December 30, 2024 • 41 mins
In this episode of the Growing Our Future podcast, host Aaron Alejandro engages in a heartfelt conversation with Trenell Walker, who shares his inspiring journey from aspiring NFL player to motivational speaker and life coach after a life-altering spinal cord injury. The discussion emphasizes the importance of gratitude, resilience, and the power of the mind. Trenell introduces his 'Trenell Effect,' a framework for personal growth that includes taking action, being resilient, encouraging others, and never quitting. The conversation also touches on the significance of leadership and making impactful decisions in life. Listeners are encouraged to seize opportunities and live with purpose, ultimately aiming to inspire future generations.
Story Notes:
- Gratitude and the Gift of Breath
- Tronell's Journey: From Football Dreams to Resilience
- The Tronell Effect: Keys to Success
- Seizing Opportunities and Making Decisions
- The Importance of Leadership
- Closing Thoughts and Encouragement
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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, good evening or
whenever you may be tuning in tothe Growing Our Future podcast,
I tell you those that know knowthat I'm an ag guy, I'm an
agricultural guy, and I alwaystell people, if agriculture has
taught me anything, it's taughtme this If you want to know what
the future is, grow it.
(00:51):
Well, to grow it, you've got toplant the right seeds, you've
got to take care of those seedsand then one day, if you do it
all right and you keep the weedsout, you get to harvest it.
And then, when you harvest it,I want you to share it with
others.
That's what this podcast isabout.
(01:12):
It's about growing a betterfuture, and to do that, we
invite incredible guests to comeon here, guests that are
willing to share theirtestimonies, their experiences,
their insights.
And today we have got anexceptional guest.
And today we have got anexceptional guest.
I had the opportunity to be apart of a program called
Igniting the Next GenerationLeadership Program and I got to
(01:32):
hear this man speak.
And as soon as I heard himspeak, I said I got to get that
man on the Growing Our Futurepodcast and he didn't hesitate.
I want y'all to know he didn'tsay let me think about it, how
many podcasts have you done?
He said Aaron, I'm all in.
Ladies and gentlemen, we'regoing to hear from Trinnell here
in a second.
(01:52):
This is Trinnell Walker.
Trinnell, thank you for joiningus today.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Hey, my pleasure.
I'm so excited to be able tojust sit here and chit chat with
you, like two friends that weare.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
And that's exactly what.
I'm glad you said that becausethat's what we're going to do,
so I don't like any formalstructure.
People ask me all the time,trinnell.
They say, can you send me thequestions, can you tell me what
you're going to ask me?
And I'm like, nope, I saidthat's the reason I like this is
because I think when we're justgenuinely having a conversation
that's the reason I like thisis because I think when we were
just genuinely having aconversation, I think that's
where the real seeds ofgreatness in a person's
(02:29):
testimony, in their story, Ithink that's where it comes out.
And I know, I know, trinnell,that's what's going to happen
today.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
I'm right there with you.
I'm touching the green with you.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Okay, here we go, we kick off this podcast and
everybody gets the same question.
So, guess what you get?
The same question everybodyelse gets, and that is this,
trinnell, what are you gratefulfor today?
Speaker 3 (02:53):
I'm grateful to be able to breathe, and the reason
why I say that is because, youknow, with my spinal cord injury
, I have a C4 spinal cord injurywhich has left me paralyzed
from the neck down and, as aresult, I only use one of the
three muscles we use to breathe,which is the diaphragm, and we
have the chest muscle and thestomach muscle.
(03:14):
So, for me, I've been dealingwith congestion for the last two
days and even prior to gettingonto this podcast, I actually
had to have my assistant to beable to help me cough up the
congestion that I've beendealing with.
So, just being able to breathethe breath of life that's been
breathed into our nostrils, Imean.
I'm so grateful for thatbecause I can't take that for
(03:35):
granted, because if you can'tbreathe you can't teach, and if
you can't teach you can't speak.
If you can't speak, you can'tinfluence.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
We just stop right there.
That's the reason why I wantedhim on here, because that's the
kind of gold y'all are going toget all day today right there.
Uh, turn out.
I agree with you.
By the way, you said somethingelse there that I think I want
to go ahead and I'm just goingto throw it out there.
I like to ask the kids I sayname the most successful athlete
(04:04):
?
No name.
I'll say name the mostsuccessful athlete, and they'll
name them.
I'll say name the mostsuccessful business person?
They'll name them.
Name the most successfulentertainer?
They'll name them.
And I said now, think about allthat success you just named.
And then I always ask themwhich one of those people make
their own heartbeat every day?
(04:24):
Wow, let that sink in for asecond.
And then all of a sudden yourealize that that breath you
just talked about what anincredible gift.
What an incredible gift, andwe're going to talk about that
because that's some good stuffright there.
(04:45):
Uh, let's go.
All right, here we go.
So, again, the way that we metwas we were both part of a
project through a generationziggler uh program.
Uh, which, by the way, trinelland I both have a connection to
tom ziggler and the zigglerCorporation.
Trinnell, I don't know if youknow or not, but back in the day
(05:08):
, zig Ziegler he didn't know it,but Zig Ziegler was my mentor
what, and I used the book Seeyou at the Top to get elected
Texas FFA president.
And on the weekends I used tolive.
I lived in Dallas when I wasstate president and on the
weekends I would go downtownDallas to First Baptist Church
(05:31):
and I would go to Zig ZiglarSunday school class.
He never knew I was there.
Now you can imagine what it waslike years later when James
McLam and Matt Rush introducedme to Tom Ziglar, when James
McLam and Matt Rush introducedme to Tom Ziegler and I got to
tell Tom about his dad being mymentor, and then ultimately, tom
Ziegler came on my board ofdirectors.
(05:52):
He's on the board of directorsof the Texas FFA Foundation.
Now you can imagine what it waslike for me to sit in a room at
Ziegler headquarters and watchTom Ziegler training our state
officers.
Wow, I'm sitting here going.
Your daddy did that for me andnow I'm getting to watch you
(06:14):
pour into this next generationof leaders.
So I say all that to tee upTrinnell's credentials, because
he is a speaker, a life coachand he is a Ziegler certified
speaker, presenter and coach.
And I think it's pretty obvious, trinnell, I got another really
good board member, cleoFranklin, who's also a speaker
(06:36):
presenter.
Cleo's grandfather said son, hesaid never speak on the obvious
and game recognizes game.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
True.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
I think anybody that listens and looks at Trinnell
knows that this man's got astory, he's got a testimony, and
that is why I wanted him onhere, because when I heard it I
was inspired.
And so, Trinnell, you didn'tjust fall into that seat right
there no sir there's.
(07:08):
There's a story that needs tobe told.
So if you would take a momentand just kind of lead us on your
life journey, uh, as to whereyou are today and how, you got
there okay.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Well, I appreciate you blessing me with this
opportunity, though I I haven'talways used the super fly
wheelchair, you know that I'msitting in today.
I'm telling you, 28 years ago,man, football was my life, but I
was passionate about it.
I had planned on using myathletic talents to be able to
pay for college and to be ableto, you know, take care of my
(07:47):
family.
Because, I mean, when I wastold, you know, my talents was,
you know, on an NFL level.
And I already knew that my mom,being a single parent, working
a full time job only making$5.25 at the time, plus two
(08:09):
part-time jobs to take care ofme, my older brother and my
grandmother, who had adisability, wouldn't be able to,
you know, pay for me to go tocollege.
So going to college put me astep closer to my ultimate goal,
and that was to be able to playin the NFL.
Because I had already been inclass.
(08:31):
Visualized, you know, beingdrafted in the first round of
the NFL draft, walking acrossthe stage, shaking a
commissioner's hand, putting onthat hat that represented that
star.
Oh yeah, baby, I was alreadyrepresenting them Dallas Cowboys
, you know, holding up thatjersey with the number one on it
(08:53):
, signed a contract to makeenough money just to retire my
mom work, buy her a house aswell as a brand new car.
