Foundations of Leadership

 In this episode of IMPACT | Leadership & Legacy, Jeremy, Maddie, and Daniel dive deeper into the connection between leadership, influence, and impact. They explore the essential qualities of effective leadership—Humility, Hunger, and Honor—and discuss how these foundational traits pave the way for creating a meaningful legacy. Tune in for thought-provoking insights, personal reflections, and actionable advice to help you lead with purpose and inspire change in the world around you. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_03: 0:01

Welcome to Impact Podcast. My name is Jeremy Melton and I'm your host along with Daniel and Maddie for the next 30 minutes to an hour or however long you choose to tune in. On this show, we will uncover some things about life that can help you on your journey to make an impact on the world that we live in. Our highlight question, what kind of impact are you making on the world that we live in? And remember, our goal on this show is to generate the desire to understand it sooner than later. This is episode number two, so we're going to get started. Last week, we discussed impact. influence and leadership we talked about how your impact is measured and y'all remember we discussed how it was measured but we came to the conclusion that it was measured by the people around you remember if an impact is an influence we talked about how that ties to leadership and so because leadership is also influence so all these things tie together at some point i had said that leadership could be synonymous with influence And so we're gonna delve into that a little bit deeper today, because some people don't agree with that. They think it's a product of, which in the sense it is, but they always go together. So we discussed times in your life when you guys had done things that you thought may have been difficult or impossible, and how you felt on the other side of having completed those. We discussed the difference in everyone's list of leaders. Essentially, we did an introduction the very first podcast was all about how influence is tied to impact and what leadership, how that ties all in. So we had some key takeaways last week. And in summary, when I was writing the stuff for today, I thought to myself, when you guys had given your key takeaways and even mine, we were all kind of doing some self-reflection, right? And so I did it all week, actually. just self-reflecting on what we're talking about and how we're going to move the needle. So, Daniel, you said your key takeaway was, what is my impact? And I want to make an impact. And you were inspired. And I think you even said that on the show. But, you know, do you want to put more insight on that at all?

SPEAKER_01: 2:45

So, since then, I've definitely been just kind of like being more intentional about like thinking about like, not only how I can have an impact on those around me, but really I've been reflecting on how this experience with you guys and what we're here and what we're doing is gonna be just so beneficial to me and my growth. So Saturday, Mallory Media had a really big day. I had four different guys at three different events, and I was trying to lead. I can't be three places at once, but I'm over the phone. I'm leading, you know, showing them, like, telling them and just being just real with them, telling them, like, hey, I trust you. Like, you know, I know that you're going to do a great job. Follow your heart. You know, do the job. And even at the same time, while I was doing that, I also... had the kids here with the sitter so i'm i'm i'm leading through the phone at home as well and i thought about that and just kind of just like you know taking that all in and uh i i have felt inspired and just been thinking about it a lot and like you know what can i do to touch all these people in the way that you know makes them feel like they're just raise them up you know

SPEAKER_03: 4:22

That's good. Thank you for sharing. That's beautiful. Maddie, you said you were going to be the best human you could be because there's no telling who was looking at you.

SPEAKER_00: 4:32

Yep.

SPEAKER_03: 4:33

Would you like to?

SPEAKER_00: 4:36

Yeah, so I think one word that we continuously say is intentional. I mean, Daniel just said it. I know I said it a few times when I listened to it back last week, so intentional. I really took the word intentional and I'm actually planning. I'm going to do a word of the year for 2025. And that's going to be my word. And it's going to be intentional. I love

SPEAKER_02: 5:00

it.

SPEAKER_00: 5:00

I love it. No matter what I do, whether, like I said, checking out the grocery store, whatever, everything I'm doing is intentional when you're in contact with someone else. So I think I was a better person this last week. Yeah. made decisions that were very intentional when normally I think I would have just made a instinct decision so yeah I can't think of an example right off the bat mostly at work but that's where I spend most of my time so yeah intentional

