October 3, 2025 • 46 mins
Author, speaker, and life coach Brad Lomenick sits down to discuss life strategies like the "who factor" people in life that encourage, equip, and empower. Be a positive catalyst in an organization and the importance of being humble, hungry, and full of hustle.
We explore how gratitude beats entitlement, why access plus hustle changes careers, and how H3—humility, hunger, hustle—becomes a durable edge for students, educators, and leaders in agriculture. Brad shares the “who factor,” feedback loops, and the art of creating mile markers that last.
• gratitude as a leader’s temperature setter
• entitlement contrasted with service and hospitality
• R2A2 framework for turning ideas into action
• Brad’s journey, mentors, and the who factor
• building networks and using access without entitlement
• curiosity as a core leadership habit
• H3 framework: humility, hunger, hustle in balance
• rhythms that prevent burnout and enable generosity
• agriculture’s future: tech, relationships, communication
• feedback loops and practical self-awareness
• memory moments and creating mile markers for others
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:10):
Agricultural science education leadership development
and insights from subject matterexperts and sponsors who provide
the field to make dreams cometrue.
SPEAKER_05 (00:30):
Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, or
whenever you're tuning in to theGrowing Our Future podcast, uh
first off, we're gonna startwith a thank you.
Thank you for stopping by.
You know, uh time is such aprecious commodity.
The only thing we can do with itis spend it.
We can't hoard it, we can't saveit.
(00:50):
We just got to spend it.
So the fact that you're willingto spend a little time with us,
we want to start by saying thankyou.
The Growing Our Future podcastis all about exactly what it
says growing the future.
I tell people if agriculture'staught me anything, it's taught
me that.
If you want to know what thefuture is, grow it.
Well, how do you grow it?
You got to plant the rightseeds, you got to take care of
(01:13):
it, you got to harvest it, andthen you got to share it.
And that is the essence of life.
I'm always on the lookout forgreat speakers, great
presenters, folks withincredible insights, experience,
and expertise.
I was recently at Leaderfest,Wichita Falls Chamber of
Commerce, and I heard thisgentleman speak.
(01:34):
And when I did, I said, I've gotto reach out, I got to ask him
to come on and pour into us likehe poured into us that day.
So it is an honor to welcomeauthor, speaker, mentor.
I mean, you probably got moretitles, collaborator.
(01:54):
But we've got Brad Lomanickhere.
Brad, thank you so much forjoining us today.
SPEAKER_01 (02:00):
Honored, man.
Honored to be on.
That was a great day in WichitaFalls.
SPEAKER_05 (02:03):
It was.
Yeah, it was bookend from uhfrom the time it started to the
time it ended.
It was just drinking from thefire hose.
Just great, great information.
SPEAKER_02 (02:13):
Yes.
SPEAKER_05 (02:13):
And again, I wanted to say thank you.
Um, we had a chance to visit uhbefore you went on stage.
And uh again, uh I I picked upreal quick, you know, I didn't
know a whole lot about this guy,but I knew that he was uh
definitely humble.
Uh he was hungry, and I couldtell that he was full of hustle.
There you go.
(02:33):
I don't know if we'll hearanything about that later, but I
bet we will.
SPEAKER_04 (02:37):
But let's go.
SPEAKER_05 (02:38):
Brad, let's start off with this.
I I ask every guest that comesonto this podcast the same first
question, because I think it'sjust a great way to reflect on a
day and a life.
But that question is, what areyou grateful for today?
SPEAKER_01 (02:55):
Yeah, it is a great question.
Thank you.
By the way, Aaron, thanks forhaving me on.
Seriously, I'm I'm honored.
And uh, as John Maxwell alwayssays and taught me when I was a
knucklehead 20-something, if wecan help one person a day, we're
winning.
If we can add value to oneperson.
I hope we add more value thanthat to many people, but if we
can help one person, then thisis a good use of our time.
(03:18):
Um, grateful.
What am I grateful for today?
I'm grateful for uh life.
I'm actually, I won't tell youwhere I am, but I'm somewhere
that the ocean is close.
And, you know, to be able to seethe ocean, to to know that
there's a creator, that there'sa God that's you know,
orchestrating all things and toto have a I would say an
(03:40):
abundance mindset, you know, inin general.
And this is hard.
This is hard.
We find ourselves everythingabout us as leaders, whether
it's today or next week or lastmonth or a year from now, it
tends to pull us down, right?
I mean, we we tend to get pulleddown to to cynicism, to to what
(04:02):
feels like um division.
We move the wrong direction.
And so I would, you know, I'mI'm grateful for hope and
optimism.
I'm grateful for the a visionthat says, you know what, like
tomorrow can be better thantoday, and today matters.
So that that's my generalresponse.
SPEAKER_05 (04:21):
It was perfect.
By the way, we could stop rightthere.
We're not going to, but wecould.
Um by the way, I agree witheverything you just said.
Um, you know, uh a mutual friendof ours is a guy named Tom
Ziggler, and uh Tom was on theEast Coast, he's with he's the
son of the late great ZigZiggler, and Tom was on the East
(04:42):
Coast and he was talking to somecollege kids and he he talked
about gratitude, and they talkeda lot about the emotion and
things that go with gratitude,um, energy, optimism, hope.
And they go through all of thesethings associated with with
gratitude, and then he asked himthis question he said, What is
the opposite of gratitude?
(05:03):
And it got quiet, and everybodythought about it.
And finally, Tom said, theopposite of gratitude is
entitlement.
Yeah, and just like that, theemotions change.
That's not fair.
I'm angry.
Give that to me.
And so I think if we can justtake one little nugget to start
(05:25):
this podcast, it's that if eachday we wake up and we say, you
know, today I've got a day, likeyou just said, to make a
difference, to encouragesomeone, to empower someone, to
equip someone, to be that personthat brings hope to somebody
else in their life.
What a blessing that is to havethat opportunity.
(05:46):
And so I'll start by sayingthank you.
I'm grateful that you came onthe show.
SPEAKER_01 (05:51):
Well, and and you and I both speak, you know, we
go places and and either we'rebeing hosted or we host people.
And you could to your point ofwhat Tom said, you know, the the
entitlement, like I I want to II love it when people honor me
with great hospitality.
SPEAKER_04 (06:09):
Yes, right?
SPEAKER_01 (06:10):
So do you.
Yes.
But here's here's where it getsweird or it gets where it's
where it's dangerous is that Iexpect that.
So now I'm showing up and I'mI'm looking around going, okay,
where where's the person that'ssupposed to be getting me the
right snacks?
And you know, the proverbialwe've heard the story of the
green MMs, you know, in thegreen room.
And that is that's bothdangerous for us as leaders or
(06:33):
just as people, but it also italso pulls people down.
But when I'm the person whowalks in the room as the speaker
or the athlete or the coach orthe principal or the
superintendent and says, Man,I'm so grateful that you all
would host me with such a levelof hospitality.
(06:55):
I don't expect it, but I'mreally grateful for it.
Um compared to I'm here and Iexpect it, and now if you don't
meet my expectations, then I'mgonna pull all of you towards
cynicism.
And that's just that's part ofour role as a leader is to
change the temperature in theroom wherever we show up.
SPEAKER_05 (07:16):
Well, that's good.
You know, it's real simple.
That's like I tell I what I liketo tell folks is a fountain can
only rise as high as its head.
So to your point, there's aresponsibility that comes with
that.
And um, I'm gonna have to getsome tips from you because I've
never had those opportunitiesfor expectation.
I just try to show up and get anopportunity.
SPEAKER_01 (07:37):
So listen, take it to the you know, the the person
in charge of their of theirlocal FFA chapter in the high
school, right?
Or take it to the principal ofthe school, or take it to the
captain of the football team, orthe head football coach.
SPEAKER_04 (07:48):
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (07:49):
Everywhere we go, the the leader always has to set
the temperature by beinggrateful and walking in with a
sense of a sense of, hey, I'mhonored that you all would host
me well.
SPEAKER_05 (08:00):
Yes, that is exactly it, right there.
And by the way, what you justsaid, and I hope everybody heard
it, it's a choice that we make.
Yeah.
It's an easy choice.
It we purposely walk in and say,I'm gonna be grateful today, and
I'm gonna try to lift everybodyelse up around me.
Um that that was that wasexcellent.
Uh, one of the things throughthis podcast that we kind of
(08:23):
encourage people to do ispractice R2A2.
I don't know if you've everheard this before, but I tell
people to R2A2 things.
So planting seeds of greatness,we're gonna learn to R2A2.
So as we listen to Brad today,he's already given it to us, by
the way.
Just watch this.
He's already given it to us.
We're gonna recognize, we'regonna relate, we're gonna
(08:45):
assimilate, and then we're gonnaapply.
So he's already shared with usthis importance of being
purposely grateful.
I recognize that.
So I related to that.
Now I've got to take in that,I've got to take that in and
assimilate it.
And then the law of reciprocity,I've got to go share that.
(09:07):
I've got to go give that back tosomebody.
So as we go through thesepodcasts and we are to A2
things, that's why I told y'allhe was going to be a great
guest.
Because immediately now,immediately, we're talking about
that role of a leader in settingthat grateful compass.
Um, because we recognize thatthat's a responsibility good
(09:28):
leaders have.
So thank you for that.
I want the audience to know alittle bit more about you.
Uh, again, you're you're anauthor, you're a speaker, you've
got a very accomplished career.
Uh, something tells me, I'm justguessing, something tells me you
did not just fall into thatseat.
Something tells me that therewas a journey that kind of got
(09:50):
you there.
So share with the audience howdid Brad Lomanick get to where
he's at now to have this passionto write books, to pour into
others.
Give us a little bit of thatjourney.
SPEAKER_01 (10:01):
Sure.
