August 22, 2023 • 32 mins
In today's episode, we take a profound journey into the intricate tapestry of human connections and the deep-seated desire for recognition and support. As we navigate the paths of life, we often encounter challenges.
That's not a surprise to any of us, though, right? The human experience is defined as a spectrum of experiences, emotions, highs, and lows. There are also those moments in life in which we feel we are not getting what we deserve.
"I'm doing all the right things, where are my blessings?"
However, it's the people around us – the ones placed serendipitously in our lives – that shape our experiences and stories. This discourse emphasizes the universal longing we all feel: to be seen, to be understood, and to be helped.
Not out of pity, but genuine understanding.
🎧 Related Episodes:
- The Importance of Relationships for Your Journey Through Life
- Unlocking Your Inner Power: Self-love, Core Circles, and Spiritual Wisdom
Through these reflections, we're reminded of the power of empathy, the significance of a helping hand, and the transformative effect of genuine human connection. Join us as we explore these themes, encouraging each listener to not just hear, but to act with compassion and purpose.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
George B. Thomas (00:02):
The people around us, oh god, the people
around us that are put in ourpath, they deserve it. They
deserve it and when you realizehow much you felt that you
deserve it and you just wishthat somebody would see that
that you've always wanted a handup, not a handout. You just wish
(00:24):
somebody would see that you'restruggling through life and
maybe you'd get that moment intime that it would change you
and we're all the same. We allfeel that way. We're all looking
for that.
The only difference is you'relistening to this and you have
the ability to take after theday and just be like, you know
what? I need to be a blessingbomber too. I need to realize
(00:45):
it's less about me, more aboutthem. I need to realize that I
reap what I sow. And from thisday forward, this is how I'm
gonna show up on the planet, andI'm gonna sow these things for 0
expectations, but in theunderstanding that they'll be
returned to me in some shape,some form, some fashion.
Liz Moorehead (01:06):
Welcome back to Beyond the Default. I'm Liz
Morehead and as always, I'mjoined by George b Thomas. How
are you this morning?
George B. Thomas (01:12):
Liz, I'm doing really good. I am 1 podcast away
from getting in a car andheading down the road with a
couple friends and my wife to goto a Lionel Richie concert.
Liz Moorehead (01:25):
Oh my gosh. That sounds outstanding.
George B. Thomas (01:27):
It's gonna be fun. It's gonna be fun.
Liz Moorehead (01:30):
Well, we're gonna have one pretty big conversation
before I let you go to get intothat car. Are you ready?
George B. Thomas (01:36):
Yeah. I'm ready. I'm ready. I've been
actually looking forward to thissince we decided we're gonna do
it. Unpacking this anddocumenting it for eternity is
gonna be great.
Liz Moorehead (01:47):
Well, let's let our listeners in on the secret
of what we're gonna be talkingabout this week. The idea of
getting what you deserve. Whatimmediately comes to mind or
what do you feel in your bodywhen you hear the phrase getting
what you deserve, George?
George B. Thomas (02:04):
Yeah. It there's a couple different
directions that my brain goes tobe honest with you, Liz, but I
can remember back in the day,young George, and, you know,
people would throw differentsayings around, like, you know,
karma's a, you know, the rest ofthat saying, and what comes
around goes around. And, youknow, it's very easy for me to
believe those types of sayingswhen I was what I like to
(02:27):
affectionately now call dirtyGeorge. Meaning, I was just
living life all about me. I wasdoing whatever I wanted to do.
A lot of it wasn't healthy. Someof it wasn't legal. And so it
was like, okay. I deserve to bein this place because I'm being
this type of human.Fundamentally, I feel like I
understood.
(02:48):
If you got your stuff together,then maybe life would change.
But, hey. You're out here, youknow, just balling, doing your
thing, not giving a care aboutanybody else. So good luck,
buddy. Like, that's that's wheremy brain goes, but there's
another place where when youstart to change that and,
fundamentally, you believe thatother people should think
(03:09):
different of you.
However, what's the interestingstruggle is have you even
started to think different aboutyou? Right? So it's it's this
whole, like, where you decide torest or be stuck or not be
pushing yourself because we'rehaving a conversation on beyond
your default, not pushingyourself beyond your default,
and we'll kinda get a windowinto what a large part of this
(03:32):
actually means for me out oftoday's conversation. You know,
that's where my brain goes, Liz,is like, you kind of get what
you get. You are what you are,or are you?
Liz Moorehead (03:43):
You know, where your brain went when you started
talking about making theconscious choice to elevate
yourself, right the ship, dothose different things. I think
we've all had those moments inlife no matter how big or small
they might be, where it's like Iam making the conscious decision
to better myself. Whether that'sbreaking a bad habit, whether
(04:03):
that's doing something moregrander in scale. And then I
think we can all admit we've hadthose moments of an of
internally going, well, where'smy parade?
George B. Thomas (04:12):
Yeah.
Liz Moorehead (04:13):
Where are my accolades? Can can't everyone
recognize how hard I'm working?
George B. Thomas (04:18):
Doesn't the world see me? I mean, come on.
I'm over here grinding.
Liz Moorehead (04:24):
Exactly. And it's not that I'm looking for
accolades, but where are they?
George B. Thomas (04:29):
Yeah. Yeah.
Liz Moorehead (04:30):
But you have a particular moment in mind, I
know, that occurred in your lifethat I'd love for you to share
with us that I think is gonnaset the stage for our
conversation today?
George B. Thomas (04:41):
Yeah. The thing that people need to
realize is that I have been onone heck of a dang journey, and
I'll never forget, you know,after my first divorce and then
I met Kelly, who is now my wifeof, you know, a lot of years, a
lot of special wonderful years.She's a fabulous woman. There
was a time where when I firstmet her, she literally said, you
(05:05):
can do that or you can be withme, and that was the start of
something very interestingbecause I said, I'm not gonna do
that anymore. I'd rather be withyou.
And so it was her. It was me. Itwas my son, Seth, and I believe
we had, shoot, I think we had 2other children. I'm fast
(05:26):
forwarding, by the way,listeners. We had 2 children,
and I had gone from being thisbouncer at a bar, hanging out
late at night, doing things thatI shouldn't, treating people
probably the way that Ishouldn't, had a really short
fuse.
It was nothing at a drop of acoin for me just to get in a bar
fight and just start rippingfaces. I had gone from that
(05:48):
place to my pastor's officebecause I started going to
church, which I didn't think Iwould ever do, again at that
point. But, again, thanks to mywife, I found myself in very
interesting places. And I hadsaid to Dave, hey. I think I'm
supposed to be a pastor.
And, he just started laughing,and he slid this piece of paper
(06:09):
across his desk, and it waswhere you could go to school for
3 years. And then at the end ofthe 3 years and it was weekend
in intensive. Like, everyquarter, you'd go up to this
college for the weekend. You doall the studying from home
because you gotta remember. 3kids, a wife, you know, working
a job trying to survive, like,eke out an existence.
And so I was like, I'm gonna dothat. I wanna do that. And so it
(06:30):
was this, like, large point of,like, okay. I'm going from what
I would call dirty George. I'mgonna clean up my act.
I'm gonna do good things. Fastforward a little bit, longer.
This is about maybe, I'm gonnasay, a year and a half, 2 years
into this journey, and I walkinto Dave's office again, which
I walked into Dave's office alot, but there's really some
major points in the story whereI should talk about walking in
(06:52):
Dave's office just not generallywalking in to say hi and stuff,
but I walked into his office,and I was super pissed. And I
sat down, and I I said, Dave,I'm so frustrated right now.
