February 11, 2025 • 30 mins
What happens when a semi-professional wakeboarder faces a life-changing injury and finds unexpected purpose in the family business? Join us as we sit down with Josh Wildman, CEO of Wildman Business Group, who shares his journey from aspiring athlete to successful business leader. With nearly 500 employees across seven locations, Josh's story is one of growth, faith, and unforeseen paths. Discover how his passion for wakeboarding continues through his sons, and how a commitment to giving has steered the company towards success.
Explore a narrative filled with personal and professional challenges, including the transformative power of a sabbatical taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. Josh opens up about the emotional struggle of letting go during a crisis and the crucial role of faith and trust in navigating leadership crucibles. We discuss insights from the book of James and leadership experts like John Maxwell, offering wisdom for those in the throes of their own trials. This episode promises to inspire with lessons on resilience and unwavering belief in one's purpose.
Leaders on Fire
www.leadersonfire.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
This is the Leaders on Fire podcast.
On this show, we'll be invitingguests in to talk about
crucible moments in their livesand unpack how it developed
character and perseverance andhow they emerged as leaders on
fire.
We hope that this podcast is anencouragement and an
inspiration to you.
Today, our guest is JoshWildman.
(00:26):
Josh is the CEO of WildmanBusiness Group.
He also happens to be one of mygood friends, my brother-in-law
, and also a business partner inWildman Business Group, so I'm
super excited to hear more abouthis story.
He's got some great things toshare, some crucible moments in
his life and also how that wrapsaround the story of Wildman.
So let's welcome Josh to theshow.
(00:48):
Josh, welcome to the Leaders onFire podcast man, it's a
privilege to have you on theshow.
Thank you, it's good to be here, hey.
So let's light the fire alittle bit.
So you and I go back quite aways.
We were friends in high schooland actually I don't know if
people know this, but youinvited me on a ski trip when I
(01:10):
was 14, I think 14 or 15.
I was a freshman, you were asenior in high school and that
was the ski trip that I gotintroduced to Jesus.
I got saved, so you must haveseen something in me that's like
man.
This guy needs Jesus, so youinvited me to come on the ski
trip.
Huh.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah, we all need Jesus.
Every day we need Jesus.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Yeah, so we were friends in high school and then,
yeah, ended up joining forcestogether in business.
I think I was 21.
No-transcript.
So we've got a lot of differentstories between the two of us,
great history of friendship andrelationship.
But tell us a little bit aboutyourself.
Who is Josh?
(01:50):
Tell us about your family andwho you are.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
So I love Jesus, I have Lent in my veins, I love
the laundry business, I lovemarketplace ministry and I have
my high school.
Sweetheart is the love of mylife Leslie, 26 years this past
July, and then two boys not boys, young men now.
Noah is 22, and Bo is 19,.
(02:15):
And they're something else.
They keep me busy.
So lots of fun.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Awesome.
So you're the CEO of WildmanBusiness Group.
How long have you been atWildman?
Speaker 2 (02:24):
So 25 years, 25 years this past May, so a little over
25 years.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Awesome man, that's really cool.
So let's fan the flame a littlebit.
Let's talk about how in theworld did you get involved with
Wildman?
Because you didn't start outcoming out of high school and
college as a guy that wanted toget into the laundry business.
In fact, you had a differentidea right and you were a
(02:49):
professional wakeboarder or youwere getting ready to go
professional.
You were semi-pro at that time,I believe.
So tell us how you got intoWildman.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
So I yeah.
The funny thing is, you know Isay I've lent in my veins but I
wanted nothing to do with ourfamily business and I did not
want to live in Warsaw, indiana.
And it's cool how God kind ofyou know, it seems like anytime
I say I'm not going to do this,god says no, that's exactly
where I'm uplanding and you knowit's.
(03:19):
I know we're going to talkabout crucibles and it was one
of my moments there where Godwould sometimes physically break
me to keep me on a path.
I think, or I look back now andcan see that and I had gotten
married.
So, as you can tell with givinga little bit of my bio, I've
been at Wildman less than I'vebeen married, but I had gotten
(03:40):
married and my wife and I were.
I was trying to finish collegepursuing professional
wakeboarding, leslie was not inschool, kind of just, we're just
making ends meet.
We were young and in love andreally poor.
We made $18,000 combined, ourfirst year of marriage, and
neither one of our cards wouldgo over 45.
So we had to borrow a car to goto dinner in Fort Wayne.
(04:01):
So we had to borrow a car to goto dinner in Fort Wayne.
So I needed a good, stableincome and job.
I'd been waiting tables for thesummer with benefits, and so I
asked my dad.
I said, hey, can I work for thecompany this summer?
But I had already committed to awakeboard coaching job in St
(04:22):
Petersburg, florida, and my goalwas to join the pro tour for
wakeboarding and then move andfinish school and teach
wakeboarding in Florida and, youknow, be in a warmer climate
that you could ski all yearround.
And I was practicing, you knowit wasn't too long into the job.
I was about 30 days in and Iwas running a route.
(04:43):
So I had been put on a routeand learning that.
But we had Fridays off.
We only worked four days, andso I would train on Fridays and
I was trying to learn a newtrick wakeboarding and I ended
up with a very severe broken leg, the one that took me out for
the whole summer and lost mysponsors, lost my job
(05:04):
opportunity, or so I thought.
And so there I was with abroken leg and a new wife and
hadn't finished college yet, butI was still working at Wildman,
and so I started specialprojects and you know, that job
became, you know, a calling, andthen what I would even refer to
as a mantle um, that I'mprivileged to to uh, to bear,
(05:29):
and, and and, just love it.
So love the people.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
That's awesome man.
So, uh, the story ofwakeboarding didn't end there,
though.
In your life, as you look tothe next generation, tell us a
little bit about Bo and Noah,because they did end up making
it to the pro tour, so kind oftell us how that went full
circle.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
It's kind of cool how God, like you, think he's
taking a dream away and heactually just gives it back to
you tenfold.
And you know, our two sons werevery athletic and we had them
try everything.
You know, just you know, be ina sport and try everything and
find out what you love and beactive and glorify God in it.
(06:09):
And um, so our oldest, noah,was really kind of down to.
He was very good footballplayer too and he but he picked
up the wakeboarding was doingpretty well and um said look, I
want to get really good and todo wakeboarding.
