[00:00:00] Hey everybody, this is Larry Little. You are not going to believe this. You are listening
[00:00:16] to the wrap up of season 4 of Crossing the Line. I can't even believe that. We've been doing
[00:00:22] this for four years. It's amazing, it seems like we just started yesterday, this Crossing
[00:00:31] the Line podcast where we talk with leaders from literally around the world. We ask them
[00:00:37] to give us moments in their life when they cross that line from leading with their head
[00:00:41] and leading with their heart and leading with their heart to leading with their head.
[00:00:44] It has been an amazing journey. Season 4 has been incredible to me. I've learned so
[00:00:50] much from season 4. Today, we're just going to hang out and talk a little bit about this
[00:00:56] season and what we've learned from this season. We're going to go through and talk about our
[00:01:01] guests and pull out some of the truths, if you will, of what they have left us with from
[00:01:09] these podcasts. I'm excited about it. I'm really excited about today as we wrap up, guys,
[00:01:14] this is the last episode for the year. The last episode of the year, but listen, hang
[00:01:21] around to the end because I have something I want to share with you about what's coming
[00:01:27] up next. Don't miss that. Let's talk a little bit about season 4. We started this season
[00:01:35] with an interview that was really... Well, I could say curious because it was with Dr.
[00:01:43] Julie Fam and she is a founder of an organization called Curiosity Based and she talked to us about
[00:01:50] the importance of being curious. She's also an author of seven forms of respect, but she said,
[00:01:56] we really need to be open to practicing curiosity, but then she puts a spin on it. She said, you don't
[00:02:03] need to be curious about everything. In fact, she said it's unrealistic to put energy into being
[00:02:09] curious all the time. But instead, allow yourself, she said, to reserve the energy so that you can be
[00:02:16] curious in the times that you... That really matter. You can be curious about things of substance
[00:02:22] that really matter to you. I thought that was amazing. We don't need to be curious about everything.
[00:02:27] Pick the things that we need to be curious or want to be curious about and then dive into those.
[00:02:33] She also reminded us that respect is not fixed. It is dynamic. It comes and it goes based on
[00:02:42] the... It's really subjective to our behavior, to our attitudes. So it's a great reminder that one
[00:02:48] size does not fit all when it comes to respect. It was a great interview with Dr. Fam.
[00:02:53] Truly enjoyed her and thankful she kicked us off in season 4. Then we talked with a young man
[00:03:02] who was truly astounding. His name is Demi Alu Wassana. He's an entrepreneur and educator. He's a
[00:03:08] coach from Africa. And Demi has been his life investing in others and over in Africa. He is
[00:03:17] a person who refuses to become a victim, although he could have. But instead, he said, I want to work
[00:03:23] to make things better. And believe me, he's doing that. He said in order to do that, his message to
[00:03:30] young people and in the places that he goes, the organizations that he leads, his messages
[00:03:37] believing yourself. Know that your voice matters and you can make a contribution, Demi says. He says,
[00:03:44] you really need to understand the impact that you can make all those around you. Demi is a special
[00:03:51] young man and I encourage you to kind of look him up, go Google him and check him out, see what
[00:03:57] he's doing, incredible young man doing great things, especially over in Africa. Then we had the
[00:04:05] opportunity to have a conversation with somebody that probably, if you like college football
[00:04:11] and we're ending the college football season now, you've probably seen him through the years.
[00:04:17] He is the leader of the NCAA football officials. He's the coordinator of all the officials in the
[00:04:23] NCAA, his name, Steve Shaw. And Steve is just a tremendous leader. He really is a man of integrity.
[00:04:32] In fact, he says, you have to start building your integrity and character early. He says,
[00:04:39] he says you can't wait until you have a big job before you start building those. And he said kids
[00:04:44] are setting their integrity for life in the moment. You know that really struck me when he said
[00:04:50] that, what a great parenting tool. Right? I mean, what a great reminder for our kids that you
[00:04:55] know what you are setting your integrity right now in the moment, such wisdom from Steve. Steve said
[00:05:01] that understanding your ultimate destiny over the short term vision and goal is really important
[00:05:07] that you should live your life or a purpose greater than yourself. What if we all subscribe to that
[00:05:18] to that idea? What if we all decide that we were going to live for a purpose greater than our own
[00:05:24] wants, our own needs, our own desires. But I think the world would be a better place.