But it's been said that thebest laid plans of mice and men
often go astray.
And on October 20th 1995, I wasfulfilling my dream as a
(09:17):
freshman, playing on the varsityfootball team, starting at the
defensive back position at thestrong safety.
I'll never forget.
The lights from Bearcat Stadiumshined out on the field
capturing my performance.
The cold October breeze nippedat my skin as I walked to the
left side of the defense to takemy position.
(09:40):
I looked in at the quarterbackwaiting for him to receive the
ball.
He received the football andimmediately tossed it to the
running back, headed in mydirection.
Man, I seen that running backcoming my way and I read that
play.
Oh yeah, like a book.
I ran up the field, stopped therunning back.
The running back saw me.
(10:01):
He tried to reverse field buthe slipped and I made a textbook
tackle from behind.
Hitting the running back saw me.
He tried to reverse field buthe slipped and I made a textbook
tackle from behind hitting therunning back, wrapping him up
and driving him toward theground.
But, unknowing to me, myteammate was coming from the
opposite side to assist.
The running back saw it, but Ididn't, and so the running back
(10:22):
ducked underneath and when hedid it exposed my head and my
own teammate ran into me,hitting me at the top of my
hands, crushing the fourthvertebrae in my neck, leaving me
paralyzed from the neck down.
You know what was meant to bemy high school glory days turned
(10:43):
into temporary defeat.
But you know, days turned intotemporary defeat.
But you know, I learned thattemporary defeat does not mean
permanent failure.
When I tried a bad attitude, Itried blaming others, but one of
the things that I learned frommy mom is that nothing beats a
failure but a try.
And that's when I started toreally change my attitude in
trying what I now call theTrinnell effect, and that's
(11:06):
taking action, being resilient,encouraging, never quitting
evaluating learning and love andmyself to be able to continue
to pursue my career forward.
And in doing so, I was able tocontinue to go to high school.
I ended up graduating with myclassmates in 1999.
(11:28):
And I wasn't finished with that.
I wanted to more.
I wanted to be able to giveback.
So I pursued my college careerin the University of North Texas
and did in Texas inrehabilitation studies.
So I ended up getting mybachelor's degree and I'm like
man, I want a little bit more, Iwant something more specific.
(11:49):
So I decided to go intorehabilitation counseling and I
ended up becoming arehabilitation counselor and
then you know, lo and behold, in2015, I ended up becoming a
Ziegler Legacy Certified Traineras well as this certified side,
(12:13):
as well as again a coach.
So it's been a journey.
I mean, I was a corporatetrainer for 12 years for a
pediatric home health and I'mnot sharing all this to impress
you, but to impress upon you.
It's impossible to stop amotivated person because they
will never quit.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Wow, one day, trinnell, I was in a you know
you're from a small North Texastown.
I'm from a small North Texastown and before I took this job
that I'm in now, 24 years ago, Iused to work in a bootcamp.
I worked with truant offendersand I worked in a prison.
So I went from that audience tothese FFA kids.
(12:54):
So that's kind of tells you theshift in the audience that I
went from.
But I remember one day I was inthis coffee shop where these old
men had gathered and they werecussing, discussing what's wrong
with this country, and theysaid Alejandro, I'll tell you
what's wrong with this country.
I said what is it?
They said we got to get back tothe basics.
(13:16):
I said, all right, I'mlistening.
The three R's I said okay.
They said yep, reading, writingand arithmetic.
We'll just get back to thebasics, we'll put this country
back on track.
And I remember sitting therelistening to those men and I
said gentlemen, I mean you knowdisrespect, but I agree with you
(13:39):
about the three R's.
I said I work with true andoffenders.
I worked with juveniledetention kids and I work in a
prison and everybody that I canwork with can read, write and do
math at some functional level.
I said but you're right aboutthe three R's, but it's not
reading, writing and arithmetic.
I said I think if we could justget back to respect,
(14:02):
responsibility and resiliency.
I said something tells me if weget back to the basics of those
three.
Learn to respect yourself, yourfellow man, learn to be
responsible for yourself, yourfamily, your community, your
state country, and learn to getup when you've been knocked down
.
Not everybody's going to putthat cap on hold that jersey up.
(14:30):
But that doesn't mean thatthere's not another purpose for
that life.
You've got to be resilient, andthat's one reason Trinnell's
story touches me is because Ilove to see somebody who's
resilient and take theirresiliency and pour it into
others.
Before we came on the air,trinnell and I were talking
(14:53):
about that and you know,trinnell's been given a
testimony for a reason.
Could be the person that'slistening to the podcast today.
I've been given a testimony fora reason, and we never know
when that person's going tocross our life path, and that's
why we've got to share.
That's why we've got to growthe future, because Trinnell and
(15:18):
I both I know what the statsare.
I'm not going to be hereforever.
We got to make sure somebody'sthere to pick up and carry on
and make it better for thepeople that follow in our
footsteps, and that's why I likeTrinnell.
I like his story.
Trinnell, I know that one ofthe things I like, that you do
so cleverly.
By the way, I brag on you allthe time.
(15:40):
You don't know that I do this,but Trinnell has this knack of
taking words and then he spellsit out with all these little
hints of life and how to live abetter life.
Trinnell, walk me through someof those.
Walk me through some of yourfavorite words and their
meanings to success.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
I mean the ones that I really like, and I actually
broke it down in the acronym andI call it the trinell effect,
and you briefly- heard me say itearlier and I like to teach
this when I go out and share anddo my trainings, because we all
have value.
And the acronym or for Trinnellthe take action, the resilient,
(16:26):
the encouraged, the never quit,the evaluate, the learn and love
.
That shows me my value, butthen when I put an affirmation
to it, that's going to show memy effect, and this is what I
mean by this.
This the T is for take action,why Proper action leads to
(16:49):
satisfaction.
The R resilient why Beresilient?
Because two steps back can leadto a great comeback.
The E encourage, why Encourage,in order to a great comeback.
The E encourage, why Encouragein order to help one flourish.
The N never quit, why it'simpossible to stop a motivated
(17:13):
person because they will neverquit.
The E evaluate, why Evaluationcan help lead to your
destination.
The L evaluate, why Evaluationcan help lead to your
destination.
The L learn, why?
Because when you learn, youearn respect for yourself,
others and you could possiblyearn more money, money, money.
And the last L is for love, why?
(17:39):
Because love is a gift fromabove and so, by being able to
take action, be resilient,encourage, never quit, evaluate,
learn and love that will giveyou the power to persevere, so
you may influence lives andempower generations to thrive.
(17:59):
So that's one of the acronymsthat I like to use.
And the other one I like to useis called live, because I like
to live one day at a time, orlive in the moment.
The L stands for laugh Laugh aslong as you breathe.
We all go through some thingsevery day and we may experience
(18:20):
depression, but I've learnedthat 12 laughs a day keep
depression away.
The I is for inspire, becauseyou have to inspire yourself by
breathing life into yourself, byhaving a gratitude journal.
So when you're going throughthings and you need to inspire
yourself, just look at yourgratitude journal, because I
(18:41):
keep one every day that I writedown what I'm grateful for.
The V is for value Value everymoment by living in the moment,
Because the only time we're ableto live is in the present
moment.
And the last one is e is forenjoy enjoy the people and the
(19:04):
day, because you never know whenit's going to be your last.
So those and you can just liveone day at a time or, like I say
, live in the moment.
Live, inspire, value, enjoy themoments.
That is so good.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
That's why I told you I wanted you on here right
there.
I love the way that you takesome really deep and
sophisticated life concepts andyou put them in a real easy
digestible form that a personcould assimilate.
Um, one that I heard years agothat I use is r2a2.
(19:46):
Um, I don't know if you've everheard of r2a2.
Most people ask me if it's astar wars character and I say no
, it's not.
R2a2 stands for recognize,relate, assimilate and apply.
