May 27, 2026 • 29 mins
Leadership rarely breaks because we lack information. It breaks because we forget the human in front of us. Justin Simpkins joins us with a simple conviction that keeps cutting through the noise: lead with heart and the rest follows.
Justin shares how character and teachability can matter more than credentials, and how a growth mindset turns unfamiliar work into a calling.
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:06):
Welcome to the Leader Impact Podcast.
We are a community of leaderswith a network in over 350
cities around the worlddedicated to optimizing our
personal, professional, andspiritual lives to have impact.
This show is where we have achance to listen and engage with
leaders who are living this out.
We love talking with leaders, soif you have any questions,
comments, or suggestions to makethis show even better, please
let us know.
(00:26):
The best way to stay connectedin Canada is through our
newsletter at leaderimpact.ca oron social at LeaderImpact.
And if you're listening fromoutside of Canada, check out our
website at leaderimpact.com.
I'm your host, Lisa Peters, andour guest today is Justin
Simpkins.
Justin is a husband, father ofthree, and entrepreneur based in
Mooshjaw, Saskatchewan.
On the agriculture side, he's apartner at Gro Lytics, a leading
(00:49):
financial consulting firmdedicated to helping farms
strengthen their business andbuild lasting resilience.
He's also founder and directorof the Prairie Hockey Academy, a
program built on the belief thathockey is a powerful tool for
developing life champions, notjust athletes.
Justin also chairs theagribusiness curriculum
committee at Briarcrest Collegeand Seminary, co-authored the
(01:11):
Amazon bestseller, Significanceover Success, and co-hosts the
Grit and Growth Podcast withover a hundred episodes and
counting.
At the core of it all is asimple conviction.
Lead with heart and the restfollows.
Welcome to the show, Justin.
SPEAKER_01 (01:26):
Thank you, Lisa.
I'm privileged to be here.
SPEAKER_00 (01:29):
It is nice to have you.
And I I I I say I got caught upon the word, you're an amazing
bestseller, an Amazonbestseller, but both I think
you're amazing.
Yeah.
I understand that our one of ourleader impact groups in Canada
is going to be using your bookto study.
SPEAKER_01 (01:46):
Yeah, absolutely.
The Calgary chapter, actually.
They had they had reached out tomy co-author, Shane Soudon and
I, and um just kind of blownaway by it.
I and I find maybe that's whatwe're here to talk about.
Just just the way that uh Godsometimes can just use us, just
simple us when we when weactually, you know, sometimes
maybe it's just about obedienceor putting ourselves out there.
(02:08):
And yeah, uh anyway, yeah, I wasI was a little bit taken back,
uh, pretty honored, and I thinkit's really neat.
SPEAKER_00 (02:14):
Yeah.
The Calgary chapter, the wholeAlberta chapter is doing a
really great job.
So um I'm I'm excited for you.
Congratulations.
And uh, because we do localbooks, and it is so nice to have
a local author zoom in.
It's so fun.
So um we we won't we'll haveprobably have some different
questions, but uh, we reallywant to hear about your journey
and how you got from, you know,how you got to here being an
(02:35):
author, a podcast, the prairiehockey, um, like lead like
founding that and leading it,and really sort of the like we
want to hear the pivotalmoments.
I mean, I'd like to hear it all.
That'd be great.
I'll I'll read the book.
But sort of those pivotalmoments that got you here today.
SPEAKER_01 (02:52):
Um, sure.
I think, you know, I think itcomes down to I'll say this, in
in college, I, you know, Ireally started to come across
this idea of Psalm 37.4 and justtalks, you know, in in that
psalm, it says, delight yourselfin the Lord, and he will give
you the desires of your heart.
And, you know, maybe as ateenager at one point I thought
(03:13):
maybe that was like a Porsche9-11, but I started to recognize
that the desires of my heartweren't these material pieces,
but actually that as we as wepursued relationship um with God
and we, you know, started todelight ourselves in that, that
that things would be downloadedinto our hearts at times that
would be things that started tobreak your heart that you didn't
(03:34):
even know that that like why whyam I getting emotional about
this?
Or why are why is this all of asudden something that I feel
like I'm supposed to do?
And so I if I think back on abit of my journey and I and you
look back, you know, 20 yearsand you're like, yeah, I I don't
think I ever thought I would,you know, have authored a book
(03:55):
or been confident enough to bein a podcast.
But I think it's just thatability to say yes along the
way.
Yeah.
And and that sometimes justmeant saying yes to a new job,
and I didn't understand what itwas.
I was coaching college hockeyand my wife and I had a
conversation, and you know, shewas really clear that uh I was
supposed to be done coaching.
(04:16):
It was the right thing for ourfamily at that time for the two
of us, and that was really hardto step away from a game that I
loved to jump into somethingthat I had no idea about, which
was agriculture and insurance.
And I remember when thisentrepreneur asked me to join
him, I said, Well, what is it?
And he said, Well, it's a it's aprivate crop insurance company.
And I said, Well, I'm like acity kid.
(04:37):
Like I'm not from a farm, Idon't know anything about
farming.
And I I also know nothing aboutinsurance.
And I just remember him beinglike, Well, that's perfect.
He's like, because I can, youknow, I can I can teach you all
that stuff.
That's easy.
Those are the easy skills.
And anyway, so I just think it'syou know, sometimes they don't
make sense, these, these leapsand these jumps.
Um, but you say yes, and uh, andGod has a plan and he kind of
(04:58):
weaves your way.
SPEAKER_00 (05:00):
Yeah, oh, I love that.
I a long time ago, I thought Ihave I just have to say yes, and
then I'll I'll I'll let it workitself out.
I'll let it work.
And it is it is scary to say yesor to change direction.
Um, change management is a hugething.
Uh so um how did you get how didyou start the prairie hockey?
(05:21):
The prairie hockey Yeah, PrairieHockey Academy.
SPEAKER_01 (05:25):
It's um, you know what, that uh so the really
quick version of that is, youknow, Lisa, I I played hockey.
I love playing hockey growing upas a kid.
The truth is, is I was probablya pretty mediocre hockey player
and I didn't have the bestattitude.
And so in junior hockey, thatmakes you really expendable.
And um, and you start to learnthat your choices create your
challenges.
And so fast forward quite a bitof time, and I I came across a
(05:49):
leadership coach who started tomake sense to me.
It was like for the first time,leadership wasn't dots on a
whiteboard, it wasn't a new bookI picked up off the shelf and
tried to make sense of it.
It was here's point A, followthese dots to get to point B,
and it's really clear.
And I was coaching college atthis time, and I thought to
myself, if I if I would have hadthis when I was 15 years old, I
(06:12):
really truly believe that itwould have changed my
trajectory.
And so I thought, why don't Ijust why don't I start giving
this to kids?
I had a I had a much youngerbrother, he was born in 1998,
and um I was born in 83 for allthe listeners.
So there's the gap here, and I'dbeen away from home ever since
he was born, and so I thought,well, this could be a unique way
for me to connect with mybrother.
(06:33):
And so I started a kids' hockeyprogram.
I had a marketing degree, toldme if I called it AAA, that
parents would pay money to come.
So I did that.
Um, we we ran a spring program,and all these kids came out.