I've turned my life around.
I'm going to school. I'm working2 jobs because by this time, I
was I think I was working atPizza Hut, and I was also then,
the youth pastor at the churchand going to school to be a
(07:15):
pastor. I was like, I'm tired ofthis. Like, I've changed my
life. You know, I'm doing theright thing.
Where the frick are myblessings? Like, I wanna see the
blessings. God should be sendingdown manna from heaven because
dirty George has turned intoclean George. Where are my
blessings? And, I mean, I justLiz, I was so angry.
(07:36):
So angry because I felt like Iwas investing in something and I
wasn't seeing the payout for me.Now here's the thing. The
problem, if I look back, is Iwas looking for the payout for
me. If I look at who I wasaffecting that point, my wife,
my kids, the kids that I wasyouth pastor to, I was probably
(07:57):
impacting tons of people, but Ididn't have any clue. I was
blind to the fact.
But there I sat in his office,where are my blessings?
Liz Moorehead (08:07):
It's interesting to think about that moment in
time, right, where you are usingalmost the wrong measuring stick
to understand what kind ofimpact you were having. Is there
a way that you would havechallenged yourself to look at
that moment differently if youcould go back in time and say,
hey, younger George, I knowyou're you're baby stepping.
(08:28):
You're doing the work. You'reputting yourself out there. You
gotta look in a differentdirection.
George B. Thomas (08:33):
Yeah. And I would say this to anybody
listening to this, like, andthis is gonna sound easy when I
say it, but I realizedfundamentally that it is just
hyper difficult, and that's quitthinking about yourself. You
don't measure things that arehappening around you by you. You
measure you by the things thatare happening around you. And
(08:54):
there was a a point in time,Liz, where that lesson just
fundamentally became clear.
Now we've we've learned throughpast episodes that your boy,
George, might be a little hardheaded. Like, it usually takes a
really bad accident or almostdying, and then he's like, oh,
shoot. I get it. The same isvery much true to the time when
(09:16):
I actually learned about, heyhey, buddy. Hey.
Hey. It's not about you.
Liz Moorehead (09:23):
So what happened next?
George B. Thomas (09:25):
Timing is funny. Timing is everything.
About 2 weeks later, we actuallytook the youth group to a
mission trip. Because of beingoriginally from Montana, my wife
and I and the church hadscheduled a mission trip to go
work at an Indian reservation inMontana. So we drove from Ohio,
(09:45):
went to Montana, started workingon this Indian reservation, and
the pastor was super nice.
We were putting in some, like,bathhouses and a playground for
the kid and, you know, just juststuff you do when you're on a
mission trip trying to take thenot so blessed and move them a
little bit forward in the lifethat they can live after you
(10:07):
leave that mission trip. One ofthe things that happened while
we were there is the pastor cameup to us and said, hey. I got a
really I got a really specialthing. We've decided we're gonna
do church on Sunday out in themiddle of a field. We've got a
big white tent.
We're gonna have a guestspeaker, and I think it'd be
really cool for kids from Ohioto just be able to have a church
(10:28):
service in the valley, justbeing able to look at the
mountains and see God's beautyand hear God's word. I was like,
dude, sounds dope. Like, let'sgo with it. So we get to Sunday
morning, and, you know, I'mstill internally wrestling.
Like, I'm there to help people,but I'm and I'm blessing people,
but I'm still in the back of mymind, like, Where's my blessing?
(10:50):
What the you know, like, I'mjust I'm I'm still fuming from,
like, the conversation of 2weeks earlier.
Liz Moorehead (10:57):
Focused on getting what's yours.
George B. Thomas (10:59):
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Focused on getting,
you know, what's mine still. Andso what happened next is I would
call it a miracle, to be honestwith you, and I'll explain why.
And I gotta be I I just have togo somewhere. I need people to
just kinda sit with me in thisconversation for a minute. So
first of all, this is back inthe day, like, back back in the
(11:21):
day. We're talking 20 years ago.So I would need you to put your
mind frame in 20 years ago someof the things that I'm gonna
say.
So we get to Sunday. We go outto this field. We sit under this
white tent, and the bandsinging. It's like a guitar and
like a tambourine and, like,because there's no electricity
out there, people. It's likeacoustic style worship.
(11:43):
All of a sudden, the pastor getsup, and he introduces the guest
speaker, and her name isprophetess Juanita. Now I need
to unpack 2 things right there.First of all, her name. Back
then, especially in Montana, awoman behind the pulpit wasn't
really a thing yet. Like, we'vecome a long way in the last 20
(12:03):
years for things that should beallowed to happen or shouldn't
be allowed to happen, but herewe are 20 years ago, Montana,
and this prophetess, Juanita,goes to start to speak.
The second thing that I have tounpack is Juanita was an African
American woman, which 20 yearsago in Montana, there was not a
lot of African American folks.Now there are now because moving
(12:25):
from the places and theInternet, but back in the day,
there was no Internet. Therewas, like, if you weren't a
rancher, a bartender, like,worked at a gas station, nobody
was moving there. K? But 20years ago.
Now the other thing I want youto realize, we're on an Indian
reservation, and it's aprophetess that is an African
(12:45):
American woman preaching. I'mlike, what is going on right
now? God, what are you doing?Like, do you even know what
you're doing? Now I want you tohear that, but that is literally
the thought when I'm sittingthere.
God, do you even know whatyou're doing? And so she's
preaching, and I'm half payingattention. You know, the kids
are they're getting it. Like, Ican tell the kids are enjoying
(13:07):
it, but I'm just I'm half halfthere. Until this one moment
where she's preaching, and allof a sudden, the wind, you can
just the wind starts to blow inthe big white tent you because
the wind hits the top of thetent, and it starts to flutter
down.
And I get goosebumps. I mean, Ijust got. You know, Indians
believe the spirits are in thewind, and we're literally having
(13:29):
a worship service. And I'm justlike, oh, God is in the house,
baby. I don't know what I'mfeeling, but I'm feeling
something.
And so I start to pay attentionto the message, and I start to
feel a little, like, different.And I can't even explain. People
have asked me, what do you meandifferent? I don't know. I just
knew I felt a little different.
So the service gets over, andshe's walking down the aisle.
(13:51):
And I kinda look up at her, andI look down. I look at my wife,
and I look down at the ground,and I see her feet are kinda
coming close to me. I have myhead down. My arms are
literally, like, on my knees.
I have my head down. I'm justkinda like, oh, jeez. Okay.
Let's get back at it. It's timeto go to work.
And I feel somebody touch myshoulder. And I look up, and
(14:12):
it's prophetess Juanita, and shesays to me, when are you gonna
realize you're the blessing? Andshe walks away. From that day
forward, I was like, what? And Ireally embrace this idea of I've
been sent here to be a blessing.
I'm screwing this up because I'mtoo focused on what's in it for
(14:36):
me instead of what I can do forothers. There's another sermon
that happened when we got backto Ohio that was, called the
blessing bomber because therewere some conversations around
what happened and Dave went andlooked up some scripture and all
of this stuff. From that dayforward, I decided I'm gonna
walk this earth and I'm gonna bea blessing bomber whether it's
(14:59):
financially, which for a largepart of my life, I couldn't do
with my time or just showing upand realizing my job was to make
people better than when I foundthem. I am literally called to
be a blessing to those around meand so going from where are my
blessings and 2 weeks later whenare you gonna realize you're the
(15:23):
blessing and then being able tojust dramatically rewire my
brain to, how can I help? Howcan I fix?