So what I hope people do inthese podcasts is recognize the
concept.
Trinnell just gave me theTrinnell effect.
(20:08):
Trinnell just gave me live,relate to it.
Okay, I see what he was sayingthere about love and laughter
and living, and I think I cankind of relate to that.
The next one is assimilate, totake in and to make part of
oneself, and then, after you dothat, you got to apply it.
(20:29):
You got to apply the Trinnelleffect, you got to apply the
live, and so I think that when Iheard you speak and I watched
you lay these things out for mesomebody who's practicing R2A2,
now you know why I wanted you onhere.
Cause I'm like I got to getthat guy on here to share all
(20:51):
that Cause.
That's exactly what we need todo.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Yes, I mean I.
I mean I definitely agree withyou on that, because we can
listen and hear things all daylong, but if we can't relate to
them and if we can't apply themto our lives, it's basically
useless.
Because I hear people sayknowledge is power and I'm like
(21:17):
no knowledge is potential power.
Applying that knowledge iswhere the power comes in,
because now you got wisdom,because now you can learn from
what you have already beentaught.
Now you're applying it, now youcan even share it with others,
where now there's wisdom andexperience that comes from that.
So that's where I look at it.
(21:38):
You know, applied knowledge iswhere the real power comes in.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
So I agree with you that that is good.
That is real good and, by theway, I like all that.
You know I'm not going to go.
This is not the platform for meto share my story.
Most of the viewers here knowmy background and my story, but
that ffa jacket was the gamechanger for me, trinnell, that
blue and gold FFA jacket.
When I put that jacket on andzipped it up, you didn't know
(22:08):
that I came from a broken home.
You didn't know that I had mydinner from a garbage can.
I had $25 in my account when Iwent to college, or a 14 on my
ACT.
You knew none of that.
That jacket I look just likeeverybody else.
That means I had the sameopportunity as everybody else.
(22:28):
But, to your point, if I wouldhave never applied what I knew,
if I would have never have takena risk and tried what I knew,
if I'd have never been willingto take that first step back of
resiliency, I'd have never hadthe opportunities that I've been
granted to this day, theblessings that wait on the other
(22:51):
side.
I guarantee you, trinnell, thatwhere you're at is not where
you anticipated being.
But I also believe that, and II do.
I sure hope I'm not puttingwords in your mouth, but I hope
I'm right.
I think I am.
Something tells me you're anawful grateful person.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
You're awful blessed person because of the people
that you've met in your life yesdefinitely on that and you
spoke about opportunities, andthat's one of the things that
I've learned from sports I mean,you learn from what you just
said is that you have to seizethe opportunity, and there's two
(23:29):
times that I was well.
I have to seize the opportunityevery time I get.
But one of the things thatreally come to me is, you know,
as I was sharing with you, I wasactually playing on the varsity
football team.
You know, as I was sharing withyou, I was actually playing on
the varsity football team, butwhat happened is I will never.
I always remember this, coach.
I was out there on the practicefield and I was on the scout
(23:49):
team and I hit.
Next thing I hear I was likefreshman, get in.
And so I'm trying it, and wehad to go against the first team
defense.
And I'm out there and I'm inthe huddle and the quarterback
is like Trinnell, the ball iscoming to you.
And I'm like, okay, and I'mtelling you, man, our defense
was huge and so it was a sweep.
(24:12):
So quarterback received theball and he tossed it at me and
I'm running to the outside asfast as I could.
Well, I spread the defenseapart and I seen a hole where I
could just cut up and walk rightinto the end zone, and that's
what I did and I never forget.
The coach looked at me and waslike man, this kid is good, and
(24:32):
he moved me up to the varsityfootball team based off of that.
But it's because I saw anopportunity.
I was given an opportunityagainst the scout team to go
against the first team defense,to do my best, and there are
going to be people out therethat are watching this.
You're going to get anopportunity.
Take the opportunity, seize ina moment.
You may be afraid, because Iwas afraid.
(24:55):
You had a big obstacle in frontof you, but you have to believe
in yourself and take theopportunity, because you never
know when that opportunity isgoing to present you again.
And when you do take thatopportunity and to be able to
seize that moment and to makethe decision, then you can move
your life to the next levellevel.
(25:25):
And and I'm gonna say thisabout decide, because I was
blessed by my assistant, who isalso in the ffa and she is a
teacher, a retired teacher, andit's something that I had to do
with my life whenever I gotinjured, I had to decide and she
told me the uh suffix of decideis simply to kill off.
Whether it's homicide, suicideor pesticide, it means to kill
(25:48):
off.
So whenever you wake up in themorning and you have to make a
decision, you have to decide.
What are you going to kill offthat's holding you back in order
for you to go towards yourfuture?
Are you going to kill off themSelf-limiting beliefs?
Are you going to kill off thegroup of people that are being
negative around you?
What are you going to kill offin order to make the decision,
(26:12):
to decide to do your best?
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Well that's good, your assistant said that.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
Yes, yes, she broke it down to me about the word
decide.
So I'm like I'm going to usethat because I had to make a
decision Every day.
I get up, I'm paralyzed fromthe neck down, so I have to make
a decision every day to decide.
Am I going to feel like I'm aburden and cry myself to sleep
(26:41):
like I used to when my injuryfirst happened, or am I going to
decide to be thankful that Godhas given me an opportunity to
continue to breathe the breathof life, that I've been given An
opportunity to use my mind tothe fullest, even though I can't
use my body, my ability to beable to use what I have, rather
than focusing on what I don'thave?
(27:01):
So I have to make that decisionto decide to kill off that
negativity in order to focus onthe positivity that is awesome.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Yeah, so here's the thing.
Okay, so you didn't make itinto the NFL.
You're still a pro, by the way.
I just wanted you to know that.
You know, think about it,people fear public speaking more
than they fear dying.
Right, look at what you'redoing.
You're like out here on thisfield in the Pro Bowl.
You know you're playing theSuper Bowl every day, inspiring
(27:33):
other people.
So to your point.
I'm glad you killed off thosenegative voices that could have
prevented you from sharing suchan incredible testimony.
Let's dive a little bit deeperin here, and not that I don't
already have a page full ofincredible wisdom that you've
already poured into us, but I'mgoing to give you an opportunity
(27:54):
to pour some more.
So I like to ask the kids I saidhow many high schools are in
Texas?
Now, there's other people fromall over the country watching
this podcast and I don't knowwhat the high schools are in
every other state, but in Texaswe have over 3,000 high schools.
Now think about that for asecond 3,000 high schools Every
(28:17):
one of them are going to have agraduating class this year.
That means that all these kidsare going to get out.
They're going to be looking fora job, scholarship or an
opportunity.
And so I always ask the kidswhat is your competitive edge?
What is it that separates youfrom everybody else?
It could be something as simpleas a firm handshake, look them
(28:41):
in the eye, say yes or no sir,yes ma'am, no ma'am.
It could be something as simpleas saying thank you, but I
believe that you got to havesomething, a competitive edge
that kind of separates you fromthe competition.
Trinnell, if you were coachingkids and you were telling them a
little bit about life, kids,and you were telling them a
(29:02):
little bit about life and Ithink the trinell effect, I
think that's a competitive edge.
I think live, live, live.
I think that is a competitiveedge.
Is there anything else youwould tell young people?
Put this in place in your life,do this when you get out, and I
guarantee it'll be acompetitive edge yes, and it's
called be about.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
It be about what you say you're gonna do, and I
actually have a little chantthat I do with athletes with
other high schools and it'scalled be about it.
Would you um like to help meout?
Would you like to help me out?
Would you like to help me out?
Aaron?
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Of course I want to help you out.
I'm not going to let my guestsknow.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
All right, all right.
So here, this is what I wantyou to do, so I want you to say
this with me Be about it.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Be, about it Keep going, be about it, keep going,
be about it, be about it, beabout it, keep going, keep going
, be about it.
