March 3, 2025 • 61 mins
In this episode of Growing Our Future, host Aaron Alejandro sits down with Chip Baker, a dynamic speaker, educator, author, and host of The Success Chronicles. Together, they dive into the power of passion, personal growth, and leadership. Chip shares his inspiring journey from a small-town upbringing to becoming a nationally recognized figure in education and motivation. His story is filled with lessons on perseverance, faith, and the importance of a strong foundation.
Chip’s message is clear—success leaves clues. By learning from others, taking ownership of your actions, and maintaining a strong work ethic, anyone can create a lasting impact. The discussion covers core values, competitive edges, and the importance of staying focused on personal and professional goals.
Story Notes:
• Importance of valuing time and being present
• The role of gratitude in overcoming challenges
• Education as a foundation for character development
• Essential leadership principles: ownership, hard work, and communication
• Encouragement for cultivating a growth mindset
• Discussing the transformational power of mentorship
• The connection between opportunities and outcomes
• The significant impact of storytelling in shaping lives
• Messages of resilience and moving forward amidst adversity
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast.
In this show, the Texas FFAFoundation will take on a
journey of exploration intoagricultural science, education,
leadership development andinsights from subject matter
experts and sponsors who providethe fuel to make dreams come
true.
Here's your host, AaronAlejandro.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, good morning, good afternoon or good evening,
or whenever you may be tuning into the Growing Our Future
podcast.
Hey, we appreciate you stoppingby.
You know there's only one thingwe can do with time is spend it
, and the fact that you'respending a little of your time
with us today, man, weappreciate it.
You know I like to tell peoplein the world of agriculture if
(00:51):
it's taught me anything, it'staught me this If you want to
know what the future is, grow it.
If you want to know what thefuture is, grow it.
Well, to grow something, you gotto plant the right seeds and
you got to make sure you takecare of it.
But getting the right seeds isimportant, and that's what this
show is about.
(01:11):
It's about reaching out andbringing on subject matter
experts, people with strongtestimonies, experiences that
are willing to share and pourinto others.
Today is no different.
I'm excited for today.
I can't wait to hear all theincredible apples of gold we're
going to receive today.
But we're going to get started.
Here we have the SuccessChronicles himself.
(01:32):
Author, writer, speaker, chipBaker.
Chip, thanks for being with ustoday.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Let's go.
Thank you so much for thatintro.
That's exciting, and thank youso much for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Let's go, yes, sir.
Hey, you know we're not eveninto this shit, but I got to
tell you how much I like that.
You know why?
Because I tell people all thetime move.
God does not have a problemhitting a moving target, Just
move.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yes sir, let's get it .
Speaker 2 (02:02):
So we're going to go Okay.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yes, sir, let's get it.
So we're going to go.
Okay, Chip, we start everyepisode the same way.
Every episode, every guest getsthe same question.
That question is this what I'mgrateful for today is the
ability to be here to be able todo this, and what I mean by
that is it's taken a journey forme to get to this place of
(02:38):
where I am today Lots of hardwork, lots of people loving me,
lots of people looking out forme, helping me, lots of growth,
lots of mistakes.
You know it's led me to thisplace and for you to think
enough of me to have me on thisamazing platform.
I'm truly grateful for that,and my hope is that I can give
(02:59):
some gems based off of myexperience that will help others
move more efficiently andeffectively.
So I am grateful to be herewith you doing this.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
All right, we can just stop there.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
That was great.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Great interview that's exactly, though you know
you said something, the reasonwe start every episode with that
, though one of my board membersyou you probably know, know his
dad and know him, but the lateZig Ziglar.
Tom Ziglar is on my board andTom and I talk about this all
the time, about how, when wethink about gratitude, the
(03:36):
emotions that that stir, orhopefulness, encouragement,
they're, they're all positive.
But but when you look at theopposite of gratitude like Tom
was on the East Coast talking tosome college kids and he asked
them what is the opposite ofgratitude?
And he said the answer isentitlement.
And when you go from beinggrateful to saying well, that's
(03:59):
not fair, give that to me,that's mine the attitude changes
.
And so I think when young peopleor educators can start every
day with something that they'reexcited about, that they're
grateful for, that is contagiousto other people.
And I love the way you couchedthat, chip.
I love the way you couched itas you couched it about this
(04:21):
journey that led to today.
I love the quote by oh, I'membarrassing myself because I
was fixing to give you the quoteTony Robbins and I love.
Tony Robbins says success leavesclues.
Yes, and you just said it, whenyou take somebody's journey and
their testimony and what ledthem to where they're at.
(04:42):
Yeah, we see the look at thisguy.
We're looking at this big manhere that's composed, he's
smiling, he's confident.
But I guarantee you there wassome challenges, some storms in
life that came along thatchiseled him into who he is
today.
But if we're smart, we look atthat and we say, okay, success
leaves clues.
So, chip, that's what we'regoing to talk about today.
(05:05):
Okay, if you want to do that,I'd sure like to do that.
So you're very accomplished.
Again, you know we were talkingoff air.
You're a speaker, you're anauthor, you've got the Success
Chronicles.
I mean, your fingerprints arefrom coast to coast.
Something tells me you did notjust fall into that chair coast.
(05:27):
Something tells me you did notjust fall into that chair.
Something tells me that therewas probably something that led
you to where you are today.
Give us a little bit of yourjourney and tell us how did you
get to where you're at today andwhy you do what you do today.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
I love how you set that up.
It gave me chills when you saidthat my fingerprints are coast
to coast and a lot of times,when we are focused in on just
striving to make a differenceand doing the work, we don't get
a chance to take a deep breathand just think about all of
those things you know if you'redoing it the right way, I
(06:04):
believe.
Think about all of those thingsyou know, if you're doing it
the right way, I believe.
And so just to hear that, I'mgrateful for that and grateful
that people have seen the thingsthat I've strived to do to help
others.
And you know, in answering yourquestion, the way I got to this
place where I am currently isbecause there was lots of people
(06:25):
that came before me family,people that I worked with that
looked out for me, people thatI've been blessed to learn from,
that I coached or taught peoplethat I've come across with the
YouTube channel podcast, withthe books writing, and I've
learned so much along my journeyand it's allowed me to be
(06:47):
exactly in this space.
You know my background is I'm afourth generation educator, a
teacher, former coach, blessedand fortunate to be raised by
some great people as well asbeing around some awesome folks
to learn from in my career, andI tell people that I come from a
family of church folk andeducators.
(07:08):
You understand that I did, yeah, yeah, church folk and
educators, and what that meansis you know my family.
We were church people, uh, andmy mother was the minister of
music in our churches, so youknow the church was open.
We were there, for sure, but Isay those things because that
(07:29):
firm foundation, if you will, um, is the firm foundation that's
allowed me to be deeply rootedand grow my future, if you will,
and so that's really been ablessing to me, because I was
taught that it's bigger than me.
It's about giving service, it'sabout striving to help others.
(07:52):
It's about doing the best thatyou can with what you have so
that you can, in turn, use thatto be a blessing to others, and
that's what I've strived to doin my life.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
So walk us through some of that, if you don't mind,
chip.
Walk us through, because thereason I enjoy people's
testimonies is because I believethat God gave that to you for a
reason.
I believe that, potentially,there's going to be one person,
just one, that's going to listento this podcast, that your
testimony was created just forthem.
(08:22):
Yeah, and so when we unpack thata little bit.
Take us back to high school.
What did you do in high school?
Take us through college.
What did that look like?
And then how did you start tocraft this career as an educator
and then branch out into theworld of coaching and personal
enhancement, Walk?
Speaker 3 (08:43):
us through that.
Oh, that is so good.
So high school, if you don'tmind, I'll go back a little bit
further to you know, uh, like Isaid, you know how I was raised,
my mom, raised by a singleparent, mom, my father was in my
life but, you know, from afarmy parents separated, uh, but
great people on both sides of myfamily, both just great people
(09:06):
for me to learn from, and theytaught me so many things by just
, yes, by what they said, butmore so by their actions.
I could see that they justloved people, took care of
people, just tried to be ofservice.
And so my mom had us involvedin lots in high school.
I played four sports for fouryears in high school, was
(09:28):
involved in, you know,extracurricular activities,
groups, clubs, you know, on theschool campus.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Can I interrupt real quick?
Chip, are you from the Houstonarea, is that correct?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
So I am from Hearn, texas, over by Bryan College
Station small town there.
That's where I was raised andthere's just so many great
people in the community too thatI can learn from my pastor just
amazing people to learn fromand so there's lots that I
learned through that sports, allof those things that I didn't
(10:03):
know at the time.
They were things that I wasmade to do.
Like my mom boy, you're goingto work hard, right, you know.
She put the boy in front of it,it's for real.
Like, boy, you're going to workhard.
Anyway, she know my name, shegave me my name, but when she
put the boy in front of it, ohman, it's for real.
Now, boy, you gonna work hard,right.
(10:25):
So, but just, you know justsome core common principles.
You know work hard, do right,treat people right, put yourself
around the right people.
You know these were things thatI was made to do, that that I
didn't know at the time that itwas instilling discipline in me.
I didn't know that it wasputting transferable skills in
(10:47):
me that I would be able to takeand use those for the rest of my
life.
Okay, so I didn't know that.
So from there I had anopportunity to go to West Texas
A&M University, where I playedfootball there, and so I'm still
figuring those things out,right.
And so, different environment,same principles, right, boy,
(11:08):
you're going to work hard,you're going to do that.
You know, work hard, do right,treat people right, put yourself
around good people, take careof your business Right.
And so I did that.
Played college football, got mydegree again, was blessed to be
around some amazing people,teammates actually that I still
(11:30):
communicate with daily.
I actually like four of themtoday in a group message, you
know, just about an hour ago.
You know just coaches that I'mstill in contact with.
A couple of my coaches havebeen in my books, just great
people along that journey andand what it did for me, um, is
(11:51):
it showed me that, okay, nowI've worked hard to develop
something that I can take anduse that to help others, and so
out coming out of college, youknow, my aspiration was to be a
teacher, coach.
Love sports, love helpingothers.
Fourth generation, you know,third, I didn't know I was going
(12:13):
to be.
Well, I knew, yeah, but goinginto it, I would be a fourth
generation educator, right?
So just my family lineage.
The legacy piece of that is thelegacy piece of that and, uh,
going into it you know youtalked about it gave me chills
when you asked the question ofif there was one person that
need to hear my testimony.
Because my personal goal tomyself coming out of college was
(12:37):
if I could just make a positiveimpact in the life of one
person, I would feel that mycareer and my life would be
fulfilled because of that.
And so, 25 years later, youknow that I think it's been
maybe a couple more than one,hopefully.
(12:58):
But in striving to do that,I've also learned that this is
good.
Right here, I've also learnedthat it's life changing to
change lives.
Come on, well, how good is that, oh my God.
And so, in striving to be ofservice and do those things to
(13:20):
help others, it made atremendous impact on my life,
right, those things to helpothers.
It made a tremendous impact onmy life, right, it allowed me to
be humble because of myupbringing, because of the
things that I learned, becauseof the things that I was blessed
to see, but it also allowed meto be hungry, to want to achieve
more.
I spell hungry when I say itlike that, not H-U-N-G-O, but
like four O's.
(13:41):
Right, it makes you be humbleand hungry to be able to do more
and help more, and so that hasbeen my journey.
I didn't talk much about mycareer or you know the other
things, but but I believe thatfirm foundation when we have a
(14:02):
firm foundation, we learn togrow, and it's solid and it
allows us to weather any stormthat we're faced in our life.
And, like you said earlier, ohyeah, that's been lots of
challenges that I've faced in mylife.
It's been lots of things thatI've made mistakes on, but what
(14:23):
happens is, you know, as you, onthe other side of our toughest
challenges is our maximum growth.
