March 21, 2025 • 22 mins
For Shop Talk, Clay Routledge challenges our culture's perspective on what counts as serving others.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Everybody. It's Spill Courtney with Shop Talk number forty six.
Welcome in, Hey Alex, Hello, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:09):
I'm good once again? Good, great morning with you.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Uh? Have you gotten any responses on our PSA.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
We're recording number forty five and number forty six at
the same time, so it's not fair and ethics.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Our listeners don't know that. You just blow it. Yeah,
I know, okay, Well, should I do the PSA again? No?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Okay, speaking of positivity on the last one, I need
to stop mentioning it. Probably it's probably annoying to people.
What about trying to find somebody? It's good. Actually, he's
got one. In the IF poem, what are you talking
about here? This kind of relates to my story. It says,
if you can make one heap of all your winnings
and risk it on one turn of pitch and toss
(00:47):
here's the part and lose and start at your beginnings
and never breathe a word about your loss.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Eh.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
When I was preparing last night, like I for a
shot the previous shop Talk, I thought about that too,
with obviously like the divorce and stuff. But it's too
easy to talk about it too much, you know, either
that you know, we're trying to find somebody new. So
it's I mean, it's a good reminder for me, you know,
here and lose and start at your beginnings and never
breathe a word about your loss. And it's it's probably
(01:14):
important not to talk about it too much and dwell
on it too much. And so anyway, we don't need
to do another PSA about it. I got it was
that too much? You want me to edit all that out?
Speaker 1 (01:24):
No, I mean I'm sitting here thinking about that and
wishing better for you, frankly, so okay. Shop Talk number
forty six. We get a lot of folks that are
inspired by an army normal folks and inspired by shop Talk,
(01:45):
and inspired by some of the stuff we do, and
they just want to do more or don't feel like
they have an opportunity to serve because of their life
if they're busy, work, schedule, whatever. And we always talk
about how you don't have to be part of some
(02:10):
big organization to be a member of the army of
normal folks. And even in speeches I do, I often
talk about in servant leadership that the most important servant
leadership that we can perform is often down the hallway,
just down the hall of your home. So Vox's Rachel
(02:32):
Cohen was a guest, which man. That was a great
interview and just witnessing that young lady's transformation from someone
who actually regarded volunteerism as old school, dated, worn out
and even I think the words were even at the
(02:56):
very least and effect of and there's a concept that
even at the very worst, it can be counterproductive to volunteer.
That's a mindset of some people in our country. And
in her words, in her generation, it's been taught and
(03:16):
she's transformed her thinking on that well. She shared an
article with us later called we need to Expand our
View of Societal Contribution, written by Clay Rutledge. I want
to share that with you, and I want to share
it with you in the vein of how you can
(03:40):
be a member of the army of normal folks without
even leaving the hallway shop tap number forty six Expanding
our view of societal contribution. Right after these brief messages
from our general sponsors, all right, everybody, welcome back. Shop
(04:08):
Talk number forty six. We need to expand our view
of societal contribution by Clay Rutledge, here's what Clay had
to say. In my last newsletter, I shared the Human
Flourishing Labs. What is that the Human Flourishing Labs?
Speaker 2 (04:28):
And it might be the name of his Groupkay, I'll
double check it, all right.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
I'll read you check. In my last newsletter, I shared
the Human Flourishing Labs latest Progress Pulse survey, which revealed
an encouraging picture. Most American adults believe they have the
power and responsibility to improve the world, and that they
are actively doing so. However, it also found that over
(04:55):
one third of Americans don't believe they are making important
contributions to the world. It's interesting Americans want to but
a third don't believe they are. In this week's newsletter,
I want to explore how our culture's narrow view of
what counts is meaningful societal contribution might help explain this finding.