What Be about it, what Be aboutit, what Be about it, what?
Speaker 3 (30:06):
So now?
So now I'm going to addsomething to that.
As soon as I finish with it, Iwant you to say be about it.
Okay, You're going to start itout, I'm going to count you down
Three, two, one and you'regoing to start it off.
I'm going to count you downThree, two, one and you're going
to say be about it.
And then I'm going to saysomething after Three, two, one.
Be about it being the best womanor man.
(30:28):
Be about it Doing the best thatyou can.
Be about it Adding value topeople's life.
Be about it Ending hatred andeven strife.
Be about it Using yourabilities.
Be about it Ending hatred andeven strife.
Be about it Using yourabilities.
Be about it Treating everyoneequally.
Be about it Understanding yourself-worth.
(30:50):
Be about it.
You have a purpose here on thisearth.
Be about it.
Be the best version of you.
Be about it Making it.
Do what it do.
Be about it Just wanted to getthis off my chest.
Be about it Making it.
Do what it do.
Be about it.
Just wanted to get this off mychest.
Be about it.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
You are amazing and don't forget to be about it,
what Be about it, what Be aboutit.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
Exactly so.
I just want to encourageeveryone out there to have that
competitive edge.
Be about being the best personyou can be.
Be about using theopportunities you can to the
fullest, because that's all Ihave ever done.
That's.
The only thing that separatesme from everyone else is that I
(31:34):
have decided to be about it, andI want you to be about it too.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
Thanks, trinnell.
I appreciate that.
You know I will not go throughthe rest of my day without
saying be about it.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
Exactly See it's catchy.
Be about it.
Exactly Beautiful.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Beautiful, beautiful.
All right, let's talk about onelast topic here I want to talk
about.
Again.
All I'm doing is pouring morefuel on this incredible fire
you've given us.
We'll talk about leadership.
I think our homes, ourneighborhoods, our state and our
(32:18):
country could sure use a lotmore strong leaders.
Trinnell, if you could pourinto others the importance of
leadership, being a leader, whatwould you tell them?
Speaker 3 (32:35):
To be a game changer, you have to take the lead, and
lead stands for leadership,encouragement, accountability
and discipline.
Lead by example, have thatcommon goal, have a goal with
(32:59):
yourself, have a goal foryourself and your team and the
people in your life.
And you have to encourage, be abeacon of light, of hope, to be
encouraging to people you knowto be able to set goals and to
reach that goal.
But not only that.
You have to again have thataccountability, be responsible,
(33:21):
do what you say you're going todo and respond.
I like what I think StephenCovey said.
It's like responsibility andyou put a hyphen between
response and ability and it'syour ability to respond to
things and as being accountable.
(33:41):
You have to be able to respondto things in a way to be able to
help yourself and others.
But also you got to have thatdiscipline.
You got to do it every day andyou got to.
You know again, like we saidearlier, to decide you have to
cut out all the things that'snot going to get you to where
you want to be and by doing thatyou're able to be a game
changer.
By taking the lead.
Leadership, encouragement,accountability and discipline
(34:04):
that's how we're going to changethe game right there.
In life, in our communities and,you know, in whatever we do.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
Told you.
What did I tell y'all?
I said we're just going to keeppouring it on and he's going to
keep pouring it out.
Guess what.
That's what he's about.
That's what he just did.
Oh, man, trinnell, thank you somuch.
This is so good.
I mean, I've got a whole pageof notes here.
Is there anything else you'dlike to share?
(34:34):
Anything else you'd like forpeople to know about life's
journeys?
Speaker 3 (34:44):
and the importance of a healthy perspective.
I'm telling you, um, your mostvaluable asset that you have is
your mind.
So it's going to be importantto be able to guard your mind
and to be able to train it in away that you're able to use it
to the fullest.
And again, for me, I'mparalyzed from the neck down.
(35:05):
I can't use my body to distractme.
Only thing that I have is mymind.
I have my faith, my family andmy mind.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
So, again, protect your most valuable asset,
utilize it to the fullest, whichis your mind so, trinell, back
in the day, when I used to workwith the, the at-risk kids in
the boot camp and with juveniledetention and some other
programs, I used to ask the kidsthis question.
(35:37):
I said if I gave you a watercanteen, and I gave you a water
faucet and I told you we weregoing to take a trip across the
desert, I said what would you dowith that canteen?
And they'd all look at me likeI was stupid and they said well,
of course, mr Aaron, I'd fillup my canteen, I'd fill it to
the brim, I'd drink as muchwater as I could, I'd get my
(35:59):
shirt and get it wet.
I said why would you do allthat?
And they said because I got toget across the desert.
I said that's right, what do youknow about deserts?
And they said, well, they'rehot, they're dry and you're
going to need that.
I said, well, how do you knowthat?
I said you ever been to one?
Well, no, but I know peoplethat have and they've told me
about it.
I said, good, Guess what I knowabout life?
(36:20):
It's a long, hot desert andthis right here is your canteen.
And you better fill it up withas much information as you can,
because I'm telling you it'slong and it's hard out there and
you're going to need to havewisdom and discernment and all
(36:40):
the tools up here in your toolbelt to get through that desert
of life.
And they all say, well, I guessthat kind of makes sense.
I said, dang right, it makessense.
Now I'm going to get to tellthem be about so, be about
filling that canteen up yes, sir, definitely all right, trinell,
I appreciate you so much and Iappreciate your willingness to
share.
Trinnell, I appreciate you somuch and I appreciate your
(37:01):
willingness to share and, ify'all didn't catch it earlier,
he just came off of a little bitof a sickness, so this was a
real challenge to step up anddeliver today and you did it
exceptionally, by the way, andyour assistant there, she's
exceptional as well, and I justappreciate both of you and your
willingness to help us today.
Um, every guest gets a funquestion at the end, trinnell,
(37:23):
so you get a fun question too.
All right, I want to know, mrTrinnell Walker, what is the
best concert you've ever been to?
Speaker 3 (37:32):
oh man, it's been so long since I've been to a
concert but I think, think Iremember, man, when I was
younger man, going to a NewEdition concert.
Man, I had never been to aconcert before in my life and I
went with my stepmom and it wasa great concert and it was very,
yeah, it was great.
That's why I still remember itNew.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Edition.
I remember New Edition.
Look at you go.
I loved it.
That's the other thing I likeabout this podcast, trinell, is
we get a whole spectrum, as youmight imagine.
I've got everything fromcountry western to heavy metal.
One on here that love pit bullI've heard everything so
(38:14):
everything so awesome.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
What about you?
Speaker 2 (38:19):
Oh man, if you were to grab my my phone right now
and look at my music category,I've got everything from Frank
Sinatra, the contemporaryChristian, to rock and roll, to
a little R and B to a little.
I mean I even got some oldschool run DMC rap in there.
I got Jimmy Buffett, michaelBublé.
(38:41):
I'm a diehard Bruce Springsteenfan, so I kind of like a little
bit of everything.
Speaker 3 (38:49):
Oh, good deal, Good deal.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
Well, listen, let's wrap it up.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank youso much for stopping by.
I meant the fact that you'rewilling to give us a little bit
of your time.
I meant the only thing we getto do with time is spend it, and
the fact that you stopped by toshare and listen to Trinnell.
Just pour into us To share theTrinnell effect, to share live,
(39:23):
to share lead.
But I would say, you know, Ithink there's even something
deeper there, and that's forTrinnell to share his testimony,
and I appreciate hiscourageousness, his willingness.
Trinnell, around our shop wehave a saying that goes like
this.
It says when your values areclear, your choices are easy.
(39:46):
When your values are clear,your choices are easy.
The other thing that we say isthat the essence of leadership
is to plant trees under whoseshades you may never sit and
Trenel.
Your willingness to share isplanting a lot of great trees
(40:09):
and there's going to be somemighty oaks one day because of
what you're doing for us, thankyou.
Thank you so much for joining us.
