21. Philanthropy: Transforming Business & Life with Mark Gleason

Episode Transcript
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Eric (00:08):
How can giving back help grow your business? In this
episode, we sit down with MarkGleeson to talk about
philanthropy in business, thepower of giving, and how making
a difference can also lead tosuccess. Let's dive in. Hello,
everyone. Welcome to theBusiness Boost Hour podcast.

(00:31):
My name is Eric Beals, and I amthe vice president of BNI
Escondido.

Crystal (00:37):
And my name is Crystal Prevette, president of BNI
Escondido, and thank you forjoining us for the single CEU
podcast.

Eric (00:45):
And today, we have mister Mark Gleeson. Say hi, Mark.

Mark Gleason (00:49):
Hello.

Eric (00:50):
Awesome.

Nice nice to be here. Thank you.

Eric (00:53):
And so, Mark, let's start off with so tell us a little bit
about bit about who you are,what you do, hobbies, favorite
color, whatever it might be.

Got it. Mark Gleeson, owner of g two business
solutions. Hobbies, I used tohave those, but then I had kids.
And so I gave that up for fourkids.

Eric (01:12):
They became your new hobby.

Oh, they do. They do.

Crystal (01:14):
You do travel.

Yeah. I I try to get around. Travel is probably
my my biggest hobby at thispoint. Maybe a little bit of
music here and there, but, otherthan that, just really a family
man at home doing the doing thedad thing.

Crystal (01:27):
And schoolio.

And schoolio. Yes. My school bus, slash camper.
Schoolio Iglesias is his fullname. It but, really, that that
was for the kids, really.
So once again, it goeseverything goes back to the
kids. And,

Eric (01:41):
that's awesome. So family man. And, so our topic today
that we, we wanted to talk to todiscuss is gonna butcher this.
The the, the the the fill inphilanthropic. What what was the

A philanthropic.

Eric (01:59):
Fill in philanthropic, man. Are you feeling
philanthropic? Are you feelingfeeling are you feeling
philanthropic? Man, it is a hard

word to say. Say it three times real quick and,

Eric (02:10):
it will. So what does that mean, Mark?

Well, philanthropy in business is all about
creating opportunities to notonly create revenue for your
business, but also to give back,to do a little bit more. And to
what you're giving back to,that's open to a lot of
different avenues. Mhmm. Butabout doing more than just
making money and helping theworld in in some way. Mhmm.

Eric (02:37):
Yeah. I I think I think and that's I think that's a
that's a super important part ofof business on on really just
kind of growing and and andestablishing, I guess, I guess,
establishing yourself as a, as aperson that other people maybe
wanna work with, that you'rewilling to kinda give back.

(02:59):
You're not just kind of, like,greedy all the time or whatever
it is. Right? And, so how do youapply that in in in your
business?

With with my business, I mean, I went I've
been in business now abouteleven years. Went about eight
years just being a business forprofit. I'm still for profit.
But, you know, I had a anepiphany at one point about
three years ago that what am Idoing feeling like, is this
enough? I wanted to do more withmy life than just be a

(03:28):
businessman.
So I kinda went down the road ofgive giving back, philanthropy
in business, you know, seeing,like, TOMS Shoes, for example,
or some of the big companies outthere that are doing some more
than just making money andmaking their products or doing
their services. Sure. Mhmm. Sowhat I do at this point is, I

(03:48):
work with specifically with onenonprofit. They're out of The
Philippines.
They help both with foodinsecurity and education for
people that don't haveeducational opportunities. But
what I do is I donate, 10% of mybase payroll processing fee to
Project Pearls. So every timeone of my clients processes a

(04:12):
payroll, which is weekly,biweekly, semimonthly, monthly,
depending on the business Mhmm.Some of that money is going to
provide for me and my family,but, also, it's going to provide
for someone that's truly inneed. Mhmm.
So that's pretty much it in anutshell.

Eric (04:27):
Nice. So you're giving back, and and but you you're
because I think you've you youyou've talked about your your
Philippines nonprofit that thatthat that you do out there. So I
think, talk a little bit about,like, what that actually is and
what that looks like.

As far as the the nonprofit, their their name is
Project Pearls.

Eric (04:49):
K.

And, I came across them a little bit over a year
ago. Prior to that, I wasdonating to one of the larger US
based, charities. Mhmm. I felt,though, however, it was a little
bit more like a businesstransaction. There was a
disconnect between me and thethe end result, the people I'm
helping.
Sure. You didn't

Crystal (05:09):
see the impact. Yeah. Yeah.

So I started looking for nonprofits that a
little bit more, you know,smaller, not quite as big, but a
little more of what's the what'sthe word I'm looking for?
Anyways Grassroots. Grassroots.That is exactly what I'm looking
for. Mhmm.
So I started doing someresearch. I have a tie in to The
Philippines, from my wife'sFilipino. So we have family

(05:33):
there. I go there to visit.Started looking and came across
Project Pearls.
Project Pearls, first andforemost, they almost all the
money is going to the the endresult. For every dollar we
donate, it feeds one kid for aday Mhmm. Or an elderly person.
And these are people that areliving in just the most extreme

(05:56):
circumstances you could imagine.I've had the pleasure of
actually going out there acouple times and helping with
the their mission, doing handson with their feeding program.
And these people are, you know,they live in an area called
Tondo, which Tondo is, for thelack of a better term, it's a
garbage dump. And I'm not sayingthat figuratively, literally.

(06:18):
It's Metro Manila. It's whereall the garbage goes, and these
big trucks pull up, they dumpthe garbage off on the road, and
people come out and and gothrough the garbage, and their
whole life and their wholesubsistence is based on what
they find and what they canrepurpose, down to even the
food. Without the Feedingprogram that Project Pearls

(06:40):
provides, they eat theirtypically, their typical food
was something called pak pak.
And I may be pronouncing thatincorrectly for any, people that
speak Tagalog out there. But,pak pak is they take chicken
bones and food they find in thegarbage Oh. And they boil it and
boil it and boil it and boil itdown until it's not poisoned,

(07:02):
basically.

Eric (07:02):
God. It's like a concoction of whatever You're

a spoon. Soup. Yeah. It's it's really I mean,
it's it's it's real. So, youknow, helping these people that
really have zero opportunity,you know, they're born into it.
There's no way out. You know?It's not like it is here in The
States. There's no socialservice programs. There's no you
know, they're just that's whatthat's their life.

Crystal (07:25):
Product of your environment. Yeah.

Eric (07:27):
Yeah. Yeah. So it

it really when I found them and what they were
doing and where they wereserving and and then after going
out there and and seeing itfirsthand, it really just lit a
fire in me to wanna do more.Mhmm. And, that's when project
pearls became my my only onethat I nonprofit I supported at
this point. Mhmm. Yeah.
Focusing strictly on them.

