June 1, 2025 • 50 mins
In this episode of the Biblical Leadership at Work podcast, host Jason Woodard interviews Corey Carlson, an entrepreneur and former executive. Corey discusses his journey from corporate America to executive coaching, emphasizing the importance of balancing work and family life. He shares insights from his books, 'When at Home First' and 'Rise and Go,' and offers practical advice for new leaders on maintaining integrity and integrating faith into their leadership roles.
Be sure to rate and follow our podcast!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jason (00:00):
Welcome to the Biblical Leadership at Work podcast.
I am your host, Jason Woodard.
On this month's episode, we willmeet Corey Carlson.
Corey is an entrepreneur, formerexecutive, husband, and father
of three.
And Corey understands thepressures working parents face.
He is passionate about helpingbusiness leaders win at home and
at work.
(00:21):
With 20 years in corporateAmerica, Corey worked his way up
to the executive level, but alsowitnessed challenges such as
work without purpose, burnout,and strained relationships.
Discovering coaching transformedhim into a better leader,
husband, and father, which ledhim to lead, leave his corporate
career to help others achievesuccess, both professionally and
professionally.
He does this through executivecoaching, speaking, and writing.
(00:46):
Corey holds a civil engineeringdegree from the University of
Missouri and an MBA fromRockhurst University.
He is the author of When at HomeFirst, an inspirational guide
for work life balance, and Riseand Go, a resource to help
leaders recover from challenges.
He also hosts the leadershippodcast, when at home first,
(01:07):
which is recognized as a top oneand a half percent global
podcast.
Today, we'll explore Corey'sjourney, his insights on
integrating faith intoleadership and strategies for
striving both at work and athome.
So Corey brother, welcome to theshow, man.
Thank you.
Cory (01:24):
Jason, thank you very much for having me and just the
opportunity to talk about faithand work.
It's pretty awesome.
So, thanks for doing what youdo.
Jason (01:32):
Yeah, no.
Hey, thank you.
Uh, you're putting out somegreat content as well.
So Corey, tell us a little bitabout your background from kind
of University, career, right upto where the Lord has you now
and how he got you there.
Give us a 30, 000 foot summary.
Cory (01:46):
Yeah, I was a, as you mentioned, civil engineering
degree out of college and wentto a company, awesome company,
in Kansas City that I worked forand great company, it's just, I
didn't enjoy what I was doing.
It kind of sit in a cubicledesigning pavement, how thick
the pavement need to be.
I was like, I, I don't want todo this and not, not to go all
(02:10):
deep end really quick, but youknow, it was, I was also taking
my identity to my job and Iwasn't getting satisfied at the
time of my life.
I didn't completely understand,you know, about the problem with
taking your identity totemporary things like your job
or your money or car status,house, any of those things.
(02:32):
I didn't completely understandit.
I was taking my identity in myjob, which, you know, was not a
good thing.
And then, but I ended up findinganother job at that time where I
sold cylindering products, stormsewer bridges,
Jason (02:47):
Okay.
Cory (02:48):
and, and I loved it.
It was sales, which is somethingI enjoy doing mixed with.
products and constructionindustry.
I did that in Kansas city, hadsuccess, got promoted, moved to
Denver, Colorado, where Imanaged a bunch of states and
people.
I think it got promoted toCincinnati where I was vice
(03:09):
president of 120 milliondivision and over, you know,
overseeing a bunch of peoplethroughout the country.
And that's really when.
I, I kind of faced some real upsand downs of leadership, you
know, and kind of come back tothat.
But then I took a, anothercorporate move where I went to
(03:30):
be president of sales, whichthen got me into coaching, which
is what I do full time,
Jason (03:36):
Okay.
Cory (03:36):
but kind of rewinding when I was vice president of 120
million division, I justleapfrogged my boss.
I was now managing him.
I was managing people older thanme.
I was man, managing people thathad been the industry longer.
And so Jason, what that meant islike, I showed up with like
imposter syndrome.
Like I'm just waiting for themto knock on my door and say,
(03:58):
Corey, uh, you need to go backout, out to the field.
We screwed up.
You should not be here, youknow, in the corporate.
And so that caused me to skipthe gym, skip quiet time, kids
playing on the floor.
And you know, my face was stuckin my laptop on the couch and I
just, there just, I knew therehad to be a better way.
(04:20):
I didn't know what it was.
I went to my boss, who big fanof, and he just said, Hey, get
an executive coach.
I've always had one.
And
Jason (04:27):
Okay.
Cory (04:28):
I was like, okay.
So I went and hired an executivecoach and.
It was a game changer.
And I know that sounds extreme,but it's now what I do for a
living.
So obviously it changed mycareer, but also was a game
changer because.
I immediately was able to zoomout.
It wasn't just about a cleanemail inbox or a good looking P
(04:50):
and L.
Those have their importance, nodoubt about it, but instead it
became about purpose.
It became about priorities.
And so I just started leadingdifferently with my team.
And then I, as I mentionedearlier, I took a corporate move
where another move where I waspresident of sales for national
contractor, I had 30 sales folksthroughout the country.
And Jason, as I traveled thecountry to meet with them, I
(05:14):
talked home and work.
I just knew for people to havesustainable success that you got
to work on the whole self.
So as I went to like, you know,Nashville to talk to the sales
guy, or I went up to Seattle orNew York, I would basically with
the, with the sales individual,Hey, are you dating your spouse?
Are you being intentional withyour kids?
(05:35):
Are you getting to the gym?
But then also on the work frontWhat's your hit rate on your
proposals?
Are you blocking out time inyour calendar, you know for
business development?
What are your three keyinitiatives for this quarter?
So I was leading both home andwork and when they got better
and I knew I had gotten better Iwas like, I want to do this for
(05:55):
a living and so that began thejourney of me leaving corporate
Into coaching and thanks togod's provision Uh, it'll be
Here, March 1st, it'll be fiveyears that I've been coaching
and speaking full time.
Jason (06:10):
so that's a big leap.
Corey, when you did it, did youjust go cold turkey on the
career and a regular steadycheck and moved into coaching or
did you kind of bridge it withramping that up?
Cory (06:20):
No, there's a whole story there.
Um, but it may be helpful tosomebody listening.
When I was president of sales, Ihad this burning desire, this
itch, this prompting, whateveryou want to call it to go do
coaching, but I didn't have theguts.
Jason (06:40):
a
Cory (06:40):
I didn't have the guts.
I made good money and I didn'twant to go from good money to
zero.
Jason (06:48):
Yeah.
Yep.
Cory (06:50):
had a little identity tied in my job title.
I was president of sales.
That sounded a lot cooler thanbrand new coach,
Jason (06:57):
Yeah.
Cory (06:58):
And so I didn't know really kind of what to do.
I kept feeling the nudge, gocoach.
I would listen to podcasts andpeople talking about that bold,
courageous moves they made.
And I was like, that sounds coolfor that guy, but I don't think
I can do it.
I've got three kids and, uh, youknow, a wife and anyways.
(07:18):
Fast forward at this time is2016.
Fast forward to August, 2016.
We were owned by private equity.
We had just been through a manymonth process to try to sell the
company.
We interviewed with a bunch ofprivate equity companies,
narrowed it down to three.
Then went and signed on thedotted line with one of them,
45th day of the due diligenceperiod, of the 60 day due
(07:41):
diligence period, they got coldfeet.
So they backed out.
And when you back out from aprivate equity sale, you're
pretty much known as a re tradeand no one wants you because if
they're like, well, someone elsesaw something bad,
Jason (07:53):
They
Cory (07:53):
we're out.
Jason (07:53):
out.
Yeah.
Cory (07:54):
And that caused our ownership to be like, well,
We're changing things.
We're going from national toregional, and you start chopping
things off.
You don't need a president ofsales anymore.
So August 2016, I wasterminated, and I made a, my
first call was to my wife, and Isaid, babe, I got good news, bad
news.
Bad news is, I just got fired.
(08:17):
The good news is, I have a fourmonth severance package.
Can I try coaching?
And she says, yeah, you got fourmonths and then get
Jason (08:25):
And you guys, so she knew that was on your heart
Cory (08:28):
Oh yeah.
Oh yeah.
She knew it.
And you know, as God was workingon me and my heart and kind of
softening and preparing me fromprovision of, you know, set
salary, although we all knowcorporate America, it's not very
secure.
Cause you can get fired anymoment, just like I did, but it
is, um, I, some provision, likeI kind of thought, Hey,
(08:52):
corporate America is myprovider.
And I kind of was realizing,Hey, you know, God's my
provider.
Jason (08:56):
Yeah.
Cory (08:58):
My wife was really hung up on the insurance, kind of like,
because corporate does afantastic job of brainwashing
that, Hey man, you got to havethis, this insurance.
Cause if you go out, you know,you can't get it.
Uh, it was not near as bad as wethought it was.
It's not amazing.
It's, it's crazy expensive, butit's doable for some listener
(09:19):
listening.
Uh, so anyways, over before Igot terminated, God was working
on both my wife and my heart.
of making this transition,right?
God always prepares us beforesomething happens.
And he was doing just that thosemonths leading up to he was
preparing us.
I didn't I didn't anticipategetting fired And so I would
(09:40):
have never thought that's whatwas happening But he knew he was
preparing both of us for when wegot fired.
So when I made that phone callto my wife She wasn't scared.
She wasn't the idea of me goingcoaching wasn't Red alarm panic
anything like that.
So I stepped into coaching And Ihad the four months as I
(10:01):
mentioned, and I was able to getmy coaching up to about 50%, not
50% of what I made, but about50% of, Hey, if I could find
another 50% I'm in.
And thanks to God's provision,there was a guy in Cincinnati,
which is where I live.
I did not know him, but we hadthe same executive coach who
(10:22):
lived in South Carolina.
So just cool.
I mean, it's a cool story.
Anyways, this guy needed helpwith sales and marketing for a
man.
He's a manufacturing company.
Jason (10:30):
Okay.
Cory (10:31):
So I helped him and he brought me on and it ended up
being about that 50 percentnumber I wanted.
And I did that, I did 50 percentcoaching, 50 percent helping
this manufacturing.
I did it for a while.
Then I went 75 percent coaching,25 percent helping the
manufacturer, eventually then 9010.
Jason (10:51):
Nice.
Cory (10:52):
March 1st, 2020, which is not the best time to launch
Jason (10:56):
a, that's a worst
Cory (10:58):
a whole nother story.
We went all in as a family intocoaching.
Jason (11:03):
Okay.
Nice.
So you're just on five years ina month.
Yeah.
That's awesome.
That's a great story because oneof the things I always like to
hear from people on thesepodcasts, Corey, is events like
that, that in the moment, werenot great and were, you know,
can be kind of fearsome andshake your foundation a little
(11:24):
bit, but then knowing you're,This far through it and how
things have went, you know,people get fired, bad things
happen.
And, you know, how does God workin those to sanctify us and he
provides for us and our family.
So I love those stories.
I appreciate you sharing that.
That's really good.
Tell us, tell us, Corey, alittle bit about your family.
(11:44):
You've hinted on that.
What's that look like with yourwife and children?
Cory (11:49):
married, married 26 years this summer, which is awesome.
I mean, my wife supported methrough some good decisions,
some bad decisions, uh, threedifferent cities we lived in
three kids, uh, going from, youknow, corporate to
entrepreneurial.
It's just been super supportive.
It's, it's, it's been great.
And you know, part, part of ourstory, my story, my first book's
(12:11):
called when at home first, wrotethat book cause I lost at home
first.
I was so focused on my, youknow, myself and climbing the
corporate ladder and doing allthose things that I, you know,
just, you know, you made bad,you know, made bad choices.
And in that, uh, you know, shestuck with me through the whole
thing.
So my first book, when a homefirst talks about.