How can I be a catalyst in thismoment that I'm in?
Liz Moorehead (15:37):
Let me ask you this. Do you ever struggle to
see the blessings in your lifeanymore now that you've made
that subtle switch in yourthinking?
George B. Thomas (15:44):
Only when I'm being a butthead. Right? Because
we all have those moments. Onlywhen I'm being a butthead. But,
typically, no.
Because the real funny thingabout this whole ordeal is that
I have been more blessed whenblessing others than I ever was
when I was looking for theblessings. Like, I find great
(16:05):
joy. And what's funny, Liz, is Istarted this conversation about
karma's up, and you, you know,you reap what you sow, you get
what you do. Like, when you'resowing blessings, when you're
focused on being a blessingbomber, yo, it comes back to you
(16:25):
in so many ways. I would any ofthe listeners, I would challenge
you.
2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years,like, rewire your brain to be a
blessing in every way that youcan to everybody that you can
be, and watch what happens inyour life over that time period.
Liz Moorehead (16:44):
Okay. This is where Liz becomes a little bit
probably too practical for herown good. Because I'm sitting
here, and I'm loving this idea.Right? I'm loving this concept
of moving away from the selffocused notion of getting what
you deserve to being theblessing.
How do you keep it from goingtoo far astray into the
(17:05):
territory of people pleasing,neglecting your own needs? How
do you find that line to walkwhere you are the blessing, but
you are still taking care ofyourself?
George B. Thomas (17:17):
My initial thought is you're gonna have to
ask somebody else. Although I Ihave been able to manage that.
Like, it's funny because mybrain goes to, you you know, you
watch superhero movies. Right?And, Liz, when they first get
this new superpower, they're ahot mess.
Like, their laser eyes are,like, burning down half a
buildings. Like, they're flyingand crashing, and there's, like,
(17:40):
big, you know, crevices or, youknow, it looks like a meteor hit
the earth because they hadn'tlearned to fly yet. You might
fall prey to everything that youjust said when you're first
starting to learn how to usethis, what I'll call a
superpower, being a blessing,focused on others instead of
yourself. The second part,though, is where my brain went
(18:00):
is that, like, you have a newlevel that you actually are
willing to go to before youwould have historically called
it unhealthy because you have anew perspective. Your brain's
wired differently.
And so I rarely get into asituation where I felt like I've
overdone it, and I have to tieone word, I think, that has
(18:22):
helped me unlock being ablessing bomber and not falling
prey to feeling like I've beentaken advantage of, and that is
the word expectations.
Liz Moorehead (18:32):
Oh.
George B. Thomas (18:33):
I fundamentally have zero
expectations of any of thepeople that I'm helping. I'm not
helping them because I'm tryingto get something out of it. I'm
helping them because I'm calledto be a blessing, but I know in
the back of my head, theuniverse, God, however you
believe, it will return to me insome shape, some form, some
(18:54):
fashion, so that allows me tohave 0 expectations for those
around me. However, I have somereal strict expectations for
myself. You will never go back.
You will never be that guyagain. You will always put
others before you. And if youdon't, you'll be cognizant of
(19:14):
it. You'll remind yourself, andyou'll get past your speed bump
and continue to be what you knowyou're supposed to be. Don't you
realize you're the blessing?
You know how many times thathits my brain, Liz, when I'm
being an asshole? Are you beinga blessing right now? Like, if
somebody takes a big dagger andshoves it in my heart. My brain
(19:36):
works in a way now because Iprogram myself like, what are
you doing? This is all aboutyou.
It's supposed to be about them.Don't you realize you're
supposed to be the blessing?
Liz Moorehead (19:46):
What's incredible to me, just going back to that
story, is just that comment toyou was apropos of nothing. She
didn't know your story. Shedidn't know that that was the
exact thing you needed to hearin that moment that would change
the course of your entire life.
George B. Thomas (20:02):
Or did she? Anyway, I hear what you're
saying. I hear what you'resaying.
Liz Moorehead (20:06):
Juanita, give us a call. Let us know.
George B. Thomas (20:08):
Yeah. Please. 330 no. I'm just kidding.
Liz Moorehead (20:12):
So here's my question to you. What are the
ways in your everyday life thatyou try to manifest this idea of
being the blessing? Becauseyou're a business owner. You're
a busy you're a busy guy. You'rea busy dad.
You have lots of different waysin which you show up in the
world. So what are some examplesin which you are being the
(20:33):
blessing in a way that'severyday and accessible?
George B. Thomas (20:37):
Another word, compassionate. Realizing that
everybody has their journey,giving them the grace and space
to walk that journey, to educatethemselves, to figure out their
own things that they're supposedto figure out. Like, it's not
easy employing your family, butif you're compassionate, if you
learn to keep your mouth shut,if you on the side of being
(20:58):
empathetic, they're not thereyet, but at least they're on
their way. The other thing toois I've had people be like, why
do you pay so much? What?
Don't you realize you'resupposed to be the blessing?
That's the thing. I'll I'll paypeople more than maybe they're
worth. I'll pay people more thanthe average, you know, in the
(21:20):
state of blah blah blah in thecountry of blah blah. No.
No. No. No. No. No.
No. I want people to go, wow.It's amazing when you work with
George b Thomas. Like, first ofall, he's not riding your butt.
2nd of all, he pays real good.
3rd of all, he actually, like,gives you time to educate
yourself. 3rd of all, I justlike hanging around with the
(21:40):
guy. Just be a good human, Liz,and I do things above and beyond
what would be oh, god. I do I dothings above and beyond what
would be called normal. Normal'sboring.
Normal is the default. Normal isreal close to getting stuck. And
so, like, in all the ways, I'mtrying to and by the way, as I'm
(22:03):
saying this, I just want all thelisteners know I am not perfect.
Man, do I jack this upsometimes? If you talk to my
wife, my kids, my friends, willthey say he has his moments?
Yes.
Liz Moorehead (22:15):
When was the last time you jacked it up?
George B. Thomas (22:17):
Oh, jeez. I'd have to actually think about
that. I mean, it here's thething. For the last year and a
half of owning the business,probably many times, they might
be micro times. Right?
But when you ask me thatquestion, my mind immediately
started to search for, like, amassively large blowout. You
know what? I'll give you anexample, and I guess I'm
(22:38):
supposed to share this becauseit's the one that immediately
came to mind, and it might sounddumb. Over the last 10, 12 years
since Inbound 2012, I've been onwhat one might call a come up.
Building a brand, becoming god.
This makes me sick even Internetfamous. HubSpot. Whatever. But
(22:59):
I'll never forget this one time.I went to a hug.
It's it's a HubSpot user group.I'm sitting there, and I'm
talking to some people, and I'mI'm being George b Thomas. And
this, this lady walks up, and Ican tell she's excited. She
wants to talk to me. But onething leads to another, and I go
from talking to people, and Ihave to go speak on stage, and I
(23:19):
speak on stage.
And then I see that she's tryingto make it around to talk to me,
but I'm like, oh, yeah. Thanks.And and I and I I go. And I get
in my car, and I'm driving away.And I'm like, I felt this
feeling before.
I just really let that persondown. They wanted to talk to me.
They wanted to share theirstory. They wanted to spend some
(23:40):
time with me, and I just I letthat person down. I know I felt
that way before because I hadbeen her to somebody who had
been dramatically influential inme making a decision that I had
made that at one point I got tosee them at an event, and it was
the worst experience of my life.