Eric (07:49):
Well, I know that there's there's, you know, that it it I
had learned something kindarecently. I and it's not not in
Philippines, but in, in I thinkit was in Mexico where there,
there was a a location inMexico, and it, I forgot the the

(08:10):
what their name for it was, but,like, the it basically
translates to, like, the dump.Mhmm. It's litter and and and,
basically, people like, thiswhole there's this area. It's so
heartbreaking and so sad.
And and it it basically, it'slike it's literally a a trash
dump. Mhmm. And people havetents, like, living in this

(08:31):
trash dump literally. And, so soyou're literally living in in in
trash, and this is kinda, like,piled up, basically. Mhmm.
Awful. And, and the the reason Ikind of bring this up and, you
know, finding a good nonnonprofit like the one that that

(08:52):
you work with is so importantbecause the heart the that
actually my opinion wasn'tactually even the most
heartbreaking thing. And let metell you why. The the the reason
that that I learned about thiswas, I guess, these people down
there are extremely sensitive topeople helping them. Right.
Okay? Now here's the reason why,though. Like, if you try to

(09:14):
kinda offer stuff, they kind of,like, back away. They're, like,
fearful of every of anyone thatthat doesn't live there. Mhmm.
You might think, well, why whyare they why are they they
they're living in a trash dump.They not realize that? Oh, no.
They realize it. Here's thething.
They there was a nonprofit that,went there and, like, took
photos, took social mediaphotos, and and and and all and

(09:37):
and raised a bunch of money andstole the money.

Exploiting Mhmm. The idea of philanthropy. Yeah.

Crystal (09:44):
The opposite of philanthropy.

Eric (09:46):
Which is awful. Awful. Like, you know, it's one thing
to, like, steal from, you know,big businesses or whatever it
might be. It's a whole anotherdeal to steal from people who
are literally living in trash.

Yeah. Takes a pretty cold person.

Eric (10:01):
Awful. Yeah. And and so these poor people, like, I they,
and and I know that's because mymy I actually I didn't go
myself, but, like, my my mychurch went on to kind of help
them. And and it was, like, weand and there's they had no
photos. And and the reason theyhad no photos because you can't
take your photo out your yourphone out because there's

(10:22):
extremely you take your phoneout, they, like, lose

Crystal (10:25):
your down. Yeah. Yeah. They Because when you're already
living at the bottom of, like,the barrel, and then if someone
comes in and, like, ripswhatever lifeline or trust you
have, I mean

The last of your dignity.

Eric (10:38):
Yeah. Yeah. What whatever, like, minimal, you know, that
you've things that you you have,you know, they they those people
were hopeful that they mightfinally get help and they got
screwed over. And it's just, youknow, I kind of bring I I I kind
of bring that up because, youknow, I'm I I I wanna, one,
bring awareness that thatthere's terrible nonprofits that

(10:59):
do exist like that. I don't knowwhat who what they all are, but
it's something that's importantto be mindful of it to to to to
to vet this sort of thing.
But then also is to kind of,like, you know, I I I your I
know your nonprofit is not doinganything like that.

No. They're I definitely vetted them heavily
before getting involved, butthen also went as far as meeting
with the board members, meetingwith the the founder, going
there and seeing what they'redoing, and meeting their all
their volunteers that are on thestreet there in The Philippines.
And it is kind of a polaropposite, you know, from what
you're talking about, you know,not so much about taking

(11:35):
pictures, but the the peoplethat they serve in Tondo, and in
some of the other areas,impoverished areas and around
Metro Manila, they they were soinspiring to me. They they so I
mean, they were just knockeddown day by day, yet they had
such big smiles on their facesand were so happy and so

(11:56):
respectful, and it just was, itwas amazing to me that people
that are, you know, living insuch dire circumstances can be
that happy.

Crystal (12:07):
And the resilience.

The resili yeah. It's really it was, it was
inspiring to me and made merealize that any problems that I
have are so minuscule comparedto what they deal with on a
daily basis. Yeah. You know,first world problems, I guess
you could say. But, you know,that we still have problems here
in The States, in the firstworld as well.
But, you know, there's lots oflots of people in need here too.

(12:29):
So you don't have to necessarilygo to these other countries to
find people to help.

Crystal (12:34):
Yeah. But you should definitely follow your heart
because you have a clear passionfor what you do and that, you
know, resonates with you. So,when you so do you have any
advice or suggestions whensomeone's picking out their
philanthropy?

Yeah. Go like you said, go with your heart. Go
with what you wanna help. Iwanted particularly to help with
food insecurity, and it took anawful experience in my life
dealing with a loved one who hadissues with food insecurity here
in The United States. For me tosay, okay.

(13:08):
I don't want anybody to sufferand be hungry or starve to death
for that matter. That's awful.So I started looking for
nonprofits that were focusing onthat as the mainstay of what
they do. Then, you know, in myresearch, you know, I was
looking all over the place atdifferent places in The States,
The Philippines, here, there,but then realizing, you know,

(13:29):
with my connection to ThePhilippines and my family, but
then secondarily, you know, I'ma small business. I'm not a
giant corporation.
So my the amount of good I cando is exemplified there based on
the the the dollar, Americandollar going a long way there. I
can do a lot more good andExactly. You get a decent

Crystal (13:50):
for a dollar here.

No. Exactly. So am I I'm able just to do more and
help more in that arena, so tospeak.

Eric (13:59):
Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think so, you know, what, we we we had
Rosemarie on, and we we wetalked a little bit of, a little
bit kind of in this this arena alittle bit on kind of, like
like, giving back and and andand but kind of with this as

(14:20):
well, though, is is building isthe building that that
relationship too. Mhmm. Right?
And and in in in this case toowith the with the nonprofits,
like, building a relationshipwith, like, the people in charge
of these of these nonprofits tokind of which will help you vet
them as well. Sure. And but Ithink, and one of the thing I

(14:40):
mentioned, in the previousepisode, though, is it it can
actually be a beneficialbusiness strategy to, like like,
donate your your your time ormoney for, like, well, basically
volunteer work, whatever thatkind of looks like for I think
that can look like in a bunchdifferent ways. It could be in a

(15:02):
monetary to help what whateverout because it reveal it I think
it reveals what kind ofcharacter of a person you are.
People wanna work with peoplewho are, like like, who are just
generally positive people.
If you're a negative person,people just don't really wanna
be around you. You you need youwant it it's good for you to be
a positive person, obviously.And the thing with but what

(15:27):
what's good about volunteer workand and and non and working with
nonprofits, I think, is kind ofone of the ultimate ways for for
that, though. Mhmm. It and evenin b and I too, volunteer work
is it it it really reveals whatkind of character of person that
that person is because someonewho's who's not, who who doesn't

(15:49):
have a heart for that kind ofstuff either is not gonna stick
around for for very long in avolunteer position of any form,
or they're just not gonna takeyou in the first place.
Right? And you you can kind ofuse that as a as a as a, I
think, as a vetting process.Like, hey, what kind of
volunteer stuff do does doessomebody do? Either if you're
especially if you're forming,like, maybe a partnership with

(16:10):
somebody or if, if it's somebodyyou're maybe working with to to
some extent. Not necessarilyclients necessarily, but I think
in in partnerships.
And I think it really yeah. Itjust reveals that who that
person is. I can tell you have atotal heart of gold for, for

(16:33):
people of The Philippines inparticular. You're you're also
close in your case. It doesn'thave to be whenever you
volunteer, it doesn't have itdoesn't have to be Philippines
necessarily,

Crystal (16:40):
but, like, anywhere. Should funnel your passion
somewhere that is authentic toyou.