Ladies and gentlemen, until wemeet again, go out and do
something great for somebody.
You'll feel good about it, andmaybe our homes, community,
state, country will be a betterplace to again go out and do
something great for somebody.
You'll feel good about it, andmaybe our homes, community,
state, country will be a betterplace to live, work and raise
our kids because of it.
We'll see you on the nextepisode of Growing Our Future.
Everybody, take care Bye.
Speaker 1 (40:36):
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.
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, good evening or
whenever you may be tuning in tothe Growing Our Future podcast,
I tell you those that know knowthat I'm an ag guy, I'm an
agricultural guy, and I alwaystell people, if agriculture has
taught me anything, it's taughtme this If you want to know what
the future is, grow it.
(00:51):
Well, to grow it, you've got toplant the right seeds, you've
got to take care of those seedsand then one day, if you do it
all right and you keep the weedsout, you get to harvest it.
And then, when you harvest it,I want you to share it with
others.
That's what this podcast isabout.
(01:12):
It's about growing a betterfuture, and to do that, we
invite incredible guests to comeon here, guests that are
willing to share theirtestimonies, their experiences,
their insights.
And today we have got anexceptional guest.
And today we have got anexceptional guest.
I had the opportunity to be apart of a program called
Igniting the Next GenerationLeadership Program and I got to
(01:32):
hear this man speak.
And as soon as I heard himspeak, I said I got to get that
man on the Growing Our Futurepodcast and he didn't hesitate.
I want y'all to know he didn'tsay let me think about it, how
many podcasts have you done?
He said Aaron, I'm all in.
Ladies and gentlemen, we'regoing to hear from Trinnell here
in a second.
(01:52):
This is Trinnell Walker.
Trinnell, thank you for joiningus today.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Hey, my pleasure.
I'm so excited to be able tojust sit here and chit chat with
you, like two friends that weare.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
And that's exactly what.
I'm glad you said that becausethat's what we're going to do,
so I don't like any formalstructure.
People ask me all the time,trinnell.
They say, can you send me thequestions, can you tell me what
you're going to ask me?
And I'm like, nope, I saidthat's the reason I like this is
because I think when we're justgenuinely having a conversation
that's the reason I like thisis because I think when we were
just genuinely having aconversation, I think that's
where the real seeds ofgreatness in a person's
(02:29):
testimony, in their story, Ithink that's where it comes out.
And I know, I know, trinnell,that's what's going to happen
today.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
I'm right there with you.
I'm touching the green with you.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Okay, here we go, we kick off this podcast and
everybody gets the same question.
So, guess what you get?
The same question everybodyelse gets, and that is this,
trinnell, what are you gratefulfor today?
Speaker 3 (02:53):
I'm grateful to be able to breathe, and the reason
why I say that is because, youknow, with my spinal cord injury
, I have a C4 spinal cord injurywhich has left me paralyzed
from the neck down and, as aresult, I only use one of the
three muscles we use to breathe,which is the diaphragm, and we
have the chest muscle and thestomach muscle.
(03:14):
So, for me, I've been dealingwith congestion for the last two
days and even prior to gettingonto this podcast, I actually
had to have my assistant to beable to help me cough up the
congestion that I've beendealing with.
So, just being able to breathethe breath of life that's been
breathed into our nostrils, Imean.
I'm so grateful for thatbecause I can't take that for
(03:35):
granted, because if you can'tbreathe you can't teach, and if
you can't teach you can't speak.
If you can't speak, you can'tinfluence.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
We just stop right there.
That's the reason why I wantedhim on here, because that's the
kind of gold y'all are going toget all day today right there.
Uh, turn out.
I agree with you.
By the way, you said somethingelse there that I think I want
to go ahead and I'm just goingto throw it out there.
I like to ask the kids I sayname the most successful athlete
(04:04):
?
No name.
I'll say name the mostsuccessful athlete, and they'll
name them.
I'll say name the mostsuccessful business person?
They'll name them.
Name the most successfulentertainer?
They'll name them.
And I said now, think about allthat success you just named.
And then I always ask themwhich one of those people make
their own heartbeat every day?
(04:24):
Wow, let that sink in for asecond.
And then all of a sudden yourealize that that breath you
just talked about what anincredible gift.
What an incredible gift, andwe're going to talk about that
because that's some good stuffright there.
(04:45):
Uh, let's go.
All right, here we go.
So, again, the way that we metwas we were both part of a
project through a generationziggler uh program.
Uh, which, by the way, trinelland I both have a connection to
tom ziggler and the zigglerCorporation.
Trinnell, I don't know if youknow or not, but back in the day
(05:08):
, zig Ziegler he didn't know it,but Zig Ziegler was my mentor
what, and I used the book Seeyou at the Top to get elected
Texas FFA president.
And on the weekends I used tolive.
I lived in Dallas when I wasstate president and on the
weekends I would go downtownDallas to First Baptist Church
(05:31):
and I would go to Zig ZiglarSunday school class.
He never knew I was there.
Now you can imagine what it waslike years later when James
McLam and Matt Rush introducedme to Tom Ziglar, when James
McLam and Matt Rush introducedme to Tom Ziegler and I got to
tell Tom about his dad being mymentor, and then ultimately, tom
Ziegler came on my board ofdirectors.
(05:52):
He's on the board of directorsof the Texas FFA Foundation.
Now you can imagine what it waslike for me to sit in a room at
Ziegler headquarters and watchTom Ziegler training our state
officers.
Wow, I'm sitting here going.
Your daddy did that for me andnow I'm getting to watch you
(06:14):
pour into this next generationof leaders.
So I say all that to tee upTrinnell's credentials, because
he is a speaker, a life coachand he is a Ziegler certified
speaker, presenter and coach.
And I think it's pretty obvious, trinnell, I got another really
good board member, cleoFranklin, who's also a speaker
(06:36):
presenter.
Cleo's grandfather said son, hesaid never speak on the obvious
and game recognizes game.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
True.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
I think anybody that listens and looks at Trinnell
knows that this man's got astory, he's got a testimony, and
that is why I wanted him onhere, because when I heard it I
was inspired.
And so, Trinnell, you didn'tjust fall into that seat right
there no sir there's.
(07:08):
There's a story that needs tobe told.
So if you would take a momentand just kind of lead us on your
life journey, uh, as to whereyou are today and how, you got
there okay.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Well, I appreciate you blessing me with this
opportunity, though I I haven'talways used the super fly
wheelchair, you know that I'msitting in today.
I'm telling you, 28 years ago,man, football was my life, but I
was passionate about it.
I had planned on using myathletic talents to be able to
pay for college and to be ableto, you know, take care of my
(07:47):
family.
Because, I mean, when I wastold, you know, my talents was,
you know, on an NFL level.
And I already knew that my mom,being a single parent, working
a full time job only making$5.25 at the time, plus two
(08:09):
part-time jobs to take care ofme, my older brother and my
grandmother, who had adisability, wouldn't be able to,
you know, pay for me to go tocollege.
So going to college put me astep closer to my ultimate goal,
and that was to be able to playin the NFL.
Because I had already been inclass.
(08:31):
Visualized, you know, beingdrafted in the first round of
the NFL draft, walking acrossthe stage, shaking a
commissioner's hand, putting onthat hat that represented that
star.
Oh yeah, baby, I was alreadyrepresenting them Dallas Cowboys
, you know, holding up thatjersey with the number one on it
(08:53):
, signed a contract to makeenough money just to retire my
mom work, buy her a house aswell as a brand new car.
But it's been said that thebest laid plans of mice and men
often go astray.
And on October 20th 1995, I wasfulfilling my dream as a
(09:17):
freshman, playing on the varsityfootball team, starting at the
defensive back position at thestrong safety.
I'll never forget.
The lights from Bearcat Stadiumshined out on the field
capturing my performance.
The cold October breeze nippedat my skin as I walked to the
left side of the defense to takemy position.