Worst experience of my life. Iwas like, well, that was
(24:02):
anticlimactic, but here's thething. I knew that I screwed up.
It was about a year later. I wasat another event.
I saw this human. I beelined itto this human, and I said, hey.
The last time I saw you, we'reat a HubSpot user group. I want
to apologize. When I left, Irealized that you were wanting
(24:23):
to spend time with me, that youhad something to tell me, a
story to share.
You just wanted to be in thespace. I don't know exactly what
it is, but I just want you toknow I apologize because I felt
like I wasn't important before,and I hope by all that is holy,
I didn't make you feelunimportant. Her reaction was
priceless because it was a bigsmile, and it was this kindred
(24:47):
understanding of he's a gooddude. Like, it's hard to put
into words, but we just but wehave a great conversation after
that. But I knew that I had tostep out of my comfort zone, be
vulnerable, say it was my fault.
I wasn't at my best. I wasn'tpaying attention. I was still
trying to, like, hone in thesuperpowers, if you will. But
(25:08):
that's why now any event that Igo to, I could give 2 craps less
about if I registered for asession. If somebody stops me in
the hallway, breaks.
K. God, why do you have me here?What am I supposed to hear? What
am I supposed to say? How am Isupposed to help?
Because I can educate myselfwhen I get back home, but I
can't get back this moment. Ican't get back this moment. And
(25:31):
that runs through my head somany times, like, you can't get
back this moment. And don't yourealize you're supposed to be
the blessing right here, rightnow?
Liz Moorehead (25:40):
What's so wrong with getting what you deserve?
George B. Thomas (25:43):
Comes from the wrong place. You will get what
you deserve. You will get whatyou deserve. By the way, karma
is a. It's not just a littlesaying, but here's the thing
that saying jacked up becausethe original, like, thing that I
would say is you reap what yousow.
If you sow love, you'll getlove. If you so compassion,
(26:04):
you'll get compassion. If you soblessings, you'll get blessings.
If you get to be a ninja and youcan do all of those things the
life that you will live, youcan't but help strap yourself
into the roller coaster and holdon because it's not about if you
wanna go past your default, youwill be escorted out of your
default. And I've never reallysaid that before, Liz, but
(26:26):
that's how I feel What'shappening in my life is I'm
being escorted out of somethingthat I'm no longer supposed to
be in, that I've, like, foundthe secret unlock key, and I've
practiced the unlock key enoughthat the universe is saying,
hey.
We need you to go over here. Weneed you to do these things. We
(26:47):
need you to share your story.It's time for you to help people
see the unlock button in theirown lives. I'm being ushered out
of dirty George, of where'swhere's my blessings?
What's in it for me? Oh, I'm notgonna spend time doing that. I'm
not gonna I would make no moneydoing that. That's the thing. If
I take it back to out ofpersonal and to professional, I
(27:09):
can give you plenty of storieswhere people are like, yeah.
I called him up. He didn't evencharge me. He just, like, gave
me the answer. Why do you thinkwhy do you think, by the way,
I've created probably over2,000, some a 100 HubSpot
tutorials and never reallycharged anybody? Like, I threw
them up on YouTube and was like,here, world.
Because I knew that I could movethem from point a to point b.
(27:32):
They just need to watch a video.They would make their life
easier. It would make their lifebetter in a business sense, but
I try to do that at a moregrandiose level on the personal
side, and what's fun is watchingmy family come along for the
ride. I'll never forget.
Here's another story, Liz.There's a thing I love to do,
and it could be considered fun,funny, or you're a sick man. I'm
not sure which it is yet, but Ilove to make waitresses cry. And
(27:56):
what I mean by that is when youleave a tip and you know they
felt something. And I'll neverforget this one time my wife and
I were sitting at Logan's,Logan's steakhouse, and it was
my wife, my daughter, Kaylee,and me.
And we're eating a nice dinner.I we had just had a win, by the
way. And I'm like, we're goingout to dinner. We're gonna
(28:17):
celebrate. And we'recelebrating.
And our waitress comes up, andshe's a good waitress. She's
doing a great job, and shestarts to talk about how, yeah,
on Thursdays, I work here. I'm aschool teacher, and I felt my
insides being ripped out. Andshe walked away. I looked at my
wife, and I go, can you believethat?
Like, a school teacher has towork a second job just to make
ends meet. This is the world welive in. Like, something's
(28:39):
fundamentally wrong. And so weget done with the meal, and I
said, babe, leave a leave a goodtip. Well, how much?
Babe, I don't care. Just leave agood tip. She needs to be
blessed. She's working 2 jobs.She's a school teacher.
She needs to be blessed. I won'tdisclose the amount, but it was
a good amount. It was I'd havebeen happy with the tip. We
tried to sneak out. Like, weleft the tip, and they were
(29:00):
like, Anne, break.
Let's go. Trying to get out ofthere, but she cut us off with
the pass. And her words were,uh-uh. You can't. No.
And she was starting to cry. Mywife looks over, and she goes,
oh, honey, you deserve it. Thepeople around us oh, god. The
people around us that are put inour path, they deserve it. They
(29:24):
deserve it, and when you realizehow much you felt that you
deserve it and you just wishthat somebody would see that,
that you've always wanted a handup, not a handout.
You just wish somebody would seethat you're struggling through
life, and maybe you'd get thatmoment in time that it would
change you. And we're all thesame. We all feel that way.
(29:46):
We're all looking for that. Theonly difference is you're
listening to this, and you havethe ability to take after the
day and just be like, you knowwhat?
I need to be a blessing bombertoo. I need to realize it's less
about me, more about them. Ineed to realize that I reap what
I sow. And from this dayforward, this is how I'm gonna
show up on the planet, and I'mgonna sow these things for 0
(30:09):
expectations, but in theunderstanding that they'll be
returned to me in some shape,some form, some fashion.
Liz Moorehead (30:16):
What's interesting of how you phrase
that is it's so we've beentalking about this in the
context of being the blessing.But the reality is is that
instead of focusing on gettingwhat you deserve, it's looking
around at the world and askingyourself, is everyone else
getting what they deserve in thebest possible way?
George B. Thomas (30:33):
Yeah. The I mean and it could be a kind
word. That's super powerful, bythe way. I've seen grown men
break down by a kind word. Itcould be a a tip.
Right? It could be just spendingtime. Shoot. It could be 5
minutes of silence just sittingthere holding their hand. That's
the part that's hard, by theway.
We haven't even talked about it,but the the hardest part is
(30:55):
diagnosing what blessing is itthat you're supposed to deliver
because if it's the wrong gift,then nobody likes the gift, but
if you can tune yourself into,like, what do they need in this
moment? By the way, there is apart of your brain. We'll just
call it the still small voicethat you might wanna tune into
in those moments where you'relike, what am I supposed to do
here? And then just shut up andlisten, and then you'll realize
(31:18):
you'll know. Oh, I'm supposed togive this person a hug.
I'm supposed to ask this personthis question. You gotta get out
of your own way. You gotta shutyourself up for a hot minute,
and you gotta rewire the brainto be like about them about them
about them. You gotta know yourjob. Be a blessing.
Be a blessing. Be a blessing.
Liz Moorehead (31:38):
If our listeners only took away one concept, one
idea that isn't be the blessingfrom today's conversation, what
should it be and why?
George B. Thomas (31:48):
It's funny. I wanted to end this podcast with,
don't you realize you're theblessing? That's how I wanted to
end this podcast, but you justasked me that question in a way
where I feel like I can end withbe the blessing.