But my intent was that we'regonna run a really good hockey
practice, we can do that, butwe're actually gonna go
afterwards to a classroom andwe're gonna teach simple
leadership principles, and we'regonna use the power of hockey to
(06:55):
develop life champions.
And fast forward that half adozen years of doing this for
free, all of our coaches workfor free, and we just did it for
fun.
And we saw transformationhappening in kids' lives.
Like they were joining us, theywere the first group was 10 and
11-year-olds, and it grew fromthere.
And we started to see theseyoung men and women just growing
into being leaders and gettingresponses back from teachers
(07:17):
about just like the changethey're seeing in these kids'
lives and and parents.
So, parents would get an emailfrom a teacher, like, hey, what
happened to Jackson?
He's all of a sudden sitting atthe front of his class, he's all
of a sudden takingresponsibility, he's all of a
sudden doing these things we'vebeen asking him to do.
And they would forward it to usand say, Hey, coaches, like we
don't know what to accredit thisto other than what you've been
teaching him in these classes.
So that led from one thing toanother to the idea and
(07:41):
application to start a hockeyacademy.
Um purely it's um prairie hockeyacademy exists today, not to be
a hockey factory, not to justdevelop more athletes, but to
truly be a spot that uh can be,you know, a national leader in
um in character development andathlete development.
And and I think we're doing areally good job.
And it doesn't mean when youhave 80 athletes, you know, 80
(08:03):
young men together below heaventhat you don't have challenges
because you do, but um I thinkwe're doing some good stuff.
SPEAKER_00 (08:10):
Yeah.
I uh I think of um I'm anathlete, well, was a basketball
player, and I think of all thecoaches I had in my life, and
you think of all the coaches andand what they meant to me.
And just listening to youreminds me of my son played
hockey, had a coach, and I Iit's like I wanted to tell the
coach, can you tell my son to dothis?
(08:30):
Because he listened to you.
Because my son loved his coach,they were good men.
We played for the the PrairieHockey uh association storm, and
I mean all of the coaches, soand they're all volunteer, and
so thank you just for being thatcoach that those kids they make
a difference, and you make adifference, so yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:51):
Thank you.
Coaching is such an incredibleopportunity, and I I was and I
think this will this will applyto your to your um listeners,
Lisa, because I I was at adinner a couple months ago, and
it was a it was a dinner put onby a large bank, and they had
their chief economist in andsome different people, and and
there's a couple politicalpeople around the table, and
they this question got askedaround the table.
(09:12):
It was an intimate, probablyabout eight people, and it was
what makes a good politician?
And there was different, youknow, answers being given back
and forth, back and forth, backand forth.
And they came to me like, heyJustin, what do you think makes
a good politician?
And I said, Well, I think whatmakes a good politician is what
makes a great coach.
I think what makes a great coachis what makes a great leader.
Um, and I I said that the onlyjob of a leader is to love the
(09:38):
people.
So the only job of a coach is tolove their players, their
athletes.
Because I said, I think if youthink about that as a
politician, if you if you lovethe people that you've been, you
know, elected to lead, then allthe bases will be covered.
Like it will, it'll actually,you know, you'll you'll prepare
yourself, you'll you'll lookafter them.
So anyway, we went through ahandful of things.
(09:59):
And I just think as a coach,that's been the biggest
privilege is just starting tounderstand that it's not that
hard.
Anyone can draw X's and O's on awhiteboard.
It's it's um, you know, beingable to connect and transform a
human being is where is wherethe magic happens.
SPEAKER_00 (10:14):
And did your idea of politicians just loving their
people get traction at thetable?
SPEAKER_01 (10:20):
You know what it truly did.
It had like this pause, and alot of people they they started
to understand what I was what Iwas saying.
And of course, this is part ofmy Christian worldview and
recognizing you know our call asleaders to to love others and to
to steward and serve them well.
SPEAKER_00 (10:37):
And anyway, yeah, yes, good.
All right.
Well, my next question for youhas to do about your best
principle of success, if youhave one and if you have a story
to share about it.
SPEAKER_01 (10:47):
Yeah, sure.
Um I think uh, you know,character, I th I I talk lots
about character development withour with our athletes, and I and
I think about you know, be moreI think it was Winston
Churchill, I think it was likebe more concerned about your
character than your reputation,because your character is
actually who you are, and yourreputation is just what maybe a
(11:09):
small group of people think thatyou are.
And um, and so when I thinkabout that, one of the biggest
pieces for me in business thatI've learned over the last you
know, 20 years now is um isintegrity matters.
And um, and I know there's a lotof things that matter, but I
think integrity is this big onefor me.
And I know that there's beentimes over my my life and a
(11:30):
young teen and a young adult andstuff that maybe my integrity
wasn't there.
Uh in my business career, Ithink of opportunities where I
was I was kind of forced intothe a role as of a CEO of a
company at a younger age in myearly 30s.
And and um I remember I tookover this company as a CEO and I
was I was kind of burdened witha lot of debt from the previous
(11:52):
CEO.
And and one of them wasactually, you know, some issues
with our landlord.
And uh I didn't want to go facethe landlord face to face.
In fact, I had a lot of fearabout it.
And I remember sitting in theparking lot of the landlord's
office and thinking to myself assitting in my truck, and I was
like, I had like just everythingto get out of the truck to go
and face him and have aconversation and just have some
(12:14):
tough conversations of where wewere at as a company.
And when I went and met withhim, I've met with him before
and and it was fine.
And when I met with him, weended up having like an
hour-long conversation.
And when we were done, he justthanked me.
He said, You know what, Justin,thank you.
Thanks for coming in to see meface to face.
He said, Every time I've metwith you, I always knew you were
gonna tell me the truth.
And you've always done that, andso it makes it easy.
(12:34):
I I wish more people were likethat.
unknown (12:36):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (12:36):
And I got in my truck and I thought to myself,
like, it's like there's thisopportunity every day in our
life to make a deposit into ourbank account of our character.
Um, and it's like the decisionswe make every day line up to
these tough meetings and thesetough moments.
Um, but you get to show up inwhat you've built.
SPEAKER_00 (12:55):
Yeah.
It's a good story.
SPEAKER_01 (12:58):
Yeah, thank you.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (12:59):
Uh yeah, that's good.
Um, our next question, we talkabout failures and success.
Because I think we all know welearn more from our failures and
our success uh than our own likesuccesses.
We learn more from our failuresand mistakes than our successes.
I think I said that wrong.
So I'm wondering if you have onethat you can share, a failure or
a mistake, um, and what youlearned from it.
SPEAKER_01 (13:20):
Um yeah, we definitely, we 100% do.
Uh, we we learn from ourfailures.
Uh that this is why sports issuch a really cool piece for
life and and and developing, youknow, raising good teammates and
developing people to tocontribute to our society moving
forward because they we failevery day in sport.
Um every every at bat, weusually have at least one miss
swing and miss, right?
And so there's been companies,I've been a part of a company
(13:44):
and CEO of a company that I hadto close.
I mean, there was lots of thingsthat I learned in that scenario.
But let's let's actually changeit a little bit.
You know what?
I I I had an employee that Ireally valued.
Um, at least I thought I reallyvalued.
So as a leader, what whathappened is I felt like this
this employee was good.
I felt like they they were goodat their job, they were paid,
(14:05):
they were paid very well.
