The Quarterback DadCast

How A Heart Attack Reordered My Priorities And Made Me A Better Father - Blaise Bussell

• Casey Jacox • Season 6 • Episode 323

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A great career means little if you’re not here to enjoy it. This conversation with KellyMitchell’s president, Blaise Bussell, cuts through the noise to what matters most: leading at home, protecting your health, and building a life your kids will remember. Blaise opens up about the values forged in childhood by a gritty mom and a humble coach-dad, the joy and nerves of raising a 13-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son, and the choice to put family first—even when work says otherwise. From car-ride questions that spark real talks to celebrating his daughter’s faith decision on her terms, the small moments become the story.

Then comes the jolt: a heart attack with 98% blockage that arrived without a dramatic warning, just jaw pain, nausea, and a stubborn belief it was stress. Blaise walks us through the late-night symptoms, the “go straight to the hospital” call, fast-placed stents, and the quieter recovery that followed. He traded max-effort workouts for sustainable strength, dialed in medication, and learned to live in a safer training zone. The most important lesson may surprise you: LP(a), a hereditary lipoprotein rarely included in standard cholesterol tests. If heart disease runs in your family, you need to ask for it. Fit doesn’t mean safe when your genes stack the deck.

We also get practical about priorities. Blaise shares a simple framework—faith, me, we, family, work—that helps him make cleaner decisions, from delaying projects to catch a child’s tournament to protecting date nights and bedtime rituals. On the career side, he explains how aligning with a company’s culture and protecting your personal brand can turn hard pivots into new momentum, and he offers a look at how KellyMitchell blends IT staffing with solutions to serve innovative enterprises.

If you’re a parent who wants more presence, better health, and resilient leadership at home and at work, this one’s for you. Listen, share with a friend who needs the LP(a) nudge, and tell us the one habit you’ll change this week. If the conversation helps, please follow, rate, and leave a review—it helps more families find the show.

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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!

SPEAKER_02:

Everybody's quarterback. Welcome to the first one. Another year of fantastic episode stage. And uh he was we reconnected at the conference and uh he shared some news to do, which we'll get into eventually. Um president of Kelly Mitchell. He's a beta guy, he's a moccasin, we're gonna learn all about. He's a former Smith Barney guy, he's a former K-Force guy, which is where our path once crossed. I worked for him. Everybody next to me, he was one of the best bosses I worked for because he was an amazing listener. I'll give him some love. And and and Blaze was the first, the first gentleman I ever worked with that was actually younger than me, um, which sometimes that's a struggle for me, but I loved it. And um I got great memories of us working together. But with all that said, really, that's not why we're having him on. We're having him on to learn how Blaze, the dad's working harder to become that ultimate quarterback and leader is home. And also he's gonna have a little bit of a health message to send to all of us dads to make sure we're taking care of ourselves. But that without further ado, Mr. Basell, welcome to the quarterback dad cast.

SPEAKER_01:

Thanks, Case. It's I'm glad we're finally able to do this and uh looking forward to a call. We we like to call our um Florida Southern's a school, it's a robust school of 1800 students, and we call ourselves the striking moccasins.

SPEAKER_02:

They love it.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's good. Shout out to Lakeland, Florida. When's the last people?

SPEAKER_02:

When's the last time you've had the a shout-out to the moccasins?

SPEAKER_01:

Uh, you know, I actually uh they just got a new president there not too long ago. And one of the cooler things that I've ever received, I got um, you know, when I moved into my role with Kelly Mitchell, this is going back three or four months ago, I got something in the mail, just handwritten note from uh my my school, and it was from one of the one of the um development guys from the business school. Ironically, I was a psych major, not a business major, but uh he wrote he wrote to me a congratulate uh congratulations note, and then uh in it was like, hey, the president would love to talk to you just to hear, you know, about what happened. And they included a picture of my junior year um team, which we were the I think we still have the best record in the history of the men's soccer program. I was a bench warmer that year, not good enough. Um but but yeah, it was cool that they like they reached out and they're just trying to get uh you know kind of ideas about their school. I thought it'd be a fundraising call and actually spent like a good hour uh just shooting the shit with the president of the school, a young guy trying to, you know, do some cool stuff for our our university. And so I thought it was pretty neat story. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Relationships, yeah, you know, for sure. How are people doing it the right way? Well, we always start out each episode with gratitude. So tell me, what are you most grateful for as a dad today?

SPEAKER_01:

You know, I I've listened to your podcast for you know a good amount of time and was thinking about this question, and I I'm gonna go. Something that I don't do very often is talk about uh spirituality a little bit on it because just yesterday, um my daughter, she's 13, she plays a lot of soccer, and so she's out at the fields four to five days a week, plus also on the weekends with the games and things like that. And you know, she always has this ever-growing conflict with youth night at church and her FC Dallas team that she plays for, having practice. And every time she asks, dad's the same thing like, no, you got this commitment, like it's during season, you know, you can go when it's off season, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But for whatever reason, she was super adamant yesterday to to miss practice. And, you know, my wife called me and she's like, You just you need to not be the dad you normally are with this and like listen to her. Something's up. You know, I'm at work. And uh, so I went home, I took her to church, I let her skip, and then I pick her up. And uh, you know, it's just normal pickup. I she's gone a 20, 30 times or whatever. And I was like, How was it? And she's like, It was good. What do you guys do? Well, we worship, we did this, and then you know, they uh they had us all in the in the main area, two or three hundred kids of us, and then they asked, you know, they they talked to us about the message, and then they asked us like who wants to give your life to Jesus, and she's like, There were like 10 kids that stood, and I was one of them. And I was just like, Whoa, you know, like this isn't something I push on my kids, and you know, and what we you know believe in our house is you don't you have kind of have to make that decision on your own, and you know, we give you the information and it's yours to make something I made when I was her age, and it's just cool that I'm gonna lean back on that going forward. That she'll she'll always be, you know, have that moment that she can remember. So that was just yesterday. And uh pretty rad thing. And you know, she's she's on fire, man. So I'm excited about that.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, I well, I guess what I now I love that well, I guess what I love most about that story is um it's her journey, not yours. Right. You know, and I think too often I've seen it uh at you know, a time when I was a younger dad, I I found like you want success about your kids. You want to let them have it better than than you had it. And sometimes we forget that like sometimes the struggles they go through the adversity, that's where the growth's gonna happen. But like you could have easily said, no, you're going to practice because you're gonna go pro and you if you miss, you're screwed. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