Let me give you that one again.
Do it again.
Hey, on the on the other sideof our toughest challenges is
our maximum growth.
And so when you get anopportunity to experience, when
(14:45):
you're blessed, when you get toexperience those challenges,
what happens is you get betterequipped to handle those
challenges Right.
And so now in my life, I'm likecome on sucker, come on
challenges, let's go.
I'm ready, because I know thatI will be better for having to
grow through those challenges,Because I know that I will be
(15:06):
better for having to growthrough those challenges.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Wow, Chip, this is exactly why I wanted to do this
podcast, by the way.
Yes, sir, Because bringingguests on and letting them share
.
If you listen and, by the way,I tell the kids all the time you
listen with your eyes and yourears, so learn to listen.
I tell the kids all the timeyou listen with your eyes and
(15:31):
your ears, so learn to listen.
I said listen.
Already you've given us values.
Yes, sir, You've given us faith.
You've given us discipline.
You've given us grit.
Yeah, You've given us service,servanthood, servant leadership,
pouring into others.
And I mean we're just gettingstarted and I'm sitting here
just listening, going.
(15:51):
Okay, you know, I don't know ifyou've ever had a chance to hear
him, but next to Chip Baker, hemay be one of the best speakers
I've ever heard, but anothergood friend of mine he just
spoke recently at the GlobalLeadership Summit is a gentleman
out of Worcester Ohio named DanOwolabi, and if you're not
familiar with Dan and Dan'sstory, you need to take it upon
(16:14):
yourself to hear the man.
I will Be in his presence andlet him pour his testimony into
you.
But Dan challenged people atthe summit the other day.
He asked this question.
He said how many of you workhard?
And everybody raised, he goes,how many of y'all work really
hard?
And he was like you, he'sbringing it and the crowd's
(16:36):
getting into it.
And he said how many of youwant your work to matter?
And that got everybody stoppingand thinking.
He said then how many of you askyourself what is my legacy?
Yep, and he said at this point,right here, he said I'm glad
you're here because, if that'sthe question you're asking, you
(16:57):
came to the right place becauseyou're asking the wrong question
.
Question is not what is ourlegacy, the question is who is
our legacy?
And then he talked about thequote from Ernest Hemingway,
where Ernest Hemingway said thathumans go through two deaths.
(17:18):
The first death is the deaththat takes place the day they
lay our bodies in the ground,and the second death is the day
that the last person speaks ourname and at that point you're
forgotten forever.
Wow, so when we think aboutlegacy and we think about what
you just said, it's lifechanging to change lives.
(17:42):
Yes, sir.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
That is legacy.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
That is, living a legacy by design, as Tom Ziegler
says.
You know you're going to allleave a legacy.
You're either going to leave itby design or default.
But when you become intentionaland it sounds like you became
intentional very young in yourcareer, in your life you became
very intentional about wantingto be a positive influence to
(18:09):
the people around you, and Isuspect that that came with
criticism at times.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Yes, it's um, I definitely uh have been
intentional.
I think the big man has hasblessed me with, with, um, the
ability to have some sense.
Boy, here we go, here we go,boy, boy, boy, act like you got
(18:39):
some sense, you know.
Uh, yeah, I think the big manhas allowed me, uh, the ability
to be able to focus in on what'simportant and keep the main
thing the main thing and notworry about the things that are
not important.
And I kind of credit some ofthat to my mother too, raising
(18:59):
me to be an independent thinker,you know, and not be so
concerned about what people haveto say about what I do, because
really it's none of theirbusiness with what I'm doing,
right, unless they're enhancingit, unless they've proven to me
that they are creditable, that Ineed to probably listen to what
(19:22):
they're saying, but not to getcaught up in worrying about what
other people think about whatyou do.
The biggest thing is what doyou think about what you're
doing?
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Boy Dan Ovalabi had another one along those lines.
He said people are going tothink what they think.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
I'm not going to tell you his testimony.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Chip, I want you to get to it and you watch it.
But he said people are going tothink what they think, was it
Winston Churchill?
Churchill said you'll never getanywhere if you stop to throw
rocks at every barking dog and Iwas.
You know you do a lot of youthstuff.
I was doing some youth.
I do some youth stuff too.
I was at an event not too longago and a girl asked me a pretty
(20:06):
I could tell it was a prettytough question for her.
She said how do you deal withnegativity?
She says how do you deal withpeople that throw sharp jabs and
negative comments?
And you could comments and youcould tell.
You could tell under thesurface that there was something
going on.
And so I listened to her andthen I said can I ask you a
question?
(20:27):
and she said sure, I said, is ittrue?
And it was that moment ofreflection where she said no.
And I said then, quit lettingit take up space in your head.
Well, it don't matter, it don'tjust like you just said, it
doesn't matter, people are goingto think what they think.
(20:49):
You're just going to have tomove on.
Stay focused, like a good race,just Just stay focused on the
finish line.
Jump the hurdles, dodge theponds, you know, avoid the
snakes, look out for the wolves,but stay focused.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
Yeah, you know, I did an interview with someone, a
superintendent, earlier todayand her definition of success
was running your race at yourpace.
Running your race at your paceand I thought that was so good
because, you know, when we justfocus in on our race and stay in
(21:34):
our lane and do the best thatwe can do with our technique and
our speed and our knee driveand our hand placement, all of
those things, those technicalthings that we can relate to the
technical things in life, or wejust stay in our lane and run
our race.
What will happen is we'll findout.
They're in first place.
(21:57):
Come on right like hey, howgood is that wow how good is
that how?
Speaker 2 (22:06):
how many people mess up by looking around sometimes.
Yes, you know, I'm a city boy.
I grew up and I grew up in the,got transplanted into the
country and I remember one timethey had me on a tractor.
Now I grew up at a boy's ranch.
So I was kind of a troubled kidand I grew up at a boy's ranch.
(22:31):
Matter of fact, up there whereyou were at, at Cal Farley's
outside of Amherst oh yeah, I'mout there at the boy's ranch.
One time and I remember they putme on a tractor and I said what
do I do Ranch?
One time and I remember theyput me on a tractor and I said
what do I do?
And they said you just takethat tractor to that marker down
there and you turn, you comeback to this next marker and you
go back to the next marker.
I said I think I can handlethat.
But see, the problem is, likeyou said, we worked hard.
And because I worked hard, I wasnow sitting in the cab of a
(22:53):
really nice, air-conditioned,cool tractor and so with the
humming of the motor Ieventually took a little nap and
I caught myself and when Ilooked up I realized I was about
10 feet off of where my targetis.
So I naturally kind of pulledthe tractor back over to the
target.
Well then, instead of stayingfocused on the goal, I wanted to
(23:16):
see how bad I messed up.
So I turned to see how bad Imessed up, and when I did I
found out that my neck bonesconnected to my arm bone, and
when I turned my head I pulledit off track again.
God gave me that lesson that dayto teach me we're going to mess
up.
We need to learn from that messit up, but stay focused on the
(23:40):
prize.
Like you said, stay focused.
Persistence I've got realsimple philosophies in life
Consistency creates credibilityand persistence breaks
resistance.
Just be consistent, Just bepersistent.
Just be consistent, Just bepersistent.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
And there's no telling what you can accomplish
if you just stay focused.
And now you're talking aboutlanguage consistency and
persistency.
You know we mentioned legacyearlier.
I think for me and I've hadpeople say this, so that's why
it brought it to my attention Ididn't realize it, but I think
(24:25):
for me, the thing that people Iwould be grateful if people had
this to say about me and mylegacy is that Chip Baker's
consistent I know what I'm goingto get from Chip Baker.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Every time I like that.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
And so, like for me, I work hard at being consistent.
I want people to know whatthey're going to get from me.
I want people to know that theycan depend on me.
If you ask me to do something,I'm going to go above and beyond
to do that.
I'm going to give you more thanwhat you asked me for.
If you hire me for something,you ain't got to worry about
(25:06):
Chip Baker, because he's goingto do his job above and beyond
Right, and so consistency is thekey, I believe.
And, just like you said, inorder to be consistent, you have
to be persistent, becausesometimes you may not feel like
it.
(25:26):
And then you have to operate inprinciples over feelings, come
on, and when you operate inprinciples over feelings, then
you have no regrets.
But if it's the opposite, ifyou operate in feelings over
principles, then you haveregrets at the end of the day.
(25:47):
And so you have to have thoseprinciples in place.
You have to be persistent withpursuing those principles that
you believe in, and what Ibelieve and I've seen in my life
, is that it allows you to haveconsistency in your life.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
You know, golly, this is good stuff.
People can find these littlenuggets of wisdom in so many
different ways.
I know people that have foundthem in band and drama and
athletics.
I was just.
Mine was agriculture, mine wasFFA, yes.
So I had a guy ask me one timeyou'll like this?
(26:24):
I had a guy ask me one time.
He said Aaron, he goes.
You guys in FFA and 4-H, youact like you have a lock on
leadership.
You act like nobody else doeswhat y'all do.
He said doesn't band teachensemble?
He said doesn't UIL ensemble?
He said doesn't UIL teachspeech and debate?
Doesn't athletics teachteamwork?
He said what is it that youthink y'all do that nobody else
(26:45):
does?
And I looked at him.
I said you know that's a goodquestion.
Anybody knows me knows I likegood questions.
At that moment, by the way, Isaid a little prayer because I
believe James 1, 5, where Godsays ask God, he'll give wisdom
to any man without castingjudgment.
So at that point I need alittle wisdom.
So I said God, give me wisdombecause I want to get this right
(27:07):
.
And I looked at the guy and Isaid I'm going to answer your
question two ways.
I said before I took the jobthat I'm in now.
I used to work in a boot camp.
I worked with truant offendersand I worked in a prison.
And one day, outside of a smalltown, I was talking to these
guys in the coffee shop you knowwhere they come and cuss and
discuss what's wrong with thiscountry.
And they were cussing anddiscussing.
They told me that, alejandro,to get this country back on
(27:27):
track, we got to get back to thebasics the three R's.
I said okay.
They said reading, writing,arithmetic.
And I'm like, all right, I'mlistening.
I said, gentlemen, I mean you,no disrespect, but I work with
boot camp kids, truant offendersand prisoners, and every one of
them can read, write and domath at a functional level.
I said, but you're right aboutthe three R's, but it's not
(27:50):
reading, writing and arithmetic.
I said I would argue, it'srespect, responsibility and
resiliency.
I said I think those would bethings that we ought to be
putting in our lives to get ourkids back on track.
But I looked at that guy and Isaid I'll tell you what
separates our kids fromeverybody else.
This goes to your point, Chip.
(28:10):
There was a blizzard blowing inon the Texas Panhandle and my
dorm parent, Mr Chandler, gaveme a sledgehammer and he said,
darling, I need you to drive tothe other side of the ranch and
bust the water trough for thehorses.
I said, Mr Chandler, I don'twant to go.
There's a blizzard out there.
It feels like a razor cuttingthrough your skin and I'll never
forget that man in his oldcountry wisdom.
(28:31):
He said, darling, do you getthirsty when it's cold?
I said yes, sir.
He said don't you think thosehorses are going to get thirsty
too?
I said yes, sir.
I drove five miles that day andI busted the water trough for
the horses.
I looked at this guy in FortWorth, Texas.
I said I'll tell you whatseparates our kids from
everybody else.
Because in the world ofagriculture, if we don't do our
(28:54):
job, something dies.
If we don't feed it, we don'tclothe it, we don't nurture it,
something dies.
And when it dies, an economydies.
And when an economy dies, asociety dies.
And, Chip, when you said thatyou've got to have these inborn
(29:14):
traits that you carry with youthrough life, those foundational
concepts that grow your future,I was so thankful that I got
put in an environment where Ilearned early on that something
depended on me, not for a socialsetting, it depended on me for
(29:37):
its own survival.