(09:40):
I looked in at the quarterbackwaiting for him to receive the
ball.
He received the football andimmediately tossed it to the
running back, headed in mydirection.
Man, I seen that running backcoming my way and I read that
play.
Oh yeah, like a book.
I ran up the field, stopped therunning back.
The running back saw me.
(10:01):
He tried to reverse field buthe slipped and I made a textbook
tackle from behind.
Hitting the running back saw me.
He tried to reverse field buthe slipped and I made a textbook
tackle from behind hitting therunning back, wrapping him up
and driving him toward theground.
But, unknowing to me, myteammate was coming from the
opposite side to assist.
The running back saw it, but Ididn't, and so the running back
(10:22):
ducked underneath and when hedid it exposed my head and my
own teammate ran into me,hitting me at the top of my
hands, crushing the fourthvertebrae in my neck, leaving me
paralyzed from the neck down.
You know what was meant to bemy high school glory days turned
(10:43):
into temporary defeat.
But you know, days turned intotemporary defeat.
But you know, I learned thattemporary defeat does not mean
permanent failure.
When I tried a bad attitude, Itried blaming others, but one of
the things that I learned frommy mom is that nothing beats a
failure but a try.
And that's when I started toreally change my attitude in
trying what I now call theTrinnell effect, and that's
(11:06):
taking action, being resilient,encouraging, never quitting
evaluating learning and love andmyself to be able to continue
to pursue my career forward.
And in doing so, I was able tocontinue to go to high school.
I ended up graduating with myclassmates in 1999.
(11:28):
And I wasn't finished with that.
I wanted to more.
I wanted to be able to giveback.
So I pursued my college careerin the University of North Texas
and did in Texas inrehabilitation studies.
So I ended up getting mybachelor's degree and I'm like
man, I want a little bit more, Iwant something more specific.
(11:49):
So I decided to go intorehabilitation counseling and I
ended up becoming arehabilitation counselor and
then you know, lo and behold, in2015, I ended up becoming a
Ziegler Legacy Certified Traineras well as this certified side,
(12:13):
as well as again a coach.
So it's been a journey.
I mean, I was a corporatetrainer for 12 years for a
pediatric home health and I'mnot sharing all this to impress
you, but to impress upon you.
It's impossible to stop amotivated person because they
will never quit.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Wow, one day, trinnell, I was in a you know
you're from a small North Texastown.
I'm from a small North Texastown and before I took this job
that I'm in now, 24 years ago, Iused to work in a bootcamp.
I worked with truant offendersand I worked in a prison.
So I went from that audience tothese FFA kids.
(12:54):
So that's kind of tells you theshift in the audience that I
went from.
But I remember one day I was inthis coffee shop where these old
men had gathered and they werecussing, discussing what's wrong
with this country, and theysaid Alejandro, I'll tell you
what's wrong with this country.
I said what is it?
They said we got to get back tothe basics.
(13:16):
I said, all right, I'mlistening.
The three R's I said okay.
They said yep, reading, writingand arithmetic.
We'll just get back to thebasics, we'll put this country
back on track.
And I remember sitting therelistening to those men and I
said gentlemen, I mean you knowdisrespect, but I agree with you
(13:39):
about the three R's.
I said I work with true andoffenders.
I worked with juveniledetention kids and I work in a
prison and everybody that I canwork with can read, write and do
math at some functional level.
I said but you're right aboutthe three R's, but it's not
reading, writing and arithmetic.
I said I think if we could justget back to respect,
(14:02):
responsibility and resiliency.
I said something tells me if weget back to the basics of those
three.
Learn to respect yourself, yourfellow man, learn to be
responsible for yourself, yourfamily, your community, your
state country, and learn to getup when you've been knocked down
.
Not everybody's going to putthat cap on hold that jersey up.
(14:30):
But that doesn't mean thatthere's not another purpose for
that life.
You've got to be resilient, andthat's one reason Trinnell's
story touches me is because Ilove to see somebody who's
resilient and take theirresiliency and pour it into
others.
Before we came on the air,trinnell and I were talking
(14:53):
about that and you know,trinnell's been given a
testimony for a reason.
Could be the person that'slistening to the podcast today.
I've been given a testimony fora reason, and we never know
when that person's going tocross our life path, and that's
why we've got to share.
That's why we've got to growthe future, because Trinnell and
(15:18):
I both I know what the statsare.
I'm not going to be hereforever.
We got to make sure somebody'sthere to pick up and carry on
and make it better for thepeople that follow in our
footsteps, and that's why I likeTrinnell.
I like his story.
Trinnell, I know that one ofthe things I like, that you do
so cleverly.
By the way, I brag on you allthe time.
(15:40):
You don't know that I do this,but Trinnell has this knack of
taking words and then he spellsit out with all these little
hints of life and how to live abetter life.
Trinnell, walk me through someof those.
Walk me through some of yourfavorite words and their
meanings to success.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
I mean the ones that I really like, and I actually
broke it down in the acronym andI call it the trinell effect,
and you briefly- heard me say itearlier and I like to teach
this when I go out and share anddo my trainings, because we all
have value.
And the acronym or for Trinnellthe take action, the resilient,
(16:26):
the encouraged, the never quit,the evaluate, the learn and love
.
That shows me my value, butthen when I put an affirmation
to it, that's going to show memy effect, and this is what I
mean by this.
This the T is for take action,why Proper action leads to
(16:49):
satisfaction.
The R resilient why Beresilient?
Because two steps back can leadto a great comeback.
The E encourage, why Encourage,in order to a great comeback.
The E encourage, why Encouragein order to help one flourish.
The N never quit, why it'simpossible to stop a motivated
(17:13):
person because they will neverquit.
The E evaluate, why Evaluationcan help lead to your
destination.
The L evaluate, why Evaluationcan help lead to your
destination.
The L learn, why?
Because when you learn, youearn respect for yourself,
others and you could possiblyearn more money, money, money.
And the last L is for love, why?
(17:39):
Because love is a gift fromabove and so, by being able to
take action, be resilient,encourage, never quit, evaluate,
learn and love that will giveyou the power to persevere, so
you may influence lives andempower generations to thrive.
(17:59):
So that's one of the acronymsthat I like to use.
And the other one I like to useis called live, because I like
to live one day at a time, orlive in the moment.
The L stands for laugh Laugh aslong as you breathe.
We all go through some thingsevery day and we may experience
(18:20):
depression, but I've learnedthat 12 laughs a day keep
depression away.
The I is for inspire, becauseyou have to inspire yourself by
breathing life into yourself, byhaving a gratitude journal.
So when you're going throughthings and you need to inspire
yourself, just look at yourgratitude journal, because I
(18:41):
keep one every day that I writedown what I'm grateful for.
The V is for value Value everymoment by living in the moment,
Because the only time we're ableto live is in the present
moment.
And the last one is e is forenjoy enjoy the people and the
(19:04):
day, because you never know whenit's going to be your last.
So those and you can just liveone day at a time or, like I say
, live in the moment.
Live, inspire, value, enjoy themoments.
That is so good.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
That's why I told you I wanted you on here right
there.
I love the way that you takesome really deep and
sophisticated life concepts andyou put them in a real easy
digestible form that a personcould assimilate.
Um, one that I heard years agothat I use is r2a2.
(19:46):
Um, I don't know if you've everheard of r2a2.
Most people ask me if it's astar wars character and I say no
, it's not.
R2a2 stands for recognize,relate, assimilate and apply.
So what I hope people do inthese podcasts is recognize the
concept.
Trinnell just gave me theTrinnell effect.
(20:08):
Trinnell just gave me live,relate to it.
Okay, I see what he was sayingthere about love and laughter
and living, and I think I cankind of relate to that.
The next one is assimilate, totake in and to make part of
oneself, and then, after you dothat, you got to apply it.
(20:29):
You got to apply the Trinnelleffect, you got to apply the
live, and so I think that when Iheard you speak and I watched
you lay these things out for mesomebody who's practicing R2A2,
now you know why I wanted you onhere.