Well, I grew up in Oklahoma,just outside of Tulsa.
So Boomer Sooner to all mySooner friends.
You know, every other school inTexas, we have a similarity.
We all we all can't stand theburn orange.
So for all my Texas friends, youknow what I'm saying, because
you hate me just as much as Ihate you, uh, in, you know, in
deep respect and admiration.
(10:22):
But I was a son of a footballcoach, uh high school football
coach, and grew up in a smalltown and and really felt the I I
would say this, I felt a senseof purpose on my life of being a
leader.
I didn't know what that meant,you know.
I I remember first grade Aaron,you know, showing up and my
parents didn't tell me this, butjust this sense that I needed to
(10:44):
be somebody in that class infirst grade who was going to
step up and step out and make adifference.
Now, again, you don't know whatthat is when you're six, but
there was intrinsic things in methat felt like I needed to be a
tone center.
And uh, you know, ran did allthe school, uh ran for all the
school offices and played sportsand and then went to the
(11:06):
University of Oklahoma and got ahistory degree.
But for and I was gonna go tolaw school.
But then I about three or fouryears later, I met John Maxwell,
and he was uh he had anorganization that was doing
conferences and events.
And it was the first time for methat let's take leadership as an
industry, that it felt likethere was an organization and a
(11:28):
person that I could connect mywagon to and perhaps and perhaps
have a let's call it a career orat least an assignment that
would start to connect the dotsfor me of let's take all these
things that feel likebreadcrumbs in my life around
leadership and now let's turnthem into something.
So I started doing events andstarted putting on big
(11:49):
conferences and and then thatgave me runway for for having a
platform to write books or be anadvisor or to you know be a
gatherer of leaders.
Um, but I would say this again,practically, for all my all the
students listening, the the thekey lesson for me that I want to
pass on is um there are thingsin your life when you're a kid
(12:12):
that are truest about you.
And part of our job as a leaderis self-awareness.
And so to when when people startasking you, what do you want to
do with your life and what areyou gonna major in?
And you know, how are you gonnaget to the finish line of the
job or the industry or theorganization you want to get
connected to, you got to payattention to those things.
Um, but also you have to equallygive yourself freedom,
(12:33):
especially let's call it in yourfirst quarter of life, to have a
bunch of different things thatgive you experience.
Because you can only reverseengineer and look back on a
bunch of different things andfeel like, wait, that one seemed
to be a great fit for me.
That one didn't necessarily.
I tried to be a good, a goodsteward and be faithful in that
(12:54):
job or that role.
So you've got to have somethings that you can you can look
back on.
And also the who factor.
The who factor for me was threeor four people.
Three or four people over thecourse, let's call it for me,
from 18 to 30.
Three or four people, the whofactor.
In fact, I probably need towrite a book or somebody needs
(13:14):
to write a book on the whofactor.
But the who for me gave merunway for the what.
And that who in my life, it wasa pastor, it was a a business
leader, it was a mentor, it wasJohn Maxwell, they gave me
enough evidence, or at leastrunway, to then start to get
clear on the why and the what,the where and the when.
(13:38):
So if you're if you're in aseason where you're where you're
navigating questions of what'snext for me, find a good who.
This is why teachers and coachesand administrators and people
who are mentors in the earlypart of your journey, they're
why they're so important,because they're the who factor
for you.
Every single one of us, Aaron, Iknow you would have them, and I
(14:00):
have them, but the coaches in mylife who said, I'm gonna invest
something in you when you're 14that you don't even know is
gonna be that big of a deal.
But um, so I'll stop there andlet you and let you ask
questions or follow up onanything specific.
But that's the the number onestory on my life is I was given
opportunities I didn't deserve,but many of those were because
(14:24):
of I was hanging around theright people and had proximity.
SPEAKER_05 (14:31):
Well, there's there's some really good stuff
there, by the way, Brad, justthe way you just shared that.
So one of the programs that wehave through the foundation is
called the FoundationAmbassadors, and we'll have
about 300 kids apply and about70 that get chosen.
We put them through a leadershipdevelopment program, and then
they host executives,dignitaries, policymakers.
(14:53):
I mean, the number of peoplethey will meet in one week is
incredible.
But one of the things that we dothrough that program is we teach
them what's called thethree-foot rule and we tell them
to get to know anybody withinthree feet of them because those
people will one day become theircolleagues, their constituents,
their customers.
But but people with strongnetworks, they they solve
(15:15):
problems quicker.
They're able to capitalize onopportunities.
And again, when I R2A2 thingsthat you say, that one really
jumped out at me.
Be on the lookout, both withyour ears and your eyes.
Be on the lookout for those whofactors, those those people that
may be in that network, that oneday build that runway, that
(15:39):
create an author or a coach, oryou know, what whatever it may
be that you choose to besuccessful in in life.
But I I think what I like thatyou said was number one, you
know, it's like I say it thisway we were not created to be
the Lone Rangers.
Life is not a solo project.
Uh, none of us is as strong asall of us.
(16:01):
And when you said that, Ithought that that's a nugget
right there.
Identify people.
One one of my board members,what he tells the young people,
he said, get your own personalboard of directors.
Yeah.
Build your own personal board offolks that will pour into you
and make you better.
SPEAKER_01 (16:20):
And it's never been easier to find to have who
factors mean multiple, meaningit doesn't I want it to be prox
proximity for people, sure, butbut even the idea that now I can
have people and voices andresources in my life that are
far from me.
So the ability for us to in inmany ways, again, create our own
(16:43):
runway of learning, personalgrowth, development, that we
have more resources and contentand podcasts and voices at our
fingertips than we've ever hadin the history of mankind.
Uh, so there's really no excuse,you know.
And the other thing is true,Aaron, about about where we find
ourselves is accessibility isactually now something that has
(17:09):
come to all of us, meaning theability for for anybody to get
in touch with anybody that's aand I think that's a good thing.
I mean, I think it's it's removethe barriers of of you know,
does the 18-year-old have theability to to reach out to a CEO
of a$20 billion company and getsome kind of response?
(17:31):
Now, the challenge for many ofmy friends who are younger goes
back to entitlement.
It goes back to how am I goingto approach the hustle that it
takes to reach out to 20 peopleand get no response compared to,
you know, I'm expecting somebodyto now like be in my world and
to mentor me and to, you know,meet with me every Friday.
(17:52):
Um so I think the the hustlefactor has to be part of this of
hey, like it's your job.
It's your job.
That's the beauty of once wegraduate, uh, once we get into
the you know, let's call it theadult world, now we have the
ability to curate our ownlearning journey.
And those are the people I mean,work working for John Maxwell,
(18:15):
uh he's 77, 78 now.
And some people may not know hisname, but you know, you and I
both know he's a prettysignificant leadership voice.
And he still goes to the eventsand the gatherings and the and
the the the round tables, andhe's got his notebook out.
(18:36):
And he's learning from everybodysitting at the table.
And that's a posture, again,just like we talked about with
being grateful, a posture of ofcuriosity, of of of having a
mindset of I'm still hungry.
I may be the goat in the room, Imay be the the grand poo-bah,
but I'm still gonna I'm stillgonna have a posture that says
(18:57):
everywhere I go is a classroom.
And that's so attractive.
It doesn't take talent.
Wow, just like gratefulness, itdoesn't take talent to be
hungry.
You automatically gain influenceand credibility when when you
are the most curious person atthe table.
SPEAKER_05 (19:13):
I mean, uh one of the programs that we put, we
have a program for teachers, bythe way, and we put 36 teachers,
three from each of 12 areas onthe state of Texas on a bus,
will travel a thousand miles,they'll visit 17 locations,
they'll hear from over 70speakers.
But when they get theirnotebooks, when they open it up,
the first thing they see is justthe simple word question.
(19:35):
And I always ask them, what'sthe root word of the word
question?
Quest.
Go on an adventure.
Every chance you get to listen,to learn, ask questions.
Go on an adventure.
And I and I agree with you thatwhen I think of John Maxwell, by
the way, I recently taught aBible study over 21 Laws of
(19:56):
Leadership from the Bible.
Let's go.
It's a great book, by the way,but I love a lot of John's.
I use so many of his one-liners.
Uh, never underestimate thestatus quo.
A lot of people worked hard toget it there.
And that just so many coolthings about dissecting
leadership and success.
And but but it's what you justsaid, Brad.
(20:17):
And what you just said wasexactly what triggered my
thought on that.
You know, in our world ofagriculture, we always say when
you green, you grow.
When you ripe, you write.
And I've always noticed thatgreat leaders are always
growing.
They're always asking what'snext.
I I just shared the other daythat of all the people that I've
been blessed to come in contactwith, the word next is in every
(20:40):
vocabulary.
It doesn't matter if it's asuccess, what's next?
If it's a setback, what's next?
If it's a trial, what's next?
It's always looking forward.
Uh they take time to celebrate.
Don't take me wrong.
They take time to celebrate, todissect, like John Maxwell talks
about.
(21:00):
Do an autopsy on that success.
Do an autopsy on that failure.
But but keep looking at what'snext.
And um, you know, the there's agentleman that works for the
Texas Workforce Commission, JoeEsparza, he's one of the
commissioners.
And he said something in ameeting the other day.
And I I wrote it down and I wentup to him afterwards.
(21:20):
I said, I want to make sure Igot this right.
I said, Do you realize what youjust said?
And he said, Well, I don't know.
I said, Well, let me just tellyou what you said, make sure I
got it right.
And you you said it,accessibility.
And this is what he said.
He said, Small towns are justone click away from big
business.
Wow, I love it.
(21:42):
I has a powerful quote.
Small towns are just one clickaway.
Now think about what that meansto go back to your Who Factor.
Go back to what you justdescribed.
That's one click away now.