Eric (16:45):
Right. Right. And, I think so I guess tying that into to
BNI is like our volunteerpositions. Right? I've kind of
I'm gonna kind of bounce back alittle bit on some of the other
on our previous episode,actually.
But we kind of talked a littlebit about, how volunteering in

(17:06):
BNI kind of reveals kind of whosomebody who somebody is by by
taking that position. That's notto say that there aren't, like,
frustrating moments in volunteerin any kind of volunteer
position, honestly. But you haveit has to come from from a place
of just wanting to give back,which is, you know, you know, is

(17:26):
givers gain.

Givers gain. I was thinking that as you're talking
here as it's everything's goingback to that that mantra. Yeah.
Right.

Eric (17:32):
And and one thing that we had had talked about, I mean, we
I'd like maybe we can kinda geta little bit more into this, and
I'd like to kinda get yourthoughts on this, is that the,
the positions in like, thehigher positions in b and I used
to have like, used to kinda get,like, a, like, a discount or
what or or or or whatever.

Crystal (17:51):
An incentive.

Eric (17:52):
And in as kind of an incentive. And and one of the
things we kind of talked aboutwas, you know, would b and I
look different if thosepositions were not volunteer?
Like, if they were all paidpositions, even if it was, like,
a a really small amount, wouldit look different? Would that
draw the wrong people into thoseinto the the those positions? Or

(18:16):
and and would that overall kindof maybe hurt the chapter
potentially where because youversus finding the people that
are, gonna be a better fit forthose those those positions.
What are do you have any kind ofit was an interesting topic, and
I'm and I'm thinking you mighthave some interesting Yeah.

I've had

Eric (18:34):
and this top kind

of off the just off the cuff. I mean, I think
it'll be bad, paying people forthose positions. I think what
you're saying is correct,especially with the whole, you
know, the whole ideology of ofBNI is, you know, giving. You
know, the more you give, themore you do, the more you're
gonna gain. And, you know, theby paying somebody to do that,

(18:57):
you're not giving anymore.
They're just gaining. Gainersgain then, I guess it would be.
Gainers gain. Yeah. Right.
Which has like a not such a goodring to it. It's not as good as
givers gain. Right. So, no, Ithink I agree with you guys. I
think think is that what yousaid?
You you were or you you

Eric (19:13):
were disposing it the other way, but I Yeah. Because
it was is it because, like, theidea was if you put if you made
the the the positions paid evenif some some amount, it would,
maybe attract the wrong peopleor it would whereas if you and
it or or it kind of potentiallyrules out maybe not it doesn't

(19:34):
completely rule out somebody whodoes have the right heart behind
it. But at least it's more tokind of maybe filter through, or
you might accidentally take onthe maybe the wrong person that
really doesn't have the the thethe the idea to maybe take
ownership over the chapter.Mhmm. And whereas if you're
doing a vol any kind ofvolunteer, you you should be

(19:56):
taking ownership over thatposition, whatever it is.
If it's visitor host ormembership committee, whatever
it might be. Right. And and itwas just a kind of an it's an
interesting thought that Ihadn't thought about before, on
what that would look like. Itmight be I mean, that might
actually play. It came upbecause sometimes it can be
like, man, we do there's a lotof volunteer work that we do in

(20:17):
in in behind learning that as asthere's a lot that kinda goes
into I've had my I've I've Thank

you guys for what you do.

Eric (20:23):
I've had and everyone should do it for at least once
just to kinda really appreciatewhat kinda goes into b and I. So
as members, you kind ofunderstand, like and and and you
you understand, like, reallywhat kinda goes goes into it
even if just for that alonebecause there's a lot of value

That perspective.

Eric (20:43):
In that. But, also, it's, I think you tend to take more
ownership over because becausethere's a certain level of I
gotta get value out of this. Youknow, this I wanna get because
it's like you, you know, you docome to BNI because you you you
you come to BNI to to gainbusiness. Right? That that is
your that's why you initiallycome.

(21:05):
I think a lot of people willstay for the people around. And,
the people that that reallythink that they they they can
make a big difference in thechapter are the ones that are
gonna really step up to thosevolunteer positions.

Crystal (21:21):
It almost seems a little counterintuitive. I'm
glad we're talking about thisbecause it seems like as an
entrepreneur, you're likesometimes we can be maxed out.
We can be using all of thecapacity that we have within
ourselves, and we're saying,yes, as entrepreneurs, you
should be doing your goingplaying full out, but also

(21:41):
interjecting this philanthropy,finding some way to give back.
So it's like, but wait, we'remaxed out and we wanna give
back, but sometimes that givingback is what fills the cup. Like
you said, you came backremotivated seeing what they
were living through, and it waslike fuel for your fire.

(22:02):
So that that philanthropy canseem like, oh, wait. I'm too
maxed out. I don't have enoughtime to even do what I have on
my plate for my business, andthen I have BNI, and then I have
all this stuff. It could be easyfor someone to say, oh, I don't
want to to invest that muchtime. But Bill Walsh, one of my
mentors, tells me that everybodyshould have that has a business

(22:24):
should have some sort ofphilanthropic, company that
they're working, some sort ofnonprofit.
Mhmm. Because not only is itshowing that you're willing to
give back, but there are wayswhere we can use that to prove
that we aren't justtransactional. Sure. And I think
that the transactional aspect ofhumanity is a little overkill.

Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. But it it also spills
over, you know, into not onlyshowing that you as a business
are have a hard and caring or orgood person or whatever it is,
But also, I found that a abyproduct is I'm working with my
my clients are better clients.They're people that share

(23:07):
similar, you know, ideologies,similar values.

Eric (23:11):
Like minded people will attract other like minded
people. Right?

Which is which is a beautiful thing. And then I
never really thought of that asbeing something. You know, it's
just I'm

Crystal (23:20):
loving it.