(05:17):
Before exploring how our culture potentially shapes perceptions of contributions,
I should acknowledge other important factors. Some Americans might feel
they aren't making important contributions because they face external barriers
to pursuing their ambitions or reaching their ferul potential. Such
barriers often require public policy solutions. Our team at Archbridge
(05:42):
Institute is doing work in this space, focusing on topics
such as barriers to social mobility, But here I want
to focus on culture and psychology. More specifically, I want
to examine whether we undervalue certain types of contributions in
our culture. Our views about what counts as valuable contribution
(06:04):
could affect both how people recognize their own impact and
their engagement activities. They're critical to human flourishing and progress.
As noted, just over one third of Americans don't believe
they are currently contributing to improving the world. What's more,
education correlates strongly with whether individuals believe they are making
(06:28):
a difference. Seventy percent of college graduates believe they are
contributing to proving the world, compared to only fifty seven
percent without a college education. A recent series of studies
published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology offers
valuable insight into why so many Americans, particularly those without
(06:50):
college education, don't see themselves as making meaningful contributions to society.
I'm an interjectior. I don't find that surprising at all.
And when you talk about an army in normal folks,
and you talk about people being inspired and wanting to
do something but not feeling valuable enough, or not feeling
(07:10):
what they do is important enough, or not even feeling
like they have the capacity to serve or be an
army of the normal folks. It's interesting that Clay Rutledge's
data and research here agrees with the stuff that we
say all the time.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
It kind of reminds me of micro talks about like
you go into a college counselor's office and they got
a picture of a kid in a white dress shirt
and he's smiling, and then you got a guy working
under a car and he's all griming and he's not smiling.
And it's like what we've culturally communicated is like, yeah,
these kids go to college and work in these jobs
(07:48):
that they're contributing to society, and everybody else is doing
these jobs that are just whatever. I'm just an auto mechanic, right.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
And you know what's interesting is also about Mike is
recently he was asked, what are we going to do?
You know, he's big on the trades and getting people
in the trades and people can find happiness in the trades.
That contributed to sighting in the trades, And every year
we lose people to retirement from the trades, and we're
(08:19):
losing three to everyone that goes in it. And he's
been asked, where do we find these kids? Where do
we find these people going trades? Do you know where
they are? What are we going to do? And he says, yeah,
I know where they are. They're in eighth grade. But
when those eighth graders go into a counselor's office and
they see the image you're talking about, they immediately say, well,
(08:40):
I got to wear a white collar and be an
accountant to be happy and a contribute to society and
contribute to society, which is exactly what this data from.
Clay Rutledge says, So, sorry to interrupt midway through the thing,
but the point is, you know, we're talking about the
(09:01):
same thing, and here's data that supports it. Okay, So
he goes on. Similar to our Progress Pulse findings, the
researchers found that Americans with less formal education reported feeling
they contributed less to society than those with more education.
This pattern extended beyond personal assessment. Those with less education
(09:22):
also believe others saw their contributions is less valuable. To
understand why this disparity exists. The researchers conducted studies examining
how Americans evaluate different types of helping behavior. For example,
and one revealing study, participants evaluated two people who spent
(09:43):
one evening per week tutoring a younger student who needed
academic help. Okay, so two people tutoring a young student
who needed academic help. The only difference was that one
person tutored a student in an after school program, someone
they didn't know, while the other tutored their younger cousin.
(10:03):
Participants consistently rated the after school program tutoring as more
of a contribution to society than to family tutoring, even
though the help provided was identical. I found that fascinating
this preference emerged regardless of participants education level. The researchers
(10:23):
also found this indifference stemmed in part from perceptions of choice.
Helping individuals outside of one's family was seen as more
of a free choice, while helping family was viewed as
more of an obligation. The researcher's final study drew on
data from a large representative sample of Americans tracked over
(10:44):
several years. They discovered that people with more formal education
spent more time doing volunteer work for strangers, and people
with less formal education spent more time helping family members
and close others. Over these differences helped explain why those
(11:04):
with less education have lower perceptions of societal contribution. Specifically,
volunteering for strangers has merged as a stronger predictor of
self perceived societal contribution than providing unpaid assistant to a
family and close others. These findings reveal that our cultural
(11:25):
conceptions of societal contribution and human agency are too narrow.