It doesn't matter if you're inDallas or Houston or New York,
you could be in Paducah,Kentucky or Paducah, Texas.
(22:02):
You've got that opportunity justto have that one click to
accessibility, that chance togrow, that chance to learn.
Yeah, so good, man.
All right, let's stay with someof your projects here.
So um if we're gonna post yourwebsite so everybody can go and
check out and see what all youhave.
(22:23):
But um, I noticed that you'vewritten several books.
Uh, by the way, one of them Iyears ago, years and years and
years ago, I'm going all the wayback to 1992.
SPEAKER_01 (22:36):
Oh gosh.
SPEAKER_05 (22:37):
Um, I actually started uh a consulting company
called Catalyst Dynamics becauseI love the word catalyst.
I love the word catalyst becauseit invokes action and movement
and change.
And I know that that you talk alot about catalyst leadership.
You talk about H3, which I wouldlike for you to talk about, but
(23:00):
would you mind just sharing alittle bit about why it's
important, why catalystleadership matters, and why does
this H3 approach matter?
SPEAKER_01 (23:10):
Yeah.
Yeah, sure.
Well, and Catalyst was a as itwas actually a conference, it
was a number of conferences, andit sort of became a a pretty big
movement, let's call it that,back from the year 2000 to 2020
for about 20 years.
And this was all part of youknow, when I got connected to
John Maxwell.
And um, it it was a gatheringprimarily of younger leaders,
(23:32):
and it was focused on under 40leaders in America, and it was a
great run.
I agree, Aaron.
Like, you know, the idea that acatalyst is it sparks a change,
but it leaves no residue ofitself.
So it creates change, but it'snot about itself.
Um, and the the premise that youknow we can we can be those kind
of change agents, everybody'screating some kind of impact on
(23:54):
the people around them, and tojust be an agent of change, a
spark for other people.
Um, H3 for me is really myframework.
I would call it my framework ofof influence.
And you know, over the yearswhen interns would come in to
our team who were you know 21and they were ready to change
(24:16):
the world and sort of wondering,okay, how do how do we approach
things here?
And how do I how do I get yourjob?
How do I how do I become youknow the the standout?
And my answer was always behumble, stay hungry, always
hustle.
Like that framework of behumble, stay hungry, always
hustle.
And so that you know, it itturned into a book title, but
(24:36):
before way before it was a booktitle, it was it was for me the
framework of leadership andhumility, hunger, hustle.
And within those three buckets,you know, there's a number of
different of different thingsthat I would say are habits that
allow you to live those outwell.
But you know, to give peoplejust a quick, a really quick
flyover, I think the theimportant piece of humility is
(24:59):
self-awareness.
And you know, we've all we'veall been around leaders or
probably work for leaders who uhwho wanted to be humble, but
they were living such a uminsecure life as a leader.
They they they hadn't reallytackled the the issues of
self-awareness, and now they'rethey're running something that
(25:21):
is significant, they're incharge of something, they they
have like they have hierarchicalpower, they have they have uh
authority based on a title, butthere's everybody who's around
them, they they would look atthem and go, you you just don't
get it.
And that's a very dangerousplace to be as a leader.
Here's the answer, here's theantidote, which is hard for a
(25:45):
lot of us, the antidote to toinsecurity as a leader is to
lean into self-awareness and andstart to understand that the
people who work for you or thatare being led by you, they
already know.
They they already know thethings that you may not be good
(26:06):
at, or the things that youwrestle with, or the times when
you get mad, or the times whenyou lose your temper, or so part
of our job as leaders is tocreate congruency between what
they know and what I think theyknow or I tell them I know,
right?
Um hunger, we've just talkedabout it, you know, the posture
(26:27):
of a curious curiosity, thewillingness to walk into any
room and feel like you're stillthe most curious and willing to
learn.
Uh and then hustle, the hustlefactor for me is is a is a con
it's a holistic hustle mindsetor a holistic hustle
perspective, which says, I'mwilling to work hard, I'm
willing to stick things out, I'mwilling to execute, I'm willing
(26:51):
to be the person that solvesproblems, but I'm also gonna be
aware that because of myambition, there's probably some
things I need to put into mylife that are going to regulate
my life.
And what I because what I don'twant to see people do is hustle
and then burn out or hustle andthen crash.
(27:12):
And so part of what we have todo as leaders again is when it
comes to hustle, is you have tostart to create rhythms of life.
And that means margin, it meansSabbath, it means uh
collaboration, it meansgenerosity, it means
gratefulness.
So my definition of hustle is aagain, a holistic definition.
I'm not saying that the thefocus here is a zero-sum
(27:34):
scarcity game.
Right.
Let's just go chase it and thenwhoever wins, you get it all.
No, the proper hustle factor isone to say, I'm gonna hustle to
create a space for generosity tooccur.
And that that's a differentperspective on on the word
hustle, at least the way I lookat it.
SPEAKER_05 (27:53):
Well, that's gold right there, though.
SPEAKER_01 (27:55):
Um and we can dive into any of those if you want
to.
SPEAKER_05 (27:59):
That's where my mind was going.
I'm sitting here and I'mthinking, um, so on a well, let
me take it 30,000, then we'regonna bring it back down.
So, you know, one of theexamples that I use is, you
know, I ask students, I said,how many high schools are in the
state of Texas?
And never fails somebody to saya lot.
I said, Yeah, there's a lot.
I said, There's actually over3,000 high schools in the state
(28:21):
of Texas.
And then I ask them, how many ofthem are gonna have a graduating
class this year?
Every one of them.
Now think about that.
All these kids are gonna get beout looking for a job, a
scholarship, or an opportunity.
And at the end of the day,you've got to have a competitive
edge.
What's gonna be your competitiveedge?
It could be a firm handshake,it's it could be a yes or no,
(28:42):
sir, yes, ma'am, no, ma'am.
But there could be somethingthat gives you that little bit
of edge that opens that door ofopportunity.
And I think what I reallyappreciated when you shared the
H3 is I immediately viewed thatas a competitive edge.
I thought, immediately, if wecan plant that seed of realize
and walk in there.
(29:03):
Um, let me just brag on Bradhere, real quick.
Let me give you an example.
He and I were talking, and Iknew that he was one of the
speakers on the program, but Idid not identify him right away.
He and I are sitting theretalking, he's asking me
questions.
He's inquiring about what I doand who I am and what's going
(29:24):
on.
And then it dawned on me, I go,this is the keynote.
But but but the reason I sharethat, but by the way, that's
happened to me before, too.
But the reason I share thatthough is because when your
values are clear, your choicesare easy.
When you're when your values areclear, your choices are easy.
He wrote a book about that.
(29:44):
I got to witness it in practice.
SPEAKER_01 (29:47):
Yeah, and I better live it out if I'm writing about
it.
I better be a good example ofit.
SPEAKER_05 (29:51):
That's what I'm saying.
I loved it because you know,everybody that knows me on
social media, I go by the handto live your brand.
And and I tell people that whatwe like.
Share, comment on, and what wedo, that becomes our brand to
the public.
To your point, when you didthat, you became that brand that
I began to know.
So again, when I think aboutplanting seeds of greatness, and
(30:13):
we can think about being humble,curious, going on an adventure
to think about that I've got tobe hungry.
I don't know it all.
I loved when you said the firstquarter of life.
Um, because I've you probablyhave friends that talk about the
first, second, third, and fourthquarter.
(30:34):
And I'm in that third quarterright now.
And it's just the reality of,you know, uh, but at the same
time, though, Brad, I'm in thethird quarter.
In the words of Zig, I'm notgonna let up, shut up, give up
until I'm taken up.
I'm just getting warmed up.
So let's go.
We're still moving, right?
We're still trying to be thatcatalyst.
(30:55):
And I think that's what createssome of that hustle, by the way.
SPEAKER_01 (30:59):
Yes.
Yeah.
And and ultimately, you knowthis, Aaron.
Like you're probably look atthose three legs of the stool.
Let's just call them three legsof a of a stool.
SPEAKER_04 (31:07):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (31:08):
The the humility, hunger, hustle.
Um, and by the way, PatLincioni, who's a great author,
you know, wrote FiveDysfunctions of a Team and The
Advantage.
SPEAKER_04 (31:18):
Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_01 (31:19):
Uh, he he wrote a book called Ideal Team Player.
And Ideal Team Player, he talksabout humble, hungry, smart.
And there's a lot of crossoverthere, a lot of similarities.
Um, but if you think about thethree legs of the stool, we
can't choose to only do one ofthose legs.
And I I know a lot of leaderswho have a huge amount of
(31:40):
humility.
Like they they understand it'snot about them, there's a bigger
story, they're self-aware, theythey they walk into a room with
even a sense of curiosity, butthey don't do anything.
They just talk about it, theythey don't ever make anything
happen.
Their hustle factor is very low.
Um, and then there's just theopposite.
(32:00):
There's people who who arehustling and they're crushing
it, and they get things done andthey're winning and they have
ambition, but their humility isnon-existent.
So now they they run overeverybody and they they do think
it's all about them.
And so these things have to bekept in balance.
(32:22):
You you have to look at youryour whole scorecard as a
leader, and you can't just getan A in hustle and get an F in
humility, or vice versa.
Um, so this is a this again,this is a holistic perspective
on what does it take for me to,you know, to be the best kind of
leader I can be.
And there's lots of different,again, there's lots of
(32:43):
frameworks.
Man, there's so many frameworksout there, but for me, this was
this was truly like a playbookthat I could then like pass on,
especially to younger leaderstoday.
So that's you know, when peopleask, well, who do I write that
book for?
I kind of wrote it for the22-year-old who's just coming
out of college and is trying tofigure out how do I, as you
said, how do I create a corevalue system that's gonna allow
(33:05):
me to have a 50-year pathway toinfluence and greatness.