Um, you know, they were myhighest plaid employee, they
were good at their job, theythey just showed up and they
they weren't a problem ever.
And so I didn't give them any ofmy attention.
And I thought that they knew Ienjoyed them or that I
appreciated them or I cared forthem until they quit.
Until they quit because theysaid that I I was the reason
(14:25):
they quit, because I I didn'tcare about them.
And uh and that was reallyhumbling, actually.
And so I learned a lot in thatmoment of like how important it
is to care for the people in andjust to check in and just to
have a quick conversation, howare things going, even when
they're not, you know, itdoesn't seem like everything's
burning down on them.
Uh, but just yeah, yeah, caringfor people and making sure you
(14:48):
see them is important.
SPEAKER_00 (14:50):
Yeah, uh, I was in a leadership call this morning.
We talked about just beingintentional.
We have to be more intentionalto each other and to make those
calls.
And as you told the story beforeabout, you know, you're afraid
to get out of the car.
Um, there's a lot of people nowat younger who and and I
shouldn't I shouldn't even sayyounger because I'm I'm older,
50 something, and we might text,right?
(15:10):
Instead of facing the personface to face.
So um, you know, I mean,sometimes a text can be a
check-in, but not a it's it'snot that personal connection.
And I I'm not sure if we'relosing that in our society
today.
We we just we pick up the phoneor we text or you know, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (15:30):
Yeah, my um my father-in-law, who's uh um, I
don't want to call him old, buthe's he's a he's a he's a
retired farmer, retired pastor,recovering pastor, maybe you'd
call him.
But I just always find he alwayshas a line that I can remember,
and it's like we text forinformation, we we call, have a
conversation, right?
And so when when somethingbecomes a conversation over
(15:51):
text, it's like pick up the pickup the phone and have a
conversation or meet in person.
So yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (15:57):
I I hate I and I I I have done it.
And I as you as you're saying,I'm like, oh, I should I need to
text, I I need to call thatperson back, you know, yeah
because you're right.
It we call someone because wecare and and love them.
Um now I know that you've hadsome contact with leader impact.
You know a few of our people.
Um we want to grow personally,professionally, and spiritually
(16:18):
for increasing impact.
You've talked a lot about thisso far.
So um, if you're willing toshare an example of how the
spiritual makes a practicaldifference in your life as a
leader.
SPEAKER_01 (16:27):
Yeah.
Um I think, I think for so long,uh, maybe or maybe it's just
something we've been taught, weshouldn't talk about faith or
politics, right?
Like when you're getting yourhair cut or around a dinner
business table or anything likethat.
And and I but when I read myBible, I don't, I don't see
that.
I don't, I don't see that weshouldn't talk about these
(16:47):
things.
Even Jesus talked about politicsand and different things uh
throughout his time.
And so I um I I just need toI've learned to live by that
more and at the same time notgreat.
But I but I what I do recognizeis you know, a few years ago I
read a book by Jamie Winship andit's called Living Fearless.
And so if if if some peoplemaybe have have read this book
(17:11):
and maybe they haven't, and andyou can read the book, it's
exceptional.
But honestly, if you likepodcasts, and maybe you do if
you're listening to this, Jamiehas some incredible podcasts,
and the way he talks and the wayhe tells stories is is
mind-blowing.
And so I've just started to tryand practice what he's telling
us.
And it's just like just don'tbuy the false identity that the
(17:31):
world tells you, but ratheractually believe you know the
truth of who you are and youridentity.
And um and so in doing that,oftentimes the way I've started
to practice what what he did,and so he he had a he had a
start in policing.
You you'll hear that if you ifyou read or or listen to one of
his podcasts and his story.
(17:52):
And he he would get intosituations where he didn't he
was a detective and he didn'tknow the answer, and he would
just pause and say, you knowwhat, God?
Just show me what you want me tosee right now in this.
And he started to solve allthese crazy crimes and and
things till till the point wherethe CIA or FBI came and met with
(18:12):
him, they're like, We want,here's a case file.
We want to know, we cannotfigure out how you figured this
out.
Please tell us.
And and so his story was like,Well, I don't think you're gonna
like my answer.
And um, and so that's what hetold him.
And so he has all thesemiraculous stories, and I'm
like, okay, so why can't I dothat same thing?
If I'm sitting in my truck andI'm stressed about this meeting,
(18:33):
why can't I actually bring thatforward and just pray about it?
Say, Lord, um, you know, we'reall spiritual beings, and so let
me pray about this.
What do you what do you want meto see going to this meeting?
What do you want me to knowbefore I walk into this room?
What do you want me to say?
And and just sit for quiet, youknow, for 30 seconds or a minute
and then go in.
Um I've done that, I've had todo that with certain pieces,
(18:55):
whether it's, you know, riskmanagement plans for farms or
financial things for farms, andI'm I'm lost inside of a
spreadsheet, and I'm like, okay,God, what do you want me to see
in this?
And just trying to start topractice that a little bit.
You know, we all have challengesand conflict happens because
we're humans, and so inside ofconflict, and you're maybe
talking and trying to help acouple people out inside of
(19:15):
their conflict, and it's justlike, Lord, what do you want me
to see inside of this right now?
And how can I speak to theirheart?
Because we're all, you know,it's it's basically fear is
what's is what's you knowrunning this conflict right now.
So, how do we break that down?
So I'd like to say that that'sbeen something I've matured into
here in my 40s a little bit isgoing just stopping to pray um
(19:39):
oftentimes throughout my day, asopposed to before I eat or
before I go to bed or with mykids or things like that.
SPEAKER_00 (19:46):
Yeah.
Have you so would you say yousaid you've grown into that?
So were you raised in a in aChristian home?
Did you always have this withyou?
Did you take a break?
You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01 (19:59):
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah, I uh I was raised in aChristian home.
I'm grateful for for that and myparents and and what um you know
that foundation that was given.
And at the same time, I was, youknow, probably a curious
teenager who who took a break umand had to had to really
recognize um you know who Iwanted to be and and uh and who
I was.
And so uh yeah, and then I Iwould say I've grown into that.
(20:23):
So I I did eventually go toBriercrest College and graduate.
So I was I was a part of youknow Briercrest and had a
degree, a business degree fromBriercrest, and um that amounted
to something that was reallyinteresting, even in that I
remember working in the publicsector and being told that if I
took my Briercrest degree, Iwouldn't, you know, that
wouldn't be of any value in thein the marketplace.
People would rather me just havea U of R degree.
(20:45):
I thought that was interesting.
Um now I actually tend to hire alot of people from Briercrest
because I think that thecharacter and value they bring
um impact their their day-to-daylife and their work ethic for
me.
So um yeah, I think so when Isay grown into that, I'm 43, 40,
I'm almost 43 in a week, Ithink.
And uh so yes, I when I saygrown into that, it's part of
(21:08):
the maturation of being marriedfor 19 years and having three
children and just recognizingthat as a man, and I think a lot
of your listeners could attestto this that if they're if
they're males, it's like as aman, I feel a lot of pressure at
times, and and I start to becomea dad, and I'm like, I don't
have what it takes.
Um but then I realize thatthat's why I need Jesus in so
(21:30):
many ways, right?
And so there's that that's justthat growth and and growing into
recognizing I can't do it all onmy own.