But that instinct then began toshow in everything that, oh, I
got to go to work today.
I've got to show up today.
I've got to take responsibilitytoday I got to figure that out.
Today I got a problem solved.
Today I've got to criticallythink about something today.
(29:59):
But to your point, thosefoundational things that we
teach our kids, that they canlearn, that they can carry with
them for a lifetime, may be thevery concepts that open doors of
opportunity for them.
Speaker 3 (30:16):
Without a doubt, without a doubt, without a doubt
, and it continues to open doorsfor others, because I believe
opened opened doors opens doors.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
Amen, brother, we're going to talk about that here in
just a minute.
Amen, all right.
So, all right.
So let me couch it.
I'm going to keep going herecouching something a little bit
different here.
I love asking the kids thisquestion, and teachers, you may
get this one right.
Do you happen to know how manyhigh schools are in the state of
Texas?
I do not.
Speaker 3 (30:49):
Okay, a bunch there you go All right.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
So the answer is there's over 3000 high schools
in the state of Texas.
Now let that sink in for asecond.
Every one of those schools thisyear are going to have a
graduating class.
That means there's going to bekids from all over the state of
Texas getting out this year.
They're going to be looking fora job scholarship or an
(31:17):
opportunity of Texas.
Getting out this year they'regoing to be looking for a job
scholarship or an opportunity.
And so my question to the kidsis what's your competitive edge?
What separates you fromeverybody else?
I think a competitive edge.
For some people it can be afirm handshake.
It can be looking somebody inthe eye and saying yes or no,
sir, yes, ma'am, no ma'am.
(31:37):
You know little things canbecome a competitive edge.
But, chip, you've seen thecountry, you've seen young
people, you've seen educators,you've seen coaches, you've seen
business leaders.
I'm curious what in your worlddo you see are things that give
(31:57):
young people, educators, acompetitive edge?
Speaker 3 (32:04):
I mean, I think you know short answer.
All of those things that wetalked about is the core, common
principles that we teach andinstill.
You know, every person has togo through a teacher.
I mean like, like, let that letthat sink in for a minute,
(32:25):
right.
Every person in this world let'sgo bigger than the high schools
in the state of texas everyperson in this world has to go
through multiple teachers intheir life, and just that shows
the importance of what it isthat teachers do and why
(32:50):
teachers should be intentionaleach moment of each day with
what they do.
And so in life, in everythingis a competition.
I mean, you know, likeeverything in life is a
competition, but you know, wecan, we can look at the all of
the other stuff, but really themost important competition is
(33:13):
the competition with yourself,you versus you.
Competition is the competitionwith yourself, you versus you.
But I think that when we canteach that to the students, I
believe that it builds aconfidence within them to help
them compete better, right, andit helps them to compete and to
(33:33):
have continuous growth and havegrit and never give up, because
in that what they do is theylearn that it's not winning and
losing, it's winning andlearning.
If you have the proper mindset,all right.
And so we can learn from everysituation that we're faced when
(33:58):
we compete.
And I believe also that we haveto support those students,
those kids that are doing greatthings, because it means the
world to them to know that theyhave people supporting them, not
just saying, hey, you got tocompete, but no, I'm going to
teach you how to compete andthen I'm going to show up and
watch you compete, right, but?
(34:18):
But no, I'm going to teach youhow to compete and then I'm
going to show up and watch youcompete, and then you know if
you make a mistake.
I want to help you get betteron that mistake so that you can
compete better, because you'regoing to face that same thing
again in your life, right, right?
So now I want you to be moreequipped when you see it again,
right, and it helps, right, andit helps.
(34:39):
I believe that it helps themstay on the right track because
they know that they have peopledepending on them, they know
that they have people that aresupporting them.
They know that they have peoplethat's in the race, in the
fight with them to becompetitive.
And I can say all of thosethings because I'm a product of
that.
And I can say all of thosethings because I'm a product of
(35:00):
that.
I'm a product of a whole lot ofteachers and people going above
and beyond to help me, and Ijust say, chip, you messed up on
this.
But hey, chip, you know thiswas a mistake.
But hey, let me show you how todo this.
Right is right.
You know I'm thinking about.
You know I struggle with math.
(35:20):
You know growing up, and I canpretty much go through and tell
you all of my math teachers thatI've had from elementary school
to college by name, because Iknow the work that they put in
to help me.
They stayed after, they wentabove and beyond, they checked
for understanding with me, likethey really helped me and it
built confidence in me.
I know now, when I got tocollege, some of those
(35:41):
professors like man here hecomes again asking me questions,
like you know, they may havegotten tired of seeing me, but
at that time I had built up mycompetitive edge, if you will.
And so I knew that, beyond ashadow of a doubt, I had an
opportunity to go to college, toso I can pursue my college
degree, so that I could playcollege football, so that I can
(36:02):
get a degree and get out andhelp my family and help others.
I knew that a shadow of a doubt.
I was intentional.
I was not going to fail thismath class.
I'm going to compete and dowhatever it takes for me these
math classes that it's requiredfor me to take.
No, I'm passing these.
No, I'm going to put the workin.
Whatever I got to do, I'mpassing these.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
I hope everybody's listening right now.
Yeah, because what you'retalking about, chip, is what I
call want to Mm-hmm and I gotnews for you.
Want to can be a competitiveedge.
Yes.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Mm news for you want to can be a competitive edge.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
Yes, and you had a lot of want to yes, sir, and
that one who?
Was grounded in a lot ofaccountability.
By the way, being somebodyholding you accountable is a
good thing.
If somebody's holding youaccountable, that means they
obviously recognize somethingspecial in you that means they
care about you I.
I used to tell the boot campkids all the time I said anybody
that cares about you will neverlet you off the hook.
Speaker 3 (37:04):
So good, so true.
I said, you know the kids.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
One time I was a single dad, Chip, you'll
appreciate this.
I was a single dad and I'd takemy four-year-old and
six-year-old to the boot campwith me.
Well, they'd get to know thosekids and they're just kids,
right.
They don't understand thatthose are kids, are in trouble
or anything.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
They're just kids.
Speaker 2 (37:22):
So anyway, I remember one time, you know, they got
really close to my kids and theyloved them and I loved all you
know we all got along well.
And I remember one time I askedhim I said have y'all've been
to the Kmart?
I said they got those rides outin front of the Kmart.
(37:43):
And I said, you know, everytime we get out of the car, my
kids boy, they're ready to go tothose rides.
And so I got one in one handand one in the other, but they
want to pull away, they want torun across, they want to run to
get to those rides.
And I'd asked the boot camp kids.
I said what do y'all think Idid?
Do you think I'll let them go?
And they said no, sir.
I said why not?
Well, because they could gethit.
Somebody could take them, theymight fall, they might hurt
(38:03):
themselves, they might get upthere and fall off the ride.
I said so y'all think that Iheld on to them because I care
about them.
They said yes, sir.
I said okay, don't forget thatthe next time your parents ask
you where you go and what areyou doing, where are you going
to be?
They're like oh man, I saidanybody that cares about.
(38:23):
You'll never let you off thehook so good you just gotta let
it sink in.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
That is so good, that's so good all right, we're
gonna.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
We're gonna talk about some other things here in
a second.
I want to talk leadership for asecond.
Yes, sir, yes, we got a lot ofkids.
You met one today, maddiewilson and her brother's up at
at wt, wt, yes I went to school.
Speaker 3 (38:49):
yeah, I was a Shout out to the Wilsons Great family,
great people.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
Good people.
Speaker 3 (38:54):
Good people yes sir.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
So we got a bunch of those that are going to be
listening.
They're going to be looking forleadership skills.
Leadership skills.
Now I know we've covered corevalues.
We've covered things thatbecome instinctive want-tos.
We've talked about grit,covered things that become
instinctive want-tos.
We've talked about grit.
I believe that in life, chip,you do the only thing you know
(39:23):
how to do.
If you don't learn somethingnew, you will default to the
only thing you know.
You will parent, the only wayyou know how to parent.
You will be in relationship,the only way you know how to.
You will only default to theonly thing you know.
But here's what I havediscovered.
I've discovered this that mostpeople want to be in charge of
their lives.
So if we give them a skill,chip, they're in charge.
So let's give them some skills.
(39:46):
I want to know from asuccessful person like yourself
what would be three skills thatif you could tell a young person
, put this place in your life,educator, put this in place in
your life.
What would be those skills?
Speaker 3 (40:01):
I think I'm going to put it in a big ball.
It'll be three things, but it'sgoing to be in a big ball.
But the big ball, the core ofthe ball, the thing that
surrounds it, the membrane ofthe ball, is taking ownership
Right.
And sometimes in our life, thetoughest ship for us to navigate
(40:23):
is ownership Right, and so whatwe have to do is make sure that
we take ownership for ouractions, and I think that that's
the, that's the core ofeverything.
But within that, you know thethree things within the
ownership piece, I think thefirst is hard work.
(40:45):
Hard work works Right, and soyou have to put in hard work,
get comfortable with beinguncomfortable, do things that
stretch yourself, put yourselfin position to where you're
continuously challenged, Becausewhat happens is you develop the
(41:09):
muscles to get better andstronger, if you will Right.
So hard work is the first thing.
The second thing, I think, isgreat communication, and we have
to make sure that wecommunicate effectively, and
there's a number of things thatfall under that for me, I think,
yes, communicating with thepeople around you, because that
(41:30):
shows respect, that shows wantto, that shows that you care
right, that shows that you'regiving effort, uh, but then also
the communication with yourselfhas to be positive as well.
You know, you have to thinkpositive thoughts, you have to
have um positive self-talk, ifyou will, because what you think
(41:53):
inwardly it portrays outwardly.
That makes sense, yes, sir.
So great communication is thesecond thing.
And then the third thing, Ibelieve, is having a growth
mindset, and there's alwaysopportunity for us to learn and
grow.
And I think when we have thatgrowth mindset and not a fixed
(42:15):
mindset, there's always room forus to get better, because when
we're fixed on our mindset,there's people that's improving
around us.
We don't get better, we staystagnant, we stay in the same
place.
And so first, just to repeat it, ownership is the core of
(42:36):
leadership, and then under thatyou have to have hard work, you
have to have great communicationand you have to have a growth
mindset.
Speaker 2 (42:47):
I love it.
You know, again, I'm an ag guy,so now I compare everything to
agriculture.
So, yes, sir, you know, whenyou're green, you grow.
When you're ripe, you're right.
So, like you said, we want tobe growing all the time.
I mean, I'm 58 years old andpeople know that I'm always
looking.
What can we do different?
(43:08):
What can we do that challengesourselves, what can we do that
stretches us and makes us better?
Uh, I thrive on ideas.
My staff, everybody that workswith me, knows that if we're not
thinking about something ordoing something, I go stir crazy
because I thrive.
I thrive on movement.
I love when you said let's go.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
Yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
I think that everybody ought to have a a desk
plate on their desk that saysdo something, just move, just
move.
Speaker 3 (43:37):
Baby god does not have a problem hitting a moving
target, just move yeah, and Ieven like to say you may have
heard me say this before go getit, go get it yes, that's it I
did hear you say as a matter offact, we didn talk about that.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
But where you and I first met was with James McClam
and the Igniting Next Generation, and that's when I remember you
talked about that.
Yes, sir, that's right, that'swhen I said I got to get that
guy on this podcast.
I want to get some of that.
That was good, so I'm going togo get it.
Speaker 3 (44:09):
Go get it baby, so I'm going to go get it.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
Go get it, baby.
So one of the things that yousaid that I really like and I'm
going to share this with youbecause I like what you said.
On a personal note, I grew upin a broken home.
Mom and dad divorced when I wassix.
My dad died when I was 10.
I remember I came home fromschool one day and there was my
mom at home.