[00:05:28] Steve is an example of that. It's a great reminder in leadership. It was a great conversation
[00:05:34] really enjoyed getting to know Steve. And then one of my favorites, we had Dr. Nick Glyssby on board
[00:05:41] and he is a lot of fun. He is one of the brightest minds that I've ever been associated with
[00:05:47] brilliant physician, but even more than that, just in a ton of wisdom and knowledge, he says
[00:05:55] he says you know to make a difference, you first have to determine what is needed. He says don't
[00:06:00] use your energy to spin your wheels. You know what? That goes all the way back to Dr. Fahm,
[00:06:04] doesn't it? Don't be curious about things that you're just spinning on. But know what you need.
[00:06:09] Don't spin your wheels. Don't use your energy on things that don't matter. Choose a purpose
[00:06:16] that will meet a legitimate need. Wow, do you realize that that is so powerful? Do you realize
[00:06:22] that we have control over how we spend our energy? I think so many times we find ourselves wasting
[00:06:29] our energy, maybe wasting our attention on things that just don't matter and isn't it easy to do
[00:06:34] as we sit and scroll on our phones, our scrolling our iPads or computers, and mindlessly look at
[00:06:41] things that really just don't matter. And Dr. Glyssby says look, create a purpose. You can choose
[00:06:49] a purpose. Go after something that matters. And then he says love your work and love the people
[00:06:56] you work with. Do things with a motivation of love. Well, you know, love your work but love the
[00:07:05] people that you work with and love the people that you do life with. He said give up yourself
[00:07:13] if you're suffering. Give up yourself and it will relieve suffering. Wow, what a great word.
[00:07:18] What a great prescription from the doctor. He said you're suffering. Give yourself away. Give
[00:07:24] yourself to others. Spread your joy and cherish your relationships. That's why Dr. Glyssby said
[00:07:30] incredible wisdom. You know, I found that as we continue to see this then live in this society where
[00:07:40] we are saturated with negativity, negativity, negativity if we begin to look outside of our own
[00:07:47] selves, if we look at how we can impact others, if we look at how we can invest in others,
[00:07:52] it not only changes our attitude, I think it helps us to become more healthy. I think it makes us
[00:07:56] more healthy. So just Dr. Glyssby, if you're suffering, give yourself away. If you're suffering,
[00:08:03] invest in others. Wow, that is incredible wisdom. And then we had a really fun time, a great
[00:08:10] interview with a guy that is the founder of Mo News. Mo Sh, one new new and Mo Sh is just
[00:08:23] oh my goodness is he fun. He is quickly making a name for himself. He is a podcast with Jill,
[00:08:31] his co-podcast host and Jill Wagner. And he has this wonderful podcast that is growing. Hey guys,
[00:08:38] I mean, like I don't know hundreds of thousands and they're already making another variety as being a
[00:08:44] disruptor in the news industry. He has a moment as a background in news and has been a producer. In fact
[00:08:51] was the youngest producer for ABC News. So he has this podcast called Mo News. And here's what he says.
[00:08:56] He says, I will never be fulfilled professionally as much as I am personally. He said that's what I
[00:09:03] learned. He said, I got to the place where I was burnt out and I realized that I could not be fulfilled
[00:09:08] professionally unless I was fulfilled personally. And that is great. We made me stop guys. It
[00:09:14] was great wisdom. But it made me stop and think where are we finding our purpose? Where are we
[00:09:22] finding our fulfillment? And he said, my goal what I've learned is to be present with my family
[00:09:30] and to put a priority on them. And by the way, he has a new baby girl. He's celebrating that
[00:09:35] with his wife and finding that balance and finding that that priority. And I just admire him so much.
[00:09:41] And most says, look do a self-assessment. He says figure out what you like and what you don't like.
[00:09:47] He's gonna make a list of things you're good at and things you love. And find the overlap. And
[00:09:51] that's where you need to be. Think find out what you love, what you're good at when those overlap.
