Building Excellence

#21: Church On The Move Pastor Blake Zimmerman sits down and touches on many different topics. If you listen to this show you will walk away with something impactful and something you will be able to implement in your own life. 

Growing up Blake did not always have an idea of what he wanted to do. However, when he got to college Blake remembers a shift towards becoming more intentional. After college Blake took a job and he and his wife enjoyed the DINK (Double Income No Kids) life. 

Blake was working in the business sector before he made the jump into ministry. He talked about that leap of faith in depth and how challenging it is to step away from the culture of the American success narrative that can many times hold us captive. He also mentions how he goes about discerning what direction to take and how it is vital to have people in your life that help you through that process. Right around the same time of trusting God and taking that leap of faith, Blake's wife Sydney was severely injured in an accident and life-flighted to the hospital. Blake talks about the emotions in those moments and trusting God. He touches on a few other challenges and how he worked through those and relied on the Lord. 

Blake poses some great questions to reflect upon such as: where is your attention? How has God continued to arrive in your life instead of focusing on what has gone bad? Are you living on God's terms or are you living on your own terms? When was the last time you sat in COMPLETE silence and reflected, as well as listened to God? Why was today such a great day? Why was today a struggle?

He also makes some great references that are key takeaways:
- Pay attention to what God is blessing and do more of that.
- The Glory of God is when a human being is fully alive. God gets glory when I am using my gifts, abilities, and encouraging others to use theirs and be fully alive. 
- Excellence is an act of worship before God and with the help of God, using all of our raw materials and fashioning it into something beautiful and excellent for Him.

#20: Iain Laymon is the Director of Player Development/Video Coordinator at Oral Roberts University. This past season he helped ORU to the NCAA Sweet 16. Before coming to ORU Iain worked with Tom Crean at Indiana.

Throughout his coaching experiences he has been able to learn from some great coaches and coach some great players. Iain traveled to Liberia with Managers on a Mission for two summers before spending the 2019 summer in Israel with Athletes in Action.

In this show Iain talks about working under Paul Mills and what he has learned, as they have built the culture and program at ORU. He also discusses what it takes to get into coaching along with advice for those wanting to enter the coaching ranks. More importantly, he talks about what keeps him grounded, how to WIN (whats important now) everyday, having a commitment to others, and much more!
 
Enjoy the show!

#19: Founder & Executive Producer of Hero Productions, Carol Mathews has spent nearly three decades in film and television. Her award-winning projects have been featured in theaters across the country and on major cable networks like ESPN and TBN.

Driven by a passion for inspirational entertainment, Carol began her career producing nationally syndicated television spots for churches. She has since produced numerous successful collaborations for major faith-based networks—including TBN’s top-rated show, “360 Life”—and internationally syndicated documentaries such as “Death and Beyond” and the Angel Award-winning program, “Hymns,” which uncovers the remarkable stories behind beloved hymns like “Amazing Grace.”

In 2013, Carol transitioned into feature films as Executive Producer and Producer of “Home Run.” The inspirational film was named Best Feature Film and Best Inspirational Film at CBA’s Resonate Film Festival. Her first feature film, “Home Run,” became the highest grossing faith film of 2013 and the highest grossing film distributed by Samuel Goldwyn in both 2013 and 2014.

Since the success of “Home Run,” Carol has continued to acquire and develop inspirational projects to engage and inspire viewers. 

Enjoy the Show!

#18: Cincinnati Bengals coach Brad Kragthorpe is one of the top young coaches in the NFL. After listening to the show you will see why. 

At a young age Brad learned the value of hard work and controlling what you can control. The example was set before him through his parents. From growing up around the game with his dad coaching, he knew he one day wanted to be a coach. After his collegiate career ended he started on the coaching staff at Utah State. At every place Brad has been they have built and sustained a successful culture, both at Utah State, LSU, and now Cincinnati. Not only has he gotten to learn from some of the best coaches in the game of football, Zac Taylor, Ed Orgeron, Matt Wells, and Steve Kragthorpe, but has also worked with some of the best players. During his time at LSU and now with the Bengals, Brad has worked with Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase. He mentions the growth he has seen and some of the qualities they possess that make them great at what they do. From all the experiences in his life, he has gained a tremendous perspective on life, leadership, and what it takes to build excellence. 