You've got to train all yearround and we were blessed enough
to have the resources to have ago at it.
(06:32):
And so really, noah kind of ledthe way, saying I want to do
this.
Bo was a surfer and kind of justin his brother's coattails and
then 12 months later Bo had bigcontracts and Noah had a
sponsorship.
But Bo took off in multipledisciplines and so they we ended
(06:55):
up every winter in Florida,they, they would be in Florida
and I'd go back and forth.
So a big sacrifice as a family,but in a lot of ways it it
brought us really close.
So we still ended up, but in alot of ways it it brought us
really close.
So we still ended up in Floridaa lot of the year and
wakeboarding, and I even endedup competing in my my early
forties, for you know just kindof had always kept riding and
(07:15):
that was a lot of fun.
So yeah, it's cool to see them.
Bo's one of the top.
Noah still rides, sometimesabout half the tournaments.
He's.
He's really good, but Bo's oneof the top guys in the industry,
so it's fun to watch them youknow, just do well with that
yeah, and they compete at theworld level.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
So I mean when you say the top of the industry, I
mean Bo is in the top eliteathletes of the world.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Yeah, top three in surfing wakefoil top three in
surfing and wake foiling and top20 and pro wakeboard.
Yeah, yeah, that's prettyawesome man.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
So you also have a book coming out soon, and in
this book you talk a little bitabout this early journey that
you already shared, and how yougot into Wildman and then also
how it transitions into thisheart for marketplace ministry.
That really just came alive asyou got into business and I
don't know at what point itreally started happening.
(08:07):
I just know that it was agradual experience and one of
those events was GlobalLeadership Summit.
We talked about that.
I don't know when it was.
I think it was 2004,.
Somewhere in there.
We were both in our 20s andthat's when it really ignited
this idea of man, we can use ourbusiness for some awesome
(08:28):
things.
And so in that book you talkabout your story and then a lot
of that journey.
You want to just kind of giveus a little overview of that.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
So unpacking the book , I wasn't as talented as you to
sit down and figure it out andtake all my journals which I
don't have a lot of journalingand write my own books.
So I'm using a ghostwriter,who's been really helpful,
because what we're writingtogether, I think, is a better
representation of a journey thatanybody can really take if they
(09:00):
want to live out their faith intheir business and marketplace
ministry or business as amission, be a leader on fire.
It's at least our story and alot of Wildman's story of just
like muddling through it andfiguring it out and just being
earnestly pursuing God and whatthat can do to change people's
(09:23):
lives.
So at least the working titleof the book right now is Faith
Works, because we've just seenthat it works.
It's culturally work, itexpands the kingdom, and then
there's a business aspect to ittoo, and so we're just telling
that story and a big piece ofthat is, yeah, how we got
(09:43):
inspired.
Like GLS Global LeadershipSummit hadn't been exposed to
that.
A big piece of that is how wegot inspired.
Gls Global Leadership Summithadn't been exposed to that, but
two, it was my dad, our dad,his example.
There's a chapter in the bookcalled Malachi Math and just
really talks about that verse inMalachi 3.10, just bringing the
(10:05):
whole tithe and how that wasreally not any.
That was a foundation my dadled, but we've been in that
blessing of that, basicallyputting God to the test and just
seeing that work out, and it'sbeen certainly a journey.
Part of the goal with the booksto inspire, but it's also to
(10:27):
equip people, saying there'sgoing to be crucible moments,
moments that are refining andhard, but maybe our story can
help you avoid some of therework and pain or just
stumbling around that we endedup doing as we got to meet
people that were further downthat journey than us and so,
yeah, it's excited about it, butit's been a process too, as you
(10:52):
well know.
Yeah, for sure it's a process.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Well, and I think too , you mentioned this your dad
was instrumental in kind ofpaving that way for us and his
intentionality with just livingpurposefully.
And I believe it was the yearof or the year before he
challenged us to tithe as acompany in a time when we didn't
have any money.
I mean, we were growing and wewere at that size of
(11:18):
organization that was verydifficult Cash poor, you might
say.
And we were growing and yourdad said we're going to tithe
and we made a commitment to thelocal church, the Warsaw
Community Church BuildingCampaign.
Imagine that they had back then.
I think that was 2003.
And since then we've just neverturned back.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
No, yeah, and I had little faith.
So it wasn't my faith workingout, because when my dad
presented that to our CEO, steveBryant, who was you know, I was
just sitting there going well,this is going to be a quick no,
because you know I was acting asthe accountant at that time and
spent a lot of my time justtalking to vendors, you know, on
(11:59):
when we could pay them and youknow I know for a fact we
borrowed from our line of credit.
That was usually maxed out, butwe put the.
You know those checks went thefirst of every month and we got,
we paid it and since then, youknow, we've always just
increased that amount as thebusiness has grown every year.
And it's, yeah, it's, the mathworks, you know, having the
(12:23):
faith to do it.
And then, yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Yeah, in fact this is an interesting principle and I
don't know if you call this outin your book, but it just made
me think about it.
Since then, we've alwaysforecasted our giving off of
what we think we're going to doin revenue and profit, not off
of what we did the previous year.
So we look ahead and, in faith,we set the giving budget,
hoping that it's going to comethrough, and it's always an
increase.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
And so it's an interesting principle because we
have continued to put thatfirst.
Yeah, and unpacking that,that's definitely the part that
ends up like the math.
You know, we usually were ouroverall commitments.
You know 20%, but it usuallyends up it can be over 30%
depending on the year, but italways it just works, works out.
There's never a.
The business continues to growand the people we impact it just
works, works out.
There's never a.
The business continues to growand the people we impact, not
just financially but just in thebusiness and the community
(13:17):
grows.
But you know, there's not likeall this cash sitting aside,
yeah, it's constantly in faithbecause it's getting put right
back into either being generousor growing the company.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Yeah, yeah, and just I mean, you know, just to give
people the scale of kind ofwhat's happened, I mean in those
early years, I know when Istarted we were somewhere around
70 employees or something likethat, if I recall, and it was
probably less than that when youstarted, because you started a
few years earlier.
And you know, today we'reknocking on the door of 500 in
the upper 400s, if I'm notmistaken of employees, seven
(13:53):
locations, and so it hascontinued to expand.
