0
SPEAKER_00
Coming up next on PassionStruck.
0
SPEAKER_01
You can compartmentalize your physical, your emotional, your intellectual, your relational, your spiritual.
0
SPEAKER_01
They re all linked together.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I think it s important to keep growing in all those areas, be a lifelong learner, but look past yourself.
0
SPEAKER_01
We re in a world right now that s getting more self-consumed, and the joy in life is not getting more wrapped up in yourself.
0
SPEAKER_01
It s actually looking beyond yourself.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yes, we need self-care.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yes, take care of yourself.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yes, have good boundaries, get some exercise, get sleep, all those good things, but you really come alive
0
SPEAKER_01
And you learn that serving is life.
0
SPEAKER_01
And when you can help somebody, that s when life is as good as it can be.
0
SPEAKER_01
So wherever you show up, don t show up just to be served, but to serve and to make a difference.
0
SPEAKER_00
Welcome to Passion Struck.
0
SPEAKER_00
Hi, I m your host, Jon R. Miles.
0
SPEAKER_00
And on the show, we decipher the secrets, tips, and guidance of the world s most inspiring people and turn their wisdom into practical advice for you and those around you.
0
SPEAKER_00
Our mission is to help you unlock the power of intentionality so that you can become the best version of yourself.
0
SPEAKER_00
If you re new to the show, I offer advice and answer listener questions on Fridays.
0
SPEAKER_00
We have long form interviews the rest of the week with guests ranging from astronauts to authors, CEOs, creators, innovators, scientists, military leaders, visionaries, and athletes.
0
SPEAKER_00
Now let s go out there and become passion struck.
0
SPEAKER_00
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Episode 456 of Passion Struck, consistently ranked by Apple as the number one alternative health podcast.
0
SPEAKER_00
A heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you who return to the show every week, eager to listen, learn and discover new ways to live better, be better, and to make a meaningful impact in the world.
0
SPEAKER_00
If you re new to the show, thank you so much for being here.
0
SPEAKER_00
or you simply want to introduce this to a friend or a family member, and we so appreciate it when you do that.
0
SPEAKER_00
We have episode starter packs, which are collections of our fans  favorite episodes that we organize into convenient playlists that give any new listener a great way to get acclimated to everything we do here on the show.
0
SPEAKER_00
Either go to Spotify or passionstruck.com slash starter packs to get started.
0
SPEAKER_00
I want to take a moment to honor someone very special to me, my sister Carolyn Miles.
0
SPEAKER_00
Many of you who are regular listeners have heard me talk about Carolyn s brave battle with pancreatic cancer.
0
SPEAKER_00
Carolyn was not only a tremendous source of inspiration and strength for everyone who knew her, but she also taught us the profound importance of living each day with courage and intention, even in the face of life s toughest challenges.
0
SPEAKER_00
Today, as we dive deep into our discussion, let s carry forward her indomitable spirit and remember the lasting impact she has left on our lives.
0
SPEAKER_00
I am also very excited to announce that Passionstruck won the gold medal at the Nonfiction Book Awards and is also on the shortlist for the Eric Hoffer Book Award Grand Prize.
0
SPEAKER_00
Additionally, this past week, we also launched the audiobook version.
0
SPEAKER_00
You can find it on the Passionstruck website, Amazon, or wherever you purchase books.
0
SPEAKER_00
In case you missed it, I had two fantastic interviews earlier this week.
0
SPEAKER_00
The first was with my friend, the renowned nutritionist, Oz Garcia.
0
SPEAKER_00
In this episode, Oz shares his expert insights on longevity, wellness, and the art of thriving at any age.
0
SPEAKER_00
Oz also dives deep into how we can optimize our health for a vibrant, energetic future.
0
SPEAKER_00
The second interview was with Homero Kabir, a celebrated women s wellbeing and leadership coach with a rich background in positive psychology and coaching psychology who joins us to explore the transformative journey from perfectionism to embracing the full spectrum of our inner and outer lives.
0
SPEAKER_00
And if you liked either of those episodes or today s, we would so appreciate you giving it a five-star rating and review.
0
SPEAKER_00
They go such a long way in strengthening the Passion Star community, and I know we and our guests love to hear your feedback.
0
SPEAKER_00
Today, I have the privilege of sitting down with an extraordinary guest whose journey embodies resilience, faith, and the unwavering pursuit of hope.
0
SPEAKER_00
Joining me today is Jesse Bradley, a man whose life story serves as a beacon of inspiration
0
SPEAKER_00
for all who encounter it.
0
SPEAKER_00
From his humble beginnings to his days as a college Division I athlete and professional soccer player, Jesse has weathered storms that would have deterred the faint of heart.
0
SPEAKER_00
But instead of allowing adversity to define him, Jesse has emerged stronger, more determined, and more passionate than ever before.
0
SPEAKER_00
Throughout this episode, we ll have the opportunity to journey with Jesse through the highs and lows of his life, from his childhood to his collegiate aspirations, and from the pinnacle of athletic success to the deaths of a tragic illness in Africa.
0
SPEAKER_00
But beyond the challenges he s faced, Jesse s story is one of a hope that transcends circumstance, defies despair, and empowers individuals to embrace a future filled with promise and possibility.
0
SPEAKER_00
As the author of The Power of the Second Thought and the founder of Hope Habits, Jesse is on a mission to spread hope to every corner of the globe
0
SPEAKER_00
one person at a time.
0
SPEAKER_00
Through his powerful message and unwavering commitment to uplifting others, Jesse reminds us that hope is not merely a feeling, but a foundation upon which we can build lives of purpose, meaning, and fulfillment.
0
SPEAKER_00
So, sit back, relax, and prepare to be inspired as we journey with Jesse Bradley through the triumphs, trials, and transformative moments that have shaped his extraordinary life.
0
SPEAKER_00
Thank you for choosing PassionStruck and choosing me to be your host and guide on your journey to creating an intentional life.
0
SPEAKER_00
Now, let that journey begin.
0
SPEAKER_00
I am absolutely thrilled today to have Jesse Bradley join us on Passion Struck.
0
SPEAKER_00
Welcome, Jesse.
0
SPEAKER_01
John, it s great to be here.
0
SPEAKER_01
Thank you.
0
SPEAKER_01
Thanks for your podcast, too.
0
SPEAKER_01
I appreciate the episodes and just you honing in on this topic of passion.
0
SPEAKER_01
It s so important in our lives.
0
SPEAKER_00
Well, thank you for that.
0
SPEAKER_00
We re just past our third year anniversary.
0
SPEAKER_00
So we are so thankful to have the opportunity every single day to inspire and to reach people and to try to help them live better, be better and create a positive impact in their life and on others.
0
SPEAKER_00
So happy to be doing this and to have you as a guest today.
0
SPEAKER_01
Excellent.
0
SPEAKER_01
It shows and it s genuine and it s authentic.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I think people pick up on it when your podcast is there to empower, encourage and serve people.
0
SPEAKER_01
And there s so many people gaining so much wisdom.
0
SPEAKER_01
So thanks.
0
SPEAKER_01
Keep up the good work.
0
SPEAKER_00
Thank you for that, Jesse.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I like to give you a chance to get to know our guest.
0
SPEAKER_00
So I was hoping you might be able to take us back to your childhood and tell us a little bit about it.
0
SPEAKER_00
What was it like growing up?
0
SPEAKER_00
Where did you grow up?
0
SPEAKER_00
And maybe just set some foundations for us.
0
SPEAKER_01
John passion started for me when I was two years old, and I told my parents, I want to be a professional athlete, sometimes you just know early in life, and I grew up on the campus the mercy of Minnesota, as the Golden Gophers in the big 10, and we went to all the different sports games.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I ll tell you, in the middle of the frozen tundra, in the winter, it s kind of bleak some days.
0
SPEAKER_01
But when you step into that arena, and everyone needs to kind of vent and release, and they re just going for it.
0
SPEAKER_01
Literally, the barn, that was the name of the basketball stadium, it was shaking.
0
SPEAKER_01
And the hockey, when you think of some of the legends that came out of the University of Minnesota,
0
SPEAKER_01
It was caught, you know, passion is a lot more caught than taught.
0
SPEAKER_01
And when I stepped into those settings, I just told my parents, this is what I want to do the rest of my life.
0
SPEAKER_01
And my parents were divorced when I was seven, couldn t hold them together as a kid, it was a feeling that was pretty helpless.
0
SPEAKER_01
And yet it s not what I wanted.
0
SPEAKER_01
I couldn t stop it.
0
SPEAKER_01
And there was a lot of sadness.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I believe that passion also comes out of pain.
0
SPEAKER_01
Not only what you enjoy, but the difficult things that you go through.
0
SPEAKER_01
And that event right there, that memory I ll never forget.
0
SPEAKER_01
I ll still help couples today and think back to what a difference it makes if someone comes alongside of couples when there s conflict and tension.
0
SPEAKER_01
to facilitate restoration.
0
SPEAKER_01
So what happened early in my life is connected to what I do now.
0
SPEAKER_01
Having said that, I focused in high school on academics, athletics, and friends.
0
SPEAKER_01
I thought those are three areas where I can apply my abilities.
0
SPEAKER_01
There was success in one sense, success on the outside, but we won state championships.
0
SPEAKER_01
I went to Dartmouth College Ivy League school, had good grades there, and made a lot of friends.
0
SPEAKER_01
So
0
SPEAKER_01
On the outside, like I say, there s the outside story and the inside story.
0
SPEAKER_01
The outside looks successful.
0
SPEAKER_01
On the inside, I was still struggling in different ways that I didn t share with people.