(12:33):
Hey, what's it take for thatleader to win at home and work?
And that's why I'm passionateabout it.
I have three kids, 20 year olddaughter, 16 year old daughter,
and a 12 year old boy.
So we are, we have conversationsfrom, you know, what are you
gonna do for your career?
And, you know, please pee in thetoilet.
I
Jason (12:54):
Right.
That's right.
Yeah.
Cory (12:55):
all of the extremes.
Jason (12:57):
Yeah, that's great.
No, that's an interesting.
We had that range for a while.
Now we're 30 down to 19.
So we're just about, just aboutdone and we're enjoying
grandkids.
So that's a,
Cory (13:09):
Man, you look good for being a grandpa.
Jason (13:12):
we started, we started early and then our kids, you
know, they, they had childrenearly.
So it is, it's nice.
Cause I can keep up, keep, I gottwo granddaughters so I can keep
up with them.
Cory (13:22):
That is awesome.
Yes.
Yeah, that's that's my hope tooas well to be an active healthy
grandpa when that time comes
Jason (13:30):
That's an incredible joy.
What about your faith, Cory?
When did you come to know theLord?
What's that look like?
Cory (13:36):
Yeah, I came.
Um, uh, you know 48 years old SoI came to faith with like a lot
of people my age to amy grantand michael w smith concerts and
music
Jason (13:46):
grow up in the church,
Cory (13:48):
grew up in the church and uh, yeah, you know faith was
great, you know great.
Um growing up My mom battled aseven year, battled cancer.
Ended up passing away when I wasin high school.
And, and so that didn't leave abad taste in my mouth towards
God, but anyways, it definitelywas part of my foundation of
(14:11):
having faith, seeing my dad rocksolid in his faith, seeing the
church support us come over onWednesday nights and pray and
all cool stuff.
So that, that happened.
But then when I went to college.
I drifted early twenties,drifted, just went, went through
a season of selfishness and thatall took place.
(14:34):
I mentioned I went to Mizzou,then we started in Kansas city.
When I moved to Denver, that'swhen things started to change.
It was kind of almost to thepoint of like, not that my wife
was as direct, but it's kind oflike, Hey, you know, Let's go to
church.
I thought you were, you know, agood Christian guy, you know,
that's kind
Jason (14:51):
that's who I married, right?
Cory (14:52):
Yeah, I mean, she didn't say that, but it was kind of
like, let's go.
And what, the coolest part,Jason, is we went to this church
in, uh, Denver.
It was called Arvada Vineyard.
Now it's Mile High Vineyard.
And I just started gettingaround a cool group of guys that
were real.
And they talked about the upsand downs of their marriage, the
(15:14):
ups and downs of, you know,maybe a porn addiction they had
or, um, burnout at work or like,it was real deep conversations
as opposed to sports andweather.
Jason (15:28):
yeah, yep,
Cory (15:29):
that is kind of when God just started working on me
through these guys of, I'm justkind of deciding to come clean
of some of my darkness and live,just living better.
And so it, that's, that is whenmy faith got stronger.
(15:49):
Then we moved to Cincinnati, goteven stronger.
And that's just, it's kind ofbeen up into the right sense.
Not that I'm perfect.
I mean, I'm still trying tofigure out kind of better ways
to fine tune it and get betterand,
Jason (16:03):
it's a process.
So you wrote, so you wrote abook on this whole idea of
winning a work and home, and Ithink what you talked about
earlier, Cory, is.
You know, the, the focus anddrive on our professional
careers.
I've been there.
I, I like to think that I'velearned how to balance that
better, but I did not do itwell.
(16:24):
You know, at one point it was myentire identity.
Cory (16:27):
Hmm.
Jason (16:28):
What, and again, you have a whole book on it, so it's hard
to summarize, but like, whatare, what are the main
principles and approaches thatyou take when you're coaching
someone or even in the book?
for believers who are in thatposition to, to say, you know,
you gotta, the work life balancehas been overused, but you know,
(16:49):
like tools, principles, likewhere do you start?
Cory (16:53):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And you know, I, I mean, I evenagree the word balance is not, I
mean, when I wrote the book, uh,went on first are the subtitles,
inspirational guide to work lifebalance.
And I, and I told the, the, thepublishing consultant, I don't
want that word.
I want something like work lifeharmony or something.
Jason (17:08):
Yeah.
Cory (17:09):
lady was so kind, uh, cause I was like, it's not
balanced.
And the lady was so kind.
She goes, listen, you're notJeff Bezos or somebody you can't
just go make an upward
Jason (17:19):
You can't make your own thing up, Corey.
Not yet.
Cory (17:21):
need to work life balance.
I said, okay, I get it.
I get it.
I, uh, we'll, we'll do that.
And I think a couple of thingswhen I work with clients and
also what I had to come to gripswith myself and, you know, still
remind is realizing there's acouple of mindset shifts.
One is.
(17:42):
There is no work wins that aregoing to counterbalance home
losses.
You know, you may be crushing awork right now, but if things
aren't well at home, it's goingto catch up to you.
It could catch up to you and youget divorced and you now split
all that amazing money made 50%.
Jason (17:58):
Yeah.
Cory (18:00):
You know, you could get to a point, you mentioned you're
involved with your kids and yourgrandkids life, but that's
pretty awesome.
That means you must've beenloving and around with them and
therefore they want to be withyou now.
So, I mean, if people don't cometo grips with, you've got to
have success at home and work.
Otherwise it's, it's, it couldbe divorced, absentee parent,
(18:22):
uh, bad health, you know,whatever that, that piece may
be.
So I, that's, that's the firstthing, just having someone
recognize that, Hey, if youreally want to have sustainable
success, you've got to win athome and win at work.
And so that's just a big thingto think about.
What I'll also share with, youknow, clients is over my career.
I've had over my 20 year career,I've had 18 bosses in one
(18:46):
family.
Jason (18:47):
Right.
Yeah.
Cory (18:48):
I said yes to some of those bosses at the expense of
my family, and I don't even knowwhere they live right now.
I don't even know if they'realive right now.
Jason (18:56):
Yep.
Cory (18:59):
And it's, it's just, you know, it's just so sad how, how
we will do those things.
And you know, no one remembersthat you worked late except for
your family.
Jason (19:07):
Right,
Cory (19:07):
Or you worked hard on a Saturday except for your family.
So I think, you know, the firstis that mindset shift of, hey,
We're here on earth.
We're not just here to be agreat CEO or great manager or a
great sales person That's justone of our titles
Jason (19:23):
Yeah, one of our roles.
Cory (19:24):
Yeah, husband, father, you know, or spouse, mother, you
know, whatever it is, and then,you know, friend, and, you know,
just so much.
And so anyways, it's helpingpeople realize all those pieces.
Inside the book, the book hasfour parts.
First part is you, understandingyour own self.
Like, do you understand youridentity?
(19:46):
Are you not taken into temporarythings that I talked about I did
in my 20s?
Instead, you understand that youare beloved son or daughter.
It is about understanding yourpurpose.
In the book, I talk about how toput together a purpose
statement.
That was a game changer for mewhen I did that.
Jason (20:02):
Yep.
Cory (20:02):
you know, cool story that goes alongside with that.
Understand your priorities.
If you don't know yourpriorities, then someone else
will make their prioritiesbecome your priorities.
And so there's a five capitalsframework I talk about in the
book that is very helpful.
So that's part one.
(20:22):
Part two is about marriage,which is the most important
relationship in the home.
And what I find so often Jasonis business leaders stop dating
their spouse.
As the career takes off, as kidsget old, you know, grow up and
we got activities come Friday,Saturday, people are tired,
(20:43):
people have headaches and, or,you know, whatever the thing is,
they don't go on dates.
And so part two of the book isabout pursuing your spouse.
It's about serving your spouse.
It's about forgiving yourspouse.
And so I talk about each ofthose pieces.
The third part's on parenting,parenting about having a
(21:04):
relationship with them.
That is both one of invitingthem into relationship, but also
challenge them intoresponsibility, right?
Truth and grace.
Just how Jesus led thedisciples, the woman at the
well, all of his encounters wereboth truth and grace.
We need to lead our kids away.
And, and many of us can err onone way or the other where we're
(21:25):
just challenge, make your bed,get good grades, go, go, go.
What would, then you got theother people who are cozy and
they have spoiled brat kidsbecause it's yes to everything.
They want to be their friend.
They may even buy them, youknow, beer on the weekends on,
you know, when they're in highschool to be cool.
Jason (21:45):
Yep.
Cory (21:45):
And so that's the idea of the third, part three, the
parenting.
And then part five, part four ison work.
How are you equipping andempowering your employees?
How are you managing yourcalendar so that you can go home
and not work in the evening?
Jason (22:01):
That's
Cory (22:02):
So it's about time management.
It's about delegation.
So anyways, those are the fourparts.
Hey, I wrote the book and abuddy of mine the day before it
got published, he just sent mean awesome letter.
to Nick, but he just sent me anawesome letter that just said.
It is not about how many booksyou sell.
(22:23):
It's about just being obedient.
And that was a big step for mebecause, you know, I, I can be
results driven and just thinkabout, so anyways, it's been,
it's been a fun ride.
Uh, it's been just pretty coolto hear how it's helping people.
And luckily a guy at Forbesmagazine said that's one of
seven books everyone on yourteam should read.
So it's been, it always issignificantly helped.
(22:45):
So that, that, that was prettycool.
Jason (22:48):
One thing that I've, and I love all those principles all
the way back to, uh, having a,your own mission statement.
When I finished my, um, my MBA,which was at a Christian
university at Cornerstoneuniversity, I was one of the
capstone projects was like,okay, so you've done this now
what?
And we, and we wrote this and Istill have it and I still look
at it, not a lot, but every yearor so and reflect on that.
(23:12):
But something that I've.
I think I'm learning or I'velearned and I'd be curious your
thoughts on this around I callit that work life balance Is
there came a point when I had torealize that it was okay?
to bring My work home and I'llexplain a little bit of what I
mean about this But in mypersonal life to work and let
those start blending over likewho I am comes everywhere like
(23:36):
everywhere I go You know what myspiritual life like I have a
prayer list and on my prayerlist One of the things on there
is work, and people I work with,and the business, and our
owners.
And, and when I'm at work, Iwant to be able to talk to my
teammates about my family, andshow them pictures of my
grandkids, and bring like, mywhole self.
(23:57):
A lot of people talk about, youknow, bring your whole self to
work, and I want them to do thesame.
And when I'm at home, you know,I want, and my kids don't care.
My kids barely know what I do,right?
They don't care.
Whatever.
But you know to be able to havethose conversations and say this
is a role that I do that I'mpassionate about that I like
that.
I like to bring it.
It's part of who I am And sothere's been a piece of me that
(24:18):
you know for some point I guessin my life I thought they were
very, you know, you keep keepwork here.
You keep your spiritual lifehere and your family It's
separate but there became likethis.
I don't know this freedom.
I felt like or it was just beingmore true to who I am You When I
just, I'm me wherever I go andall those pieces kind of come
(24:39):
with me.
Does that, does that make senseat all?
You see, do people like workthrough that or have to?
Cory (24:43):
Well, 100%, it makes sense.
It is a lie that people aretelling themselves that they
think they can separate the two.
Maybe you could in the 50s.
I, I don't know.
But when we have smart watches.
Smartphones, you know, thecomputers with the email and
everything like it's integratedthroughout the whole day
Jason (25:06):
All the time.
Cory (25:07):
Even if that's not the case, which it is, but you get
in a fight at 7 a.
m With your spouse as you'rewalking out the door.
It is going to affect yourworkday You will not be the best
version of yourself at 9 a.
m.
Because you're thinking aboutthe fight you just had
Jason (25:23):
Right.
Cory (25:24):
I should have said this dang it.