[00:09:55] Go after it, go get it. And he said find people who are doing things that you find to be inspirational
[00:10:03] right? And he says reach out to them. He says find that that mentor or that person and do the homework
[00:10:09] to understand how did they get there? There we go all the way back to the very first podcast. Be curious.
[00:10:16] That's curiosity that matters. Find someone who's doing something that inspires you or that you want
[00:10:22] to do or want to be and then and to be curious there. Put that curiosity there and do your homework
[00:10:28] and dig in there and invest in there. What great wisdom from most. Then we had Steve riot. I just,
[00:10:37] you can't help but love Steve riot. He's just an ordinary guy with an incredible experience of
[00:10:44] leadership reminding us what it means to be a strong leader and he leads there at next tech.
[00:10:51] He says being personally invested in your team is incredibly important. What a great reminder
[00:10:56] because we think about ourselves, we think about how we're going to leave, we think about
[00:11:00] how we're going to get to the next thing. But we need to stop and remember the team around us
[00:11:05] is very important. That team what we're leading that team or not. The people that we work with
[00:11:11] Steve reminds us are very important. So he said understand what's behind the co-work,
[00:11:19] understand their stories, what's behind that co-worker, understand their back stories if you will.
[00:11:25] And he gave us an example of a co-worker who he was talking to and then that co-worker was tragically
[00:11:33] killed in an accident and how that changed his life. He also echoed most find that mentor,
[00:11:40] find that person that inspires you and invest in them. He said remember I thought this was
[00:11:45] powerful. People are the most important part of your journey. If you take care of the people
[00:11:52] and invest in them, you'll see that they'll take care of you and your business. I thought that
[00:11:58] was brilliant. We forget that. Remember people are most important. That was a really fun
[00:12:04] podcast and I really appreciate Steve giving us his time. And then this was the fun. This
[00:12:11] definitely the most unique podcast. I'll give you guys a little insight and in fact as we record
[00:12:16] this, I think it's coming out. It's a podcast with Jacob Simmons and Tim Kasper. They are improv
[00:12:24] actors and they have started a company called Gladys Improv Group and they also found it far away
[00:12:31] theater. Now don't jump to conclusions. Jacob is also a pastor if you will and Tim now is Tim
[00:12:39] is a professional actor. They performed a show for us. I was able to attend Robin was there
[00:12:46] and immediately after that show we jumped into this improv podcast and it was incredibly fun.
[00:12:54] So it's coming out this week. So make sure at the first week of December if you want to reference
[00:13:00] it listen to that. If you haven't listened to it, if you got into this before you heard that go
[00:13:04] back and listen to that because I had never had more fun and by the way, I really got caught.
[00:13:12] I'm not expecting what they talked about. Tim tells a story that quite honestly Robin and I just
[00:13:19] looked at each other and went, what are you kidding me? So I want you to hear it. They remind us
[00:13:25] though of how important improv is in leadership. There's an improv rule it's called Yes and
[00:13:32] and they said instead of saying no or instead of being negative, you ought to answer with Yes
[00:13:38] and then add to that story add to that situation. And you can only do that they said by being a good
[00:13:45] listener and then agreeing with what the person is saying. Listen to them agreeing with it as truth
[00:13:53] and then building on top of it. Instead of defending instead of justifying try that yes and
[00:13:59] the rule it's really interesting and it really works. They said, you know if you're going to be
[00:14:04] successful in leading as well as an improv, it means you've got to be vulnerable and you've got
[00:14:11] to learn to trust one another. And I can tell you just as authentically as I know how to say this
[00:14:18] unless you build vulnerability and trust on your team, you're not going to be successful
[00:14:23] unless you build vulnerability and trust in your relationships with your spouse significant
[00:14:28] other, your children, you're not going to be successful in that relationship. So being vulnerable
[00:14:35] learning that learning to build trust is really really important. They remind us to listen to
[00:14:41] listen instead of assuming like listen well and don't assume and they said you have to get an
[00:14:47] honest assessment of what is happening before you move forward. And the only way to do that
[00:14:52] is because you're authentically listening and trying to get an honest assessment. And then finally