0
SPEAKER_01
But one turn for me is just my spiritual life.
0
SPEAKER_01
That s what I discovered in college.
0
SPEAKER_01
I didn t see it coming.
0
SPEAKER_01
But I come from a family kind of like Baskin Robbins, 31 flavors.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I didn t believe God existed, and I was at Dartmouth, and in a class, they assigned the Bible.
0
SPEAKER_01
And that was the first time I read the Bible, but that was linked to me eventually becoming a pastor.
0
SPEAKER_01
I did play professional sports, played soccer overseas, loved the sport, still very involved now.
0
SPEAKER_01
Seattle Sounders, Faith and Family Night, I play, my children play.
0
SPEAKER_01
Sports are a big part of my life.
0
SPEAKER_01
And my career ended tragically overseas.
0
SPEAKER_01
And we can get into some of that.
0
SPEAKER_01
But I was playing in Africa.
0
SPEAKER_01
I also played in Scotland.
0
SPEAKER_01
Just love that soccer is an international sport, building relationships with people around the world and coming together in unity, friendships that are formed.
0
SPEAKER_01
Sports just give you a picture about life.
0
SPEAKER_01
And the friendships that I made, the relationships continue today.
0
SPEAKER_01
And life s about relationships.
0
SPEAKER_01
It s about love.
0
SPEAKER_01
It s about passion.
0
SPEAKER_01
So that s a quick overview of some of the different times during my life and how they ve shaped where I am today.
0
SPEAKER_00
Well, thank you for sharing that.
0
SPEAKER_00
And as I was growing up and myself thinking about where to go to college, I was recruited by a whole bunch of the Big Ten schools.
0
SPEAKER_00
And both my parents went to the University of Michigan.
0
SPEAKER_00
So that obviously would have been my top choice.
0
SPEAKER_00
But I also got to go to Indiana and Wisconsin.
1
SPEAKER_01
and some of the other schools, never did make it to Minnesota, but love the game that Michigan plays with Minnesota every year to get the cup.
1
SPEAKER_01
Now, I understand speaking of colleges that you initially had your dream set on going to Stanford, but you ended up getting rejected.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I was hoping you could tell us about that experience and how maybe it closed one door, but opened another and what you learned from it.
1
SPEAKER_00
That was a key point in my life.
1
SPEAKER_00
I had worked hard with grades, academics, SAT, looked to be on track to get into Stanford.
1
SPEAKER_00
I talked to the coach there and he was very excited to have me join the team.
1
SPEAKER_00
And then the day came in the mail.
1
SPEAKER_00
And at that time, they let you know through a letter in the mail.
1
SPEAKER_00
And when the letter came, I saw it was a very thin letter.
1
SPEAKER_00
You don t want to receive a very thin letter or packet when you apply to a school and think you re going to get in.
1
SPEAKER_00
I opened up that letter and it said, sorry, you are not accepted to Stanford.
1
SPEAKER_00
And that was crushing for me because when you don t expect something and it blindsides you, where do you turn?
1
SPEAKER_00
What do you do?
1
SPEAKER_00
I didn t have a backup plan.
1
SPEAKER_00
I just thought this is going really well.
1
SPEAKER_00
This is where I m going.
1
SPEAKER_00
And sometimes in life it s going one way and then suddenly it s not going that way anymore.
1
SPEAKER_00
And what are you going to do when that door closes?
1
SPEAKER_00
That can test you to the core.
1
SPEAKER_00
And what is life going to look like?
1
SPEAKER_00
How do you make the best of the situation?
1
SPEAKER_00
From that, I continue to reach out, talk to different coaches.
1
SPEAKER_00
And the coach at Dartmouth, he was a soccer goalkeeper.
1
SPEAKER_00
He played in Scotland.
1
SPEAKER_00
He was a legend for the Scottish national team.
1
SPEAKER_00
And he also had been involved in soccer worldwide.
1
SPEAKER_00
He chose, instead of coaching one of the top clubs in Europe, he s friends with Alec Ferguson, who is a legend at Manchester United.
1
SPEAKER_00
So Bobby Clark could have been at the very best clubs in the world, but he chose to come to Dartmouth, small town New Hampshire.
1
SPEAKER_00
Why?
1
SPEAKER_00
Because he cared about the development of young men.
1
SPEAKER_00
And in Scotland, a lot of the players, if they didn t make it professionally, they wouldn t have an education.
1
SPEAKER_00
And he really values an education.
1
SPEAKER_00
When I talked to him, it was wonderful.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s like I had a great friend.
1
SPEAKER_00
We would talk for over an hour on the phone, longer than any other coach.
1
SPEAKER_00
Life s about relationships.
1
SPEAKER_00
And we built a friendship.
1
SPEAKER_00
It was humorous at times, because his accent is sometimes thick.
1
SPEAKER_00
And when he says goodbye, he says it about 15 times.
1
SPEAKER_00
You say, bye, bye, great, bye, OK, bye now, bye, bye, bye.
1
SPEAKER_00
We would joke about it after we were on the team together.
1
SPEAKER_00
How many times did the coach say goodbye to you when you were a recruit?
1
SPEAKER_00
You never know when to hang up the phone.
1
SPEAKER_00
But we joked about a lot of things.
1
SPEAKER_00
And Bobby Clark mentored me.
1
SPEAKER_00
I wouldn t have made it as far as I did without the coach that I had in college.
1
SPEAKER_00
Coaches set a culture that s professional.
1
SPEAKER_00
They set a championship culture.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s both in the locker room, on the field, and off the field.
1
SPEAKER_00
Coaches really teach you about life.
1
SPEAKER_00
Soccer is just a platform.
1
SPEAKER_00
Coach would say, ah, it s the we things.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s the we things.
1
SPEAKER_00
And that means it s the very small things.
1
SPEAKER_00
How you do the small things is how you do everything.
1
SPEAKER_00
So if we re going to win a championship, it starts with the small things, lad.
1
SPEAKER_00
And he would say, it s a great day.
1
SPEAKER_00
It would be snowing and windy and cold.
1
SPEAKER_00
And he d say, it s a great day for soccer.
1
SPEAKER_00
Just teaching us about mindset and attitude and how we approach things and not complaining.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I could go on and on about life lessons from Bobby Clark.
1
SPEAKER_00
All that to say, if you re playing a sport or you have children playing a sport, choose the coach carefully.
1
SPEAKER_00
Because if you find the right coach,
1
SPEAKER_00
Everything else will flow from that.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I just see it as the grace of God.
1
SPEAKER_00
One door closed at Stanford, and it couldn t have gone better at Dartmouth.
1
SPEAKER_00
I think a lot of the blessings in life that we really enjoy, that mean the most, we don t see it coming.
1
SPEAKER_00
And you can t even plan it.
1
SPEAKER_00
Like, I couldn t sit down and plan when I was going to meet my wife.
1
SPEAKER_00
but there when it happened it happened and I just knew it was in Iowa City and she s one of the greatest blessings of my life.
1
SPEAKER_00
A lot of times it ll be through initial disappointment or an extended waiting time but then in that key moment and part of it is how your characters develop through disappointment, part of it is the clarity that comes through disappointment,
1
SPEAKER_00
I never liked to grieve.
1
SPEAKER_00
I was someone who always just tough, get through it, don t cry, don t talk about it.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I had to learn how to identify my feelings, and then let some of them out, let some people in, even in prayer, give some burdens to God.
1
SPEAKER_00
So there was a lot that I needed to learn in life, and especially in my 20s, that didn t come naturally to me.
1
SPEAKER_00
And if it wasn t for disappointment, I don t think I would have made some of those changes.
1
SPEAKER_00
C.S.
1
SPEAKER_00
Lewis says pain is a megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
1
SPEAKER_00
Pain gets our attention and ultimately there can be some really healthy redirection during painful days.
1
SPEAKER_01
Well, thank you for sharing that.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I have an interesting unrelated story, except it involves Dartmouth.
1
SPEAKER_01
And that was over the weekend.
1
SPEAKER_01
My fiance and I happened to be out and about, and I played rugby in college after I got hurt playing cross country and track.
1
SPEAKER_01
What a transition from one sport to a completely different world, but
1
SPEAKER_01
We were at this event and all these female coaches were wearing rugby shirts, like Harvard rugby Princeton rugby Dartmouth rugby and so I walked up to the table, and the two coaches at the head of it were the head coach for Princeton and the assistant coach for Dartmouth.
1
SPEAKER_01
who I guess last year won and then lost national championship to Harvard.
1
SPEAKER_01
But Dartmouth has a fantastic women s rugby program, I learned.
1
SPEAKER_01
But it s so interesting that you and I both played Division I sports.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I don t think people who haven t understand how competitive and
1
SPEAKER_01
basically how much is on you when you re in those sports, because I almost think that the university kind of owns you for that period of time.
1
SPEAKER_01
But I did want to ask, how did being a Division I athlete prepare you to go into the professional league, and what were some of the challenges of being a professional athlete?
1
SPEAKER_00
John, I appreciate you sharing about your own journey with sports.
1
SPEAKER_00
And yes, there s some great rivalries, Dartmouth and Harvard.
1
SPEAKER_00
Rugby, it s interesting you got injured and then played rugby.
1
SPEAKER_00
I would think a lot of people get injured and then have to stop playing rugby, but you have a lot of courage.
1
SPEAKER_00
I know you thrived in the Naval Academy as well.
1
SPEAKER_00
For me, with Division I sports, there was a shift, and there s an intentionality, there s a depth of commitment, and I think anytime we want to advance in life, it s both desire and ability.