SPEAKER_05 (33:10):
Let's bring this back to a little bit to the ag
world real quick.
So the other day I was asked tocome and talk, and it was about
what is the future ofagriculture.
And I said, Well, you know, itdidn't take me long to figure
that out.
I said, by 2050, we're gonnahave about 9.8 billion people on
this earth.
41% of the earth's surface isarid land.
(33:33):
To feed 9.8 billion people, wewould need two additional
planets.
So I said, I think the future ofagriculture looks pretty bright.
But but with that are gonna comesome real challenges.
Um, we're gonna have to embracesome new technologies.
And as I began to think aboutthat, and I thought about what
(33:55):
you just shared about the threeH's, I thought, you know, it I
talked a little bit about AI.
I said AI is gonna be a reality.
I said, but there's really gonnabe three things that I think are
gonna drive where we're headed,and that is relationships,
collaboration, and effectivecommunication.
(34:18):
I think AI is gonna be a part ofall those.
But let me tell you what theywon't replace.
And I'm I'm sharing all that toshare what you just said that
really hit me.
One of my favorite books that Iread on leadership is by Wes
Roberts, Leadership Secrets ofAttila the Hun.
And I love when Wes describedhow Attila would put the young
(34:38):
Huns around a campfire, and thenhe would put the older Huns
behind them, and they wouldbegin telling stories of battles
and victories and defeats andstrategies and techniques so
that the young Huns could heartheir emotion, they could hear
their tone, not what they readon an app, not what they read
(35:03):
through Chat GPT, but they hearwhat Brad just said when he
found his runway and the whofactor, and then he plugged that
in.
And what did it do?
It gave him tools to grow acareer.
And whoever's listening to thispodcast, again, go back to what
(35:23):
we're talking about growing thefuture, competitive edge.
Brad has shared some great stuffright here.
I love the analogy of thethree-stool that because that
would be wobbly if it got out ofout of balance.
Yes.
(35:43):
You can't have one without theother, or you're working too
hard.
SPEAKER_01 (35:49):
And how do how do I know, Aaron?
That's always a good questionfor leaders, is well, how do I
know if I'm out of balance, orhow do I know if I'm if I'm
winning in my framework and inmy playbook?
Well, a lot of times we're we'vegot a feedback loop that is
built into us with withobviously your family, with
(36:10):
spouse, with your friends,circle, uh, the your employees,
your co-workers.
I mean, the the thing that mostleaders fall short on is they
they don't allow back to thisquestion of every everywhere you
go is a classroom, but alsoeverywhere you go is an
opportunity for you to getbetter because you're giving
(36:32):
permission to people around youto help you understand what it's
like to be on the other side ofyou.
And and this is where mostleaders fall short.
They they don't do the hard workof they'll say, I have an open
door policy, and everybody says,Yeah, but last time somebody
went in there, it was ugly.
And this is the this is thepower of again leaders who go to
(36:57):
the next level ofintentionality, is you you now
start giving people permission,saying, Hey, like give me
feedback, give me feedback, helpme get better.
I want to be better as a leader,I want to be better as a as a
team team member.
Um, and the the other thing hereis is you we are all in charge
of that.
(37:17):
Do not wait on an organizationto set the tone of your level of
intentionality.
Um, because most organizationswill fall short.
Because there's too many,there's too much bureaucracy,
and there's too much, you know,there's too, there's too many
things that get in the way.
So don't ever let the excuse be,well, I'm waiting on my
(37:39):
principal, or I'm waiting on myschool district, or I'm waiting,
don't, don't wait.
You set the tone.
You be the one that is thecatalyst for that, for that
group of teachers that's nowgonna say, we're gonna take it
to another level.
SPEAKER_05 (37:54):
I don't know about you, but I've always come to the
conclusion that God doesn't havea problem hitting a moving
target.
So to your point, don't wait,move.
Um, because you're gonna learnone way or the other if you're
willing to be open to thatfeedback, that loop.
I love that that loop.
Um that's good stuff.
(38:16):
Good stuff.
All right.
Well, like I said, I knew thiswould go fast, and I knew that
we'd cover some really goodseeds.
Um I've got a lot.
I wrote a whole page down ofstuff, so I'm like, this is
gold, gold.
And I'll be sharing it, by theway, with others.
Um it uh and I'll tell them whoit was, I'll tell them where to
(38:39):
come to find it because it'sthat good.
Um, Brad, but as we get ready towrap up, uh every guest on the
show gets a fun question.
I like it.
So you get a fun question.
So I'm just curious.
What is the best concert you'veever been to?
Best concert?
SPEAKER_01 (39:00):
Oh.
Uh well, I'm I got one.
It's U2 at Mile High Stadium inDenver, the old Mile High
Stadium.
SPEAKER_05 (39:11):
Really?
SPEAKER_01 (39:12):
The original Mile High Stadium in Denver.
Yeah.
How cool is that?
Back when U2 was doing theirtour with the massive like claw.
This was this was circa probably2015 or 16, maybe somewhere in
there.
So yeah, and and here's thething, like I don't I don't roll
like this, but I had because ofsome friends, I had access to to
(39:36):
the uh behind the scenes.
I'll just say that.
So that added to the wholeexperience.
And so I mean and and somefamily and some friends got to
stand at the front of house andexperience the from this from
the from the floor or from theyou know field level watching
(39:57):
one of the best bands ever.
Yep, create such an amazingexperience with people singing
along.
And I mean it was it was uhyeah, it was next level.
So that one stands out.
SPEAKER_05 (40:10):
Well, let me tell you, I'm a fan, just so you
know, I uh I've I've regretted Ihad an opportunity.
There's been two times I'vekicked myself here here we are
talking about going and doing,and I'm telling you, there's
twice now, but I get to tellthis story because I didn't
move.
Um, I had an opportunity to gohear Tom Petty and the
Heartbreakers on the pack upyour plantation, pack up the
(40:33):
plantation tour, and I missedit.
And I had an opportunity to gosee U2 Joshua Tree.
Oh, and all I had to do was justdetour, pull in, and I I didn't
do it.
And uh, but I'm still a fan.
SPEAKER_01 (40:55):
So well, these are you know how these things are
there, you know, whether it'syou two, whether it's Tom Petty
and the Heartbreakers, whetherit's whether it's your family
going on a vacation, whetherit's you like um, you know,
taking somebody to a to asporting event, whether it's a
you know, uh, hey, the the olddays of FFA, by the way, I don't
(41:17):
know if they still do this.
We when I grew up in Oklahoma,we would have the drive your
tractor to work to to school dayback at our high school, but
those are all memory moments.
SPEAKER_03 (41:28):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (41:28):
And what I would call what I would call like
their mile markers on yourjourney.
And don't be so don't be sodriven by by getting to the next
thing that you miss the milemarkers.
Because mile markers, what theyare, is they're they're moments
of of of memories in your life.
(41:48):
And this is again, this is thepower we have.
And this is, you know, thatmaybe this is a good challenge,
inspiration to lead people with,but um, we have the ability to
create mile markers and momentsfor people, and that's that's
part of our job as leaders andinfluencers and catalysts is be
the mile marker creator forpeople in their in their
journey.
(42:09):
Um many times it's just it'sjust remember remembering a
name, it's just sort of the nextlevel of intentionality with
that person.
Um, but we have the power to totransform people because of
that.
SPEAKER_05 (42:22):
All right, Brad, brag on you here for a second.
I've done about 90 of theseepisodes, and that right there
is probably one of the bestwrap-ups we've ever had.
That that was good.
Be a mile marker for somebody'sjourney, and and to have those
mile markers for your ownjourney.
Um, boy, I can relate.
I was diehard Bruce Springsteen,I'm diehard Jimmy Buffett.
(42:46):
So I've got so many mile markersthat I just because that's part
of my brand, I like good livemusic.
And so I'm I was blessed to beable to do it.
And you know, uh the folks thatknow my story know how and why.
I'm so grateful.
Um, grateful to have met you,grateful that you took the time
(43:09):
to join us, and moreimportantly, grateful that
together, you know, Mike Rosesaid something one time when we
were talking about this, thepodcast.
And Mike Rose said, you know, hesaid, Aaron, you do realize what
the term broadcast means.
He gets it's an agriculture termmeans to spread seeds.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I thought, you know, howcool is this that we got this
(43:30):
tool that we get to jump on andwe get to share things that
maybe somebody at the right timeat the right moment needed to
hear.
Yes.
So uh I just want to say thanks,Brad, for thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER_01 (43:48):
Absolutely.
Thanks for having me on.
Thanks, thanks for doing whatyou're doing and continuing to
give people a platform and a anda a place to learn.
And again, as you said about mewhen we first met, I would say
about you to honor you, like youhad a posture of curiosity, like
you were, you know, now that wasyour people, like the the the
(44:10):
leaderfest gathering in WichitaFalls.
I mean, you know, you know thefolks in that room, these are
friends of yours.
Um, but but you actually madeyou you were intentional about
about actually like connectingwith me.
And I think that's also a thingjust to honor you and encourage
this audience with is be theperson that that is willing to
(44:32):
step across the bridge offriendship and of connection.
And know it most people mostpeople they they just stop
short, but you did that for me,and now look what's happening.
SPEAKER_05 (44:45):
We're helping people, and I and I suspect
we'll continue this dialogue.
And um, I again, um, folks,ladies and gentlemen, thank you
for stopping by, the Growing OurFuture podcast.
Uh, again, if you want to knowwhat the future is, grow it.
Today, look, look at all theseincredible seeds of greatness
(45:05):
that were shared today.
I meant Brad just really pouredinto us today.
Uh, check out his website, read,watch his podcasts.
Um, he's got some great stuffout there.
And um, I again, Brad, I'm aJohn Maxwell fan too.