No, I I was gonna say we should have our Uncle Rico drinking game for anyone listening to this. Like you have to take a sip of you know, whatever you're drinking every time you say it or I say it or something like that. But I certainly feel like that with her sometimes, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

But I love I love that she um she came to her own um her own journey and it, you know, and you can have both, you can have balance. And I and you know, we're we're our we just we don't go to church, not because it's like against it. I'm just I'm a bit, but I am really, really spiritual dude. Um look at a scripture every morning, do gratitude work every morning. Um we just don't we just don't go to organized church, you know. And um I think what's what's awesome about faith is everyone's faith is their faith. And I don't think one's better than the other. And uh, you know, sometimes like hold a religious game, but sometimes frustrates me because like we see people are arguing over stuff. It's like, well, how do we you don't know? It's like you've had a Zoom meeting with God. Yeah, yeah, for sure. I know. But um all right, what I'm most grateful for is I made a decision uh this week. Uh I was in Northern California in the Chico State area. Nice, yeah. And uh my rider, my son, he's 19, he's he plays golf at a school called Southern Oregon. He uh he had his second college tournament this week. And they and they play they play on Mondays and Tuesdays. And we went the the previous week, me and Carrie went together and I had so much fun. And just the being able to be there at these events, and you know, not every parent is lucky or fortunate to to to be there. Right. And I I told I had I had uh uh tickets booked to go to this one, and that but I was feeling like stressed. I was like, there's no way I can go because I got I started this new coaching project with a client, and it's like a ton of leaders, and I I I that was a story I was telling myself, and I said, you know what, I'm not gonna regret this in 10 years. Yeah. So I told Kara, I'm like, I'm going. And I'm gonna delay the proy the project a week. And um that's what's gonna happen. And so I literally called I called the people, I said, Hey, I'm really sorry, but I'm gonna have to delay your project one. And they're like, Oh my god, and you're dude. So not only were they actually this was not the goal, but they were actually inspired by me doing this because I was putting family in front of work, right? Right. And I almost like gave them blessing or grace to do it, which that was again not not the goal. And I had such a great time, and so I'm so grateful that I did that. And you know, it's like if if I if I lose out on something, you know. But to me, as a dad who's almost 50, man, that was like one of the best decisions I've made in a long time, and I was had an absolute blast watching him compete and uh it was fun.

SPEAKER_01:

So yeah, that's so cool. I and I if I'm not mistaken, you saw an eagle putt, too. Or from I might have dropped an up bomb too. And I just yeah, no, I saw that. I mean, if there was ever a moment, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, well, yeah, that's right. Um, bring me inside the the Basel huddle. Um, talk about how you and your your lovely bride met and talk about what uh members of the team are up to right now.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah. Vita is what we call each other. So my wife is from um she's from South America. I think when we were originally talking, and you're like, hey, can you come on my podcast and talk about what it's like to be uh married to a Latin woman? I was like, dude, that screams trap. You know, like there's no way. Um no, it uh Monica is her name. That's um and we met. Um I had a bachelor pad, I would say. Uh, you know, we were uh three guys renting a house in La Jolla, California. Um, to one of my best friends and somebody that became a really close friend of mine. Uh, we used to have uh Sunday afternoons a lot, or you know, kind of as many times as possible, we'd have like you know, cookouts in the backyard and like one of those houses that you don't lock, you know, people stored surfboards there. You know, it's just kind of a fun little situation. But yeah, she just came in to my backyard one day, literally, you know, one of my friends was dating uh uh another girl from Paraguay, and you know, she was like, Oh, come on, you gotta come over. And um I met her. I remember, you know, thinking I was super curious, you know, like to use your uh your boy Ted Lasso, you know, and just like who is this person? Asked her a hundred questions, you know, probably a lot of them were dumb, at least 85 of them. Um, but eventually, you know, she's like, This guy, this is what she'll she'll say like he's just not gonna let up. So uh that's how we met. And um I think we started dating about eight months later. And uh fun fact about us, we were uh, I think engaged in three months and married in three months and one week or something like that. And that you know, that was 16 years ago, I think. So yeah, it's been the rest is history, but yeah, she's uh she's great. And and who else is in the family? Yeah, uh, so two two kids. They got a nice little gap between them. Um, so I mentioned my daughter, uh, she's 13. McKinley is her name. And uh uh, and then we uh six years later had our son uh Sawyer. So he is seven and he's in second grade, so eighths and sevenths. We got a fun little little crew. I like the gap because you know I know just you know, yours are pretty close, right? So it it as much as you know, you we want to hurry through parenting and all that stuff, we're getting a nice long run without having like four kids to raise in that in that period of time. So um, yeah, love them to death. They're both very different. And um, you know, but but as my dad said, when my when my son was born, he's like, Congratulations, you have the million-dollar family. Everybody wants a boy and a girl. You know, like yeah, I know you you're in that camp. And um, so yeah, we're blessed in that sense.

SPEAKER_02:

Very cool. So McKinley's into soccer. What's Sawyer up to these days?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, he doesn't play any video games. He's a perfect child. He doesn't watch any, you know, no Roblox, none of that kind of stuff. Yeah, so that's always a challenge. But now he uh, you know, I I played soccer, obviously, and uh, so that's just something that we love, or at least dad does, and then I introduced him and Sor's um into competitive soccer, but he also plays basketball too. Um, and he's gonna have to shoot like a dime a dozen to keep playing because he was blessed with my height, and uh so we'll see where that goes. But uh yeah, he's having fun with it right now.

SPEAKER_02:

Hey, tell him so my Riley, my daughter, she's 5'4. She's she's really yeah, five's four. She actually just committed to play at Central where I played football.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that is the coolest thing. When I saw that, yeah, because I know you know you and I always talk about D2 athletes are the best tires, you know. Um jump on their shoulder. Yeah, absolutely, 100%.