I you know, and then as the dayprogresses There may be a text
back and forth still with thefight continuing, but let's just
say there's not come threeo'clock You start thinking about
when I go and re enter into thehouse I'm gonna say this and
then they will probably say thatand then i'm gonna say this And
(25:45):
so we end uh, it just starts tohappen So back to why home is so
important if we went home first,then we can be the best version
of ourselves at work So Icompletely agree that Yeah They
do get integrated between thetwo.
Jason (26:03):
Yeah.
And I, and I would even say togo piggyback on that as a
leader, I've had to, um, remindmyself.
That the, the, the culture thatI'm developing and the way that
I manage and lead is having animpact on the homes where those
people are going.
Because you and I have both hadthe experience of managers where
(26:25):
maybe home life is rolling good,but work is awful.
And you bring, right.
And you bring that home.
And so as leaders, I think wehave to realize that impact that
we can have positive or negativeeven on people's home life.
So, and that's just the, again,some of that, it just bleeds
over.
It, it bleeds over.
So yeah.
Cory (26:43):
I, I was in that season, well, a few different times
throughout my career where workwas affecting, uh, home in a
negative way.
And one of the parts of wenthome first, put together a
vision statement.
The reason that kind of was birdthis, when I was president of
sales, I was at this dinnertable.
(27:03):
And we were in Florida withprivate equity group.
And this guy chose his phone tome about how loud his brand,
brand new Mercedes is.
And I have no problem with richpeople.
I've got some really wealthyfriends that are amazing and are
so kind and so generous andawesome, awesome, awesome
(27:26):
people.
This particular situation, whatbothered me was his energy was
so high.
When he talked about how loudhis Mercedes was.
Then we start talking about hisspouse.
The energy goes down and hishome life and his kids.
And I was like, Dude, this iscrazy.
Like, all he cares about ismoney and status and, you know,
position, power, and not hisfamily.
(27:48):
And here I am, away from myfamily, on a work night, in
Florida, where it's like, Ah,what am I doing?
So, dinner's over, I go outsidewaiting for, you know, my ride
to show up.
my, I call my coach.
And he picked it up as afterhours.
And so it just worked out.
He was able to pick it up.
Uh, I think he was traveling tooor something.
(28:11):
Anyways.
I just said, man, is this reallymy life?
Like I'm, I'm just as apresident of sales, I'm just
going to go help people makelots of money.
Is that really my role in life?
And he just said, he said,listen, come up with a, a
purpose statement or a visionstatement, and it'll make each
(28:31):
day more redeemable and help youstay focused.
I was like, what?
What is a sentence going to doto help me?
That sounds dumb.
And as some listeners areprobably thinking about right
now, like Corey, that soundslike the dumbest idea ever.
He said, just trust me.
So I said, fine, I will.
Cause I've been with them on forwhatever it was at that time, a
four year journey together, andI'm like, all right, I'm
(28:52):
trusting you here.
Jason (28:54):
Yeah.
Cory (28:54):
You using a 5P framework.
You just do a brain dump onthese five P's, passions,
provisions, uh, potentialproblems and, um, personality
based on those five P's, just doa brain dump of everything about
you, throw it on there, look atthe paper and see if anything
pops up of, Hey, is there asentence there?
(29:17):
Is there something that gets youmotivated of how you were
uniquely wonderfully made for meas I did that exercise, the
sentence that I put togetherthen.
Is the same one I still use tothis day and is to connect
people to greater performance,even more significant purpose.
Jason (29:33):
There you go.
Cory (29:34):
So wherever I go, I can do that.
If I'm around a fire pit withguys, how can I think about
helping them perform better atwork and home?
How can I help them connect to agreater purpose?
God, if that's part of theconversation, if I can, if it
was an anti faith conversation,whatever, it's like, just serve
(29:54):
others.
Jason (29:55):
Yeah.
Cory (29:56):
When I'm with my kids showed up different, but how
this worked Jason for that timewas When I traveled, I was
thinking of that phrase.
How do I connect people togreater performance and even
more significant purpose, and ithelps significantly.
Year ago, I have a CEO of anexcavating company reach out to
(30:17):
me.
Burned out, home life's great,burned out.
I went through this process withthem, same things, like really a
sentence is going to help.
And he, he landed on, uh, toexcavate.
To excavate, uh, well, excavatepeople and buildings to build
stronger foundations, somethinglike that, because it's
(30:39):
excavate, he was an excavator
Jason (30:41):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Cory (30:42):
he was a man of faith anyways, that, that gave him
traction for a while, for a longwhile, probably still uses this
to this day, but it's one ofthose deals where if you are a
listener, if you are struggling,sometimes just.
Zooming out and thinking about,Hey, what is your purpose?
How uniquely one of them madeand how does that apply to your
(31:03):
job?
Whether you're CEO ofmanufacturing company, whether
you're a coach, whether you're asales guy or gal, wherever
you're at, it can give you someadditional momentum and juice as
opposed to just grinding throughemails every day.
Jason (31:19):
Well, it gives you focus, right?
It's why businesses writemission statements.
I mean, this is what I'm goingto get up and try to do every
day.
This is my thing I'm trying todo.
So I think it is important.
And again, I go back to mine's aparagraph, but it talks about
professional.
It talks about my relationshipwith the Lord.
It talks about my relationshipwith my wife and my children and
serving the church.
(31:39):
And those are still things thatI, when I stop and think, okay,
What am I doing?
What am I spending my time on?
You know, am I hitting on thoseareas?
Like today, I was thinking aboutthis morning.
I got up early.
I tried to get up early everyday, spend time in the word,
spend time in prayer.
And I was like, all right, it'sa fairly busy day.
I got work scheduled, normalwork schedule.
And then I'm going to come andhave this interview with Corey,
(32:01):
which to me is a ministry that Ido this work to send out to
other believers.
And then this evening I'mmeeting with, Um, you know,
someone about a board role.
I serve on a, uh, uh, the board,I'm a chair of a board for a
crisis pregnancy center, and I'mgoing to go have dinner to
recruit a board member.
And I'm like, that's a, it's abusy day.
I'm not going to have a lot ofsit down and not do anything,
(32:23):
but it's all, I'm like, yeah,it's exactly what I should be
doing today, today, not everyday.
But I'm like, okay, this is, youknow, this is good.
So it ties back to that mission,you know, of,
Cory (32:34):
I love it.
One thing I do encourage clientsto do, and I'll encourage you,
is to get it down to like 10words or whatever to make it
memorable.
Jason (32:42):
Yes,
Cory (32:42):
I've got a longer version like you do, so maybe for you
just grab your paragraph, throwit in a chat GPT, and just say
put this in 10 sentence, 10sentence, 10 word sentence, and
just see what it does, and youmay
Jason (32:58):
Oh, it'll do it.
It'll do it.
I hadn't thought of that.
I use chat GPT.
Don't even get me started.
I love it.
I use it all the time, everyday.
So that would be a great, that'sa great idea.
Cory (33:07):
give it a go, and then let me know what you come up with.
Jason (33:09):
Oh, I will.
Hey, Corey, I always like to askpeople, like, what are your
spiritual disciplines, man?
What are the things you do tostay close to the Lord and grow
in sanctification?
Cory (33:20):
Yeah, this, um, the routine I'm in right now, from a
daily standpoint, the routineI'm in is, I got myself a five
year prayer journal, this bigold thick book.
It is awesome.
You can get it at HosannaRevival.
You open up, it's pretty muchblank pages, except it has the
(33:40):
date and you put in the year,because it's five years.
And, anyway, so every morning Iam reading, uh, daily devotion
from daily wisdom for men.
I then will read a chapter ofthe Bible that usually ties with
that.
And then I will write out myprayer in the prayer journal.
(34:00):
So that is what I'm doing, uh,minimum.
And I've been pretty darnconsistent at this year, which
has been pretty awesome becauseI want to double down on prayer.
I think for all of us, that's asecret weapon that we
underutilize.
And
Jason (34:16):
I totally agree.
Cory (34:17):
so I'm trying to lean into it more.
So that's my daily routine.
Um, yeah, that's the dailyroutine.
Fast forward and then take alook at weekly.
It is, I've been doing a digitalSabbath for a couple of years
where on Sundays, it is zerosocial media, email.
And for some listeners are like,uh, I've been doing that my
(34:39):
whole life or whatever, it'slike, Oh, I'm late to the party.
I've loved it.
So, uh, it has just been prettydarn awesome to do.
And then here in this last year,I've incorporated some silent
retreats.
Jason (34:53):
Okay.
I just talked to somebodyrecently who's doing that.
Cory (34:56):
I did a day retreat last year at a cool place in Indiana.
And then I also did a five, no,four or five day.
I think it was four, uh, retreatat a monk monastery.
And that was awesome.
You don't, you really don'tengage with the monks.
You're it's just, they got agreat facility down in Kentucky.
Um, but it was great.
(35:18):
I'm doing it again in, in, uh,April.
Jason (35:21):
You just go on your own to
Cory (35:22):
go on your own.
And I think they call itunguided silent retreat is, is
their terminology they use.
So you just go down there andyou do whatever you want.
I mean, you can't, you can'ttalk on the, in the building,
but other than that, I mean, Ithink if you just want to go
there and nap the whole time,you can nap the whole time,
Jason (35:37):
Wow.
And this is at a monastery.
Cory (35:39):
it's awesome.
It's gorgeous.
Jason (35:41):
what's it called?
I'm
Cory (35:43):
Uh, actually the, uh, Gethsemane, Gethsemane, uh,
Abbey of Gethsemane, I
Jason (35:50):
Okay.
In Kentucky.
Bardstown.
Oh yeah.
I know where Bardstown is.
Cory (35:55):
It's awesome.
Jason (35:56):
And they have, yeah, that's a little bit of income
for them.
They let people come in and justget away from the world for a
little bit.
Wow.
That's interesting.
Yeah.
I literally just interviewedanother brother in the Lord, uh,
for the podcast.
And he talked about that, thatthat's something he's recently,
you know, last I think year ortwo started doing is a retreats
like that.
(36:17):
All right.
Um, another question I have foryou, Corey, when you think about
leadership, uh, which I know youdo think a lot about, What are
the like core principles thatyou always go back to those
fundamentals of leadership foryou?
Cory (36:34):
You kind of, you kind of mentioned a piece of it earlier,
which is making this, you know,come to mind as a, you know, who
are you at home, who you at workand it's, it's integrity.
Like don't just talk about it,be about it.
I mean, so the same person atwork as you are in home.
If you know, you're trying to beall cool, calm and collected at
(36:55):
work and then at home you'reyelling cause kids aren't
brushing their teeth.
I mean, that's, that's, there'sa disconnect there.
You know, what can you do to bemore of your true self at all
places that you go to?
Because people want to followleaders they trust, and they
trust leaders that are like,yep, he's the same person
(37:15):
whether we're traveling inPhoenix or we're back, you know,
home at the, at the plant.
He's the same person when he'swith his family or when he's
with the coworkers.
And, and so I think ofleadership as a, you know, check
yourself, integrity, our
Jason (37:33):
Yeah.
Cory (37:33):
whole self, are you the same person everywhere?
I think that's a big piece.
Jason (37:37):
Yeah.
That's huge.
I mean, that's the foundationthat trust is built on.
Like you said, you know, I thinkabout that cause I'm not perfect
at that.
There's times.
Yeah.
That I, uh, you know, for meit's getting frustrated and
angry, especially at work.
I get pretty intense and I'mlike, man, that's not, that's
not, you know, who I want to be.
I will say this.
(37:57):
I've had a couple of, uh, peopleI've worked with who became
close friends who even became, Ihad one who, uh, came to attend
church.
And so this guy, I've had acouple guys who knew me at work,
spent time here with me, with myfamily and in my church.