She shouldn't have been homeand I went to the back of the
(44:37):
house and opened up her bedroomdoor and there was my mom on her
knees at the foot of her bedwith tears coming down her
cheeks because we had nothing toeat, and she was wailing out to
God.
She said God, will you pleasejust bring my son something.
Please bring us some food,please, lord, bring us
(45:02):
sustenance.
But the words that I neverforgot was, she said God.
She said God, please, please,give my son an opportunity.
Now, fast forward, years laterin my life, my oldest son his
name is Chandler, after the guythat raised me at Boys Ranch
we're working in an orphanage inChihuahua, mexico, and I asked
the lady that ran the orphanage.
(45:23):
I said sister, what can we helpyou with?
Do you need food, clothing,medicine, money, sister, what is
your prayer for these children?
And she said, sir, I just praythat these children have an
opportunity.
I tell the adults all the timeour job, our job as adults, our
(45:45):
job is to create opportunities.
The students, your job is todetermine the outcomes.
We create the opportunities.
We're going to give you everytool we can give you to get you
there.
The students, your job is todetermine the outcomes.
We create the opportunities.
We're going to give you everytool we can give you to get you
there.
But when we get there, guesswhat?
You've got to determine theoutcome.
My oldest son going back to whatyou said earlier, my oldest son
(46:06):
was in fourth grade.
It was bring your daddy toschool day.
What does your daddy do?
Now?
I live in a community that'sgot NATO pilots and we got
doctors and lawyers and collegeprofessors and teachers and
nurses and really some cool jobs.
And we got me.
I'm a professional fundraiser.
You know what am I going totell them?
I'm a professional beggar.
I ask for money.
(46:27):
That's what I do.
And I remember I went up to theboard that day and I thought
about you, chip, when you saidthis earlier.
But I went up to the board thatday and I drew a little bitty
door and I asked the fourthgraders.
I said how many of y'all couldget through that door?
And they said no, sir.
(46:47):
And then I drew a really bigdoor, took almost the whole
whiteboard and I said now howmany of y'all can get through
that door?
And they said yes, sir.
I said that's what I do.
I make doors bigger.
I want more kids to get throughthat door of opportunity.
(47:15):
As you said, it's life-changingto change lives.
God blessed you with a lot ofreally good stability, faith
that God knew that you weregoing to be purposeful in
sharing that with others.
God gave me some challenges,but I tell people all the time,
chip, I said if you want a placethat never rains, I'll take you
(47:37):
there.
It exists.
I can take you to a place thatit never rains.
It's called a desert andnothing grows.
But you show me somebody that'shad a little rain, somebody
that's got all the stuff thatyou talked about today grit,
determination and values.
I'll show you somebody that'spoised for growth.
Speaker 3 (48:05):
So you kicked us off well, it's life changing to
change lives sir, I love that,um, all of that that you talked
about, and it gave me chillsjust to hear like chill written
like it still kind of chills onmy arm now because of that and
(48:29):
it's it's that way, because I'mreflecting on all of the people
that have created opportunitiesfor me my life but then set me
up to be successful, to createthe outcome of greatness Right,
(48:51):
and so I'm truly grateful forthat.
And what that has done issparked a fire within me to give
everything I got, but everyfiber of me to give that to
those people that I'm blessed tobe around every moment of every
(49:14):
day is serious to me.
I'm intentional about it.
It means something to me becauseI know what it feels like to
receive that and so, um, I havea quote that I always, and so,
(49:37):
um, I have a quote that I alwayssay and I have have it on the
shirt as well that opportunitiesbring opportunities.
I'm gonna give you this story.
It's one of my favorite storiesthat I love to share when I
speak, um, and I strive toswitch the story sometime, but
it's so good that I have tocontinue to share it.
So, growing up, I've shared alittle bit.
(50:00):
Growing up, I was taught somefirm foundation core principles
that you know to believe in andoperate by Work hard, do right,
treat people right, put, putyourself around great people,
take care of your business right.
And so I saw the work that myfamily did, how they did it, and
my goal was to do those thingsto hopefully make them proud.
(50:23):
And what I didn't know, what Ididn't know in doing those
things, is that people around mesaw that right.
And so, um, I had this, mylittle league baseball coach,
who was also my elementaryschool principal, who also ended
(50:46):
up being a superintendent, uh,in my town, in in my school
district.
Great man.
I wanted to grow up to be justlike him.
Right, he smiled, the way hecarried himself, the way he
treated people.
I wanted to grow up to be justlike him and so, like I said,
(51:07):
little did I know people sawthose things that I did.
So, fast forward, I'm a brokecollege kid graduating from West
Texas A&M University.
I apply for this job.
Oh, this is where it gets good.
I apply for this job in ConroeIndependent School District.
At this junior high, theprincipal, you know, I guess he
(51:28):
looks on my resume and seeswhere I'm from in my hometown
and comes to find out that thatguy from my hometown my prince,
that principal knew him.
So he calls that principal.
He says, hey, come on, I gotthis Chip Baker kid applying for
a job here at my school.
(51:49):
Tell me a little bit about him.
And he goes on to say, hey, ohman, he's a great guy.
He's going to work hard, he'sgoing to do things the right way
, he's going to treat peopleright, he's going to take care
of his business.
You should give that guy anopportunity, man, he'll be an
asset to your team.
And so that principal decidedto give me an opportunity my
(52:15):
very first teaching and coachingjob.
I got my very first teachingand coaching job off of the
person that I was as a kid.
Wow, wait a minute, like holdon, wait a minute.
I don't know if they called it.
It was my very first teachingand coaching job, so I had no
experience and, I'm sure, myvery first teaching and coaching
(52:35):
job.
So I had no experience and I'msure, I'm very sure that there
were more people that appliedfor that job, that were probably
more qualified than me, but Igot the opportunity.
And what that means to yourlisteners, to the people that's
checking this out, is you haveto understand that opportunities
bring opportunities.
It's important for us to beintentional and be in the
(52:56):
moments, with the moments thatwe are blessed to have, because
magic moments make magicmemories.
Right People will give youopportunities.
If you show that you'recompetent and you are serious
about the opportunity that youhave right now, like it don't
matter how little or how big itis.
(53:18):
Like, if you're intentional andyou show up and go above and
beyond to give people more thanwhat they're asking for, I'm
telling you, opportunities willcome for you.
You don't have to seek for them, they will find you right and
it will blow you away, uh, withthe opportunities that you will
have just because of that andI'm not just saying that like
(53:41):
I've lived that, so I can saythat to you right, like I'm in
the midst of living that I'mblown away right, like I, I
wouldn't be on this podcast, beinterviewed on this podcast, if
opportunities didn't bringopportunities.
Speaker 2 (54:03):
Oh man, there is so much that you just shared, chip,
so much.
Number one I hope people heardthat somebody's always watching.
Yes, sir, pay attention to whathe just that.
Somebody's always watching.
Yes, sir, pay attention to whathe just said.
Somebody's always watching.
Opportunities createopportunities.
I like to say success begetssuccess.
Same thing Opportunities createopportunities.
(54:24):
You know and I've never sharedthis on the podcast Anytime,
chip, till right now, when yousaid it I got to thinking about
it.
Did you know?
I've never applied for a job,right, I'm 58 years old and I've
never applied for a job.
That's from out of high schoolinto college to this day.
And it's exactly what you justsaid.
It is, you know, one ofeverybody that knows me, chip,
(54:48):
whether you're on my Instagram,linkedin and, by the way, you're
really good on LinkedIn, itdoesn't matter where, but
everybody knows that my handleis liveyourbrand.
I believe that what you share,what you post, what you comment
on, what you engage in, thattells me who you are.
That tells me that's your brand.
That's how I get to know you.
(55:11):
And when you said that, it justbrought chills to me, chip,
because I thought if more youngpeople could hear that message
of discipline, of pay attention.
People are watching you.
They may be the person thatopens that door to that
opportunity for you, that opensthe door to a million dollar
(55:34):
project.
Yeah, live your brand.
Consistency creates credibility.
Persistence breaks resistancealways be growing.
Think, think about everything.
Think about all that has beenshared today.
Speaker 3 (55:59):
That's some good stuff, it's all right.
It's all right, let's go getsome.
Let's go get it, let's go getit All right, Chip.
Speaker 2 (56:10):
I hate to wrap up, but we do.
I keep these between 30 and 45minutes.
By the way, Chip, not only doesthis podcast go across all
platforms, but there's a companyin Lubbock, Texas, called ICEB,
and they provide onlinecurriculum across the United
States.
They carry our podcast on theirplatform and there's a lesson
plan that goes with it, so I'vegot a staff member that will
(56:33):
write a lesson plan.
Cassie Monfer will write alesson plan for this podcast.
It'll go nationwide.
So if any teachers are lookingfor a sub or looking for
something for their class orseeds of greatness or growing
the future, they can tune in andhear Chip Baker share his
incredible journey and story andwe'll give them a lesson plan
(56:55):
and it's all good.
Speaker 3 (56:57):
That's so good, that's so good.
Thank you so much for having me.
I consider it an honor and aprivilege to be here with you,
love the work that you're doing,love how you've done what
you've done over the years, andso I'm just honored to have the
opportunity to hang out.
Speaker 2 (57:14):
Hey, we're going to hang out more.
By the way, every guest getsone last question.
It's a fun question, so here'syour fun question.
Let's go.
What's the best concert you'veever been to?
Speaker 3 (57:29):
Man, that is good.
The best concert that I've everbeen to.
Oh man, and I love music too.
I love it, let me hear it.
Oh man, let me think on that.
That's, that's pretty good,because, uh, because, I love, I
love music, I think, probablythe best concert that I've been
(57:56):
to.
I don't know, I'm an R&B head,so I've been to the concert with
112, silk Key Sweat no DrewHill, the like 112 silk key
(58:22):
sweat no drew drew hill theywere all at the same venue, uh,
and so, like it was, it waspretty cool.
Speaker 2 (58:26):
I've got, let me tell you something, doing.
This podcast is the coolestthing.
I asked that question.
I've got everything from keithsweat to metallica to pit bull,
to yeah, you know, tom ziegler'sis the greatest showman.
I mean, we've got the wholegame.
I think that's what the beautyof asking that question, yeah,
is the fact that everybody hassomething that brings them joy
(58:48):
everybody has something thattouches their, their cords yes,
sir, you know I was uh also,just the experience is probably.
Speaker 3 (58:57):
I was at cowell field for george straight oh yeah
yeah, that was.
That was just probably the bestexperience, was probably that
king george.
Speaker 2 (59:07):
I mean, I get it.
He's pretty popular when I askthat question what's your best
concert?
All righty Well, ladies andgentlemen, thank you again for
joining us.
Chip, thanks so much.
I knew again.
When I met you at the Ignitingthe Next Generation conference,
I knew that this was a podcastthat I really wanted, and you
(59:28):
did not disappoint.
I'm sitting here, I'm lookingat a page full of notes of what
I need to be doing.
You know just, and it all comesdown to legacy and, like Dan
said, it's who's our legacy, andwhen you take that on, it's
life changing to change lives.
How good is that?
(59:48):
How good is that?
How good is that?
How good is that?
So, again, thank you forjoining us.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank youagain for stopping by and
joining us for the Growing OurFuture podcast.
Like we said at the verybeginning, if agriculture has
taught me anything, it's taughtme.
If you want to know what thefuture is, grow it.
Listen to what happened today.
(01:00:09):
Some incredible seeds ofgreatness were put out there for
us to take hold of.
Plant them, nurture them.
We put you in charge.
You want to be in charge ofyour life.
You're in charge.
We gave you the skill.
Skip Chip gave you the skill.
He gave us the tools.
Plant them and grow thatincredible future.
(01:00:29):
Until our paths cross again,everybody go out and do
something great for somebodyelse.
You'll feel good about it andguess what?