The customer's a customer. But now, you know, the
customer is the ones that aredrawn to the the philanthropic
side of of my business plan areare people that I wanna be
around and people that areinspiring in in their own ways.
So

Eric (23:34):
Yeah. So, so what how has okay. So let let's get into how
has you have have you so whenyou've taken this this
philanthropic approach Mhmm. Howis that how how in what ways can
you think of how is that helpsyou help helps you raise? I know

(23:55):
a little bit you talked about,like, certain people that you
understand, that you you meet.
How has that helped either,like, you maybe you gain more
business, whatever it might be.Like, how has that helped you?

I mean, first off, it's filled some holes in my
heart Mhmm. Doing these things.And, you know, at first, it was
it it was taking a pay cut. Youknow? It's Sure.
And it's grown beyond that atthis point. It has helped me to
inspire me to work harder. Thosedays that I wanna cut out a

(24:28):
little early or I'm good fortoday. Maybe I'll make another
call. Maybe I'll make anothercouple emails.
Maybe I'll try a little harderbecause every new client I bring
on is feeding a lot of people.Mhmm. So it just kinda brings a
different set of motivations tothe table outside of

Crystal (24:43):
the purpose bigger than you.

Yeah. 100%.

Eric (24:46):
Yeah. So in your in your case, each new client is is is,
directly feeding people. Right?Because you do that that that
that 10%. I see.
That makes sense. And and thatversus because that's the you do
both. You do 10% and youvolunteer. Is that right?

Yeah.

Eric (25:05):
Yeah. So in your case, you do both. And so, and so that
that that plays into yourmotivation with, you know,
sending the email, especiallyif, if you have dry days where
you're just kind of, like, burntout or whatever too. I I get
that. That make that makes totalsense.
It gives you that extra extraboost. And, actually, it so I I

(25:29):
have you have have you guys seenthe, have you seen the micro
video from, I don't know, it'sfive like, ten, twelve years ago
at at this point where he, talksabout he is a phenomenal he I
think the video is titled, don'tfollow your passion.

Mhmm. But bring

Eric (25:53):
and and and the video, it's a it's a it's an
interesting line. It's like,what are you talking about?
Don't follow your follow youryour passion. But to to
summarize the video, he talksabout, don't necessarily follow
your passion, but bring yourpassion with you, whatever that
looks like, into your yourbusiness and and finding, like,
whatever that passion is tobring it with you. And so and I

(26:16):
think, you know, volvolunteering can actually be a
way where you can, like, findthat passion.

Mhmm. Right?

Eric (26:24):
And kind of and kinda seek that. That's a aspect of seeking
that. You may have to kind ofsearch a little bit to kind of

Crystal (26:30):
of And sometimes that helps you grow

too. Helps you grow. Mhmm. Both both of those
things. And for me, it, youknow, I I can see in my mind.
I can close my eyes right now,and I can see the faces. I can
think back to standing there andhaving a little kid walk up on
the right, a little kid walk upon the left, and both grab your
hands and just hold on and justwanting to be around you because

(26:54):
you're there helping them. Mhmm.And that's that's some
motivation like no one other. Imean, it definitely, money is
great, and I am a for profitonce again, but it, that has
really made me feel like I havepurpose in my business now,
whereas, you know, in my earlierparts of my career with my with
my business, you know, I was I'mhappy.

(27:15):
I'm I'm self employed. I'm doingthe entrepreneurial thing, which
is my spirit, but is there moreI could be doing? You know, if I
were to die tomorrow, am I gonnabe feel like I made a
difference? You know? Andfrankly, the answer was no.
But now I can honestly say thatI'm making a difference, for
many little kids, many olderpeople, and everything in

(27:37):
between. It's helping the wholefamilies out there, both, like I
said, in the feeding, but alsowith, you know, Project Pearls.
They do the educational side ofit, giving these kids
opportunity, taking them throughcollege and giving them you
know, they have kids that havegone through their program that
are doctors and lawyers, andyou're just breaking the cycle.
Yeah. And in that sense outthere, that's breaking the cycle

(27:59):
for the entire family becausewhen the kid elevates and and
becomes something bigger,they're bringing the whole
family along, and it's impactingeven aunts and uncles and
cousins.
Everybody's profiting andbenefiting from their elevation,
so to speak.

Eric (28:14):
Yeah. Yeah. So have you always been this philanthropic?

No. Not at all. It's a I've been a jerk. So

Eric (28:24):
so what what kind of change change? How how did how
how did what's what's your kindof growth process?

Crystal (28:32):
What was the catalyst?

Yeah.

Eric (28:33):
What was the cap yeah. That's good. What's the count?

Age should be one. I'm gonna be 50 soon. So, I
mean, that's part of it. Justbecoming more mature in life, I
guess. Most recently is thepassing of my brother, who was
dealing with some unfortunatemental issues and, lost his job
and stopped eating.

(28:56):
Mhmm. And he's no longer withus. Mhmm. So it's, that really
brought a and bringing a tear tomy eye. I apologize.
But, that really brought themotivation to me to be wanting
to do more. And then, obviously,then, as I'm mentioning, you
know, gave me a direction inregards to well, what type of
charity do I wanna support andwhat do I what's my cause? What

(29:18):
do my cause wanna be? Becausethat really is, is a big issue.
You know, prior to his passing,when I was when I was, donating
to, the big box US charity, itwas hard for me to figure out
what I wanted to do and who Iwanted to give money to.
And I just I picked one justbecause, oh, okay. That seems

(29:39):
like that's a problem. Mhmm. Butreally, it, my heart my heart
was there to help, but it wasn'tfully there, I guess you could
say. Mhmm.
And it takes sometimes badthings in life to open up some
pathways in your brain, I guess,to, to see more clearly of where
your purpose should be.

Eric (29:57):
Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, there's a lot of like,
some of the, most some of themost influential people that
oftentimes have, you know,either traumatizing or

Crystal (30:09):
Breaking points.

Eric (30:10):
Yeah. Breaking points, whatever it might be.

Crystal (30:12):
Breaking breaking out open so you can find really what
that purpose is. And I thinkthat's a beautiful tribute

to your brother

Crystal (30:19):
to be able to help other people in his honor and
his name and to know that thattransition that he made didn't
go for nothing, that there'sthousands of people that will be
affected by the time you'redone, maybe even millions.

Yep. Hopefully, knock on wood. If I move around
here long enough, keep on movingas I am, that's that's the plan.
Yeah.

Crystal (30:40):
Because it does create that ripple effect, though. Like
you said, like, one person thatbreaks free, it might not even
be an aunt or an uncle. It couldbe just someone that they've
they've encountered, and they'relike, wow. You went from poverty
to you have an apartment. LikeYeah.
Little things like that could bethe inspiration and hope. And
when you've ran 13 miles, whenyou get to that fourteenth mile,

(31:03):
you start to lose the hope andthe capacity and the bandwidths
that keep going, but you'rereinspiring people. And I think
that's beautiful. I thank youfor what you're doing, Mark.