The fact that we feel a stronger sense of duty
to help family members doesn't make these contributions any less
valuable to society. Like I've said a thousand times, our
greatest servant leadership call is first down the hallway of
(11:48):
our own home. When family members invest time and energy
in helping each other develop capabilities, pursue opportunities, take creative
and entrepreneurial risks, and overcome challenges, they are making really
important contributions to both individual and societal well being. In addition,
(12:08):
the presence of family obligations doesn't diminish our agency. Choosing
to act on perceived duties to family and other loved
ones represents a meaningful expression of personal agency. While we
may feel strong pressures obligations toward family, each individual must
ultimately decide whether to embrace these responsibilities and how best
(12:30):
to fulfill them. Even in the face of powerful family expectations.
We exercise choice when we decide to invest our, time,
energy in supporting those close to us. In closing better,
recognizing family support as an agentic action and meaningful societal
contribution could help many Americans understand that serving loved ones
(12:54):
is also serving society. Recall that over one third of
Americans and forty three percent of those without college degrees
don't believe they're making important contributions to society. Many Americans
are engaged in activities focused on helping their families, friends,
co workers, and neighbors thrive. It appears that many don't
(13:17):
view these vital efforts as contributing society. What's needed is
a broader cultural recognition of out serving those in our
immediate social network enriches our communities and advances human flourishing
and progress. Those are the words of Clay Rutledge in
(13:39):
a article he wrote, we need to expand our view
of societal contributions that our former guests. Rachel Cohen from
Box shared with us I love it. Here's the deal, guys. Yes,
we produce a show that has an army normal folks
(14:00):
every Tuesday and Shop Talk every Friday, and we do
it every week, and we're constantly highlighting people who are
sharing their talents and gifts and meeting need at a
place where need exist, employing their discipline and their passion. Yes,
but maybe we also need to think about our own narrative,
(14:24):
because I want to tell you when I coached at Manassas,
a friend of mine named Aaron Hayden who played at
the University of Tennessee and then he played for San
Diego and Green Bay and the NFL. I think he's
got a Super Bowl ring. I know he's got an
FC Championship ring. Anyways, great guy, good friend of mine,
(14:45):
played running back. When I was at Manassas. I had
him come and visit and talk with the team a
couple of different times. And one time he was making
a point and he said how many As he was
addressing my players, who said, how many of you in
(15:06):
this room? I want you to raise your hand. Have
two parents in the household, both of whom graduating from
college and seventy one kids in the room, and not
a single one raised their hand. And then he said,
how many kids in this room have had one or
more family members who lived in the same house you
(15:27):
live in serve jail time? And every single one of
them raised their hands. It was stark to me that
Aaron knew that that was the answer he is going
to get.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
It's in the movie Undefeated. If people haven't seen it.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Yeah, well it's a little different, but that was another time,
but it's exact same thing. Yes it is. It's a
scene in the movie. It is, but what was cut
from the movie. And again I was I was just
shot that, you know, Aaron knew that that's the answer
(16:05):
he was going to get before he asked the question,
and I didn't. And I was the guy that'd spent
seven years with these kids. You know, just another you know,
revelation about how so much we have to learn about
one another from different worlds. But as it pertains to
today's conversation, he asked another question, and he said, who
(16:28):
in this room can name one bedtime story? Can just
stay the title or just give you the theme of
one bedtime story you've been told, or either seeing the
words or even just hum the words of a single
lullaby that you ever heard as a child, and not
(16:50):
one kid raised her in and Aaron said, he challenged
my team break that because he said, guys, Aaron is
very real. He said, guys, if you don't read on
grade level by third grade, you are three times more
(17:11):
likely to be unemployed or in jail than you are
to have a job by adulthood. You have to read
on third grade level. And he said, yeah, the school's
got to teach how to read, but that starts at home.