In the process we might justmake our communities, our state
and our country, maybe even ourworld, a better place to live,
work and raise our families.
Until we meet again, everybodybe safe.
Speaker 1 (01:00:57):
We hope you've enjoyed this episode of the
Growing Our Future podcast.
This show is sponsored by theTexas FFA Foundation, whose
mission is to strengthenagricultural science education
so students can develop theirpotential for personal growth,
career success and leadership ina global marketplace.
Speaker 2 (01:01:17):
Learn more at mytexasffaorg.
Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast.
In this show, the Texas FFAFoundation will take on a
journey of exploration intoagricultural science, education,
leadership development andinsights from subject matter
experts and sponsors who providethe fuel to make dreams come
true.
Here's your host, AaronAlejandro.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, good morning, good afternoon or good evening,
or whenever you may be tuning into the Growing Our Future
podcast.
Hey, we appreciate you stoppingby.
You know there's only one thingwe can do with time is spend it
, and the fact that you'respending a little of your time
with us today, man, weappreciate it.
You know I like to tell peoplein the world of agriculture if
(00:51):
it's taught me anything, it'staught me this If you want to
know what the future is, grow it.
If you want to know what thefuture is, grow it.
Well, to grow something, you gotto plant the right seeds and
you got to make sure you takecare of it.
But getting the right seeds isimportant, and that's what this
show is about.
(01:11):
It's about reaching out andbringing on subject matter
experts, people with strongtestimonies, experiences that
are willing to share and pourinto others.
Today is no different.
I'm excited for today.
I can't wait to hear all theincredible apples of gold we're
going to receive today.
But we're going to get started.
Here we have the SuccessChronicles himself.
(01:32):
Author, writer, speaker, chipBaker.
Chip, thanks for being with ustoday.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Let's go.
Thank you so much for thatintro.
That's exciting, and thank youso much for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Let's go, yes, sir.
Hey, you know we're not eveninto this shit, but I got to
tell you how much I like that.
You know why?
Because I tell people all thetime move.
God does not have a problemhitting a moving target, Just
move.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yes sir, let's get it .
Speaker 2 (02:02):
So we're going to go Okay.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yes, sir, let's get it.
So we're going to go.
Okay, Chip, we start everyepisode the same way.
Every episode, every guest getsthe same question.
That question is this what I'mgrateful for today is the
ability to be here to be able todo this, and what I mean by
that is it's taken a journey forme to get to this place of
(02:38):
where I am today Lots of hardwork, lots of people loving me,
lots of people looking out forme, helping me, lots of growth,
lots of mistakes.
You know it's led me to thisplace and for you to think
enough of me to have me on thisamazing platform.
I'm truly grateful for that,and my hope is that I can give
(02:59):
some gems based off of myexperience that will help others
move more efficiently andeffectively.
So I am grateful to be herewith you doing this.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
All right, we can just stop there.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
That was great.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Great interview that's exactly, though you know
you said something, the reasonwe start every episode with that
, though one of my board membersyou you probably know, know his
dad and know him, but the lateZig Ziglar.
Tom Ziglar is on my board andTom and I talk about this all
the time, about how, when wethink about gratitude, the
(03:36):
emotions that that stir, orhopefulness, encouragement,
they're, they're all positive.
But but when you look at theopposite of gratitude like Tom
was on the East Coast talking tosome college kids and he asked
them what is the opposite ofgratitude?
And he said the answer isentitlement.
And when you go from beinggrateful to saying well, that's
(03:59):
not fair, give that to me,that's mine the attitude changes
.
And so I think when young peopleor educators can start every
day with something that they'reexcited about, that they're
grateful for, that is contagiousto other people.
And I love the way you couchedthat, chip.
I love the way you couched itas you couched it about this
(04:21):
journey that led to today.
I love the quote by oh, I'membarrassing myself because I
was fixing to give you the quoteTony Robbins and I love.
Tony Robbins says success leavesclues.
Yes, and you just said it, whenyou take somebody's journey and
their testimony and what ledthem to where they're at.
(04:42):
Yeah, we see the look at thisguy.
We're looking at this big manhere that's composed, he's
smiling, he's confident.
But I guarantee you there wassome challenges, some storms in
life that came along thatchiseled him into who he is
today.
But if we're smart, we look atthat and we say, okay, success
leaves clues.
So, chip, that's what we'regoing to talk about today.
(05:05):
Okay, if you want to do that,I'd sure like to do that.
So you're very accomplished.
Again, you know we were talkingoff air.
You're a speaker, you're anauthor, you've got the Success
Chronicles.
I mean, your fingerprints arefrom coast to coast.
Something tells me you did notjust fall into that chair coast.
(05:27):
Something tells me you did notjust fall into that chair.
Something tells me that therewas probably something that led
you to where you are today.
Give us a little bit of yourjourney and tell us how did you
get to where you're at today andwhy you do what you do today.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
I love how you set that up.
It gave me chills when you saidthat my fingerprints are coast
to coast and a lot of times,when we are focused in on just
striving to make a differenceand doing the work, we don't get
a chance to take a deep breathand just think about all of
those things you know if you'redoing it the right way, I
(06:04):
believe.
Think about all of those thingsyou know, if you're doing it
the right way, I believe.
And so just to hear that, I'mgrateful for that and grateful
that people have seen the thingsthat I've strived to do to help
others.
And you know, in answering yourquestion, the way I got to this
place where I am currently isbecause there was lots of people
(06:25):
that came before me family,people that I worked with that
looked out for me, people thatI've been blessed to learn from,
that I coached or taught peoplethat I've come across with the
YouTube channel podcast, withthe books writing, and I've
learned so much along my journeyand it's allowed me to be
(06:47):
exactly in this space.
You know my background is I'm afourth generation educator, a
teacher, former coach, blessedand fortunate to be raised by
some great people as well asbeing around some awesome folks
to learn from in my career, andI tell people that I come from a
family of church folk andeducators.
(07:08):
You understand that I did, yeah, yeah, church folk and
educators, and what that meansis you know my family.
We were church people, uh, andmy mother was the minister of
music in our churches, so youknow the church was open.
We were there, for sure, but Isay those things because that
(07:29):
firm foundation, if you will, um, is the firm foundation that's
allowed me to be deeply rootedand grow my future, if you will,
and so that's really been ablessing to me, because I was
taught that it's bigger than me.
It's about giving service, it'sabout striving to help others.
(07:52):
It's about doing the best thatyou can with what you have so
that you can, in turn, use thatto be a blessing to others, and
that's what I've strived to doin my life.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
So walk us through some of that, if you don't mind,
chip.
Walk us through, because thereason I enjoy people's
testimonies is because I believethat God gave that to you for a
reason.
I believe that, potentially,there's going to be one person,
just one, that's going to listento this podcast, that your
testimony was created just forthem.
(08:22):
Yeah, and so when we unpack thata little bit.
Take us back to high school.
What did you do in high school?
Take us through college.
What did that look like?
And then how did you start tocraft this career as an educator
and then branch out into theworld of coaching and personal
enhancement, Walk?
Speaker 3 (08:43):
us through that.
Oh, that is so good.
So high school, if you don'tmind, I'll go back a little bit
further to you know, uh, like Isaid, you know how I was raised,
my mom, raised by a singleparent, mom, my father was in my
life but, you know, from afarmy parents separated, uh, but
great people on both sides of myfamily, both just great people
(09:06):
for me to learn from, and theytaught me so many things by just
, yes, by what they said, butmore so by their actions.
I could see that they justloved people, took care of
people, just tried to be ofservice.
And so my mom had us involvedin lots in high school.
I played four sports for fouryears in high school, was
(09:28):
involved in, you know,extracurricular activities,
groups, clubs, you know, on theschool campus.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Can I interrupt real quick?
Chip, are you from the Houstonarea, is that correct?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
So I am from Hearn, texas, over by Bryan College
Station small town there.
That's where I was raised andthere's just so many great
people in the community too thatI can learn from my pastor just
amazing people to learn fromand so there's lots that I
learned through that sports, allof those things that I didn't
(10:03):
know at the time.
They were things that I wasmade to do.
Like my mom boy, you're goingto work hard, right, you know.
She put the boy in front of it,it's for real.
Like, boy, you're going to workhard.
Anyway, she know my name, shegave me my name, but when she
put the boy in front of it, ohman, it's for real.
Now, boy, you gonna work hard,right.
(10:25):
So, but just, you know justsome core common principles.
You know work hard, do right,treat people right, put yourself
around the right people.
You know these were things thatI was made to do, that that I
didn't know at the time that itwas instilling discipline in me.
I didn't know that it wasputting transferable skills in
(10:47):
me that I would be able to takeand use those for the rest of my
life.
Okay, so I didn't know that.
So from there I had anopportunity to go to West Texas
A&M University, where I playedfootball there, and so I'm still
figuring those things out,right.
And so, different environment,same principles, right, boy,
(11:08):
you're going to work hard,you're going to do that.
You know, work hard, do right,treat people right, put yourself
around good people, take careof your business Right.
And so I did that.
Played college football, got mydegree again, was blessed to be
around some amazing people,teammates actually that I still
(11:30):
communicate with daily.
I actually like four of themtoday in a group message, you
know, just about an hour ago.
You know just coaches that I'mstill in contact with.
A couple of my coaches havebeen in my books, just great
people along that journey andand what it did for me, um, is
(11:51):
it showed me that, okay, nowI've worked hard to develop
something that I can take anduse that to help others, and so
out coming out of college, youknow, my aspiration was to be a
teacher, coach.
Love sports, love helpingothers.
Fourth generation, you know,third, I didn't know I was going
(12:13):
to be.
Well, I knew, yeah, but goinginto it, I would be a fourth
generation educator, right?
So just my family lineage.
The legacy piece of that is thelegacy piece of that and, uh,
going into it you know youtalked about it gave me chills
when you asked the question ofif there was one person that
need to hear my testimony.
Because my personal goal tomyself coming out of college was
(12:37):
if I could just make a positiveimpact in the life of one
person, I would feel that mycareer and my life would be
fulfilled because of that.
And so, 25 years later, youknow that I think it's been
maybe a couple more than one,hopefully.
(12:58):
But in striving to do that,I've also learned that this is
good.
Right here, I've also learnedthat it's life changing to
change lives.
Come on, well, how good is that, oh my God.
And so, in striving to be ofservice and do those things to
(13:20):
help others, it made atremendous impact on my life,
right, those things to helpothers.
It made a tremendous impact onmy life, right, it allowed me to
be humble because of myupbringing, because of the
things that I learned, becauseof the things that I was blessed
to see, but it also allowed meto be hungry, to want to achieve
more.
I spell hungry when I say itlike that, not H-U-N-G-O, but
like four O's.
(13:41):
Right, it makes you be humbleand hungry to be able to do more
and help more, and so that hasbeen my journey.
I didn't talk much about mycareer or you know the other
things, but but I believe thatfirm foundation when we have a
(14:02):
firm foundation, we learn togrow, and it's solid and it
allows us to weather any stormthat we're faced in our life.
And, like you said earlier, ohyeah, that's been lots of
challenges that I've faced in mylife.
It's been lots of things thatI've made mistakes on, but what
(14:23):
happens is, you know, as you, onthe other side of our toughest
challenges is our maximum growth.
Let me give you that one again.
Do it again.
Hey, on the on the other sideof our toughest challenges is
our maximum growth.
And so when you get anopportunity to experience, when
(14:45):
you're blessed, when you get toexperience those challenges,
what happens is you get betterequipped to handle those
challenges Right.
And so now in my life, I'm likecome on sucker, come on
challenges, let's go.
I'm ready, because I know thatI will be better for having to
grow through those challenges,Because I know that I will be
(15:06):
better for having to growthrough those challenges.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Wow, Chip, this is exactly why I wanted to do this
podcast, by the way.