Thank you. It's not doing it for the thanks. I
mean, honestly, it's it's savedme. It helped me. I could the,
you know, life either breaks youor you, break into break free, I
guess.
And it's led me to the directionI am, which is, you know, it's
it's about it's about what'sright. You know? And it's
something I, you know, I thinkabout quite often is now I

(31:33):
really want I advocate forbusinesses to really implement
something, you know, whetherit's a penny, a nickel, a
dollar. Just figure out a waythat you can give back. And if
every small and large businessout there was doing that, what a
better world we'd have.
You know? And it's, it would bemuch better. And so it it really

(31:55):
I advocate for businesses tothink about themselves, their
business, and what they can do.And it doesn't have to be a lot

Eric (32:02):
Mhmm.

Because if we work as a collective, then we're
talking serious change.

Eric (32:06):
Yeah. Yeah. Have you seen is there a difference in for for
businesses whether becausesometimes businesses will do
like, I I've seen sometimeswhere they'll have, like, the
employees, like, actuallyvolunteering and for stuff.
Right? And, in some cases, theycan they they'll even pay them.

Crystal (32:24):
Carol gets a paid day to volunteer.

Eric (32:26):
Right. Right. And so what my question for you is, do you
have you seen is there any like,what are maybe some of the I
don't know if it's, like,tangible differences. I don't
know if it's really it can behard to make to make these
things tangible. But, have youseen is there differences in
whether a business is giving,like, a certain amount of money

(32:46):
versus actually physicallyvolunteering?
Have you seen differences inthat? Or

You know, that's such a tough question. No. I I I
really probably haven't lookedtoo deeply into it in that
respect. I mean, for for me, thethe tangible of the actually
being, you know, feet on thestreet and they're working with
them and donating time is, ismore personal gain than anything

(33:13):
to do with my business. And butI guess, you know, kinda tying
back to what we're sayingbefore, the the tie into the
business is the it motivates me.
It motivates me to work harder.But now to answer your question,
I really wouldn't have an answerfor that.

Eric (33:26):
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And, yeah. Okay.
I was just I was kinda justcurious because, you know,
sometimes you can give.

Crystal (33:32):
Like, if there's a correlation between, like,
actually giving the hands oneffort versus the financial.
But, also, think about sometimesyou might not be able to give
financially. If you can't, Imean, there's so many charities
that could use someone thatwould benefit greatly. Like you
said, if everyone pitched in andand found one charity. Do you

(33:53):
have a nonprofit, Eric?
I know you're doing vicepresident. I know you do this,
but are is there a charity thatyou're working with?

Eric (34:00):
So I donate heavily to my church. Mhmm. So I I follow what
the Bible says. Do you have1010%, to to my church? That was
my first thought when youmentioned you mentioned 10 to
the non the nonprofits.
And so, my church, they, like,they were the ones that went to
Mexico. I've I've I've alsovolunteer physically. I and the

(34:23):
way I volunteer is I do alivestream, at my church.

Crystal (34:27):
Mhmm. Yeah.

Eric (34:27):
And so I've I kinda help on the the technical side of
things. And so that's just kindawhere I felt called to help out.

Crystal (34:34):
And your wife helps with the a youth group. Right?

Eric (34:36):
Yeah. So my my wife, she's the coordinator for the youth
group

Crystal (34:40):
Mhmm. Church.

Eric (34:41):
And so, and, you know, in in in her her case, she's, like,
lightly paid, but, like, it'snot up. It's not it's it's not
enough to even be considered ita part time job. There's to more
work that goes into it, but ithelps. And it's, but it it
really I think vol volunteeringis I think you have you really

(35:06):
should be volunteering insomething in some way, because I
don't know I don't know what Iwould do without my church. My
church is, like, my my one of myfavorite communities.
It's it's it's actually thereason I'm in BNI is actually my
church Mhmm. Because that'swhere I met Philip Jordan.

Mhmm.

Eric (35:22):
Shout out to Philip Jordan.

Crystal (35:24):
We love you, Philip.

Yes, mister Jordan.

Eric (35:26):
And, he's not in our our chapter right now, but, he was
the one that initially broughtme. So it's like, I kinda have
my church to thank for foreverything for my business as
well too. And that, you know, itit so, you know, I think and I
think those are good kind ofstarting points for people too.
Volunteer at your church. Ifyou're in a BNI chapter, you

(35:49):
know, volunteer in a in a BNIposition as well because I think
it's gonna help it's gonna growyou as a person, and it's also
going to grow, like, your yourrelationship with people.
It's gonna build trust withpeople.

Crystal (36:04):
Mhmm.

Eric (36:05):
Right? And, so and I think that that goes

a

Eric (36:09):
really long it's definitely the long game. Right?
It's very much the long game.You you the the benefits you
gain from volunteering, like, Iguess, to kind of summarize is
you're just gonna build trustwith people around you, even if
people you're not necessarily,like, directly talking with, but
they just see you. Yeah.
Right? They they they see whatyou're doing, and you maybe have

(36:31):
never talked to them. You don'teven know you don't even know
they exist. But but they'renoticing you, though, by by by
you volunteering. They theyknow, okay.
I know I can trust that personbecause look how much, you know,
they're they're doing for theirtheir community, the community
that are part of you in ThePhilippines or what or me and
the church or whatever it mightbe. Right? So

Crystal (36:51):
And, also, maybe encouraging people to shop
around, kind of like Mark hadone charity and it just wasn't
quite feeling right. And and foryou, it feels like like there
was a natural, cohesive, like,opportunity that just kind of
played into, like, who you areas a person. So that opened up
that opportunity. But, by givingback in these certain ways, it

(37:14):
also creates a little bit ofvisibility to where, obviously,
that's not why you're doing it.

But it is part of it. But it

Crystal (37:21):
does prove that you're not just there for selfish
reasons.

Yeah. I mean, as as a business, one of the the
benefits of, you know,partnering with Project Pearls
is them opening up theirfollowers to the people that
support them financially. Thereare a lot of them are
businesses. So, you know,getting that exposure helps you
grow your business. So there is,you know, some financial rewards

(37:46):
that can go along with it.
You know, whatever yourmotivation is, that's between
you and yourself. But, you know,the end of the day, the all
these small things add up tojust being a a good thing, and,
both for your business, both foryour soul, and for the community
at large, whether it beinternational or here or
whatever or whoever you'rehelping.

Eric (38:07):
Mhmm. Yep. Yep. And okay. So what what are what are so so
so maybe somebody who doesn't doa lot of volunteer, what are
some of the best?
I kinda mentioned church churchor b and I, but do you have any
suggestions on how somebodycould could could start build
because I think it's a muscle,honestly. I think it is a muscle

(38:30):
to volunteer. It's like aspiritual muscle, maybe.