SPEAKER_02:

So that was definitely a Disney day when that when that happened. So yeah, amen. Good stuff. Well, um you've you've listened to shows before, so you probably know where I'm going. I always love to learn because it's sometimes I these are questions I didn't ask when we worked together, but but take me back to what was life like growing up for you and and talk about the impact mom and dad on mom and dad had on you from a values perspective now that you're a dad.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah. So um, yeah. My my dad didn't, you know, to me, I've everyone that um he knows a lot of young men my age because he spent his whole career as coach. And um ever since I was born, you know, my I you know that what was that movie um Big Fish, you know, where like the dad did all the crazy things and the son didn't believe him for all those years, like Ewan McGregor, I think Eric was in it. And um, that was kind of my dad in a nutshell. Like he when I was born, he was a professional uh motocross racer in the 70s, uh, traveled around the East Coast. They didn't fly around or anything. So he he drove a semi-truck during the week, and then him and his boys would jump in a van and tow some dirt bikes to like New York or somewhere in Canada. They do a circuit down in Florida. Once in a while, he'll tell me stories about it that only I know, none of my siblings do, and it's really fun stuff. Um but yeah, he did that for a while. He was a um he played with um Mark Howe, Gordy Howe's son. He played hockey with him, dabbled in pro soccer, just like everything he did. He was he was um he was excellent at. And then ultimately growing up, he was a high school coach um for Birmingham Groves, which is a pretty good school in Michigan, known for uh athletics. So, you know, in in my eyes, my dad was my hero, right? Because he had a I mean, I wrote there was like a poster in our garage with him on a dirt bike, you know. Like, so um the reality, he wasn't around as much though, either. Like he loved me and it was all in when he was home. Uh, but he was a busy guy, you know, with coaching and practices, and and that was throughout my whole childhood. He eventually became a college soccer coach, and I had the um the benefit of getting a play from my dad in college when he was an assistant coach at the school, which was kind of a cool that was the only time he really ever coached me, was all the way to col you know, here's here's this fantastic soccer coach. So I would spent a ton of time uh with my mom because she, you know, I was the firstborn. So, you know, all the time we spent together, there were a few years where it was just her and I constantly, and we'll talk about that. But, you know, as far as the uh and I I've got so many fun memories. We grew up in a log cabin in Michigan on three acres of land. We had another three acres down the road, dirt road. I had a little dirt bike, like you didn't have to worry about anything until I was 12, and then we moved to Florida eventually into a gated community, and I had to get rid of the bike. But uh, you know, but as far as the values, you know, when I think about um my mom, it's definitely grit. And I think if if any of my siblings will tell you that I have um my mom's kind of a no BS person, she's very she'll share her opinion, she has no problem doing that. And I I um I am mostly her in my my personality. Uh my dad is uh one of the most humble, thoughtful, caring men that I've ever met in my life, almost to a point where I get mad at him sometimes for not like stepping up in a moment. And uh, but a a fun story about him, I was thinking of all the stuff he did, but probably the wildest thing he ever did. He when I was about 13, 14, I remember this because Nirvana was like out at this point, you know, all your Seattle grunge was out in the world, and you know, music's probably the best couple years of music back then, early 90s. Um my dad coached an adult soccer team. So he goes to practice and and um you know he comes home, it's 8:30, and there's like this dude with my dad. And of course, my mom's like, Who's this guy? You know, like uh probably 26 years old. His name was uh Americana, and he'd just come to the US from Portugal and was a fantastic soccer player. And my dad started talking to him after, and he's like, Where do you live? And he's like, uh, you know, and he just kind of skirted around the question. But he covered that the guy's living in a shelter in in you know my hometown. So the natural thing is let's let's just bring him home, you know. So yeah, and like, you know, we didn't have an extra bedroom, so I was like, he put him in the room with me. This guy, like, you know, we didn't speak a lot of you know English, so you know, mostly Portuguese, but like he and I stayed up like listening to Nirvana together and we had this music, and he stayed with us for two weeks until my dad was able to find him a semi-pro like contract with some team in Orlando, and uh, you know, that's just him in a nutshell, like just just never worries about anything like that kind of stuff. So that it was a I forgot about that story until I was thinking about it recently.

SPEAKER_02:

So yeah. Tell me, where do you think your mom's grit comes from?

SPEAKER_01:

I don't it's hard because she she also is the oldest of of five kids. You know, my grandfather was a um, you know, he sold cars for a living. Um legend is he sold um he sold Cadillacs to Mr. Kelly from Kelly Services back in the day. That's what um but you know he was a he was a tough, you know, your 50s, you know, type of grand uh or type of dad, strict house. And I think my mom had to survive that a little bit, um, you know, candidly at at that time. And and I think that made her tough in a in a way that, you know, not a not everyone, not everyone gets that. But I think that's where you know that happened. There was a later time in our life where she had to use that. Um, you know, not everything was great financially for us at one point. And um she realized that she was gonna have to enter the workforce. Um, and she ended up, I was the first of in my family to graduate college. Uh I I think my it is either my mom might have been second, and uh right be or maybe my sister was second, but she went back to Florida Southern where I went and sat in the same classrooms with 20-year-old kids while she was in her 40s to get her teaching degree. And uh she's taught kindergarten, gosh, I don't even know, case like 30 years now, she's still doing it today, um, in into her 70s, you know, and and uh I think that just goes to like she loves what she does, she likes to work, you know, as long as it's for the children and educating them. So um I think that's probably when I think about like any success I've had in um in my profession, it you know, it's it's probably come down to inheriting some of that from her. Yeah. Now, do we have siblings, remind me? Yeah, four. So there's two sets of us. So there's myself, and then um I have a a sister. We're very scattered across the country. So I'm in Dallas now, and I have a sister in New York that's a few years younger than me. And then then uh I think when I was 12, my brother was born, and uh he lives in in my hometown of Lakeland, and then a couple years after my uh my sister was born. So the fun fact there's four of us, uh one was planned. So you know, and it wasn't me because I was born six months after the wedding. Uh and and I figured it out when I was like 12 and I called a family meeting, you know, to discuss it. But yeah, no, we're the four of us are pretty uh tight, uh you know, candidly case when I was I when my little sister, the youngest, was around in like in diaper, I'm 15, 16 years old. I'm in high school. Last thing I want to do is be around like my little siblings. I want to be out with my buddy, so I didn't have much of a relationship, but now um my sit my kid's sister and I are that's one of my strongest sibling relationships, actually, in adulthood. So it's it's cool that we've been blessed to be able to still hang together and just saw each other this summer. So that's awesome. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. So Grit, you talked about humility, caring, thoughtfulness. Um if you were to describe, you know, a couple of the values, maybe through a story of how you learned those that have impacted you maybe as a dad or in your professional world, tell me what comes to mind.