So uh I love the fact that thesefolks are my mentors and they
don't even know it.
So uh, but thank you for sharingsome of your time with us.
(45:29):
Ladies and gentlemen, until wemeet again, go out and do
something great for somebody.
You're gonna feel good about it.
And who knows, you you mightjust plant that tree under whose
shade you may never see.
So thanks so much for joiningus.
SPEAKER_00 (45:48):
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 leadershipin the global marketplace.
Learn more and my Texas FFA.org.
Agricultural science education leadership development
and insights from subject matterexperts and sponsors who provide
the field to make dreams cometrue.
SPEAKER_05 (00:30):
Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, or
whenever you're tuning in to theGrowing Our Future podcast, uh
first off, we're gonna startwith a thank you.
Thank you for stopping by.
You know, uh time is such aprecious commodity.
The only thing we can do with itis spend it.
We can't hoard it, we can't saveit.
(00:50):
We just got to spend it.
So the fact that you're willingto spend a little time with us,
we want to start by saying thankyou.
The Growing Our Future podcastis all about exactly what it
says growing the future.
I tell people if agriculture'staught me anything, it's taught
me that.
If you want to know what thefuture is, grow it.
Well, how do you grow it?
You got to plant the rightseeds, you got to take care of
(01:13):
it, you got to harvest it, andthen you got to share it.
And that is the essence of life.
I'm always on the lookout forgreat speakers, great
presenters, folks withincredible insights, experience,
and expertise.
I was recently at Leaderfest,Wichita Falls Chamber of
Commerce, and I heard thisgentleman speak.
(01:34):
And when I did, I said, I've gotto reach out, I got to ask him
to come on and pour into us likehe poured into us that day.
So it is an honor to welcomeauthor, speaker, mentor.
I mean, you probably got moretitles, collaborator.
(01:54):
But we've got Brad Lomanickhere.
Brad, thank you so much forjoining us today.
SPEAKER_01 (02:00):
Honored, man.
Honored to be on.
That was a great day in WichitaFalls.
SPEAKER_05 (02:03):
It was.
Yeah, it was bookend from uhfrom the time it started to the
time it ended.
It was just drinking from thefire hose.
Just great, great information.
SPEAKER_02 (02:13):
Yes.
SPEAKER_05 (02:13):
And again, I wanted to say thank you.
Um, we had a chance to visit uhbefore you went on stage.
And uh again, uh I I picked upreal quick, you know, I didn't
know a whole lot about this guy,but I knew that he was uh
definitely humble.
Uh he was hungry, and I couldtell that he was full of hustle.
There you go.
(02:33):
I don't know if we'll hearanything about that later, but I
bet we will.
SPEAKER_04 (02:37):
But let's go.
SPEAKER_05 (02:38):
Brad, let's start off with this.
I I ask every guest that comesonto this podcast the same first
question, because I think it'sjust a great way to reflect on a
day and a life.
But that question is, what areyou grateful for today?
SPEAKER_01 (02:55):
Yeah, it is a great question.
Thank you.
By the way, Aaron, thanks forhaving me on.
Seriously, I'm I'm honored.
And uh, as John Maxwell alwayssays and taught me when I was a
knucklehead 20-something, if wecan help one person a day, we're
winning.
If we can add value to oneperson.
I hope we add more value thanthat to many people, but if we
can help one person, then thisis a good use of our time.
(03:18):
Um, grateful.
What am I grateful for today?
I'm grateful for uh life.
I'm actually, I won't tell youwhere I am, but I'm somewhere
that the ocean is close.
And, you know, to be able to seethe ocean, to to know that
there's a creator, that there'sa God that's you know,
orchestrating all things and toto have a I would say an
(03:40):
abundance mindset, you know, inin general.
And this is hard.
This is hard.
We find ourselves everythingabout us as leaders, whether
it's today or next week or lastmonth or a year from now, it
tends to pull us down, right?
I mean, we we tend to get pulleddown to to cynicism, to to what
(04:02):
feels like um division.
We move the wrong direction.
And so I would, you know, I'mI'm grateful for hope and
optimism.
I'm grateful for the a visionthat says, you know what, like
tomorrow can be better thantoday, and today matters.
So that that's my generalresponse.
SPEAKER_05 (04:21):
It was perfect.
By the way, we could stop rightthere.
We're not going to, but wecould.
Um by the way, I agree witheverything you just said.
Um, you know, uh a mutual friendof ours is a guy named Tom
Ziggler, and uh Tom was on theEast Coast, he's with he's the
son of the late great ZigZiggler, and Tom was on the East
(04:42):
Coast and he was talking to somecollege kids and he he talked
about gratitude, and they talkeda lot about the emotion and
things that go with gratitude,um, energy, optimism, hope.
And they go through all of thesethings associated with with
gratitude, and then he asked himthis question he said, What is
the opposite of gratitude?
(05:03):
And it got quiet, and everybodythought about it.
And finally, Tom said, theopposite of gratitude is
entitlement.
Yeah, and just like that, theemotions change.
That's not fair.
I'm angry.
Give that to me.
And so I think if we can justtake one little nugget to start
(05:25):
this podcast, it's that if eachday we wake up and we say, you
know, today I've got a day, likeyou just said, to make a
difference, to encouragesomeone, to empower someone, to
equip someone, to be that personthat brings hope to somebody
else in their life.
What a blessing that is to havethat opportunity.
(05:46):
And so I'll start by sayingthank you.
I'm grateful that you came onthe show.
SPEAKER_01 (05:51):
Well, and and you and I both speak, you know, we
go places and and either we'rebeing hosted or we host people.
And you could to your point ofwhat Tom said, you know, the the
entitlement, like I I want to II love it when people honor me
with great hospitality.
SPEAKER_04 (06:09):
Yes, right?
SPEAKER_01 (06:10):
So do you.
Yes.
But here's here's where it getsweird or it gets where it's
where it's dangerous is that Iexpect that.
So now I'm showing up and I'mI'm looking around going, okay,
where where's the person that'ssupposed to be getting me the
right snacks?
And you know, the proverbialwe've heard the story of the
green MMs, you know, in thegreen room.
And that is that's bothdangerous for us as leaders or
(06:33):
just as people, but it also italso pulls people down.
But when I'm the person whowalks in the room as the speaker
or the athlete or the coach orthe principal or the
superintendent and says, Man,I'm so grateful that you all
would host me with such a levelof hospitality.
(06:55):
I don't expect it, but I'mreally grateful for it.
Um compared to I'm here and Iexpect it, and now if you don't
meet my expectations, then I'mgonna pull all of you towards
cynicism.
And that's just that's part ofour role as a leader is to
change the temperature in theroom wherever we show up.
SPEAKER_05 (07:16):
Well, that's good.
You know, it's real simple.
That's like I tell I what I liketo tell folks is a fountain can
only rise as high as its head.
So to your point, there's aresponsibility that comes with
that.
And um, I'm gonna have to getsome tips from you because I've
never had those opportunitiesfor expectation.
I just try to show up and get anopportunity.
SPEAKER_01 (07:37):
So listen, take it to the you know, the the person
in charge of their of theirlocal FFA chapter in the high
school, right?
Or take it to the principal ofthe school, or take it to the
captain of the football team, orthe head football coach.
SPEAKER_04 (07:48):
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (07:49):
Everywhere we go, the the leader always has to set
the temperature by beinggrateful and walking in with a
sense of a sense of, hey, I'mhonored that you all would host
me well.
SPEAKER_05 (08:00):
Yes, that is exactly it, right there.
And by the way, what you justsaid, and I hope everybody heard
it, it's a choice that we make.
Yeah.
It's an easy choice.
It we purposely walk in and say,I'm gonna be grateful today, and
I'm gonna try to lift everybodyelse up around me.
Um that that was that wasexcellent.
Uh, one of the things throughthis podcast that we kind of
(08:23):
encourage people to do ispractice R2A2.
I don't know if you've everheard this before, but I tell
people to R2A2 things.
So planting seeds of greatness,we're gonna learn to R2A2.
So as we listen to Brad today,he's already given it to us, by
the way.
Just watch this.
He's already given it to us.
We're gonna recognize, we'regonna relate, we're gonna
(08:45):
assimilate, and then we're gonnaapply.
So he's already shared with usthis importance of being
purposely grateful.
I recognize that.
So I related to that.
Now I've got to take in that,I've got to take that in and
assimilate it.
And then the law of reciprocity,I've got to go share that.
(09:07):
I've got to go give that back tosomebody.
So as we go through thesepodcasts and we are to A2
things, that's why I told y'allhe was going to be a great
guest.
Because immediately now,immediately, we're talking about
that role of a leader in settingthat grateful compass.
Um, because we recognize thatthat's a responsibility good
(09:28):
leaders have.
So thank you for that.
I want the audience to know alittle bit more about you.
Uh, again, you're you're anauthor, you're a speaker, you've
got a very accomplished career.
Uh, something tells me, I'm justguessing, something tells me you
did not just fall into thatseat.
Something tells me that therewas a journey that kind of got
(09:50):
you there.
So share with the audience howdid Brad Lomanick get to where
he's at now to have this passionto write books, to pour into
others.
Give us a little bit of thatjourney.
SPEAKER_01 (10:01):
Sure.
Well, I grew up in Oklahoma,just outside of Tulsa.
So Boomer Sooner to all mySooner friends.
You know, every other school inTexas, we have a similarity.
We all we all can't stand theburn orange.
So for all my Texas friends, youknow what I'm saying, because
you hate me just as much as Ihate you, uh, in, you know, in
deep respect and admiration.
(10:22):
But I was a son of a footballcoach, uh high school football
coach, and grew up in a smalltown and and really felt the I I
would say this, I felt a senseof purpose on my life of being a
leader.