And I'm like, That's goodbecause you know, those guys
(38:19):
have now seen me really in allmy three major realms And you
know for accountability, that'shealthy for me and I pray Um,
and I think they would say nah,he's the same guy Yeah, I mean
he's maybe not as intense athome as he is at work But
overall, you know, it's the sameguy same things that you're
gonna see and hear from him Soyeah, I've had two experiences
(38:42):
with that with a couple of
Cory (38:43):
Oh, that's awesome.
Jason (38:44):
close friends of mine Yeah, so hey cory Who are some
leaders that you would recommendother authors, podcasters, I
know you're a podcaster Socertainly we'll link to your
show In the show notes and yourbooks, but who else who do you
love to follow and read and keepyourself sharp?
Cory (39:06):
Oh, man, I could go on you and I tell you this top of mind
right now Because we talkedabout before we hit record since
you're in the manufacturing ofthe mining space a client of
mine who I love followingBecause he's got his own
podcast.
It's solo.
It's a solo show And he justsees fun to follow on LinkedIn.
That's Keaton Turner so he He'snot written a book yet, uh, but,
(39:28):
uh, he, he, he's a wealth ofknowledge on LinkedIn and his
own podcast.
Uh, you know, I mentioned, uh,the, the devotion I'm reading
the daily with daily wisdom formen, Dan Britain and Jimmy Page,
they wrote the book.
I think it's a fantasticdevotional to do
Jason (39:44):
not the Jimmy Page
Cory (39:46):
not, not, not the guitarist or whatever he was, I
didn't know.
Uh,
Jason (39:50):
Led Zeppelin, I think is the Led Zeppelin guy.
So yeah,
Cory (39:54):
we talked about spiritual disciplines.
We're working on, uh, you know,another book I'm reading right
now lead with prayer.
Um, I'm loving this one justcause I, like I said, I'm trying
to double down on prayer, getbetter there.
And so that, that's a piece.
So I mean, I, I kind of keepgoing and just like different
books I'm reading and what I'menjoying.
Jason (40:15):
are good.
Those are, you know, a lot of,no, I appreciate those Corey,
because a lot of times, um, my,uh, guests talk about the same
and not that that's bad.
I mean, we all love Lencioni andMaxwell, you know, and some of
those, uh, so these are the onesyou just talked about.
I've already followed thegentleman on LinkedIn, so I'm
going to check him out and addthe books.
(40:36):
I had not heard of the booksthat you mentioned, so that's
good.
I appreciate that.
Some different material thanwhat I've seen before.
Cory (40:43):
well, I'm sure all those same books you mentioned are
behind my, uh, behind me andI've read or whatever it is.
Cause those guys are awesome,but yes.
Jason (40:50):
Now you wrote another book we haven't talked about
yet.
You want to talk a little bitabout what that
Cory (40:55):
Yeah.
So rise and go basically thewhole idea of rise and go is all
leaders get knocked down,whether it's a big or small
setback and big could be ahealth scare, a small setback
could be a loss of prospect on asales call.
All leaders get knocked down.
It's just a great leaders getback up quicker.
So what could it look like inyour life for the next time
(41:16):
you're knocked down, you getback up quicker.
Jason (41:19):
Yeah.
Cory (41:20):
I believe rise and go is a resource to help you do just
that.
It's, it's, it's helping, uh,you know, thousands of people
already.
And so it's a book to help.
The reason I wrote the book,unfortunately, unfortunately,
anytime I write a book, that'susually there's a problem.
Jason (41:36):
Yeah.
Cory (41:37):
and my, with rise and go, I mentioned, I launched into
coaching full time March 1st,Which was a bad time to launch
anything because that was COVID.
Jason (41:49):
It's worse time.
Yeah.
Cory (41:53):
happen or what was gonna take place, but on March 13th,
2020, that's when the world shutdown, especially the United
States and stay at homemandates, wear a mask, all that
took place.
I 13th, Workshops and speakingwas canceled.
(42:15):
So in that moment, 35 percent ofmy revenue vanished.
And I know there's listeners whohad worse COVID experiences and
even involved deaths in thefamily.
And I'm sorry.
Yeah.
Sorry for that for us and myfamily.
We just left the whole corporatedeal.
Went all into coaching.
March 1st, and here we are twoweeks, not even two weeks in,
(42:37):
and 35 percent of the revenue isgone.
So we were scared.
We were like, what's gonnahappen to the other 65%?
But Jason, I was alsofrustrated.
Like, I was mad at God.
Like, hey, I, I didn't, I did mypart.
We did 50 50, then 100 0.
I, I did my part.
What's going on with you?
(42:59):
And so I just went in those nextfew months, just into a valley
of just frustration of fear,not, and then, you know, not
only you throw in the COVIDelements of wearing a mask,
which is no fun and can't hangout with friends and all that
stuff.
And we know all those thingsmixed in with that of, I just
was frustrated.
Well, I, I look, thankfully Istarted, you know, I just got in
(43:21):
the word and God took me on anamazing journey.
Um, during that, that summer,2020, I just started reading
different scripture and Acts 8,9, and 10.
Three different individuals inthe ESV, you know, English
Standard Version translation aretold to rise and go.
Jason (43:40):
Um,
Cory (43:41):
And each one of them, it's a big bold move that was
significant.
In Acts 8, Philip was told torise and go to go speak to a
eunuch who worked for theEthiopian queen.
So now, and then he ends upsharing the gospel.
So what happens is, that's whenthe gospel starts going into
(44:02):
royalty and into anothercountry.
Acts 9 is A guy named Ananias istold to rise and go to go meet a
man named Saul.
Well, this is the conversionfrom Saul to Paul.
I mean, God probably could haveused somebody else if Ananias
didn't say, yes, put me in,coach.
(44:23):
But instead, he went and thenthat began the conversion from
Saul to Paul, who went on towrite the rest of the, you know,
majority of the New Testament.
And then in Acts 10, Peter wastold to rise and go to go meet
some men that Cornelius sent.
And so now it gets into theGentiles.
So it's just crazy how threedifferent individuals were told
to rise and go.
So here I am reading all thisand like, I gotta get out of my
(44:47):
pity party.
Like I need to rise and go andgo create new opportunities.
How can I go be bold andcourageous?
And so I began this journey of,of getting back on my feet and
climbing up.
And I just read scriptures.
I was getting inspired by coolstories of resilience on
podcast.
And I would just start writinglike maybe a blog or something.
(45:10):
And I'd have a client call meand say, Hey man, I'm struggling
with this today.
I'm like, I just wrote aboutthis this morning.
Why don't you check it out?
So it got battle tested overthat next year.
And then basically I puttogether the book and the book
is.
20 chapters, first 10 are giveyou the courage to get back up.
The next 10 chapters will giveyou the confidence to move
(45:33):
forward.
And it is, yeah, it just, it'sbeen a fun book to, you know,
send out into the world and seehow it's impacted some people
because the reality is we allget knocked down all the time.
Jason (45:47):
Yep.
Cory (45:48):
Whether it's something done internally and our own
thoughts and beliefs, whetherit's something done externally.
And so that's the, that's thesecond book rise and go.
Jason (45:57):
That's great.
Ah, I love it.
I love the fact that the bookscame from you going through, you
know, some challengingexperiences.
Cory (46:04):
If you see, if you see that I published the third book,
you may just say, Oh crud, whathappened to
Jason (46:09):
know what's going on with Corey.
Hey, one last question.
Let's say that someone comes toyou, maybe one of your, might be
one of your daughters and theysay, I have got a chance to lead
a team.
First time ever.
My first job is supervisor, areamanager, whatever you want to
call it.
I want to get your advice.
(46:29):
Let's say our kids are going tocome to us, Cory, and say, I
want your advice, dad.
But maybe that's a stretch.
I don't know about your kids,but what, what's advice that you
would give a first time leader?
Some things that you would say,here's, we talked about
integrity and the importance ofthat.
What other things might you givethem for guidance?
Cory (46:45):
Ask questions.
If you're a first time leader,you're getting into a new team,
ask questions to the, your newdirect reports.
Hey, what's working, what's notworking.
You know, how can I help?
I mean, basically as leaders,part of our job for our teams is
to provide resources and removeobstacles.
Jason (47:05):
Yeah.
Cory (47:06):
And the best way to know that if you're new in the
leadership or new to thecompany, just join is ask
questions.
And just learn the landscape,learn, learn your team's needs
in there.
The way they answer questions,they'll kind of, you'll see some
of their wiring come out.
You'll see what motivates them.
You'll see what's holding themback.
(47:28):
And as the leader, if you canacknowledge your team.
And inspire them, like, to goafter it, you're going to get
the best results out of yourteam.
Jason (47:40):
Yeah.
And I would say too, on that, Ithink you would be, as a new
leader, you may be shocked Atwhat little things you can have
some early wins that they mightneed for you to break down that
barrier to get them.
I've just been so, I've beensurprised several times.
That's it?
That, that would be a big dealfor you if I get that for you?
(48:00):
And you just go get it done andthere's, you know, some early
wins and early trust built upand
Cory (48:05):
Which is the next part.
If you ask questions, you betterdeliver on at least one thing.
Because if it falls on deafears, then they're going to be
like, you're just like the lastleader I had.
Jason (48:14):
Exactly.
Cory (48:15):
yes.
Ask the questions, but godeliver on at least one thing.
Jason (48:19):
Yeah, that's absolutely right.
Hey, Corey, uh, before we wrapup, how could, uh, what's the
best way for people to get aholdof you and get in touch with you
and follow you?
Cory (48:28):
Yeah, thanks.
And, and Jason, thank you forwhat you do and for getting this
message out there, biblicalleadership, uh, you know, for
work and just in helping people.
Jason (48:38):
Yeah, it's a joy, man.
Thank you though, for sayingthat.
Cory (48:40):
Uh, for me, anybody, any listening, uh, listeners who do
LinkedIn, I love LinkedIn.
So right there, Corey Carlson,uh, my, I've got a website,
coreymcarlson.
com and there's coachinginformation there, speaking
podcast books, books are onAmazon and Audible.
Uh, and then for the men, ifyou're listening, I run a
(49:03):
community.
called rise.
It's, we just launched January1st.
I know by the time this will beout, who knows where the number
is.
So at this time in just sixweeks, we already got 60 men in
there.
We're talking homework andfaith.
And it has been, it's just beeninspiring actually to see the
(49:23):
challenge, the, thebreakthroughs.
And the challenges people areovercoming already.
And we just launched.
So it's fun.
And by the time this, this airsout, who knows where rise is at,
but anyways, rise community.
com you can check out that as
Jason (49:38):
Yeah.
And we'll put links, uh, we'llput links on those so people can
connect with you and I followyou on LinkedIn and you put out
some good content.
So, and your podcast as wellthat you can find you on their
podcast app and listen to that.
I was actually listening to one,uh, this morning.
That you recently did the lazyCEO.
I think you're talking
Cory (49:55):
Great book right there.
Yeah.
Go get DJ, DJ Moore's his name.
He's a business owner.
Get him on your podcast.
Yeah,
Jason (50:03):
Yeah, he was the author of the book
Cory (50:04):
no, no.
Jason (50:05):
He was talking about he read
Cory (50:07):
Moore's the guest.
Yeah.
I can't remember who wrote thatbook.
Uh, but anyways.
Jason (50:12):
Yeah.
Well, so yeah, so thank youCorey.
Uh, it's been great man.
I'm glad we connected and I lookforward to maybe we can Stay
connected and do some do somestuff together Um, also want to
thank our listeners for joiningus again this month.
Uh, if this discussion resonatedwith you, I encourage you to
connect with me.
You can leave a rating on yourpodcast app, which I really
appreciate.
(50:34):
And on the YouTube channel, uh,subscribe there if you're
watching this there.