SPEAKER_01:

I think in my professional world, um not everything is gone like you know, my wife and I got uh engaged to that God bless the broken road, you know, song. And I think professionally grit has had to be something that um I've I've had to he key in on because not everything has gone up to plan. You know, I I I spent seven years at a really great firm that, you know, in a lot of ways helped change our industry. And I thought I might be there forever. And, you know, some things and ultimately is my decision to leave there, but um, you know, it's just like you kind of start over again. And that's where I found K Force. And and um, you know, I had a good amount of time at K Force and loved working with you. And, you know, it's funny you say like boss, because I I was never your boss. Um at, you know, uh all I was your support if you needed it, you know, at the time you needed it. And and uh I'll never forget I'm having to, you know, I don't know if everyone knows most of our industry knows how what a successful career you had, but you were a legend in our company. And when the decision was made that Casey was gonna report to me, it was like imposter syndrome hits pretty quick. Like, how am I gonna like what am I gonna do to somebody who's at this high? You know, like like, come on. But you were um you were impressive to me that you you allowed me to to be that person for you at that at that time and and to support you, because most people probably like to your point, younger, you know, maybe a hot shot attitude or something like, you know, which could be fair at that time for sure. Um, but you taught me a lot about humility just in the way you um operated around me, not not to stroke your ego or anything, but it was just but yeah, and then you know ultimately K Force came to an end, and that wasn't my call. You know, I I've I've been very vocal about that. And you know, but so what do you do in that moment? You kind of think like, how am I gonna pick myself up? You got a family, you just got laid off, taken care of throughout the whole thing, but you know, and that was the probably the biggest gift I was ever given was the ability to openly ask myself questions around where do I want to go, who do I want to align myself to? And and what I leaned on was um, you know, what's my personal brand? And I think this goes back to like my parents' values and all those things. Like, and then with you know, the more you grow in your career, um it your brand becomes so important to who you are and and who you want to attach yourself. So I was lucky enough to get introduced by a mutual friend of ours, Anne Marie, uh, to Kelly Mitchell. And the rest is history. I mean, I remember sitting down with my wife looking at YouTube videos of the company, some of their marketing stuff. I was like, this feels like us. It's not too, you know, uh heavy. Everybody seems pretty light, you know, but they're they seem aggressive, they're all sharp, they're you know, young organization, but motivated. So yeah, the rest is history. Uh, and it's been such a blessing to have gone through those little trials to get to where you know we're at now.

SPEAKER_02:

So yeah, grit's a grit's a great skill to have. Um grits are a great skill to have. I know you and I joke, but kind of weren't like as we're recording earlier, is you know the the division two athlete always people have a chip on their shoulder, and I think that translates well in the staffing industry, which we can talk about here in a little bit too. But um, I think grit as a dad is actually important too, because being a dad, there's not a manual when the kids leave the hospital hospital. Right. You know, there's no, it's like, wait a minute. So I'm I'm good to go now, I can leave and I'm I'm a dad now. And like, yep, go get them. Like, well, I don't know how to drive. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What do I what do I do? Well, you figure it out. I think like that's why I think I'm obsessed with the word curiosity as you mentioned earlier, is because I think when you're curious, you're not afraid to ask for help, which requires vulnerability. I think humility, which is I appreciate you saying that. I think humility is such a something I work on with my kids to work on with me. And I I'm grateful for my parents and coaches and people in my life that have helped instill that humility in me. And I don't ever try that. So one of the reasons why what drove me at K Force was um one year our our our our former CEO, when the first one of the first years I had give a speech at our presence club, he says, Man, you had a great year, but I'm like, cool. Next year, man, you had a you had a better year lot this year than you did last year, but you're more humble. And when he told me that, it's like I never wanted him to not say that. And I wanted my goal was to have him tell me that each and every year. And it's kind of like, you know, soccer, but you're only as good as your defense, you're only as good as your goalie, and like football, like I I can't throw the ball to myself. Right. I need linemen, I need great teammates, I need people to help me. So um I think those are great skills that as we slow down as dads, I think about how can we infuse these into our own kids through story? Because I think I'm a big believer that stories sell, slides don't always help people. And these moments you can think about something slowing down to have these conversations. Your kids was like, Oh my god, I totally forgot about that, you know, and to be able to share them with your kids is fun. Um what is the hardest part about being a working dad for you?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I mean, I I know it's absolutely patience, you know, coming coming home um is is a is a tricky thing. You know, I early on pre-COVID, I was traveling a lot and as a as a dad. And with that, the you know, obviously it sucks to be gone from your kids. I and you know, you do miss them. You also get a lot of free time too. And and so, you know, when when I I don't know that oh since I've been a parent, even now, like I'm just now, you know, I moved to Dallas last year. I was working fairly remote, but would travel and I got to spend a lot of time at home. But just now am I starting to get back into the normal life of, you know, coming into an office, working a full day, and then going home, and then you know, automatically you're gone to the next thing. And and um having time to spend 20 minutes to play with the game. I I'm not good at that candidly. Like I get a lot of one-on-one time and good conversation with my kids as I'm driving them to the event the different things. And I'm very adamant about doing that part because that's been I think the what's made up for some of the play. If if we're not like playing in the backyard throwing a ball, at least we're in the car talking to each other, and you know, um I used to ask how was their day, and you get you know the answer you get to that, right? And I'm like, fine, you know, it's good. Yeah, or you know, that that's all. But I my wife sent me something the other day, like, ask your kids what made them laugh today. And so I'm trying to ask questions like that to get and and sometimes like today, I'll I I have this thing where both my kids go train at this facility at the exact same time, uh right next to each other. And it's it's a really cool moment where the three of us are just in the car and we all have this banter back and forth. So that I've had to replace that because you know you're exhausted. You come home long, long day. You got up super early to try to do some things before work for yourself. And then kids are like either you have a choice between iPad, allowing them to have your phone, or you know, actually having to do something yourself with your children. And it's hard, it's hard to it's well, let's put it this way, it's really easy to give them that electronic device. Yeah. You know, and I don't always win that battle. In fact, I'm probably have a losing record, you know, but we try to limit it with time and things like that, of course.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, that's those are uh those are choices. It's kind of like you, you you won't regret doing that. It's kind of like and I tell people how find me the last time you've actually worked out and exercise, and you're like, God dang, I wish I didn't do that. Right, right. You feel better when you do it. It's sometimes it's just the start that stops us from doing it. It's we tell ourselves a story, oh, I'm too busy, I gotta do this, I gotta do that. But I mean, I remember sometimes even when I was first started my own business in this in the COVID run when I didn't even know what I was starting. I remember one time like rally would have been ninth grade, eighth grade, and maybe something like seventh grade, whatever. And um I'm like, screw it, I canceled a meeting, I said we're gonna go ride a bike down to the river. Nice. Don't regret it. And it's like I didn't lose my business, I didn't lose a client, I didn't go out of but sometimes we wrap ourselves around these stories that we like I'm not and now I'm not trying to encourage people to be reckless and just quit your job and go by Slurpees all day. Right, right. There's a there's having balance and being a being intentional about your time. Um and I always tell people too, like, you don't need a podcast to have these types of conversations with your buddies. You could slow down and meet meet one for coffee, meet one for early breakfast one morning to have these types of conversations.