Liz Moorehead (32:02):
Nope. You can't.
George B. Thomas (32:03):
So this whole time, we have talked about this
at an exterior level. This iswhat I'll end with because you
kind of started to lean into it,by the way. It's okay to bless
yourself. It's okay to loveyourself. It's okay to give
yourself a mental hug.
It's okay to give yourself graceand empathy. It's okay. That's
(32:28):
what I wanna leave everybodywith, by the way. I feel those
words. It's okay.
The people around us, oh god, the people
around us that are put in ourpath, they deserve it. They
deserve it and when you realizehow much you felt that you
deserve it and you just wishthat somebody would see that
that you've always wanted a handup, not a handout. You just wish
(00:24):
somebody would see that you'restruggling through life and
maybe you'd get that moment intime that it would change you
and we're all the same. We allfeel that way. We're all looking
for that.
The only difference is you'relistening to this and you have
the ability to take after theday and just be like, you know
what? I need to be a blessingbomber too. I need to realize
(00:45):
it's less about me, more aboutthem. I need to realize that I
reap what I sow. And from thisday forward, this is how I'm
gonna show up on the planet, andI'm gonna sow these things for 0
expectations, but in theunderstanding that they'll be
returned to me in some shape,some form, some fashion.
Liz Moorehead (01:06):
Welcome back to Beyond the Default. I'm Liz
Morehead and as always, I'mjoined by George b Thomas. How
are you this morning?
George B. Thomas (01:12):
Liz, I'm doing really good. I am 1 podcast away
from getting in a car andheading down the road with a
couple friends and my wife to goto a Lionel Richie concert.
Liz Moorehead (01:25):
Oh my gosh. That sounds outstanding.
George B. Thomas (01:27):
It's gonna be fun. It's gonna be fun.
Liz Moorehead (01:30):
Well, we're gonna have one pretty big conversation
before I let you go to get intothat car. Are you ready?
George B. Thomas (01:36):
Yeah. I'm ready. I'm ready. I've been
actually looking forward to thissince we decided we're gonna do
it. Unpacking this anddocumenting it for eternity is
gonna be great.
Liz Moorehead (01:47):
Well, let's let our listeners in on the secret
of what we're gonna be talkingabout this week. The idea of
getting what you deserve. Whatimmediately comes to mind or
what do you feel in your bodywhen you hear the phrase getting
what you deserve, George?
George B. Thomas (02:04):
Yeah. It there's a couple different
directions that my brain goes tobe honest with you, Liz, but I
can remember back in the day,young George, and, you know,
people would throw differentsayings around, like, you know,
karma's a, you know, the rest ofthat saying, and what comes
around goes around. And, youknow, it's very easy for me to
believe those types of sayingswhen I was what I like to
(02:27):
affectionately now call dirtyGeorge. Meaning, I was just
living life all about me. I wasdoing whatever I wanted to do.
A lot of it wasn't healthy. Someof it wasn't legal. And so it
was like, okay. I deserve to bein this place because I'm being
this type of human.Fundamentally, I feel like I
understood.
(02:48):
If you got your stuff together,then maybe life would change.
But, hey. You're out here, youknow, just balling, doing your
thing, not giving a care aboutanybody else. So good luck,
buddy. Like, that's that's wheremy brain goes, but there's
another place where when youstart to change that and,
fundamentally, you believe thatother people should think
(03:09):
different of you.
However, what's the interestingstruggle is have you even
started to think different aboutyou? Right? So it's it's this
whole, like, where you decide torest or be stuck or not be
pushing yourself because we'rehaving a conversation on beyond
your default, not pushingyourself beyond your default,
and we'll kinda get a windowinto what a large part of this
(03:32):
actually means for me out oftoday's conversation. You know,
that's where my brain goes, Liz,is like, you kind of get what
you get. You are what you are,or are you?
Liz Moorehead (03:43):
You know, where your brain went when you started
talking about making theconscious choice to elevate
yourself, right the ship, dothose different things. I think
we've all had those moments inlife no matter how big or small
they might be, where it's like Iam making the conscious decision
to better myself. Whether that'sbreaking a bad habit, whether
(04:03):
that's doing something moregrander in scale. And then I
think we can all admit we've hadthose moments of an of
internally going, well, where'smy parade?
George B. Thomas (04:12):
Yeah.
Liz Moorehead (04:13):
Where are my accolades? Can can't everyone
recognize how hard I'm working?
George B. Thomas (04:18):
Doesn't the world see me? I mean, come on.
I'm over here grinding.
Liz Moorehead (04:24):
Exactly. And it's not that I'm looking for
accolades, but where are they?
George B. Thomas (04:29):
Yeah. Yeah.
Liz Moorehead (04:30):
But you have a particular moment in mind, I
know, that occurred in your lifethat I'd love for you to share
with us that I think is gonnaset the stage for our
conversation today?
George B. Thomas (04:41):
Yeah. The thing that people need to
realize is that I have been onone heck of a dang journey, and
I'll never forget, you know,after my first divorce and then
I met Kelly, who is now my wifeof, you know, a lot of years, a
lot of special wonderful years.She's a fabulous woman. There
was a time where when I firstmet her, she literally said, you
(05:05):
can do that or you can be withme, and that was the start of
something very interestingbecause I said, I'm not gonna do
that anymore. I'd rather be withyou.
And so it was her. It was me. Itwas my son, Seth, and I believe
we had, shoot, I think we had 2other children. I'm fast
(05:26):
forwarding, by the way,listeners. We had 2 children,
and I had gone from being thisbouncer at a bar, hanging out
late at night, doing things thatI shouldn't, treating people
probably the way that Ishouldn't, had a really short
fuse.
It was nothing at a drop of acoin for me just to get in a bar
fight and just start rippingfaces. I had gone from that
(05:48):
place to my pastor's officebecause I started going to
church, which I didn't think Iwould ever do, again at that
point. But, again, thanks to mywife, I found myself in very
interesting places. And I hadsaid to Dave, hey. I think I'm
supposed to be a pastor.
And, he just started laughing,and he slid this piece of paper
(06:09):
across his desk, and it waswhere you could go to school for
3 years. And then at the end ofthe 3 years and it was weekend
in intensive. Like, everyquarter, you'd go up to this
college for the weekend. You doall the studying from home
because you gotta remember. 3kids, a wife, you know, working
a job trying to survive, like,eke out an existence.
And so I was like, I'm gonna dothat. I wanna do that. And so it
(06:30):
was this, like, large point of,like, okay. I'm going from what
I would call dirty George. I'mgonna clean up my act.
I'm gonna do good things. Fastforward a little bit, longer.
This is about maybe, I'm gonnasay, a year and a half, 2 years
into this journey, and I walkinto Dave's office again, which
I walked into Dave's office alot, but there's really some
major points in the story whereI should talk about walking in
(06:52):
Dave's office just not generallywalking in to say hi and stuff,
but I walked into his office,and I was super pissed. And I
sat down, and I I said, Dave,I'm so frustrated right now.
I've turned my life around.
I'm going to school. I'm working2 jobs because by this time, I
was I think I was working atPizza Hut, and I was also then,
the youth pastor at the churchand going to school to be a
(07:15):
pastor. I was like, I'm tired ofthis. Like, I've changed my
life. You know, I'm doing theright thing.
Where the frick are myblessings? Like, I wanna see the
blessings. God should be sendingdown manna from heaven because
dirty George has turned intoclean George. Where are my
blessings? And, I mean, I justLiz, I was so angry.