Cause I'm like I got to getthat guy on here to share all
(20:51):
that Cause.
That's exactly what we need todo.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Yes, I mean I.
I mean I definitely agree withyou on that, because we can
listen and hear things all daylong, but if we can't relate to
them and if we can't apply themto our lives, it's basically
useless.
Because I hear people sayknowledge is power and I'm like
(21:17):
no knowledge is potential power.
Applying that knowledge iswhere the power comes in,
because now you got wisdom,because now you can learn from
what you have already beentaught.
Now you're applying it, now youcan even share it with others,
where now there's wisdom andexperience that comes from that.
So that's where I look at it.
(21:38):
You know, applied knowledge iswhere the real power comes in.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
So I agree with you that that is good.
That is real good and, by theway, I like all that.
You know I'm not going to go.
This is not the platform for meto share my story.
Most of the viewers here knowmy background and my story, but
that ffa jacket was the gamechanger for me, trinnell, that
blue and gold FFA jacket.
When I put that jacket on andzipped it up, you didn't know
(22:08):
that I came from a broken home.
You didn't know that I had mydinner from a garbage can.
I had $25 in my account when Iwent to college, or a 14 on my
ACT.
You knew none of that.
That jacket I look just likeeverybody else.
That means I had the sameopportunity as everybody else.
(22:28):
But, to your point, if I wouldhave never applied what I knew,
if I would have never have takena risk and tried what I knew,
if I'd have never been willingto take that first step back of
resiliency, I'd have never hadthe opportunities that I've been
granted to this day, theblessings that wait on the other
(22:51):
side.
I guarantee you, trinnell, thatwhere you're at is not where
you anticipated being.
But I also believe that, and II do.
I sure hope I'm not puttingwords in your mouth, but I hope
I'm right.
I think I am.
Something tells me you're anawful grateful person.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
You're awful blessed person because of the people
that you've met in your life yesdefinitely on that and you
spoke about opportunities, andthat's one of the things that
I've learned from sports I mean,you learn from what you just
said is that you have to seizethe opportunity, and there's two
(23:29):
times that I was well.
I have to seize the opportunityevery time I get.
But one of the things thatreally come to me is, you know,
as I was sharing with you, I wasactually playing on the varsity
football team.
You know, as I was sharing withyou, I was actually playing on
the varsity football team, butwhat happened is I will never.
I always remember this, coach.
I was out there on the practicefield and I was on the scout
(23:49):
team and I hit.
Next thing I hear I was likefreshman, get in.
And so I'm trying it, and wehad to go against the first team
defense.
And I'm out there and I'm inthe huddle and the quarterback
is like Trinnell, the ball iscoming to you.
And I'm like, okay, and I'mtelling you, man, our defense
was huge and so it was a sweep.
(24:12):
So quarterback received theball and he tossed it at me and
I'm running to the outside asfast as I could.
Well, I spread the defenseapart and I seen a hole where I
could just cut up and walk rightinto the end zone, and that's
what I did and I never forget.
The coach looked at me and waslike man, this kid is good, and
(24:32):
he moved me up to the varsityfootball team based off of that.
But it's because I saw anopportunity.
I was given an opportunityagainst the scout team to go
against the first team defense,to do my best, and there are
going to be people out therethat are watching this.
You're going to get anopportunity.
Take the opportunity, seize ina moment.
You may be afraid, because Iwas afraid.
(24:55):
You had a big obstacle in frontof you, but you have to believe
in yourself and take theopportunity, because you never
know when that opportunity isgoing to present you again.
And when you do take thatopportunity and to be able to
seize that moment and to makethe decision, then you can move
your life to the next levellevel.
(25:25):
And and I'm gonna say thisabout decide, because I was
blessed by my assistant, who isalso in the ffa and she is a
teacher, a retired teacher, andit's something that I had to do
with my life whenever I gotinjured, I had to decide and she
told me the uh suffix of decideis simply to kill off.
Whether it's homicide, suicideor pesticide, it means to kill
(25:48):
off.
So whenever you wake up in themorning and you have to make a
decision, you have to decide.
What are you going to kill offthat's holding you back in order
for you to go towards yourfuture?
Are you going to kill off themSelf-limiting beliefs?
Are you going to kill off thegroup of people that are being
negative around you?
What are you going to kill offin order to make the decision,
(26:12):
to decide to do your best?
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Well that's good, your assistant said that.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
Yes, yes, she broke it down to me about the word
decide.
So I'm like I'm going to usethat because I had to make a
decision Every day.
I get up, I'm paralyzed fromthe neck down, so I have to make
a decision every day to decide.
Am I going to feel like I'm aburden and cry myself to sleep
(26:41):
like I used to when my injuryfirst happened, or am I going to
decide to be thankful that Godhas given me an opportunity to
continue to breathe the breathof life, that I've been given An
opportunity to use my mind tothe fullest, even though I can't
use my body, my ability to beable to use what I have, rather
than focusing on what I don'thave?
(27:01):
So I have to make that decisionto decide to kill off that
negativity in order to focus onthe positivity that is awesome.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Yeah, so here's the thing.
Okay, so you didn't make itinto the NFL.
You're still a pro, by the way.
I just wanted you to know that.
You know, think about it,people fear public speaking more
than they fear dying.
Right, look at what you'redoing.
You're like out here on thisfield in the Pro Bowl.
You know you're playing theSuper Bowl every day, inspiring
(27:33):
other people.
So to your point.
I'm glad you killed off thosenegative voices that could have
prevented you from sharing suchan incredible testimony.
Let's dive a little bit deeperin here, and not that I don't
already have a page full ofincredible wisdom that you've
already poured into us, but I'mgoing to give you an opportunity
(27:54):
to pour some more.
So I like to ask the kids I saidhow many high schools are in
Texas?
Now, there's other people fromall over the country watching
this podcast and I don't knowwhat the high schools are in
every other state, but in Texaswe have over 3,000 high schools.
Now think about that for asecond 3,000 high schools Every
(28:17):
one of them are going to have agraduating class this year.
That means that all these kidsare going to get out.
They're going to be looking fora job, scholarship or an
opportunity.
And so I always ask the kidswhat is your competitive edge?
What is it that separates youfrom everybody else?
It could be something as simpleas a firm handshake, look them
(28:41):
in the eye, say yes or no sir,yes ma'am, no ma'am.
It could be something as simpleas saying thank you, but I
believe that you got to havesomething, a competitive edge
that kind of separates you fromthe competition.
Trinnell, if you were coachingkids and you were telling them a
little bit about life, kids,and you were telling them a
(29:02):
little bit about life and Ithink the trinell effect, I
think that's a competitive edge.
I think live, live, live.
I think that is a competitiveedge.
Is there anything else youwould tell young people?
Put this in place in your life,do this when you get out, and I
guarantee it'll be acompetitive edge yes, and it's
called be about.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
It be about what you say you're gonna do, and I
actually have a little chantthat I do with athletes with
other high schools and it'scalled be about it.
Would you um like to help meout?
Would you like to help me out?
Would you like to help me out?
Aaron?
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Of course I want to help you out.
I'm not going to let my guestsknow.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
All right, all right.
So here, this is what I wantyou to do, so I want you to say
this with me Be about it.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Be, about it Keep going, be about it, keep going,
be about it, be about it, beabout it, keep going, keep going
, be about it.
What Be about it, what Be aboutit, what Be about it, what?
Speaker 3 (30:06):
So now?
So now I'm going to addsomething to that.
As soon as I finish with it, Iwant you to say be about it.
Okay, You're going to start itout, I'm going to count you down
Three, two, one and you'regoing to start it off.
I'm going to count you downThree, two, one and you're going
to say be about it.
And then I'm going to saysomething after Three, two, one.
Be about it being the best womanor man.
(30:28):
Be about it Doing the best thatyou can.