And uh, you'd be able to get allthe latest content that we put
out.
Uh, and be sure to return nextmonth when we engage with
another faith driven leaderstriving down a crisis in their
work and until then continue tolead with purpose and integrity.
Welcome to the Biblical Leadership at Work podcast.
I am your host, Jason Woodard.
On this month's episode, we willmeet Corey Carlson.
Corey is an entrepreneur, formerexecutive, husband, and father
of three.
And Corey understands thepressures working parents face.
He is passionate about helpingbusiness leaders win at home and
at work.
(00:21):
With 20 years in corporateAmerica, Corey worked his way up
to the executive level, but alsowitnessed challenges such as
work without purpose, burnout,and strained relationships.
Discovering coaching transformedhim into a better leader,
husband, and father, which ledhim to lead, leave his corporate
career to help others achievesuccess, both professionally and
professionally.
He does this through executivecoaching, speaking, and writing.
(00:46):
Corey holds a civil engineeringdegree from the University of
Missouri and an MBA fromRockhurst University.
He is the author of When at HomeFirst, an inspirational guide
for work life balance, and Riseand Go, a resource to help
leaders recover from challenges.
He also hosts the leadershippodcast, when at home first,
(01:07):
which is recognized as a top oneand a half percent global
podcast.
Today, we'll explore Corey'sjourney, his insights on
integrating faith intoleadership and strategies for
striving both at work and athome.
So Corey brother, welcome to theshow, man.
Thank you.
Cory (01:24):
Jason, thank you very much for having me and just the
opportunity to talk about faithand work.
It's pretty awesome.
So, thanks for doing what youdo.
Jason (01:32):
Yeah, no.
Hey, thank you.
Uh, you're putting out somegreat content as well.
So Corey, tell us a little bitabout your background from kind
of University, career, right upto where the Lord has you now
and how he got you there.
Give us a 30, 000 foot summary.
Cory (01:46):
Yeah, I was a, as you mentioned, civil engineering
degree out of college and wentto a company, awesome company,
in Kansas City that I worked forand great company, it's just, I
didn't enjoy what I was doing.
It kind of sit in a cubicledesigning pavement, how thick
the pavement need to be.
I was like, I, I don't want todo this and not, not to go all
(02:10):
deep end really quick, but youknow, it was, I was also taking
my identity to my job and Iwasn't getting satisfied at the
time of my life.
I didn't completely understand,you know, about the problem with
taking your identity totemporary things like your job
or your money or car status,house, any of those things.
(02:32):
I didn't completely understandit.
I was taking my identity in myjob, which, you know, was not a
good thing.
And then, but I ended up findinganother job at that time where I
sold cylindering products, stormsewer bridges,
Jason (02:47):
Okay.
Cory (02:48):
and, and I loved it.
It was sales, which is somethingI enjoy doing mixed with.
products and constructionindustry.
I did that in Kansas city, hadsuccess, got promoted, moved to
Denver, Colorado, where Imanaged a bunch of states and
people.
I think it got promoted toCincinnati where I was vice
(03:09):
president of 120 milliondivision and over, you know,
overseeing a bunch of peoplethroughout the country.
And that's really when.
I, I kind of faced some real upsand downs of leadership, you
know, and kind of come back tothat.
But then I took a, anothercorporate move where I went to
(03:30):
be president of sales, whichthen got me into coaching, which
is what I do full time,
Jason (03:36):
Okay.
Cory (03:36):
but kind of rewinding when I was vice president of 120
million division, I justleapfrogged my boss.
I was now managing him.
I was managing people older thanme.
I was man, managing people thathad been the industry longer.
And so Jason, what that meant islike, I showed up with like
imposter syndrome.
Like I'm just waiting for themto knock on my door and say,
(03:58):
Corey, uh, you need to go backout, out to the field.
We screwed up.
You should not be here, youknow, in the corporate.
And so that caused me to skipthe gym, skip quiet time, kids
playing on the floor.
And you know, my face was stuckin my laptop on the couch and I
just, there just, I knew therehad to be a better way.
(04:20):
I didn't know what it was.
I went to my boss, who big fanof, and he just said, Hey, get
an executive coach.
I've always had one.
And
Jason (04:27):
Okay.
Cory (04:28):
I was like, okay.
So I went and hired an executivecoach and.
It was a game changer.
And I know that sounds extreme,but it's now what I do for a
living.
So obviously it changed mycareer, but also was a game
changer because.
I immediately was able to zoomout.
It wasn't just about a cleanemail inbox or a good looking P
(04:50):
and L.
Those have their importance, nodoubt about it, but instead it
became about purpose.
It became about priorities.
And so I just started leadingdifferently with my team.
And then I, as I mentionedearlier, I took a corporate move
where another move where I waspresident of sales for national
contractor, I had 30 sales folksthroughout the country.
And Jason, as I traveled thecountry to meet with them, I
(05:14):
talked home and work.
I just knew for people to havesustainable success that you got
to work on the whole self.
So as I went to like, you know,Nashville to talk to the sales
guy, or I went up to Seattle orNew York, I would basically with
the, with the sales individual,Hey, are you dating your spouse?
Are you being intentional withyour kids?
(05:35):
Are you getting to the gym?
But then also on the work frontWhat's your hit rate on your
proposals?
Are you blocking out time inyour calendar, you know for
business development?
What are your three keyinitiatives for this quarter?
So I was leading both home andwork and when they got better
and I knew I had gotten better Iwas like, I want to do this for
(05:55):
a living and so that began thejourney of me leaving corporate
Into coaching and thanks togod's provision Uh, it'll be
Here, March 1st, it'll be fiveyears that I've been coaching
and speaking full time.
Jason (06:10):
so that's a big leap.
Corey, when you did it, did youjust go cold turkey on the
career and a regular steadycheck and moved into coaching or
did you kind of bridge it withramping that up?
Cory (06:20):
No, there's a whole story there.
Um, but it may be helpful tosomebody listening.
When I was president of sales, Ihad this burning desire, this
itch, this prompting, whateveryou want to call it to go do
coaching, but I didn't have theguts.
Jason (06:40):
a
Cory (06:40):
I didn't have the guts.
I made good money and I didn'twant to go from good money to
zero.
Jason (06:48):
Yeah.
Yep.
Cory (06:50):
had a little identity tied in my job title.
I was president of sales.
That sounded a lot cooler thanbrand new coach,
Jason (06:57):
Yeah.
Cory (06:58):
And so I didn't know really kind of what to do.
I kept feeling the nudge, gocoach.
I would listen to podcasts andpeople talking about that bold,
courageous moves they made.
And I was like, that sounds coolfor that guy, but I don't think
I can do it.
I've got three kids and, uh, youknow, a wife and anyways.
(07:18):
Fast forward at this time is2016.
Fast forward to August, 2016.
We were owned by private equity.
We had just been through a manymonth process to try to sell the
company.
We interviewed with a bunch ofprivate equity companies,
narrowed it down to three.
Then went and signed on thedotted line with one of them,
45th day of the due diligenceperiod, of the 60 day due
(07:41):
diligence period, they got coldfeet.
So they backed out.
And when you back out from aprivate equity sale, you're
pretty much known as a re tradeand no one wants you because if
they're like, well, someone elsesaw something bad,
Jason (07:53):
They
Cory (07:53):
we're out.
Jason (07:53):
out.
Yeah.
Cory (07:54):
And that caused our ownership to be like, well,
We're changing things.
We're going from national toregional, and you start chopping
things off.
You don't need a president ofsales anymore.
So August 2016, I wasterminated, and I made a, my
first call was to my wife, and Isaid, babe, I got good news, bad
news.
Bad news is, I just got fired.
(08:17):
The good news is, I have a fourmonth severance package.
Can I try coaching?
And she says, yeah, you got fourmonths and then get
Jason (08:25):
And you guys, so she knew that was on your heart
Cory (08:28):
Oh yeah.
Oh yeah.
She knew it.
And you know, as God was workingon me and my heart and kind of
softening and preparing me fromprovision of, you know, set
salary, although we all knowcorporate America, it's not very
secure.
Cause you can get fired anymoment, just like I did, but it
is, um, I, some provision, likeI kind of thought, Hey,
(08:52):
corporate America is myprovider.
And I kind of was realizing,Hey, you know, God's my
provider.
Jason (08:56):
Yeah.
Cory (08:58):
My wife was really hung up on the insurance, kind of like,
because corporate does afantastic job of brainwashing
that, Hey man, you got to havethis, this insurance.
Cause if you go out, you know,you can't get it.
Uh, it was not near as bad as wethought it was.
It's not amazing.
It's, it's crazy expensive, butit's doable for some listener
(09:19):
listening.
Uh, so anyways, over before Igot terminated, God was working
on both my wife and my heart.
of making this transition,right?
God always prepares us beforesomething happens.
And he was doing just that thosemonths leading up to he was
preparing us.
I didn't I didn't anticipategetting fired And so I would
(09:40):
have never thought that's whatwas happening But he knew he was
preparing both of us for when wegot fired.
So when I made that phone callto my wife She wasn't scared.
She wasn't the idea of me goingcoaching wasn't Red alarm panic
anything like that.
So I stepped into coaching And Ihad the four months as I
(10:01):
mentioned, and I was able to getmy coaching up to about 50%, not
50% of what I made, but about50% of, Hey, if I could find
another 50% I'm in.
And thanks to God's provision,there was a guy in Cincinnati,
which is where I live.
I did not know him, but we hadthe same executive coach who
(10:22):
lived in South Carolina.
So just cool.
I mean, it's a cool story.
Anyways, this guy needed helpwith sales and marketing for a
man.
He's a manufacturing company.
Jason (10:30):
Okay.
Cory (10:31):
So I helped him and he brought me on and it ended up
being about that 50 percentnumber I wanted.
And I did that, I did 50 percentcoaching, 50 percent helping
this manufacturing.
I did it for a while.
Then I went 75 percent coaching,25 percent helping the
manufacturer, eventually then 9010.
Jason (10:51):
Nice.
Cory (10:52):
March 1st, 2020, which is not the best time to launch
Jason (10:56):
a, that's a worst
Cory (10:58):
a whole nother story.
We went all in as a family intocoaching.
Jason (11:03):
Okay.
Nice.
So you're just on five years ina month.
Yeah.
That's awesome.
That's a great story because oneof the things I always like to
hear from people on thesepodcasts, Corey, is events like
that, that in the moment, werenot great and were, you know,
can be kind of fearsome andshake your foundation a little
(11:24):
bit, but then knowing you're,This far through it and how
things have went, you know,people get fired, bad things
happen.
And, you know, how does God workin those to sanctify us and he
provides for us and our family.
So I love those stories.
I appreciate you sharing that.
That's really good.
Tell us, tell us, Corey, alittle bit about your family.
(11:44):
You've hinted on that.
What's that look like with yourwife and children?
Cory (11:49):
married, married 26 years this summer, which is awesome.
I mean, my wife supported methrough some good decisions,
some bad decisions, uh, threedifferent cities we lived in
three kids, uh, going from, youknow, corporate to
entrepreneurial.
It's just been super supportive.
It's, it's, it's been great.
And you know, part, part of ourstory, my story, my first book's
(12:11):
called when at home first, wrotethat book cause I lost at home
first.
I was so focused on my, youknow, myself and climbing the
corporate ladder and doing allthose things that I, you know,
just, you know, you made bad,you know, made bad choices.
And in that, uh, you know, shestuck with me through the whole
thing.
So my first book, when a homefirst talks about.
(12:33):
Hey, what's it take for thatleader to win at home and work?
And that's why I'm passionateabout it.
I have three kids, 20 year olddaughter, 16 year old daughter,
and a 12 year old boy.
So we are, we have conversationsfrom, you know, what are you
gonna do for your career?