I didn't know what that meant,you know.
I I remember first grade Aaron,you know, showing up and my
parents didn't tell me this, butjust this sense that I needed to
(10:44):
be somebody in that class infirst grade who was going to
step up and step out and make adifference.
Now, again, you don't know whatthat is when you're six, but
there was intrinsic things in methat felt like I needed to be a
tone center.
And uh, you know, ran did allthe school, uh ran for all the
school offices and played sportsand and then went to the
(11:06):
University of Oklahoma and got ahistory degree.
But for and I was gonna go tolaw school.
But then I about three or fouryears later, I met John Maxwell,
and he was uh he had anorganization that was doing
conferences and events.
And it was the first time for methat let's take leadership as an
industry, that it felt likethere was an organization and a
(11:28):
person that I could connect mywagon to and perhaps and perhaps
have a let's call it a career orat least an assignment that
would start to connect the dotsfor me of let's take all these
things that feel likebreadcrumbs in my life around
leadership and now let's turnthem into something.
So I started doing events andstarted putting on big
(11:49):
conferences and and then thatgave me runway for for having a
platform to write books or be anadvisor or to you know be a
gatherer of leaders.
Um, but I would say this again,practically, for all my all the
students listening, the the thekey lesson for me that I want to
pass on is um there are thingsin your life when you're a kid
(12:12):
that are truest about you.
And part of our job as a leaderis self-awareness.
And so to when when people startasking you, what do you want to
do with your life and what areyou gonna major in?
And you know, how are you gonnaget to the finish line of the
job or the industry or theorganization you want to get
connected to, you got to payattention to those things.
Um, but also you have to equallygive yourself freedom,
(12:33):
especially let's call it in yourfirst quarter of life, to have a
bunch of different things thatgive you experience.
Because you can only reverseengineer and look back on a
bunch of different things andfeel like, wait, that one seemed
to be a great fit for me.
That one didn't necessarily.
I tried to be a good, a goodsteward and be faithful in that
(12:54):
job or that role.
So you've got to have somethings that you can you can look
back on.
And also the who factor.
The who factor for me was threeor four people.
Three or four people over thecourse, let's call it for me,
from 18 to 30.
Three or four people, the whofactor.
In fact, I probably need towrite a book or somebody needs
(13:14):
to write a book on the whofactor.
But the who for me gave merunway for the what.
And that who in my life, it wasa pastor, it was a a business
leader, it was a mentor, it wasJohn Maxwell, they gave me
enough evidence, or at leastrunway, to then start to get
clear on the why and the what,the where and the when.
(13:38):
So if you're if you're in aseason where you're where you're
navigating questions of what'snext for me, find a good who.
This is why teachers and coachesand administrators and people
who are mentors in the earlypart of your journey, they're
why they're so important,because they're the who factor
for you.
Every single one of us, Aaron, Iknow you would have them, and I
(14:00):
have them, but the coaches in mylife who said, I'm gonna invest
something in you when you're 14that you don't even know is
gonna be that big of a deal.
But um, so I'll stop there andlet you and let you ask
questions or follow up onanything specific.
But that's the the number onestory on my life is I was given
opportunities I didn't deserve,but many of those were because
(14:24):
of I was hanging around theright people and had proximity.
SPEAKER_05 (14:31):
Well, there's there's some really good stuff
there, by the way, Brad, justthe way you just shared that.
So one of the programs that wehave through the foundation is
called the FoundationAmbassadors, and we'll have
about 300 kids apply and about70 that get chosen.
We put them through a leadershipdevelopment program, and then
they host executives,dignitaries, policymakers.
(14:53):
I mean, the number of peoplethey will meet in one week is
incredible.
But one of the things that we dothrough that program is we teach
them what's called thethree-foot rule and we tell them
to get to know anybody withinthree feet of them because those
people will one day become theircolleagues, their constituents,
their customers.
But but people with strongnetworks, they they solve
(15:15):
problems quicker.
They're able to capitalize onopportunities.
And again, when I R2A2 thingsthat you say, that one really
jumped out at me.
Be on the lookout, both withyour ears and your eyes.
Be on the lookout for those whofactors, those those people that
may be in that network, that oneday build that runway, that
(15:39):
create an author or a coach, oryou know, what whatever it may
be that you choose to besuccessful in in life.
But I I think what I like thatyou said was number one, you
know, it's like I say it thisway we were not created to be
the Lone Rangers.
Life is not a solo project.
Uh, none of us is as strong asall of us.
(16:01):
And when you said that, Ithought that that's a nugget
right there.
Identify people.
One one of my board members,what he tells the young people,
he said, get your own personalboard of directors.
Yeah.
Build your own personal board offolks that will pour into you
and make you better.
SPEAKER_01 (16:20):
And it's never been easier to find to have who
factors mean multiple, meaningit doesn't I want it to be prox
proximity for people, sure, butbut even the idea that now I can
have people and voices andresources in my life that are
far from me.
So the ability for us to in inmany ways, again, create our own
(16:43):
runway of learning, personalgrowth, development, that we
have more resources and contentand podcasts and voices at our
fingertips than we've ever hadin the history of mankind.
Uh, so there's really no excuse,you know.
And the other thing is true,Aaron, about about where we find
ourselves is accessibility isactually now something that has
(17:09):
come to all of us, meaning theability for for anybody to get
in touch with anybody that's aand I think that's a good thing.
I mean, I think it's it's removethe barriers of of you know,
does the 18-year-old have theability to to reach out to a CEO
of a$20 billion company and getsome kind of response?
(17:31):
Now, the challenge for many ofmy friends who are younger goes
back to entitlement.
It goes back to how am I goingto approach the hustle that it
takes to reach out to 20 peopleand get no response compared to,
you know, I'm expecting somebodyto now like be in my world and
to mentor me and to, you know,meet with me every Friday.
(17:52):
Um so I think the the hustlefactor has to be part of this of
hey, like it's your job.
It's your job.
That's the beauty of once wegraduate, uh, once we get into
the you know, let's call it theadult world, now we have the
ability to curate our ownlearning journey.
And those are the people I mean,work working for John Maxwell,
(18:15):
uh he's 77, 78 now.
And some people may not know hisname, but you know, you and I
both know he's a prettysignificant leadership voice.
And he still goes to the eventsand the gatherings and the and
the the the round tables, andhe's got his notebook out.
(18:36):
And he's learning from everybodysitting at the table.
And that's a posture, again,just like we talked about with
being grateful, a posture of ofcuriosity, of of of having a
mindset of I'm still hungry.
I may be the goat in the room, Imay be the the grand poo-bah,
but I'm still gonna I'm stillgonna have a posture that says
(18:57):
everywhere I go is a classroom.
And that's so attractive.
It doesn't take talent.
Wow, just like gratefulness, itdoesn't take talent to be
hungry.
You automatically gain influenceand credibility when when you
are the most curious person atthe table.
SPEAKER_05 (19:13):
I mean, uh one of the programs that we put, we
have a program for teachers, bythe way, and we put 36 teachers,
three from each of 12 areas onthe state of Texas on a bus,
will travel a thousand miles,they'll visit 17 locations,
they'll hear from over 70speakers.
But when they get theirnotebooks, when they open it up,
the first thing they see is justthe simple word question.
(19:35):
And I always ask them, what'sthe root word of the word
question?
Quest.
Go on an adventure.
Every chance you get to listen,to learn, ask questions.
Go on an adventure.
And I and I agree with you thatwhen I think of John Maxwell, by
the way, I recently taught aBible study over 21 Laws of
(19:56):
Leadership from the Bible.
Let's go.
It's a great book, by the way,but I love a lot of John's.
I use so many of his one-liners.
Uh, never underestimate thestatus quo.
A lot of people worked hard toget it there.
And that just so many coolthings about dissecting
leadership and success.
And but but it's what you justsaid, Brad.
(20:17):
And what you just said wasexactly what triggered my
thought on that.
You know, in our world ofagriculture, we always say when
you green, you grow.
When you ripe, you write.
And I've always noticed thatgreat leaders are always
growing.
They're always asking what'snext.
I I just shared the other daythat of all the people that I've
been blessed to come in contactwith, the word next is in every
(20:40):
vocabulary.
It doesn't matter if it's asuccess, what's next?
If it's a setback, what's next?
If it's a trial, what's next?
It's always looking forward.
Uh they take time to celebrate.
Don't take me wrong.
They take time to celebrate, todissect, like John Maxwell talks
about.
(21:00):
Do an autopsy on that success.
Do an autopsy on that failure.
But but keep looking at what'snext.
And um, you know, the there's agentleman that works for the
Texas Workforce Commission, JoeEsparza, he's one of the
commissioners.
And he said something in ameeting the other day.
And I I wrote it down and I wentup to him afterwards.
(21:20):
I said, I want to make sure Igot this right.
I said, Do you realize what youjust said?
And he said, Well, I don't know.
I said, Well, let me just tellyou what you said, make sure I
got it right.
And you you said it,accessibility.
And this is what he said.
He said, Small towns are justone click away from big
business.
Wow, I love it.
(21:42):
I has a powerful quote.
Small towns are just one clickaway.
Now think about what that meansto go back to your Who Factor.
Go back to what you justdescribed.
That's one click away now.
It doesn't matter if you're inDallas or Houston or New York,
you could be in Paducah,Kentucky or Paducah, Texas.
(22:02):
You've got that opportunity justto have that one click to
accessibility, that chance togrow, that chance to learn.
Yeah, so good, man.
All right, let's stay with someof your projects here.
So um if we're gonna post yourwebsite so everybody can go and
check out and see what all youhave.
(22:23):
But um, I noticed that you'vewritten several books.
Uh, by the way, one of them Iyears ago, years and years and
years ago, I'm going all the wayback to 1992.
