The Quarterback DadCast
I’m Casey Jacox, the host of the Quarterback Dadcast. As fathers, we want to help prepare our kids—not only to enter the professional world but to thrive in each stage of their lives. Guests of this show include teachers, coaches, professional athletes, consultants, business owners, authors—and stay-at-home dads. Just like you! They share openly about failure, success, laughter, and even sadness so that we can all learn from each other—as we strive to become the best leaders of our homes! You will learn each week, and I am confident you will leave each episode with actionable tasks that you can apply to your life to become that ultimate Quarterback and leader of your household. Together, we will learn from the successes and failures of dads who are doing their best every day. So, sit back, relax and subscribe now to receive each episode weekly on The Quarterback Dadcast.
The Quarterback DadCast
Adoption, Fatherhood, and Grace - Jason Caywood
Today's episode, we welcome Jason Caywood to the podcast! Jason is the President of Caywood Consulting and is a certified Sandler Sales trainer.
In this episode, we explore how adoption shaped Jason’s identity, how he met his birth mom decades later, and why love adds rather than replaces. We share practical tools for calm leadership at home, from apologies that repair trust to letting kids own their goals.
Additionally, we covered the following:
• adoption as identity, not label
• reunion with birth mom handled through patience and respect
• communicating fears openly with adoptive and birth families
• family-first values and faith expressed as behavior
• repairing after anger and separating stress from discipline
• meeting each child where they are, not one-size-fits-all
• curiosity over judgment in debates with teens
• letting kids fail safely and own their dreams
• quality time over quantity, presence over perfection
• parenting principles mirrored in sales leadership coaching
• mentors, belief, and sending the elevator back down
Excited for you all to listen and share with your network!
Please don't forget to leave us a review wherever you consume your podcasts! Please help us get more dads to listen weekly and become the ultimate leader of their homes!
I'm Riley.
SPEAKER_03:And I'm Ryder. And this is my dad job. Well, hey everybody, it's KTJ Cox with the Quarterback Podcast. Welcome to Season 6. And I cannot be more excited to have you join me for another year of fantastic episodes of conversations with unscripted and raw and authentic conversations with ads. If you're new to this podcast, it's simple. It's a podcast where we interview dads. We learn about how they're raised. We learn about the life lessons that work with them. We learn about the values that are important to them. Everybody, it's KCJ Cox with the Quarterback Jack Catch once season six. Get ready to uh to wrap up season six and we're already we have episodes already booked for the remainder of this calendar year, which is crazy. And even starting to talk about season seven, which means we have episodes looking for the January time frame, which uh is really exciting, which means that we're very grateful here um once podcasts for everybody who continues to listen and continues to take time to leave us for you, or or takes time to share an episode with us with another dad if an episode or a conversation had sparked maybe some growth or some insight or some learning or some relearning or whatever it may be, whatever it did for you, we are very grateful for you. So our next guest comes to us through the wide world of connecting in LinkedIn, our friend uh Rochelle, who had a conversation with us. She connected us together. And his name's Jason Kwood. He's the president and founder of Kwood Consulting. He is someone that spent years uh in the in the wide world of sales. He now is a Sandler franchisee, uh, doing very similar work but what I'm doing, but he's probably way better at it than I am. Uh he's a he's a but more importantly, everybody, he's a dad. And he's and he's gonna share with us how he's working hard, become that ultimate quarterback or leader of his household household. So further ado, Mr. Kwood, welcome to the quarterback dad cast.
SPEAKER_02:And thank you so much. Uh a genuine honor that uh that you invited me to be here. I I'm uh I love that you're doing what you're doing, as being a dad is so critical. And and uh so thank you for doing what you're doing and having me here.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, you bet, man. Well, I also appreciate you that um we're an audio-only podcast right now, everybody, which I I think you know, unfortunately, Jason's the only the one that really gets to see just a spectacular handlebar mustache, which he's now giggling a little bit. And those that you can't, you're it's your loss. It really is your loss.
SPEAKER_02:10 out of 10. Not even a question. It just it's uh I just I yeah, it's made my day. It's made my day.
SPEAKER_03:Oh I I gotta make fun of myself, everybody, but it's we're recording now September 22nd. The stash is for the Seattle Mariners and the continued good luck that my my lovely Seattle Mariners are doing. We have never won a World Series, never been to a World Series, but we're hoping that this lucky stash is the one that gets it done. Okay. Most importantly, we're gonna talk about you now, Jason. Tell me what are you most grateful for as a dad today?
SPEAKER_02:Um, I had a birthday last week, and I've got my oldest is off in college, and then my it's my son, and my our two daughters are still at home with us. And the messages I got, whether it was a a voice memo from my son or the cards, written cards from my daughters, that at this stage, um, at their ages, you know, 19, 17, and 11, um, how they feel about me as a dad and and the relationship that we have. Um, I am super grateful for that. Um, yeah, I just I, you know, when you are a dad, it's uh it's hard to sometimes think that far down the road. And so to see where things are at this many years in, I couldn't be happier and more grateful.
SPEAKER_03:It's awesome, man. It's great answer. Um, what I'm most grateful for is that at this stage of life, um we have two, I have two kids, 19 and 17. I don't have an 11-year-old. And uh I'm grateful that my I'm gonna be done with this quicker than you are. But I'm also gonna be jealous because you get you get more of the the journey of whether it's sports or activities and all the fun things that that keeps us young. Um I am very grateful for the stage of life because uh I'm putting my son and daughter's uh activities above anything above work. And uh I had the opportunity a couple weeks ago to go see my son play in his second um college golf tournament, and I had a huge work project that just kicked off, and I was like, How am I gonna do it? How am I gonna do it? And I said, wait a minute, no, we're gonna delay the project. And I have I went, I apologized to the people I was working with, they were like, oh my god, this is a no-brainer. And two of them said, Man, I actually am inspired that you just did this because you kind of gave me the green light to I can do this in the future. And I'm not saying to people to live recklessly, but for me, I'm just so uh laser focused on what's most important, which is like just enjoying that time with them and the feeling whether he shoots 68 or 79, it doesn't matter. I mean, I yeah, I want him to play well, but just the fact that he knows I'm there or my wife's there, and the same thing with my daughter with basketball right now, and or just rebounding for, or just whether it's you know, they get to make fun of dad with his crazy mustache right now. Like just the the the relationships that I'm really just like slowing down to just laser focus. I'm just grateful for that time and that mindset. It's just like it's like inspiring for myself. So I love it. Well, uh, bring me inside the K-Wood Huddle. You said you got three, three members of the squad. I'm sure there's a general manager in there somewhere.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, yes. So um, yeah, my wife and I in this past August celebrated 22 years together. And um yeah, it's uh we we kind of joke. We live in Utah, and um we are we are not part of the dominant culture here, but we sure acted like that in that we got we met and were engaged and married in under a year. And um there were some loving um questions from family members about the speed with which things were happening, but it it's all it was all good and it's all it's it's worked out, and we've had an amazing journey. We moved all over the country, uh uh San Francisco, Chicago, Indianapolis, and Charlotte. And you know, kids along the way. I always joke that uh our our son was uh created in San Francisco, born in Chicago, and our first daughter uh created in Indiana and uh and then born in Charlotte. And after having two, we decided we wanted to get back around family, so came back here and then had our third one here. And and uh yeah, it's um man, when you think 22 years and all that's happened, in in some ways it's like a blink of an eye, but in other ways it's like, man, there's been a lot packed into that. And um, and so yeah, like I said, very grateful for where things are at. And that does not mean it's been a line of perfection. Let me be clear about that.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_02:It's been a lot of ups and downs and and good and challenging times, but I am thankful for this chapter in our lives and um again the relationship of my wife and and our kids that uh that we currently have. And and uh yeah, so it's uh man, just thankful across the board on where things are at.