Kids learn phonetics, kids learn alliteration, kids learn how to read.
Kids learn the appreciation for words and grammar by having
(17:36):
been read to by their parents and having played word
games with their parents and having ABC coloring books. They
also learn prose and how to be creative and write
through poems, which are oftentime given to children in the
form of lullabis or songs, and absent that in early
(18:01):
childhood development, children are much less likely to read on
third grade on grade level by third grade, which then
the data shows people that don't read on grade level
by third grade are much more likely to not contribute
to society and possibly be a drag on society. And
(18:22):
his whole point was it starts at home with your children,
reading and lullabies and nurturing. And if you think about that,
the greatest survey, the service the army of normal folks
can do before they ever go out and save the
(18:44):
world is make sure you're serving and leading and being
an army of normal folks to the people down the
hallway from you.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Yeah. I mean, it's frankly a good challenge for us
as storytellers doing this cast too, of finding more stories
of people serving their family. And if people have ideas,
to make sure to email billet normal folks out us
and share them. And I'll give you an example of
one I've been trying to book but I've not been
able to get it yet. This woman's husband had an
(19:16):
affair and he ended up impregnating this girl, and this
girl it was kind of a disaster of life. Wasn't together,
the baby wasn't gonna end up in a good situation.
And she finds us out and she goes to the
girl's house and says, I want to adopt the child?
What in race it? Yeah? And like paid for the pregnancy. Yeah,
(19:38):
I mean, she literally you know brought in the Saint,
I know, but it starts at home, right, And it's like,
that's the thing about an army of normal folks. If
we all took care of our families, there wouldn't be
any problems. I mean, so many families are so broken
that it's still going to need more of us to
step in and help them. But if everybody took care
of their families, a lot of these problems would go away.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
So true. So, Rachel Cohen, thanks for sharing the article
with us. Clay Rutledge, thanks for doing the work.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
We need to explain Clay's job, just so you know.
He focuses on human flourishing, his whole job. He's like
a researcher and writer on it.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Well that makes sense from this that up.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
No, No, I've actually talked to him once before. But
is that a cool gig like your whole time I
have him on the show. Maybe his whole jobs on
human flourishing.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
I want to hear about it. I think we need
to do that Shop Talk number forty six. We need
to expand our viewers to societal contribution. I'll subtitle it
my own words, take care of your families be a
part of the Army of normal folks and serve at
home first, and then when you're homes healthy, then we
(20:47):
can get outside and do work. And for goodness sakes,
if you are serving at home, give yourself a break.
Your contributions are no less than anybody else's and continue on.
So that's shop talk number forty six. Expand your view
of societal contribution, serve it home, and then serve out
(21:08):
in the world. If you have any ideas for shop talks,
email me anytime at Bill at normal folks dot us
and I will respond, and if I think we have
something to add to your questions or ideas, we'll take
them up and be on that. What else, alex A.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
You're gonna start pitching this to me every time.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Now pretty much. I can't ever remember it, and when
I do say it, you always correct how I'll say it.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
That's because you say here, share.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Us on social You could handle that.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Subscribe to the podcast or ready to review it.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
Subsibe to the podcast, subscribe to the podcast, join the
Army at normal folks dot us and consider becoming a
premium member.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
There you nailed it.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Yeah, what else?
Speaker 2 (21:50):
The thing you always would mess up is subscribe to
the podcast on the website, which you can't do. Okay,
that's the thing here for you to do it. This
time you did well well.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
I was kind of watching you do it and figuring
it out. So that's it. Shop Talk number forty six
expand our view of Sidle contribution contributions. Be a servant
leader with those people down the hallway, and then once
that's under control, get out in the community and do
the same elsewhere. And Urm minermal folks can change the world.