SPEAKER_01 (22:36):
Oh gosh.
SPEAKER_05 (22:37):
Um, I actually started uh a consulting company
called Catalyst Dynamics becauseI love the word catalyst.
I love the word catalyst becauseit invokes action and movement
and change.
And I know that that you talk alot about catalyst leadership.
You talk about H3, which I wouldlike for you to talk about, but
(23:00):
would you mind just sharing alittle bit about why it's
important, why catalystleadership matters, and why does
this H3 approach matter?
SPEAKER_01 (23:10):
Yeah.
Yeah, sure.
Well, and Catalyst was a as itwas actually a conference, it
was a number of conferences, andit sort of became a a pretty big
movement, let's call it that,back from the year 2000 to 2020
for about 20 years.
And this was all part of youknow, when I got connected to
John Maxwell.
And um, it it was a gatheringprimarily of younger leaders,
(23:32):
and it was focused on under 40leaders in America, and it was a
great run.
I agree, Aaron.
Like, you know, the idea that acatalyst is it sparks a change,
but it leaves no residue ofitself.
So it creates change, but it'snot about itself.
Um, and the the premise that youknow we can we can be those kind
of change agents, everybody'screating some kind of impact on
(23:54):
the people around them, and tojust be an agent of change, a
spark for other people.
Um, H3 for me is really myframework.
I would call it my framework ofof influence.
And you know, over the yearswhen interns would come in to
our team who were you know 21and they were ready to change
(24:16):
the world and sort of wondering,okay, how do how do we approach
things here?
And how do I how do I get yourjob?
How do I how do I become youknow the the standout?
And my answer was always behumble, stay hungry, always
hustle.
Like that framework of behumble, stay hungry, always
hustle.
And so that you know, it itturned into a book title, but
(24:36):
before way before it was a booktitle, it was it was for me the
framework of leadership andhumility, hunger, hustle.
And within those three buckets,you know, there's a number of
different of different thingsthat I would say are habits that
allow you to live those outwell.
But you know, to give peoplejust a quick, a really quick
flyover, I think the theimportant piece of humility is
(24:59):
self-awareness.
And you know, we've all we'veall been around leaders or
probably work for leaders who uhwho wanted to be humble, but
they were living such a uminsecure life as a leader.
They they they hadn't reallytackled the the issues of
self-awareness, and now they'rethey're running something that
(25:21):
is significant, they're incharge of something, they they
have like they have hierarchicalpower, they have they have uh
authority based on a title, butthere's everybody who's around
them, they they would look atthem and go, you you just don't
get it.
And that's a very dangerousplace to be as a leader.
Here's the answer, here's theantidote, which is hard for a
(25:45):
lot of us, the antidote to toinsecurity as a leader is to
lean into self-awareness and andstart to understand that the
people who work for you or thatare being led by you, they
already know.
They they already know thethings that you may not be good
(26:06):
at, or the things that youwrestle with, or the times when
you get mad, or the times whenyou lose your temper, or so part
of our job as leaders is tocreate congruency between what
they know and what I think theyknow or I tell them I know,
right?
Um hunger, we've just talkedabout it, you know, the posture
(26:27):
of a curious curiosity, thewillingness to walk into any
room and feel like you're stillthe most curious and willing to
learn.
Uh and then hustle, the hustlefactor for me is is a is a con
it's a holistic hustle mindsetor a holistic hustle
perspective, which says, I'mwilling to work hard, I'm
willing to stick things out, I'mwilling to execute, I'm willing
(26:51):
to be the person that solvesproblems, but I'm also gonna be
aware that because of myambition, there's probably some
things I need to put into mylife that are going to regulate
my life.
And what I because what I don'twant to see people do is hustle
and then burn out or hustle andthen crash.
(27:12):
And so part of what we have todo as leaders again is when it
comes to hustle, is you have tostart to create rhythms of life.
And that means margin, it meansSabbath, it means uh
collaboration, it meansgenerosity, it means
gratefulness.
So my definition of hustle is aagain, a holistic definition.
I'm not saying that the thefocus here is a zero-sum
(27:34):
scarcity game.
Right.
Let's just go chase it and thenwhoever wins, you get it all.
No, the proper hustle factor isone to say, I'm gonna hustle to
create a space for generosity tooccur.
And that that's a differentperspective on on the word
hustle, at least the way I lookat it.
SPEAKER_05 (27:53):
Well, that's gold right there, though.
SPEAKER_01 (27:55):
Um and we can dive into any of those if you want
to.
SPEAKER_05 (27:59):
That's where my mind was going.
I'm sitting here and I'mthinking, um, so on a well, let
me take it 30,000, then we'regonna bring it back down.
So, you know, one of theexamples that I use is, you
know, I ask students, I said,how many high schools are in the
state of Texas?
And never fails somebody to saya lot.
I said, Yeah, there's a lot.
I said, There's actually over3,000 high schools in the state
(28:21):
of Texas.
And then I ask them, how many ofthem are gonna have a graduating
class this year?
Every one of them.
Now think about that.
All these kids are gonna get beout looking for a job, a
scholarship, or an opportunity.
And at the end of the day,you've got to have a competitive
edge.
What's gonna be your competitiveedge?
It could be a firm handshake,it's it could be a yes or no,
(28:42):
sir, yes, ma'am, no, ma'am.
But there could be somethingthat gives you that little bit
of edge that opens that door ofopportunity.
And I think what I reallyappreciated when you shared the
H3 is I immediately viewed thatas a competitive edge.
I thought, immediately, if wecan plant that seed of realize
and walk in there.
(29:03):
Um, let me just brag on Bradhere, real quick.
Let me give you an example.
He and I were talking, and Iknew that he was one of the
speakers on the program, but Idid not identify him right away.
He and I are sitting theretalking, he's asking me
questions.
He's inquiring about what I doand who I am and what's going
(29:24):
on.
And then it dawned on me, I go,this is the keynote.
But but but the reason I sharethat, but by the way, that's
happened to me before, too.
But the reason I share thatthough is because when your
values are clear, your choicesare easy.
When you're when your values areclear, your choices are easy.
He wrote a book about that.
(29:44):
I got to witness it in practice.
SPEAKER_01 (29:47):
Yeah, and I better live it out if I'm writing about
it.
I better be a good example ofit.
SPEAKER_05 (29:51):
That's what I'm saying.
I loved it because you know,everybody that knows me on
social media, I go by the handto live your brand.
And and I tell people that whatwe like.
Share, comment on, and what wedo, that becomes our brand to
the public.
To your point, when you didthat, you became that brand that
I began to know.
So again, when I think aboutplanting seeds of greatness, and
(30:13):
we can think about being humble,curious, going on an adventure
to think about that I've got tobe hungry.
I don't know it all.
I loved when you said the firstquarter of life.
Um, because I've you probablyhave friends that talk about the
first, second, third, and fourthquarter.
(30:34):
And I'm in that third quarterright now.
And it's just the reality of,you know, uh, but at the same
time, though, Brad, I'm in thethird quarter.
In the words of Zig, I'm notgonna let up, shut up, give up
until I'm taken up.
I'm just getting warmed up.
So let's go.
We're still moving, right?
We're still trying to be thatcatalyst.
(30:55):
And I think that's what createssome of that hustle, by the way.
SPEAKER_01 (30:59):
Yes.
Yeah.
And and ultimately, you knowthis, Aaron.
Like you're probably look atthose three legs of the stool.
Let's just call them three legsof a of a stool.
SPEAKER_04 (31:07):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (31:08):
The the humility, hunger, hustle.
Um, and by the way, PatLincioni, who's a great author,
you know, wrote FiveDysfunctions of a Team and The
Advantage.
SPEAKER_04 (31:18):
Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_01 (31:19):
Uh, he he wrote a book called Ideal Team Player.
And Ideal Team Player, he talksabout humble, hungry, smart.
And there's a lot of crossoverthere, a lot of similarities.
Um, but if you think about thethree legs of the stool, we
can't choose to only do one ofthose legs.
And I I know a lot of leaderswho have a huge amount of
(31:40):
humility.
Like they they understand it'snot about them, there's a bigger
story, they're self-aware, theythey they walk into a room with
even a sense of curiosity, butthey don't do anything.
They just talk about it, theythey don't ever make anything
happen.
Their hustle factor is very low.
Um, and then there's just theopposite.
(32:00):
There's people who who arehustling and they're crushing
it, and they get things done andthey're winning and they have
ambition, but their humility isnon-existent.
So now they they run overeverybody and they they do think
it's all about them.
And so these things have to bekept in balance.
(32:22):
You you have to look at youryour whole scorecard as a
leader, and you can't just getan A in hustle and get an F in
humility, or vice versa.
Um, so this is a this again,this is a holistic perspective
on what does it take for me to,you know, to be the best kind of
leader I can be.
And there's lots of different,again, there's lots of
(32:43):
frameworks.
Man, there's so many frameworksout there, but for me, this was
this was truly like a playbookthat I could then like pass on,
especially to younger leaderstoday.
So that's you know, when peopleask, well, who do I write that
book for?
I kind of wrote it for the22-year-old who's just coming
out of college and is trying tofigure out how do I, as you
said, how do I create a corevalue system that's gonna allow
(33:05):
me to have a 50-year pathway toinfluence and greatness.
SPEAKER_05 (33:10):
Let's bring this back to a little bit to the ag
world real quick.
So the other day I was asked tocome and talk, and it was about
what is the future ofagriculture.
And I said, Well, you know, itdidn't take me long to figure
that out.
I said, by 2050, we're gonnahave about 9.8 billion people on
this earth.
41% of the earth's surface isarid land.
(33:33):
To feed 9.8 billion people, wewould need two additional
planets.
So I said, I think the future ofagriculture looks pretty bright.