SPEAKER_00:

Hello, everybody. My name's Craig Coe, and I'm the senior vice president of relationship management for Beeline. Uh uh for more than 20 years, we've been helping Fortune 1000 companies drive a competitive advantage with their external workforce. Uh-huh. In fact, Beeline's history of first-to-market innovations has become today's industry standards. Uh I get asked all the time, uh, what did Casey do for your organization?

unknown:

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00:

And I say this: it's simple. The guy Flat Out gets it, relationships matter.

unknown:

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00:

His down-to-earth presentation, his real-world experience applied to every area of our business. In fact, his book, Win the Relationship and Not the Deal, has become required reading for all new members of the Global Relationship Management Team. If you'd like to know more about me or about Beeline, please reach out to me on LinkedIn. And if you don't know Casey Jacks, go to caseyjcox.com and learn more about how he can help your organization. Now, let's get back to today's episode.

SPEAKER_02:

So I want to transition because you and I we we reconnected last November, and we were I was there that there are our friends at TechServe, which unfortunately I won't be there this year because Ryder has a a tournament, and I'm not gonna miss it. Good move. Yeah, and uh shout out to Susan and and Sean for and for understanding it from TechServe, everybody. Um but you you you shared some news with me that kind of stopped me in my tracks. And so for what what you feel comfortable sharing, I think I think your story, my hope, is gonna inspire dad to maybe do that physical, maybe do that health check. So maybe what walk walk our audience through what happened.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah. Uh well, I not to delay, I had a heart attack uh last year. So uh one week from today will be my one-year anniversary of um being shocked by you know by something because we all, you know, we grow up thinking that you know we're fairly invincible and and young, and especially when you're doing a lot of exercise or you know, but even even if you're not, you just kind of like that's not gonna happen to me. Um but yeah, I I um you know, just to kind of like tell the story, and and part of the you know, you asked me to do this in at that moment, and you know, you said to me something that I won't regret won't uh forget, which is it plays you can save a life. And um so you know, that's been that was it was really good guilt selling, Casey. Just so you know, great great job. I held on to that, you know, for another nine months, you know. So we had three more heart attacks. Yeah, yeah, exactly. More stress. Yeah, I had to wait for my blood pressure to go down. So um, no, so you know, I I think to back up a little bit, like I I um you know, I've had different exercise, but yeah, and it's funny, I forgot that this is not on video. So I I you know I lost like 12 pounds before I got I was getting ready for this podcast. So uh I'm kidding. I'm kidding. But um I wanted to look healthy after, you know, heart attack. I don't know. Well, yeah, we're trying. But um anyway, yeah, I I um obviously college athlete, I was a little bit after college, but then I, you know, I started running marathons. I did, you know, five, I think, and not always fast, but like could do it, you know, and and um so you never really think about that. And um, you know, I got in my 40s. I'm I remember when I first started at Kelly Mitchell, there was like one night that my blood pressure spiked up to like wild numbers, like 180 over 130 or something. You just and I went to the clinic that night and they ran a bunch of EKGs on me, like all the stuff when I was 40 years old. This is going back like eight uh almost nine years ago, and um they did a full sweep and like like it's not that. So I was like, do I have a panic attack? Because I've never done that before. And then um last and then you know, even like three years ago or so, I started going to these subscription health doctors that you know will go over um, you know, like your vitals and your blood work. And and one of them actually said, you know, here's your here's your numbers. And I did have a you know, borderline high cholesterol, uh decent like blood pressure 140 over 90 or something like that. So um, but they gave me a piece of paper that was like your risk score, and it said like your risk of a heart attack in the next 10 years is like 4%. So if I see that, yeah, four. Like, and I, you know, so I that's not even like in my in my mind. So uh, you know, like the last last year, one of my really close fellow Theta Kai brothers and um striking moccasin buddies had a 50th birthday, and uh we all went to Europe to um you know England for Premier League games and uh as a group, you know, just some soccer guys and kind of geeking out over the that. And I remember um on a Sunday, I'm in I'm in the uh Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which is an amazing place, and uh I felt like death. And you know, it was one of those things. Like obviously we were out drinking the night before, we're in England, this guy's trip, but the punishment did not fit the crime. And I almost left and I felt nauseous and all the you know, all the all the things, couldn't like no way I could have a sip of alcohol. Like, and eventually it got better. I got through the game next next. This is now a Monday, I fly home to um to Dallas. So my week goes on, not think nothing of it. And um the following Sunday, so what is that, the 22nd of September last year? I go to bed. I probably had like two or three glasses of wine, maybe a bottle if I'm being honest. I don't know. Uh, you know. Uh and I woke up at two in the morning and it was just wild case. Like I there is, you know, my jaw was starting to like I could feel chest pains, but it wasn't like knocking me out or anything like that. It was just my jaw was hurting, my feet were hurting a little bit. Um, I ended up throwing up twice, and all this is going down. And the worst part, my six-year-old, who occasionally will wake up in the middle of the night and run downstairs, he happens to come down in the middle of all this. So I got my son and my wife like up trying to figure out, and we're debating, like, because again, 4% is in my mind that like, should we call an ambulance? Like, do we really want like the neighbor? And like, it's a panic attack. Like, I've never I must be stressed out at work or something like that. And um luckily, years ago, uh I don't know why, but we had a prescription for 1500 milligram aspirin, and Monica's like, hey, why don't you just take this? Like, obviously, if it's and that calmed me down, and then everything kind of like stopped, and I went to bed that night. Like, we were just like, Okay, I'll go to the clinic in the morning, I'll get it checked out. So I actually got up, got on my morning meeting for work, like, you know, like just started the day, and I thought I'll do these two conference calls and then I'll head into the clinic, and they'll tell me the same thing they told me when I was 40. And um they uh I put my symptoms in, like as I was making my appointment, and I got a phone call right away. So I got off the conference call, they called and they said they said, We can't help you, you need to go straight to the hospital right now. So again, bad decision number five here. I think I decided to drive myself to the hospital. I'm like, hey, babe, I'll be home by like one or two. And uh, long story short, um, I got to the hospital and they started doing some tests on me, and they're like, You you had an event. Um, and it's fairly significant, and we're gonna keep you here. And um while I was laying, you know, they had all me strapped into everything. And by now, like, you know, my wife is on her way to the hospital. My dad just found out he miraculously like raced to the airport and got there by that night from Florida to Dallas. And uh I'm sitting there in the, you know, with all the stuff tied to me, and I felt my heart like I kind of just go for a second. And it and then it came back. And then all of a sudden an alarm goes off and this thing prints out, and the the all of us, you know, I was supposed to get a uh procedure, a stent the next day. They moved the guy off, and you know, the that shout out to to um Texas Health and those doctors, uh, because they they moved me in and by 4 p.m. I had a stent because I was 98% blocked. Wow. Uh in one and the other the other one was 75%. So, you know, I just crazy. Uh that that moment.