Be about it Adding value topeople's life.
Be about it Ending hatred andeven strife.
Be about it Using yourabilities.
Be about it Ending hatred andeven strife.
Be about it Using yourabilities.
Be about it Treating everyoneequally.
Be about it Understanding yourself-worth.
(30:50):
Be about it.
You have a purpose here on thisearth.
Be about it.
Be the best version of you.
Be about it Making it.
Do what it do.
Be about it Just wanted to getthis off my chest.
Be about it Making it.
Do what it do.
Be about it.
Just wanted to get this off mychest.
Be about it.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
You are amazing and don't forget to be about it,
what Be about it, what Be aboutit.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
Exactly so.
I just want to encourageeveryone out there to have that
competitive edge.
Be about being the best personyou can be.
Be about using theopportunities you can to the
fullest, because that's all Ihave ever done.
That's.
The only thing that separatesme from everyone else is that I
(31:34):
have decided to be about it, andI want you to be about it too.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
Thanks, trinnell.
I appreciate that.
You know I will not go throughthe rest of my day without
saying be about it.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
Exactly See it's catchy.
Be about it.
Exactly Beautiful.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Beautiful, beautiful.
All right, let's talk about onelast topic here I want to talk
about.
Again.
All I'm doing is pouring morefuel on this incredible fire
you've given us.
We'll talk about leadership.
I think our homes, ourneighborhoods, our state and our
(32:18):
country could sure use a lotmore strong leaders.
Trinnell, if you could pourinto others the importance of
leadership, being a leader, whatwould you tell them?
Speaker 3 (32:35):
To be a game changer, you have to take the lead, and
lead stands for leadership,encouragement, accountability
and discipline.
Lead by example, have thatcommon goal, have a goal with
(32:59):
yourself, have a goal foryourself and your team and the
people in your life.
And you have to encourage, be abeacon of light, of hope, to be
encouraging to people you knowto be able to set goals and to
reach that goal.
But not only that.
You have to again have thataccountability, be responsible,
(33:21):
do what you say you're going todo and respond.
I like what I think StephenCovey said.
It's like responsibility andyou put a hyphen between
response and ability and it'syour ability to respond to
things and as being accountable.
(33:41):
You have to be able to respondto things in a way to be able to
help yourself and others.
But also you got to have thatdiscipline.
You got to do it every day andyou got to.
You know again, like we saidearlier, to decide you have to
cut out all the things that'snot going to get you to where
you want to be and by doing thatyou're able to be a game
changer.
By taking the lead.
Leadership, encouragement,accountability and discipline
(34:04):
that's how we're going to changethe game right there.
In life, in our communities and,you know, in whatever we do.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
Told you.
What did I tell y'all?
I said we're just going to keeppouring it on and he's going to
keep pouring it out.
Guess what.
That's what he's about.
That's what he just did.
Oh, man, trinnell, thank you somuch.
This is so good.
I mean, I've got a whole pageof notes here.
Is there anything else you'dlike to share?
(34:34):
Anything else you'd like forpeople to know about life's
journeys?
Speaker 3 (34:44):
and the importance of a healthy perspective.
I'm telling you, um, your mostvaluable asset that you have is
your mind.
So it's going to be importantto be able to guard your mind
and to be able to train it in away that you're able to use it
to the fullest.
And again, for me, I'mparalyzed from the neck down.
(35:05):
I can't use my body to distractme.
Only thing that I have is mymind.
I have my faith, my family andmy mind.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
So, again, protect your most valuable asset,
utilize it to the fullest, whichis your mind so, trinell, back
in the day, when I used to workwith the, the at-risk kids in
the boot camp and with juveniledetention and some other
programs, I used to ask the kidsthis question.
(35:37):
I said if I gave you a watercanteen, and I gave you a water
faucet and I told you we weregoing to take a trip across the
desert, I said what would you dowith that canteen?
And they'd all look at me likeI was stupid and they said well,
of course, mr Aaron, I'd fillup my canteen, I'd fill it to
the brim, I'd drink as muchwater as I could, I'd get my
(35:59):
shirt and get it wet.
I said why would you do allthat?
And they said because I got toget across the desert.
I said that's right, what do youknow about deserts?
And they said, well, they'rehot, they're dry and you're
going to need that.
I said, well, how do you knowthat?
I said you ever been to one?
Well, no, but I know peoplethat have and they've told me
about it.
I said, good, Guess what I knowabout life?
(36:20):
It's a long, hot desert andthis right here is your canteen.
And you better fill it up withas much information as you can,
because I'm telling you it'slong and it's hard out there and
you're going to need to havewisdom and discernment and all
(36:40):
the tools up here in your toolbelt to get through that desert
of life.
And they all say, well, I guessthat kind of makes sense.
I said, dang right, it makessense.
Now I'm going to get to tellthem be about so, be about
filling that canteen up yes, sir, definitely all right, trinell,
I appreciate you so much and Iappreciate your willingness to
share.
Trinnell, I appreciate you somuch and I appreciate your
(37:01):
willingness to share and, ify'all didn't catch it earlier,
he just came off of a little bitof a sickness, so this was a
real challenge to step up anddeliver today and you did it
exceptionally, by the way, andyour assistant there, she's
exceptional as well, and I justappreciate both of you and your
willingness to help us today.
Um, every guest gets a funquestion at the end, trinnell,
(37:23):
so you get a fun question too.
All right, I want to know, mrTrinnell Walker, what is the
best concert you've ever been to?
Speaker 3 (37:32):
oh man, it's been so long since I've been to a
concert but I think, think Iremember, man, when I was
younger man, going to a NewEdition concert.
Man, I had never been to aconcert before in my life and I
went with my stepmom and it wasa great concert and it was very,
yeah, it was great.
That's why I still remember itNew.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Edition.
I remember New Edition.
Look at you go.
I loved it.
That's the other thing I likeabout this podcast, trinell, is
we get a whole spectrum, as youmight imagine.
I've got everything fromcountry western to heavy metal.
One on here that love pit bullI've heard everything so
(38:14):
everything so awesome.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
What about you?
Speaker 2 (38:19):
Oh man, if you were to grab my my phone right now
and look at my music category,I've got everything from Frank
Sinatra, the contemporaryChristian, to rock and roll, to
a little R and B to a little.
I mean I even got some oldschool run DMC rap in there.
I got Jimmy Buffett, michaelBublé.
(38:41):
I'm a diehard Bruce Springsteenfan, so I kind of like a little
bit of everything.
Speaker 3 (38:49):
Oh, good deal, Good deal.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
Well, listen, let's wrap it up.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank youso much for stopping by.
I meant the fact that you'rewilling to give us a little bit
of your time.
I meant the only thing we getto do with time is spend it, and
the fact that you stopped by toshare and listen to Trinnell.
Just pour into us To share theTrinnell effect, to share live,
(39:23):
to share lead.
But I would say, you know, Ithink there's even something
deeper there, and that's forTrinnell to share his testimony,
and I appreciate hiscourageousness, his willingness.
Trinnell, around our shop wehave a saying that goes like
this.
It says when your values areclear, your choices are easy.
(39:46):
When your values are clear,your choices are easy.
The other thing that we say isthat the essence of leadership
is to plant trees under whoseshades you may never sit and
Trenel.
Your willingness to share isplanting a lot of great trees
(40:09):
and there's going to be somemighty oaks one day because of
what you're doing for us, thankyou.
Thank you so much for joining us.
Ladies and gentlemen, until wemeet again, go out and do
something great for somebody.
You'll feel good about it, andmaybe our homes, community,
state, country will be a betterplace to again go out and do
something great for somebody.
You'll feel good about it, andmaybe our homes, community,
state, country will be a betterplace to live, work and raise
our kids because of it.
We'll see you on the nextepisode of Growing Our Future.
Everybody, take care Bye.
Speaker 1 (40:36):
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.
Learn more at mytexasffaorg.
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