But but with that are gonna comesome real challenges.
Um, we're gonna have to embracesome new technologies.
And as I began to think aboutthat, and I thought about what
(33:55):
you just shared about the threeH's, I thought, you know, it I
talked a little bit about AI.
I said AI is gonna be a reality.
I said, but there's really gonnabe three things that I think are
gonna drive where we're headed,and that is relationships,
collaboration, and effectivecommunication.
(34:18):
I think AI is gonna be a part ofall those.
But let me tell you what theywon't replace.
And I'm I'm sharing all that toshare what you just said that
really hit me.
One of my favorite books that Iread on leadership is by Wes
Roberts, Leadership Secrets ofAttila the Hun.
And I love when Wes describedhow Attila would put the young
(34:38):
Huns around a campfire, and thenhe would put the older Huns
behind them, and they wouldbegin telling stories of battles
and victories and defeats andstrategies and techniques so
that the young Huns could heartheir emotion, they could hear
their tone, not what they readon an app, not what they read
(35:03):
through Chat GPT, but they hearwhat Brad just said when he
found his runway and the whofactor, and then he plugged that
in.
And what did it do?
It gave him tools to grow acareer.
And whoever's listening to thispodcast, again, go back to what
(35:23):
we're talking about growing thefuture, competitive edge.
Brad has shared some great stuffright here.
I love the analogy of thethree-stool that because that
would be wobbly if it got out ofout of balance.
Yes.
(35:43):
You can't have one without theother, or you're working too
hard.
SPEAKER_01 (35:49):
And how do how do I know, Aaron?
That's always a good questionfor leaders, is well, how do I
know if I'm out of balance, orhow do I know if I'm if I'm
winning in my framework and inmy playbook?
Well, a lot of times we're we'vegot a feedback loop that is
built into us with withobviously your family, with
(36:10):
spouse, with your friends,circle, uh, the your employees,
your co-workers.
I mean, the the thing that mostleaders fall short on is they
they don't allow back to thisquestion of every everywhere you
go is a classroom, but alsoeverywhere you go is an
opportunity for you to getbetter because you're giving
(36:32):
permission to people around youto help you understand what it's
like to be on the other side ofyou.
And and this is where mostleaders fall short.
They they don't do the hard workof they'll say, I have an open
door policy, and everybody says,Yeah, but last time somebody
went in there, it was ugly.
And this is the this is thepower of again leaders who go to
(36:57):
the next level ofintentionality, is you you now
start giving people permission,saying, Hey, like give me
feedback, give me feedback, helpme get better.
I want to be better as a leader,I want to be better as a as a
team team member.
Um, and the the other thing hereis is you we are all in charge
of that.
(37:17):
Do not wait on an organizationto set the tone of your level of
intentionality.
Um, because most organizationswill fall short.
Because there's too many,there's too much bureaucracy,
and there's too much, you know,there's too, there's too many
things that get in the way.
So don't ever let the excuse be,well, I'm waiting on my
(37:39):
principal, or I'm waiting on myschool district, or I'm waiting,
don't, don't wait.
You set the tone.
You be the one that is thecatalyst for that, for that
group of teachers that's nowgonna say, we're gonna take it
to another level.
SPEAKER_05 (37:54):
I don't know about you, but I've always come to the
conclusion that God doesn't havea problem hitting a moving
target.
So to your point, don't wait,move.
Um, because you're gonna learnone way or the other if you're
willing to be open to thatfeedback, that loop.
I love that that loop.
Um that's good stuff.
(38:16):
Good stuff.
All right.
Well, like I said, I knew thiswould go fast, and I knew that
we'd cover some really goodseeds.
Um I've got a lot.
I wrote a whole page down ofstuff, so I'm like, this is
gold, gold.
And I'll be sharing it, by theway, with others.
Um it uh and I'll tell them whoit was, I'll tell them where to
(38:39):
come to find it because it'sthat good.
Um, Brad, but as we get ready towrap up, uh every guest on the
show gets a fun question.
I like it.
So you get a fun question.
So I'm just curious.
What is the best concert you'veever been to?
Best concert?
SPEAKER_01 (39:00):
Oh.
Uh well, I'm I got one.
It's U2 at Mile High Stadium inDenver, the old Mile High
Stadium.
SPEAKER_05 (39:11):
Really?
SPEAKER_01 (39:12):
The original Mile High Stadium in Denver.
Yeah.
How cool is that?
Back when U2 was doing theirtour with the massive like claw.
This was this was circa probably2015 or 16, maybe somewhere in
there.
So yeah, and and here's thething, like I don't I don't roll
like this, but I had because ofsome friends, I had access to to
(39:36):
the uh behind the scenes.
I'll just say that.
So that added to the wholeexperience.
And so I mean and and somefamily and some friends got to
stand at the front of house andexperience the from this from
the from the floor or from theyou know field level watching
(39:57):
one of the best bands ever.
Yep, create such an amazingexperience with people singing
along.
And I mean it was it was uhyeah, it was next level.
So that one stands out.
SPEAKER_05 (40:10):
Well, let me tell you, I'm a fan, just so you
know, I uh I've I've regretted Ihad an opportunity.
There's been two times I'vekicked myself here here we are
talking about going and doing,and I'm telling you, there's
twice now, but I get to tellthis story because I didn't
move.
Um, I had an opportunity to gohear Tom Petty and the
Heartbreakers on the pack upyour plantation, pack up the
(40:33):
plantation tour, and I missedit.
And I had an opportunity to gosee U2 Joshua Tree.
Oh, and all I had to do was justdetour, pull in, and I I didn't
do it.
And uh, but I'm still a fan.
SPEAKER_01 (40:55):
So well, these are you know how these things are
there, you know, whether it'syou two, whether it's Tom Petty
and the Heartbreakers, whetherit's whether it's your family
going on a vacation, whetherit's you like um, you know,
taking somebody to a to asporting event, whether it's a
you know, uh, hey, the the olddays of FFA, by the way, I don't
(41:17):
know if they still do this.
We when I grew up in Oklahoma,we would have the drive your
tractor to work to to school dayback at our high school, but
those are all memory moments.
SPEAKER_03 (41:28):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (41:28):
And what I would call what I would call like
their mile markers on yourjourney.
And don't be so don't be sodriven by by getting to the next
thing that you miss the milemarkers.
Because mile markers, what theyare, is they're they're moments
of of of memories in your life.
(41:48):
And this is again, this is thepower we have.
And this is, you know, thatmaybe this is a good challenge,
inspiration to lead people with,but um, we have the ability to
create mile markers and momentsfor people, and that's that's
part of our job as leaders andinfluencers and catalysts is be
the mile marker creator forpeople in their in their
journey.
(42:09):
Um many times it's just it'sjust remember remembering a
name, it's just sort of the nextlevel of intentionality with
that person.
Um, but we have the power to totransform people because of
that.
SPEAKER_05 (42:22):
All right, Brad, brag on you here for a second.
I've done about 90 of theseepisodes, and that right there
is probably one of the bestwrap-ups we've ever had.
That that was good.
Be a mile marker for somebody'sjourney, and and to have those
mile markers for your ownjourney.
Um, boy, I can relate.
I was diehard Bruce Springsteen,I'm diehard Jimmy Buffett.
(42:46):
So I've got so many mile markersthat I just because that's part
of my brand, I like good livemusic.
And so I'm I was blessed to beable to do it.
And you know, uh the folks thatknow my story know how and why.
I'm so grateful.
Um, grateful to have met you,grateful that you took the time
(43:09):
to join us, and moreimportantly, grateful that
together, you know, Mike Rosesaid something one time when we
were talking about this, thepodcast.
And Mike Rose said, you know, hesaid, Aaron, you do realize what
the term broadcast means.
He gets it's an agriculture termmeans to spread seeds.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I thought, you know, howcool is this that we got this
(43:30):
tool that we get to jump on andwe get to share things that
maybe somebody at the right timeat the right moment needed to
hear.
Yes.
So uh I just want to say thanks,Brad, for thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER_01 (43:48):
Absolutely.
Thanks for having me on.
Thanks, thanks for doing whatyou're doing and continuing to
give people a platform and a anda a place to learn.
And again, as you said about mewhen we first met, I would say
about you to honor you, like youhad a posture of curiosity, like
you were, you know, now that wasyour people, like the the the
(44:10):
leaderfest gathering in WichitaFalls.
I mean, you know, you know thefolks in that room, these are
friends of yours.
Um, but but you actually madeyou you were intentional about
about actually like connectingwith me.
And I think that's also a thingjust to honor you and encourage
this audience with is be theperson that that is willing to
(44:32):
step across the bridge offriendship and of connection.
And know it most people mostpeople they they just stop
short, but you did that for me,and now look what's happening.
SPEAKER_05 (44:45):
We're helping people, and I and I suspect
we'll continue this dialogue.
And um, I again, um, folks,ladies and gentlemen, thank you
for stopping by, the Growing OurFuture podcast.
Uh, again, if you want to knowwhat the future is, grow it.
Today, look, look at all theseincredible seeds of greatness
(45:05):
that were shared today.
I meant Brad just really pouredinto us today.
Uh, check out his website, read,watch his podcasts.
Um, he's got some great stuffout there.
And um, I again, Brad, I'm aJohn Maxwell fan too.
So uh I love the fact that thesefolks are my mentors and they
don't even know it.
So uh, but thank you for sharingsome of your time with us.
(45:29):
Ladies and gentlemen, until wemeet again, go out and do
something great for somebody.
You're gonna feel good about it.
And who knows, you you mightjust plant that tree under whose
shade you may never see.
So thanks so much for joiningus.
SPEAKER_00 (45:48):
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 leadershipin the global marketplace.
Learn more and my Texas FFA.org.
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