets in the car in the morning, she's like, Do you have my phone?
SPEAKER_07Where are my keys? I would say he doesn't really forget any like one thing that he forgets the most. He's usually pretty prepared.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, he like takes vitamins to help his memory.
SPEAKER_03That's very true. Do I forget anything?
SPEAKER_06Uh no, not really. I'd say, yeah, like he doesn't for yeah, more like mom would forget stuff.
SPEAKER_00Well, how how about this? We'll flip it on its back. What are things you would like your father to forget?
SPEAKER_05Um, probably a lot of things. Like dumb mistakes we make. Like, I just got my phone taken because I forgot to take my supplements for a day.
SPEAKER_03One day?
SPEAKER_05We can check the vitamin box.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, we can. I'm right. It's not one day.
SPEAKER_05Yes, it was. I only forgot to say. Uh-huh. He's just being annoying.
SPEAKER_02What's dad's biggest pet peeve?
SPEAKER_05Dad's biggest pet peeve is probably when you just oh, it's when he always tells us the definition of insanity, which is like you do something over and over again but expect a different outcome. So when he catches us doing that, he always makes us recite the definition, and he gets really annoyed at that.
SPEAKER_04Um, probably being late, he says being on time is Late, but and being early and being early's on time.
SPEAKER_07Yeah. Um, I would say not being prepared. If you're not prepared and you're with them, he'll freak out.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, not being on time, he hates you know, this is interesting.
SPEAKER_00Uh my grandchildren uh gave me a gift once that was a sign that said, Behind every great grandkid is or behind every great child, there's a good father. And so you asked the question is, so how do you get a good father? And I remember discussing this with a friend, and he said, you know, when you really think about it, good fathers really come out of having been a good brother or sister. It's something among siblings more than it is among fathers. That if you have brothers and sisters, you really have to learn how to navigate conflict and confrontations and and disagreements and all. Yeah. And um so it's this sort of multi-generational thing as well. Listening to you all talk about your father, I went right back to my mother and father, and their whole thing was life is nothing but honoring the time that's been given you and the time you agree to share with others. And if someone shows up late, if you show up late, you're disrespecting their life. Preach. And the corollary is if they disrespect your life, do not hang out with them. Okay, it's just about managing time, and so um that then came from actually my father's grandparents, and uh, they were just ruthless about it. And if there was a family dinner or something and someone didn't show up, the place setting was removed. They did not eat, you know. It was that kind of thing. So that this is a multi-generational goes over many families. The other thing I wanted to observe back to Gregory's comment about I'm being the kind of father that wasn't that robustly loud about being in their lives. That's who my father was. And for me, it became so overwhelming at times, where he was telling me what to be and how to be. And I always remember he wanted me to be a great baseball player. And he would stand behind the backstop and yell at me at how to strike at a ball. And if I got a hit, he would run along the first baseline saying, You need to run faster. He sounded fast. And I hated baseball. And so I decided I wanted to correct that part of my father and be a different kind of father. Right? I thought I was doing okay. And then Gregory goes, you know, Dad, I'm gonna go back to your grand to your father, and I'm gonna be a little more involved and a little bit louder. And I'll go, well, let's see how that works out for you. And it's actually worked out marvelously well if you look at these grandchildren. But um, you know, we try to learn from each other through the generations, and I think the important message for my grandchildren is really value each other and who you are and what you have. Really value the parents that you have and the grandparents and the long history of our family. To that earlier question of when someone says veter, what do they think of? Yes, we're loud, but I also hope they also say, you really do not want to mess with those vetters because they really protect and defend each other.
SPEAKER_05I've learned from watching dad that you there's no excuses, and no one's gonna comfort you when you complain. So you just need to work harder.
SPEAKER_04It's beautiful. I would say give it your all.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_04During lacrosse and life.