SPEAKER_03:How did you guys meet?
SPEAKER_02:I chuckle because again, we met somewhere where we never would have expected to meet someone of substance, but uh we met at a club here in Salt Lake City. It was a club that uh that was called Club Splash at the time. And I I share it because again, it's it's fun to look back on. Uh, 100% honest here. Like my friends and I were sitting at a big round table. Her and her friends come walking in and just kind of one at a time, like a friend of hers started talking to a friend of mine, and and on around until it was just her and I left. And we talked all night, and we've talked every day since.
unknown:Wow.
SPEAKER_02:Went on our first date a week later, right? And and so on and so forth. And uh another side note, uh, one of my best friends and one of her best friends got that met that night, got married as well. And they've been married maybe, I think it's 21 years, a couple kids. So that was a magical night at Club Splash. Okay, don't ever don't ever downplay what's possible at the uh Salt Lake Clubs. But um, but yeah, we met there, and it's um yeah, man. It's just uh it was it was a good, a good beginning of a great story.
SPEAKER_03:Wow. What's ironically is my wife and I met at Club Splash.
SPEAKER_02:Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Joking.
SPEAKER_02:I'm not if you had that mustache, you had had plenty, plenty of women coming after you at Club Splash.
SPEAKER_03:All right. Um so we have 19, 17, and 11. Um, for what you feel what for what you feel comfortable sharing, tell us a little bit about what each child's up to and what lights their fire.
SPEAKER_02:Absolutely. Yeah. Um, so our I'll start with our oldest. You know, he'll be 20 in October. Um, he is in his second year now at Boise State uh playing football for them. Um and it's wild. He started early, so in January, he'll actually be an academic junior, which seems mind-blowing, but he's a red shirt freshman, football-wise. Um, and that just, you know, that's what he loves. He just loves being active. Um, he loves pushing himself. Um, he would go to CrossFit with me at 5:30 in the morning at five years old. And now, again, doing appropriate things for a five-year-old, of course, but he's just always loved that. And and so that's been a fun journey along the way, just watching him pursue his goals and dreams and and and doing all that. And happy to chat more about all that with any of my kids. But um, with my oldest daughter, she's gonna be, like you said, we're recording this on a Monday here on Wednesday. She'll be 18. It's her birthday. And um, man, she she she and I have some of the best conversations and debates. Um, she really loves to research what she wants to know about and and what she believes in. And and so we have wonderful conversations around that. Uh, she too was in sports for a long time, did horseback riding, basketball, and things like that, but just has really been focusing on school um the last year or so. Um, she has huge goals about where she wants to go to school um after her senior year. And so we're on the front end of that process. But she and I are the ones we went to my son's game in uh Colorado over the weekend, just she and I, and we just have a blast. Like she's just a great travel buddy and she loves sports. Like she knows her stuff. And so we have fun there. Um, and again, a lot more there. But then with my 11-year-old, she started middle school and and she's doing uh in terms of activities, she's gotten into cheer. She came home the second day of her first year of middle school and she's like, uh, I want to do student counsel. Like, okay, what does that look like? What do you need to do? And she got selected, so she's on the front end of that. But she is um, man, she is a I laugh because my our third's upbringing is completely different than our first two, right? Our first two, you know, they're very close together, so kind of similar. And my wife and I really didn't know what the heck we were doing. And now our third has come along, and it's like we are much more relaxed. Um, she's been raised around her siblings' friends, so she's seen different things and whatnot. And man, she's just a firecracker. And same thing, she makes us laugh. I think she's the funniest one in our family. Um, just makes us laugh and loves having a good time. And and um, and yeah, she's very outgoing. So it's just I I love uh watching and learning from our kids as they walk through the world. And um, again, I've made a thousand mistakes every day since they've been born, but just trying to feed into, you know, how can they how can they do their thing their way? Right? Like our our daughter, our youngest, for example, it's like, I don't want to be the parent that makes her posters for her for student counsel. I don't want to be the parent that tells her what to do in her videos. Like, no, this needs to be your thing. Even if it results in you not getting selected, great, learn from it, move on. But that's something I've I again made a lot of mistakes, but how can I how can it be their thing? Right? Whatever that thing is, versus them feeling some pressure that it's my thing that they're trying to fulfill.
SPEAKER_03:We have no eligibility left.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yep. Yep, it's true.
SPEAKER_03:It's no eligibility left.
SPEAKER_02:No, with my son in high school, I mean he he started driving at a young age to get to the next level. And probably once a month, I would check in, I'd say, hey, you can you can quit tomorrow if you want, bud. Like your mom and I love you the same. Like it this it does not matter if you are playing football or not. Like we love watching you, but are you sure you want to do this? Yep, yep. Even the night before we were gonna take him up to Boise. I mean, he'd committed his scholarship, all that. And I said, but you don't have to go if you don't want to. Right? Because I just it needed to be his thing. And so um, again, I've screwed up along the way, but I've really tried to help them figure these things out on their own the best I I could.