And, you know, please pee in thetoilet.
I
Jason (12:54):
Right.
That's right.
Yeah.
Cory (12:55):
all of the extremes.
Jason (12:57):
Yeah, that's great.
No, that's an interesting.
We had that range for a while.
Now we're 30 down to 19.
So we're just about, just aboutdone and we're enjoying
grandkids.
So that's a,
Cory (13:09):
Man, you look good for being a grandpa.
Jason (13:12):
we started, we started early and then our kids, you
know, they, they had childrenearly.
So it is, it's nice.
Cause I can keep up, keep, I gottwo granddaughters so I can keep
up with them.
Cory (13:22):
That is awesome.
Yes.
Yeah, that's that's my hope tooas well to be an active healthy
grandpa when that time comes
Jason (13:30):
That's an incredible joy.
What about your faith, Cory?
When did you come to know theLord?
What's that look like?
Cory (13:36):
Yeah, I came.
Um, uh, you know 48 years old SoI came to faith with like a lot
of people my age to amy grantand michael w smith concerts and
music
Jason (13:46):
grow up in the church,
Cory (13:48):
grew up in the church and uh, yeah, you know faith was
great, you know great.
Um growing up My mom battled aseven year, battled cancer.
Ended up passing away when I wasin high school.
And, and so that didn't leave abad taste in my mouth towards
God, but anyways, it definitelywas part of my foundation of
(14:11):
having faith, seeing my dad rocksolid in his faith, seeing the
church support us come over onWednesday nights and pray and
all cool stuff.
So that, that happened.
But then when I went to college.
I drifted early twenties,drifted, just went, went through
a season of selfishness and thatall took place.
(14:34):
I mentioned I went to Mizzou,then we started in Kansas city.
When I moved to Denver, that'swhen things started to change.
It was kind of almost to thepoint of like, not that my wife
was as direct, but it's kind oflike, Hey, you know, Let's go to
church.
I thought you were, you know, agood Christian guy, you know,
that's kind
Jason (14:51):
that's who I married, right?
Cory (14:52):
Yeah, I mean, she didn't say that, but it was kind of
like, let's go.
And what, the coolest part,Jason, is we went to this church
in, uh, Denver.
It was called Arvada Vineyard.
Now it's Mile High Vineyard.
And I just started gettingaround a cool group of guys that
were real.
And they talked about the upsand downs of their marriage, the
(15:14):
ups and downs of, you know,maybe a porn addiction they had
or, um, burnout at work or like,it was real deep conversations
as opposed to sports andweather.
Jason (15:28):
yeah, yep,
Cory (15:29):
that is kind of when God just started working on me
through these guys of, I'm justkind of deciding to come clean
of some of my darkness and live,just living better.
And so it, that's, that is whenmy faith got stronger.
(15:49):
Then we moved to Cincinnati, goteven stronger.
And that's just, it's kind ofbeen up into the right sense.
Not that I'm perfect.
I mean, I'm still trying tofigure out kind of better ways
to fine tune it and get betterand,
Jason (16:03):
it's a process.
So you wrote, so you wrote abook on this whole idea of
winning a work and home, and Ithink what you talked about
earlier, Cory, is.
You know, the, the focus anddrive on our professional
careers.
I've been there.
I, I like to think that I'velearned how to balance that
better, but I did not do itwell.
(16:24):
You know, at one point it was myentire identity.
Cory (16:27):
Hmm.
Jason (16:28):
What, and again, you have a whole book on it, so it's hard
to summarize, but like, whatare, what are the main
principles and approaches thatyou take when you're coaching
someone or even in the book?
for believers who are in thatposition to, to say, you know,
you gotta, the work life balancehas been overused, but you know,
(16:49):
like tools, principles, likewhere do you start?
Cory (16:53):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And you know, I, I mean, I evenagree the word balance is not, I
mean, when I wrote the book, uh,went on first are the subtitles,
inspirational guide to work lifebalance.
And I, and I told the, the, thepublishing consultant, I don't
want that word.
I want something like work lifeharmony or something.
Jason (17:08):
Yeah.
Cory (17:09):
lady was so kind, uh, cause I was like, it's not
balanced.
And the lady was so kind.
She goes, listen, you're notJeff Bezos or somebody you can't
just go make an upward
Jason (17:19):
You can't make your own thing up, Corey.
Not yet.
Cory (17:21):
need to work life balance.
I said, okay, I get it.
I get it.
I, uh, we'll, we'll do that.
And I think a couple of thingswhen I work with clients and
also what I had to come to gripswith myself and, you know, still
remind is realizing there's acouple of mindset shifts.
One is.
(17:42):
There is no work wins that aregoing to counterbalance home
losses.
You know, you may be crushing awork right now, but if things
aren't well at home, it's goingto catch up to you.
It could catch up to you and youget divorced and you now split
all that amazing money made 50%.
Jason (17:58):
Yeah.
Cory (18:00):
You know, you could get to a point, you mentioned you're
involved with your kids and yourgrandkids life, but that's
pretty awesome.
That means you must've beenloving and around with them and
therefore they want to be withyou now.
So, I mean, if people don't cometo grips with, you've got to
have success at home and work.
Otherwise it's, it's, it couldbe divorced, absentee parent,
(18:22):
uh, bad health, you know,whatever that, that piece may
be.
So I, that's, that's the firstthing, just having someone
recognize that, Hey, if youreally want to have sustainable
success, you've got to win athome and win at work.
And so that's just a big thingto think about.
What I'll also share with, youknow, clients is over my career.
I've had over my 20 year career,I've had 18 bosses in one
(18:46):
family.
Jason (18:47):
Right.
Yeah.
Cory (18:48):
I said yes to some of those bosses at the expense of
my family, and I don't even knowwhere they live right now.
I don't even know if they'realive right now.
Jason (18:56):
Yep.
Cory (18:59):
And it's, it's just, you know, it's just so sad how, how
we will do those things.
And you know, no one remembersthat you worked late except for
your family.
Jason (19:07):
Right,
Cory (19:07):
Or you worked hard on a Saturday except for your family.
So I think, you know, the firstis that mindset shift of, hey,
We're here on earth.
We're not just here to be agreat CEO or great manager or a
great sales person That's justone of our titles
Jason (19:23):
Yeah, one of our roles.
Cory (19:24):
Yeah, husband, father, you know, or spouse, mother, you
know, whatever it is, and then,you know, friend, and, you know,
just so much.
And so anyways, it's helpingpeople realize all those pieces.
Inside the book, the book hasfour parts.
First part is you, understandingyour own self.
Like, do you understand youridentity?
(19:46):
Are you not taken into temporarythings that I talked about I did
in my 20s?
Instead, you understand that youare beloved son or daughter.
It is about understanding yourpurpose.
In the book, I talk about how toput together a purpose
statement.
That was a game changer for mewhen I did that.
Jason (20:02):
Yep.
Cory (20:02):
you know, cool story that goes alongside with that.
Understand your priorities.
If you don't know yourpriorities, then someone else
will make their prioritiesbecome your priorities.
And so there's a five capitalsframework I talk about in the
book that is very helpful.
So that's part one.
(20:22):
Part two is about marriage,which is the most important
relationship in the home.
And what I find so often Jasonis business leaders stop dating
their spouse.
As the career takes off, as kidsget old, you know, grow up and
we got activities come Friday,Saturday, people are tired,
(20:43):
people have headaches and, or,you know, whatever the thing is,
they don't go on dates.
And so part two of the book isabout pursuing your spouse.
It's about serving your spouse.
It's about forgiving yourspouse.
And so I talk about each ofthose pieces.
The third part's on parenting,parenting about having a
(21:04):
relationship with them.
That is both one of invitingthem into relationship, but also
challenge them intoresponsibility, right?
Truth and grace.
Just how Jesus led thedisciples, the woman at the
well, all of his encounters wereboth truth and grace.
We need to lead our kids away.
And, and many of us can err onone way or the other where we're
(21:25):
just challenge, make your bed,get good grades, go, go, go.
What would, then you got theother people who are cozy and
they have spoiled brat kidsbecause it's yes to everything.
They want to be their friend.
They may even buy them, youknow, beer on the weekends on,
you know, when they're in highschool to be cool.
Jason (21:45):
Yep.
Cory (21:45):
And so that's the idea of the third, part three, the
parenting.
And then part five, part four ison work.
How are you equipping andempowering your employees?
How are you managing yourcalendar so that you can go home
and not work in the evening?
Jason (22:01):
That's
Cory (22:02):
So it's about time management.
It's about delegation.
So anyways, those are the fourparts.
Hey, I wrote the book and abuddy of mine the day before it
got published, he just sent mean awesome letter.
to Nick, but he just sent me anawesome letter that just said.
It is not about how many booksyou sell.
(22:23):
It's about just being obedient.
And that was a big step for mebecause, you know, I, I can be
results driven and just thinkabout, so anyways, it's been,
it's been a fun ride.
Uh, it's been just pretty coolto hear how it's helping people.
And luckily a guy at Forbesmagazine said that's one of
seven books everyone on yourteam should read.
So it's been, it always issignificantly helped.
(22:45):
So that, that, that was prettycool.
Jason (22:48):
One thing that I've, and I love all those principles all
the way back to, uh, having a,your own mission statement.
When I finished my, um, my MBA,which was at a Christian
university at Cornerstoneuniversity, I was one of the
capstone projects was like,okay, so you've done this now
what?
And we, and we wrote this and Istill have it and I still look
at it, not a lot, but every yearor so and reflect on that.
(23:12):
But something that I've.
I think I'm learning or I'velearned and I'd be curious your
thoughts on this around I callit that work life balance Is
there came a point when I had torealize that it was okay?
to bring My work home and I'llexplain a little bit of what I
mean about this But in mypersonal life to work and let
those start blending over likewho I am comes everywhere like
(23:36):
everywhere I go You know what myspiritual life like I have a
prayer list and on my prayerlist One of the things on there
is work, and people I work with,and the business, and our
owners.
And, and when I'm at work, Iwant to be able to talk to my
teammates about my family, andshow them pictures of my
grandkids, and bring like, mywhole self.
(23:57):
A lot of people talk about, youknow, bring your whole self to
work, and I want them to do thesame.
And when I'm at home, you know,I want, and my kids don't care.
My kids barely know what I do,right?
They don't care.
Whatever.
But you know to be able to havethose conversations and say this
is a role that I do that I'mpassionate about that I like
that.
I like to bring it.
It's part of who I am And sothere's been a piece of me that
(24:18):
you know for some point I guessin my life I thought they were
very, you know, you keep keepwork here.
You keep your spiritual lifehere and your family It's
separate but there became likethis.
I don't know this freedom.
I felt like or it was just beingmore true to who I am You When I
just, I'm me wherever I go andall those pieces kind of come
(24:39):
with me.
Does that, does that make senseat all?
You see, do people like workthrough that or have to?
Cory (24:43):
Well, 100%, it makes sense.
It is a lie that people aretelling themselves that they
think they can separate the two.
Maybe you could in the 50s.
I, I don't know.
But when we have smart watches.
Smartphones, you know, thecomputers with the email and
everything like it's integratedthroughout the whole day
Jason (25:06):
All the time.
Cory (25:07):
Even if that's not the case, which it is, but you get
in a fight at 7 a.
m With your spouse as you'rewalking out the door.
It is going to affect yourworkday You will not be the best
version of yourself at 9 a.
m.
Because you're thinking aboutthe fight you just had
Jason (25:23):
Right.
Cory (25:24):
I should have said this dang it.
I you know, and then as the dayprogresses There may be a text
back and forth still with thefight continuing, but let's just
say there's not come threeo'clock You start thinking about
when I go and re enter into thehouse I'm gonna say this and
then they will probably say thatand then i'm gonna say this And
(25:45):
so we end uh, it just starts tohappen So back to why home is so
important if we went home first,then we can be the best version
of ourselves at work So Icompletely agree that Yeah They
do get integrated between thetwo.