(22:21):
I'll see you next week.
Everybody. It's Spill Courtney with Shop Talk number forty six.
Welcome in, Hey Alex, Hello, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:09):
I'm good once again? Good, great morning with you.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Uh? Have you gotten any responses on our PSA.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
We're recording number forty five and number forty six at
the same time, so it's not fair and ethics.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Our listeners don't know that. You just blow it. Yeah,
I know, okay, Well, should I do the PSA again? No?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Okay, speaking of positivity on the last one, I need
to stop mentioning it. Probably it's probably annoying to people.
What about trying to find somebody? It's good. Actually, he's
got one. In the IF poem, what are you talking
about here? This kind of relates to my story. It says,
if you can make one heap of all your winnings
and risk it on one turn of pitch and toss
(00:47):
here's the part and lose and start at your beginnings
and never breathe a word about your loss.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Eh.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
When I was preparing last night, like I for a
shot the previous shop Talk, I thought about that too,
with obviously like the divorce and stuff. But it's too
easy to talk about it too much, you know, either
that you know, we're trying to find somebody new. So
it's I mean, it's a good reminder for me, you know,
here and lose and start at your beginnings and never
breathe a word about your loss. And it's it's probably
(01:14):
important not to talk about it too much and dwell
on it too much. And so anyway, we don't need
to do another PSA about it. I got it was
that too much? You want me to edit all that out?
Speaker 1 (01:24):
No, I mean I'm sitting here thinking about that and
wishing better for you, frankly, so okay. Shop Talk number
forty six. We get a lot of folks that are
inspired by an army normal folks and inspired by shop Talk,
(01:45):
and inspired by some of the stuff we do, and
they just want to do more or don't feel like
they have an opportunity to serve because of their life
if they're busy, work, schedule, whatever. And we always talk
about how you don't have to be part of some
(02:10):
big organization to be a member of the army of
normal folks. And even in speeches I do, I often
talk about in servant leadership that the most important servant
leadership that we can perform is often down the hallway,
just down the hall of your home. So Vox's Rachel
(02:32):
Cohen was a guest, which man. That was a great
interview and just witnessing that young lady's transformation from someone
who actually regarded volunteerism as old school, dated, worn out
and even I think the words were even at the
(02:56):
very least and effect of and there's a concept that
even at the very worst, it can be counterproductive to volunteer.
That's a mindset of some people in our country. And
in her words, in her generation, it's been taught and
(03:16):
she's transformed her thinking on that well. She shared an
article with us later called we need to Expand our
View of Societal Contribution, written by Clay Rutledge. I want
to share that with you, and I want to share
it with you in the vein of how you can
(03:40):
be a member of the army of normal folks without
even leaving the hallway shop tap number forty six Expanding
our view of societal contribution. Right after these brief messages
from our general sponsors, all right, everybody, welcome back. Shop
(04:08):
Talk number forty six. We need to expand our view
of societal contribution by Clay Rutledge, here's what Clay had
to say. In my last newsletter, I shared the Human
Flourishing Labs. What is that the Human Flourishing Labs?
Speaker 2 (04:28):
And it might be the name of his Groupkay, I'll
double check it, all right.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
I'll read you check. In my last newsletter, I shared
the Human Flourishing Labs latest Progress Pulse survey, which revealed
an encouraging picture. Most American adults believe they have the
power and responsibility to improve the world, and that they
are actively doing so. However, it also found that over
(04:55):
one third of Americans don't believe they are making important
contributions to the world. It's interesting Americans want to but
a third don't believe they are. In this week's newsletter,
I want to explore how our culture's narrow view of
what counts is meaningful societal contribution might help explain this finding.