1
SPEAKER_00
If you don t have the desire, you won t play Division I sports.
1
SPEAKER_00
You really have to wake up.
1
SPEAKER_00
You kind of eat, drink, and sleep the sport you re playing, and your team becomes your family.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s competitive all year round.
1
SPEAKER_00
Whereas in high school, you know, I played some other sports.
1
SPEAKER_00
There was some variety.
1
SPEAKER_00
In college, it was one sport and all of us, it was a full-on commitment, but we loved it.
1
SPEAKER_00
It was our passion.
1
SPEAKER_00
And there s moments that I ll just never forget, whether it s on the bus or road trip or playing a game.
1
SPEAKER_00
And the bond that happens anytime you re on a team, and it could be at work, could be serving in your community,
1
SPEAKER_00
Maybe a project overseas you bring in clean water to kids anytime you re on a team where you can make a difference in the world you can set goals, and then you figure out how to bring out the best in each other and you have different roles, and there s teamwork involved and you serve together you suffer together.
1
SPEAKER_00
there s a bond that just keeps getting deeper and deeper.
1
SPEAKER_00
And that s what we experienced.
1
SPEAKER_00
College at Dartmouth and those friends will be friends for the rest of my life.
1
SPEAKER_00
And you probably have moments, John, going through the Naval Academy where it s like those people are going to be with you for the rest of your life.
1
SPEAKER_00
And it s a special relationship as well.
1
SPEAKER_00
Sports for me taught me so much about life.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I think that the discipline
1
SPEAKER_00
of waking up, lifting weights, starting to eat right, and then the extra training beyond practices, having to, you know, really be diligent with my homework during certain times in my schedule, having that structure, all of that really prepared me
1
SPEAKER_00
is moving to the next level again.
1
SPEAKER_00
In college the pace of the game was a jolt and I realized I m going to need to get quicker.
1
SPEAKER_00
I need to read the game better.
1
SPEAKER_00
I m going to need to anticipate better.
1
SPEAKER_00
I m going to need to make quicker better decisions on the field and there s the mental game of it as well.
1
SPEAKER_00
So all of that is being tested
1
SPEAKER_00
But we need the test to really grow.
1
SPEAKER_00
We need the test to develop.
1
SPEAKER_00
The fruit comes in the valleys, not the mountaintops.
1
SPEAKER_00
And we would win an Ivy League title.
1
SPEAKER_00
And then the next year, we get a little complacent and struggle.
1
SPEAKER_00
And then the next year, we win the Ivy League title.
1
SPEAKER_00
We make it to Division I, Final Eight.
1
SPEAKER_00
This success is great.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s fun.
1
SPEAKER_00
You remember it.
1
SPEAKER_00
You have the rings.
1
SPEAKER_00
but where you win the championships is when no one is looking and it s during the off season.
1
SPEAKER_00
Remember our coach walking past us one summer and he was almost concerned some of us were going to get injured because we were playing so hard in the pickup games that weren t even official practices and that s the year we went the furthest.
1
SPEAKER_00
So there s a real hunger that develops and again culture it s caught
1
SPEAKER_00
And when a few guys really want it, it starts to rub off and now when the whole team wants it, and they don t care about personal success.
2
SPEAKER_00
this together, that s exciting.
2
SPEAKER_00
I mean, that s what life s about.
2
SPEAKER_00
When instead of just one person getting to the top of the mountain, how can we all do it together?
2
SPEAKER_00
How can we figure it out?
2
SPEAKER_00
Road trips, you know, hostile environments, injuries.
2
SPEAKER_00
How do we navigate these challenges, not to mention personal lives?
2
SPEAKER_00
And when you achieve that success together, it s rich.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s rich.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I think all that prepared me.
2
SPEAKER_00
It became clear
2
SPEAKER_00
I wanted to continue to play.
2
SPEAKER_00
I didn t want college to be the end of the story.
2
SPEAKER_00
And because soccer is an international sport, I looked around the globe.
2
SPEAKER_00
And there were many opportunities.
2
SPEAKER_00
Being able to go to Scotland was outstanding.
2
SPEAKER_00
And then going to Africa, a completely different place.
2
SPEAKER_00
So much love, so much warmth, and hospitality, generosity.
2
SPEAKER_00
And yet, there s famine, and drought, and AIDS, and injustice.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I had never been up close and personal with some of those realities.
2
SPEAKER_00
literally guys on our team, guys on the national team were dying because of AIDS.
2
SPEAKER_00
And it was a tragedy that I realized is much more important in soccer.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I think in Africa, listen, when you re an athlete, you have to have a certain amount of focus and you have to take your sport seriously.
2
SPEAKER_00
And sometimes you lose perspective on
2
SPEAKER_00
what s even more important than sports.
2
SPEAKER_00
And what s more important could be in my own life or in the world or the difference I can make.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I think Africa, there were seeds planted during that time that were going to continue the rest of my life.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I didn t even recognize it then.
2
SPEAKER_00
But what I saw and experienced when I personally went through in Africa, that shaped and it was like it fueled and forged a new purpose and passion in my life.
2
SPEAKER_00
And it was far bigger than soccer.
2
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, I want to ask you one more question about it because you alluded to this when you first started the interview, but I understand when you were playing in Africa.
2
SPEAKER_01
You experienced a tragic illness that must have been incredibly challenging how did that experience shape your perspective of life and your faith.
2
SPEAKER_00
Right, because I was basically prescribed a medication to prevent malaria called larium, and it built up toxic levels in my system.
2
SPEAKER_00
I was taking it weekly as prescribed, and yet what was supposed to protect me began to kill me.
2
SPEAKER_00
And there were so many physical symptoms, I could name 10, but the most serious was with my heart, tachycardia, racing heartbeat, 160 beats a minute, sitting still, not to mention atrial flush.
2
SPEAKER_00
in addition to that, and then heart murmur, skip beats.
2
SPEAKER_00
There was so much pain, John, on the left side of my chest during the day and the night, I couldn t sleep.
2
SPEAKER_00
I couldn t even lie down to go to bed because of the pain.
2
SPEAKER_00
My heart was beating so rapidly and the drug inhibits the inhibitors, so I couldn t regulate my heartbeat.
2
SPEAKER_00
And then in addition to that, the psychological side effects included panic attacks and waves of depression.
2
SPEAKER_00
I had never experienced this before.
2
SPEAKER_00
And yet it was all happening within my own body.
2
SPEAKER_00
My body s my livelihood as a professional athlete, and it felt completely out of control.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I flew back to America, paid out of pocket.
2
SPEAKER_00
Here s Stanford.
2
SPEAKER_00
I went to a physician in Stanford, and he was the first doctor who said it could be side effects of the malaria medication.
2
SPEAKER_00
Now, he didn t think it was that, but he mentioned it.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I ll tell you, I started to pray at that time.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I just had the simple question, what s going on with my body?
2
SPEAKER_00
What is it?
2
SPEAKER_00
And when God communicates, sometimes it s not even an audible voice.
2
SPEAKER_00
Well, it s not an audible voice.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s kind of like in your heart and mind, you start to hear and sense.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I just knew it s the drug that s causing it.
2
SPEAKER_00
So I told all the physicians who insisted that I take the drug for another month as prescribed, because malaria can be latent in your body.
2
SPEAKER_00
And if you have malaria on top of whatever else I had, they thought I would die.
2
SPEAKER_00
I told them, no, I m not going to take it.
2
SPEAKER_00
We had my blood sent to the Center for Disease Control.
2
SPEAKER_00
They send it back weeks later, confirm there s toxic levels of the medication in my system.
2
SPEAKER_00
And if I didn t make that decision, I probably wouldn t be here.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I was fighting for my life for a year, John.
2
SPEAKER_00
It took 10 years to fully recover.
2
SPEAKER_00
But the things that happened that were so good during that time,
2
SPEAKER_00
I was in survival mode in the moment, but now I can look back and say that s when I started to have a gritty gratitude and intentionally find 10 things every day and give thanks for those 10 things.
2
SPEAKER_00
That s when my prayer life changed.
2
SPEAKER_00
Instead of just an intellectual quick prayer, I started to pour out my heart to God.
2
SPEAKER_00
That s when my identity shifted because, John, my identity was in success.
2
SPEAKER_00
Performance.
2
SPEAKER_00
Performance-based identity is a cruel trap because I was inflated, deflated.
2
SPEAKER_00
Pride, shame.
2
SPEAKER_00
It was a roller coaster ride.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I realized I can t have my identity in sports if I m not an athlete anymore.
2
SPEAKER_00
I can t have my identity in school and grades if I m not a student.
2
SPEAKER_00
I can t have my identity in something I can lose, even my own health.
2
SPEAKER_00
So the love of God is always with me, and that became, I call it grace and undeserved gift that became the anchor, the place where I would place my identity, and a lot of different things I did chart my progress celebrate success in terms of walking.
2
SPEAKER_00
If you have a long term recovery it feels like you re never improving.
2
SPEAKER_00
But I would look back six months and say, I can now walk five more minutes without my heart escalating so fast.
2
SPEAKER_00
I can walk up the hill without a racing heartbeat.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I had to celebrate those milestones too, building on islands of strength.
2
SPEAKER_00
And it was like a transformation on so many levels for me at the same time.
2
SPEAKER_00
But I discovered a hope that s greater than our challenges.
2
SPEAKER_00
And hope is a confident and joyful trust in someone or something.
2
SPEAKER_00
And hope is available to everyone.
2
SPEAKER_00
I didn t feel like hope was available.
2
SPEAKER_00
I felt hopeless at the time.
2
SPEAKER_00
It felt like my life s never gonna get better.