It's more like a drug to me. It's addictive.
Where? Kinda like crack. Onceyou get a hit, I guess, I've
never had done crack.
But, from what I hear, it, youknow, once you do it, you can't
get off of it. So,

Eric (38:45):
Right. And so if someone who's not maybe not used to
Volley, what what are some,like, stepping stones for them
in case I mean, I I don't knowif I would see it as, like like,
crack necessarily. I enjoy it.

I'm not I

Eric (38:57):
don't know if I'm addicted to it necessarily.

Crystal (39:00):
It's highly rewarding.

Eric (39:02):
Is it rewarding? Very much so. Yes. Yes. I agree.
%. Very, very rewarding. And sowhat what are maybe some some
stepping stones that you wouldsuggest for people to kinda
build that muscle on on on doingthat?

I I would say forget the sepping sounds. Just
jump in with both feet. Mhmm.Just go into the deep end of the
pool and see what happens. Youknow?
And and it doesn't have to be alifelong commitment. You can
just go donate your time to somecause that makes your heart feel
good Mhmm. And do it once.

Crystal (39:35):
And you don't have to be perfect at it. Right? A lot
of thing a lot of times peopleare like, oh, no. I don't wanna
step into helping someone else.But a lot of these charities
would love to have anyone takesome of the burden off of them
because charities are the firstthing to kinda get cut their
resources when, the economykinda goes down.
Sure. So, I think that it's veryimportant to find, like, ways

(39:58):
that you can interject yourskills. And, like, for you,
you're you had a real lifeexperience that kinda drove you
into a different direction thatwas more in alignment with your
sole purpose.

And I

Crystal (40:09):
think that if people find, like, the things that are
holding them back, maybe itcould even be a trigger or a
trauma or something. I know Annevolunteers with the frosted
faces and she walks the dogs.And I know Rosemarie likes
children, so she helps at the,wild animal park. I work with
the veterans because a lot ofthe veterans struggle with their

(40:30):
mental health.

Mhmm.

Crystal (40:31):
So, I think it I would encourage people, even if you're
feeling nervous to find a acharity, like like Eric said,
where do you start? Findsomething that's close to your
heart. I mean, I do publicspeaking. There's tons of,
women, domestic violence and,charities and stuff that are

(40:51):
always looking for speaker.Like, push yourself to find a
way that you could be useful inyour community so that not just
yourself benefits, but otherpeople benefit.
You create that impact, and youfelt that impact. You can even
visualize Sure. That impact.That is gonna stay with you for
the rest of your life.

Most certainly. And I think kinda to that point
too, don't feel like, you know,if you're trying to figure out
where you can give and how youcan donate your time or what how
do you fit in, just first off,figure out where you wanna what
charity seems like a good fitfor you, and then reach out to
them. Mhmm. And say, hey, I wantto get involved. And they'll

(41:33):
tell you, like you say, they'relooking for help.
There is not a nonprofit outthere that a good at least the
real ones that aren't lookingfor more help because the more
involved involvement there is,the more people there are, the
bigger their reach and the morethey can do good for whatever
their cause is. So just startsmall and figure out what makes

(41:55):
you feel good and then startreaching out to them, talking to
them. It's really easy to haveconversations with these
nonprofits saying, hey, I wantto get involved. They're they're
bending over backwards to talkto you. They are excited about
more involvement.
So, don't feel like you have tofigure it out to jump into the
pool.

Crystal (42:15):
Or maybe even find a, charity that someone else is
working with if you'd want a,like, a little stepping stone,
is maybe reach out to Mark andbe part of Project Pearl. Or I
know mine is called WarriorGamer Foundation where the
isolated veterans, they theytend to not want to ask for help
with mental health.

So we found That's so fun.

Crystal (42:36):
We found gaming is a way to, kind of bridge that gap.
The video gaming community, theveterans tend to disassociate
and find a way for them to buildcommunity and get help and
resources. So it's really, it'sinspiring to see where people

(42:56):
will go, but also maybepiggyback off of someone.

And it just grows from there. Like, it's ironic.
Earlier today, I was actuallyhad a a phone conversation with
the founder of Project Pearls,heading back out to The
Philippines. I'm here shortly.And, I just reached out to her
to say, hey, Cam.
I'm gonna be there. When youknow, what can I do to get
involved? Let's let's do somemore program feeding programs.
And she was coming to me saying,what are your gifts? What are

(43:25):
your talents?
Trying to figure out other waysthat I can help and other things
I can years. Live. Where wherecan you fit in? So she was,
doing the heavy lifting offiguring out other things that
can be done. So the end resultof that conversation is we've
been talking about, doing theydo occupational programs,

(43:46):
teaching skill sets outside ofjust their normal schooling
education for the kids, butoccupational programs for the
adults, teaching them skills,things they can do to make money
other than picking throughgarbage.
And we're now looking at astarting a different
occupational program with mycompany helping with the

(44:08):
funding, my employee, doing sometraining. She does leather
crafting. So she's gonna teachthese people how to leather
craft Awesome. And make pursesand things.

Crystal (44:19):
Trains work.

Yeah. And that's part of their their mission is,
you know, doing, like, say, theoccupational. They already make
clothes out of recycled ricesacks and flour sacks and sell
them, you know, to to furtherpromote and, profit for the give
that profit.

Eric (44:36):
Give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach a man to
fish, feed him for a lifetime.Right? So no. That that's a
that's actually a I think that'sa phenomenal way to, to donate
time. It's teaching a skill setto people

as well.

Crystal (44:48):
Right? And intertwining, like, I know, BNI,
one of the times you went outthere, we tried to support you,
and we're able to kind ofencourage you. So if you can
find a way to interlace, like,your nonprofit and your business
and your networking group, Ifeel like that's a beautiful
trifecta Yeah. Because, asentrepreneurs, we do have

(45:10):
resources. And if it's not,something we can do hands on,
maybe we know someone or there'ssome like like you were being
asked, like, what assets do youhave?
What what resources can we pullfrom you?

Which is a weird question when it was asked. I
said, what are your talents? AndI think my my knee jerk response
was, I'm talentless? I don'tknow. Think about this.
I, so but, yeah, just don't beafraid as a as a business or or
an individual even. It don'thave to be a business, to to go
out there and just try, see whathappens, and do one thing and

(45:44):
see where it takes you. Younever know. It, it maybe sets
you on a trajectory that younever saw coming. And, more
important, you know, if you'redonating time, money, or
whatever to a nonprofit, to acharity that's doing actual good
work out there, there is no wayyou're gonna walk away feeling
bad about that.

(46:04):
It's gonna fill your heart in somany different ways, and, that
is no. That's priceless to me.Yeah.