SPEAKER_03: 5:40

so you're doing things on purpose right you know and that's awesome so I do want to say that I mean Obviously, our goal, we talked about our goal, which is on this show, is to generate the desire to understand that sooner than later about the impact, right? So we accomplished that goal internally right here last week. And so as our viewers or our listeners or whatever you want to call them, people participate in this show, hopefully that's what happens to them too, right? So not just for us, but we want that for them. And so that's why we're doing what we're doing. I mean, you guys left inspired. I left inspired. And I left having decided that this is what it's all about, and I'm inspired to see what we will do and accomplish with this. So it's good. I want to unpack some of the stuff that we discussed, and we're going to get a little bit deeper today and essentially talk about leadership. So we know we want to make the impact. We want to leave a legacy behind. which is what we talk about all the time. The conduit for the legacy that we talk about is impact, and the conduit for that is influence, and the conduit for that is leadership. So one after another. But we know that leadership is what we have to do. We have to lead well. And so what exactly is leadership? There's at least 100,000 books written on leadership and there's at least 10 million people probably that have a different opinion. The funny thing is you might look at the definition of leadership and in my opinion, everybody has a different definition. And so you've got all these wonderful leaders, authors, writers, pastors, all kinds of people, and they all define it differently. And so... You know, I counted last week, and I've personally read 17 books on leadership in my career. So just say 20 years of my adult career work, maybe 20 times five. Don't

SPEAKER_00: 7:50

do math.

SPEAKER_03: 7:52

Anyway, we won't get into that. But of the 17 books I've read, if I'm honest, I went back and looked at, I just skimmed four or five of them this past week getting ready for the show. And one of them in particular had all the different definitions of leadership. And I thought, man, I want to give a definition, you know, other than just to say influence. Because it is. I do tell everybody it is influence. But what I found was that we should just define it by what it produces and not necessarily what it is. And so I've got that here, and I'm going to talk about that. But it's not easy to define. It's a deep subject. But I'm going to give my definition and everybody can pick it apart. It's easier to define by the product of it and then discuss the actions required to attain it. And so more so than to be defined, it is a place of being. And so here we go. The grand finale, here we go. The leadership is influence. The leader will... This is where I'm about to tell you what the leader does. The leader will love and serve people, inviting them on a journey with courage to confront challenges head on first, providing vision for the future, coaching along the way, being a living example, setting expectations while maintaining the highest level of integrity and character imaginable. throughout. Y'all

SPEAKER_00: 9:39

want to add to that? A few things kind of pop out, and I have it written down right here because it is a great definition, I think. But I think what this shows, though, is a leader is in everyday past, present, and future. It's not just right now, that person's a leader. It is what they've done in the past, what they're doing right now, and then what their vision is for the future. So it's totally, it's a like, you know, once you kind of really break it down how you've done, I mean, confronting challenges, setting expectations, being a good example. I mean, it's, a leader is so much more than what people think when you hear leadership.

SPEAKER_01: 10:23

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00: 10:24

I think it's a great definition.

SPEAKER_01: 10:26

What I think of when I hear that, and I'm looking at it too, is those are all things that I love to see in other people and I try to be in myself. However, I never even really tied it all in to leadership personally. Those are things that I want to do on a daily basis, but I never really stopped and thought that, oh, I'm being a leader. No credit. Hey,