(07:36):
So angry because I felt like Iwas investing in something and I
wasn't seeing the payout for me.Now here's the thing. The
problem, if I look back, is Iwas looking for the payout for
me. If I look at who I wasaffecting that point, my wife,
my kids, the kids that I wasyouth pastor to, I was probably
(07:57):
impacting tons of people, but Ididn't have any clue. I was
blind to the fact.
But there I sat in his office,where are my blessings?
Liz Moorehead (08:07):
It's interesting to think about that moment in
time, right, where you are usingalmost the wrong measuring stick
to understand what kind ofimpact you were having. Is there
a way that you would havechallenged yourself to look at
that moment differently if youcould go back in time and say,
hey, younger George, I knowyou're you're baby stepping.
(08:28):
You're doing the work. You'reputting yourself out there. You
gotta look in a differentdirection.
George B. Thomas (08:33):
Yeah. And I would say this to anybody
listening to this, like, andthis is gonna sound easy when I
say it, but I realizedfundamentally that it is just
hyper difficult, and that's quitthinking about yourself. You
don't measure things that arehappening around you by you. You
measure you by the things thatare happening around you. And
(08:54):
there was a a point in time,Liz, where that lesson just
fundamentally became clear.
Now we've we've learned throughpast episodes that your boy,
George, might be a little hardheaded. Like, it usually takes a
really bad accident or almostdying, and then he's like, oh,
shoot. I get it. The same isvery much true to the time when
(09:16):
I actually learned about, heyhey, buddy. Hey.
Hey. It's not about you.
Liz Moorehead (09:23):
So what happened next?
George B. Thomas (09:25):
Timing is funny. Timing is everything.
About 2 weeks later, we actuallytook the youth group to a
mission trip. Because of beingoriginally from Montana, my wife
and I and the church hadscheduled a mission trip to go
work at an Indian reservation inMontana. So we drove from Ohio,
(09:45):
went to Montana, started workingon this Indian reservation, and
the pastor was super nice.
We were putting in some, like,bathhouses and a playground for
the kid and, you know, just juststuff you do when you're on a
mission trip trying to take thenot so blessed and move them a
little bit forward in the lifethat they can live after you
(10:07):
leave that mission trip. One ofthe things that happened while
we were there is the pastor cameup to us and said, hey. I got a
really I got a really specialthing. We've decided we're gonna
do church on Sunday out in themiddle of a field. We've got a
big white tent.
We're gonna have a guestspeaker, and I think it'd be
really cool for kids from Ohioto just be able to have a church
(10:28):
service in the valley, justbeing able to look at the
mountains and see God's beautyand hear God's word. I was like,
dude, sounds dope. Like, let'sgo with it. So we get to Sunday
morning, and, you know, I'mstill internally wrestling.
Like, I'm there to help people,but I'm and I'm blessing people,
but I'm still in the back of mymind, like, Where's my blessing?
(10:50):
What the you know, like, I'mjust I'm I'm still fuming from,
like, the conversation of 2weeks earlier.
Liz Moorehead (10:57):
Focused on getting what's yours.
George B. Thomas (10:59):
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Focused on getting,
you know, what's mine still. Andso what happened next is I would
call it a miracle, to be honestwith you, and I'll explain why.
And I gotta be I I just have togo somewhere. I need people to
just kinda sit with me in thisconversation for a minute. So
first of all, this is back inthe day, like, back back in the
(11:21):
day. We're talking 20 years ago.So I would need you to put your
mind frame in 20 years ago someof the things that I'm gonna
say.
So we get to Sunday. We go outto this field. We sit under this
white tent, and the bandsinging. It's like a guitar and
like a tambourine and, like,because there's no electricity
out there, people. It's likeacoustic style worship.
(11:43):
All of a sudden, the pastor getsup, and he introduces the guest
speaker, and her name isprophetess Juanita. Now I need
to unpack 2 things right there.First of all, her name. Back
then, especially in Montana, awoman behind the pulpit wasn't
really a thing yet. Like, we'vecome a long way in the last 20
(12:03):
years for things that should beallowed to happen or shouldn't
be allowed to happen, but herewe are 20 years ago, Montana,
and this prophetess, Juanita,goes to start to speak.
The second thing that I have tounpack is Juanita was an African
American woman, which 20 yearsago in Montana, there was not a
lot of African American folks.Now there are now because moving
(12:25):
from the places and theInternet, but back in the day,
there was no Internet. Therewas, like, if you weren't a
rancher, a bartender, like,worked at a gas station, nobody
was moving there. K? But 20years ago.
Now the other thing I want youto realize, we're on an Indian
reservation, and it's aprophetess that is an African
(12:45):
American woman preaching. I'mlike, what is going on right
now? God, what are you doing?Like, do you even know what
you're doing? Now I want you tohear that, but that is literally
the thought when I'm sittingthere.
God, do you even know whatyou're doing? And so she's
preaching, and I'm half payingattention. You know, the kids
are they're getting it. Like, Ican tell the kids are enjoying
(13:07):
it, but I'm just I'm half halfthere. Until this one moment
where she's preaching, and allof a sudden, the wind, you can
just the wind starts to blow inthe big white tent you because
the wind hits the top of thetent, and it starts to flutter
down.
And I get goosebumps. I mean, Ijust got. You know, Indians
believe the spirits are in thewind, and we're literally having
(13:29):
a worship service. And I'm justlike, oh, God is in the house,
baby. I don't know what I'mfeeling, but I'm feeling
something.
And so I start to pay attentionto the message, and I start to
feel a little, like, different.And I can't even explain. People
have asked me, what do you meandifferent? I don't know. I just
knew I felt a little different.
So the service gets over, andshe's walking down the aisle.
(13:51):
And I kinda look up at her, andI look down. I look at my wife,
and I look down at the ground,and I see her feet are kinda
coming close to me. I have myhead down. My arms are
literally, like, on my knees.
I have my head down. I'm justkinda like, oh, jeez. Okay.
Let's get back at it. It's timeto go to work.
And I feel somebody touch myshoulder. And I look up, and
(14:12):
it's prophetess Juanita, and shesays to me, when are you gonna
realize you're the blessing? Andshe walks away. From that day
forward, I was like, what? And Ireally embrace this idea of I've
been sent here to be a blessing.
I'm screwing this up because I'mtoo focused on what's in it for
(14:36):
me instead of what I can do forothers. There's another sermon
that happened when we got backto Ohio that was, called the
blessing bomber because therewere some conversations around
what happened and Dave went andlooked up some scripture and all
of this stuff. From that dayforward, I decided I'm gonna
walk this earth and I'm gonna bea blessing bomber whether it's
(14:59):
financially, which for a largepart of my life, I couldn't do
with my time or just showing upand realizing my job was to make
people better than when I foundthem. I am literally called to
be a blessing to those around meand so going from where are my
blessings and 2 weeks later whenare you gonna realize you're the
(15:23):
blessing and then being able tojust dramatically rewire my
brain to, how can I help? Howcan I fix?
How can I be a catalyst in thismoment that I'm in?
Liz Moorehead (15:37):
Let me ask you this. Do you ever struggle to
see the blessings in your lifeanymore now that you've made
that subtle switch in yourthinking?
George B. Thomas (15:44):
Only when I'm being a butthead. Right? Because
we all have those moments. Onlywhen I'm being a butthead. But,
typically, no.