2
SPEAKER_00
I didn t have a backup career.
2
SPEAKER_00
My parents had moved to California and I didn t have friends around.
2
SPEAKER_00
I was starting in my parents  basement, literally the bonus room in the basement.
2
SPEAKER_00
And they would watch me or listen to me.
2
SPEAKER_00
through a little child monitor at night to make sure there s no emergency.
2
SPEAKER_00
I mean, that s how low it felt like everything in my life was.
2
SPEAKER_00
And yet there was hope.
2
SPEAKER_00
And from that hope, I started to take some steps forward.
2
SPEAKER_00
And there s things you can do to cultivate hope in your life.
2
SPEAKER_00
And a key piece for me is my mind, my mindset, my thoughts, the renewing of my mind.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I couldn t control so many things that were happening in my body.
2
SPEAKER_00
But I could be intentional about my thoughts.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I ended up writing a book.
2
SPEAKER_00
John, I know you re an author, too.
2
SPEAKER_00
You know what it s like putting a book together.
2
SPEAKER_00
But I felt like I had to write this book because our thoughts
2
SPEAKER_00
they really form the direction of our life.
2
SPEAKER_00
And it s easy to have a first thought that s negative, that s selfish, that s destructive, that s not accurate.
2
SPEAKER_00
And that s like a hope thief.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I had to say no to the hope thieves and then be intentional.
2
SPEAKER_00
Now I call it the power of the second thought, but I had to learn that new habit.
2
SPEAKER_00
Hope is habitual.
2
SPEAKER_00
When you cultivate habits, hope grows.
2
SPEAKER_00
And that was one of the habits I started to really daily make sure I was doing.
2
SPEAKER_01
So Jesse, one of the things that I often talk about on this show is the power of reinvention.
2
SPEAKER_01
And there have been so many times in my career where I have had to navigate unexpected detours and difficulties.
2
SPEAKER_01
One I often talk about was I was a practice leader at Arthur Anderson, things were going great.
2
SPEAKER_01
And then out of the blue, we heard we re being investigated by the SEC for auditing practices on Enron.
2
SPEAKER_01
They re in Houston.
2
SPEAKER_01
Everyone s telling us everything s going to be fine.
2
SPEAKER_01
In fact, the leadership would do calls with us and tell us this is all a bunch of noise.
2
SPEAKER_01
Nothing s going to happen to the firm.
2
SPEAKER_01
And two weeks later, I lost my entire book of business.
2
SPEAKER_01
About three weeks later, was out of a job.
2
SPEAKER_01
And so I understand these unexpected detours extremely well.
2
SPEAKER_01
Your book is called The Power of Second Thought, and you just kind of introduced it.
2
SPEAKER_01
But I wanted to talk a little bit about hope.
2
SPEAKER_01
You and I, as we were preparing for this interview, were sharing some different statistics that we both have seen.
2
SPEAKER_01
And statistics from the Census Bureau, the American Psychological Association, the Center for Disease Control, as well as studies that have come out on a global scale, highlight the prevalence of hopelessness, stress, and despair in society.
2
SPEAKER_01
How do you believe your work with Hope Habits can address these issues on a larger scale?
2
SPEAKER_00
We need hope.
2
SPEAKER_00
We re designed to receive hope every day and to give hope every day.
2
SPEAKER_00
And when we do that, we re fully alive.
2
SPEAKER_00
But sometimes we retreat, we get fearful, we get intimidated.
2
SPEAKER_00
We re in a cave.
2
SPEAKER_00
And what are we doing in the cave?
2
SPEAKER_00
And a lot of times you don t hear, maybe from your parents or from school, how do you have a life of hope, of an indestructible hope, of a strong hope, an inspiring hope?
2
SPEAKER_00
And that s where I like to say hope is available.
2
SPEAKER_00
Hope is habitual.
2
SPEAKER_00
You can cultivate habits.
2
SPEAKER_00
And John, I was talking about the power of the second thought.
2
SPEAKER_00
We all have thousands of first thoughts every day.
2
SPEAKER_00
And yet National Science Foundation says most of those are not helpful.
2
SPEAKER_00
So this is what you can do real practically.
2
SPEAKER_00
Let me give this practical piece.
2
SPEAKER_00
First, recognize your first thoughts.
3
SPEAKER_00
about what you re thinking about.
3
SPEAKER_00
What are the thoughts during the day?
3
SPEAKER_00
Are they true?
3
SPEAKER_00
Are they noble?
3
SPEAKER_00
Are they good?
3
SPEAKER_00
You don t have to harbor, believe, or entertain a negative first thought.
3
SPEAKER_00
You wouldn t welcome a thief in your home and say, here, want my credit card?
3
SPEAKER_00
Can I make you dinner?
3
SPEAKER_00
Stay for a couple of days.
3
SPEAKER_00
You kick that first thought out and you say, not in my house.
3
SPEAKER_00
So recognize what you re thinking about and then reject what is not good, what is not going to build up your life and build up other people.
3
SPEAKER_00
As you reject that, the third step is replace it with an intentional second thought.
3
SPEAKER_00
Choose something.
3
SPEAKER_00
It could be a sentence.
3
SPEAKER_00
For me, I chose a Bible verse, and perfect love drives out fear.
3
SPEAKER_00
I would say that when I m fearful.
3
SPEAKER_00
There s a lot you can choose from.
3
SPEAKER_00
It could be from a song or a sentence you read in a book somewhere, but have an intentional second thought that you go to, that you replace it with, and that s going to redirect you, recalibrate you,
3
SPEAKER_00
and now you re going in the right direction.
3
SPEAKER_00
When you renew your mind, it s gonna change the way you respond to people, the words that you speak, it s gonna change your attitude, everything flows out of our thoughts.
3
SPEAKER_00
That s a habit we can all cultivate during the day.
3
SPEAKER_00
I was a goalkeeper on the field, paid to keep the ball out of the back of the net, and I was in goalkeeper mode in between my ears, making sure that that first negative thought s not gonna be lodged in the back of my mind, but I m gonna reject it,
3
SPEAKER_00
There s a lot of people who have guilt and shame, and they need to throw away the old tapes.
3
SPEAKER_00
Throw them into the bottom of the sea and say, no more fishing.
3
SPEAKER_00
That s what Corey Ten Boom says.
3
SPEAKER_00
And we need to be intentional about eliminating some of those thoughts that are stealing our peace, stealing our joy.
3
SPEAKER_00
As we do that, hope is going to grow.
3
SPEAKER_00
I also like to share that hope is relational.
3
SPEAKER_00
There s nothing greater in life than love.
3
SPEAKER_00
And the quality of your life, it s linked to the quality of the relationships.
3
SPEAKER_00
I m a doer.
3
SPEAKER_00
I like to take the next mountain.
3
SPEAKER_00
I like to have goals.
3
SPEAKER_00
I like to be active.
3
SPEAKER_00
And I realized that even if I can have great grades, win championships, be an outstanding goalkeeper, even if I, in the action-oriented areas of my life, have success, if my relationships aren t healthy and strong,
3
SPEAKER_00
The quality of your life, it s linked to those friendships.
3
SPEAKER_00
Harvard s done research about the longevity of life and whether you have a close community or not.
3
SPEAKER_00
Harvard also did research on human flourishing and found that if you re active in your faith, you have more generosity and service and forgiveness and joy.
3
SPEAKER_00
So there s research done, but life s about relationships.
3
SPEAKER_00
And I say with friends, with family, but also during the week where you live, work, learn, or play, it s how you treat people.
3
SPEAKER_00
And for me, life boils down to loving God, loving people.
3
SPEAKER_00
All that builds hope.
3
SPEAKER_00
And hope is not random.
3
SPEAKER_00
It doesn t just come and go in an arbitrary way.
3
SPEAKER_00
But hope is linked to the choices that you make.
3
SPEAKER_00
I encourage you to choose hope.
3
SPEAKER_00
Choose hope because when you live a life of hope, you re going to inspire others and it s going to multiply and the culture will be changed.
3
SPEAKER_00
The laws of the land are important in America, but it s changed one heart at a time, and it s love, it s hope, it s relationships.
3
SPEAKER_00
That s where the healing is going to come in our land.
3
SPEAKER_01
So I appreciate you sharing that, Jesse.
3
SPEAKER_01
And I think a lot of what you just said are things that we like to echo on this podcast, because Passion Struck is really about the power of intentionality and the intentional behavior changes that we make.
3
SPEAKER_01
And one of the principles that I explore in my own book is this concept of becoming a mission angler.
3
SPEAKER_01
And I introduced it like this.
3
SPEAKER_01
I particularly picked this metaphor because I live here in Tampa Bay where fishing is some of the best in the United States.
3
SPEAKER_01
And when I go out fishing and the people who I know who are anglers, they really go about their practice intentionally from the time that they wake up
3
SPEAKER_01
to go on the boat, to looking at tides, to the wind, to moon phases, to what fish are in season, et cetera.
3
SPEAKER_01
And I use this analogy because so often that discipline and intentionality that we apply to something like fishing or a hobby we have or an interest
3
SPEAKER_01
we don t apply to crafting our life in the way that we want it to become.
3
SPEAKER_01
And instead, we end up embracing our life in a very unintentional way.
3
SPEAKER_01
And I wanted to ask you, you went from a point where you were stuck in your own life to now
3
SPEAKER_01
being an author, a pastor, a public speaker, but this path wasn t exactly linear, I m sure.
3
SPEAKER_01
There were a bunch of hiccups along the way.