SPEAKER_00 (21:36):
Yeah.
Um, I I know as a woman we feelthat same way.
It's we're not enough.
And we look in the mirror andwe're not enough for that job,
we're not enough for that thosefriends, we're we're, you know.
Um what I have found interestingin in mine is you know, you have
three young children, I havetwo, and I now get to spend that
time with them.
(21:57):
In and we'll get up early in themorning and we have That quiet
time together, and we talk abouthow God moves in our lives.
That has been a game changer forme to see my children grow, you
know, and to watch them.
Yeah.
I didn't have that.
So I kind of married intosomeone like that.
So I I think that's importantfor listeners just to know you
(22:17):
can still get there.
Like you don't, you know, we'renot some of us aren't born into
a Christian family.
And and I was as well, driftedaway.
But we we came back because weknew there was more.
So I just appreciate thesharing, starting the
conversation and sharing thestory.
So um all right, well, movingon, we're gonna talk a little
(22:37):
bit about lasting impact.
At leader impact, we arededicated to leaders having a
lasting impact.
And so as you continue to movethrough your own journey, and
you know, you're only 43 nextweek, 44?
SPEAKER_01 (22:49):
43, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (22:50):
Yeah.
Have you considered what youwant your faith legacy to be
when you leave this world?
Which sounds morbid because youknow you're you've got a long
ways to go, but when you leave,what do you want to do?
SPEAKER_01 (22:59):
Yeah, we never know, I guess.
Um I think it's you know, I havethree young children.
My children are 11, um, eight,and six right now.
And uh my middle one's almostnine, they're like a week after
me.
So it's it's uh I look at thatand I'm I don't know if you
recall that or with your kids oranybody else, maybe, but I feel
(23:21):
like kids are at that pointwhere it's like they they don't
want to go to church on Sunday,and sometimes it's like I don't
want it to be this religiousactivity, but it's like it's
important for them to understandas I leave a faith legacy about
why my relationship with Jesusmatters and why it's important
for us to be in a community ofbelievers and why it's important
for us to gather still togetherand and those pieces.
And so I think about my familyfirst.
(23:43):
I think that's important.
I think it's important that wethat we give back, whether it's
through service, through,through you know, financial
tithing and things like that,into our local, into the local
church that we're being fedfrom.
And so I think that's a bigpiece of my legacy that I want
to leave is that family sidefirst.
And then if you think aboutbigger than that, I think that's
where, you know, as youintroduced me, I was like,
(24:06):
Jeepers, I could have cut thatin half.
I I but I'm like, there'sthere's pieces that you say yes
to that I'm like, yeah, I'd loveto be a part of that.
Um I I'm I'm ecstatic thatBriarCrest College now has an
agriculture program.
That we were, I got to be a partof an incredible team of of
people, uh, men and women thatcame together to build a
curriculum to launch a programso that families could still who
(24:30):
you know might be from the agworld or want their children or
kids that want to get in the eggcan actually send them to
BriarCrest to get a Christianworldview, um, education, a
degree, a business degree withan agriculture minor in it, and
um and and you know, go back.
And so I'm like, I I feel likeyou know, I just wanted to say
yes to that.
And maybe that's part of thatlegacy, maybe um, and of course
(24:51):
what we do at Prairie HockeyAcademy, I think matters.
We're we're taking, you know,hockey Canada over the last half
a dozen years.
It hasn't, it's been it's beenthrough the mud and out of it a
little bit, and and there'sthere's always been this stigma
maybe about it.
And so we we're taking thisopportunity inside a sport to to
call people up actually to whothey were created to be and and
(25:14):
to use sport to do that.
And whether that's throughhockey or someday, you know,
other sports, I think that's away for me to constantly be
sharing my faith and and alsobeing able to invest in that
next generation.
SPEAKER_00 (25:26):
Yeah.
Wow, Justin.
You I just listening to you whenyou think about the hockey and
how you got into agriculture,and you're like, I don't know
nothing about it.
And and look at you, right?
Like the agribusiness, the thethe curriculum you've written,
the your career, but there'salways a God component in it,
and that it's just makes mesmile.
Thank you for the smile.
SPEAKER_01 (25:48):
Yeah, you're welcome.
Thank you.
I I appreciate it.
I think it's really importantthat we just all remember like
that at one point in time wewere able to learn, why can't we
still, right?
And so that's that whole growthmindset side, and it's um it is
harder work sometimes as opposedto just being comfortable and
doing an old thing, but but it'sworth it.
SPEAKER_00 (26:06):
Yeah.
So my last question for you iswhat brings you the greatest
joy?
SPEAKER_01 (26:15):
We uh, you know, I I mean I as a dad now, it it's
hard for me to just say, youknow, I think about I've been
married for 19 years and and myyou know, my wife and I anytime
we get to to get away and youjust feel like you can actually
finish a conversation withoutbeing interrupted, uh, is is
just rich and a lot of fun.
(26:37):
And you just start to recognizejust how how God put you
together, it feels like, andthat um there's so much you know
you can catch up on in thoseconversations, but you just your
friendship is so is so rich.
Uh and then we just do things asa family, like we we never
thought we'd have a dog.
Well, we have a dog now.
He arrived on March 1st and hisname's Champ, and he is um he's
(26:59):
a lot of fun, but just watchingmy children play and laugh and
drag this guy around is umstressful sometimes, but at the
other time, just so joyful,right?
And just hearing them laugh.
And so, and I want I I wantpeople to see to understand that
it's also really difficult forme to slow down enough to watch
my children and to and to playwith them and to experience that
(27:20):
joy.
And so asking me the question isis um beneficial to me to to
reflect that my greatest joycomes from my kids, getting the
chance to be involved with them,getting the chance to coach
softball tonight uh for mydaughters, or you know, just so
I think that's that's that'd bemy answer.
SPEAKER_00 (27:39):
Wow, that's a that's good, just taking the time to
slow down and because they areonly 11, 8, and 6 for one year.
Yeah, right, like it and it goesfast.
Oh, it goes fast.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (27:53):
And this is that intentionality piece you spoke
about, Lisa, that that we haveto we have to be intentional
about it or the world will andeverything in it, the thorns of
it will all crowd over the joythat we could experience, right?
SPEAKER_00 (28:07):
Yeah.
Oh, well, Justin, I want tothank you for joining us for
this time.
It has been a pleasure to meetyou, uh, hear a little bit more
about you and hear about yourbook.
I'm gonna look it up for ourgroup as well.
But yeah, like I'm excited forit.
Um, so this ends our podcast.
If anyone wants to find you,find your book, what is the best
way to sort of connect with you?
SPEAKER_01 (28:27):
Yeah, you know what?
Um, the book is on Amazon, andso just significance over
success on Amazon, or if youtype in my name, I guess you
would find me as an author.
And in order to connect with me,that probably the easiest way is
just to on LinkedIn to find meon LinkedIn and send a uh a
message, or you might be able tojust grab my email off the
prairie hockey website as well.
SPEAKER_00 (28:48):
All right.
Well, I caught you on LinkedIn,so it's that easy.
SPEAKER_01 (28:52):
That's right.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (28:54):
All right.
Well, thank you, Justin, forjoining us.
SPEAKER_01 (28:57):
Yeah, you're welcome.
SPEAKER_00 (28:58):
All right.