Crystal (46:11):
That's your legacy.

That's that. Yeah.

Eric (46:13):
Yeah. Yeah. And and, like, even if I you know? Yeah. And
just to kind of, like I thinkgoing to Philippines might be
extreme for a a lot of people.
I mean, they're like, I can't,like, take off work for four
months or whatever. And and andand right? And but even, like,
locally too. Right? And so Your

Crystal (46:33):
food banks,

Eric (46:34):
animal shelters. You know, in my case, my my my church has
has, like, a has a dedicatednonprofit called Heart of
Compassion, and that's it's thethe focus is just in Escondido.

Mhmm.

Eric (46:45):
Like, just the people in Escondido, like

Crystal (46:49):
Backpacks. Thanksgiving.

Eric (46:50):
Backpacks. Thanksgiving, we give turkeys to people and
such. Right? And so, and and inthose in those cases, we always
need people for, like, justgiving those things out and
managing the the people that'sin those in at those events. But
then, of course, we need dollarvalue for providing those, those

(47:11):
those things as well.
And but circling back to in in band I, you know, the one, I
guess, not a not a nonprofit,like, per se, but a volunteer
position, a good starting pointis just volunteering as in
positions, b and I position.Yeah. Right? Visitor host is
kind of a phenomenal startingpoint because it's literally

Crystal (47:31):
Absolutely.

Eric (47:32):
You know, it's it's just Lower level. It's it's it's more
manageable. It's a startingpoint. It's a starting point.
It's more manageable, I think,compared to some of the other
positions because you're alreadyat b and I meetings anyways.
You stay a little bit longer totalk with, visitors. Yeah. And,
And so

it's a huge things for your exposure. I mean,
that's what you're there for isto get more exposure. That's how
you get new business. If theydon't know you're there,
nobody's ever gonna buy fromyou. So being in those positions
just puts you at the the peak ofexposure in regards to the BNI
arena, which is makes sense.
I mean, it, wanna take the asmuch as you can get out of it.

(48:09):
And I

Crystal (48:10):
I know even Ed Wilson has said that he would his goal
is to have a nonprofit in eachchapter, and that would be a
beautiful way for businesses tocontinue to expand. So if you're
in BNI and you don't have anonprofit, maybe consider,
bringing a nonprofit into yourchapter.

Eric (48:27):
Yeah. There's a whole dedicated category, for that, to
and I know, our our pastor wasin our chapter for a while for a
couple years.

Crystal (48:39):
Yeah. Heart of compassion was there for a
while. Yeah.

Eric (48:42):
And it, it was, you know, in in in in, in our case, it was
a phenomenal way to kind of,like, round up golfers,
basically, because it was is youknow, people in business like to
oftentimes like to I'm notreally much of a golfer myself,
although I'd like to get intogolfing. I haven't really, like,
dabbled in it very, very much.I've helped out at, like,

(49:04):
golfing events.

I mean, you're a golfer.

Eric (49:08):
Well, I wasn't golfing myself, though. It was, like,
you know, helping run the event,essentially. But, like, it is a
good location to kind of findthose, though, those people and
then kind of, I guess, offercreate the opportunity for
businesses, members in chaptersthat, you know, maybe they're
not thinking so much onvolunteering or or or giving

(49:31):
back. But, you know, if you're anonprofit, it it kind of you
you're kinda creating thatopportunity for them to Yeah. To
do that, to give back.

It's, for for those nonprofits, that's a good
way to get businesses to supportyou and to find you and to trust
you and to know about you. And,that that could be the
inspiration to get peopleinvolved and, or the the
stepping stone that they need,so to speak, as we were saying
before.

Crystal (49:56):
Or it takes all levels. It takes the person that's gonna
be hands feet on the ground. Ittakes the person organizing it.
It takes the person donatingsome of the items. I know I have
an ebike in my garage thanks toHeart of Compassion.
Yeah. Doing your part showing upat the event. If you can't
volunteer, maybe you can be agolfer. Maybe you can buy

(50:18):
something from the auction.Mhmm.
There's so many levels where youcan get involved, and it might
not be your time where you canput in the time and energy, but
maybe you can financially help.We're all in different stages of
our business and in our career,but I feel like what Eric said
is really applicable. It's,like, there's any level that you

(50:39):
could start. Yeah. And thebottom is just an hour a week or
an hour a month.
Like, a micro step is still astep in the right direction.

Correct. Mhmm.

Eric (50:49):
Yeah. And I think it can it can help motivate you more in
your business as well too, likeyou mentioned Mhmm. With with
kinda giving you, like, a a a amore of a level of purpose for
your business that's beyond,monetary, you know, because
kinda beyond that. Because Ithink once you kind of, like,
start working I've kinda justnoticed this more so I think,

(51:13):
like, being in the the the VPposition, but, like,
volunteering in BNI kindamotivated me more to do other
things more so. So it's like wewe feel like podcast.
Like this podcast. Right? Andand we we, you know, we we often
feel like, oh, I don't havetime. It's like we all can find
time. We it's a matter of justseeking and finding the time.

(51:36):
You have the time.

I was holding that back earlier when you were
saying, you know, maybe peopledon't have time. I guarantee
That's an excuse. Yeah. You canfind time.

Eric (51:43):
I guarantee that you definitely have the time. It's
just a matter of are

Crystal (51:48):
you willing to kind of find it. Yeah.

Eric (51:50):
Are you willing to just find the time and seek it out?
Right?

Crystal (51:54):
And And consistency like you talked about earlier.

Eric (51:58):
Right. Like like I mean, that was kind of you know, BNI
was long successful before itwas online for, you know,
online. It was on person onlyfor thirty six years or however
long, and it was only been onhad an online option in the last
several since since COVID. Yeah.And, you know, then then I kinda
I'm hearing that, like, oh, ifit was an only in person, I

(52:20):
wouldn't have the time to dosomething.
Like, no. I think you would.You'd find a way. Yeah. That
right?
That's the thing. You find a wayto kind of do the these these
things. But in a weird way, itopens up more stuff because now
it's like, you you know, youvolunteered at at this thing.
Now, you you know, you're you'remore energetic and motivated to
kind of work on whateverwhatever other thing it might

(52:41):
be. It might not even be anonprofit, but certain things in
in your business that you needto do or get done or whatever it
might be.
Mhmm. I've noticed that inmyself. That's why, like, BNI
keeps me accountable. Mhmm. BNIvery much keeps me accountable
because I'm not very good atkeeping myself accountable.
I can tell you that.

Yeah.

Eric (52:59):
And my wife and BNI both keep keep me accountable. Right?