SPEAKER_03:What um oh, it's that's it's so I love that you said that. Um I wanna I want to switch it to you though, brother. I want to go back and learn about Jason. What was like what was life like growing up for you? And um talk about the impact that mom and dad had on you now that you reflect now that you're a dad.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so the the beginning of my story is that I was adopted, um, five days old as an infant. Um the one request that my my birth mom had for me was that I went to a Catholic family. And I only say that because I just simply know that that was God's plan for me, because that request got me to my parents. Um it's still a central part of my life, but I want to be crystal clear. Like, I don't care what anybody's background or faith is, it's like, no, I'm uh we're called to love our neighbors, right? And and uh, you know, not our neighbors that look like us, not our neighbors that go to the same church. No, our neighbors, period. And so it's it's important to me, but I I, you know, wherever comes from somebody's coming from, great. That's fine by me. But um, but yeah, so it's it's uh, you know, five days old. Um, I have an older sister. She was six when they when they got me. And um I I owe my life to being adopted. Like, I mean, people, you know, we can say, oh, like, you know, things could be so different. Like, no, I have proof. Things could be very different for me. You and I could not be talking right now. I could not have my family. Right? And so, um, so number one, and there's there's more to that story here in a minute, but I I've always my parents, one of the, I mean, they did so many things right, but one of the things they did, and I don't know how to how to share in a way that it's if somebody could easily replicate it, but on the one hand, I always knew that I was adopted, but on the other hand, it was never in a negative light, like, oh, this is our adopted son. Jay, no, I was there, I'm their son. So it's like it was there. It wasn't some big surprise, but it's like, man, they just handled that well. And and I'm thankful for that. But no, my parents are wonderful. Thankfully, I still have them both. Um, they're uh my mom was a teacher, my dad worked for the state uh as an investigator for a lot of those years, and and they put family first. Um, they set such an amazing example of what that looks like. And kind of like I was talking about earlier, of I'm grateful for my relationship with my kids at this point. Man, I'm 45 years old now, and I I love hanging out with my parents. I love having them around, like I love including them in everything possible. And so to me, that's a testament to their what they did in the early days, right? Of laying that foundation. And so um, they were always at my stuff, right? They were always at our games and activities, whatever that was, they were they were there. And so I'm super, super grateful for that. Um, grateful for my sister. She was a the best older sister you could have. She, you know, beat up on me when when necessary, when I deserved it, and and loved on me all the other times, right? And and um, we just had such an awesome relationship. And the reason why my mom uh they did adopt, they adopted was my mom had endometriosis and thought they were done. Well, surprise, surprise, six years later she got pregnant and had my younger brother. And so I'm in the middle, right? Older sister, younger brother, and couldn't ask for better siblings. Um and and yeah, and I'll tell you, as long as I can remember, and as I've gotten older, I I think it, I I know why, but as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a dad. Like that's something I thought about all the time.
SPEAKER_01:And and I just couldn't wait for that.
SPEAKER_02:And so, you know, growing up, so a little bit more on my adoption story, you know, as I um I was always grateful for it. Like it was never a negative thing. You know, did did some kids say crappy things sometimes growing up, sure, but like I I wouldn't have changed it for the world. And as you can imagine, as time went on, like there I would think about it differently or more or more heavily in different waves, you know, birthdays or holidays or graduations or whatever. Um but it was just kind of there, and it was more the biggest thing was I just wanted my birth mom to know that she made the right choice. Right? It's not like it's like, oh, I I don't like my family, I want to find my no, like I couldn't have been in a better situation, but I wanted her to know you you did the right thing.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And long story short, geez, it's probably it's been about it'll be four December's ago. No, so four years ago December through a series of events, I won't bore you with the details, I came to find out who my birth mother was, because it was a closed adoption. Okay, so but I came to find out who, and then through an agency reached out and it was like, no, no response, no response, no response. And finally they got a hold of her and she's like, Okay, I'm I'm open to this, but this is a lot. I I can we talk in a month? Like this, I need to process this, right? And and they're telling me this. I'm like, yeah, whatever she needs, of course. Right? So a month goes by, same thing. Hey, can I have another month? But long story short, um May of 22, um, we met in person.
SPEAKER_05:Wow.
SPEAKER_02:And had a half-sister I didn't know existed, and she was there. And long story short, that's been a part of my you know, most recent chapter is getting to know them, right? An awesome little, you know, nephew and niece as as part of all of this, and then um some extended family of of my birth moms, and and man, it's just we've just been building this new relationship. And so it's been um it's been amazing, and I'm super grateful for it. But I think tying that all back into the early days, even though I didn't maybe it wasn't conscious, but I I don't know, I just felt like, man, I've just been given this gift of a life, and I want to, I want to give that to my own kids one day, right? And I think that was a subconscious driver of wanting to be a dad, of of just knowing what I was given through my parents and all that kind of stuff. So, so yeah, so that's been a fun new chapter in my life is uh is getting to know my my birth family, getting, you know, hearing from my birth mom on my birthday who I thought about every birthday I can remember. Right. And and wanting to know, is she okay? Right? Is she does she has she and she's she is, she's awesome, right? It's been great to uh to get to know them and and and bring them into my my kids' lives and my parents' lives and all that kind of stuff. It's been really, really awesome.
SPEAKER_03:Tell me what was the driver uh to finally say, I'm reaching out, I gotta go get like what was the tipping point?
SPEAKER_02:I'll say to start, like it was initially, it was like what was holding me back was all the questions I was asking that I could not answer. Well, what if I reach out and this? Or what if we connect and that? And I finally came to this point where it's like the only thing I can control is if I take that next step of really pursuing this. And it just got to a point, uh it's it's it's just got to a point where it's like it's the right time, right? It's the right time. But then also it was, you know, again, how I came to know who she was, someone else had taken a step to reach out to me after I had started my journey. So it's kind of a combination of things lining up. But it was um really the first thing I did was like I just, you know, signing up for ancestry and and can somebody a distant cousin had connected there, and so just kind of taking these conversations when they came. Um, but at the end of the day, I had to realize the only thing I can control is taking that next step and whatever is meant to be will be. Right. Truly, I I think at one point I I think I did, I genuinely just laid it out before God, like God, I'll gonna do my, I'm gonna do my piece, whatever's meant to be will be. And it just started to unfold. And so I um, yeah, man, and I I wouldn't change it for the world. And I know not every reunion is like mine has been. I I'm respectful of that. I it all happened. If it would have happened 10 years earlier, it still would have been great, but I was different at 10 years ago, or 14 years ago at this point, right? So I I believe it happened when it was all again, all everything, all the pieces were coming together in terms of who I was, who they were, their place in life at that point, my place in life at that point. It just all came together and it's been awesome.