Yes, sir, Because bringingguests on and letting them share
.
If you listen and, by the way,I tell the kids all the time you
listen with your eyes and yourears, so learn to listen.
I tell the kids all the timeyou listen with your eyes and
(15:31):
your ears, so learn to listen.
I said listen.
Already you've given us values.
Yes, sir, You've given us faith.
You've given us discipline.
You've given us grit.
Yeah, You've given us service,servanthood, servant leadership,
pouring into others.
And I mean we're just gettingstarted and I'm sitting here
just listening, going.
(15:51):
Okay, you know, I don't know ifyou've ever had a chance to hear
him, but next to Chip Baker, hemay be one of the best speakers
I've ever heard, but anothergood friend of mine he just
spoke recently at the GlobalLeadership Summit is a gentleman
out of Worcester Ohio named DanOwolabi, and if you're not
familiar with Dan and Dan'sstory, you need to take it upon
(16:14):
yourself to hear the man.
I will Be in his presence andlet him pour his testimony into
you.
But Dan challenged people atthe summit the other day.
He asked this question.
He said how many of you workhard?
And everybody raised, he goes,how many of y'all work really
hard?
And he was like you, he'sbringing it and the crowd's
(16:36):
getting into it.
And he said how many of youwant your work to matter?
And that got everybody stoppingand thinking.
He said then how many of you askyourself what is my legacy?
Yep, and he said at this point,right here, he said I'm glad
you're here because, if that'sthe question you're asking, you
(16:57):
came to the right place becauseyou're asking the wrong question
.
Question is not what is ourlegacy, the question is who is
our legacy?
And then he talked about thequote from Ernest Hemingway,
where Ernest Hemingway said thathumans go through two deaths.
(17:18):
The first death is the deaththat takes place the day they
lay our bodies in the ground,and the second death is the day
that the last person speaks ourname and at that point you're
forgotten forever.
Wow, so when we think aboutlegacy and we think about what
you just said, it's lifechanging to change lives.
(17:42):
Yes, sir.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
That is legacy.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
That is, living a legacy by design, as Tom Ziegler
says.
You know you're going to allleave a legacy.
You're either going to leave itby design or default.
But when you become intentionaland it sounds like you became
intentional very young in yourcareer, in your life you became
very intentional about wantingto be a positive influence to
(18:09):
the people around you, and Isuspect that that came with
criticism at times.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Yes, it's um, I definitely uh have been
intentional.
I think the big man has hasblessed me with, with, um, the
ability to have some sense.
Boy, here we go, here we go,boy, boy, boy, act like you got
(18:39):
some sense, you know.
Uh, yeah, I think the big manhas allowed me, uh, the ability
to be able to focus in on what'simportant and keep the main
thing the main thing and notworry about the things that are
not important.
And I kind of credit some ofthat to my mother too, raising
(18:59):
me to be an independent thinker,you know, and not be so
concerned about what people haveto say about what I do, because
really it's none of theirbusiness with what I'm doing,
right, unless they're enhancingit, unless they've proven to me
that they are creditable, that Ineed to probably listen to what
(19:22):
they're saying, but not to getcaught up in worrying about what
other people think about whatyou do.
The biggest thing is what doyou think about what you're
doing?
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Boy Dan Ovalabi had another one along those lines.
He said people are going tothink what they think.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
I'm not going to tell you his testimony.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Chip, I want you to get to it and you watch it.
But he said people are going tothink what they think, was it
Winston Churchill?
Churchill said you'll never getanywhere if you stop to throw
rocks at every barking dog and Iwas.
You know you do a lot of youthstuff.
I was doing some youth.
I do some youth stuff too.
I was at an event not too longago and a girl asked me a pretty
(20:06):
I could tell it was a prettytough question for her.
She said how do you deal withnegativity?
She says how do you deal withpeople that throw sharp jabs and
negative comments?
And you could comments and youcould tell.
You could tell under thesurface that there was something
going on.
And so I listened to her andthen I said can I ask you a
question?
(20:27):
and she said sure, I said, is ittrue?
And it was that moment ofreflection where she said no.
And I said then, quit lettingit take up space in your head.
Well, it don't matter, it don'tjust like you just said, it
doesn't matter, people are goingto think what they think.
(20:49):
You're just going to have tomove on.
Stay focused, like a good race,just Just stay focused on the
finish line.
Jump the hurdles, dodge theponds, you know, avoid the
snakes, look out for the wolves,but stay focused.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
Yeah, you know, I did an interview with someone, a
superintendent, earlier todayand her definition of success
was running your race at yourpace.
Running your race at your paceand I thought that was so good
because, you know, when we justfocus in on our race and stay in
(21:34):
our lane and do the best thatwe can do with our technique and
our speed and our knee driveand our hand placement, all of
those things, those technicalthings that we can relate to the
technical things in life, or wejust stay in our lane and run
our race.
What will happen is we'll findout.
They're in first place.
(21:57):
Come on right like hey, howgood is that wow how good is
that how?
Speaker 2 (22:06):
how many people mess up by looking around sometimes.
Yes, you know, I'm a city boy.
I grew up and I grew up in the,got transplanted into the
country and I remember one timethey had me on a tractor.
Now I grew up at a boy's ranch.
So I was kind of a troubled kidand I grew up at a boy's ranch.
(22:31):
Matter of fact, up there whereyou were at, at Cal Farley's
outside of Amherst oh yeah, I'mout there at the boy's ranch.
One time and I remember they putme on a tractor and I said what
do I do Ranch?
One time and I remember theyput me on a tractor and I said
what do I do?
And they said you just takethat tractor to that marker down
there and you turn, you comeback to this next marker and you
go back to the next marker.
I said I think I can handlethat.
But see, the problem is, likeyou said, we worked hard.
And because I worked hard, I wasnow sitting in the cab of a
(22:53):
really nice, air-conditioned,cool tractor and so with the
humming of the motor Ieventually took a little nap and
I caught myself and when Ilooked up I realized I was about
10 feet off of where my targetis.
So I naturally kind of pulledthe tractor back over to the
target.
Well then, instead of stayingfocused on the goal, I wanted to
(23:16):
see how bad I messed up.
So I turned to see how bad Imessed up, and when I did I
found out that my neck bonesconnected to my arm bone, and
when I turned my head I pulledit off track again.
God gave me that lesson that dayto teach me we're going to mess
up.
We need to learn from that messit up, but stay focused on the
(23:40):
prize.
Like you said, stay focused.
Persistence I've got realsimple philosophies in life
Consistency creates credibilityand persistence breaks
resistance.
Just be consistent, Just bepersistent.
Just be consistent, Just bepersistent.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
And there's no telling what you can accomplish
if you just stay focused.
And now you're talking aboutlanguage consistency and
persistency.
You know we mentioned legacyearlier.
I think for me and I've hadpeople say this, so that's why
it brought it to my attention Ididn't realize it, but I think
(24:25):
for me, the thing that people Iwould be grateful if people had
this to say about me and mylegacy is that Chip Baker's
consistent I know what I'm goingto get from Chip Baker.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Every time I like that.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
And so, like for me, I work hard at being consistent.
I want people to know whatthey're going to get from me.
I want people to know that theycan depend on me.
If you ask me to do something,I'm going to go above and beyond
to do that.
I'm going to give you more thanwhat you asked me for.
If you hire me for something,you ain't got to worry about
(25:06):
Chip Baker, because he's goingto do his job above and beyond
Right, and so consistency is thekey, I believe.
And, just like you said, inorder to be consistent, you have
to be persistent, becausesometimes you may not feel like
it.
(25:26):
And then you have to operate inprinciples over feelings, come
on, and when you operate inprinciples over feelings, then
you have no regrets.
But if it's the opposite, ifyou operate in feelings over
principles, then you haveregrets at the end of the day.
(25:47):
And so you have to have thoseprinciples in place.
You have to be persistent withpursuing those principles that
you believe in, and what Ibelieve and I've seen in my life
, is that it allows you to haveconsistency in your life.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
You know, golly, this is good stuff.
People can find these littlenuggets of wisdom in so many
different ways.
I know people that have foundthem in band and drama and
athletics.
I was just.
Mine was agriculture, mine wasFFA, yes.
So I had a guy ask me one timeyou'll like this?
(26:24):
I had a guy ask me one time.
He said Aaron, he goes.
You guys in FFA and 4-H, youact like you have a lock on
leadership.
You act like nobody else doeswhat y'all do.
He said doesn't band teachensemble?
He said doesn't UIL ensemble?
He said doesn't UIL teachspeech and debate?
Doesn't athletics teachteamwork?
He said what is it that youthink y'all do that nobody else
(26:45):
does?
And I looked at him.
I said you know that's a goodquestion.
Anybody knows me knows I likegood questions.
At that moment, by the way, Isaid a little prayer because I
believe James 1, 5, where Godsays ask God, he'll give wisdom
to any man without castingjudgment.
So at that point I need alittle wisdom.
So I said God, give me wisdombecause I want to get this right
(27:07):
.
And I looked at the guy and Isaid I'm going to answer your
question two ways.
I said before I took the jobthat I'm in now.
I used to work in a boot camp.
I worked with truant offendersand I worked in a prison.
And one day, outside of a smalltown, I was talking to these
guys in the coffee shop you knowwhere they come and cuss and
discuss what's wrong with thiscountry.
And they were cussing anddiscussing.
They told me that, alejandro,to get this country back on
(27:27):
track, we got to get back to thebasics the three R's.
I said okay.
They said reading, writing,arithmetic.
And I'm like, all right, I'mlistening.
I said, gentlemen, I mean you,no disrespect, but I work with
boot camp kids, truant offendersand prisoners, and every one of
them can read, write and domath at a functional level.
I said, but you're right aboutthe three R's, but it's not
(27:50):
reading, writing and arithmetic.
I said I would argue, it'srespect, responsibility and
resiliency.
I said I think those would bethings that we ought to be
putting in our lives to get ourkids back on track.
But I looked at that guy and Isaid I'll tell you what
separates our kids fromeverybody else.
This goes to your point, Chip.
(28:10):
There was a blizzard blowing inon the Texas Panhandle and my
dorm parent, Mr Chandler, gaveme a sledgehammer and he said,
darling, I need you to drive tothe other side of the ranch and
bust the water trough for thehorses.
I said, Mr Chandler, I don'twant to go.
There's a blizzard out there.
It feels like a razor cuttingthrough your skin and I'll never
forget that man in his oldcountry wisdom.
(28:31):
He said, darling, do you getthirsty when it's cold?
I said yes, sir.
He said don't you think thosehorses are going to get thirsty
too?
I said yes, sir.
I drove five miles that day andI busted the water trough for
the horses.
I looked at this guy in FortWorth, Texas.
I said I'll tell you whatseparates our kids from
everybody else.
Because in the world ofagriculture, if we don't do our
(28:54):
job, something dies.
If we don't feed it, we don'tclothe it, we don't nurture it,
something dies.
And when it dies, an economydies.
And when an economy dies, asociety dies.
And, Chip, when you said thatyou've got to have these inborn
(29:14):
traits that you carry with youthrough life, those foundational
concepts that grow your future,I was so thankful that I got
put in an environment where Ilearned early on that something
depended on me, not for a socialsetting, it depended on me for
(29:37):
its own survival.
But that instinct then began toshow in everything that, oh, I
got to go to work today.
I've got to show up today.
I've got to take responsibilitytoday I got to figure that out.
Today I got a problem solved.
Today I've got to criticallythink about something today.
(29:59):
But to your point, thosefoundational things that we
teach our kids, that they canlearn, that they can carry with
them for a lifetime, may be thevery concepts that open doors of
opportunity for them.
Speaker 3 (30:16):
Without a doubt, without a doubt, without a doubt
, and it continues to open doorsfor others, because I believe
opened opened doors opens doors.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
Amen, brother, we're going to talk about that here in
just a minute.