(05:17):
Before exploring how our culture potentially shapes perceptions of contributions,
I should acknowledge other important factors. Some Americans might feel
they aren't making important contributions because they face external barriers
to pursuing their ambitions or reaching their ferul potential. Such
barriers often require public policy solutions. Our team at Archbridge
(05:42):
Institute is doing work in this space, focusing on topics
such as barriers to social mobility, But here I want
to focus on culture and psychology. More specifically, I want
to examine whether we undervalue certain types of contributions in
our culture. Our views about what counts as valuable contribution
(06:04):
could affect both how people recognize their own impact and
their engagement activities. They're critical to human flourishing and progress.
As noted, just over one third of Americans don't believe
they are currently contributing to improving the world. What's more,
education correlates strongly with whether individuals believe they are making
(06:28):
a difference. Seventy percent of college graduates believe they are
contributing to proving the world, compared to only fifty seven
percent without a college education. A recent series of studies
published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology offers
valuable insight into why so many Americans, particularly those without
(06:50):
college education, don't see themselves as making meaningful contributions to society.
I'm an interjectior. I don't find that surprising at all.
And when you talk about an army in normal folks,
and you talk about people being inspired and wanting to
do something but not feeling valuable enough, or not feeling
(07:10):
what they do is important enough, or not even feeling
like they have the capacity to serve or be an
army of the normal folks. It's interesting that Clay Rutledge's
data and research here agrees with the stuff that we
say all the time.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
It kind of reminds me of micro talks about like
you go into a college counselor's office and they got
a picture of a kid in a white dress shirt
and he's smiling, and then you got a guy working
under a car and he's all griming and he's not smiling.
And it's like what we've culturally communicated is like, yeah,
these kids go to college and work in these jobs
(07:48):
that they're contributing to society, and everybody else is doing
these jobs that are just whatever. I'm just an auto mechanic, right.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
And you know what's interesting is also about Mike is
recently he was asked, what are we going to do?
You know, he's big on the trades and getting people
in the trades and people can find happiness in the trades.
That contributed to sighting in the trades, And every year
we lose people to retirement from the trades, and we're
(08:19):
losing three to everyone that goes in it. And he's
been asked, where do we find these kids? Where do
we find these people going trades? Do you know where
they are? What are we going to do? And he says, yeah,
I know where they are. They're in eighth grade. But
when those eighth graders go into a counselor's office and
they see the image you're talking about, they immediately say, well,
(08:40):
I got to wear a white collar and be an
accountant to be happy and a contribute to society and
contribute to society, which is exactly what this data from.
Clay Rutledge says, So, sorry to interrupt midway through the thing,
but the point is, you know, we're talking about the
(09:01):
same thing, and here's data that supports it. Okay, So
he goes on. Similar to our Progress Pulse findings, the
researchers found that Americans with less formal education reported feeling
they contributed less to society than those with more education.
This pattern extended beyond personal assessment. Those with less education
(09:22):
also believe others saw their contributions is less valuable. To
understand why this disparity exists. The researchers conducted studies examining
how Americans evaluate different types of helping behavior. For example,
and one revealing study, participants evaluated two people who spent
(09:43):
one evening per week tutoring a younger student who needed
academic help. Okay, so two people tutoring a young student
who needed academic help. The only difference was that one
person tutored a student in an after school program, someone
they didn't know, while the other tutored their younger cousin.
(10:03):
Participants consistently rated the after school program tutoring as more
of a contribution to society than to family tutoring, even
though the help provided was identical. I found that fascinating
this preference emerged regardless of participants education level. The researchers
(10:23):
also found this indifference stemmed in part from perceptions of choice.
Helping individuals outside of one's family was seen as more
of a free choice, while helping family was viewed as
more of an obligation. The researcher's final study drew on
data from a large representative sample of Americans tracked over
(10:44):
several years. They discovered that people with more formal education
spent more time doing volunteer work for strangers, and people
with less formal education spent more time helping family members
and close others. Over these differences helped explain why those
(11:04):
with less education have lower perceptions of societal contribution. Specifically,
volunteering for strangers has merged as a stronger predictor of
self perceived societal contribution than providing unpaid assistant to a
family and close others. These findings reveal that our cultural
(11:25):
conceptions of societal contribution and human agency are too narrow.
