In this episode, we have Joe Clendenny. Joe was a businessman selling shoes who decided to take a missions trip to several countries that year. One of the stops along the way was to the leprosy colonies in India. A mission trip Joe made in September 2002 changed their lives forever.
How did your background inspired you to be where you are today? (05:15)
- Grew up in a little town of 48 people. It was predominantly a farm country and my parents owned a general store. We sold everything that I think the slogan was. We sell everything from soup to nuts. But it was groceries and hardware. We had the lunch counter, packaged liquor for a lot of years, my dad sold appliances, televisions, washing machines, just about everything.
- We spent a lot of time on the Mississippi river, boating and water skiing.
What can we conclude about the ideal leadership? (09:36)
- I had this yearning or desire even fairly young age to try to get into business for myself. It wasn't really sure what that was, but after spending a little over a year in Denver, I got transferred with the gallows down to Colorado Springs to run their distributor ship continental distributor ship, and became acquainted with a franchise at that point in time called the athlete's foot.
- Gone bankrupt in St. Louis and had been taken back by the parent company. And over the next two and a half years, we were able to turn those stores around to the point where they were become very profitable. Stream in that the parent company who I was actually in partnership with. Got acquired. It was a large group out of France that acquired the parent company of the athlete's foot. So I was partners with them.
- They ended up buying me out. I went to work for them for a short period of time. But after having owned my own business or operating it as my own, just wasn't as comfortable working in the larger corporate setting any longer.
- Excellent training, they demanded a lot, but it was phenomenal. Foundational training, from a business standpoint. And when I say took a chance to a risk in getting involved in this business in St.Louis. It wasn't so much all about the location. It was more about how the people were being handled and treated.
How the more you don't know, that's just how you grow? (17:23)
- Being stripped down to nothing, thinking that there was that, that I had blown it all and he opened up this little crack that, um, you know, allowed me to put one foot in front of the other.
- What's the right mix with confidence and what you, the wisdom you have now to know that, you know, you can't do it alone and right. Faith. And how do you what's that? What's that right mix for that. Now, looking back at those early days, um, you know, had confidence
- There's really a purpose also for what this is all for. And so you're leading right into some of Tom's principles where I wanted to touch on Tom has six areas of life. When he delivers his message, you'd like some in this order of importance where spirituality, your health relationships, intellectual, professional, and financial, where back then you were fulfilling a lot of those.
- I would never been a person of prayer or you know reaching out to the Lord. A pastor actually told me what you need to do is start taking your start, taking your problems to the Lord first.