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(29:18):
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(00:26):
The best way to stay connectedin Canada is through our
newsletter at leaderimpact.ca oron social at LeaderImpact.
And if you're listening fromoutside of Canada, check out our
website at leaderimpact.com.
I'm your host, Lisa Peters, andour guest today is Justin
Simpkins.
Justin is a husband, father ofthree, and entrepreneur based in
Mooshjaw, Saskatchewan.
On the agriculture side, he's apartner at Gro Lytics, a leading
(00:49):
financial consulting firmdedicated to helping farms
strengthen their business andbuild lasting resilience.
He's also founder and directorof the Prairie Hockey Academy, a
program built on the belief thathockey is a powerful tool for
developing life champions, notjust athletes.
Justin also chairs theagribusiness curriculum
committee at Briarcrest Collegeand Seminary, co-authored the
(01:11):
Amazon bestseller, Significanceover Success, and co-hosts the
Grit and Growth Podcast withover a hundred episodes and
counting.
At the core of it all is asimple conviction.
Lead with heart and the restfollows.
Welcome to the show, Justin.
SPEAKER_01 (01:26):
Thank you, Lisa.
I'm privileged to be here.
SPEAKER_00 (01:29):
It is nice to have you.
And I I I I say I got caught upon the word, you're an amazing
bestseller, an Amazonbestseller, but both I think
you're amazing.
Yeah.
I understand that our one of ourleader impact groups in Canada
is going to be using your bookto study.
SPEAKER_01 (01:46):
Yeah, absolutely.
The Calgary chapter, actually.
They had they had reached out tomy co-author, Shane Soudon and
I, and um just kind of blownaway by it.
I and I find maybe that's whatwe're here to talk about.
Just just the way that uh Godsometimes can just use us, just
simple us when we when weactually, you know, sometimes
maybe it's just about obedienceor putting ourselves out there.
(02:08):
And yeah, uh anyway, yeah, I wasI was a little bit taken back,
uh, pretty honored, and I thinkit's really neat.
SPEAKER_00 (02:14):
Yeah.
The Calgary chapter, the wholeAlberta chapter is doing a
really great job.
So um I'm I'm excited for you.
Congratulations.
And uh, because we do localbooks, and it is so nice to have
a local author zoom in.
It's so fun.
So um we we won't we'll haveprobably have some different
questions, but uh, we reallywant to hear about your journey
and how you got from, you know,how you got to here being an
(02:35):
author, a podcast, the prairiehockey, um, like lead like
founding that and leading it,and really sort of the like we
want to hear the pivotalmoments.
I mean, I'd like to hear it all.
That'd be great.
I'll I'll read the book.
But sort of those pivotalmoments that got you here today.
SPEAKER_01 (02:52):
Um, sure.
I think, you know, I think itcomes down to I'll say this, in
in college, I, you know, Ireally started to come across
this idea of Psalm 37.4 and justtalks, you know, in in that
psalm, it says, delight yourselfin the Lord, and he will give
you the desires of your heart.
And, you know, maybe as ateenager at one point I thought
(03:13):
maybe that was like a Porsche9-11, but I started to recognize
that the desires of my heartweren't these material pieces,
but actually that as we as wepursued relationship um with God
and we, you know, started todelight ourselves in that, that
that things would be downloadedinto our hearts at times that
would be things that started tobreak your heart that you didn't
(03:34):
even know that that like why whyam I getting emotional about
this?
Or why are why is this all of asudden something that I feel
like I'm supposed to do?
And so I if I think back on abit of my journey and I and you
look back, you know, 20 yearsand you're like, yeah, I I don't
think I ever thought I would,you know, have authored a book
(03:55):
or been confident enough to bein a podcast.
But I think it's just thatability to say yes along the
way.
Yeah.
And and that sometimes justmeant saying yes to a new job,
and I didn't understand what itwas.
I was coaching college hockeyand my wife and I had a
conversation, and you know, shewas really clear that uh I was
supposed to be done coaching.
(04:16):
It was the right thing for ourfamily at that time for the two
of us, and that was really hardto step away from a game that I
loved to jump into somethingthat I had no idea about, which
was agriculture and insurance.
And I remember when thisentrepreneur asked me to join
him, I said, Well, what is it?
And he said, Well, it's a it's aprivate crop insurance company.
And I said, Well, I'm like acity kid.
(04:37):
Like I'm not from a farm, Idon't know anything about
farming.
And I I also know nothing aboutinsurance.
And I just remember him beinglike, Well, that's perfect.
He's like, because I can, youknow, I can I can teach you all
that stuff.
That's easy.
Those are the easy skills.
And anyway, so I just think it'syou know, sometimes they don't
make sense, these, these leapsand these jumps.
Um, but you say yes, and uh, andGod has a plan and he kind of
(04:58):
weaves your way.
SPEAKER_00 (05:00):
Yeah, oh, I love that.
I a long time ago, I thought Ihave I just have to say yes, and
then I'll I'll I'll let it workitself out.
I'll let it work.
And it is it is scary to say yesor to change direction.
Um, change management is a hugething.
Uh so um how did you get how didyou start the prairie hockey?
(05:21):
The prairie hockey Yeah, PrairieHockey Academy.
SPEAKER_01 (05:25):
It's um, you know what, that uh so the really
quick version of that is, youknow, Lisa, I I played hockey.
I love playing hockey growing upas a kid.
The truth is, is I was probablya pretty mediocre hockey player
and I didn't have the bestattitude.
And so in junior hockey, thatmakes you really expendable.
And um, and you start to learnthat your choices create your
challenges.
And so fast forward quite a bitof time, and I I came across a
(05:49):
leadership coach who started tomake sense to me.
It was like for the first time,leadership wasn't dots on a
whiteboard, it wasn't a new bookI picked up off the shelf and
tried to make sense of it.
It was here's point A, followthese dots to get to point B,
and it's really clear.
And I was coaching college atthis time, and I thought to
myself, if I if I would have hadthis when I was 15 years old, I
(06:12):
really truly believe that itwould have changed my
trajectory.
And so I thought, why don't Ijust why don't I start giving
this to kids?
I had a I had a much youngerbrother, he was born in 1998,
and um I was born in 83 for allthe listeners.
So there's the gap here, and I'dbeen away from home ever since
he was born, and so I thought,well, this could be a unique way
for me to connect with mybrother.
(06:33):
And so I started a kids' hockeyprogram.
I had a marketing degree, toldme if I called it AAA, that
parents would pay money to come.
So I did that.
Um, we we ran a spring program,and all these kids came out.
But my intent was that we'regonna run a really good hockey
practice, we can do that, butwe're actually gonna go
afterwards to a classroom andwe're gonna teach simple
leadership principles, and we'regonna use the power of hockey to
(06:55):
develop life champions.
And fast forward that half adozen years of doing this for
free, all of our coaches workfor free, and we just did it for
fun.
And we saw transformationhappening in kids' lives.
Like they were joining us, theywere the first group was 10 and
11-year-olds, and it grew fromthere.
And we started to see theseyoung men and women just growing
into being leaders and gettingresponses back from teachers
(07:17):
about just like the changethey're seeing in these kids'
lives and and parents.
So, parents would get an emailfrom a teacher, like, hey, what
happened to Jackson?