Amen, all right.
So, all right.
So let me couch it.
I'm going to keep going herecouching something a little bit
different here.
I love asking the kids thisquestion, and teachers, you may
get this one right.
Do you happen to know how manyhigh schools are in the state of
Texas?
I do not.
Speaker 3 (30:49):
Okay, a bunch there you go All right.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
So the answer is there's over 3000 high schools
in the state of Texas.
Now let that sink in for asecond.
Every one of those schools thisyear are going to have a
graduating class.
That means there's going to bekids from all over the state of
Texas getting out this year.
They're going to be looking fora job scholarship or an
(31:17):
opportunity of Texas.
Getting out this year they'regoing to be looking for a job
scholarship or an opportunity.
And so my question to the kidsis what's your competitive edge?
What separates you fromeverybody else?
I think a competitive edge.
For some people it can be afirm handshake.
It can be looking somebody inthe eye and saying yes or no,
sir, yes, ma'am, no ma'am.
(31:37):
You know little things canbecome a competitive edge.
But, chip, you've seen thecountry, you've seen young
people, you've seen educators,you've seen coaches, you've seen
business leaders.
I'm curious what in your worlddo you see are things that give
(31:57):
young people, educators, acompetitive edge?
Speaker 3 (32:04):
I mean, I think you know short answer.
All of those things that wetalked about is the core, common
principles that we teach andinstill.
You know, every person has togo through a teacher.
I mean like, like, let that letthat sink in for a minute,
(32:25):
right.
Every person in this world let'sgo bigger than the high schools
in the state of texas everyperson in this world has to go
through multiple teachers intheir life, and just that shows
the importance of what it isthat teachers do and why
(32:50):
teachers should be intentionaleach moment of each day with
what they do.
And so in life, in everythingis a competition.
I mean, you know, likeeverything in life is a
competition, but you know, wecan, we can look at the all of
the other stuff, but really themost important competition is
(33:13):
the competition with yourself,you versus you.
Competition is the competitionwith yourself, you versus you.
But I think that when we canteach that to the students, I
believe that it builds aconfidence within them to help
them compete better, right, andit helps them to compete and to
(33:33):
have continuous growth and havegrit and never give up, because
in that what they do is theylearn that it's not winning and
losing, it's winning andlearning.
If you have the proper mindset,all right.
And so we can learn from everysituation that we're faced when
(33:58):
we compete.
And I believe also that we haveto support those students,
those kids that are doing greatthings, because it means the
world to them to know that theyhave people supporting them, not
just saying, hey, you got tocompete, but no, I'm going to
teach you how to compete andthen I'm going to show up and
watch you compete, right, but?
(34:18):
But no, I'm going to teach youhow to compete and then I'm
going to show up and watch youcompete, and then you know if
you make a mistake.
I want to help you get betteron that mistake so that you can
compete better, because you'regoing to face that same thing
again in your life, right, right?
So now I want you to be moreequipped when you see it again,
right, and it helps, right, andit helps.
(34:39):
I believe that it helps themstay on the right track because
they know that they have peopledepending on them, they know
that they have people that aresupporting them.
They know that they have peoplethat's in the race, in the
fight with them to becompetitive.
And I can say all of thosethings because I'm a product of
that.
And I can say all of thosethings because I'm a product of
(35:00):
that.
I'm a product of a whole lot ofteachers and people going above
and beyond to help me, and Ijust say, chip, you messed up on
this.
But hey, chip, you know thiswas a mistake.
But hey, let me show you how todo this.
Right is right.
You know I'm thinking about.
You know I struggle with math.
(35:20):
You know growing up, and I canpretty much go through and tell
you all of my math teachers thatI've had from elementary school
to college by name, because Iknow the work that they put in
to help me.
They stayed after, they wentabove and beyond, they checked
for understanding with me, likethey really helped me and it
built confidence in me.
I know now, when I got tocollege, some of those
(35:41):
professors like man here hecomes again asking me questions,
like you know, they may havegotten tired of seeing me, but
at that time I had built up mycompetitive edge, if you will.
And so I knew that, beyond ashadow of a doubt, I had an
opportunity to go to college, toso I can pursue my college
degree, so that I could playcollege football, so that I can
(36:02):
get a degree and get out andhelp my family and help others.
I knew that a shadow of a doubt.
I was intentional.
I was not going to fail thismath class.
I'm going to compete and dowhatever it takes for me these
math classes that it's requiredfor me to take.
No, I'm passing these.
No, I'm going to put the workin.
Whatever I got to do, I'mpassing these.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
I hope everybody's listening right now.
Yeah, because what you'retalking about, chip, is what I
call want to Mm-hmm and I gotnews for you.
Want to can be a competitiveedge.
Yes.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Mm news for you want to can be a competitive edge.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
Yes, and you had a lot of want to yes, sir, and
that one who?
Was grounded in a lot ofaccountability.
By the way, being somebodyholding you accountable is a
good thing.
If somebody's holding youaccountable, that means they
obviously recognize somethingspecial in you that means they
care about you I.
I used to tell the boot campkids all the time I said anybody
that cares about you will neverlet you off the hook.
Speaker 3 (37:04):
So good, so true.
I said, you know the kids.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
One time I was a single dad, Chip, you'll
appreciate this.
I was a single dad and I'd takemy four-year-old and
six-year-old to the boot campwith me.
Well, they'd get to know thosekids and they're just kids,
right.
They don't understand thatthose are kids, are in trouble
or anything.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
They're just kids.
Speaker 2 (37:22):
So anyway, I remember one time, you know, they got
really close to my kids and theyloved them and I loved all you
know we all got along well.
And I remember one time I askedhim I said have y'all've been
to the Kmart?
I said they got those rides outin front of the Kmart.
(37:43):
And I said, you know, everytime we get out of the car, my
kids boy, they're ready to go tothose rides.
And so I got one in one handand one in the other, but they
want to pull away, they want torun across, they want to run to
get to those rides.
And I'd asked the boot camp kids.
I said what do y'all think Idid?
Do you think I'll let them go?
And they said no, sir.
I said why not?
Well, because they could gethit.
Somebody could take them, theymight fall, they might hurt
(38:03):
themselves, they might get upthere and fall off the ride.
I said so y'all think that Iheld on to them because I care
about them.
They said yes, sir.
I said okay, don't forget thatthe next time your parents ask
you where you go and what areyou doing, where are you going
to be?
They're like oh man, I saidanybody that cares about.
(38:23):
You'll never let you off thehook so good you just gotta let
it sink in.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
That is so good, that's so good all right, we're
gonna.
Speaker 2 (38:37):
We're gonna talk about some other things here in
a second.
I want to talk leadership for asecond.
Yes, sir, yes, we got a lot ofkids.
You met one today, maddiewilson and her brother's up at
at wt, wt, yes I went to school.
Speaker 3 (38:49):
yeah, I was a Shout out to the Wilsons Great family,
great people.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
Good people.
Speaker 3 (38:54):
Good people yes sir.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
So we got a bunch of those that are going to be
listening.
They're going to be looking forleadership skills.
Leadership skills.
Now I know we've covered corevalues.
We've covered things thatbecome instinctive want-tos.
We've talked about grit,covered things that become
instinctive want-tos.
We've talked about grit.
I believe that in life, chip,you do the only thing you know
(39:23):
how to do.
If you don't learn somethingnew, you will default to the
only thing you know.
You will parent, the only wayyou know how to parent.
You will be in relationship,the only way you know how to.
You will only default to theonly thing you know.
But here's what I havediscovered.
I've discovered this that mostpeople want to be in charge of
their lives.
So if we give them a skill,chip, they're in charge.
So let's give them some skills.
(39:46):
I want to know from asuccessful person like yourself
what would be three skills thatif you could tell a young person
, put this place in your life,educator, put this in place in
your life.
What would be those skills?
Speaker 3 (40:01):
I think I'm going to put it in a big ball.
It'll be three things, but it'sgoing to be in a big ball.
But the big ball, the core ofthe ball, the thing that
surrounds it, the membrane ofthe ball, is taking ownership
Right.
And sometimes in our life, thetoughest ship for us to navigate
(40:23):
is ownership Right, and so whatwe have to do is make sure that
we take ownership for ouractions, and I think that that's
the, that's the core ofeverything.
But within that, you know thethree things within the
ownership piece, I think thefirst is hard work.
(40:45):
Hard work works Right, and soyou have to put in hard work,
get comfortable with beinguncomfortable, do things that
stretch yourself, put yourselfin position to where you're
continuously challenged, Becausewhat happens is you develop the
(41:09):
muscles to get better andstronger, if you will Right.
So hard work is the first thing.
The second thing, I think, isgreat communication, and we have
to make sure that wecommunicate effectively, and
there's a number of things thatfall under that for me, I think,
yes, communicating with thepeople around you, because that
(41:30):
shows respect, that shows wantto, that shows that you care
right, that shows that you'regiving effort, uh, but then also
the communication with yourselfhas to be positive as well.
You know, you have to thinkpositive thoughts, you have to
have um positive self-talk, ifyou will, because what you think
(41:53):
inwardly it portrays outwardly.
That makes sense, yes, sir.
So great communication is thesecond thing.
And then the third thing, Ibelieve, is having a growth
mindset, and there's alwaysopportunity for us to learn and
grow.
And I think when we have thatgrowth mindset and not a fixed
(42:15):
mindset, there's always room forus to get better, because when
we're fixed on our mindset,there's people that's improving
around us.
We don't get better, we staystagnant, we stay in the same
place.
And so first, just to repeat it, ownership is the core of
(42:36):
leadership, and then under thatyou have to have hard work, you
have to have great communicationand you have to have a growth
mindset.
Speaker 2 (42:47):
I love it.
You know, again, I'm an ag guy,so now I compare everything to
agriculture.
So, yes, sir, you know, whenyou're green, you grow.
When you're ripe, you're right.
So, like you said, we want tobe growing all the time.
I mean, I'm 58 years old andpeople know that I'm always
looking.
What can we do different?
(43:08):
What can we do that challengesourselves, what can we do that
stretches us and makes us better?
Uh, I thrive on ideas.
My staff, everybody that workswith me, knows that if we're not
thinking about something ordoing something, I go stir crazy
because I thrive.
I thrive on movement.
I love when you said let's go.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
Yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
I think that everybody ought to have a a desk
plate on their desk that saysdo something, just move, just
move.
Speaker 3 (43:37):
Baby god does not have a problem hitting a moving
target, just move yeah, and Ieven like to say you may have
heard me say this before go getit, go get it yes, that's it I
did hear you say as a matter offact, we didn talk about that.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
But where you and I first met was with James McClam
and the Igniting Next Generation, and that's when I remember you
talked about that.
Yes, sir, that's right, that'swhen I said I got to get that
guy on this podcast.
I want to get some of that.
That was good, so I'm going togo get it.
Speaker 3 (44:09):
Go get it baby, so I'm going to go get it.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
Go get it, baby.
So one of the things that yousaid that I really like and I'm
going to share this with youbecause I like what you said.
On a personal note, I grew upin a broken home.
Mom and dad divorced when I wassix.
My dad died when I was 10.
I remember I came home fromschool one day and there was my
mom at home.
She shouldn't have been homeand I went to the back of the
(44:37):
house and opened up her bedroomdoor and there was my mom on her
knees at the foot of her bedwith tears coming down her
cheeks because we had nothing toeat, and she was wailing out to
God.
She said God, will you pleasejust bring my son something.
Please bring us some food,please, lord, bring us
(45:02):
sustenance.
But the words that I neverforgot was, she said God.
She said God, please, please,give my son an opportunity.
Now, fast forward, years laterin my life, my oldest son his
name is Chandler, after the guythat raised me at Boys Ranch
we're working in an orphanage inChihuahua, mexico, and I asked
the lady that ran the orphanage.