Yeah, and it's not been an easyjourney, a lot of the way, but
we've continued to be faithfuland watch God actually do pretty
amazing things through thatprocess.
So, all right, let's turn upthe heat and it's time to enter
the crucible.
(14:14):
So this is the part of thepodcast where, you know, we ask
our guests to share a cruciblemoment, crucible season or
multiple maybe that areconnected.
You know that where the heatwas just cranked up in your life
and you were under intensepressure, that was difficult.
But because you have a faith inChrist, you know that
(14:37):
persevering through those trialsyou know James says to consider
it pure joy, right, like it'sthe testing of our faith that
creates character, and then youemerge as a leader on fire.
So just take some time here andshare with us.
You know, some crucible moments, or a season, or anything you'd
like to share.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Yeah, you know, I think that for me, one of the
challenges has always been tolay down my own flesh and pride,
really, and identity and it'seasy to get, you know, tied up
in what you do is who you are,and so, you know, you kind of
teed up the first cruciblemoment that was really big in my
life.
I mean, there's certainly lots,but that injury, wakeboarding,
(15:19):
you know, is kind of in my mindthat this is, you know, who I'm
going to be and and that changed, you know, in a split second
did a, a full 180.
But I think another time whereI had to lay down identity, you
know was a crucible moment andyou're part of that.
This story too, drew, is youknow, after 20 years, you know
(15:40):
I'm blessed as family that weand to have a board of directors
that really challenged me totake a sabbatical like you
should take some time.
You know we'd grown a lot andbeen going really hard as a
business and you know young kidsgrowing up, family and all that
Um and so I took 90 days offand I was.
(16:02):
It was February of 2020 when I Ileft to do that and I know,
with the way I operate, I leftto do that.
And I know, with the way Ioperate, like I had to totally
disconnect, like no text, noemails, like can't be checking
in because I just my mind willget consumed with what's going
on.
I'm just, you know, that's justkind of how I operate.
(16:23):
And you know it was funny, thefirst two weeks I spent like
really, even though I was inHawaii surfing with my family,
which is my favorite thing to do, and I'm like why am I so
unhappy?
And come to find out, I wasjust so used to being needed and
having an answer and I was justkind of going through
(16:43):
withdrawal of like I don't haveanything pressing to do today
except for be present with myfamily and my Lord and Savior
and enjoy his you know beautifulearth and ocean.
And you know kind of realize,you know maybe there's more to
this 90 days than I had evenanticipated and had a good coach
(17:06):
through that and had to get tothe point of really like feeling
like I had fully surrendered,like well, you know, god, I want
to do what you want me to do.
I want my talents to be usedfor what you would want, you
know.
And then there was this littlething that happened in March.
So 30 days into that, 90 days,the whole world shut down and
(17:29):
with COVID and kind of going,what is going on here and what
do I do?
Like, what's my?
What's the responsible thing todo?
Do I cause I'd left and said,hey, call me if it's on fire,
literally and burning down orthere's some kind of crisis that
you know would would need meand um and you you were leading
(17:51):
at that time, drew and and um.
You know you, I think I.
It was really hard for me not tolike what's going on, what are
we doing to, to stay disengaged,but I think that was part of
the faith works in that journeyof like.
It was more of a mental journeythan anything, a crucible
moment, and I love James.
(18:11):
Overall.
It's my favorite book in theBible, but I love James 1.1
because you know, as leaders,there are no two.
I think John Maxwell says this.
You know Craig Rochelle wouldsay everything rises and falls
with leadership.
You know a good leader makeseverything better.
John Maxwell would say there'sno two consecutive good days in
(18:32):
any leader's life and so whenyou're a leader on fire, it's
not promising that it's allgoing to be like awesome and you
know it's saying, actually, forevery other day you're going to
be going through a James 1-1 ofsome sort, and then sometimes
it might be 90 days of James 1-1or a year, and certainly have a
(18:53):
lot of those in telling thestory in the book.
But that's really.
You know that's.
That was a big crucible momentand definitely came back.
You know, still having to laydown identity, but with just a
different perspective, holdingit a lot looser, and so that was
(19:14):
a good one.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
So let's unpack that a little bit more.
So you'd been going pretty hardfor 20 years in the business and
you are an operator at heart,and what I mean by that is, like
you, you're very detailed, youlike to know the details and you
you have a grasp on everythingthat's going on and, um, you
(19:38):
don't let things slide andyou're on it, right.
And so this moment of being onthe sabbatical, a crisis hits a
company that you're responsiblefor as a CEO, and I mean I just
can't imagine how difficult thatwould have been in the struggle
(19:59):
of response because we didn'ttalk.
You're right.
I mean I did the best I couldto not reach out even in the
midst of like this crisissituation, and it was difficult
for me, you know, trying tonavigate that and, with the
board and everything else,figure out what the appropriate
thing to do is.
But I mean, just talk a littlebit more about the emotions you
must have been feeling.
(20:19):
I mean, you've been runningthis thing for 20 years and then
30 days in, it could literallyjust completely implode, like
the way the world wasfunctioning, and luckily we were
.
What was it called Essential?
Speaker 2 (20:36):
business.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Yeah, we were an essential business and so we
were able to keep functioningand keep servicing out there.
But it was difficult, Like itwas gonna shut down right and so
explain kind of the feelingsyou were going through, like the
emotions you were experiencingwhen you were detached from that
, and what kind of faith did youhave to have to just trust that
(20:57):
God was gonna take care of it.
I mean, if there was a timethat you should have broken your
sabbatical rule and do soresponsibly, that would have
been the time to do it.
But how did you stay steadfastin that commitment and trust?
Like talk more about that.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Yeah, that's a good question.
I think it's the.
It was the, you know.
Obviously COVID didn't happenbecause I was on a sabbatical,
but God uses everything to alignwhat's going on in life with
his plan.
For me, it was the test.
I don't know, if COVID had beengoing on, if I would have
(21:33):
really got to the level ofrelease and brokenness that I
needed to to be healthy comingback release and brokenness that
I needed to to be healthycoming back, because part of
what God was doing, you know,when you go through the crucible
moments, you should be able tolook in the rear view mirror and
it never seems as bad as it waswhen you're going through it
and usually you go, you knowwhat I learned so much and now
you know, and if you're applyingwhat you learned, then there's
(21:56):
usually a good outcome.