SPEAKER_03: 10:58

no, that's good. It's good that you, number one, it's good that you notice it, right? But then number two, that you embrace it. And number three, that you're intentional about it. Because I'll tell you this, in my time, in my career, there's been times when I was being a good leader and there's been times when I wasn't, okay? There's been times when I was being a great leader and there's been times when I wasn't. And if I'm not intentional about these things, then I'm not, okay? And so... I believe in we have seasons of life. And if, again, being a mom, being a dad, you have to be intentional about it. And if you're not, you're not going to be a good mom and dad. Right. Okay? And so when you highlight this stuff and you bring it to the top, that's when you see it. It's almost like a revelation where you're seeing, hey, I'm leading now that we're talking about it. And so that's what... That's why I tell everyone that I know and that I meet a good leader. The best leaders are students of it because they're constantly reading and studying leadership to bring it to the top. So having said that, I said leadership is influence and then I went through a series of things that leadership will do. And then influence is that in which is produced when leadership is present. The ability to inspire change and create the desire for it rather than mandating it. So, lead, then influence, then impact. Impact is held, legacy is left. Okay, and in that order. Yep. Lead, influence, impact. Impact is held, legacy is left. And that's what we want to do is lead the legacy. So... All right, so lead. That's the part that we do. Just do that, and the rest follows. So last week, I think I said it a couple times, but everyone is a leader in some way, good or bad, because it is influence. Everyone has an influence in some way. Now, again, we won't delve into it too much deeper. We're going to move on and talk about leadership, but I think we've exhausted enough that we understand it. and how all this stuff ties together. The dynamic is when you lead well, you attain influence and then an impact, and that equals your legacy. All right, so how do you lead well? We're going to start with the foundation. Obviously, the first thing we need to talk about is the foundation, and every week we're going to expand on that. But the foundation is foundation. When I think about foundation, it takes me back to a book I read once. And this is one of the books that I brushed up on this week. It's called Launching a Leadership Revolution. It's by Chris Brady and Oren Woodward. So they get all the credit. Okay. Great book, by the way. They have a chapter in the book and it's called Foundational Qualities. And I remember when I was thinking about the first thing we're going to talk about with leadership, I thought about we need to make sure the foundation's there. That's the first thing we're going to build on. And I remember, distinctly remembered, in that book, it's a whole book about leadership, but I distinctly remember reading the section, the chapter, I don't know, it was chapter two or three. It's up close. It's up front. But they talked about the things that are foundational. And there's a whole chapter on it. And so it was good. So I went back and read it. There's a whole chapter on it, and it's good. Don't waste your time. Wait a minute. I'm sorry. Okay, here's what they said right here. They teach the foundation is a prerequisite for leadership development. And if these cornerstones are not met, then don't waste your time trying to lead well. And so what has to be present to build a foundation for leading? And in the book, they said humility, no, it was humble, honable, and honorable. And I didn't... I didn't take the honable word. I kind of expanded on that. And what I said was hungry, humble, hungry, and honorable. Okay. And so humble was the word that I chose to use instead of honable, because in the sense, it was kind of the same thing. And the word humble was better for me. And so I chose to use the word humble. But let's talk about that. So We need to be humble, hungry, and honorable. That's the three things that we need to be as leaders. All right. And so if you're listening right now and you think to yourself, well, I'm a leader and I need to know what I need to start with. This is where you start. Okay. This is where you start. And this is why we're starting here. So let's talk about humility for a minute and being humble. What is the first thing that comes to mind when

SPEAKER_01: 16:20

When I think of humble, I think of someone that serves, someone that isn't arrogant and isn't full of themselves. You know, like I tell people a lot, like I exude confidence, but not arrogance. And I think there's a really big difference in those two things. But just... listening, being consistent,

SPEAKER_03: 16:53

humble, you know. That's good. Well, this one's kind of elusive, right? Because as soon as you say to yourself, I'm humble, right? You're not.

SPEAKER_00: 17:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 17:10

So, go ahead, Maddie.

SPEAKER_00: 17:12

I just, humble, I just think about it differently now that we're talking about it. I think of humble as someone on a receiving end of something, not just in everyday life. So you're humble because, you know, you had surgery and everyone brings you all the cast roles and stuff and you, you don't expect people to do that for you. Um, so you're just like, gosh, like you're just thankful and humble. I don't, I've not thought about humble as like a leadership quality. Um, obviously I'm being schooled, I think, in a great way. I mean, because when you look at, like, what you just said about your characteristics, I'm like, well, yeah, that would 100% be this, yeah. So I think that Humble's a weird one.

SPEAKER_01: 18:09

Let me tell you about when, you know, and I guess it's coming up, but who do you think of went humble and I'm going to raise her up. I thought of Maddie because anytime that I put something on Maddie and then she knocks it out of the park, she does a great job. I go to her, I'm like, Maddie, you killed it. All the credit. And she's like, no, no, no, no, no, no. She's humble.

SPEAKER_00: 18:38

You're a team.

SPEAKER_03: 18:39

I got something to teach you on that too. Okay. We'll get there maybe. We're going to come back to that. Okay. That's good. So the fact that he said that says a lot about you, right? It's very sweet. So we should all seek to be humble because if you've ever met someone, and I'm sure you have, I mean, obviously you're talking about Maddie, but if you've ever met someone that is extremely humble. Now, let me say this because it's a caveat. Someone that's too humble could be doing it out of pride because, well, I'm humble, you know, again. There has to be a genuine humbleness, okay? And when you meet someone like that, you are drawn to them, okay? And so... There's a reason for that, too. We'll get to that.