SPEAKER_03:Wow. That's um that's that's cool. I mean, I can only imagine the um I can't imagine what like your adopted mom would have said, or how she felt the emotions up, you know, and then the range of emotions that your birth mom felt. Um, but then also just then I also can imagine how the happiness she must have felt, your birth mom thinking, like, man, I look at what a guy's got got a stuff together. He's you know, it's like almost like a weight off her shoulders, I'd bet.
SPEAKER_02:No, and I appreciate that. And yeah, trust me, I I tried to make sure I was communicating with my parents as much as I could. And um, because again, to me, it was never this is a replacement. It's like, no, this is an addition. And I'll never forget, um, you know, it was when we had the dates uh set to meet, and I just went over to my parents and we're sitting on their back patio, and just I said, How are you guys doing with all this? And my daddy's like, it's good, you know. And and my mom's like, uh, good. I said, Okay, little hesitation there. What's going on? And I've shared this, you know. I actually for a little while had a podcast talking to people who are adopted, so I've talked about this publicly, so I'm not I'm not sharing anything out of school, but she said, I'm just worried about sharing you. And I said, I thank you for being honest. I said, Let me be crystal clear. This is not something that's like, hey, mom, not gonna make it home for Christmas because I'm going with my birth family. Like I'm like, mom, you you you've known me my whole life, right? You know, it's 40 plus years at this point. Like I'm yours, period. This is an addition, right? This is not a subtraction or anything like that. I said, so please, just if as we move through this, if you have any concerns or you're feeling a certain way, please, let's talk about it. Please, that's all I can ask is that we usually bring it up and we talk through it. And it's been it's been great. You know, early on, my birth mom and and my uh my half sister, she they they came to a big barbecue at our house with all of my family and extended family.
unknown:Wow.
SPEAKER_02:And it was again, it there it was it was tough on the front end, but it was in a good way of like my birth mom has always wanted to be so respectful of my family. She's like, I don't, excuse me, I don't want to step on anybody's toes or whatever. And and you know, towards the end of the night, my mom went over to her and she just started talking to her and she's like, I'm so glad to meet you. And it just kind of calmed everything, right? And they had a great conversation and and all this stuff. And so it's just um it's been good, but I was super focused on please, let's communicate, let's talk through this. I don't want anybody to feel left out or anything like that. It's just let's talk through it. And it's been it's been great. But again, I I give my parents credit on that because on the found, I mean, they told me since I was a little kid, if you ever want to find your birth family, we'll help you. Like I always knew they were they were supporting that.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And so it was um, yeah, I couldn't be more grateful for how both sides have handled it.
SPEAKER_03:So cool. What um if you think about like the values that your mom dad taught you growing up that you've applied now in your own life as a dad, tell me what comes to mind.
SPEAKER_02:Family first. I just family first, period. And you know, I had one grandparent my whole life. All the other three passed away, right, prior to me being born. And my my grandmother set that tone. Right? She she retired. So my mom stayed home when they got me for I think about a year, and my mom was gonna go back to um work. And my grandmother said, I'm I'm gonna retire and I'll watch him.
unknown:Right.
SPEAKER_02:And I know not everybody has that opportunity, I get that, but that was a choice my grandmother was able to make. So it's just like, yeah, I'd come home and she was there, you know, from school, she's there, right? Like she was such a critical part of my life, and and and so just seeing them live that. And look, my parents, they could have easily gone a different way. My mom's dad died suddenly when she was 13. My dad's dad died when he was four, and his stepdad died when he was nine. Right? So they could have easily gone another path, right? And and man, they just always um did what they they could to to be there with us and for us. Um so yeah, family first. Um just just trying to to just be a good person in the world, right? I learned a lot about, I mean, let's be honest, you know, teachers and people working for the state are not doing it for the money. Right? So just that idea of how can you serve those around you, what does that look like? Being conscious of the greater good and the greater community. And I'm not saying that, you know, it's perfect all the time, right? We all make mistakes, but just I just feel like they place that in us of, you know, yeah, think about the bigger picture here. You know, what does this look like? How what you know, what what how can how can we help those that can't help themselves? You know, and so that was um a big thing that I've tried to to carry on. Um, faith, right? My dad is not Catholic, but he was very supportive of my mom and what she wanted for us. And so that was a big thing, is our, you know, just our again, not perfect, but going to church and making that a part of our lives and and and whatnot. So really connecting with people. And especially like I I love, you know, again, if we go to visit, like they're zeroed in on us. Right? Like they, again, they they want to see us, they want to to connect with all of us. My siblings and and our kids now, and you know, their grandkids, and and they just want to be a part of it, you know. So, um, you know, again, being at our stuff, pri how they prioritize things, right? And even his grandparents, you know, they're they can't make it to everything, but they man, they make it to a lot. Right? They make it to a lot. So I I've already planned out, like, man, I can't wait to be a grandparent to go to you know, to my grandkids' stuff, right? So so those are just a couple things that come to mind that um I I hope I've I've carried on.
SPEAKER_03:What's been the hardest part for you as a dad in your journey?
SPEAKER_01:Um the times I've I've j made bad mistakes. Um and it's it's it's uh just acknowledging it.
SPEAKER_02:Um trust me, I've apologized to my kids many, many times, right, for when I I didn't do things the right way. Um but man, this is one of these things where I don't know why or how it was there necessarily, but even when they were younger, I would, I would think, how is this interaction going to impact them 20 years down the road? How is this interaction going to impact our relationship 20 years down the road? And so it's probably when how I reacted or responded was not going to positively fuel those things 20 years down the road. That's when I I would I I I hated that. Yeah, I I would hate that part of it.
SPEAKER_01:Um but also man, like I it's it's been my favorite role in my life.
SPEAKER_02:And so I I will say this it's been a lot more easy and good than the hard stuff. The hard stuff's been there. But I've just I've just relished in it, man. I've I'm so grateful for it.