The fact that we feel a stronger sense of duty
to help family members doesn't make these contributions any less
valuable to society. Like I've said a thousand times, our
greatest servant leadership call is first down the hallway of
(11:48):
our own home. When family members invest time and energy
in helping each other develop capabilities, pursue opportunities, take creative
and entrepreneurial risks, and overcome challenges, they are making really
important contributions to both individual and societal well being. In addition,
(12:08):
the presence of family obligations doesn't diminish our agency. Choosing
to act on perceived duties to family and other loved
ones represents a meaningful expression of personal agency. While we
may feel strong pressures obligations toward family, each individual must
ultimately decide whether to embrace these responsibilities and how best
(12:30):
to fulfill them. Even in the face of powerful family expectations.
We exercise choice when we decide to invest our, time,
energy in supporting those close to us. In closing better,
recognizing family support as an agentic action and meaningful societal
contribution could help many Americans understand that serving loved ones
(12:54):
is also serving society. Recall that over one third of
Americans and forty three percent of those without college degrees
don't believe they're making important contributions to society. Many Americans
are engaged in activities focused on helping their families, friends,
co workers, and neighbors thrive. It appears that many don't
(13:17):
view these vital efforts as contributing society. What's needed is
a broader cultural recognition of out serving those in our
immediate social network enriches our communities and advances human flourishing
and progress. Those are the words of Clay Rutledge in
(13:39):
a article he wrote, we need to expand our view
of societal contributions that our former guests. Rachel Cohen from
Box shared with us I love it. Here's the deal, guys. Yes,
we produce a show that has an army normal folks
(14:00):
every Tuesday and Shop Talk every Friday, and we do
it every week, and we're constantly highlighting people who are
sharing their talents and gifts and meeting need at a
place where need exist, employing their discipline and their passion. Yes,
but maybe we also need to think about our own narrative,
(14:24):
because I want to tell you when I coached at Manassas,
a friend of mine named Aaron Hayden who played at
the University of Tennessee and then he played for San
Diego and Green Bay and the NFL. I think he's
got a Super Bowl ring. I know he's got an
FC Championship ring. Anyways, great guy, good friend of mine,
(14:45):
played running back. When I was at Manassas. I had
him come and visit and talk with the team a
couple of different times. And one time he was making
a point and he said how many As he was
addressing my players, who said, how many of you in
(15:06):
this room? I want you to raise your hand. Have
two parents in the household, both of whom graduating from
college and seventy one kids in the room, and not
a single one raised their hand. And then he said,
how many kids in this room have had one or
more family members who lived in the same house you
(15:27):
live in serve jail time? And every single one of
them raised their hands. It was stark to me that
Aaron knew that that was the answer he is going
to get.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
It's in the movie Undefeated. If people haven't seen it.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Yeah, well it's a little different, but that was another time,
but it's exact same thing. Yes it is. It's a
scene in the movie. It is, but what was cut
from the movie. And again I was I was just
shot that, you know, Aaron knew that that's the answer
(16:05):
he was going to get before he asked the question,
and I didn't. And I was the guy that'd spent
seven years with these kids. You know, just another you know,
revelation about how so much we have to learn about
one another from different worlds. But as it pertains to
today's conversation, he asked another question, and he said, who
(16:28):
in this room can name one bedtime story? Can just
stay the title or just give you the theme of
one bedtime story you've been told, or either seeing the
words or even just hum the words of a single
lullaby that you ever heard as a child, and not
(16:50):
one kid raised her in and Aaron said, he challenged
my team break that because he said, guys, Aaron is
very real. He said, guys, if you don't read on
grade level by third grade, you are three times more
(17:11):
likely to be unemployed or in jail than you are
to have a job by adulthood. You have to read
on third grade level. And he said, yeah, the school's
got to teach how to read, but that starts at home.