SPEAKER_00: 19:27

Intentionally humble.

SPEAKER_03: 19:31

Well, intentionally humble without being prideful. Because, again, it's very elusive. It'll be there one minute and be gone. And so it reminds me of, I put it in here, the movie Shooter, where the old gunsmith, he says, it ain't always what it seems, Gunny. As soon as you think you've got it figured, you're wrong. And that's the way it is with humility. Humility is... It's a superpower. And, again, it can come and go. We talk about it. If you're not intentional, it'll leave you. It will evade you. And then you'll turn around and realize it's evaded you. And it's like, oh, God, we've got to get it back. Okay? And at least for me, you know, maybe I'm weird. But, Maddie, who's the most humble person that you know? The most humble person that you know.

SPEAKER_00: 20:19

The most

SPEAKER_03: 20:20

humble. The most humble.

SPEAKER_00: 20:24

So, I've tossed this around. I went between my mom and my husband. And I'm going to go with my husband. Because he truly is just... He's patient. He doesn't ever really do anything for himself. Like, I mean, it is... He puts... us the kid the kids family work everything else before he will do anything for himself um but then he's also so i can't say humble but i mean he's so um supportive so it's like me picking up different things to do um with daniel little side hustle stuff there's no ever question. If I want to do it, like, he asks questions, absolutely, but there's no pushback because he's the number one supporter for all of us. Right. And I don't think that he knows that. Like, I don't think... Well,

SPEAKER_03: 21:28

he will now.

SPEAKER_00: 21:29

Yeah, I know. No, I think, you know, like, he bought a... We just bought a new truck. And, like, before that, he had a little Honda Accord, and he bought that for Honda Civic or something because... That was what we needed for him to travel to and from work. He didn't get what he wanted. He got what was practical for the family. And now we finally, I was like, let's get you a truck. Let's do it. Good.

SPEAKER_03: 21:58

Excellent. That's excellent.

SPEAKER_01: 22:00

Danny, what you got? So I immediately thought of, his name's Peter. He lives in my old neighborhood. And Peter is such a unique person. neighbor i mean he's just that guy in the community that i need anything whether it's conversation a task or a friend he's there 100 of the time and i'll tell you real quick the way that i met peter when we first moved to madison you know back in 2017 i bought this one acre house on one acre. I couldn't afford a Ryder lawnmower and I was doing the push lawn mowing in this whole acre backyard. I did it three times and it'd take me like seven hours to push mow this lawn. And that third time, Hadn't met him. He's on his mower, and he just comes out of nowhere. I feel like red, white, and blue, like this superhero comes riding back. He's like, I got you, brother. And he just knocks it out, and he's out there mowing until 9 p.m. It got dark, and he just kept going. I was, you need another beer? You need another beer? But it just showed me the type of person he is, and then getting to know him, I've only humbled myself. Mr. Peter. I mean, just there for everybody. Great dude. That's

SPEAKER_03: 23:26

good. So the most humble person that I know, and this was very hard for me, honestly. I know a lot of people, which I'm sure you all do too, but I know a lot of people in the leadership world, and so I've followed some good leaders that I've learned from, and I wanted to pick one of them, but for different reasons. When you talk about the most humble person that you know, That's hard.

SPEAKER_01: 23:51

It's a lot of pressure.