SPEAKER_03:Is I mean again, feel feel free to comfort what you feel sharing, Jason, but like is there Of what one of the hard things that you went through is that is something you feel comfortable sharing that you really impacted you that maybe might speak to another dad at home?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, um there's times like I've lost my temper. And the sad part was it had nothing to do with them. It had nothing to do with them or what they and now again, I'm they may have made a mistake or they may have done something wrong. I'm not saying that it was for no reason, but the volume uh or the the level it got to was a hundred percent on me. I was dealing with something else, I was frustrated with something else, I was scared about something else that I allowed to impact how I handled that situation with them, and and that bums me out because they that's not on them, yeah, right? That and and it it is you know, there's there's very little in this world we can control, but that's one of them, right? And so that's that's something that I've had to look at, and um it's weird because on the one hand, I believe there are zero accidents, everything happens the way it's supposed to happen, but on the other hand, it's like, damn, I could have handled that better. I should have handled that better. And um another thing too that I'll I'll share, it's um sometimes I think it took us took me too long to realize I I need to parent my son and my older daughter differently. Just yeah, you know, I in those or again, they were very almost you know, under two years apart, right? It's just like, well, wait, this works so well over here. Why isn't it working over here? And it's it's not my daughter's fault. She is who she is, right? She came into the world the way she is, which I I wouldn't change a thing, but I was trying to force certain ways of of parenting, and just I I just I wish I would have realized that sooner. That there's no, we've gotta, you know, and by the way, I'm not saying like a whole different set of rules and all what I'm but no, how we choose to engage is up to us, right? Just like relationship building. Go ahead. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_03:I was gonna say just like relationship building in life, you gotta meet people where they are, and 100%, you know, and I think I would be willing to bet your your journey as a salesperson, sales leader, sales trainer, like I mean, I that's why I'm obsessed with the word curiosity. When we ask the right questions, you learn how to connect the people. And sometimes we we want to be right or we want to convince or fix, you know, guilty, guilty, guilty. Um, but sometimes you slow down and just realize maybe I'll maybe asking a question differently and then just shutting the F up and letting someone else talk and maybe like, hmm, wow, I didn't know that perspective was there.
SPEAKER_02:100%. And and that's where, again, I'm grateful for the long-term outcome. Like, I she's just, I mean, I love spending time with her with all my kids, of course. And it's just like she and I, man, we can have some of the deepest and uh most stern conversations in a great way. We can really debate with each other, we can really challenge each other in a in a very good and positive way. So I'm thankful for for where it came out. Um, but yeah, I just wish I would have taken a step back and just said, all right, yeah, how could I approach this differently based on how she's wired? Right? What might that look like? And and um, yeah, so that's something that that's been on my mind over the years for sure.
SPEAKER_00:Hi, this is Kathy Ortone. I'm the director of talent management at CoWorks Staffing Services. Co-Works is one of the largest staffing firms in the United States with operations in all 50 states, over 60,000 temporary field talent. We are devoted to the success and growth of our employees and our clients. We are celebrating our 50th anniversary this year and are proud to have a legacy of treating people the right way, doing the right things, supporting our communities, and putting field talent first. Our team places candidates in administrative, flight industrial, call center, distribution, third-party logistics positions with additional opportunities to our executive search, creative staffing, and luxury beauty and fragrance divisions. We had the pleasure of having Casey Jacobs deliver a female presentation and training workshop to our case team this year. And I have to tell you, it was exceptional. Casey is funny, he is engaging, and he is approachable. What sets Casey apart is that he really walks the walk. He lives what he teaches. He spent time with us outside of the workshop, really taking the time to get to know our people. He shared information about his personal life, about his family, creating the foundation for authentic relationships. One of the core elements of the strategy he teaches. Casey left our teams feeling motivated, energized, and armed with the actionable tools to transform their sales performance. I cannot recommend Casey enough to any or any organization looking to grow and unlock their full potential. If you want to learn more about coworkstaffing, please visit our website at coworkstaffing.com. Now let's get back to the podcast.
SPEAKER_03:Well, the world could use more of you and your daughter being able to actually disagree and still love each other and and not just shut down and well, I can't, I can't learn. It's like that's that was what I wish the world we could we could take what your family's doing and sprinkle it on everybody else in the world because um you know, with the divide and social media and media, and you know, it's like you only watch one channel, that's your views. And you only want you want if all your friends are this way, well, and and I that's why I love you when you've said about your your faith opinion. Like I I'm a super, super spiritual dude. I don't go to church. It's not because I'm like massively against it. I just like my journey of faith is just it is what it is, and um hasn't been because I've like avoided church, but like I I have um I've seen the other side of faith sometimes where you like I've had you know where you have like very um sort of look for it can be um we cosh how I say this because I don't want to offend anybody, but it's sometimes it can be very hypocritical. You have one view and and a lot of judgment, a lot of judgment, you know, and like to me, that's not my my my spirituality. Well, you just said love your love neighbor. Like it doesn't matter what they look like, if if they're nice, and just because they don't believe everything I believe or do anything I believe doesn't mean they're a bad person.
SPEAKER_05:Yep.
SPEAKER_03:You know, and um so I love that you you guys are you said that because that definitely spoke to me.
SPEAKER_02:Um you're hitting it on the head with that a couple things. It's that's funny. With I do it with all of my kids, but especially my older daughter, like sometimes she can get very locked in on a certain idea or viewpoint. Now, again, to her credit, she's done a lot of research, she's really dug in on it. But even if I agree with what she's saying, sometimes I will try to talk on the other side to keep her her mind open, right? And I'll share with her, I'll say, listen, sweetie, this isn't about changing your mind based on who you're talking to. But if you ever get to a point where you're like, I'm not even gonna talk to them because they view things differently, I said, you then become part of the problem.
unknown:Right?
SPEAKER_02:So I said, I don't care how securely you believe what you believe on something, that's beautiful. I'm all for that. But always be open to listening to the other side, right? Just just listen. And so we talk a lot about that, but also what you've shared. And again, let me be crystal clear. I make a thousand mistakes a day, okay? But something that really has broken my heart over the last, you know, 10 years is the behavior of the Christian community.
SPEAKER_01:I I'm just gonna say it that broadly, right?