It talks about that in James 2,right.
There's usually a good outcome.
It talks about that in Jamestoo, right.
And and you know, for me, what Iwas learning is, like you said,
I was a, I was hands-onoperator and where the business
was at, number of employees andlocations and everything really
like I couldn't be a hands-onoperator anymore.
(22:17):
I had to learn to go fromleading some leaders, but mostly
leading managers, to learn togo from leading some leaders,
but mostly leading managers, toleading leaders.
And you know, I don't think Iwould have got there if that
hadn't happened.
So it was a daily thing whereconnectedness with God.
You know, I remember I wouldrun every morning and I would
just listen to the same worshipsong, pray the same prayer and
(22:40):
just say, god, you just got togive me peace about this today.
And then I'd say I trust A bigpiece of it was you and the
board and I trust if I'm neededI'll get called, but I need to
not feel like I'm the guy thatneeds to be needed or insert
myself without being asked.
(23:01):
So that was, that was hard.
But um, but good, really good.
Um, yeah, it was a goodexperience.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Yeah, man, that's pretty intense when you think
about that.
Um, so let's talk about, let'sshift to kind of, this last
segment of being a leader onfire and for people that are
going through a crucible now,that may be in that season, you
know, or have these ebbs andflows where they, like you
talked about, sometimes it'severy other day, or there are
(23:32):
some crucibles or moments, ortheir days, or the weeks, months
, years, but whatever the case.
But whatever the case, howimportant are these crucible
moments to lean in and embraceit as a work that God is doing
in our lives, knowing that he'sgoing to produce a fruit and
(23:55):
refine our character and meltaway the impurities.
That's a whole idea of thecrucible and that's the biblical
metaphor we see when we'retalking about we're going to be
refined like silver, and that'sthe biblical metaphor we see
when we're talking about.
We're going to be refined likesilver, and we know that silver
is ready to come out of acrucible when the silversmith
can see his reflection.
And likewise, when we'rerefined and those impurities and
those things are melted away,god's able to see his reflection
in us.
He pulls us out of the crucible.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
How important do you feel these moments are to be in
a leader on fire and to be aleader of depth and character.
Well, I think if you don't havethose moments and you're not
wrestling with them, then you'renot going to be a leader long,
because you're out of touch withyour team or your customer or
your own abilities at some level.
So you're going to have them.
(24:43):
It's to the level that yousurround yourself.
I think a big piece of it isone connection with God.
How are you staying rooted inscripture, in worship, in prayer
, in meditation?
That's got to be on yourcalendar and it's got to be a
big chunk of every week.
You know, that's got to be onyour calendar and it's got to be
a big chunk of every week.
(25:03):
And you know, I think that forme that was learning.
That was really important,because certainly it doesn't
make it easier but it justbrings you back to what you know
, this is just a dot Like ourtime on earth is really about
how many people we can bringinto the kingdom with us and
influence.
It's nothing more than that.
And then I think it's justreally good with what your
(25:28):
leader's on fire and you thinkabout C for One.
I think surrounding yourself inthose seasons with one-on-one
accountability and mentorship,small group accountability and
mentorship, and then anorganization or organizations
where you can continue to beinspired, is really important,
because they're going to helpyou grow.
You're going to have peoplearound you that have been there
(25:48):
already.
It's a lot harder to learn whenyou're on your own than if
you've got people that can say,yeah, I've done that, I've been
there, I know exactly whatyou're going through, you're
going to be okay, and here's acouple pointers on how to get
through it better.
So that's how I guess I'd frameit up.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
Well, let's wrap up with this.
Maybe put your heart on thetable here and just preach to us
a little bit about your passionfor marketplace ministry and I
know you've got a favorite quotefrom Billy Graham that you'd
maybe like to share and yeah,just talk about the passion and
the heart behind business andhow it can be used to further
the kingdom, and just yourpersonal conviction around that.
(26:27):
Just share a little bit aboutthat.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
So you know, the quote from Billy Graham is that
you know he prophetically saidhey, you know, I believe that
the next great move of God maycome through the men and women
in the marketplace or theworkplace, and I think that was
profound to be said some yearsago.
And when you think about whatwe have as business leaders is
(26:52):
we have the greatest resource,at least in the US right now,
which is not money, it'sactually time.
And so, with work, they say,they say I think it's 60 or
70,000 hours you're going tospend at work.
Well, that's a captive audienceto be able to be in community
with.
I think it's not about churchor religion or preaching, it's
(27:14):
actually community that youstart with.
Who's this person?
Where are they at in life andhow do you help, pour into them
and meet their needs so theymight go man this place or you
as a leader?
You're a leader on fire andthere's something different, and
I want to understand that whichgives you the ultimate
opportunity, because marketplaceministry is all about the good
(27:37):
news to bring people intorelationship with Christ and to
grow it and develop it andengage it.
And I guess I would justchallenge everybody that's
listening to this or engaging inyour platform is what are you
waiting for?
There's fear over like what canI do?
What should I do?
Like God's word is bold andeverything you need is in there.
(27:59):
Just do it.
Be generous, do crazy stuff.
We often hear that at WebMed.
I can't believe you guys do allthis stuff.
Have you ever had anybody havea problem with this?
I think when it's done in theright spirit, you just do it
(28:20):
because it's the right thing todo and yeah, and then you see
culture and community grow andwe're not perfect at well and by
any means.
in fact, we've got lots ofopportunities and planks, but I
think we're intentional and theheart's right, the intent is
right, and then you get storiesand testimonies.
Which is the number one kpi inbusiness, I think, is what
(28:43):
testimonies are coming out of it, and that gives you the, the
affirmation that, yeah, we'redoing something right.
So so, yeah, what are youwaiting for?
Just yeah, go for it.
And then you've got, you know,your awesome platform and just
your personal testimony drew toreally help develop that.
(29:04):
So you know, I would just saydo it, lean in, be all in, all
in, go for it Awesome, man.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Thanks for sharing that.
Well, dude, thanks for being onthe podcast.
I know you got a lot going on,I appreciate you taking the time
out of your day to come, spendit with us and to share your
story.
So thanks for coming.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
man, that's the best cup of coffee I've had in a
while.
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Thanks, thanks, josh, appreciate you.