Some takeaways:
- Control what you can control
- Be intentional in everything 
- Leadership is setting the example, being the example, and evaluating the play of others around you
- Being consistent with the right things is what matters to excel
- Have an adapt or die mentality
- What it takes to build a culture and specifics
- How to develop mental toughness and why it is so important
- Hard work is a must in everything, never get complacent

Enjoy the show!

#17: Host of the Young Business Leader Podcast & President of Trost Marketing, Evan Uyetake, shares some of his story, along with the lessons he has learned through his experiences.

Evan has had tremendous success running Trost Marketing, as well as hosting the Young Business Leader Podcast. Throughout the podcast Evan has sat down with individuals from all walks of life with unique perspectives on many different topics. From Mark Cathy of Chick Fil-A, Mart Green of Hobby Lobby, Lee Cockrell of Disney, & many others he has uncovered common patterns and principles within wisdom and leadership. More importantly he discusses some key topics like success, comparison, & vulnerability. All are key issues within our culture today that many struggle with. Evan shares insight towards not just overcoming those things, but thriving and living a life of purpose to help others.

If you would like to check out Evan's podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/young-business-leader-podcast/id1160452268

Key takeaways:
- Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity
- Have humility, be vulnerable, & know you don't have all the answers
- Have mentors
- Push yourself outside your comfort zone, try new stuff, and learn to fail
- Success leaves clues
- Learn what home runs are for you
- My path is not your path (comparison) 
- Building relationships
- You define what success means to you not what others think
- Go above and beyond to provide excellence
- Be present
- How do I convey care?
- Love & respect in marriage
- Being a great husband and father
- Stay focused on what matters most

Enjoy the show!

#16: Ryan Hamm is the Associate Head Basketball Coach at St. Leo University. A proven leader on and off the court, in 2017  the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) nominated Ryan as a 30 under 30 honoree. This past season, amid battling the challenges of navigating COVID, St. Leo won their first conference championship in school history. 

Ryan Hamm grew up in Kentucky where basketball is not just a sport, but a way of life. At a young age he was always competing with his sibling. From there he learned the values of hard work and being a great team mate. After playing college basketball Ryan always knew he wanted to coach. Upon graduating he stepped into coaching and has never looked back. 

In this show he discusses:
- Being a champion in everything 
- How you do one thing is how you do everything
- Leadership
- Communication is key
- Believing in yourself and having confidence 
- Don't prove peel wrong prove people right 
- Excellence is being great in all you do
- Body language 
- Building a foundation 
- Having a morning routine
- The best leaders care

Enjoy the show!

#15: From PGA Golf Pro to CEO. Jeff Smith is the CEO of the Tulsa Homebuilders Association. In his current position, he leads an organization of over 1,000 members, puts on 100's of events, and is the chief advocate of home building with local, state, and national governments. 

At a young age, Jeff learned the value of hard work. He spent many hours on the golf course and shares some of the lessons he learned from playing golf. At 20 years old, through a lot of hard work,  he became a PGA golf pro. He then transitioned into homebuilding, where he built beautiful homes and focused on delivering excellent customer service. Jeff became the youngest President of the HBA at the age of 29 while he was building. Because of his great leadership skills, relationships, work ethic, and knowledge of the industry Jeff was chosen a few years later to lead the organization as the CEO. 

In this show, Jeff talks about:
- Being great at doing the little things right.
- Always working hard going above and beyond in whatever you do.
- Leading with integrity and stick to your principles.
- Stepping out on your own and stepping into fear and uncertainty. 
- Pick out a task and accomplish it. if you do that you will go far in life.
- How to process and make difficult decisions.
- How to deliver excellent customer service. 
- Making decisions together with your spouse.
- When you build a team get the right people on board and in the right spots.

Enjoy the show!