SPEAKER_02:And what again, if we I've had this conversation a lot lately, if we simply behaved in a way that lined up with what we claim to believe, it'd be a different world. And somebody, I forget who, but somebody challenged me with this question years ago of when you're in, especially in a tough spot, asking, what would love require of me in this situation? Right? And again, not always easy to implement, but every time I've asked myself that question, the answer is a hundred percent clear. Because loving somebody can can take a million different forms, no question. Right? But it's like, man, what would that look like? And and I've been very fortunate. I keep trying to think how many years now, probably coming up on 20 years now. I've known a gentleman who is he became my mentor. Um, and I don't say this lightly, but truly the most Christ-like person I know. Not perfect, but as a husband, father, member of his community, all this stuff, he lives it, right? And I think it was early 2020 when things were kind of starting to hit the fan in a lot of different ways. I'm talking to him, just looking for some guidance. And by the way, let me let me just make a side comment. If you're a younger father, meaning with younger kids, a newer father, if you can find someone that's further down the road in that journey that has outcomes that you would like to to go after, talk to them. Right? Talk to them. Right. This my mentor is is is one of you know a handful of people that have really helped me shape my way and you know, just seen anyway. So that was very helpful. But at that point in early 2020, we're talking about stuff, and he said, Listen, there's a lot going on right now that that really does need to be addressed and and and and and figured out. He said, But here's my guidance for you. He said, number one, look after your own heart first. Because God wants our heart, and if if God has our heart, everything else will flow from that, right? He said, number two, look after the hearts of your family. Are you guiding them in the right ways? Are you helping them focus on the right things? And he said, number three, look at your immediate circle of influence and what can you do for them? He said, man, again, if all of us focused on those three things alone, what would the world look like? Right? And so so I I just want to comment on that because I have to keep reminding myself that when I get sad or or or stressed or frustrated about how things are, I I try as quickly as possible to bring it back. Okay, what can I control?
SPEAKER_05:Yep.
SPEAKER_02:And I I pray for that every day. God, please work through me today. Please help me be your light and love in the world.
SPEAKER_04:Love it.
SPEAKER_02:Right? What does that look like? And again, that can look like a million different things. And trust me, I screw it up often. But we're all flawed humans. Go ahead, Casey. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_03:I'll say we're all flawed humans.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, 100%.
SPEAKER_03:We have that, we all have that in common. And um my uh even like you know, I'm reading a have you heard about the book called Sister Jean? Or you know Sister Jean is?
SPEAKER_02:Yes, I haven't read it, but I've heard of it vaguely.
SPEAKER_03:So sister, so I was lucky enough to have got him Seth Davis on my podcast a couple weeks ago. Seth Davis is a uh very well-known um CBS March Madness. Well, uh great author, worked for Sports Illustrated for years. Um we did a little uh he's gonna read my book right now, and uh, and his book, Sister Jean, is about uh Sister Jean who's at Loyola, Chicago, who's a hundred and like 103 years old.
SPEAKER_02:Okay.
SPEAKER_03:She still she still does um I mean, I literally I've I've just started the book and I'm already like, oh my god, I can't wait to do it. And one of the one of the biggest things that she talked about out of the out of the gate is belief and and the power of belief. And I think that's something that um I would talk to my kids a lot about. I learned the power of that word at age 41. I wish I would learned it in like you know, nothing against my mom or dad. They did so many amazing things. And but the word believe is I think such an undervalued word that just immediately when you find something to believe in, and you can whether you and we all have gifts, so like find something, and then it gives you confidence, yes, conviction. And um I I so I don't know. I think when you were saying that, I I looked, I loaned over and I saw Sister Gene. I'm like, I gotta give her some love here because she's obviously you know, big Catholic family as well. And um, and I think you know, I think when you said something segment, it also made me think of this this phrase that came to me, maybe call it spiritually or call it just whatever, but it I had this fit phrase I created that I said, Imagine if we all listened to learn versus listen to persuade, what would happen?
unknown:Yep.
SPEAKER_03:And one of the best pieces of I best pieces of advice Jason I got in my life was at age like 23, a leader asked me, Do you want to be right or do you want to get what you want?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And I was the naive 23-year-old. I said, I want both. He's like, You can't, you gotta pick one. And I'm so grateful how I was wired through my parents, through God, through coaches, that I was like, I want to get what I want, which is means I'm checking my ego.
SPEAKER_04:Yep.
SPEAKER_03:And um, keeping that thing in check, because we as dads, one of the things I was hopeful six almost seven years ago when I created this podcast was whether you're owning your own consulting company like we both do, or you're the lead play by play guy for the Kraken, or you're this this or that, or CEO, it doesn't I with all due respect, dads, it doesn't matter. It does not matter. It's cool what you do, but it doesn't matter. What matters is that we've all had the same job. We all have dad, and we all have the same capabilities. We all are have the ability to listen, we all have ability to show up, we all have ability to apologize, which I love that you've done. Great gift to teach your kids. I've done episodes on that. Power vulnerability. Um, so uh I don't know, you you said a lot there that really spoke to me, man. And um uh I think there's I want to be sensitive with time here because I know we try to keep these episodes to to a little under an hour. As you reflect um on the adoption journey and now meeting birth mom and then raising kids and being raised by parents who adopted you who loved you, love you like you're their own. Like what's some of the biggest takeaways that have helped you be like maybe a better version of yourself as a dad as you reflect back?