Yep, thank you for listening totoday's episode.
Perhaps it has prompted apainful memory or challenged you
to reflect on times you were inthe crucible.
Some of you may be in acrucible now, but be encouraged.
Maybe, just maybe, god is usingthis to refine your character
(29:50):
so that you emerge as a leaderon fire.
If today's episode was anencouragement to you, share it
with others who may also findencouragement in the Leaders on
Fire podcast.
So let's go into the world sentout as leaders on fire Until
next time.
This is the Leaders on Fire podcast.
On this show, we'll be invitingguests in to talk about
crucible moments in their livesand unpack how it developed
character and perseverance andhow they emerged as leaders on
fire.
We hope that this podcast is anencouragement and an
inspiration to you.
Today, our guest is JoshWildman.
(00:26):
Josh is the CEO of WildmanBusiness Group.
He also happens to be one of mygood friends, my brother-in-law
, and also a business partner inWildman Business Group, so I'm
super excited to hear more abouthis story.
He's got some great things toshare, some crucible moments in
his life and also how that wrapsaround the story of Wildman.
So let's welcome Josh to theshow.
(00:48):
Josh, welcome to the Leaders onFire podcast man, it's a
privilege to have you on theshow.
Thank you, it's good to be here, hey.
So let's light the fire alittle bit.
So you and I go back quite aways.
We were friends in high schooland actually I don't know if
people know this, but youinvited me on a ski trip when I
(01:10):
was 14, I think 14 or 15.
I was a freshman, you were asenior in high school and that
was the ski trip that I gotintroduced to Jesus.
I got saved, so you must haveseen something in me that's like
man.
This guy needs Jesus, so youinvited me to come on the ski
trip.
Huh.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah, we all need Jesus.
Every day we need Jesus.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Yeah, so we were friends in high school and then,
yeah, ended up joining forcestogether in business.
I think I was 21.
No-transcript.
So we've got a lot of differentstories between the two of us,
great history of friendship andrelationship.
But tell us a little bit aboutyourself.
Who is Josh?
(01:50):
Tell us about your family andwho you are.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
So I love Jesus, I have Lent in my veins, I love
the laundry business, I lovemarketplace ministry and I have
my high school.
Sweetheart is the love of mylife Leslie, 26 years this past
July, and then two boys not boys, young men now.
Noah is 22, and Bo is 19,.
(02:15):
And they're something else.
They keep me busy.
So lots of fun.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Awesome.
So you're the CEO of WildmanBusiness Group.
How long have you been atWildman?
Speaker 2 (02:24):
So 25 years, 25 years this past May, so a little over
25 years.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Awesome man, that's really cool.
So let's fan the flame a littlebit.
Let's talk about how in theworld did you get involved with
Wildman?
Because you didn't start outcoming out of high school and
college as a guy that wanted toget into the laundry business.
In fact, you had a differentidea right and you were a
(02:49):
professional wakeboarder or youwere getting ready to go
professional.
You were semi-pro at that time,I believe.
So tell us how you got intoWildman.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
So I yeah.
The funny thing is, you know Isay I've lent in my veins but I
wanted nothing to do with ourfamily business and I did not
want to live in Warsaw, indiana.
And it's cool how God kind ofyou know, it seems like anytime
I say I'm not going to do this,god says no, that's exactly
where I'm uplanding and you knowit's.
(03:19):
I know we're going to talkabout crucibles and it was one
of my moments there where Godwould sometimes physically break
me to keep me on a path.
I think, or I look back now andcan see that and I had gotten
married.
So, as you can tell with givinga little bit of my bio, I've
been at Wildman less than I'vebeen married, but I had gotten
(03:40):
married and my wife and I were.
I was trying to finish collegepursuing professional
wakeboarding, leslie was not inschool, kind of just, we're just
making ends meet.
We were young and in love andreally poor.
We made $18,000 combined, ourfirst year of marriage, and
neither one of our cards wouldgo over 45.
So we had to borrow a car to goto dinner in Fort Wayne.
(04:01):
So we had to borrow a car to goto dinner in Fort Wayne.
So I needed a good, stableincome and job.
I'd been waiting tables for thesummer with benefits, and so I
asked my dad.
I said, hey, can I work for thecompany this summer?
But I had already committed to awakeboard coaching job in St
(04:22):
Petersburg, florida, and my goalwas to join the pro tour for
wakeboarding and then move andfinish school and teach
wakeboarding in Florida and, youknow, be in a warmer climate
that you could ski all yearround.
And I was practicing, you knowit wasn't too long into the job.
I was about 30 days in and Iwas running a route.
(04:43):
So I had been put on a routeand learning that.
But we had Fridays off.
We only worked four days, andso I would train on Fridays and
I was trying to learn a newtrick wakeboarding and I ended
up with a very severe broken leg, the one that took me out for
the whole summer and lost mysponsors, lost my job
(05:04):
opportunity, or so I thought.
And so there I was with abroken leg and a new wife and
hadn't finished college yet, butI was still working at Wildman,
and so I started specialprojects and you know, that job
became, you know, a calling, andthen what I would even refer to
as a mantle um, that I'mprivileged to to uh, to bear,
(05:29):
and, and and, just love it.
So love the people.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
That's awesome man.
So, uh, the story ofwakeboarding didn't end there,
though.
In your life, as you look tothe next generation, tell us a
little bit about Bo and Noah,because they did end up making
it to the pro tour, so kind oftell us how that went full
circle.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
It's kind of cool how God, like you, think he's
taking a dream away and heactually just gives it back to
you tenfold.
And you know, our two sons werevery athletic and we had them
try everything.
You know, just you know, be ina sport and try everything and
find out what you love and beactive and glorify God in it.
(06:09):
And um, so our oldest, noah,was really kind of down to.
He was very good footballplayer too and he but he picked
up the wakeboarding was doingpretty well and um said look, I
want to get really good and todo wakeboarding.
You've got to train all yearround and we were blessed enough
to have the resources to have ago at it.
(06:32):
And so really, noah kind of ledthe way, saying I want to do
this.
Bo was a surfer and kind of justin his brother's coattails and
then 12 months later Bo had bigcontracts and Noah had a
sponsorship.
But Bo took off in multipledisciplines and so they we ended
(06:55):
up every winter in Florida,they, they would be in Florida
and I'd go back and forth.