#14: Seattle Mariners MLB player, Donnie Walton, has reached the highest level of his profession. However, what many people don't see is the hours of hard work, sacrifice, disappointment, and determination it takes to get to that level. In this show, Donnie shares the experiences and lessons he has learned on his journey. 

At an early age, with the guidance of his parents, he adopted an ALL IN mentality. No matter what it was, his parents encouraged him to take that approach in everything he did.  He talks about the moment he realized he had to make some sacrifices and do things differently if he wanted to really achieve his goals and dreams. 

He talks through some of his experiences: playing at Oklahoma State, playing under his dad, facing adversity and disappointment in his first year at the premier college baseball Cape Cod League, winning the Cape League and being named MVP the following year,  playing in the College World Series, life in the minor leagues and now major leagues, along with much more!

A few takeaways:
- Control what you can control
- Don't be afraid to ask questions
- Pay attention and learn from others
- Be where your feet are and enjoy the process
- Have an All In mentality and put in the work 
- If you really want something be willing to make the necessary sacrifices
- Have a routine

Donnie will show you through his own experiences and lessons on what it takes to achieve your dreams and goals! 

Enjoy the show!

#13: Former Brooklyn Nets Coach and the current Head Coach of St. Stephens St. Agnes, Mike Jones, shares the principles that have enabled him to achieve excellence in his life as a professional basketball player, coach, and both husband and father. Even more significant is that he shares how he is determined to give back through his foundation, the MJ Foundation.

Mike Jones was the first member of his family to attend college. He also had to make a tough decision that ultimately changed the trajectory of his life as he got into high school. He was given the opportunity to attend a different high school, but it was not easy to leave his friends. Growing up he learned the value of hard work from watching his parents and applied that to everything he did. As he excelled in sports and the classroom he earned the honors of the Oklahoma High School Player of the Year, as well as a scholarship opportunity to play college basketball. 

As a player, under Coach Billy Tubbs, he was on some of the most successful teams in TCU basketball history. While at TCU he recorded 51 points & 45 points in back-to-back games, as well as having a handful of 40+ point games. In 1997 he earned the opportunity to represent the USA in the World Games. After being disappointed from going undrafted, he talks about continuing to be disciplined and consistent to achieve his goal of playing professional basketball. He also discusses some of the lessons he has learned from his time playing and coaching. 

Some key points:
- Put in the work
- Separation is in the preparation
- You have to believe in yourself and have confidence
- Stay consistent and disciplined
- Don't compare yourself to others, just focus on being your best
- The best teams have accountability
- You can't do the bare minimum and expect results
- Pinpoint what you want to do, lock in, stay laser-focused until you achieve that goal

The mission of the Mike Jones Foundation is to provide minority students from public schools in the DMV City the opportunity to attend and graduate from a college preparatory school in the Mike Jones foundation’s coalition of schools.

For more about the Mike Jones Foundation check out:
mjonesfoundation.org

#12: Founder of the Legacy Letter Challenge, Blake Brewer, is on a mission to help 1 million dads write at least 1 meaningful, well-written, lasting letter to their children. 

After Blake's freshman year of college his family went on the trip of a lifetime to Hawaii. Unfortunately, that trip would be remembered for different reasons. One morning Blake and his dad were out snorkeling. They got caught up in some rough water in what is called Witches Brew. Blake saw his dad struggling and going under the water. Despite his best efforts to save his dad, his dad drowned that morning. Later that afternoon back at the condo his mother handed Blake a letter that his dad was going to give him on that trip. His dad had no idea that it would be his last words to Blake. To this day those words guide Blake's life and inspired him to encourage and help dads all over the world write a meaningful, well-written, letter to their children. 

In this show, Blake also touches on how he overcame adversity and loss, being intentional each day, living on the edge, and stretching yourself to grow, what it means to be a good father, and the Legacy Letter Challenge. The Legacy Letter Challenge is one of the best and most intentional ways to make sure your words as a father are etched in the legacy of your children. From professional athletes and coaches to business leaders, Blake has helped so many dads write their legacy letters to their children. 

If you want to learn more about Blake and the Legacy Letter Changgle check out:
www.legacyletterchallenge.com 
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