3
SPEAKER_01
I was hoping you might be able to share your story and maybe some of the advice that you have on how a person in the audience could be a life crafter in creating this ideal life that they want to have for themselves.
3
SPEAKER_00
John, I love it that you re bringing up that topic, and a lot of times it just starts with a sense that there s more.
3
SPEAKER_00
There s more available in life, and the hunger starts to grow, and you reject the status quo.
3
SPEAKER_00
There s a lot of patterns in this world, and you can just get caught up in those patterns.
3
SPEAKER_00
Some of them are negative, and they re stifling.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s time to dream again.
3
SPEAKER_00
I like the question, what s ideal?
3
SPEAKER_00
And if you are making a change in your career or your job, that takes a lot of courage.
3
SPEAKER_00
I like to say the three C s.
3
SPEAKER_00
You need clarity in the direction you re headed.
3
SPEAKER_00
You don t have to know everything, but it s hard to steer a parked car.
3
SPEAKER_00
So you have to start moving with some clarity.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s going to take courage.
3
SPEAKER_00
There s going to be obstacles, people that try to talk you out of it, people that throw shade.
3
SPEAKER_00
And then you want to do it with compassion.
3
SPEAKER_00
You want to care for people.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s all about serving.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s all about helping other people.
3
SPEAKER_00
What are your talents?
3
SPEAKER_00
What are your gifts?
3
SPEAKER_00
It s going to be linked to ways that you can improve the lives of others.
3
SPEAKER_00
There s going to be certain needs that catch your attention.
3
SPEAKER_00
When I saw kids need clean water in Africa, I know what it s like to be a kid in Africa, seeing that firsthand, and then what they go through, and how far they have to travel, and the water they have that s not clean.
3
SPEAKER_00
And we take clean water for granted in America a lot of times.
3
SPEAKER_00
So that s why we have from our church hundreds that run and we make sure that we can provide clean water for kids in Africa.
3
SPEAKER_00
Sometimes it s the need that s the call.
3
SPEAKER_00
And when you start to venture out into a new area, just start serving.
3
SPEAKER_00
Start serving and using your gifts.
3
SPEAKER_00
It could be as a volunteer and then maybe a part-time job turns into a full-time job.
3
SPEAKER_00
as you start to serve you re going to gain experience and the direction will be refined.
3
SPEAKER_00
What you re going to see is certain things you say and do really work and there s going to be people who tell you and confirm and are grateful and then you re going to learn about yourself and how you re wired.
3
SPEAKER_00
I say it s one prayerful decision at a time because our maker knows us just like we have appliances in our house and we go to the maker when we have questions
3
SPEAKER_00
This is a great journey.
3
SPEAKER_00
Life is a gift.
3
SPEAKER_00
Every day is a gift.
3
SPEAKER_00
Don t take it for granted.
3
SPEAKER_00
And we have so many capabilities now between podcasts like yours, John, and think of also your new book, how many lives, the ripple effect, because you were intentional.
3
SPEAKER_00
You had a passion and you wanted to empower people, encourage people.
3
SPEAKER_00
So you took a step.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s a step of faith.
3
SPEAKER_00
We re going to risk.
3
SPEAKER_00
We re going to be vulnerable.
3
SPEAKER_00
We re going to fail.
3
SPEAKER_00
That s par for the course.
3
SPEAKER_00
But I believe when passion comes, it s kind of like those old birthday candles where the light comes on and someone blows it out and then the light comes back on.
3
SPEAKER_00
You know, those trick candles and someone blows it out and the light comes back on.
3
SPEAKER_00
We have four children and one of the children we have, we adopted.
3
SPEAKER_00
And there were so many people who tried to talk us out of adoption, say it s a bad idea.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s too big of a risk.
3
SPEAKER_00
Don t do it.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s not for you.
3
SPEAKER_00
You already have three kids.
3
SPEAKER_00
I mean,
3
SPEAKER_00
can t tell you is surprising.
3
SPEAKER_00
It might be surprising for you when you have a vision and a passion who s not supportive.
3
SPEAKER_00
That s okay.
3
SPEAKER_00
Don t give those people too much power.
3
SPEAKER_00
You re going to find people that share your passion and purpose, link arms with them, collaborate.
3
SPEAKER_00
You re not going to get there alone.
3
SPEAKER_00
Start finding organizations, companies, businesses, individuals that have the same fire that you do and want to run life short, make the most of it.
3
SPEAKER_00
And when you find people, as you share your vision,
3
SPEAKER_00
and you look in their eyes when their eyes light up and there s a fire in their eyes because there s a fire in their soul that s who you want to team up with if you share your vision and the other person s eyes kind of glaze over like oh really and they kind of yawn that s not going to be your person you re going to run with so find people you ll see it in their eyes
3
SPEAKER_00
When you share your vision, they re going to say, that s what I ve been thinking about.
3
SPEAKER_00
That s what I m excited about.
3
SPEAKER_00
And as you find those people, the fire grows.
3
SPEAKER_00
I like to say embers alone start to fade, but when you bring embers together, there s a bonfire.
3
SPEAKER_00
And as you find people and collaborate, win-win partnerships, that s when we ve seen the most impact.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s been through partnerships, and you might not have those relationships right away, but through social media, find those people.
3
SPEAKER_00
Through LinkedIn, find those people.
3
SPEAKER_00
Take some relationship risks.
3
SPEAKER_00
You re not going to experience this by being comfortable.
3
SPEAKER_00
And I think that s one of the biggest idols in our life is we want to be comfortable safe.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s not going to happen in that zone.
3
SPEAKER_00
So you re going to need to be vulnerable take some relationship risks, there s going to be a lot of rejection, but it ll be worth it.
4
SPEAKER_00
in life what mountains are worth dying on.
4
SPEAKER_00
Not all mountains.
4
SPEAKER_00
There s a lot of unnecessary conflict we don t need.
4
SPEAKER_00
But there are certain causes where it s worth the extra time and energy.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s worth the opposition, overcoming the obstacles, going the extra mile consistently, not just once in a while.
4
SPEAKER_00
And when you find that lane, you come alive.
4
SPEAKER_00
I feel like, John, if I wasn t paid for what I do, I would still do the exact same thing.
4
SPEAKER_00
Because when I wake up in the morning, I m excited to do this.
4
SPEAKER_00
This is why I was made.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s to come alongside of people and to help them discover their passion, to help them know how loved they are, to help them think through their inner life, their thoughts,
4
SPEAKER_00
their faith, their soul.
4
SPEAKER_00
And I didn t have anyone that walked me through in that journey.
4
SPEAKER_00
But once I tasted and I could see how good it is, I can t stay quiet, I can t contain it.
4
SPEAKER_00
And it s not for everybody.
4
SPEAKER_00
But I want to give everyone an opportunity to say, your life, it can be abundant.
4
SPEAKER_00
And I share what changed my life.
4
SPEAKER_00
And I like to do it in a way that s
4
SPEAKER_00
just genuine, not forced, no pressure manipulation, but whether I m talking about Jesus, whether I m talking about the impact soccer had, hope and how I discovered it, habits, our mindset, our intentional thinking, there s just a lot of things that are combined together for me, because I don t think we can compartmentalize.
4
SPEAKER_00
To some degree, we like to, but I don t think you can compartmentalize your physical, your emotional, your intellectual, your relational, your spiritual,
4
SPEAKER_00
They re all linked together, and I think it s important to keep growing in all those areas, be a lifelong learner, but look past yourself.
4
SPEAKER_00
I ll just say that, John.
4
SPEAKER_00
We re in a world right now that s getting more self-consumed, and the joy in life is not getting more wrapped up in yourself.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s actually looking beyond yourself.
4
SPEAKER_00
Yes, we need self-care.
4
SPEAKER_00
Yes, take care of yourself.
4
SPEAKER_00
Yes, have good boundaries, get some exercise, get sleep, all those good things.
4
SPEAKER_00
But you really come alive and you learn that serving is life.
4
SPEAKER_00
And when you can help somebody, that s when life is as good as it can be.
4
SPEAKER_00
So wherever you show up, don t show up just to be served, but to serve and to make a difference.
4
SPEAKER_01
Jesse, there are a couple of things I wanted to highlight there.
4
SPEAKER_01
The first is a lot of people think that you need to have confidence before you act and they get the whole equation wrong.
4
SPEAKER_01
Action leads to building confidence and courage, which leads you to create more action.
4
SPEAKER_01
So I think that s an important thing for people to understand.
4
SPEAKER_01
And you ve hit on now the Harvard adult study of aging a couple of times, which is what I think you re referring to.
4
SPEAKER_01
where Harvard ended up studying two groups of individuals, some who were privileged, including John F. Kennedy, and another group who were on the other side of the train tracks who weren t privileged.
4
SPEAKER_01
And what they found was that the amount of money you made, the amount of wealth that your family had, the amount of success that you had or failure didn t really matter.
4
SPEAKER_01
What mattered were a few things, relationships being the top of that pyramid.
4
SPEAKER_01
And Harvard has done a lot of research on flourishing, but so has the University of California, Berkeley and their Greater Good for Science Center.
4
SPEAKER_01
And this is something I wanted to touch on because one of my favorite people there is a guy named Dacher Keltner, who s been doing research on awe and self-compassion.
4
SPEAKER_01
And it was interesting to me as I read his book that when we think of awe,
4
SPEAKER_01
We think of awe at the birth of our children, which you and I both have, and maybe winning a national championship or an Ivy League championship or a Premier League championship.
4
SPEAKER_01
And those definitely can bring awe in your life.
4
SPEAKER_01
But what shocked me is he worked for years with prisoners on death row at Sam Quentin.