So a big sacrifice as a family,but in a lot of ways it it
brought us really close.
So we still ended up, but in alot of ways it it brought us
really close.
So we still ended up in Floridaa lot of the year and
wakeboarding, and I even endedup competing in my my early
forties, for you know just kindof had always kept riding and
(07:15):
that was a lot of fun.
So yeah, it's cool to see them.
Bo's one of the top.
Noah still rides, sometimesabout half the tournaments.
He's.
He's really good, but Bo's oneof the top guys in the industry,
so it's fun to watch them youknow, just do well with that
yeah, and they compete at theworld level.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
So I mean when you say the top of the industry, I
mean Bo is in the top eliteathletes of the world.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Yeah, top three in surfing wakefoil top three in
surfing and wake foiling and top20 and pro wakeboard.
Yeah, yeah, that's prettyawesome man.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
So you also have a book coming out soon, and in
this book you talk a little bitabout this early journey that
you already shared, and how yougot into Wildman and then also
how it transitions into thisheart for marketplace ministry.
That really just came alive asyou got into business and I
don't know at what point itreally started happening.
(08:07):
I just know that it was agradual experience and one of
those events was GlobalLeadership Summit.
We talked about that.
I don't know when it was.
I think it was 2004,.
Somewhere in there.
We were both in our 20s andthat's when it really ignited
this idea of man, we can use ourbusiness for some awesome
(08:28):
things.
And so in that book you talkabout your story and then a lot
of that journey.
You want to just kind of giveus a little overview of that.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
So unpacking the book , I wasn't as talented as you to
sit down and figure it out andtake all my journals which I
don't have a lot of journalingand write my own books.
So I'm using a ghostwriter,who's been really helpful,
because what we're writingtogether, I think, is a better
representation of a journey thatanybody can really take if they
(09:00):
want to live out their faith intheir business and marketplace
ministry or business as amission, be a leader on fire.
It's at least our story and alot of Wildman's story of just
like muddling through it andfiguring it out and just being
earnestly pursuing God and whatthat can do to change people's
(09:23):
lives.
So at least the working titleof the book right now is Faith
Works, because we've just seenthat it works.
It's culturally work, itexpands the kingdom, and then
there's a business aspect to ittoo, and so we're just telling
that story and a big piece ofthat is, yeah, how we got
(09:43):
inspired.
Like GLS Global LeadershipSummit hadn't been exposed to
that.
A big piece of that is how wegot inspired.
Gls Global Leadership Summithadn't been exposed to that, but
two, it was my dad, our dad,his example.
There's a chapter in the bookcalled Malachi Math and just
really talks about that verse inMalachi 3.10, just bringing the
(10:05):
whole tithe and how that wasreally not any.
That was a foundation my dadled, but we've been in that
blessing of that, basicallyputting God to the test and just
seeing that work out, and it'sbeen certainly a journey.
Part of the goal with the booksto inspire, but it's also to
(10:27):
equip people, saying there'sgoing to be crucible moments,
moments that are refining andhard, but maybe our story can
help you avoid some of therework and pain or just
stumbling around that we endedup doing as we got to meet
people that were further downthat journey than us and so,
yeah, it's excited about it, butit's been a process too, as you
(10:52):
well know.
Yeah, for sure it's a process.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Well, and I think too , you mentioned this your dad
was instrumental in kind ofpaving that way for us and his
intentionality with just livingpurposefully.
And I believe it was the yearof or the year before he
challenged us to tithe as acompany in a time when we didn't
have any money.
I mean, we were growing and wewere at that size of
(11:18):
organization that was verydifficult Cash poor, you might
say.
And we were growing and yourdad said we're going to tithe
and we made a commitment to thelocal church, the Warsaw
Community Church BuildingCampaign.
Imagine that they had back then.
I think that was 2003.
And since then we've just neverturned back.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
No, yeah, and I had little faith.
So it wasn't my faith workingout, because when my dad
presented that to our CEO, steveBryant, who was you know, I was
just sitting there going well,this is going to be a quick no,
because you know I was acting asthe accountant at that time and
spent a lot of my time justtalking to vendors, you know, on
(11:59):
when we could pay them and youknow I know for a fact we
borrowed from our line of credit.
That was usually maxed out, butwe put the.
You know those checks went thefirst of every month and we got,
we paid it and since then, youknow, we've always just
increased that amount as thebusiness has grown every year.
And it's, yeah, it's, the mathworks, you know, having the
(12:23):
faith to do it.
And then, yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Yeah, in fact this is an interesting principle and I
don't know if you call this outin your book, but it just made
me think about it.
Since then, we've alwaysforecasted our giving off of
what we think we're going to doin revenue and profit, not off
of what we did the previous year.
So we look ahead and, in faith,we set the giving budget,
hoping that it's going to comethrough, and it's always an
increase.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
And so it's an interesting principle because we
have continued to put thatfirst.
Yeah, and unpacking that,that's definitely the part that
ends up like the math.
You know, we usually were ouroverall commitments.
You know 20%, but it usuallyends up it can be over 30%
depending on the year, but italways it just works, works out.
There's never a.
The business continues to growand the people we impact it just
works, works out.
There's never a.
The business continues to growand the people we impact, not
just financially but just in thebusiness and the community
(13:17):
grows.
But you know, there's not likeall this cash sitting aside,
yeah, it's constantly in faithbecause it's getting put right
back into either being generousor growing the company.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Yeah, yeah, and just I mean, you know, just to give
people the scale of kind ofwhat's happened, I mean in those
early years, I know when Istarted we were somewhere around
70 employees or something likethat, if I recall, and it was
probably less than that when youstarted, because you started a
few years earlier.
And you know, today we'reknocking on the door of 500 in
the upper 400s, if I'm notmistaken of employees, seven
(13:53):
locations, and so it hascontinued to expand.
Yeah, and it's not been an easyjourney, a lot of the way, but
we've continued to be faithfuland watch God actually do pretty
amazing things through thatprocess.
So, all right, let's turn upthe heat and it's time to enter
the crucible.
(14:14):
So this is the part of thepodcast where, you know, we ask
our guests to share a cruciblemoment, crucible season or
multiple maybe that areconnected.
You know that where the heatwas just cranked up in your life
and you were under intensepressure, that was difficult.