SPEAKER_07I would say one quote that represents my dad that I'm trying to learn is hard work beats talent. If talent doesn't work hard, he cares a lot about working hard. And I think that's how he got so far.
SPEAKER_06One thing from watching dad is how one quote that he always says, how you do something is how you do everything. And yeah.
SPEAKER_03And and and then I'll have one about my dad, which I have made a flag in my gym and a universal truth that I believe. It's my logo, which is if you're gonna be a bear, you might as well be a grizzly. And so that goes back to everything that we've said, or you guys have said, which is work hard. It's not about talent and give it your all, and how you do something is how you do everything. And it goes back to that if you're gonna be a bear, you might as well be a grizzly. And the reason that I think that quote is so universally true and beautiful, you don't have to do anything. If you choose to do something, you should unleash holy hell in it, right? If you go to fix a car, you should go fix a car to the best of your ability. If you go play a sport, you should go give it every ounce of everything that you have. And that is just a habit that needs to be developed. And it's one of those things. I remember when I was young, I was I was being taught this through kind of carrying wood and chopping wood and all this shit. And my mom is telling my mom used to tell this funny story, which was he would always say, Don't half-ass it. And one day I was just fucking tired of carrying wood or whatever. And I go, Can we just half ass it, please? And he goes, No, I had a stopwatch, right? We are gonna finish the job, and the job is done when the job is done. And when you look at life and you look at the people that are successful in life, they're just the ones that work hard, that care, that give it a full effort. It's not about talent, it's about hard work, and that complete the job. They finish the job, they finish the race. And these are these little habits that I just want to teach you, not because I want to chase you down this the first baseline to first base, but because life is gonna come at your asses full speed ahead, which it already has for some of you. And you always used to say this too, which life is a wrestling match. You're either on top smiling out at the crowd, or you're on the bottom smelling somebody's armpit. And that's it, there is no other option. And so those are the things that when you figure those out and you commit to them as kind of your mantra or the values of your life, I say this to you guys: anything is possible. Anything if you decide to do it, and nobody else can decide for you. I don't need to live vicariously through you. I've already been successful in athletics. But if you set a goal and you write it down and you tell me that's your goal, and you tell me you want my help, I expect the grizzly mentality that if you're gonna be a bear, you might as well be a grizzly. You know?
SPEAKER_00Okay, can I add to that? I had we've had a wonderful uncle, my mother's brother, David Ladd. This is Gregory Ladd Vetter. And he used to say, we're the sum total of everyone in our lives, both the good and the bad. And um he gave me a poster once that is a compliment to if you're gonna be a bear, you might as well be a grizzly. You better be a grizzly. And it was passion is the fact of God in man, that if you've been given this passionate energy for anything you do, what's behind that is the love that God bestowed upon you. Very few people have that, very few people understand that. One of the gifts that your father and I together wanted to give you was a big family where you would know and have your cousins and your uncles close by. He was robbed of that. There was no way I could figure out how to get that to him. But when I grew up, I was surrounded by cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. And so his vision, your father's vision, was somehow we will create wealth here whereby we don't have to break up and move around. You know, I had one brother in Canada, I had another one in South America and Brazil, I had a sister in Japan, and we were just spread out. At times people will ask me, so you're a grandpa? I go, yeah. And they go, how many grandchildren do you have? No, the second question they go, how close are your grandchildren? I'll go, within, this is napping forest, within about a thousand yards. And I had some of them actually cry and they go, Oh my god, our Canada, California, New York, we never get to see them. So this blessing that's been given to you, one of the things I admire so much about you is how you take care of each other. You know, the other day I was watching Forrest play with Rowan, and Rowan's gone through a difficult emotional thing uh in his family. You were so good with him. And the other day, everyone, several, wanted to have the cousins, a picture with you on your graduation. And it was so loving. And broadly, you're the oldest of all, and you are truly a queen among your cousins, and you care for them, you love them, you protect them, and they come to you. And waves you're the same. You when I watch you and Poppy and Parrish and and uh really everyone, they just can't get enough of your energy. So I'm so happy that as a grandfather I've gotten to see this, and it's affirmed for me that Gregory, you've done such a great job as a father to keep all of this together. And the the other comment I'd like to make, when Gregory had this vision of making his mom salad dressing and keeping us all together and creating a business to do that, everyone said, you know, you don't do that anymore. Families don't stay together in America anymore. But they do here. And when the brand became developed, it was three sons and uh and their mother. And I had to protest and say, I'm not a potted plant. I'm in the backdrop here being quiet. But I didn't fit the jingle, I didn't fit the jingle, but but here we are still pulling together, never giving up on each other, and doing quite well at it. Up against tremendous odds always. Yeah. But Gregory has carried that torch, and uh, we've all been blessed and benefited because of it. Thank you.