4
SPEAKER_01
And he said he saw in them
4
SPEAKER_01
more forms of awe than he would have ever imagined.
4
SPEAKER_01
And where he saw it most was in simple acts of kindness that one human being does to another, or that you do in service of other people.
4
SPEAKER_01
And I think it just harks back to what you were just talking about.
4
SPEAKER_01
And I was maybe hoping you could use that to dive down a little bit deeper into it.
4
SPEAKER_00
Absolutely.
4
SPEAKER_00
I lived in Northern California, I know San Quentin, and when you think about our purpose, there s going to be a sense of compulsion, like I need to do this.
4
SPEAKER_00
There s going to be a sense of joy, and there s going to be a sense that this is much bigger than us.
4
SPEAKER_00
And as you go through it,
4
SPEAKER_00
Listen, I ll be vulnerable, John, and say, when I was having my heart problems, I could no longer drive because I couldn t handle any stimulation.
4
SPEAKER_00
I was too sensitive.
4
SPEAKER_00
My system was too sensitive.
4
SPEAKER_00
It took so many years to be able to learn how to drive again and to stay calm.
4
SPEAKER_00
And that s not how I anticipated spending my 20s.
4
SPEAKER_00
So even though I m talking about different parts of my life that have been so joyful,
4
SPEAKER_00
let me tell you it stretched me to the core to learn how to drive again and I had to have the power of the second thought and I would have things I would say you know do not fear I m with you do not be dismayed I m your God I would be saying these out loud learning how to drive and at night as well so that was literally driving through northern California too and I didn t know could I drive an hour could I drive two hours
4
SPEAKER_00
I m sharing it because there s gonna be moments where we feel like we re not enough.
4
SPEAKER_00
We just can t make it.
4
SPEAKER_00
And it s so important to not quit and give up.
4
SPEAKER_00
And that s where I think we need each other.
4
SPEAKER_00
And then ultimately we need God as well.
4
SPEAKER_00
We need each other.
4
SPEAKER_00
In a prison, we need each other.
4
SPEAKER_00
And we re not meant to be in isolation.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s one of the reasons COVID hit us so hard because there s so many people in isolation and we were dying and kids were literally on the inside feeling so lonely and hopeless.
4
SPEAKER_00
We need each other.
4
SPEAKER_00
And the way we connect is through service and a sense of awe.
4
SPEAKER_00
We are designed to have wonder in our lives.
4
SPEAKER_00
When you look up,
4
SPEAKER_00
And my wife and I went for a walk this week.
4
SPEAKER_00
We like to take walks regularly.
4
SPEAKER_00
And looking up at the sky, it was a clear night, which doesn t always happen in Seattle, and especially during the winter.
4
SPEAKER_00
But just looking at all the stars, and the formations, and the beauty of the sky, and the moon.
4
SPEAKER_00
And that s just the tip.
4
SPEAKER_00
I mean, the galaxy, the depth.
4
SPEAKER_00
How does this world work we rotate in an orbit I mean there s a sense of wonder, our human bodies how they re made there s a sense of wonder, and it s good to be an on wonder.
4
SPEAKER_00
I like to say there s mystery and clarity, let s talk about the science the research the facts.
4
SPEAKER_00
but we know we can t just go into the lab and prove love, right?
4
SPEAKER_00
We see the effects of love, it s very good, but not everything is just in a tight little box.
4
SPEAKER_00
And you can never, some people wanna control everything and jam all of life in this controllable little box and put it in their back pocket and feel like they re running the world.
4
SPEAKER_00
The truth is there s a lot we can t control.
4
SPEAKER_00
Be faithful in what you can control, but then there s a lot we can t control.
4
SPEAKER_00
And as you step into that,
4
SPEAKER_00
I like to draw a big circle on a whiteboard and have people shade in how much they know.
4
SPEAKER_00
If the circle is all the knowledge in the world, how much do you know?
4
SPEAKER_00
And most people just pick up the pen and put one little dot.
4
SPEAKER_00
And I say, OK, one little dot is how much you know.
4
SPEAKER_00
And the rest of the circle is things you don t know about this world.
4
SPEAKER_00
OK.
4
SPEAKER_00
then that s kind of humbling.
4
SPEAKER_00
At the same time, enter into that with a sense of awe and wonder.
4
SPEAKER_00
Learn about other people.
4
SPEAKER_00
Listen to them.
4
SPEAKER_00
Listen with the goal of understanding.
4
SPEAKER_00
Listen with your mind, your heart.
4
SPEAKER_00
Don t just think about what you want to say.
4
SPEAKER_00
Don t be quick to speak.
4
SPEAKER_00
I m an extrovert, so this is challenging, but be quick to listen and ask more questions.
4
SPEAKER_00
In our culture, it s said you have to ask three times, how are you doing?
4
SPEAKER_00
And the first time you ask that, most people don t even respond.
4
SPEAKER_00
How are you doing?
4
SPEAKER_00
It s just, I see you.
4
SPEAKER_00
Hey, how are you doing?
4
SPEAKER_00
What s up?
4
SPEAKER_00
Hey, you want to go catch the game with me?
4
SPEAKER_00
The first one doesn t even go deep.
4
SPEAKER_00
And the second one, well, how are you feeling about that?
4
SPEAKER_00
And then what are your thoughts about that?
4
SPEAKER_00
And as you keep going deeper, someone s going to go deeper with you because they know you want to listen.
4
SPEAKER_00
If you re a good listener, you re going to have great relationships.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s a lost art listening well.
4
SPEAKER_00
That s one of the ways you serve people.
4
SPEAKER_00
Our time is so valuable.
4
SPEAKER_00
And when you give your time and attention,
4
SPEAKER_00
you show that you care.
4
SPEAKER_00
If someone s by the side of the road, sure, you can hand them some food and I encourage you to do that.
4
SPEAKER_00
But when you stop and you hear their name and you listen to them and they share part of their story, now there s something much greater than just food.
4
SPEAKER_00
So start with the physical, meet needs.
4
SPEAKER_00
But then move deeper into the relational connection, into using your talents.
4
SPEAKER_00
I like to use the acronym BLESS, which is begin with prayer, listen to people, eat meals, serve people, and then share.
4
SPEAKER_00
Share your story, share hope, and then listen to them, learn from them.
4
SPEAKER_00
That kind of connection.
4
SPEAKER_00
We need a deeper connection in our nation right now we need people different ages and generations to connect and learn from each other, different ethnicities, people of different nations, coming together, why to build community
5
SPEAKER_00
build that unity.
5
SPEAKER_00
And yes, we re going to have differences.
5
SPEAKER_00
There s political differences.
5
SPEAKER_00
This year could be really tense with all of the election stuff.
5
SPEAKER_00
But we can t let some of our differences divide us.
5
SPEAKER_00
We can still have differences and love each other.
5
SPEAKER_00
We need to grow in that.
5
SPEAKER_00
And I think that can happen anywhere.
5
SPEAKER_00
Absolutely, we have a prison ministry that served for over 10 years.
5
SPEAKER_00
I ve been with them in prisons here and it s inspiring what can happen in a prison because life ultimately is not about your situation.
5
SPEAKER_00
Don t give your situation too much power.
5
SPEAKER_00
It s about what s happening on the inside and what s happening in our relationships.
5
SPEAKER_00
We ve got a lot to learn from prisoners and some of the bonds and the ways that they re serving one another because that s where the awe and wonder really is.
5
SPEAKER_01
Well, Jesse, thank you for sharing that.
5
SPEAKER_01
And I m going to completely switch directions on you.
5
SPEAKER_01
When I was living just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, in a town called Mooresville, I was a member of a Methodist church there.
5
SPEAKER_01
And our pastor, Terry, was one of the best pastors I ve ever seen, knowing how to do the role holistically.
5
SPEAKER_01
Because he knew that in order to get people to be truly motivated, that it wasn t just about
5
SPEAKER_01
being at church, it was the other hours that you were outside of church that mattered even more.
5
SPEAKER_01
And one of the things that he was constantly doing was research on the population that was around the town.
5
SPEAKER_01
And he would constantly, in small settings, give us statistics that between 93 and 94% of the people in the town
5
SPEAKER_01
didn t go to church.
5
SPEAKER_01
And it s interesting because you shared with me before the show that Barna s research shows that a significant percentage of pastors are considering changing vocations.
5
SPEAKER_01
I think the same thing probably goes with priests and church attendance is declining.
5
SPEAKER_01
And I wanted to ask this question through this lens.
5
SPEAKER_01
One of my favorite books is The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell.
5
SPEAKER_01
and I m not sure if you ve read it or not, but this was written at this point about 40 years ago, maybe 45 years ago, but in it he had a pretty profound thinking.
5
SPEAKER_01
I have always thought that if you look at religions and what has happened over time,
5
SPEAKER_01
they have been updated.
5
SPEAKER_01
And he said we ve gone through one of the greatest periods where, although we have new religions like Scientology and later day saints and some of these, the major religions haven t been updated in thousands of years.
5
SPEAKER_01
And he said when that ends up happening,
5
SPEAKER_01
People don t know how to relate to it as well, and so they start drifting away from it until these become updated and more people can relate to the messages and learn how to apply them in their lives.
5
SPEAKER_01
Do you see any truth to what he was saying about that, and do you think that s one of the causes for so many people drifting away?
5
SPEAKER_00
Such a great question, John.
5
SPEAKER_00
Deep question.
5
SPEAKER_00
I appreciate it.
5
SPEAKER_00
You re very thoughtful in all these topics.
5
SPEAKER_00
And I think when it comes to faith, the first thing you mentioned is that trap of compartmentalizing and making about one day, one building, one hour.