SPEAKER_02:One of the biggest things that came about when I was, you know, going down the path of meeting. Um, and it's funny, this I'm getting some more memories back as we're talking about this kind of what what pushed things to get there, and then I'll, you know, and I'll reflect here. But um there was a show, television show called This Is Us, and I don't know if you saw it or remember it, but it was yeah, so that they had the triplets and one passed away, and they ended up adopting you know a child at the hospital and all this, and awesome, awesome show. And um there was an episode, it's been over for a while, so spoiler alert, I'm sorry if somebody hasn't seen it. But there was an episode where the adopted son kind of goes on this journey to learn more about his birth mom because he thought one thing and come to find out she actually lived a long life, all this stuff, and at the end he has this vision of like being right with her, like you know, they're talking face to face, him as an adult, her as a and and some things were said and all this, and it ends, and I lose it. Like I'm watching it with my wife, and I lose it. Now, a side note, I cry all the time. That's something my kids rip me about. Hey, me too. Yeah, it's probably a 20 to 1 ratio in terms of how much I cry compared to my lovely bride. But so, so it's not that the crying was was out of sorts, it's it was the volume, and like I'm like, okay. And what I came to realize, which reflecting, I wish I would have been more open to this, my whole life. When anybody ever asked me about my adoption, my answer was, I'm so grateful for it. I'm so thankful for it. Wouldn't change a thing, which was all true. What I finally was honest about at 41, 42 years old was and it's really hard. I never was willing to say that because I didn't want to disrespect, this is my belief on it, right? I didn't want to disrespect anybody that was involved in it, whether it was my family, my birth, anybody, but I had to kind of finally be honest, like there are some challenges to this uh that I had not addressed, that I was not willing to even acknowledge. And so as I look back, I think that's something because again we are only gonna be the the quality of the dad and the husband that we are is directly tied to who we are as an individual. And and so if we've got some unresolved things or if we've got some challenges we have not worked through, it will impact those roles. And I I looking back, again, it's I I'm I'm mixed because uh again, nothing happens by accident, so it's like everything's shaken out, but I guess that would be my guidance, knowing that I can't do it over, that would be my guidance is work on yourself, especially if there's some stuff in there, right? Be the best individual you can be so that you can serve your wife, your family, your kids, your community at a higher level.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_02:Sadly, I I I mean, you know, we all know the the the self-work has just shot through the roof over the years, but sadly sometimes I feel like it falls short at just doing it for themselves. Right? Like I just need to work on me for me, and I need to be happy and all that. Okay, my thing is no, let's be the best we are capable of being so that we can serve those around us at a higher level. Right? I have a a very good friend now that that started as a client of mine that he's on the front end of this journey of being a dad. He and his wife just had their baby, you know, a handful of months ago. And he and I were talking the other day, and I as I'm you know answering his questions and sharing ideas, I'm like, literally, thank God I've asked some of these questions 15 years ago. Thank God I've tried to be the best I and again, I screw up every day. This is I I've not gotten it right all the time, but because I had tried to do that, I now can show up better for him, right? Which will impact his relationship with his son now and future kids if they have more, right? And which will impact their communities. So I guess just um as I reflect, yeah, that's that would be a piece of guidance is what can you do to be the best version of yourself so that you can serve those around you at a higher level?
SPEAKER_03:You're sending the elevator back down, my man. Yep. I think that's what we all can do. And we all have we all have the fact that we're flawed 100%. But uh I think if there's ways to be a little bit more curious in life, uh apologize a little bit more, smile a little bit more, even cry a little bit more. Like I'm I am I love you said that. I my kids make fun of me all the time in a good way, and I don't get sense, you know. I think it's I'd rather them see that that one day they they when they are gonna have their big crowd, like, hey, if dad's always on this, what why can't I do it? You know? Um 100%. If you were to um summarize uh in in a couple of words or themes, Jason, that's that really helped you and your wife um you know create and and coach and mentor and love uh you know, three great three great kids. What are what tell me what are some um some themes or values that have come to mind, maybe that you haven't shared yet?
SPEAKER_02:Let them fail in uh in a safe environment so that when they get in an unsafe environment, they know how to handle themselves. Make the hard decisions now that will help them be great members of their society when they're older, right? Self-sufficient adults. And this is something I shared with that that friend of mine last time. It's not necessarily about quantity of time, but quality. Right? When you are with them, what does that look like? Even if it's not as much time as you would like, right? Because yeah, you can spend a lot of time with kids, but if you're staring at your phone, right? If you're if you're distracted, what does it matter? So don't put the pressure on yourself of being there all the time. I see that a lot with younger dads now. They feel like they've got to be there for everything. If you can, cool, but if not, it's okay.
SPEAKER_01:Like five minutes running around the house might be the highlight of their day. Right?
SPEAKER_02:So just you know, and and just just love like just loving them. And I know that's super broad, but man, just loving them, which includes discipline, which includes accountability, which includes saying no, which includes if they're you know redirecting, if they're going down the wrong path, whatever that may be. But um, but yeah, just just loving on them to the best of your ability and and work on yourself so that you can serve them at a higher level.
SPEAKER_03:Love it, ma'am. It's gold. I think what I love you said there too is like it it's love doesn't always be the yes, man. It's like, no. I don't believe we're lucky with with with good, well-behaved, well-balanced kids that's created through hard work and effort. And you know, I used to joke with I used to find this kind of funny when I was younger, younger dad, I'd have somebody say, Man, you're so lucky. You're you you can go to dinner, your kids are so well behaved. I'm like, Do you think it's luck? Yeah, you know, it's it's if you let your kid act like a complete maniac at home at dinner table, what what do you think? That's not your that's not their fault, it's your fault.
SPEAKER_02:Yep.
SPEAKER_03:And you are just like in sales and leadership, I talk about you are what you allow, we're we are what we allow as parents.
SPEAKER_02:Yep, 100%. And and that's um, you know, it's hard being a parent.
SPEAKER_01:It's effing hard being a great parent.
SPEAKER_02:Right? Because you have to make tough decisions, right? You have to sacrifice, you have to do things that aren't popular at times, right? So just but at the end of the day, we can only lead in accordance with with our level of of where we're at as a person. So what what can we do to continually raise that up and and uh and again serve them at a higher at a higher level?
SPEAKER_03:So good, man. Talk to us about um how you got into the wide world of of selling and and uh let's I want to learn more about your work as a um sales leadership coach. I think we we share similar careers, and I actually you know what's funny, man. I've actually had more people on that do exactly what I do because I'm in a mindset of abundance.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And I want to learn more, and and let's make sure that others learn more about you and and hopefully the right person listened to this thing and you get a you you get someone who hires you out of it. That would be advanced.
SPEAKER_02:Well, that's very sweet. I I appreciate that. Real quick, my wife and I are my first job was in San Francisco, where we both needed to work just to survive, right? It's pricey now, but it was pricey back then. And we had set out a goal that that we wanted her to be able to stay home when we started having kids. And I had a great friend who from time to time would say, Hey, come come work for me. And he was in healthcare, and I was like, nah, no, no. Well, she gets pregnant, and I'm like, man, maybe that's it. So I talked to him again, and and and it worked out. He they moved us to Chicago, and that was my first sales job. I was terrible, but I liked it. Right? Terrible, but I liked it. So, long story short, um that's what literally got me into it, is it was out of necessity. And my wife has been able to stay home ever since. I thank God for that. So, at any rate, I'm in there, you know, with them in Chicago. They move us to Indiana, we're there, moved to another company in that took us to Charlotte. And I just wanted to get better, I wanted to improve. So, real quick, true story, I signed up for an eight-week uh Dale Carnegie course in sales. About a month before that was supposed to start. I get a call. They said, Hey, the bulk of that class was one company, they've pulled out, we're shutting the class down. Call my boss. Here's what happened. Have anything else? He's like, Well, I keep hearing about this Sandler on the radio. Long story short, call the two Sandler guys at the time, connect with Jim Dunn, and he, you know, I started working with him, paying out of my own pocket when I couldn't afford it. Jim can attest to that. And was a client for 12 years and wanted to make a shift professionally. I was at that company that took us to Charlotte that entire 12 years. So six years in their sales program, six years in their sales leadership program, which the company paid for that when I got into the leadership program, which I'm super grateful for. And just wanted to make a shift. So I looked at the business side of it. Hey, what does it look like to partner with Sandler, buy a franchise from them? And yeah, made the jump in December of uh of 19 and four four months before COVID, right? Good timing. Um, but man, it's been a dream. It has been a dream. The Sandler network, all the great people I get to learn from, all the awesome individuals and companies I've been able to work with. So, so yeah, so it's I've loved it. Um little over 20 years now in sales sales leadership. I work anywhere, I've worked with individuals, you know, startups, you know, mid-sized companies up to billion-dollar organizations, and everywhere in between. And so I I love it. And I believe none of us can reach our full potential without outside help, myself included.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So I love working with organizations that are looking for every edge possible to be successful, right? Even companies that I've worked with, they've been pretty successful before we come together.