SPEAKER_03: 23:52

It is. And so I said my mom, like Maddie, and she doesn't know that. I actually was talking to them about it over the weekend and she was humble and she said, oh, it's not me. But it is because when you think about caring, self-aware, accountable, patient, generous, good listener, open to learning, serving, letting others take the credit, complimenting others. When you read through all those, it's hard for one person to attain all of them and be a human. That's right. Absolutely. Because we are, by nature, sinful creatures. And so all of these things, if you go, anyway, we're not going to get super biblical today, but if you go to the fruit of the Spirit, In the Bible. And anyway, so it all kind of meshes in. But anyway, I told my mom. And that I believe the reason we choose our moms is because they love you unconditionally. Okay? And the world doesn't. And other people don't. So I can, I mean, I'll shout out to Jeff Birch. I was raised and mentored by Jeff Birch. He's a humble dude. But when you say the most humble, It was my mom because she loved me unconditionally. That's good. Anyway, having said that. So Philippians 2.3, I'm going to have a Bible verse for this just because this is do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, rather in humility. Value others above yourself. That is the definition. Value others above yourself. That's the most important part. And again, that's not always easy depending on where you are in life. And if your glass is full, then you can be humble. But if your glass is empty, it's hard. In fact, you don't even see it. And so here we are, again, intentional about seeing that. So let's go to the second one, which is... That was good stuff. Yeah, being hungry. This one is important because it is the fuel for the leader. Hunger. So... It's the fuel to start, the fuel to run, and the fuel to keep going. And some say being hungry is discontentment or whatever, but I call it ambition. And the leader has to be ambitious. Everything can get better, and that includes us as individuals. The desire to win exists in every effective leader. So, Maddie, who is the most hungry person that you know? Now, you might be thinking, well, we're not talking about food, obviously, but you might be thinking, well, I can't really assimilate that. I would assimilate it with passion. Someone that is hungry for growth and passionate. Who's the most of that that you know?

SPEAKER_00: 27:06

I'm getting a little... I think when the word most is thrown in front, it makes my mind, it's like a little different for me. I think of, I think of so many. So like I'm trying to wrap my head around, I think one of them is, her name is Marie. She helps run the Lake Oconee Food and Wine Festival. She's actually the director, co-director with her husband. And they are a powerhouse. And I mean... She's got her way. She leads so many people that want to be involved with that festival, including myself. Sponsors. She works with the Ritz. She is just... She pushes people to do better, to grow, to get the festival to continue, to thrive every year. She's the first person I thought of. She's disciplined. She doesn't... you know, go off the path of what the end goal is. And I just, I envy that in her. Yeah. She might be the most.

SPEAKER_03: 28:23

Yeah. So I thought, and we'll get Daniel up in a minute. I thought about my brother. So this weekend I was in, it was, we were having Christmas at my mom's and my brother was there and, He'll listen to this later, too, I'm sure. But he was there, and we were talking. And I remember at one point in the conversation, I said to myself, man, this dude has gotten passionate about what he does. And honestly, he made the top of my list. I was like, I mean, he was just relentless, okay? And he was talking about his team and his people, and he's become a leader. And I... I'm proud of him because he's grown so much as a person, as a human, as a leader, as a business. He owns his own business. But that wasn't in him four or five years ago. And I've watched him grow in his leadership ability with his company. But when he was talking to me, I literally said to myself, wow, this dude is hungry. His passion is contagious. He's relentless for the goal. And that is what great leaders are. Half. All of them. And so you want to, you know, again, if you're listening to the show, you want to find what makes you hungry. Okay? If you're a leader. And that, then you have to feed that because it will die too. Remember, it will die. Inside of you, it will go away. And so you actually, and this is something that you can read about if you want, but you actually need to be so hungry that you have enemies. And that sounds crazy, but something or someone that fuels you. And then that needs to be consistently looked at and talked about and gone through, and it needs to continue to make you hungry.

SPEAKER_01: 30:22

So, Daniel, you got one? Yeah, I want to jump back to, I think, episode one, you asked who's had the biggest impact on me, and it was Jeremy Mathis. Um, when it comes to hungry, I've never seen hungry like Jeremy.

SPEAKER_03: 30:40

Wow.

SPEAKER_01: 30:41

And he is just committed and he's persistent and there's no challenge that gets in his way. That's going to slow him down. He's going to solve, he solves problems. Um, he just, and he leads his guys the right way. Um,

SPEAKER_00: 31:03

I think that the two of y'all are, Hungry. I mean, seriously. And I, fun fact for all the listeners, I just met you. So like, we really don't know each other very, very well. But I mean, just being in different meetings, being on the podcast, I mean, literally sitting in between the two hungriest people in my day to day life. You know, I talked about Marie and she is, but that's just, I've known her for forever, you know? So it's kind of, I can't say that y'all are the most hungry people that I know because it discredits everyone else that I've known for so long. Yeah, because

SPEAKER_03: 31:42

everybody's listening.