5
SPEAKER_00
And when you do that,
5
SPEAKER_00
What happens a lot of times is a double life.
5
SPEAKER_00
You re one way at church, and then you re a different person when you work or at home.
5
SPEAKER_00
And instead, the Bible talks about abiding.
5
SPEAKER_00
It s that humble walk with God where you work, learn, and play.
5
SPEAKER_00
It s a 24-7 relationship.
5
SPEAKER_00
It s not just religion and rituals.
5
SPEAKER_00
And the relationship side is so key.
5
SPEAKER_00
And so that s an important piece that you mentioned.
5
SPEAKER_00
I love how your pastor was so aware of that and was empowering people, equipping people.
5
SPEAKER_00
how to live that out.
5
SPEAKER_00
And then when it comes to Joseph Campbell, what s interesting is how you combine both the ancient and the new.
5
SPEAKER_00
And I see both in the text.
5
SPEAKER_00
There s the ancient, in my faith, following Jesus.
5
SPEAKER_00
Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
5
SPEAKER_00
And we re reading a book that was written 2,000 years ago.
5
SPEAKER_00
And the truth is timeless in one sense.
5
SPEAKER_00
It continues to be relevant today.
5
SPEAKER_00
And yet in that same book, there are statements like new wine.
5
SPEAKER_00
Well, what s new wine?
5
SPEAKER_00
New wine doesn t fit into old wineskins and old systems.
5
SPEAKER_00
They would burst.
5
SPEAKER_00
New wine, wine represents joy.
5
SPEAKER_00
There s new songs.
5
SPEAKER_00
God says, I m doing a new thing.
5
SPEAKER_00
And the Bible talks about understanding the times that we re living in.
5
SPEAKER_00
And ultimately, heaven is our home.
5
SPEAKER_00
So all things will be new.
5
SPEAKER_00
As you look at the end of the Bible, and all things are being made new, new heaven and new earth, new home.
5
SPEAKER_00
We re gonna see God, that ll be new face to face.
5
SPEAKER_00
There s always the new that s coming.
5
SPEAKER_00
I think sometimes we get stuck in a rut.
5
SPEAKER_00
And it s tied to some preferences.
5
SPEAKER_00
It s tied to traditions that might not need to continue anymore.
5
SPEAKER_00
They were wonderful 20 years ago, but we don t actually need them today.
5
SPEAKER_00
And you can get stuck in a rut in a lot of different areas of life.
5
SPEAKER_00
In business, you can stop growing and learning and you can just
5
SPEAKER_00
settle in into complacency, stuck in a rut there.
5
SPEAKER_00
Sometimes people get stuck in a rut because they re just going through the motions, like they just show up, they do the same thing, their hearts aren t engaged, they re stuck in a rut.
5
SPEAKER_00
Sometimes there might be an event that worked 20 years ago, but now you got to come up with something different today.
5
SPEAKER_00
In our setting in Seattle, and Seattle is the second highest de-churched in the nation, in the ninth highest un-churched, so like you shared, most people, they re not considering church.
5
SPEAKER_00
Well, some do come to church, but a lot of times the church needs to go where people are, and ultimately the church is not the building, it s the people.
5
SPEAKER_00
We started Drive Thru Prayer when the pandemic broke out.
5
SPEAKER_00
And now we ve been having drive-thru prayer for years.
5
SPEAKER_00
And what is drive-thru prayer?
5
SPEAKER_00
We are simply along the road of the busiest street in our city.
5
SPEAKER_00
Thousands of cars are coming by.
5
SPEAKER_00
And if anyone wants prayer, they can pull into the parking lot and we ll pray with them.
5
SPEAKER_00
And what s interesting is that people come in who don t know God, but they re hurting and they want to share and they want prayer.
5
SPEAKER_00
Or they re crying, or they re in the middle of a conflict.
5
SPEAKER_00
We had one man that was in a fight with his wife, pulled into the parking lot.
5
SPEAKER_00
He was going to go to the casino to burn off steam, kind of numb some pain.
5
SPEAKER_00
After the prayer, he went back to his wife and reconciled.
5
SPEAKER_00
We have so many different people, from homeless people walking in to people in most expensive cars pulling in.
5
SPEAKER_00
Parents and kids pull in as well.
5
SPEAKER_00
And the stories that happen, why?
5
SPEAKER_00
Because it s a place where people can be real.
5
SPEAKER_00
And it s a safe place to process life and faith.
5
SPEAKER_00
And there s a sense that we want to lift up our eyes to the hills.
5
SPEAKER_00
Where s our help come from?
5
SPEAKER_00
The maker of heaven and earth.
5
SPEAKER_00
Like we need God.
5
SPEAKER_00
We need some supernatural help with what we re facing right now, personally in our land.
5
SPEAKER_00
And all that to say, there s a phrase of keeping in step with God.
5
SPEAKER_00
Like don t run ahead and come up with all your own plans and these new things that you re gonna realize later, right?
5
SPEAKER_00
Hindsight s 20-20, that wasn t the best idea.
5
SPEAKER_00
But also don t be caught too far back where you re not moving with some of the fresh work, the fresh wind.
5
SPEAKER_00
And instead you re kind of stuck in traditions.
5
SPEAKER_00
What s sad sometimes is when people elevate certain traditions
5
SPEAKER_00
and they make almost a God out of their tradition, where it s like, no, there s no life in that anymore.
5
SPEAKER_00
None of us can live in the past.
5
SPEAKER_00
I think, let me share this story, it might be helpful, but the two temptations are to live in the past success or to live in the past failure.
5
SPEAKER_00
And if you live in the past success, you re always gonna talk about, oh, those were the glory days, but nothing good s happening today.
5
SPEAKER_00
Those were the glory days.
5
SPEAKER_00
We can t go back and live in the past.
5
SPEAKER_00
If it was negative, the dirge might continue.
5
SPEAKER_00
Instead of healing, you re going to be stuck and just continue, maybe even in guilt and shame.
5
SPEAKER_00
You don t need to be there.
5
SPEAKER_00
There was a temple, and Solomon built a temple.
5
SPEAKER_00
It was incredible.
5
SPEAKER_00
So much investment, so much bling in that temple.
5
SPEAKER_00
And then there was a Babylonian invasion.
5
SPEAKER_00
They wiped out the temple.
5
SPEAKER_00
Now, the Israelites were in exile and they returned to the land.
5
SPEAKER_00
And as they rebuilt the next temple, Zerubbabel was involved.
5
SPEAKER_00
This is a little over 500 years BC.
5
SPEAKER_00
And they rebuilt this temple.
5
SPEAKER_00
The second temple didn t have all of the gold.
5
SPEAKER_00
It didn t have all of the beautiful, intricate designs.
5
SPEAKER_00
And some people cried, some rejoiced.
5
SPEAKER_00
But in the second temple, God said, I m going to show up there and the glory is going to be greater.
5
SPEAKER_00
Why do I say that?
5
SPEAKER_00
We re in a culture right now that loves the outward appearance.
5
SPEAKER_00
How do you look on social media?
5
SPEAKER_00
How are your clothes?
5
SPEAKER_00
There s so much we can do to our appearance.
5
SPEAKER_00
And ultimately it s not about the outside look.
5
SPEAKER_00
It s about what s happening on the inside.
5
SPEAKER_00
And God does a new work.
5
SPEAKER_00
It was a new temple, a new season.
5
SPEAKER_00
and new stories.
5
SPEAKER_00
I think it s important that we don t get married to the past or try to live in the past because the people that do are not happy.
5
SPEAKER_00
They get stuck in the miserable.
5
SPEAKER_00
At the same time, hold on.
5
SPEAKER_00
What do we learn from the past?
5
SPEAKER_00
What s good that ll always be true?
5
SPEAKER_00
Truth is always good.
5
SPEAKER_00
Love is always good.
5
SPEAKER_00
Love your neighbor is always good.
5
SPEAKER_00
Don t let go of the majors.
5
SPEAKER_00
Maybe
6
SPEAKER_01
on the majors, the majors stay pretty consistent.
6
SPEAKER_01
But how that s lived out, how that s played out, that changes.
6
SPEAKER_01
And that s an interesting dynamic in both the ancient and the new.
6
SPEAKER_01
And I m glad you brought that up.
6
SPEAKER_01
Faith is about a relationship, but I ll say this, faith is not a blind faith.
6
SPEAKER_01
When I didn t believe, I got out the facts, historical evidence.
6
SPEAKER_01
Like, is the Bible reliable?
6
SPEAKER_01
Is Jesus who he says he was?
6
SPEAKER_01
Is he risen?
6
SPEAKER_01
Is he God?
6
SPEAKER_01
Like, I had to kick the tires.
6
SPEAKER_01
And what I found out is that you put all the evidence on the table, and then you make your decision based on that evidence.
6
SPEAKER_01
Kind of like a jury looks over all the evidence that makes the best decision they can make.
6
SPEAKER_01
We re never going to prove it a hundred percent.
6
SPEAKER_01
I couldn t prove God exists a hundred percent, but look at all the evidence.
6
SPEAKER_01
And as you do that, that wonder, that awe, then make that best decision you can make based on the historical evidence.
6
SPEAKER_01
And that was the engagement for me with my mind and my heart.
6
SPEAKER_01
And that was connected to my faith decisions.
6
SPEAKER_02
Jesse, thank you for sharing that.
6
SPEAKER_02
And there s one last area I wanted to focus on with you.
6
SPEAKER_02
And this is something I ve never shared with my audience before.
6
SPEAKER_02
So it s a first for them and it s a first for you.