SPEAKER_02:

So that so how long now are you in in the hospital during this journey?

SPEAKER_01:

So I, you know, believe it or not, like it's it's not, you know, a lot of people are like, Do you have a scar on your chest? Like, no, they go in through your wrist and it's the littlest dot for like three weeks, and then you it's like it never was there. Modern medicine is amazing. Um, but yeah, I was I was there. Um I believe they did that stent that night. And then uh I want to say the next day I was out by like the afternoon. I don't think I stayed there two nights, and there was enough, like, you know, because of the kidneys and things like that. They they ended up doing a second stent the uh two or three weeks later once my um everything was able to heal from some of the like dye that they put in your body and and all of those things. But uh yeah, that was that was the you know event that changed my life, no question. Um and it's it's been kind of a a recovery because and that was part of the reason I didn't want to talk about this yet, because it's been a journey to get to like even where I'm at today, where I feel like now I know how to live with that versus you know trying to figure it out. When I saw you, it was that November, like 60 days out, I didn't know what was going on still at that point.

SPEAKER_02:

So t tell me the biggest biggest I don't want to think it's a lesson, but it's the biggest thing you've learned about this journey.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh yeah, I mean it's different, it's different things. So let me let me talk about prevention a little bit because I think this if there's one message that I want to get across, and everyone has different opinions, but this one's pretty the more I look into it. I I think it's a miss in our, you know, I I think we have a great healthcare system, sure, but I think this is part is a miss. And that's this little thing called LP little A. And and understanding what that is, um, you know, when we do HDL, LDL, cholesterol screenings, that's kind of your standard screening that every guy, every dad gets. Everyone does. Um the LP little A is actually an a third um lipoprotein or whatever it is. You know, it's like it's it's in the cholesterol family, if you will. And the problem with this one is it's entirely hereditary and there's no cure for it at this point. There's apparently things in testing and you know that could reduce it by 90%. Hopefully, this isn't an issue for any of our children because certainly mine will have um, you know, and I inherit my uncle died at my age of a heart attack on a you know, racetrack where he was his son was racing little drag racing cars, and he just Uncle Chuck died that day, you know. I remember that. But he, you know, so we we have we're really good at heart disease in our family. And um this this test, though, most doctors, you don't get it unless you ask for it. And I think it's important for people to know because uh, as I was consulting with a friend of mine that's a physician after all this stuff happened, he asked me about it. And he was going through my phone on my labs, and he's like, Blaze, look, like normal LP little A is a 30. Like you're you're you're in the 90s on this. So it's not like, and and if you've ever remember the show The Biggest Loser, and that thing was on Netflix recently. Like that that trainer, the guy, had almost died. Like he was he was in a coma for a while, fittest guy out there, but that doesn't matter, like you gotta know what you're dealing with when it comes to that, and and take preventative mess uh measures and have a really good relationship with a cardiologist if that is high for you. So uh it's just something that I I you know I feel like every person should know what that is. Um pro tip though, um some of that preventative tests and things like that, I I would uh take a real good look at your life insurance policy before you go out and do that tomorrow, you know, because that can affect it quite a bit. And I had a friend of mine that that, you know, his his uh the quote that he got, and then he got in a test for actually it was for colon cancer, but you know, something was not right there. So his his rates went up quadrupled because he hadn't had it yet. So, but that's yeah, that's I mean, that's just like from a prevention standpoint, you know. I would I was on some meds that I was not taking, you know, like just for cholesterol and high blood, I I was not consistent enough. Now I don't miss, you know, and yeah, I people have different opinions on like meds, but I I just like I'm really like living, you know, so I'm just gonna listen to what you know people are telling me. So um, but yeah, it's tough, man. I I think the uh you know, as a dad though, the hardest thing for me is like every time I drive by that hospital, which is on our way to practice, so we go by it, you know, seven, eight times a week. My little seven-year-old is like, Dad, are you going back there anytime soon? And like stuff like that. It's just brutal. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So but it's um, you know, I'm I'm hoping that through it they learn like you know how to how I've adapted to all that, you know. I think case the hardest part was they they told me the doctor was like, You get this because you're CrossFit. And I had done, I never hit 500. I think it was like 470 F45 workouts, like in um, and so you know, you're you're ramping up your heart rate, you're getting up to like 165, 170 even, and uh red line. I love living there. I like that you just see adrenaline rush that you get off out of that. And uh my doctor for the last year said I don't want your heart rate over 150. And it's just like, man, like it's not in our nature to yeah, like, you know, go drive 30 miles an hour on a highway, you know. So that's but I figured it out, you know, like I've learned like, okay, well, strength training, you can still do that and live in the 140s and do a lot of things, and your kids will look up to like you, like you talk about fitness and all that kind of stuff. So anyway, that's just uh that's what it is.