He's all of a sudden sitting atthe front of his class, he's all
of a sudden takingresponsibility, he's all of a
sudden doing these things we'vebeen asking him to do.
And they would forward it to usand say, Hey, coaches, like we
don't know what to accredit thisto other than what you've been
teaching him in these classes.
So that led from one thing toanother to the idea and
(07:41):
application to start a hockeyacademy.
Um purely it's um prairie hockeyacademy exists today, not to be
a hockey factory, not to justdevelop more athletes, but to
truly be a spot that uh can be,you know, a national leader in
um in character development andathlete development.
And and I think we're doing areally good job.
And it doesn't mean when youhave 80 athletes, you know, 80
(08:03):
young men together below heaventhat you don't have challenges
because you do, but um I thinkwe're doing some good stuff.
SPEAKER_00 (08:10):
Yeah.
I uh I think of um I'm anathlete, well, was a basketball
player, and I think of all thecoaches I had in my life, and
you think of all the coaches andand what they meant to me.
And just listening to youreminds me of my son played
hockey, had a coach, and I Iit's like I wanted to tell the
coach, can you tell my son to dothis?
(08:30):
Because he listened to you.
Because my son loved his coach,they were good men.
We played for the the PrairieHockey uh association storm, and
I mean all of the coaches, soand they're all volunteer, and
so thank you just for being thatcoach that those kids they make
a difference, and you make adifference, so yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:51):
Thank you.
Coaching is such an incredibleopportunity, and I I was and I
think this will this will applyto your to your um listeners,
Lisa, because I I was at adinner a couple months ago, and
it was a it was a dinner put onby a large bank, and they had
their chief economist in andsome different people, and and
there's a couple politicalpeople around the table, and
they this question got askedaround the table.
(09:12):
It was an intimate, probablyabout eight people, and it was
what makes a good politician?
And there was different, youknow, answers being given back
and forth, back and forth, backand forth.
And they came to me like, heyJustin, what do you think makes
a good politician?
And I said, Well, I think whatmakes a good politician is what
makes a great coach.
I think what makes a great coachis what makes a great leader.
Um, and I I said that the onlyjob of a leader is to love the
(09:38):
people.
So the only job of a coach is tolove their players, their
athletes.
Because I said, I think if youthink about that as a
politician, if you if you lovethe people that you've been, you
know, elected to lead, then allthe bases will be covered.
Like it will, it'll actually,you know, you'll you'll prepare
yourself, you'll you'll lookafter them.
So anyway, we went through ahandful of things.
(09:59):
And I just think as a coach,that's been the biggest
privilege is just starting tounderstand that it's not that
hard.
Anyone can draw X's and O's on awhiteboard.
It's it's um, you know, beingable to connect and transform a
human being is where is wherethe magic happens.
SPEAKER_00 (10:14):
And did your idea of politicians just loving their
people get traction at thetable?
SPEAKER_01 (10:20):
You know what it truly did.
It had like this pause, and alot of people they they started
to understand what I was what Iwas saying.
And of course, this is part ofmy Christian worldview and
recognizing you know our call asleaders to to love others and to
to steward and serve them well.
SPEAKER_00 (10:37):
And anyway, yeah, yes, good.
All right.
Well, my next question for youhas to do about your best
principle of success, if youhave one and if you have a story
to share about it.
SPEAKER_01 (10:47):
Yeah, sure.
Um I think uh, you know,character, I th I I talk lots
about character development withour with our athletes, and I and
I think about you know, be moreI think it was Winston
Churchill, I think it was likebe more concerned about your
character than your reputation,because your character is
actually who you are, and yourreputation is just what maybe a
(11:09):
small group of people think thatyou are.
And um, and so when I thinkabout that, one of the biggest
pieces for me in business thatI've learned over the last you
know, 20 years now is um isintegrity matters.
And um, and I know there's a lotof things that matter, but I
think integrity is this big onefor me.
And I know that there's beentimes over my my life and a
(11:30):
young teen and a young adult andstuff that maybe my integrity
wasn't there.
Uh in my business career, Ithink of opportunities where I
was I was kind of forced intothe a role as of a CEO of a
company at a younger age in myearly 30s.
And and um I remember I tookover this company as a CEO and I
was I was kind of burdened witha lot of debt from the previous
(11:52):
CEO.
And and one of them wasactually, you know, some issues
with our landlord.
And uh I didn't want to go facethe landlord face to face.
In fact, I had a lot of fearabout it.
And I remember sitting in theparking lot of the landlord's
office and thinking to myself assitting in my truck, and I was
like, I had like just everythingto get out of the truck to go
and face him and have aconversation and just have some
(12:14):
tough conversations of where wewere at as a company.
And when I went and met withhim, I've met with him before
and and it was fine.
And when I met with him, weended up having like an
hour-long conversation.
And when we were done, he justthanked me.
He said, You know what, Justin,thank you.
Thanks for coming in to see meface to face.
He said, Every time I've metwith you, I always knew you were
gonna tell me the truth.
And you've always done that, andso it makes it easy.
(12:34):
I I wish more people were likethat.
unknown (12:36):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (12:36):
And I got in my truck and I thought to myself,
like, it's like there's thisopportunity every day in our
life to make a deposit into ourbank account of our character.
Um, and it's like the decisionswe make every day line up to
these tough meetings and thesetough moments.
Um, but you get to show up inwhat you've built.
SPEAKER_00 (12:55):
Yeah.
It's a good story.
SPEAKER_01 (12:58):
Yeah, thank you.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (12:59):
Uh yeah, that's good.
Um, our next question, we talkabout failures and success.
Because I think we all know welearn more from our failures and
our success uh than our own likesuccesses.
We learn more from our failuresand mistakes than our successes.
I think I said that wrong.
So I'm wondering if you have onethat you can share, a failure or
a mistake, um, and what youlearned from it.
SPEAKER_01 (13:20):
Um yeah, we definitely, we 100% do.
Uh, we we learn from ourfailures.
Uh that this is why sports issuch a really cool piece for
life and and and developing, youknow, raising good teammates and
developing people to tocontribute to our society moving
forward because they we failevery day in sport.
Um every every at bat, weusually have at least one miss
swing and miss, right?
And so there's been companies,I've been a part of a company
(13:44):
and CEO of a company that I hadto close.
I mean, there was lots of thingsthat I learned in that scenario.
But let's let's actually changeit a little bit.
You know what?
I I I had an employee that Ireally valued.
Um, at least I thought I reallyvalued.
So as a leader, what whathappened is I felt like this
this employee was good.
I felt like they they were goodat their job, they were paid,
(14:05):
they were paid very well.
Um, you know, they were myhighest plaid employee, they
were good at their job, theythey just showed up and they
they weren't a problem ever.
And so I didn't give them any ofmy attention.
And I thought that they knew Ienjoyed them or that I
appreciated them or I cared forthem until they quit.
Until they quit because theysaid that I I was the reason
(14:25):
they quit, because I I didn'tcare about them.
And uh and that was reallyhumbling, actually.
And so I learned a lot in thatmoment of like how important it
is to care for the people in andjust to check in and just to
have a quick conversation, howare things going, even when
they're not, you know, itdoesn't seem like everything's
burning down on them.
Uh, but just yeah, yeah, caringfor people and making sure you
(14:48):
see them is important.