6
SPEAKER_02
About 20 years ago, one of my rugby teammates from the Naval Academy, Mike Rubel, came to me.
6
SPEAKER_02
I was working at Lowe s at the time.
6
SPEAKER_02
And he brought forth this idea of a nonprofit that we could do together to bring clean water to children and families throughout the world.
6
SPEAKER_02
And we actually found a patent at Clemson that we got ownership of to use that would allow us to introduce something called the Water Stick.
6
SPEAKER_02
which was gonna be a device that, especially in Africa and other third world countries, if they had a low enough water table, meaning you could get to it in somewhere between three and 10 feet, this stick could be put in and it had a purification system in it that for basically 50 to $75 a pop, you could give portable water to a whole family, or in some cases, a whole village.
6
SPEAKER_02
And unfortunately, we went through a whole bunch of VCs and tried to get funding for it and just couldn t do it.
6
SPEAKER_02
But I bring this up because it was a passion of mine and Mike s.
6
SPEAKER_02
And I understand you also have a whole focus yourself of trying to bring clean water to every children in Africa.
6
SPEAKER_02
And I was hoping you could talk about that.
6
SPEAKER_01
I love what you were doing there and the creative solutions that we need.
6
SPEAKER_01
You know, we can t just keep doing the same thing and expect different results.
6
SPEAKER_01
And we have a lot of creativity and we have enough people that complain.
6
SPEAKER_01
We have enough people that gossip or slander or criticize critical spirit.
6
SPEAKER_01
What we need today is people who find solutions and take risks.
6
SPEAKER_01
with innovation John there s going to be a lot of ideas and some of them are going to go further and you might be surprised by the ones that work and then other ones okay mid-course redirection let s learn from that and then let s improve it so I encourage people today who are watching or listening right now keep thinking creatively keep collaborating keep coming up with new solutions and as we do that
6
SPEAKER_01
We can provide water, you know, we can provide over the next 10 years we can provide clean water for all the kids in Africa.
6
SPEAKER_01
And how do we do that, it s going to take a number of different leaders, it s going to take people who want to give it s going to take people who want to go it s going to take people who are there, actually, you know, the new wells and digging those.
6
SPEAKER_01
It s going to take all the above.
6
SPEAKER_01
So to really make a difference with substantial generational goals, it s one of those where all hands on deck, every role is important.
6
SPEAKER_01
Every encouragement is important.
6
SPEAKER_01
Kids should have clean water.
6
SPEAKER_01
Kids should have food.
6
SPEAKER_01
There are some things, again, that are out of our control.
6
SPEAKER_01
And then there are some things that are fixable.
6
SPEAKER_01
There are some goals that are achievable.
6
SPEAKER_01
And all the resources we have now, between the networking and social media and email, between videos,
6
SPEAKER_01
between being able to connect overseas, planes to travel, the technology.
6
SPEAKER_01
It s incredible what we can accomplish right now if there s a clear goal, if we work together.
6
SPEAKER_01
There s always going to be some disagreements on the how.
6
SPEAKER_01
And what I ve seen is that a lot of people share the same purpose and passion.
6
SPEAKER_01
And then sometimes conflict breaks out in the how.
6
SPEAKER_01
Well, I think we should do this.
6
SPEAKER_01
Well, I think we should do that.
6
SPEAKER_01
So often, it s a both and it s not an either or and one person will do it one way and that s their style and someone else will do a little differently.
6
SPEAKER_01
And how can we bring out the best in each other, instead of trying to make everyone.
6
SPEAKER_01
perfectly lined up.
6
SPEAKER_01
Maybe we need 10 organizations instead of you know just one.
6
SPEAKER_01
How can those 10 that have different specialty areas work well together even though they re going to take different approaches.
6
SPEAKER_01
So it takes humility and unity is what I m saying to accomplish these massive goals and it takes some persistence
6
SPEAKER_01
And I love it.
6
SPEAKER_01
My son and I went for, it was a half marathon.
6
SPEAKER_01
I m not someone who likes to run, but I tore my Achilles tendon.
6
SPEAKER_01
And it was a big step to be able to run again and then run with my son.
6
SPEAKER_01
We ran a half marathon.
6
SPEAKER_01
All the money went to clean water, kids in Africa.
6
SPEAKER_01
We got to do it together.
6
SPEAKER_01
Serve with your family.
6
SPEAKER_01
Invite your friends, your family to do something with you.
6
SPEAKER_01
And something like clean water, food overseas, or it could be local in your community at a food bank.
6
SPEAKER_01
But take that first step.
6
SPEAKER_01
And as you take that step, more doors are going to open.
6
SPEAKER_01
And you re going to look back and say, I m so glad I took that first step, because 10 more doors have opened.
6
SPEAKER_01
So I encourage you to take that first step today.
6
SPEAKER_02
Well, Jesse, I think that s a great way to end this portion of the interview is to take that step, because that s what this whole interview has been about.
6
SPEAKER_02
If someone is interested in learning more about you, where are some of the best places they can go?
6
SPEAKER_01
I have a website, jessebradley.org, and there s free resources.
6
SPEAKER_01
Seven Habits You Can Cultivate for Hope, 30 Days to Strengthen Your Marriage.
6
SPEAKER_01
There s a lot of free resources there.
6
SPEAKER_01
Check out the video series.
6
SPEAKER_01
And on social media, jessejbradley on all platforms.
6
SPEAKER_01
I d love to hear your story, love to connect with you, see if there s any ways we can work together.
6
SPEAKER_02
And don t forget to mention your podcast.
6
SPEAKER_01
That s right, The Bonfire, check that out.
6
SPEAKER_01
And the new book, The Power of the Second Thought.
6
SPEAKER_01
I hope that ll really be practical for you in a daily way, the renewing of your mind.
6
SPEAKER_01
It s worth the intentional effort so that you don t have to just settle for those first thoughts.
6
SPEAKER_01
Second thoughts are better than first thoughts.
6
SPEAKER_02
Well, Jesse, such an honor to have you here today.
6
SPEAKER_02
Thank you so much for joining us.
6
SPEAKER_02
I know you and I have been trying to get this one done for a long time.
6
SPEAKER_01
John, I appreciate you.
6
SPEAKER_01
Keep up the good work.
6
SPEAKER_01
You have a consistency and an excellence.
6
SPEAKER_01
You love research.
6
SPEAKER_01
You love people s stories.
6
SPEAKER_01
And because of that, there s a lot of people who are reading your books and listening to your podcasts who are really growing a lot.
6
SPEAKER_01
So thank you for sharing what you did today in some new areas of your life too.
6
SPEAKER_01
And I know people really trust and respect you.
6
SPEAKER_01
So thanks for your voice and how you inspire people.
6
SPEAKER_02
I thoroughly enjoyed that interview with Jesse Bradley and I wanted to thank Jesse for joining us on today s show.
6
SPEAKER_02
Links to all things Jesse will be in the show notes at passionstruck.com.
6
SPEAKER_02
Please use our website links to purchase any of the books from the guests that we feature here on the show.
6
SPEAKER_02
All proceeds go to support the show.
6
SPEAKER_02
Videos are on YouTube at both our main channel at John R. Miles and our Clips channel at passionstruckclips.
6
SPEAKER_02
Please go check it out and subscribe and join over a quarter million other subscribers.
6
SPEAKER_02
Advertiser deals and discount codes are in one convenient place at passionstruck.com slash deals.
6
SPEAKER_02
Please consider supporting those who support the show.
6
SPEAKER_02
If you want daily doses of inspiration, then follow me on all the social platforms at John R. Miles.
6
SPEAKER_02
And if you want to energize your courage muscles, then consider joining the PassionStruck weekly challenge, which you can do by signing up for our newsletter, Live Intentionally, by going to passionstruck.com.
6
SPEAKER_02
Are you curious to find out where you stand on the path to becoming passionstruck?
6
SPEAKER_02
Then dive into our engaging passionstruck quiz.
6
SPEAKER_02
You can find it on passionstruck.com.
6
SPEAKER_02
It consists of 20 questions.
6
SPEAKER_02
It ll take you about 10 minutes to complete.
6
SPEAKER_02
Take the quiz today.
6
SPEAKER_02
You re about to hear a preview of the passionstruck podcast interview that I did with the legendary Robin Sharma.
6
SPEAKER_02
where we delve into his latest masterpiece, The Wealth Money Can t Buy, discover how to redefine success and cultivate a life of true abundance using his innovative eight forms of wealth model.
6
SPEAKER_02
Don t miss this transformative conversation with the world renowned author and leadership guru himself.
6
SPEAKER_00
What you do daily is so much more important than the big things that you ll do annually.
6
SPEAKER_00
So it s really easy to forget that, but I ll repeat it again.
6
SPEAKER_00
Your days are your life in miniature.
6
SPEAKER_00
And as you craft each day, so you craft a life.
6
SPEAKER_00
So just by getting your days right, your days slip into weeks, your weeks slip into months, your months slip into years, your years slip into a lifetime.
6
SPEAKER_00
So consistency is the mother of mastery.
6
SPEAKER_00
What you do every day is really mission critical to living a world-class life and a soulful life and a healthy life and a happy life.
6
SPEAKER_02
Remember that we rise by lifting others, so share this show with those that you love and care about.
6
SPEAKER_02
And if you found today s episode with Jesse Bradley inspirational, then definitely share this episode with people who could use his message.
6
SPEAKER_02
In the meantime, do your best to apply what you hear on the show so that
7
SPEAKER_00
that you can live what you listen.
7
SPEAKER_00
And until next time, go out there and become Passion Striker.