SPEAKER_00: 31:43

Yeah, everyone. No, I really do think that the two of y'all are. I mean, after the last podcast, the vibes and the energy from the both of you just take my energy up,

SPEAKER_01: 31:59

too. I'm flattered. Thank you. I am, too. Thank you. I'll

SPEAKER_03: 32:02

receive that. So I said it a while ago, hunger, these are disciplines, okay, leadership. And now again, so if you don't focus on hunger, it can go away, okay? You can lose your appetite, per se. And so you want to keep that stoked up. All right, so passionate, driven, determined, relentless. Those are the words, and we've all talked about them. Colossians 3.23 says, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters. That in and of itself has fueled me. When the world wouldn't, that verse does. I love it. Okay, number three, honorable. Character counts, right?

UNKNOWN: 32:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 32:52

The leader must be honorable. Honor is not used very often today. How often do you hear that word? Not very often. And this is one of the highest bars for one to reach. But as leaders, we ought to aspire to be honorable. And I read once that honor is integrity and character sewn together. Okay, so integrity and character had a baby, and that is honor.

UNKNOWN: 33:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_03: 33:23

Living a life of integrity and character is paramount for the leader. The world, in my opinion, the world does not put enough focus on this because at the end of the day, the leader, not always, but the leader during his tenure as a leader, as he's leading his group of people, it's not always there. There'll be times when it's not even relevant because he's not... in a position where he's making decisions that change it. But this is where a lot of leaders fail. Because the moment that you let your people down and you break integrity or character, you're done. You can mess up, you can not be humble for a day, you can not be hungry for a day, but if you break your honor, you're going to be years recovering from that. And so I did this one last because in my opinion, it's one of the more difficult to attain and it's also the most important. Because again, it's like trust. Once you break trust, how quick do you get it back? Or get in debt. You get in debt a lot faster than you can get out of it. And this is one of those things. Honorable, being an honorable leader, it's not easy to do. It's really easy to slip and mess it up. And it's really hard to get back. And so the most effective leaders in all of time have led with honor. And I put in here, one must hold the wheel all the way through. The road gets curvy and the shoulder gets wide. And it's easy to get off track. But great leaders. stay on the road. And that's the separation, in my opinion. The ones that are very effective and they go a long ways and they continue to lead, you know, you could say they win Super Bowls. Those are the dudes that don't break integrity or their character. You know, and the ones that do fail. So, Maddie, Who's the most honorable person that you

SPEAKER_00: 35:47

know? This is very hard for me. And I don't know if I have an answer. That's okay. And not because I can't necessarily think of one, but I think that honor and being honorable is so intentional. But there are very few people that I think actually are honorable people. um, I mean, I think that, let me take that back. I think that there are a lot of people who are honorable and, but like you were just saying, if you break that integrity or character, you're, I mean, it takes a while to get that back. And I think that, you know, the most honorable person should be one in my life that I can think of like this, that hasn't, you know, broken their character or shown a darker side of the, you know, things like that. Um, And I think of my grandfather, but he's passed away. I mean, but also... Hey,

SPEAKER_03: 36:51

that's good. That

SPEAKER_00: 36:52

works. Yeah, I mean, he's... We still talk about him to this day. You know, I definitely think that he was a very honorable man. We've learned a lot of great characteristics on how to be human beings and how to be great people. Yeah. But it's kind of sad to think that I can't think of anyone else.

SPEAKER_03: 37:18

It's not easy to attain. Not at all. It's very difficult.

SPEAKER_01: 37:23

Honor is difficult. And you're right. It's really easy or quick to lose and then it's gone. And I've got some personal stuff that I have been battling. It's respect. It's trust. It's loyalty. And You're right. You don't just take it and then get it back. And it's about doing the right thing when no one's watching. And that's being intentional and who do you want to be. What I think of the most honorable person that I know, it's this partner that I worked with when I was in the restaurant industry. His name's Clark. And he's just a different individual. And he's very unique. But what I like most about Clark is just the way that he handles his relationships. I mean, he employs a lot of people, but he treats the dishwasher just the same as he did his business partner. Everyone is on a completely level playing field. And the years that I spent working side by side with Clark, he rubbed off a lot of... And I don't even think I was paying attention or really taking it in, but looking back, it's very clear that... I picked up a lot of what he took back from him and hold it with me now. So Clark, I mean, yeah, he just does everything the right way. It doesn't matter. And I mean, he's not perfect. He likes to have a good time and he's rough around the edges, but it doesn't matter because he knows how to treat people. He knows how to treat people and he does it every single day, consistent.