But because you have a faith inChrist, you know that
(14:37):
persevering through those trialsyou know James says to consider
it pure joy, right, like it'sthe testing of our faith that
creates character, and then youemerge as a leader on fire.
So just take some time here andshare with us.
You know, some crucible moments, or a season, or anything you'd
like to share.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Yeah, you know, I think that for me, one of the
challenges has always been tolay down my own flesh and pride,
really, and identity and it'seasy to get, you know, tied up
in what you do is who you are,and so, you know, you kind of
teed up the first cruciblemoment that was really big in my
life.
I mean, there's certainly lots,but that injury, wakeboarding,
(15:19):
you know, is kind of in my mindthat this is, you know, who I'm
going to be and and that changed, you know, in a split second
did a, a full 180.
But I think another time whereI had to lay down identity, you
know was a crucible moment andyou're part of that.
This story too, drew, is youknow, after 20 years, you know
(15:40):
I'm blessed as family that weand to have a board of directors
that really challenged me totake a sabbatical like you
should take some time.
You know we'd grown a lot andbeen going really hard as a
business and you know young kidsgrowing up, family and all that
Um and so I took 90 days offand I was.
(16:02):
It was February of 2020 when I Ileft to do that and I know,
with the way I operate, I leftto do that.
And I know, with the way Ioperate, like I had to totally
disconnect, like no text, noemails, like can't be checking
in because I just my mind willget consumed with what's going
on.
I'm just, you know, that's justkind of how I operate.
(16:23):
And you know it was funny, thefirst two weeks I spent like
really, even though I was inHawaii surfing with my family,
which is my favorite thing to do, and I'm like why am I so
unhappy?
And come to find out, I wasjust so used to being needed and
having an answer and I was justkind of going through
(16:43):
withdrawal of like I don't haveanything pressing to do today
except for be present with myfamily and my Lord and Savior
and enjoy his you know beautifulearth and ocean.
And you know kind of realize,you know maybe there's more to
this 90 days than I had evenanticipated and had a good coach
(17:06):
through that and had to get tothe point of really like feeling
like I had fully surrendered,like well, you know, god, I want
to do what you want me to do.
I want my talents to be usedfor what you would want, you
know.
And then there was this littlething that happened in March.
So 30 days into that, 90 days,the whole world shut down and
(17:29):
with COVID and kind of going,what is going on here and what
do I do?
Like, what's my?
What's the responsible thing todo?
Do I cause I'd left and said,hey, call me if it's on fire,
literally and burning down orthere's some kind of crisis that
you know would would need meand um and you you were leading
(17:51):
at that time, drew and and um.
You know you, I think I.
It was really hard for me not tolike what's going on, what are
we doing to, to stay disengaged,but I think that was part of
the faith works in that journeyof like.
It was more of a mental journeythan anything, a crucible
moment, and I love James.
(18:11):
Overall.
It's my favorite book in theBible, but I love James 1.1
because you know, as leaders,there are no two.
I think John Maxwell says this.
You know Craig Rochelle wouldsay everything rises and falls
with leadership.
You know a good leader makeseverything better.
John Maxwell would say there'sno two consecutive good days in
(18:32):
any leader's life and so whenyou're a leader on fire, it's
not promising that it's allgoing to be like awesome and you
know it's saying, actually, forevery other day you're going to
be going through a James 1-1 ofsome sort, and then sometimes
it might be 90 days of James 1-1or a year, and certainly have a
(18:53):
lot of those in telling thestory in the book.
But that's really.
You know that's.
That was a big crucible momentand definitely came back.
You know, still having to laydown identity, but with just a
different perspective, holdingit a lot looser, and so that was
(19:14):
a good one.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
So let's unpack that a little bit more.
So you'd been going pretty hardfor 20 years in the business and
you are an operator at heart,and what I mean by that is, like
you, you're very detailed, youlike to know the details and you
you have a grasp on everythingthat's going on and, um, you
(19:38):
don't let things slide andyou're on it, right.
And so this moment of being onthe sabbatical, a crisis hits a
company that you're responsiblefor as a CEO, and I mean I just
can't imagine how difficult thatwould have been in the struggle
(19:59):
of response because we didn'ttalk.
You're right.
I mean I did the best I couldto not reach out even in the
midst of like this crisissituation, and it was difficult
for me, you know, trying tonavigate that and, with the
board and everything else,figure out what the appropriate
thing to do is.
But I mean, just talk a littlebit more about the emotions you
must have been feeling.
(20:19):
I mean, you've been runningthis thing for 20 years and then
30 days in, it could literallyjust completely implode, like
the way the world wasfunctioning, and luckily we were
.
What was it called Essential?
Speaker 2 (20:36):
business.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Yeah, we were an essential business and so we
were able to keep functioningand keep servicing out there.
But it was difficult, Like itwas gonna shut down right and so
explain kind of the feelingsyou were going through, like the
emotions you were experiencingwhen you were detached from that
, and what kind of faith did youhave to have to just trust that
(20:57):
God was gonna take care of it.
I mean, if there was a timethat you should have broken your
sabbatical rule and do soresponsibly, that would have
been the time to do it.
But how did you stay steadfastin that commitment and trust?
Like talk more about that.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Yeah, that's a good question.
I think it's the.
It was the, you know.
Obviously COVID didn't happenbecause I was on a sabbatical,
but God uses everything to alignwhat's going on in life with
his plan.
For me, it was the test.
I don't know, if COVID had beengoing on, if I would have
(21:33):
really got to the level ofrelease and brokenness that I
needed to to be healthy comingback release and brokenness that
I needed to to be healthycoming back, because part of
what God was doing, you know,when you go through the crucible
moments, you should be able tolook in the rear view mirror and
it never seems as bad as it waswhen you're going through it
and usually you go, you knowwhat I learned so much and now
you know, and if you're applyingwhat you learned, then there's
(21:56):
usually a good outcome.
It talks about that in James 2,right.
There's usually a good outcome.
It talks about that in Jamestoo, right.
And and you know, for me, what Iwas learning is, like you said,
I was a, I was hands-onoperator and where the business
was at, number of employees andlocations and everything really
like I couldn't be a hands-onoperator anymore.
(22:17):
I had to learn to go fromleading some leaders, but mostly
leading managers, to learn togo from leading some leaders,
but mostly leading managers, toleading leaders.