unknown:Right?
SPEAKER_02:But they're just like I I relate it to Tom Brady. Tom Brady never said, ah, five Super Bowls is enough. That's good. No, he never stopped improving. Right. And that's the those are the types of people and companies I love working with. So um, yeah, so it's been a it's been a dream, and uh, I'm grateful for the clients I've had and have now. And and uh yeah, so uh, you know, not nothing industry specific. It's you know, B2B is what I've typically done. But yeah, every uh every organization out there that I've worked with, it's been it's been a dream, and uh I'm thankful for it for sure.
SPEAKER_03:So good. If people want to learn more about you or connect with you, um Jace, tell me what's the best way they can find you.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so um I'll just you know, my my website is go.sandler.com forward slash C C for like Kwood Consulting. So that's my website. Uh email jason.kwood c A Y W O O D at Sandler.com. Uh you can find me Jason Kwood on LinkedIn. And uh and yeah, those are good places to uh to start. But um no, I appreciate you, appreciate you putting that out there.
SPEAKER_03:You bet, man. We'll make sure that's all connected and linked in the show notes. Um you know what I love about having a podcast for dads is one, um I come with a blank sheet of paper, I leave with the full page of notes. Um I don't like doing a lot of prep before we talk to somebody because it steals a lot of the curiosity away and doesn't allow me to listen. And I'm sure people are home like, yeah, but you didn't ask this, you didn't ask that. Probably right. I'm sorry if I didn't. So message me, send me a note on Instagram or send me a note on LinkedIn if there's a question I didn't ask, you'd like to ask, or reach out to Jason directly and ask him. But um, I think what's it what it does, it just it focuses on slowing down and realize that I think it's it's more of when we when we shift our mindset of to curiosity versus judgment, like Ted Lasso says, or be you know, or shapes our mindset to curiosity versus like trying to convince, so much more freeing, everybody. And it it you don't have to be right. Um and you learn, I learned something from every dad I talk to. So I want to say, I'm not thank you for your time. Um, I will say now it's time to go on what I call a lightning round, Jason. Which I am going to show you the negative hits of taking too many hits in college, not bong hits, but football hits. Your job is to answer these questions as quickly as you can, and my job is to hopefully get a giggle out of you. All right, true or false? You won the CrossFit games in 2018. False. Okay. True or false, you have a the Utah State CrossFit record for most weighted uh deadlift pull-ups.
SPEAKER_02:Uh false.
SPEAKER_03:Okay. Um, true or false. Um, you rumor has it that you are gonna become the next Boise State Bronco for the mascot.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. False.
SPEAKER_03:Okay. Last book you read was Um The One Thing. Okay. Uh favorite song in your phone that might surprise all your clients.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, um, I'm forgetting the title, but it is an Ariana Grande song. Having uh having two daughters, you know, they they expose me to good stuff. And I'll add on top of that, I am a Taylor Swift nut. I am such a huge fan of Oh, you would not believe. I'm very impressed with her.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I I like Swifty. I also like Justin Timberlake.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_03:Timberlake is the man. And um, yeah, he's freaking so good at what he does. Uh, favorite 80s comedy movie of all time is?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, um, Christmas Vacation.
SPEAKER_03:Solid, solid choice. Um, if I was to come to your house for dinner tonight, what would we have?
SPEAKER_02:Uh, we're having pot roasts tonight. Actually, in veggie.
SPEAKER_03:Sounds good. Uh, if you were going on vacation right now, you and your wife, sorry, kids, you're staying home. Where are you taking your wife?
SPEAKER_02:Um, Hawaii.
SPEAKER_03:Okay. Um, if there was to be a book written about your life, tell me the title. Keep going. Okay, keep going. Now keep going is killing it. Hulu, Netflix, they're all trying to argue to make sure that this they get this movie out. You're now the casting director. Who's gonna start Jason Kwood in this critically acclaimed hit new movie?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, Channing Tatum, of course. There you go.
SPEAKER_03:Okay, and then last and most important question, tell me two words that would describe your wife.
SPEAKER_02:Absolutely amazing.
SPEAKER_03:Boom. Lightning round's over. We both giggled. Um, my questions make zero sense as normally do. Uh, I'm gonna give you the win just because you're a nicer guy than me. And um man, I appreciate, I so appreciate everything you've shared with us today. I hope, I hope there's another the the call God, call universe, call whatever, but there's the the right dad or the right person to listen to this that heard Jason's story that can just share the episode. There's so much gold in what you shared today about just being open, being vulnerable, being honest, being open, like the way you communicate, I think is such a gift that hopefully someone receives. Um, because I I think it's just really awesome how you how you've shared what your your journey and openly shared it, even though you and I have only met twice. So I'm very, very grateful for you and your time. And I wish you and your family um blessings for in 2025 as we finish this year off, man. But I I I'm grateful our paths across, and I hope that we get a chance to meet in person in the future. That'd be that'd be awesome.
SPEAKER_02:No, I love it. And truly, thank you for all you're doing. Um, and you know, similar prayer from my side that uh every episode you do finds someone. And I know it has and I know it will. And uh, and yeah, just all the dads out there are soon to be dads. Just just keep going, keep doing your thing.
SPEAKER_03:That's right, man. All right, appreciate your time, man. Have a great week.
SPEAKER_02:Thanks, man. You too. Take care.