SPEAKER_00 (14:50):
Yeah, uh, I was in a leadership call this morning.
We talked about just beingintentional.
We have to be more intentionalto each other and to make those
calls.
And as you told the story beforeabout, you know, you're afraid
to get out of the car.
Um, there's a lot of people nowat younger who and and I
shouldn't I shouldn't even sayyounger because I'm I'm older,
50 something, and we might text,right?
(15:10):
Instead of facing the personface to face.
So um, you know, I mean,sometimes a text can be a
check-in, but not a it's it'snot that personal connection.
And I I'm not sure if we'relosing that in our society
today.
We we just we pick up the phoneor we text or you know, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (15:30):
Yeah, my um my father-in-law, who's uh um, I
don't want to call him old, buthe's he's a he's a he's a
retired farmer, retired pastor,recovering pastor, maybe you'd
call him.
But I just always find he alwayshas a line that I can remember,
and it's like we text forinformation, we we call, have a
conversation, right?
And so when when somethingbecomes a conversation over
(15:51):
text, it's like pick up the pickup the phone and have a
conversation or meet in person.
So yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (15:57):
I I hate I and I I I have done it.
And I as you as you're saying,I'm like, oh, I should I need to
text, I I need to call thatperson back, you know, yeah
because you're right.
It we call someone because wecare and and love them.
Um now I know that you've hadsome contact with leader impact.
You know a few of our people.
Um we want to grow personally,professionally, and spiritually
(16:18):
for increasing impact.
You've talked a lot about thisso far.
So um, if you're willing toshare an example of how the
spiritual makes a practicaldifference in your life as a
leader.
SPEAKER_01 (16:27):
Yeah.
Um I think, I think for so long,uh, maybe or maybe it's just
something we've been taught, weshouldn't talk about faith or
politics, right?
Like when you're getting yourhair cut or around a dinner
business table or anything likethat.
And and I but when I read myBible, I don't, I don't see
that.
I don't, I don't see that weshouldn't talk about these
(16:47):
things.
Even Jesus talked about politicsand and different things uh
throughout his time.
And so I um I I just need toI've learned to live by that
more and at the same time notgreat.
But I but I what I do recognizeis you know, a few years ago I
read a book by Jamie Winship andit's called Living Fearless.
And so if if if some peoplemaybe have have read this book
(17:11):
and maybe they haven't, and andyou can read the book, it's
exceptional.
But honestly, if you likepodcasts, and maybe you do if
you're listening to this, Jamiehas some incredible podcasts,
and the way he talks and the wayhe tells stories is is
mind-blowing.
And so I've just started to tryand practice what he's telling
us.
And it's just like just don'tbuy the false identity that the
(17:31):
world tells you, but ratheractually believe you know the
truth of who you are and youridentity.
And um and so in doing that,oftentimes the way I've started
to practice what what he did,and so he he had a he had a
start in policing.
You you'll hear that if you ifyou read or or listen to one of
his podcasts and his story.
(17:52):
And he he would get intosituations where he didn't he
was a detective and he didn'tknow the answer, and he would
just pause and say, you knowwhat, God?
Just show me what you want me tosee right now in this.
And he started to solve allthese crazy crimes and and
things till till the point wherethe CIA or FBI came and met with
(18:12):
him, they're like, We want,here's a case file.
We want to know, we cannotfigure out how you figured this
out.
Please tell us.
And and so his story was like,Well, I don't think you're gonna
like my answer.
And um, and so that's what hetold him.
And so he has all thesemiraculous stories, and I'm
like, okay, so why can't I dothat same thing?
If I'm sitting in my truck andI'm stressed about this meeting,
(18:33):
why can't I actually bring thatforward and just pray about it?
Say, Lord, um, you know, we'reall spiritual beings, and so let
me pray about this.
What do you what do you want meto see going to this meeting?
What do you want me to knowbefore I walk into this room?
What do you want me to say?
And and just sit for quiet, youknow, for 30 seconds or a minute
and then go in.
Um I've done that, I've had todo that with certain pieces,
(18:55):
whether it's, you know, riskmanagement plans for farms or
financial things for farms, andI'm I'm lost inside of a
spreadsheet, and I'm like, okay,God, what do you want me to see
in this?
And just trying to start topractice that a little bit.
You know, we all have challengesand conflict happens because
we're humans, and so inside ofconflict, and you're maybe
talking and trying to help acouple people out inside of
(19:15):
their conflict, and it's justlike, Lord, what do you want me
to see inside of this right now?
And how can I speak to theirheart?
Because we're all, you know,it's it's basically fear is
what's is what's you knowrunning this conflict right now.
So, how do we break that down?
So I'd like to say that that'sbeen something I've matured into
here in my 40s a little bit isgoing just stopping to pray um
(19:39):
oftentimes throughout my day, asopposed to before I eat or
before I go to bed or with mykids or things like that.
SPEAKER_00 (19:46):
Yeah.
Have you so would you say yousaid you've grown into that?
So were you raised in a in aChristian home?
Did you always have this withyou?
Did you take a break?
You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01 (19:59):
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah, I uh I was raised in aChristian home.
I'm grateful for for that and myparents and and what um you know
that foundation that was given.
And at the same time, I was, youknow, probably a curious
teenager who who took a break umand had to had to really
recognize um you know who Iwanted to be and and uh and who
I was.
And so uh yeah, and then I Iwould say I've grown into that.
(20:23):
So I I did eventually go toBriercrest College and graduate.
So I was I was a part of youknow Briercrest and had a
degree, a business degree fromBriercrest, and um that amounted
to something that was reallyinteresting, even in that I
remember working in the publicsector and being told that if I
took my Briercrest degree, Iwouldn't, you know, that
wouldn't be of any value in thein the marketplace.
People would rather me just havea U of R degree.
(20:45):
I thought that was interesting.
Um now I actually tend to hire alot of people from Briercrest
because I think that thecharacter and value they bring
um impact their their day-to-daylife and their work ethic for
me.
So um yeah, I think so when Isay grown into that, I'm 43, 40,
I'm almost 43 in a week, Ithink.
And uh so yes, I when I saygrown into that, it's part of
(21:08):
the maturation of being marriedfor 19 years and having three
children and just recognizingthat as a man, and I think a lot
of your listeners could attestto this that if they're if
they're males, it's like as aman, I feel a lot of pressure at
times, and and I start to becomea dad, and I'm like, I don't
have what it takes.
Um but then I realize thatthat's why I need Jesus in so
(21:30):
many ways, right?
And so there's that that's justthat growth and and growing into
recognizing I can't do it all onmy own.
SPEAKER_00 (21:36):
Yeah.
Um, I I know as a woman we feelthat same way.
It's we're not enough.
And we look in the mirror andwe're not enough for that job,
we're not enough for that thosefriends, we're we're, you know.
Um what I have found interestingin in mine is you know, you have
three young children, I havetwo, and I now get to spend that
time with them.
(21:57):
In and we'll get up early in themorning and we have That quiet
time together, and we talk abouthow God moves in our lives.
That has been a game changer forme to see my children grow, you
know, and to watch them.
Yeah.
I didn't have that.
So I kind of married intosomeone like that.
So I I think that's importantfor listeners just to know you
(22:17):
can still get there.