Kids learn phonetics, kids learn alliteration, kids learn how to read.
Kids learn the appreciation for words and grammar by having
(17:36):
been read to by their parents and having played word
games with their parents and having ABC coloring books. They
also learn prose and how to be creative and write
through poems, which are oftentime given to children in the
form of lullabis or songs, and absent that in early
(18:01):
childhood development, children are much less likely to read on
third grade on grade level by third grade, which then
the data shows people that don't read on grade level
by third grade are much more likely to not contribute
to society and possibly be a drag on society. And
(18:22):
his whole point was it starts at home with your children,
reading and lullabies and nurturing. And if you think about that,
the greatest survey, the service the army of normal folks
can do before they ever go out and save the
(18:44):
world is make sure you're serving and leading and being
an army of normal folks to the people down the
hallway from you.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Yeah. I mean, it's frankly a good challenge for us
as storytellers doing this cast too, of finding more stories
of people serving their family. And if people have ideas,
to make sure to email billet normal folks out us
and share them. And I'll give you an example of
one I've been trying to book but I've not been
able to get it yet. This woman's husband had an
(19:16):
affair and he ended up impregnating this girl, and this
girl it was kind of a disaster of life. Wasn't together,
the baby wasn't gonna end up in a good situation.
And she finds us out and she goes to the
girl's house and says, I want to adopt the child?
What in race it? Yeah? And like paid for the pregnancy. Yeah,
(19:38):
I mean, she literally you know brought in the Saint,
I know, but it starts at home, right, And it's like,
that's the thing about an army of normal folks. If
we all took care of our families, there wouldn't be
any problems. I mean, so many families are so broken
that it's still going to need more of us to
step in and help them. But if everybody took care
of their families, a lot of these problems would go away.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
So true. So, Rachel Cohen, thanks for sharing the article
with us. Clay Rutledge, thanks for doing the work.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
We need to explain Clay's job, just so you know.
He focuses on human flourishing, his whole job. He's like
a researcher and writer on it.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Well that makes sense from this that up.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
No, No, I've actually talked to him once before. But
is that a cool gig like your whole time I
have him on the show. Maybe his whole jobs on
human flourishing.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
I want to hear about it. I think we need
to do that Shop Talk number forty six. We need
to expand our viewers to societal contribution. I'll subtitle it
my own words, take care of your families be a
part of the Army of normal folks and serve at
home first, and then when you're homes healthy, then we
(20:47):
can get outside and do work. And for goodness sakes,
if you are serving at home, give yourself a break.
Your contributions are no less than anybody else's and continue on.
So that's shop talk number forty six. Expand your view
of societal contribution, serve it home, and then serve out
(21:08):
in the world. If you have any ideas for shop talks,
email me anytime at Bill at normal folks dot us
and I will respond, and if I think we have
something to add to your questions or ideas, we'll take
them up and be on that. What else, alex A.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
You're gonna start pitching this to me every time.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Now pretty much. I can't ever remember it, and when
I do say it, you always correct how I'll say it.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
That's because you say here, share.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Us on social You could handle that.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Subscribe to the podcast or ready to review it.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
Subsibe to the podcast, subscribe to the podcast, join the
Army at normal folks dot us and consider becoming a
premium member.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
There you nailed it.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Yeah, what else?
Speaker 2 (21:50):
The thing you always would mess up is subscribe to
the podcast on the website, which you can't do. Okay,
that's the thing here for you to do it. This
time you did well well.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
I was kind of watching you do it and figuring
it out. So that's it. Shop Talk number forty six
expand our view of Sidle contribution contributions. Be a servant
leader with those people down the hallway, and then once
that's under control, get out in the community and do
the same elsewhere. And Urm minermal folks can change the world.
(22:21):
I'll see you next week.
Host
Bill Courtney
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