SPEAKER_02What's something you think that worries about? That's a good one.
SPEAKER_03What do I worry about?
SPEAKER_06Uh if you grow up, you'd uh not being a pussy when you grow up.
SPEAKER_07That's a good one. I would say he cares about that we end up being more successful than him. He tries to make our lives be bigger than what his what his life is right now. Yeah, he just tries to make or wants to make our lives better than his.
SPEAKER_05I think that he worries about just us not living up to our full potential, like not working hard enough to reach the goals that we set for ourselves right now.
SPEAKER_04I would think probably not giving ourselves enough credit. Like if we stop a ball on the cross and the coach doesn't say anything, and you think you did it wrong, and he tells you you don't, he didn't.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. You guys summed it up. I mean the main thing I worry about is just those are pieces of what I worry about. Yeah. But in actuality, what I worry about is you all having the confidence and the knowledge that anything is possible and your life can be whatever you want it to be. So the you named a couple things, specific details of that that are attributes to that. But I want you to know that you can be elite if you want to be elite. And if you don't want to be elite, then don't be elite. If you want things in life, you can have them. You know, I was talking about uh I am is the most powerful two words in the entire universe because whatever follows them is true. And so if you say I am the best, then you're gonna be the best. But if you say I am the worst or I'm not good enough, or I am not this or I am not that, guess what? That's gonna be true too. And so the thing that I worry about the most with all of you is just that I have communicated to you all what is possible, and that you know deep, deep in your soul, that you can achieve it if you put in the work. And that includes just anything, it doesn't matter. Like the world is your oyster, and that is the one thing I want you all to always know. Love you.
SPEAKER_05I think that dad's the most proud of like how he raised us, but how we listen to how he raised us, just kind of like small things. Like if we go, if we ever go on vacation with someone, he'll always make sure to tell us like, thank you guys for actually being polite, and thank you guys for being like the best behaved kids there. Because I think that he just raised us really well and taught us just like the basics, but we actually listened to them.
SPEAKER_00And are carrying them out, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I would say kind of what Raleigh said. One time we were in a restaurant and some kids were being really disrespectful and crying, and we were just sitting there politely being respectful and saying thank you when the server came over.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, I would say he gets really happy and proud when we work hard because he working hard gets you wherever you want.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I'm most proud of my dad. Um, one, just how he is as a grandfather to all the kids. Um unbelievably loving and supportive and patient, very similar for the most part to uh him being a dad to me and my brothers, which honestly, the fact that he was as patient as he was should be studied. He uh, but I would say the other part is just his activity levels as he gets older, he is not going quietly into the night. You know, he wakes up every day, puts on his suspenders, you know, the the old saying of you better grab a hard hat and a ham sandwich because we're going to work. I don't know if he eats ham sandwiches and he doesn't wear a hard hat, but you know, he wakes up every day and does shit. And um I definitely got that gene in me, which is like you wake up and you go to work, right? Whatever it is that you do, like you got to be active, and object emotion stays in motion. And nobody can believe he's 82 um because of how active and alert he is, which you know, honestly almost kind of feels like an insult. It's like, oh, look, you didn't shit yourself today. But, you know, based on his activity levels, behavior, um, how great he is with with the grandkids, it's like this dude's gonna be living to 140, hopefully. I don't know if he wants to do it, but his step count is probably up there.