Like you don't, you know, we'renot some of us aren't born into
a Christian family.
And and I was as well, driftedaway.
But we we came back because weknew there was more.
So I just appreciate thesharing, starting the
conversation and sharing thestory.
So um all right, well, movingon, we're gonna talk a little
(22:37):
bit about lasting impact.
At leader impact, we arededicated to leaders having a
lasting impact.
And so as you continue to movethrough your own journey, and
you know, you're only 43 nextweek, 44?
SPEAKER_01 (22:49):
43, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (22:50):
Yeah.
Have you considered what youwant your faith legacy to be
when you leave this world?
Which sounds morbid because youknow you're you've got a long
ways to go, but when you leave,what do you want to do?
SPEAKER_01 (22:59):
Yeah, we never know, I guess.
Um I think it's you know, I havethree young children.
My children are 11, um, eight,and six right now.
And uh my middle one's almostnine, they're like a week after
me.
So it's it's uh I look at thatand I'm I don't know if you
recall that or with your kids oranybody else, maybe, but I feel
(23:21):
like kids are at that pointwhere it's like they they don't
want to go to church on Sunday,and sometimes it's like I don't
want it to be this religiousactivity, but it's like it's
important for them to understandas I leave a faith legacy about
why my relationship with Jesusmatters and why it's important
for us to be in a community ofbelievers and why it's important
for us to gather still togetherand and those pieces.
And so I think about my familyfirst.
(23:43):
I think that's important.
I think it's important that wethat we give back, whether it's
through service, through,through you know, financial
tithing and things like that,into our local, into the local
church that we're being fedfrom.
And so I think that's a bigpiece of my legacy that I want
to leave is that family sidefirst.
And then if you think aboutbigger than that, I think that's
where, you know, as youintroduced me, I was like,
(24:06):
Jeepers, I could have cut thatin half.
I I but I'm like, there'sthere's pieces that you say yes
to that I'm like, yeah, I'd loveto be a part of that.
Um I I'm I'm ecstatic thatBriarCrest College now has an
agriculture program.
That we were, I got to be a partof an incredible team of of
people, uh, men and women thatcame together to build a
curriculum to launch a programso that families could still who
(24:30):
you know might be from the agworld or want their children or
kids that want to get in the eggcan actually send them to
BriarCrest to get a Christianworldview, um, education, a
degree, a business degree withan agriculture minor in it, and
um and and you know, go back.
And so I'm like, I I feel likeyou know, I just wanted to say
yes to that.
And maybe that's part of thatlegacy, maybe um, and of course
(24:51):
what we do at Prairie HockeyAcademy, I think matters.
We're we're taking, you know,hockey Canada over the last half
a dozen years.
It hasn't, it's been it's beenthrough the mud and out of it a
little bit, and and there'sthere's always been this stigma
maybe about it.
And so we we're taking thisopportunity inside a sport to to
call people up actually to whothey were created to be and and
(25:14):
to use sport to do that.
And whether that's throughhockey or someday, you know,
other sports, I think that's away for me to constantly be
sharing my faith and and alsobeing able to invest in that
next generation.
SPEAKER_00 (25:26):
Yeah.
Wow, Justin.
You I just listening to you whenyou think about the hockey and
how you got into agriculture,and you're like, I don't know
nothing about it.
And and look at you, right?
Like the agribusiness, the thethe curriculum you've written,
the your career, but there'salways a God component in it,
and that it's just makes mesmile.
Thank you for the smile.
SPEAKER_01 (25:48):
Yeah, you're welcome.
Thank you.
I I appreciate it.
I think it's really importantthat we just all remember like
that at one point in time wewere able to learn, why can't we
still, right?
And so that's that whole growthmindset side, and it's um it is
harder work sometimes as opposedto just being comfortable and
doing an old thing, but but it'sworth it.
SPEAKER_00 (26:06):
Yeah.
So my last question for you iswhat brings you the greatest
joy?
SPEAKER_01 (26:15):
We uh, you know, I I mean I as a dad now, it it's
hard for me to just say, youknow, I think about I've been
married for 19 years and and myyou know, my wife and I anytime
we get to to get away and youjust feel like you can actually
finish a conversation withoutbeing interrupted, uh, is is
just rich and a lot of fun.
(26:37):
And you just start to recognizejust how how God put you
together, it feels like, andthat um there's so much you know
you can catch up on in thoseconversations, but you just your
friendship is so is so rich.
Uh and then we just do things asa family, like we we never
thought we'd have a dog.
Well, we have a dog now.
He arrived on March 1st and hisname's Champ, and he is um he's
(26:59):
a lot of fun, but just watchingmy children play and laugh and
drag this guy around is umstressful sometimes, but at the
other time, just so joyful,right?
And just hearing them laugh.
And so, and I want I I wantpeople to see to understand that
it's also really difficult forme to slow down enough to watch
my children and to and to playwith them and to experience that
(27:20):
joy.
And so asking me the question isis um beneficial to me to to
reflect that my greatest joycomes from my kids, getting the
chance to be involved with them,getting the chance to coach
softball tonight uh for mydaughters, or you know, just so
I think that's that's that'd bemy answer.
SPEAKER_00 (27:39):
Wow, that's a that's good, just taking the time to
slow down and because they areonly 11, 8, and 6 for one year.
Yeah, right, like it and it goesfast.
Oh, it goes fast.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (27:53):
And this is that intentionality piece you spoke
about, Lisa, that that we haveto we have to be intentional
about it or the world will andeverything in it, the thorns of
it will all crowd over the joythat we could experience, right?
SPEAKER_00 (28:07):
Yeah.
Oh, well, Justin, I want tothank you for joining us for
this time.
It has been a pleasure to meetyou, uh, hear a little bit more
about you and hear about yourbook.
I'm gonna look it up for ourgroup as well.
But yeah, like I'm excited forit.
Um, so this ends our podcast.
If anyone wants to find you,find your book, what is the best
way to sort of connect with you?
SPEAKER_01 (28:27):
Yeah, you know what?
Um, the book is on Amazon, andso just significance over
success on Amazon, or if youtype in my name, I guess you
would find me as an author.
And in order to connect with me,that probably the easiest way is
just to on LinkedIn to find meon LinkedIn and send a uh a
message, or you might be able tojust grab my email off the
prairie hockey website as well.
SPEAKER_00 (28:48):
All right.
Well, I caught you on LinkedIn,so it's that easy.
SPEAKER_01 (28:52):
That's right.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (28:54):
All right.
Well, thank you, Justin, forjoining us.
SPEAKER_01 (28:57):
Yeah, you're welcome.
SPEAKER_00 (28:58):
All right.
Well, if you're part of LeaderImpact, you can always discuss
or share this podcast with yourgroup.
And if you are not yet part ofLeader Impact and would like to
find out more and grow yourleadership, find our podcast
page on our website atleaderimpact.ca.
You can also check out groupsavailable in Canada at
LeaderImpact.ca or if you'relistening from anywhere else in
the world, check outLeaderImpact.com or get in touch
(29:18):
with us by email.
Info at LeaderImpact.ca and wewill connect you.
And if you like this podcast,please leave us a comment, give
us a rating or review.
This will help other globalleaders find our podcast.
Thank you for engaging with us.
And remember, impact starts withyou.
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