Jason (26:03):
Yeah.
And I, and I would even say togo piggyback on that as a
leader, I've had to, um, remindmyself.
That the, the, the culture thatI'm developing and the way that
I manage and lead is having animpact on the homes where those
people are going.
Because you and I have both hadthe experience of managers where
(26:25):
maybe home life is rolling good,but work is awful.
And you bring, right.
And you bring that home.
And so as leaders, I think wehave to realize that impact that
we can have positive or negativeeven on people's home life.
So, and that's just the, again,some of that, it just bleeds
over.
It, it bleeds over.
So yeah.
Cory (26:43):
I, I was in that season, well, a few different times
throughout my career where workwas affecting, uh, home in a
negative way.
And one of the parts of wenthome first, put together a
vision statement.
The reason that kind of was birdthis, when I was president of
sales, I was at this dinnertable.
(27:03):
And we were in Florida withprivate equity group.
And this guy chose his phone tome about how loud his brand,
brand new Mercedes is.
And I have no problem with richpeople.
I've got some really wealthyfriends that are amazing and are
so kind and so generous andawesome, awesome, awesome
(27:26):
people.
This particular situation, whatbothered me was his energy was
so high.
When he talked about how loudhis Mercedes was.
Then we start talking about hisspouse.
The energy goes down and hishome life and his kids.
And I was like, Dude, this iscrazy.
Like, all he cares about ismoney and status and, you know,
position, power, and not hisfamily.
(27:48):
And here I am, away from myfamily, on a work night, in
Florida, where it's like, Ah,what am I doing?
So, dinner's over, I go outsidewaiting for, you know, my ride
to show up.
my, I call my coach.
And he picked it up as afterhours.
And so it just worked out.
He was able to pick it up.
Uh, I think he was traveling tooor something.
(28:11):
Anyways.
I just said, man, is this reallymy life?
Like I'm, I'm just as apresident of sales, I'm just
going to go help people makelots of money.
Is that really my role in life?
And he just said, he said,listen, come up with a, a
purpose statement or a visionstatement, and it'll make each
(28:31):
day more redeemable and help youstay focused.
I was like, what?
What is a sentence going to doto help me?
That sounds dumb.
And as some listeners areprobably thinking about right
now, like Corey, that soundslike the dumbest idea ever.
He said, just trust me.
So I said, fine, I will.
Cause I've been with them on forwhatever it was at that time, a
four year journey together, andI'm like, all right, I'm
(28:52):
trusting you here.
Jason (28:54):
Yeah.
Cory (28:54):
You using a 5P framework.
You just do a brain dump onthese five P's, passions,
provisions, uh, potentialproblems and, um, personality
based on those five P's, just doa brain dump of everything about
you, throw it on there, look atthe paper and see if anything
pops up of, Hey, is there asentence there?
(29:17):
Is there something that gets youmotivated of how you were
uniquely wonderfully made for meas I did that exercise, the
sentence that I put togetherthen.
Is the same one I still use tothis day and is to connect
people to greater performance,even more significant purpose.
Jason (29:33):
There you go.
Cory (29:34):
So wherever I go, I can do that.
If I'm around a fire pit withguys, how can I think about
helping them perform better atwork and home?
How can I help them connect to agreater purpose?
God, if that's part of theconversation, if I can, if it
was an anti faith conversation,whatever, it's like, just serve
(29:54):
others.
Jason (29:55):
Yeah.
Cory (29:56):
When I'm with my kids showed up different, but how
this worked Jason for that timewas When I traveled, I was
thinking of that phrase.
How do I connect people togreater performance and even
more significant purpose, and ithelps significantly.
Year ago, I have a CEO of anexcavating company reach out to
(30:17):
me.
Burned out, home life's great,burned out.
I went through this process withthem, same things, like really a
sentence is going to help.
And he, he landed on, uh, toexcavate.
To excavate, uh, well, excavatepeople and buildings to build
stronger foundations, somethinglike that, because it's
(30:39):
excavate, he was an excavator
Jason (30:41):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Cory (30:42):
he was a man of faith anyways, that, that gave him
traction for a while, for a longwhile, probably still uses this
to this day, but it's one ofthose deals where if you are a
listener, if you are struggling,sometimes just.
Zooming out and thinking about,Hey, what is your purpose?
How uniquely one of them madeand how does that apply to your
(31:03):
job?
Whether you're CEO ofmanufacturing company, whether
you're a coach, whether you're asales guy or gal, wherever
you're at, it can give you someadditional momentum and juice as
opposed to just grinding throughemails every day.
Jason (31:19):
Well, it gives you focus, right?
It's why businesses writemission statements.
I mean, this is what I'm goingto get up and try to do every
day.
This is my thing I'm trying todo.
So I think it is important.
And again, I go back to mine's aparagraph, but it talks about
professional.
It talks about my relationshipwith the Lord.
It talks about my relationshipwith my wife and my children and
serving the church.
(31:39):
And those are still things thatI, when I stop and think, okay,
What am I doing?
What am I spending my time on?
You know, am I hitting on thoseareas?
Like today, I was thinking aboutthis morning.
I got up early.
I tried to get up early everyday, spend time in the word,
spend time in prayer.
And I was like, all right, it'sa fairly busy day.
I got work scheduled, normalwork schedule.
And then I'm going to come andhave this interview with Corey,
(32:01):
which to me is a ministry that Ido this work to send out to
other believers.
And then this evening I'mmeeting with, Um, you know,
someone about a board role.
I serve on a, uh, uh, the board,I'm a chair of a board for a
crisis pregnancy center, and I'mgoing to go have dinner to
recruit a board member.
And I'm like, that's a, it's abusy day.
I'm not going to have a lot ofsit down and not do anything,
(32:23):
but it's all, I'm like, yeah,it's exactly what I should be
doing today, today, not everyday.
But I'm like, okay, this is, youknow, this is good.
So it ties back to that mission,you know, of,
Cory (32:34):
I love it.
One thing I do encourage clientsto do, and I'll encourage you,
is to get it down to like 10words or whatever to make it
memorable.
Jason (32:42):
Yes,
Cory (32:42):
I've got a longer version like you do, so maybe for you
just grab your paragraph, throwit in a chat GPT, and just say
put this in 10 sentence, 10sentence, 10 word sentence, and
just see what it does, and youmay
Jason (32:58):
Oh, it'll do it.
It'll do it.
I hadn't thought of that.
I use chat GPT.
Don't even get me started.
I love it.
I use it all the time, everyday.
So that would be a great, that'sa great idea.
Cory (33:07):
give it a go, and then let me know what you come up with.
Jason (33:09):
Oh, I will.
Hey, Corey, I always like to askpeople, like, what are your
spiritual disciplines, man?
What are the things you do tostay close to the Lord and grow
in sanctification?
Cory (33:20):
Yeah, this, um, the routine I'm in right now, from a
daily standpoint, the routineI'm in is, I got myself a five
year prayer journal, this bigold thick book.
It is awesome.
You can get it at HosannaRevival.
You open up, it's pretty muchblank pages, except it has the
(33:40):
date and you put in the year,because it's five years.
And, anyway, so every morning Iam reading, uh, daily devotion
from daily wisdom for men.
I then will read a chapter ofthe Bible that usually ties with
that.
And then I will write out myprayer in the prayer journal.
(34:00):
So that is what I'm doing, uh,minimum.
And I've been pretty darnconsistent at this year, which
has been pretty awesome becauseI want to double down on prayer.
I think for all of us, that's asecret weapon that we
underutilize.
And
Jason (34:16):
I totally agree.
Cory (34:17):
so I'm trying to lean into it more.
So that's my daily routine.
Um, yeah, that's the dailyroutine.
Fast forward and then take alook at weekly.
It is, I've been doing a digitalSabbath for a couple of years
where on Sundays, it is zerosocial media, email.
And for some listeners are like,uh, I've been doing that my
(34:39):
whole life or whatever, it'slike, Oh, I'm late to the party.
I've loved it.
So, uh, it has just been prettydarn awesome to do.
And then here in this last year,I've incorporated some silent
retreats.
Jason (34:53):
Okay.
I just talked to somebodyrecently who's doing that.
Cory (34:56):
I did a day retreat last year at a cool place in Indiana.
And then I also did a five, no,four or five day.
I think it was four, uh, retreatat a monk monastery.
And that was awesome.
You don't, you really don'tengage with the monks.
You're it's just, they got agreat facility down in Kentucky.
Um, but it was great.
(35:18):
I'm doing it again in, in, uh,April.
Jason (35:21):
You just go on your own to
Cory (35:22):
go on your own.
And I think they call itunguided silent retreat is, is
their terminology they use.
So you just go down there andyou do whatever you want.
I mean, you can't, you can'ttalk on the, in the building,
but other than that, I mean, Ithink if you just want to go
there and nap the whole time,you can nap the whole time,
Jason (35:37):
Wow.
And this is at a monastery.
Cory (35:39):
it's awesome.
It's gorgeous.
Jason (35:41):
what's it called?
I'm
Cory (35:43):
Uh, actually the, uh, Gethsemane, Gethsemane, uh,
Abbey of Gethsemane, I
Jason (35:50):
Okay.
In Kentucky.
Bardstown.
Oh yeah.
I know where Bardstown is.
Cory (35:55):
It's awesome.
Jason (35:56):
And they have, yeah, that's a little bit of income
for them.
They let people come in and justget away from the world for a
little bit.
Wow.
That's interesting.
Yeah.
I literally just interviewedanother brother in the Lord, uh,
for the podcast.
And he talked about that, thatthat's something he's recently,
you know, last I think year ortwo started doing is a retreats
like that.
(36:17):
All right.
Um, another question I have foryou, Corey, when you think about
leadership, uh, which I know youdo think a lot about, What are
the like core principles thatyou always go back to those
fundamentals of leadership foryou?
Cory (36:34):
You kind of, you kind of mentioned a piece of it earlier,
which is making this, you know,come to mind as a, you know, who
are you at home, who you at workand it's, it's integrity.
Like don't just talk about it,be about it.
I mean, so the same person atwork as you are in home.
If you know, you're trying to beall cool, calm and collected at
(36:55):
work and then at home you'reyelling cause kids aren't
brushing their teeth.
I mean, that's, that's, there'sa disconnect there.
You know, what can you do to bemore of your true self at all
places that you go to?
Because people want to followleaders they trust, and they
trust leaders that are like,yep, he's the same person
(37:15):
whether we're traveling inPhoenix or we're back, you know,
home at the, at the plant.
He's the same person when he'swith his family or when he's
with the coworkers.
And, and so I think ofleadership as a, you know, check
yourself, integrity, our
Jason (37:33):
Yeah.
Cory (37:33):
whole self, are you the same person everywhere?
I think that's a big piece.
Jason (37:37):
Yeah.
That's huge.
I mean, that's the foundationthat trust is built on.
Like you said, you know, I thinkabout that cause I'm not perfect
at that.
There's times.
Yeah.
That I, uh, you know, for meit's getting frustrated and
angry, especially at work.
I get pretty intense and I'mlike, man, that's not, that's
not, you know, who I want to be.
I will say this.
(37:57):
I've had a couple of, uh, peopleI've worked with who became
close friends who even became, Ihad one who, uh, came to attend
church.
And so this guy, I've had acouple guys who knew me at work,
spent time here with me, with myfamily and in my church.
And I'm like, That's goodbecause you know, those guys
(38:19):
have now seen me really in allmy three major realms And you
know for accountability, that'shealthy for me and I pray Um,
and I think they would say nah,he's the same guy Yeah, I mean
he's maybe not as intense athome as he is at work But
overall, you know, it's the sameguy same things that you're
gonna see and hear from him Soyeah, I've had two experiences
(38:42):
with that with a couple of
Cory (38:43):
Oh, that's awesome.