SPEAKER_00Well, may I so back to the he had a plan after all, you know, the sensation that I've gone through life and I've followed my intuition, and things have really worked out extremely well. I feel satisfied and successful with so much of what I accomplished. And a lot of it was just following my gut. And when I was growing up, my mother, I don't think she ever cursed once. And she used to have this saying I didn't get that. Yeah, oh, for goodness sake. That was her saying some of what Gregory said. And I used to ask her, I go, What is goodness' sake? And um she says, Well, it's the path you should follow. You should seek out and find goodness. And so so much of my approach to raising children was I had good kids that were smart, and they too listened to me, and they always wanted to do the right things, and I ended up insisting on always doing the right things. I had a number of failures because I wouldn't do the wrong things, but that was okay. And when I look at Gregory and what he should be satisfied about, is that he has a plan after all, and it's really working quite well. And he's developed and has the resources to take us to another level, and so he's made available to you everything you would need to realize your potential. But the other interesting piece of this, you know, the old adage, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make a drink.
SPEAKER_03I say it weekly.
SPEAKER_00All right. Well, the interesting thing is there's a lot of water around here to drink, and you kids drink it. You play sports, you take advantage of the gym, the court, the pool, the education. And so part of what He should, I think, enjoy is that he's found a way to work with you that lets you drink what you need to drink. And you're all really quite wonderful because of it.
SPEAKER_01When you're grown up, what story will you tell your kids about dad and grandpa?
SPEAKER_07I would tell them that he's probably the loudest, toughest, wildest dude I know.
SPEAKER_06I would tell them that he he's very elite and he he's not a uh he's not like a baby. He's a grown man.
SPEAKER_05I would tell my kids like a funny story about my dad is it relates to him being really tough and showing us there were no days off. Um when we were little at our old house, he still does this here, but when it snows a couple feet, he'll run out at night just in his underwear and just lay in the snow for as long as he can to build up his toughness. And I was thought that was really funny. And for Popop, I would tell them that he is always there to hype you up. Like whenever he sees me, he I ask him how he is, and he's like, better now that I see your beautiful face. So he's a little hype man.
SPEAKER_04I would tell a story about my dad when when we were little, we went to his lacrosse game and he got hit in the ear with the lacrosse ball, and it was bloody a lot. And he didn't really care and he just kept going. And for pop pop, he never took a day off. And he would just keep working.
SPEAKER_00That's good. And uh, my final story would be so I'm living in this lovely home in this community. I've been there 35 years, and Gregory shows up one day and he says, Dad, I just bought an alpaca farm and you're moving in with me. And I go, What are you talking about? This is our forever home. He goes, Yeah, you can't stay here. Get ready, you're leaving. So I go, I don't think so, Gregory. Good luck. So then he says, Get in the car. So I get in the car, we drive over, and I go, Whoa, look at this. Who's gonna cut the grass, Gregory? He goes, I said, you've never pushed a lawnmower, you've never had a yard, really. And I look at this white wooden house and I go, Oh, who's gonna paint the house? And all the time he's looking at me. Right? So, anyways, we made then one of our best decisions we ever made, and we moved into our alpaca farm, and here we are. How many years later? Five years? Six. Six. And I got to watch my children, grandchildren grow up. I've gotten to know all the alpacas, the longhorn steers, the fainting goats, the Gregory bought us, the chickens and the ducks, and the beautiful dogs.
SPEAKER_03All right, this is the Greg Better Podcast, Father's Day edition. I want to thank my beautiful children and my handsome father for blessing me with their presence. Thank you for coming. Happy Father's Day. We will see you next time.