SPEAKER_03: 39:08

And in the end, you know he's going to do the right thing.

SPEAKER_01: 39:09

Every single time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 39:11

So that... You know, look, honestly, I had a hard time coming up with this one because you see so many different sides of so many different people, right? And when I think about an honorable person, which could be the wrong definition, because I didn't look it up, speaking of, but I think about someone that would never lie, never, they would never do anything wrong, right? Always going to do the right thing, okay? And I've known some great leaders in my time, but I can't say they've always done that. I can always find something where, man, why did he do that? Or he made that mistake. And so when I put that badge on someone, the most honorable person that I know, it wouldn't just be the person that has done that less, right?

SPEAKER_00: 40:10

Yeah, I mean, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 40:11

So I had a couple, but my old pastor was an honorable man, you know, at least as far as I know, right? So he was a good friend, and he may hear this one day. His name was Lane Sanders, and he was an honorable man, best I could tell, right? I mean, he was a good dude. He always did the right things. He was a good leader. He was honorable. A lot of times when someone sacrifices their life in any kind of way, we see that as honorable. That was an honorable thing to do. So I oftentimes think about people that are in the military, right? People that are in the fire service. People that... I mean, those types of people can be honorable too. And so... But... It's a big deal when you start thinking about the person that you know, the most honorable person that you know. And so there again, that's the bar that we should shoot for and try to attain.

SPEAKER_00: 41:17

I think, too, with honorable, you were talking about how they act. When I think of someone that's honorable, it is no matter where you are, what you see is what you get. They're the same type of person. They handle things the same. You know, it's like... It's not a hothead dad that's going to yell at the umpire behind the plate. They lead with their best foot forward at all times.

SPEAKER_03: 41:47

They don't make mistakes.

SPEAKER_00: 41:48

It's not because they're a pastor at church. It's not just when they're a pastor. It's when they're a dad, they're a brother. At home, outside.

SPEAKER_03: 41:59

It's interesting. One thing that I thought about, too, most people that you would give that badge that's someone that's honorable is older someone that has lived life typically when you give someone that badge of honor you can think about it right now just think about it someone that you'd give it to today and typically they're older like gray hair 60s 70s you said you mentioned your grandpa yeah um I didn't get to know my granddad very well because he died when I was young. But I was told he was an honorable man, but I don't know. But as you get older, you become more honorable. You know, life is... We're born and we're full of sin and we can't do anything without getting screamed at. We get taught. And all throughout life, we're learning how to be good humans. And then at the end of life, we finally figure it out and we cross over. But... Being honorable is something that when I think about it, it's always older people because younger people are still learning. And they're learning that that doesn't work. And you get refined in your old age. And so the older you get, the more honorable. The key is for a young man to seek that out and make decisions based off of that. And get that badge as soon as he can. Again, we talk about our mission, our goal. to highlight all this stuff sooner than later. So we can work on it. So the leader is humble, hungry, and honorable. Let's talk about takeaways. Number one takeaway. Danny?

SPEAKER_01: 43:46

Yeah, easy, easy, easy, easy. Hey, look. What I want to say is breaking it down like that really helps me kind of wrap my head around it. And humble, hungry, and honor are just like, I want somebody to talk about me like that. I want someone to talk about me like that. And that's the biggest compliment that I could ever receive. And that's what I'm taking away. I mean, that's what I'm taking away. So let's figure that out. Now that I know what the formula is to an extent. Like, what do I got to do? It's an Excel spreadsheet. Yeah. Hey, that's right.

SPEAKER_03: 44:35

You want to be those things. And the listener, that's what you want to be. If you're going to lead, those are things you have to shoot for. And those are foundational. Thank you for sharing that. Mary?

SPEAKER_00: 44:48

I think my biggest takeaway is that the word leader is misconstrued. Um... I don't think, I think when someone thinks of a leader, like we talked last episode, you're thinking about the bigwigs. You asked us who we think of as leaders. We gave big names. You know what I'm saying? And then now, I look at it and the people that I've mentioned in here, those did not come across my mind when you asked me who's a good leader. I think my takeaway is that being a leader doesn't mean that you're leading a bunch of people, obviously, like we've talked about. It's you're being a good human and you are, to your core, very intentional. And you're moving forward for a better future, a brighter future, and trying to affect all of those around you to do the same.