Jason (38:44):
close friends of mine Yeah, so hey cory Who are some
leaders that you would recommendother authors, podcasters, I
know you're a podcaster Socertainly we'll link to your
show In the show notes and yourbooks, but who else who do you
love to follow and read and keepyourself sharp?
Cory (39:06):
Oh, man, I could go on you and I tell you this top of mind
right now Because we talkedabout before we hit record since
you're in the manufacturing ofthe mining space a client of
mine who I love followingBecause he's got his own
podcast.
It's solo.
It's a solo show And he justsees fun to follow on LinkedIn.
That's Keaton Turner so he He'snot written a book yet, uh, but,
(39:28):
uh, he, he, he's a wealth ofknowledge on LinkedIn and his
own podcast.
Uh, you know, I mentioned, uh,the, the devotion I'm reading
the daily with daily wisdom formen, Dan Britain and Jimmy Page,
they wrote the book.
I think it's a fantasticdevotional to do
Jason (39:44):
not the Jimmy Page
Cory (39:46):
not, not, not the guitarist or whatever he was, I
didn't know.
Uh,
Jason (39:50):
Led Zeppelin, I think is the Led Zeppelin guy.
So yeah,
Cory (39:54):
we talked about spiritual disciplines.
We're working on, uh, you know,another book I'm reading right
now lead with prayer.
Um, I'm loving this one justcause I, like I said, I'm trying
to double down on prayer, getbetter there.
And so that, that's a piece.
So I mean, I, I kind of keepgoing and just like different
books I'm reading and what I'menjoying.
Jason (40:15):
are good.
Those are, you know, a lot of,no, I appreciate those Corey,
because a lot of times, um, my,uh, guests talk about the same
and not that that's bad.
I mean, we all love Lencioni andMaxwell, you know, and some of
those, uh, so these are the onesyou just talked about.
I've already followed thegentleman on LinkedIn, so I'm
going to check him out and addthe books.
(40:36):
I had not heard of the booksthat you mentioned, so that's
good.
I appreciate that.
Some different material thanwhat I've seen before.
Cory (40:43):
well, I'm sure all those same books you mentioned are
behind my, uh, behind me andI've read or whatever it is.
Cause those guys are awesome,but yes.
Jason (40:50):
Now you wrote another book we haven't talked about
yet.
You want to talk a little bitabout what that
Cory (40:55):
Yeah.
So rise and go basically thewhole idea of rise and go is all
leaders get knocked down,whether it's a big or small
setback and big could be ahealth scare, a small setback
could be a loss of prospect on asales call.
All leaders get knocked down.
It's just a great leaders getback up quicker.
So what could it look like inyour life for the next time
(41:16):
you're knocked down, you getback up quicker.
Jason (41:19):
Yeah.
Cory (41:20):
I believe rise and go is a resource to help you do just
that.
It's, it's, it's helping, uh,you know, thousands of people
already.
And so it's a book to help.
The reason I wrote the book,unfortunately, unfortunately,
anytime I write a book, that'susually there's a problem.
Jason (41:36):
Yeah.
Cory (41:37):
and my, with rise and go, I mentioned, I launched into
coaching full time March 1st,Which was a bad time to launch
anything because that was COVID.
Jason (41:49):
It's worse time.
Yeah.
Cory (41:53):
happen or what was gonna take place, but on March 13th,
2020, that's when the world shutdown, especially the United
States and stay at homemandates, wear a mask, all that
took place.
I 13th, Workshops and speakingwas canceled.
(42:15):
So in that moment, 35 percent ofmy revenue vanished.
And I know there's listeners whohad worse COVID experiences and
even involved deaths in thefamily.
And I'm sorry.
Yeah.
Sorry for that for us and myfamily.
We just left the whole corporatedeal.
Went all into coaching.
March 1st, and here we are twoweeks, not even two weeks in,
(42:37):
and 35 percent of the revenue isgone.
So we were scared.
We were like, what's gonnahappen to the other 65%?
But Jason, I was alsofrustrated.
Like, I was mad at God.
Like, hey, I, I didn't, I did mypart.
We did 50 50, then 100 0.
I, I did my part.
What's going on with you?
(42:59):
And so I just went in those nextfew months, just into a valley
of just frustration of fear,not, and then, you know, not
only you throw in the COVIDelements of wearing a mask,
which is no fun and can't hangout with friends and all that
stuff.
And we know all those thingsmixed in with that of, I just
was frustrated.
Well, I, I look, thankfully Istarted, you know, I just got in
(43:21):
the word and God took me on anamazing journey.
Um, during that, that summer,2020, I just started reading
different scripture and Acts 8,9, and 10.
Three different individuals inthe ESV, you know, English
Standard Version translation aretold to rise and go.
Jason (43:40):
Um,
Cory (43:41):
And each one of them, it's a big bold move that was
significant.
In Acts 8, Philip was told torise and go to go speak to a
eunuch who worked for theEthiopian queen.
So now, and then he ends upsharing the gospel.
So what happens is, that's whenthe gospel starts going into
(44:02):
royalty and into anothercountry.
Acts 9 is A guy named Ananias istold to rise and go to go meet a
man named Saul.
Well, this is the conversionfrom Saul to Paul.
I mean, God probably could haveused somebody else if Ananias
didn't say, yes, put me in,coach.
(44:23):
But instead, he went and thenthat began the conversion from
Saul to Paul, who went on towrite the rest of the, you know,
majority of the New Testament.
And then in Acts 10, Peter wastold to rise and go to go meet
some men that Cornelius sent.
And so now it gets into theGentiles.
So it's just crazy how threedifferent individuals were told
to rise and go.
So here I am reading all thisand like, I gotta get out of my
(44:47):
pity party.
Like I need to rise and go andgo create new opportunities.
How can I go be bold andcourageous?
And so I began this journey of,of getting back on my feet and
climbing up.
And I just read scriptures.
I was getting inspired by coolstories of resilience on
podcast.
And I would just start writinglike maybe a blog or something.
(45:10):
And I'd have a client call meand say, Hey man, I'm struggling
with this today.
I'm like, I just wrote aboutthis this morning.
Why don't you check it out?
So it got battle tested overthat next year.
And then basically I puttogether the book and the book
is.
20 chapters, first 10 are giveyou the courage to get back up.
The next 10 chapters will giveyou the confidence to move
(45:33):
forward.
And it is, yeah, it just, it'sbeen a fun book to, you know,
send out into the world and seehow it's impacted some people
because the reality is we allget knocked down all the time.
Jason (45:47):
Yep.
Cory (45:48):
Whether it's something done internally and our own
thoughts and beliefs, whetherit's something done externally.
And so that's the, that's thesecond book rise and go.
Jason (45:57):
That's great.
Ah, I love it.
I love the fact that the bookscame from you going through, you
know, some challengingexperiences.
Cory (46:04):
If you see, if you see that I published the third book,
you may just say, Oh crud, whathappened to
Jason (46:09):
know what's going on with Corey.
Hey, one last question.
Let's say that someone comes toyou, maybe one of your, might be
one of your daughters and theysay, I have got a chance to lead
a team.
First time ever.
My first job is supervisor, areamanager, whatever you want to
call it.
I want to get your advice.
(46:29):
Let's say our kids are going tocome to us, Cory, and say, I
want your advice, dad.
But maybe that's a stretch.
I don't know about your kids,but what, what's advice that you
would give a first time leader?
Some things that you would say,here's, we talked about
integrity and the importance ofthat.
What other things might you givethem for guidance?
Cory (46:45):
Ask questions.
If you're a first time leader,you're getting into a new team,
ask questions to the, your newdirect reports.
Hey, what's working, what's notworking.
You know, how can I help?
I mean, basically as leaders,part of our job for our teams is
to provide resources and removeobstacles.
Jason (47:05):
Yeah.
Cory (47:06):
And the best way to know that if you're new in the
leadership or new to thecompany, just join is ask
questions.
And just learn the landscape,learn, learn your team's needs
in there.
The way they answer questions,they'll kind of, you'll see some
of their wiring come out.
You'll see what motivates them.
You'll see what's holding themback.
(47:28):
And as the leader, if you canacknowledge your team.
And inspire them, like, to goafter it, you're going to get
the best results out of yourteam.
Jason (47:40):
Yeah.
And I would say too, on that, Ithink you would be, as a new
leader, you may be shocked Atwhat little things you can have
some early wins that they mightneed for you to break down that
barrier to get them.
I've just been so, I've beensurprised several times.
That's it?
That, that would be a big dealfor you if I get that for you?
(48:00):
And you just go get it done andthere's, you know, some early
wins and early trust built upand
Cory (48:05):
Which is the next part.
If you ask questions, you betterdeliver on at least one thing.
Because if it falls on deafears, then they're going to be
like, you're just like the lastleader I had.
Jason (48:14):
Exactly.
Cory (48:15):
yes.
Ask the questions, but godeliver on at least one thing.
Jason (48:19):
Yeah, that's absolutely right.
Hey, Corey, uh, before we wrapup, how could, uh, what's the
best way for people to get aholdof you and get in touch with you
and follow you?
Cory (48:28):
Yeah, thanks.
And, and Jason, thank you forwhat you do and for getting this
message out there, biblicalleadership, uh, you know, for
work and just in helping people.
Jason (48:38):
Yeah, it's a joy, man.
Thank you though, for sayingthat.
Cory (48:40):
Uh, for me, anybody, any listening, uh, listeners who do
LinkedIn, I love LinkedIn.
So right there, Corey Carlson,uh, my, I've got a website,
coreymcarlson.
com and there's coachinginformation there, speaking
podcast books, books are onAmazon and Audible.
Uh, and then for the men, ifyou're listening, I run a
(49:03):
community.
called rise.
It's, we just launched January1st.
I know by the time this will beout, who knows where the number
is.
So at this time in just sixweeks, we already got 60 men in
there.
We're talking homework andfaith.
And it has been, it's just beeninspiring actually to see the
(49:23):
challenge, the, thebreakthroughs.
And the challenges people areovercoming already.
And we just launched.
So it's fun.
And by the time this, this airsout, who knows where rise is at,
but anyways, rise community.
com you can check out that as
Jason (49:38):
Yeah.
And we'll put links, uh, we'llput links on those so people can
connect with you and I followyou on LinkedIn and you put out
some good content.
So, and your podcast as wellthat you can find you on their
podcast app and listen to that.
I was actually listening to one,uh, this morning.
That you recently did the lazyCEO.
I think you're talking
Cory (49:55):
Great book right there.
Yeah.
Go get DJ, DJ Moore's his name.
He's a business owner.
Get him on your podcast.
Yeah,
Jason (50:03):
Yeah, he was the author of the book
Cory (50:04):
no, no.
Jason (50:05):
He was talking about he read
Cory (50:07):
Moore's the guest.
Yeah.
I can't remember who wrote thatbook.
Uh, but anyways.
Jason (50:12):
Yeah.
Well, so yeah, so thank youCorey.
Uh, it's been great man.
I'm glad we connected and I lookforward to maybe we can Stay
connected and do some do somestuff together Um, also want to
thank our listeners for joiningus again this month.
Uh, if this discussion resonatedwith you, I encourage you to
connect with me.
You can leave a rating on yourpodcast app, which I really
appreciate.
(50:34):
And on the YouTube channel, uh,subscribe there if you're
watching this there.
And uh, you'd be able to get allthe latest content that we put
out.
Uh, and be sure to return nextmonth when we engage with
another faith driven leaderstriving down a crisis in their
work and until then continue tolead with purpose and integrity.
Popular Podcasts
Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club
Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.
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!
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