Crystal (53:02):
I felt the the difference when we were off for
a couple weeks. I was like, Icouldn't tell what day of the
week it was. I'm like, where'smy Wednesday? Like Oh my gosh.
But it it was really interestingto have that little break
because not only did I misseverybody, but it I I was like,
wow.
I think my week is, like, kindof, like, like, set around b and

(53:22):
I now to where where I, like,can literally, like, gauge time
more. But I I do agree with whatyou said, even if it was in
person. But there would be maybea trade off. Maybe you'd had
less one to ones, but maybe youwould see each other more. But
embracing whatever you do haveto the fullest extent is yeah.
I love seeing what you're doing,Mark.

Oh my god.

Eric (53:44):
It it threw me off for for for sure. It was much needed a
break that we had, but, like, itit it it threw me off in this
you know, it always takes meusually, like, a week or two to
to really fully get back. I'mstill not fully back into the
swing of things. I feel like Iam. And then, like I mean, I
start up a little bit too.
I know. I start doing stuff, andI'm just like, man, I'm still
not, like, fully there. And soit's like once you when you're

(54:08):
working more, you tend is itsome kind of

Crystal (54:11):
Like the momentum.

Eric (54:12):
Yeah. There's some kind of snowball effect, I think. Some
like, like, you know, pushing aboulder over. Once the boulder
stops, it kinda hard hard to getit going again, essentially. And
I I and I and and I thinkvolunteering definitely plays
into that.
I think you, you know, there's alevel of, okay, how much are you
willing to to commit intovolunteer time? If you over
commit, then it can be too toodrained. So I think finding that

(54:34):
right balance Sure. Right,finding that balance, I think,
is is really, really, reallyimportant. But, yeah.
So, Mark, if somebody wanted toget a hold of you to either
maybe they wanna hire you foryour business. They're like,
wait what what you're doing, ormaybe they wanna get involved
with your nonprofit, whatever itmight be. How would, how would

(54:57):
they do that, and what are someof the ways people could get
could get involved with yournonprofit profit?

Well, I'm sorry. It's getting a hold of me.
Phone, email, text, smokesignal, whatever. Just throw
throw it out there, and I will,I'll be there to answer.

Eric (55:12):
I work in I work in pigeons.

There we go. I'm I haven't had much experience in
those. But if one showed up, I'msure I'd answer it. But, you
know, as far as getting involvedwith, you know, project pearls,
for example, there's many thingsthat can be done. I would highly
recommend, and this is not foreverybody obviously, but, you
know, going out and seeing this,being a part of their feeding

(55:37):
program, for $500 you can feed500 people and be there and be a
part of it and and see it all.
But then at the same time, whenyou're done with that, you can
go have an incredible vacation.7,641 islands is what The
Philippines is comprised of, sothere's just the most beautiful
places there. So you could havea incredible trip. Bring your

(55:59):
family. Bring your kids.
And I brought my son, mydaughter, and my son's
girlfriend to, one of thefeeding programs, and, I mean,
they did wonders for them. Theyreally saw the world for what it
is. So, there's, you know, fromthat, though, to just, you know,
donate money if you can, or likeI said, just reach out. If you

(56:22):
don't know where you fit in, youdon't have a huge amount of
money, you don't have the thewherewithal to to fly 7,000
miles, so then, just reach outto them and or reach out to me,
and I can connect you with thethe founder, Melissa. Melissa,
she's a wonderful woman, andshe'll figure out a way how you
can do something and, be a partof the the greater good.

(56:44):
So

Crystal (56:46):
yeah. I have to say could I say something really
quick? The legacy that you'recreating by bringing your son to
be part of that and having himsee the heart and the
transformation that you aremaking is generational healing.
And so I just encourage peoplelistening to follow that

(57:07):
leadership and include theirchildren in what they're doing
because that expands the legacyof a generation further. So I I
applaud you for that and I Iencourage other people to to do
the same because I can onlyimagine as a teenager seeing
what you've seen and and some ofthose life experience, that

(57:27):
would change the trajectory ofsomeone's life the rest of their
life.

Eric (57:30):
And, also, you know, it builds appreciation for your kid
as well too in that case. And,also, you know, it'll build your
relationship with them becauseyou're doing something with
them, something very productivewith them. And, but, you know, I
think it'll help really helpthem build not, you know, be a
brat and protect right? Orsomething too. Right?

(57:51):
Gives them that appreciation aswell.

I may have gone too far, though, when I did take
him out there. He we spent sometime helping us with the feeding
program, but at the same time,there was a group of dentists
from The US that were doing adental, clinic and going in
basically just, for lack ofbetter term, they're ripping out
teeth, tooth after tooth aftertooth. That's all they were
doing. And they put him in thereworking with the dentist.

Eric (58:17):
Oh, man.

Yeah. So you've seen things. And, it,

Crystal (58:20):
So he brushes

twice a day. His teeth have never been more
healthy. Yeah.

Crystal (58:26):
Well, the lessons come to us in many ways.

They do. Right? Yeah. Some some are harder and
easier than others. Therapy.
Yeah.

Eric (58:34):
That's great.

Crystal (58:35):
We wanna make sure Mark can give you his details, his
phone number or his email.

Gotcha. G2businesssolutions.com. It's
g2-businesssolutions.com is ourwebsite. We do payroll, for
small to midsize business. Youcan reach out to me at
mark@atg2-businesssolutions.comif you're an email person.
You can reach out to me at (760)504-3414 if you're a phone

(59:03):
person or text. But, you know,don't hesitate to reach out if
you have questions or want somedirection or inspiration or if
you are looking for a payrollservice, and that could be your
way of giving back. Knowing thatyou use us for payroll, that
instead of all that money goingto just profits and buying
somebody a new yacht, it's themoney is actually going to, to

(59:26):
help the the greater good, helppeople in need. And that's just
for the record. I do not have ayacht.
So,

Eric (59:32):
But you have

Crystal (59:33):
a school, Leo.

I have a school of us. Yes. But, but yes.

Eric (59:36):
Oh, fantastic. So if you guys got value out of this
episode, this could be a greatepisode to share with a friend,
especially, somebody that islooking to volunteer
potentially. Maybe they haven'treally found what they're
looking for to volunteer in.Maybe maybe, Mark's thing might

(59:59):
be the right fit for them. Butthat is how we grow the show is
by sharing the episode with,with people that that you guys
know.
So, share it with share it withsomebody, and, thank you so much
for listening.

Mark Gleason (01:00:13):
Thank you for having me.

Crystal (01:00:15):
Absolutely. And don't forget to log your single CEU.
We'll see you next time. Thankyou for joining us for the
Business Boost Hour. My name isCrystal Privette, and this is
Eric Beals.
Thank you for joining us, anddon't forget to document your
single CEU. See you next time.

Mark Gleason (01:00:31):
See you in the

Eric (01:00:31):
next episode.

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21. Philanthropy: Transforming Business & Life with Mark Gleason

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