SPEAKER_03: 45:52

Yeah, that's good. So... The role of a leader, so you can be a leader, right? But then you get a leadership role. That's the two different things.

SPEAKER_00: 46:02

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03: 46:03

And what happens is people, they mix them up. Well, they don't. They just don't separate them. They don't mix them up. They just don't separate them. And that's what we're doing right now. And you're seeing that the leader, it could be they're not a boss. They're just on the front lines. I'll never forget, I worked for a company for 17 years. And one of the guys, I'll say it, he was all of these things, okay? But he was just a technician. And you go on a job, and that dude would be working and serving and doing, and he was a leader. He was humble, hungry, and he was even honorable as a young man. He had integrity that was second to none. At least, again, from what I knew. And his name was Jamie. But he was an amazing dude. Jamie Drake, by the way. He was an amazing dude. And he was a leader. And I followed him. If he did something, I thought I should do it too. But I'll never forget. He was just a technician. But I thought, man, this guy, he doesn't have to be doing this. And I think he got... Journeyman of the Year every year. I mean, he was just a good dude. But anyway, I said that to say all throughout life, you're going to meet people that are humble, hungry, and honorable without a title, without a role. And then you're going to meet leaders that have a leadership role that don't have those attributes.

SPEAKER_00: 47:42

Probably you'll meet more of those. Yes, yes,

SPEAKER_03: 47:45

yes. But the ones that are making good, great change, that are making... that are, I guess you would say, the ones that are successful in leadership roles have these attributes.

SPEAKER_00: 48:00

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03: 48:00

And we're going to continue to build on them. This is just the foundation. So if you're listening today... Hey,

SPEAKER_01: 48:07

I want to jump in one more time. So something that I'm going to take away, and I'm going to challenge you guys too, something that I'm going to be intentional about doing. These people that I talked about today, I'm going to call them. today and I'm going to let them know yeah hey humble

SPEAKER_00: 48:25

that's a great idea

SPEAKER_01: 48:26

I talked about you and here's why and thank you go check out the podcast

SPEAKER_00: 48:30

just wanted to let you know yeah and here's the link

SPEAKER_01: 48:34

yeah that's great so maybe we can talk about that next week too oh yeah

SPEAKER_03: 48:38

yeah no that'd be good hey how they respond

SPEAKER_01: 48:42

yeah

SPEAKER_03: 48:43

Yeah, they can definitely cover some of that. No text, phone call. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But how do they receive it? So let's get to this real quick. I know we're running out of time. I don't know how long we've been going, but it's okay. So check this out. So earlier, Daniel, you said that you told Maddie, you gave her stuff to do, she does it, and she never wants the credit. You remember that? And that's good. That's a sign of humility. But I read a book not long ago that indicated that you should receive it. And we'll get into that. Again, we don't have time today. But what I do want to say is that when someone tells you you've done a great job, receive it. Okay? Because not just there verbally, but you need to receive that in your heart. You need to hear it. And then you need to receive it, like accept it. And then you need to thank God for the opportunity to bless that person. in whatever way you do it. Because oftentimes we think, oh, I don't want to receive that. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Receive it. You need to. Because you blessed them in some way, and they're thanking you or whatever. You've got to receive it. Good stuff. So if those people say, oh, man, don't worry. No, no, no, no, no, no. I'm serious. I want you to hear what I'm telling you. You changed my life. You know what I mean? So you tell them that. And make them receive it. Because... Make them. Oh, yeah. Because, dude, they're going to hang up the phone after you've made them receive it and they're going to receive it. And you're going to change their life by encouraging them.

SPEAKER_02: 50:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 50:26

So... Boom. Yeah. Let's do it. What about you, Maddie? What was your takeaway? Do you have one or did you already do it?

SPEAKER_00: 50:33

I think I already did it,

SPEAKER_03: 50:35

didn't I? Did

SPEAKER_00: 50:36

you? Okay. That allure is just being a human.

SPEAKER_03: 50:38

I got you. I got

SPEAKER_00: 50:39

you. No, I mean... All right,

SPEAKER_03: 50:44

well, we will close. Signing off, Jeremy, Maddie, and Daniel. Thanks, guys. Great

SPEAKER_00: 50:52

job. Thank you. Thank you. Great job.