[00:14:58] they said if you're nervous about a conversation, if you're nervous about having a hard conversation
[00:15:04] or nervous about a relationship, they said that's great. They said don't allow that fear to be
[00:15:10] an obstacle. Don't do that. They said instead use this energy to follow the fear
[00:15:16] into new discoveries and we're all the way back to the first podcast. Let's be curious
[00:15:22] let's allow our fear to turn into curiosity. Let's have integrity, let's show respect,
[00:15:29] let's invest, let's listen, let's follow that fear into new discoveries and that's exactly
[00:15:36] what we're going to do here. We'll remind you that if you want to know more about how to do that
[00:15:43] we've had some episodes this past year on the make a difference personality traits. We've talked
[00:15:49] about that much love monkey in the leading line, the competent camel in the tranquil turtle. We've
[00:15:54] talked about what it means to speak the language of others all that's in go back and look at it on
[00:16:00] your podcast wherever you get your podcast. I think that if you're interested in living a legacy
[00:16:05] and leaving a legacy that truly makes a difference those podcasts will help you. Those are just where I'm
[00:16:10] hanging out talking about these different personalities and how to build a relationship with people
[00:16:15] who are different than you. How to build a relationship with people you don't understand
[00:16:18] and how to validate them in a way that they will truly receive it. It will enhance, it will help
[00:16:24] your relationships. I promise you that go back and listen to it because coming up in 2024
[00:16:32] we are going to take a hard turn. You were going to see this. We're going to change it. What
[00:16:39] we're doing it's time to change. It's time to do something different. We are so excited about
[00:16:44] we're going to give you practically applicable exciting relevant tools that will help you in your
[00:16:53] everyday life. You want to have a better life, you want to have better relationships. You really
[00:16:58] want to be a person that says my legacy I really believe I made a difference in this life whether
[00:17:03] it's my family or whether it's my coworker. There are we can show you there are ways to do that
[00:17:10] and we're going to dig into that and it's going to be so exciting. It's a totally new podcast. I'm
[00:17:15] going to be introducing some new things. We're going to have well, I don't want to spoil it, Robin
[00:17:21] but we're going to have a co-host with me that you are going to love and she is going to bring
[00:17:28] some incredible insight and wisdom to the show. I don't want to spill all the beans, Robin because
[00:17:34] I know we'll do it. We'll do an intro on that so you get ready for that. Let me say this as we close
[00:17:39] today. First of all, I'm so thankful for Robin Brzezinski who makes this happen. Hey guys,
[00:17:46] I'm telling you she's the producer extraordinaire. She's amazing and always has it ready. Always has
[00:17:53] all the details covered. Really thankful for her. I really appreciate Rin and Will who are
[00:18:00] all the software, all the platform stuff. I don't even know what I'm talking about. They make it happen
[00:18:05] from that side. They do all of our editing and get all that together for us. We really appreciate
[00:18:11] Lauren and Will and Otis, their company which by the way stands for online things and internet
[00:18:16] stuff but we appreciate what they do so much. By the way, Robin, yes, I'm a little prejudice
[00:18:23] Lauren is my daughter and I think they've done a tremendous job of building their business
[00:18:28] to do this kind of thing. Finally, I want to thank you. I do know that time is valuable and you are
[00:18:36] choosing to listen to us. You're choosing to invest your time with us and we want to be good
[00:18:42] stewards of that. We want you to know how important you are and how much we appreciate you. Thank you
[00:18:48] for giving us of your time. It is our hope. It is our desire. It's our prayer that this time that
[00:18:53] you spent will truly make a difference in the lives of those you love, live with and lead. Put
[00:19:00] your safety belt on. Things are going to get faster, going to get wild in 2024. Happy new year everybody.
[00:19:06] We'll see you then.
[00:19:10] This has been Crossing the Line with Dr. Larry Little. You can find full interviews of the
[00:19:15] guests you've heard insights from today available on iTunes, Spotify, and our website Eagle Center for
[00:19:21] Leadership. Video interviews from these episodes can be found on our YouTube channel,
[00:19:26] Eagle Center for Leadership. For more information about our host, Dr. Larry Little,
[00:19:31] you can find him on LinkedIn or on our website. If you're interested in being a guest on the
[00:19:35] podcast, you can also contact us through our website, eaglecenterforleadership.com. Thank you
[00:19:42] for joining us today on Crossing the Line.