Because the real funny thingabout this whole ordeal is that
I have been more blessed whenblessing others than I ever was
when I was looking for theblessings. Like, I find great
(16:05):
joy. And what's funny, Liz, is Istarted this conversation about
karma's up, and you, you know,you reap what you sow, you get
what you do. Like, when you'resowing blessings, when you're
focused on being a blessingbomber, yo, it comes back to you
(16:25):
in so many ways. I would any ofthe listeners, I would challenge
you.
2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years,like, rewire your brain to be a
blessing in every way that youcan to everybody that you can
be, and watch what happens inyour life over that time period.
Liz Moorehead (16:44):
Okay. This is where Liz becomes a little bit
probably too practical for herown good. Because I'm sitting
here, and I'm loving this idea.Right? I'm loving this concept
of moving away from the selffocused notion of getting what
you deserve to being theblessing.
How do you keep it from goingtoo far astray into the
(17:05):
territory of people pleasing,neglecting your own needs? How
do you find that line to walkwhere you are the blessing, but
you are still taking care ofyourself?
George B. Thomas (17:17):
My initial thought is you're gonna have to
ask somebody else. Although I Ihave been able to manage that.
Like, it's funny because mybrain goes to, you you know, you
watch superhero movies. Right?And, Liz, when they first get
this new superpower, they're ahot mess.
Like, their laser eyes are,like, burning down half a
buildings. Like, they're flyingand crashing, and there's, like,
(17:40):
big, you know, crevices or, youknow, it looks like a meteor hit
the earth because they hadn'tlearned to fly yet. You might
fall prey to everything that youjust said when you're first
starting to learn how to usethis, what I'll call a
superpower, being a blessing,focused on others instead of
yourself. The second part,though, is where my brain went
(18:00):
is that, like, you have a newlevel that you actually are
willing to go to before youwould have historically called
it unhealthy because you have anew perspective. Your brain's
wired differently.
And so I rarely get into asituation where I felt like I've
overdone it, and I have to tieone word, I think, that has
(18:22):
helped me unlock being ablessing bomber and not falling
prey to feeling like I've beentaken advantage of, and that is
the word expectations.
Liz Moorehead (18:32):
Oh.
George B. Thomas (18:33):
I fundamentally have zero
expectations of any of thepeople that I'm helping. I'm not
helping them because I'm tryingto get something out of it. I'm
helping them because I'm calledto be a blessing, but I know in
the back of my head, theuniverse, God, however you
believe, it will return to me insome shape, some form, some
(18:54):
fashion, so that allows me tohave 0 expectations for those
around me. However, I have somereal strict expectations for
myself. You will never go back.
You will never be that guyagain. You will always put
others before you. And if youdon't, you'll be cognizant of
(19:14):
it. You'll remind yourself, andyou'll get past your speed bump
and continue to be what you knowyou're supposed to be. Don't you
realize you're the blessing?
You know how many times thathits my brain, Liz, when I'm
being an asshole? Are you beinga blessing right now? Like, if
somebody takes a big dagger andshoves it in my heart. My brain
(19:36):
works in a way now because Iprogram myself like, what are
you doing? This is all aboutyou.
It's supposed to be about them.Don't you realize you're
supposed to be the blessing?
Liz Moorehead (19:46):
What's incredible to me, just going back to that
story, is just that comment toyou was apropos of nothing. She
didn't know your story. Shedidn't know that that was the
exact thing you needed to hearin that moment that would change
the course of your entire life.
George B. Thomas (20:02):
Or did she? Anyway, I hear what you're
saying. I hear what you'resaying.
Liz Moorehead (20:06):
Juanita, give us a call. Let us know.
George B. Thomas (20:08):
Yeah. Please. 330 no. I'm just kidding.
Liz Moorehead (20:12):
So here's my question to you. What are the
ways in your everyday life thatyou try to manifest this idea of
being the blessing? Becauseyou're a business owner. You're
a busy you're a busy guy. You'rea busy dad.
You have lots of different waysin which you show up in the
world. So what are some examplesin which you are being the
(20:33):
blessing in a way that'severyday and accessible?
George B. Thomas (20:37):
Another word, compassionate. Realizing that
everybody has their journey,giving them the grace and space
to walk that journey, to educatethemselves, to figure out their
own things that they're supposedto figure out. Like, it's not
easy employing your family, butif you're compassionate, if you
learn to keep your mouth shut,if you on the side of being
(20:58):
empathetic, they're not thereyet, but at least they're on
their way. The other thing toois I've had people be like, why
do you pay so much? What?
Don't you realize you'resupposed to be the blessing?
That's the thing. I'll I'll paypeople more than maybe they're
worth. I'll pay people more thanthe average, you know, in the
(21:20):
state of blah blah blah in thecountry of blah blah. No.
No. No. No. No. No.
No. I want people to go, wow.It's amazing when you work with
George b Thomas. Like, first ofall, he's not riding your butt.
2nd of all, he pays real good.
3rd of all, he actually, like,gives you time to educate
yourself. 3rd of all, I justlike hanging around with the
(21:40):
guy. Just be a good human, Liz,and I do things above and beyond
what would be oh, god. I do I dothings above and beyond what
would be called normal. Normal'sboring.
Normal is the default. Normal isreal close to getting stuck. And
so, like, in all the ways, I'mtrying to and by the way, as I'm
(22:03):
saying this, I just want all thelisteners know I am not perfect.
Man, do I jack this upsometimes? If you talk to my
wife, my kids, my friends, willthey say he has his moments?
Yes.
Liz Moorehead (22:15):
When was the last time you jacked it up?
George B. Thomas (22:17):
Oh, jeez. I'd have to actually think about
that. I mean, it here's thething. For the last year and a
half of owning the business,probably many times, they might
be micro times. Right?
But when you ask me thatquestion, my mind immediately
started to search for, like, amassively large blowout. You
know what? I'll give you anexample, and I guess I'm
(22:38):
supposed to share this becauseit's the one that immediately
came to mind, and it might sounddumb. Over the last 10, 12 years
since Inbound 2012, I've been onwhat one might call a come up.
Building a brand, becoming god.
This makes me sick even Internetfamous. HubSpot. Whatever. But
(22:59):
I'll never forget this one time.I went to a hug.
It's it's a HubSpot user group.I'm sitting there, and I'm
talking to some people, and I'mI'm being George b Thomas. And
this, this lady walks up, and Ican tell she's excited. She
wants to talk to me. But onething leads to another, and I go
from talking to people, and Ihave to go speak on stage, and I
(23:19):
speak on stage.
And then I see that she's tryingto make it around to talk to me,
but I'm like, oh, yeah. Thanks.And and I and I I go. And I get
in my car, and I'm driving away.And I'm like, I felt this
feeling before.
I just really let that persondown. They wanted to talk to me.
They wanted to share theirstory. They wanted to spend some
(23:40):
time with me, and I just I letthat person down. I know I felt
that way before because I hadbeen her to somebody who had
been dramatically influential inme making a decision that I had
made that at one point I got tosee them at an event, and it was
the worst experience of my life.
Worst experience of my life. Iwas like, well, that was
(24:02):
anticlimactic, but here's thething. I knew that I screwed up.
It was about a year later. I wasat another event.
I saw this human. I beelined itto this human, and I said, hey.
The last time I saw you, we'reat a HubSpot user group. I want
to apologize. When I left, Irealized that you were wanting
(24:23):
to spend time with me, that youhad something to tell me, a
story to share.