SPEAKER_02:

So well, I I I c I applaud your your vulnerability by sharing this because um like sometimes these are things we keep private to ourselves. But I think as I shared you a year ago, I think these are the stories that I mean I've never heard what LP little A is. I've heard of I've heard of the HDL LDL when I had, you know, I I get a physical every year, I get blood work. Um I have I have kidney issues. I have to kind of keep an eye on my family. So I just I actually just went to the kidney doctor, got he said, No, you're you're good, dude. Um I decided it'd be fun to get I decided it'd be fun to get gout, which I don't recommend to anybody. It is awful, but I I take something called Alparanol now and it's like stabilizing and I feel like I'm in a better spot, but um, which is also hereditary. Um but I think health is important, and if you're one of these dads listening that's like, oh, I like going to the doctor, well, how would you like being dead? Yeah, yeah. And and I think we have to stop being selfish because we're lazy. Hate to call us our our our out dads, but go to the freaking doctor, go get a physical, go get your um prostate checked if you're go get a colonoscopy if you're if you're above 40, 45, whatever the age maybe. It's like you won't regret it. Right. Peace of mind. I think if these are not lessons we uh other dads can learn from, but also it's like we're showing our kids what's the right thing to do. Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

100%. Yeah, yeah, that's good. I think it's brought us closer as a as a family too, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

So are there things you have to watch now going forward, like to prevent any potential future episodes?

SPEAKER_01:

Uh I mean, kind of all of it. Yeah, I mean, it's hard because you know, it it's there are certain things that you know, people, and I'm not gonna get into every little detail, but like you you have to make choices too about, you know, like they one of the things they told me like the nutritionist came in, it was like the old 19, let's call it 2000s nutritional guide to like all red meat is evil, and you know, like don't, you know, and it and there's certain things like I'm sorry, I'm not I'm not gonna stop eating healthy what I deem to be low-fat red meat, because that is like now do I try to eat it every meal? No, but like little little things like that, you've got to make a choice on like living to live and and living not to die on on things, and and that's where I'm doing my my best to balance that out, you know, but it's not like I have not figured that out either, right? Like, because you know, I I still have I still have a beer with friends, you know, like I'm not gonna I you know, I thought when I first got out of there, I was like, I'm never having a sip of alcohol again for the rest of my life. I don't think that's realistic, like, you know, but but it also I also don't I could have to look at that really seriously and say, like, okay, what what is a good like balance between what you should be doing for your health and longevity of your children, like seeing your grandkids, and um, you know, and in a lot of ways, like I joke with, you know, there's a gym I go to right now, and like every gym I go to, I tell them, like, I had a heart attack, and then they look at you like you're about to die. Like it so they they watch you like a hawk, everything. And I just told my trainer the other day, I was like, I guarantee you I have a healthier heart than everyone in this gym right now. So I'm fine, like just leave me alone, I'll be good. You know, like maybe not in 10 years because of that, you know, that unless they come up with a cure, but at least we know we monitor and we go from there. And I think Peter Atia, that guy, you know, he's like a Huberman lab buddy, you know, he he always says, I'm confident I will die with heart disease, not from it. And that's my goal, you know, is uh to uh just keep it regulated enough.

SPEAKER_02:

So how can people again they just ask for a little P L P little A?

SPEAKER_01:

You said Yeah, it's just L P little A. There's a bunch of like articles. You can just Google it. There's there's stuff from the uh American Heart Association's got some good things about it, but mostly more than anything, next time you get a screening, like demand it that you get your LPA test too. Because and you know, like especially if you have heart disease in your family. Like if you if you don't, there's a good chance, you know, maybe 80% chance, I think Atia said, because he did a whole uh like three-hour thing on on this, but there's a good chance you don't have, but if if you have heart disease in your family, you need to go get that checked out. So it's good.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it's good to know everybody. Hopefully, uh we can all learn from Blaze and Blaze's journey. And um, I got a page full of notes here. Yeah. Thank you for sharing. Um, as we get ready to kind of to wrap up, I wanna I wanna like think through um want to kind of go back to values and then but also kind of bring in what you talked about the health. But you did like kind of summarize what we talked about that dads can take from our episode on on ways they can maybe improve their leadership skills, a dad, um be a more present dad, maybe look at their health better. Like, what would you say is like the the top three things people can take from our specifically dads can take from our episode today?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, you know what? I'm gonna shout out one of our old bosses, uh, Mr. Neil. Yeah, yeah. You know what? Because he said something to me, Case, that I think translates to everything in life. I don't I know you talked to him before on here, but um the you know, there him and he and his wife have a a way, a decision-making structure, I think about how they look at life. And it's uh faith, me, we, family work. And and I I've like I when Jeffrey told me that it it hit me so, and I think I think it was actually they were talking to Monica and I on one of the trips about that. And um, if you look at it, you know, this whole conversation started with faith and you know, and like where where you stand with that, because I think that's really important as a baseline, no matter what you know, it is. And then, you know, you got to take care of yourself, obviously. Uh, you gotta have strong ties and a great marriage. And I've been lucky enough to have a you know, wife that challenges me to be a great husband and for us to have a great marriage and do all the things, and she's very vocal about that. Um and then, you know, our family, our nucleus, and like how do we, you know, I I love my my sister and her husband, they're they have four kids, and they're like core four, like everything they say, it gets annoying over time. Like, you know, the core four, you know, nothing penetrates the core four. But yeah, like their family unit and having like that tie tight, like we're gonna take care of each other and then um then work, you know, after all that, because if you've got all those things, like you you've done a lot of that of how you prioritize things, and you know, we've made a bunch of sacrifices as a family moving around the country for different, different roles. And as I I tell my wife, like, there aren't a lot of IT staffing firms, over$100 million, you know, that are in our industry. And so that means that, you know, a president job at one of those is a lot like being an NFL coach. You go to where the job needs you to be if you want that job. And and so we've had to prioritize that, but do it in a way that still can work for our family. You know, like when we moved from San Diego a year ago, it no doubt that had some stress to do, you know, moving from paradise to Dallas. But Dallas has grown on us and it's it's it's created a lot of opportunities for our kids, you know, and and uh so yeah, like looking at those things and that that decision matrix, I think is something that I I've I've loved that Jeffrey gave to us.