(45:23):
I said sister, what can we helpyou with?
Do you need food, clothing,medicine, money, sister, what is
your prayer for these children?
And she said, sir, I just praythat these children have an
opportunity.
I tell the adults all the timeour job, our job as adults, our
(45:45):
job is to create opportunities.
The students, your job is todetermine the outcomes.
We create the opportunities.
We're going to give you everytool we can give you to get you
there.
The students, your job is todetermine the outcomes.
We create the opportunities.
We're going to give you everytool we can give you to get you
there.
But when we get there, guesswhat?
You've got to determine theoutcome.
My oldest son going back to whatyou said earlier, my oldest son
(46:06):
was in fourth grade.
It was bring your daddy toschool day.
What does your daddy do?
Now?
I live in a community that'sgot NATO pilots and we got
doctors and lawyers and collegeprofessors and teachers and
nurses and really some cool jobs.
And we got me.
I'm a professional fundraiser.
You know what am I going totell them?
I'm a professional beggar.
I ask for money.
(46:27):
That's what I do.
And I remember I went up to theboard that day and I thought
about you, chip, when you saidthis earlier.
But I went up to the board thatday and I drew a little bitty
door and I asked the fourthgraders.
I said how many of y'all couldget through that door?
And they said no, sir.
(46:47):
And then I drew a really bigdoor, took almost the whole
whiteboard and I said now howmany of y'all can get through
that door?
And they said yes, sir.
I said that's what I do.
I make doors bigger.
I want more kids to get throughthat door of opportunity.
(47:15):
As you said, it's life-changingto change lives.
God blessed you with a lot ofreally good stability, faith
that God knew that you weregoing to be purposeful in
sharing that with others.
God gave me some challenges,but I tell people all the time,
chip, I said if you want a placethat never rains, I'll take you
(47:37):
there.
It exists.
I can take you to a place thatit never rains.
It's called a desert andnothing grows.
But you show me somebody that'shad a little rain, somebody
that's got all the stuff thatyou talked about today grit,
determination and values.
I'll show you somebody that'spoised for growth.
Speaker 3 (48:05):
So you kicked us off well, it's life changing to
change lives sir, I love that,um, all of that that you talked
about, and it gave me chillsjust to hear like chill written
like it still kind of chills onmy arm now because of that and
(48:29):
it's it's that way, because I'mreflecting on all of the people
that have created opportunitiesfor me my life but then set me
up to be successful, to createthe outcome of greatness Right,
(48:51):
and so I'm truly grateful forthat.
And what that has done issparked a fire within me to give
everything I got, but everyfiber of me to give that to
those people that I'm blessed tobe around every moment of every
(49:14):
day is serious to me.
I'm intentional about it.
It means something to me becauseI know what it feels like to
receive that and so, um, I havea quote that I always, and so,
(49:37):
um, I have a quote that I alwayssay and I have have it on the
shirt as well that opportunitiesbring opportunities.
I'm gonna give you this story.
It's one of my favorite storiesthat I love to share when I
speak, um, and I strive toswitch the story sometime, but
it's so good that I have tocontinue to share it.
So, growing up, I've shared alittle bit.
(50:00):
Growing up, I was taught somefirm foundation core principles
that you know to believe in andoperate by Work hard, do right,
treat people right, put, putyourself around great people,
take care of your business right.
And so I saw the work that myfamily did, how they did it, and
my goal was to do those thingsto hopefully make them proud.
(50:23):
And what I didn't know, what Ididn't know in doing those
things, is that people around mesaw that right.
And so, um, I had this, mylittle league baseball coach,
who was also my elementaryschool principal, who also ended
(50:46):
up being a superintendent, uh,in my town, in in my school
district.
Great man.
I wanted to grow up to be justlike him.
Right, he smiled, the way hecarried himself, the way he
treated people.
I wanted to grow up to be justlike him and so, like I said,
(51:07):
little did I know people sawthose things that I did.
So, fast forward, I'm a brokecollege kid graduating from West
Texas A&M University.
I apply for this job.
Oh, this is where it gets good.
I apply for this job in ConroeIndependent School District.
At this junior high, theprincipal, you know, I guess he
(51:28):
looks on my resume and seeswhere I'm from in my hometown
and comes to find out that thatguy from my hometown my prince,
that principal knew him.
So he calls that principal.
He says, hey, come on, I gotthis Chip Baker kid applying for
a job here at my school.
(51:49):
Tell me a little bit about him.
And he goes on to say, hey, ohman, he's a great guy.
He's going to work hard, he'sgoing to do things the right way
, he's going to treat peopleright, he's going to take care
of his business.
You should give that guy anopportunity, man, he'll be an
asset to your team.
And so that principal decidedto give me an opportunity my
(52:15):
very first teaching and coachingjob.
I got my very first teachingand coaching job off of the
person that I was as a kid.
Wow, wait a minute, like holdon, wait a minute.
I don't know if they called it.
It was my very first teachingand coaching job, so I had no
experience and, I'm sure, myvery first teaching and coaching
(52:35):
job.
So I had no experience and I'msure, I'm very sure that there
were more people that appliedfor that job, that were probably
more qualified than me, but Igot the opportunity.
And what that means to yourlisteners, to the people that's
checking this out, is you haveto understand that opportunities
bring opportunities.
It's important for us to beintentional and be in the
(52:56):
moments, with the moments thatwe are blessed to have, because
magic moments make magicmemories.
Right People will give youopportunities.
If you show that you'recompetent and you are serious
about the opportunity that youhave right now, like it don't
matter how little or how big itis.
(53:18):
Like, if you're intentional andyou show up and go above and
beyond to give people more thanwhat they're asking for, I'm
telling you, opportunities willcome for you.
You don't have to seek for them, they will find you right and
it will blow you away, uh, withthe opportunities that you will
have just because of that andI'm not just saying that like
(53:41):
I've lived that, so I can saythat to you right, like I'm in
the midst of living that I'mblown away right, like I, I
wouldn't be on this podcast, beinterviewed on this podcast, if
opportunities didn't bringopportunities.
Speaker 2 (54:03):
Oh man, there is so much that you just shared, chip,
so much.
Number one I hope people heardthat somebody's always watching.
Yes, sir, pay attention to whathe just that.
Somebody's always watching.
Yes, sir, pay attention to whathe just said.
Somebody's always watching.
Opportunities createopportunities.
I like to say success begetssuccess.
Same thing Opportunities createopportunities.
(54:24):
You know and I've never sharedthis on the podcast Anytime,
chip, till right now, when yousaid it I got to thinking about
it.
Did you know?
I've never applied for a job,right, I'm 58 years old and I've
never applied for a job.
That's from out of high schoolinto college to this day.
And it's exactly what you justsaid.
It is, you know, one ofeverybody that knows me, chip,
(54:48):
whether you're on my Instagram,linkedin and, by the way, you're
really good on LinkedIn, itdoesn't matter where, but
everybody knows that my handleis liveyourbrand.
I believe that what you share,what you post, what you comment
on, what you engage in, thattells me who you are.
That tells me that's your brand.
That's how I get to know you.
(55:11):
And when you said that, it justbrought chills to me, chip,
because I thought if more youngpeople could hear that message
of discipline, of pay attention.
People are watching you.
They may be the person thatopens that door to that
opportunity for you, that opensthe door to a million dollar
(55:34):
project.
Yeah, live your brand.
Consistency creates credibility.
Persistence breaks resistancealways be growing.
Think, think about everything.
Think about all that has beenshared today.
Speaker 3 (55:59):
That's some good stuff, it's all right.
It's all right, let's go getsome.
Let's go get it, let's go getit All right, Chip.
Speaker 2 (56:10):
I hate to wrap up, but we do.
I keep these between 30 and 45minutes.
By the way, Chip, not only doesthis podcast go across all
platforms, but there's a companyin Lubbock, Texas, called ICEB,
and they provide onlinecurriculum across the United
States.
They carry our podcast on theirplatform and there's a lesson
plan that goes with it, so I'vegot a staff member that will
(56:33):
write a lesson plan.
Cassie Monfer will write alesson plan for this podcast.
It'll go nationwide.
So if any teachers are lookingfor a sub or looking for
something for their class orseeds of greatness or growing
the future, they can tune in andhear Chip Baker share his
incredible journey and story andwe'll give them a lesson plan
(56:55):
and it's all good.
Speaker 3 (56:57):
That's so good, that's so good.
Thank you so much for having me.
I consider it an honor and aprivilege to be here with you,
love the work that you're doing,love how you've done what
you've done over the years, andso I'm just honored to have the
opportunity to hang out.
Speaker 2 (57:14):
Hey, we're going to hang out more.
By the way, every guest getsone last question.
It's a fun question, so here'syour fun question.
Let's go.
What's the best concert you'veever been to?
Speaker 3 (57:29):
Man, that is good.
The best concert that I've everbeen to.
Oh man, and I love music too.
I love it, let me hear it.
Oh man, let me think on that.
That's, that's pretty good,because, uh, because, I love, I
love music, I think, probablythe best concert that I've been
(57:56):
to.
I don't know, I'm an R&B head,so I've been to the concert with
112, silk Key Sweat no DrewHill, the like 112 silk key
(58:22):
sweat no drew drew hill theywere all at the same venue, uh,
and so, like it was, it waspretty cool.
Speaker 2 (58:26):
I've got, let me tell you something, doing.
This podcast is the coolestthing.
I asked that question.
I've got everything from keithsweat to metallica to pit bull,
to yeah, you know, tom ziegler'sis the greatest showman.
I mean, we've got the wholegame.
I think that's what the beautyof asking that question, yeah,
is the fact that everybody hassomething that brings them joy
(58:48):
everybody has something thattouches their, their cords yes,
sir, you know I was uh also,just the experience is probably.
Speaker 3 (58:57):
I was at cowell field for george straight oh yeah
yeah, that was.
That was just probably the bestexperience, was probably that
king george.
Speaker 2 (59:07):
I mean, I get it.
He's pretty popular when I askthat question what's your best
concert?
All righty Well, ladies andgentlemen, thank you again for
joining us.
Chip, thanks so much.
I knew again.
When I met you at the Ignitingthe Next Generation conference,
I knew that this was a podcastthat I really wanted, and you
(59:28):
did not disappoint.
I'm sitting here, I'm lookingat a page full of notes of what
I need to be doing.
You know just, and it all comesdown to legacy and, like Dan
said, it's who's our legacy, andwhen you take that on, it's
life changing to change lives.
How good is that?
(59:48):
How good is that?
How good is that?
How good is that?
So, again, thank you forjoining us.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank youagain for stopping by and
joining us for the Growing OurFuture podcast.
Like we said at the verybeginning, if agriculture has
taught me anything, it's taughtme.
If you want to know what thefuture is, grow it.
Listen to what happened today.
(01:00:09):
Some incredible seeds ofgreatness were put out there for
us to take hold of.
Plant them, nurture them.
We put you in charge.
You want to be in charge ofyour life.
You're in charge.
We gave you the skill.
Skip Chip gave you the skill.
He gave us the tools.
Plant them and grow thatincredible future.
(01:00:29):
Until our paths cross again,everybody go out and do
something great for somebodyelse.
You'll feel good about it andguess what?
In the process we might justmake our communities, our state
and our country, maybe even ourworld, a better place to live,
work and raise our families.
Until we meet again, everybodybe safe.
Speaker 1 (01:00:57):
We hope you've enjoyed this episode of the
Growing Our Future podcast.
This show is sponsored by theTexas FFA Foundation, whose
mission is to strengthenagricultural science education
so students can develop theirpotential for personal growth,
career success and leadership ina global marketplace.
Speaker 2 (01:01:17):
Learn more at mytexasffaorg.
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