You just wanted to be in thespace. I don't know exactly what
it is, but I just want you toknow I apologize because I felt
like I wasn't important before,and I hope by all that is holy,
I didn't make you feelunimportant. Her reaction was
priceless because it was a bigsmile, and it was this kindred
(24:47):
understanding of he's a gooddude. Like, it's hard to put
into words, but we just but wehave a great conversation after
that. But I knew that I had tostep out of my comfort zone, be
vulnerable, say it was my fault.
I wasn't at my best. I wasn'tpaying attention. I was still
trying to, like, hone in thesuperpowers, if you will. But
(25:08):
that's why now any event that Igo to, I could give 2 craps less
about if I registered for asession. If somebody stops me in
the hallway, breaks.
K. God, why do you have me here?What am I supposed to hear? What
am I supposed to say? How am Isupposed to help?
Because I can educate myselfwhen I get back home, but I
can't get back this moment. Ican't get back this moment. And
(25:31):
that runs through my head somany times, like, you can't get
back this moment. And don't yourealize you're supposed to be
the blessing right here, rightnow?
Liz Moorehead (25:40):
What's so wrong with getting what you deserve?
George B. Thomas (25:43):
Comes from the wrong place. You will get what
you deserve. You will get whatyou deserve. By the way, karma
is a. It's not just a littlesaying, but here's the thing
that saying jacked up becausethe original, like, thing that I
would say is you reap what yousow.
If you sow love, you'll getlove. If you so compassion,
(26:04):
you'll get compassion. If you soblessings, you'll get blessings.
If you get to be a ninja and youcan do all of those things the
life that you will live, youcan't but help strap yourself
into the roller coaster and holdon because it's not about if you
wanna go past your default, youwill be escorted out of your
default. And I've never reallysaid that before, Liz, but
(26:26):
that's how I feel What'shappening in my life is I'm
being escorted out of somethingthat I'm no longer supposed to
be in, that I've, like, foundthe secret unlock key, and I've
practiced the unlock key enoughthat the universe is saying,
hey.
We need you to go over here. Weneed you to do these things. We
(26:47):
need you to share your story.It's time for you to help people
see the unlock button in theirown lives. I'm being ushered out
of dirty George, of where'swhere's my blessings?
What's in it for me? Oh, I'm notgonna spend time doing that. I'm
not gonna I would make no moneydoing that. That's the thing. If
I take it back to out ofpersonal and to professional, I
(27:09):
can give you plenty of storieswhere people are like, yeah.
I called him up. He didn't evencharge me. He just, like, gave
me the answer. Why do you thinkwhy do you think, by the way,
I've created probably over2,000, some a 100 HubSpot
tutorials and never reallycharged anybody? Like, I threw
them up on YouTube and was like,here, world.
Because I knew that I could movethem from point a to point b.
(27:32):
They just need to watch a video.They would make their life
easier. It would make their lifebetter in a business sense, but
I try to do that at a moregrandiose level on the personal
side, and what's fun is watchingmy family come along for the
ride. I'll never forget.
Here's another story, Liz.There's a thing I love to do,
and it could be considered fun,funny, or you're a sick man. I'm
not sure which it is yet, but Ilove to make waitresses cry. And
(27:56):
what I mean by that is when youleave a tip and you know they
felt something. And I'll neverforget this one time my wife and
I were sitting at Logan's,Logan's steakhouse, and it was
my wife, my daughter, Kaylee,and me.
And we're eating a nice dinner.I we had just had a win, by the
way. And I'm like, we're goingout to dinner. We're gonna
(28:17):
celebrate. And we'recelebrating.
And our waitress comes up, andshe's a good waitress. She's
doing a great job, and shestarts to talk about how, yeah,
on Thursdays, I work here. I'm aschool teacher, and I felt my
insides being ripped out. Andshe walked away. I looked at my
wife, and I go, can you believethat?
Like, a school teacher has towork a second job just to make
ends meet. This is the world welive in. Like, something's
(28:39):
fundamentally wrong. And so weget done with the meal, and I
said, babe, leave a leave a goodtip. Well, how much?
Babe, I don't care. Just leave agood tip. She needs to be
blessed. She's working 2 jobs.She's a school teacher.
She needs to be blessed. I won'tdisclose the amount, but it was
a good amount. It was I'd havebeen happy with the tip. We
tried to sneak out. Like, weleft the tip, and they were
(29:00):
like, Anne, break.
Let's go. Trying to get out ofthere, but she cut us off with
the pass. And her words were,uh-uh. You can't. No.
And she was starting to cry. Mywife looks over, and she goes,
oh, honey, you deserve it. Thepeople around us oh, god. The
people around us that are put inour path, they deserve it. They
(29:24):
deserve it, and when you realizehow much you felt that you
deserve it and you just wishthat somebody would see that,
that you've always wanted a handup, not a handout.
You just wish somebody would seethat you're struggling through
life, and maybe you'd get thatmoment in time that it would
change you. And we're all thesame. We all feel that way.
(29:46):
We're all looking for that. Theonly difference is you're
listening to this, and you havethe ability to take after the
day and just be like, you knowwhat?
I need to be a blessing bombertoo. I need to realize it's less
about me, more about them. Ineed to realize that I reap what
I sow. And from this dayforward, this is how I'm gonna
show up on the planet, and I'mgonna sow these things for 0
(30:09):
expectations, but in theunderstanding that they'll be
returned to me in some shape,some form, some fashion.
Liz Moorehead (30:16):
What's interesting of how you phrase
that is it's so we've beentalking about this in the
context of being the blessing.But the reality is is that
instead of focusing on gettingwhat you deserve, it's looking
around at the world and askingyourself, is everyone else
getting what they deserve in thebest possible way?
George B. Thomas (30:33):
Yeah. The I mean and it could be a kind
word. That's super powerful, bythe way. I've seen grown men
break down by a kind word. Itcould be a a tip.
Right? It could be just spendingtime. Shoot. It could be 5
minutes of silence just sittingthere holding their hand. That's
the part that's hard, by theway.
We haven't even talked about it,but the the hardest part is
(30:55):
diagnosing what blessing is itthat you're supposed to deliver
because if it's the wrong gift,then nobody likes the gift, but
if you can tune yourself into,like, what do they need in this
moment? By the way, there is apart of your brain. We'll just
call it the still small voicethat you might wanna tune into
in those moments where you'relike, what am I supposed to do
here? And then just shut up andlisten, and then you'll realize
(31:18):
you'll know. Oh, I'm supposed togive this person a hug.
I'm supposed to ask this personthis question. You gotta get out
of your own way. You gotta shutyourself up for a hot minute,
and you gotta rewire the brainto be like about them about them
about them. You gotta know yourjob. Be a blessing.
Be a blessing. Be a blessing.
Liz Moorehead (31:38):
If our listeners only took away one concept, one
idea that isn't be the blessingfrom today's conversation, what
should it be and why?
George B. Thomas (31:48):
It's funny. I wanted to end this podcast with,
don't you realize you're theblessing? That's how I wanted to
end this podcast, but you justasked me that question in a way
where I feel like I can end withbe the blessing.
Liz Moorehead (32:02):
Nope. You can't.
George B. Thomas (32:03):
So this whole time, we have talked about this
at an exterior level. This iswhat I'll end with because you
kind of started to lean into it,by the way. It's okay to bless
yourself. It's okay to loveyourself. It's okay to give
yourself a mental hug.
It's okay to give yourself graceand empathy. It's okay. That's
(32:28):
what I wanna leave everybodywith, by the way. I feel those
words. It's okay.
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