SPEAKER_02:

Shout out Jeffrey Neal. That's gold, man. That's it's really well said. And I think again, these are actionable things that dads, if you're listening, hopefully if you if you missed it, hit the rewind button, get out a piece of paper, take some notes. Um because that's that's what we're the goal is of these episodes, is just learn from each other. Regardless, if you're a president of a staffing consulting company like Blazes, you're a janitor, you're a barista, you're a pro athlete, it don't matter. Your kids don't care. Dads, I love that we we think we do our ego, our male ego said, Yeah, but I'm a this and I'm an author. Your kids they could give two shits. Yeah, they really could. And I don't mean to be disrespectful to myself or anybody else, but just like what's important is is the relationships we're formed with the kids. Where how we show up, those conversations in the car, you know, passing up 10 more minutes of work for go play catch, go rebound, go play soccer in the background, go watch a movie together, play a game, teach them cribbage. It's that's what they're gonna remember, and that's what you'll remember as that versus the one more work meeting or one more phone call you could have made. Are you a cribbage player? I love cribbage.

SPEAKER_01:

No kidding. Yeah, good to know.

SPEAKER_02:

Get it on. Yeah, me and Carrie play all the time.

SPEAKER_01:

Really? Interesting. Yeah, cool.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay, um, so Kelly Mitchell. Um people might be thinking, Kelly Mitchell, it's it's not Paul Mitchell. You do not sell hair product like that also soon.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah, we divested that.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Kelly Mitchell has a has a has a solid name in the industry. So people don't know what Kelly Mitchell is, who you are, what you do, um, educate our audience. How can they learn more about you and your work at Kelly Mitchell?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, we do IT staffing and services for a lot of the, you know, some of the world's greatest and most innovative companies. So um, you know, I I think if you are curious about us, and uh, you know, it's I love a reach out on LinkedIn. Um, you know, I'm pretty active on on there, and uh we're in the middle of what is a pretty cool transformation from what has been a you know legacy of delivering staffing services and getting more and more into the solutions space, which is which is you know something you and I did a lot of work on, Case. And it's um it's been a fun year as we've been, you know, kind of stepping into my role. That's been a a big charter of mine to to go down that path. And so yeah, if people are curious, um absolutely reach out to me on LinkedIn whether you know you're somebody looking to you know expand your career and move on to your next thing, or or obviously on the client side too. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Awesome. We'll make sure that's linked in the show notes, everybody. Um, I would encourage you to to find Blaze on LinkedIn if you're an active person on LinkedIn. Um he's uh he's he's one to one to connect with, one to follow. He he will get back to you. He is a man of his word. Um it is now Blaze to go into the lightning round. How are I? I I show you the negative hits have taken too many hits, not bong hits, but football hits. Your job is to answer these questions as quickly as you can. My job is to try to get a good Gladio. Fair. Are you ready? Challenge accepted. Okay, how now round cow? No more smiling because we got to get ready. All right. True or false, now that you live in Dallas, you drive a dirt bike to work.

SPEAKER_01:

That would be false. I drive an EV, which is really disappointing because I bought it in San Diego before I knew I was moving.

SPEAKER_02:

Uh when you when you say San Diego, do you say San Diego or San Diego? Well, it's founded by the Germans, so it has more of a German Yes, yes, diversity. It's an old wooden ship. Yes. Um true or false, you work Shengard's Dork. Only on Thursdays. If I came to your house for dinner tonight, what would you and Monica make me? A whole lot of protein. Okay, so my gout would get increased. Perfect. Sounds awesome. Yeah. What would be one song that if we went under your phone right now might surprise your colleagues?

SPEAKER_01:

Ooh, um, I would say probably like Tate McCrae music that's just you know left over from kids stuff. So yeah. Last book you read was actually uh from our our boy Ryan Leek, who we got to see, the um how to work with complicated people. Okay. Just finished it recently. So yeah, it's good, it's a good uh good book about you know how to work how to work with people so and how to work on yourself more than anything, I think.

SPEAKER_02:

There you go. Yeah. If you were to go on vacation right now, you and Monica, sorry, kids, you're staying home. Where are you taking her?

SPEAKER_01:

Uh, you know, we just got back from a wonderful family trip in Europe, and I love that place. I think we would be in Greece. Somewhere along, you know, somewhere like that, Italy or Greece.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, Greece is on my list for sure. Um, if there was to be a book written about your life, tell me the title. Blazing Saddles. Nice. Blazing Saddles, pun intended. Okay, now Blazing Saddles, even though it's already been a movie about Blazing Saddles in the 1970s or 80s, this is a Blazing Saddles part duh, but it's gonna be about you. Um now you're the casting director. I need to know who's gonna star Blaze Basell in this critically acclaimed hit new movie, Blazing Saddles.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I think I would like to answer Matt Damon, but I think a lot of people that know me would say like Kevin James.

SPEAKER_02:

That's quite a genre of of talent, of uh, of actor skills. Okay, and last and most important question, tell me two words that would describe Monica.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh gosh. Um undeniable and enthusiastic.

SPEAKER_02:

Boom. Lightning rounds over. I think I giggled first my own joke, which means I take the loss. Uh I definitely have a losing record on this podcast after 320-something dads, but I'm just I'm not giving up because I'm gonna get to a thousand episodes one day and hopefully I can stop laughing at my own dumb jokes, which I do every week. Blaze, I appreciate you, brother. Uh, that hour flew by. I'm grateful that you educated us, shared your story, um, not only about what was life growing up, where you where you learned your grit, grittiness from, your humility, your caringness, your thoughtfulness, your ability to listen as a leader. Um, I have great memories working with you. And every time I get a CAD conference or on LinkedIn, it's always a always brings a smile on my face. And I hope if there's a dad at home who has heart disease in their family, please, please, please, please take what Blake said to heart, pun intended, and uh go get yourself tested. And let's figure and figure this thing out. And hopefully over time there'll be a cure for for one of these diseases. But appreciate you, brother. I'm grateful for our time together, and I know we'll be crossing paths again soon. Yeah, it's been an awesome case.

SPEAKER_01:

Always a pleasure to talk to you. All right, ma'am.