And you know, I don't think Iwould have got there if that
hadn't happened.
So it was a daily thing whereconnectedness with God.
You know, I remember I wouldrun every morning and I would
just listen to the same worshipsong, pray the same prayer and
(22:40):
just say, god, you just got togive me peace about this today.
And then I'd say I trust A bigpiece of it was you and the
board and I trust if I'm neededI'll get called, but I need to
not feel like I'm the guy thatneeds to be needed or insert
myself without being asked.
(23:01):
So that was, that was hard.
But um, but good, really good.
Um, yeah, it was a goodexperience.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Yeah, man, that's pretty intense when you think
about that.
Um, so let's talk about, let'sshift to kind of, this last
segment of being a leader onfire and for people that are
going through a crucible now,that may be in that season, you
know, or have these ebbs andflows where they, like you
talked about, sometimes it'severy other day, or there are
(23:32):
some crucibles or moments, ortheir days, or the weeks, months
, years, but whatever the case.
But whatever the case, howimportant are these crucible
moments to lean in and embraceit as a work that God is doing
in our lives, knowing that he'sgoing to produce a fruit and
(23:55):
refine our character and meltaway the impurities.
That's a whole idea of thecrucible and that's the biblical
metaphor we see when we'retalking about we're going to be
refined like silver, and that'sthe biblical metaphor we see
when we're talking about.
We're going to be refined likesilver, and we know that silver
is ready to come out of acrucible when the silversmith
can see his reflection.
And likewise, when we'rerefined and those impurities and
those things are melted away,god's able to see his reflection
in us.
He pulls us out of the crucible.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
How important do you feel these moments are to be in
a leader on fire and to be aleader of depth and character.
Well, I think if you don't havethose moments and you're not
wrestling with them, then you'renot going to be a leader long,
because you're out of touch withyour team or your customer or
your own abilities at some level.
So you're going to have them.
(24:43):
It's to the level that yousurround yourself.
I think a big piece of it isone connection with God.
How are you staying rooted inscripture, in worship, in prayer
, in meditation?
That's got to be on yourcalendar and it's got to be a
big chunk of every week.
You know, that's got to be onyour calendar and it's got to be
a big chunk of every week.
(25:03):
And you know, I think that forme that was learning.
That was really important,because certainly it doesn't
make it easier but it justbrings you back to what you know
, this is just a dot Like ourtime on earth is really about
how many people we can bringinto the kingdom with us and
influence.
It's nothing more than that.
And then I think it's justreally good with what your
(25:28):
leader's on fire and you thinkabout C for One.
I think surrounding yourself inthose seasons with one-on-one
accountability and mentorship,small group accountability and
mentorship, and then anorganization or organizations
where you can continue to beinspired, is really important,
because they're going to helpyou grow.
You're going to have peoplearound you that have been there
(25:48):
already.
It's a lot harder to learn whenyou're on your own than if
you've got people that can say,yeah, I've done that, I've been
there, I know exactly whatyou're going through, you're
going to be okay, and here's acouple pointers on how to get
through it better.
So that's how I guess I'd frameit up.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
Well, let's wrap up with this.
Maybe put your heart on thetable here and just preach to us
a little bit about your passionfor marketplace ministry and I
know you've got a favorite quotefrom Billy Graham that you'd
maybe like to share and yeah,just talk about the passion and
the heart behind business andhow it can be used to further
the kingdom, and just yourpersonal conviction around that.
(26:27):
Just share a little bit aboutthat.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
So you know, the quote from Billy Graham is that
you know he prophetically saidhey, you know, I believe that
the next great move of God maycome through the men and women
in the marketplace or theworkplace, and I think that was
profound to be said some yearsago.
And when you think about whatwe have as business leaders is
(26:52):
we have the greatest resource,at least in the US right now,
which is not money, it'sactually time.
And so, with work, they say,they say I think it's 60 or
70,000 hours you're going tospend at work.
Well, that's a captive audienceto be able to be in community
with.
I think it's not about churchor religion or preaching, it's
(27:14):
actually community that youstart with.
Who's this person?
Where are they at in life andhow do you help, pour into them
and meet their needs so theymight go man this place or you
as a leader?
You're a leader on fire andthere's something different, and
I want to understand that whichgives you the ultimate
opportunity, because marketplaceministry is all about the good
(27:37):
news to bring people intorelationship with Christ and to
grow it and develop it andengage it.
And I guess I would justchallenge everybody that's
listening to this or engaging inyour platform is what are you
waiting for?
There's fear over like what canI do?
What should I do?
Like God's word is bold andeverything you need is in there.
(27:59):
Just do it.
Be generous, do crazy stuff.
We often hear that at WebMed.
I can't believe you guys do allthis stuff.
Have you ever had anybody havea problem with this?
I think when it's done in theright spirit, you just do it
(28:20):
because it's the right thing todo and yeah, and then you see
culture and community grow andwe're not perfect at well and by
any means.
in fact, we've got lots ofopportunities and planks, but I
think we're intentional and theheart's right, the intent is
right, and then you get storiesand testimonies.
Which is the number one kpi inbusiness, I think, is what
(28:43):
testimonies are coming out of it, and that gives you the, the
affirmation that, yeah, we'redoing something right.
So so, yeah, what are youwaiting for?
Just yeah, go for it.
And then you've got, you know,your awesome platform and just
your personal testimony drew toreally help develop that.
(29:04):
So you know, I would just saydo it, lean in, be all in, all
in, go for it Awesome, man.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Thanks for sharing that.
Well, dude, thanks for being onthe podcast.
I know you got a lot going on,I appreciate you taking the time
out of your day to come, spendit with us and to share your
story.
So thanks for coming.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
man, that's the best cup of coffee I've had in a
while.
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Thanks, thanks, josh, appreciate you.
Yep, thank you for listening totoday's episode.
Perhaps it has prompted apainful memory or challenged you
to reflect on times you were inthe crucible.
Some of you may be in acrucible now, but be encouraged.
Maybe, just maybe, god is usingthis to refine your character
(29:50):
so that you emerge as a leaderon fire.
If today's episode was anencouragement to you, share it
with others who may also findencouragement in the Leaders on
Fire podcast.
So let's go into the world sentout as leaders on fire Until
next time.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!