Hello everyone. This is Mike Wagner, broker, owner and chief lending officer of Green Oak Lending Group, coming to you with my inaugural and very first podcast ever. Rooted in the Community.

Want to give a nice shout out real quick to Josh Naiman and Naiman Creative for helping me put this on and get this great information out to folks along with Jordan Rosenberg who does all the editing, live recording and everything else that I have no idea how to do. So it makes my job super easy. What my intent and what my goal really is on this podcast is to shine light on our community leaders and the small businesses that are tied into the real growth and change in the St. Petersburg community.

We’ve got a amazing community here with a lot of amazing folks in it and I really want to just take the time to highlight those people and shed some light on all the amazing things that they do. On my first ever podcast here I have Eric Nutting. He is owner of the growth coach of St. Pete.

Him and his wife Diane Nutting own and operate a amazing company that helps couples and helps in business together and helps teams that are looking to grow in their business. He’s also involved in just a ton of other stuff. So, Eric, thank you so much for being here.

Let’s get to it. Thank you. It’s great to be here.

I always like to tell people this happened because I had a Facebook problem recently. So I tell people we are a multi hundred dollar empire and I think that really speaks for, for growth in general. Multi hundred dollar empire for now with a marketing team of one.

That’s the way we do it though. And how is that going? It’s going great. Here I am at this point in my life, you know, we’ve got a big family, five kids, and life has been about getting those kids to wherever they are now.

And now I feel like we can just really kind of redefine what we’re doing. You don’t give up what got you here. It’s not like we’re going to forget being parents, but the youngest ones are 20 and so now Diane and I are just ready to work, work for us.

Try to think about community a little bit. Where’s our place in the community? And I’m probably jumping ahead in our conversation, but pre show we were all talking about community a little bit and I’ll have friends say, hey Eric, you need to, you need to have friends, you need to go out, you need to do stuff. I was too busy parenting a big family at that point.

So my community was this community of seven people and Whatever friends they’d bring into the house. Now with Diane and I being able to really focus on work and the growth coach and some other enterprises we’re doing, we get to redefine our community and what that means, make it a little bit bigger. So it’s kind of, kind of a cool space to be.

That’s phenomenal. Phenomenal. And you and I have known each other, I think now for a little over a year.

We’re right around a year. Yeah, it’s been quite a journey, man, getting to know you. You’re a very enlightened person.

You’ve become a very big person. An integral person in my life for, you know, day to day operations, planning, business strategies, you know, not having panic attacks on a regular basis, all the fun stuff. And I know you’ve done this for a lot of folks so far, but you’re also, I mean, you become super involved in the community right off the bat too.

And that’s something I noticed about you. You really put your money where your mouth is and you really do want to help folks. And from there you’ve set up, I believe, with Josh Naiman and yourself, the Sun Leaders, which I think you celebrated one year recently.

I think we’re real close to. Real close to a year. Yeah.

So the very first SunLeaders podcast, which is we’re part of right now, was maybe we might be six months in Jordan. Do you know when the, when this anniversary is coming up, Sun Leaders? I gotta think it’s like September. We’ve got a few more months, but we’re really, we’re really growing.

That’s growing crazy because we just had this great meeting on Friday. Right. We.

Joe hosted us and that was cool. Crystal Expo. Joe Hutch over at his new bank, who was our sponsor.

We had Carol. No. Sponsoring it.

No. Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. Who brought the food? Scott.

Scott. Ah, the attorney. Yeah.

Super nice guy. Well, he’s, he’s a tech guy working on. On.

Yeah, yeah. And he gave a great presentation. We just met him, so I don’t know him as well as I’d like to, but anyway.

But that, I mean, he’s a testament to what you do. Because my, my experience in sunleader so far has been nothing but amazing. Sunleaders led me to this podcast, which is awesome.

Sun Leaders has led me to a group of folks that maybe. I only know maybe a fourth of the people from other groups. So it’s exposed me to a lot of new people and a lot of new ideas.

You Guys have educational moments built in and, you know, different speeches from different people. But the mindset is so much different. It’s not just here’s what we do and here’s our business and blah, blah, blah, it’s, hey, we’re humans and here’s how we’re growing.

And I think that’s. That’s what your whole brand, the Sun Leaders, is about. Well, you know what’s cool about this is you’re saying you and it really is we, because here we are on a SunLeaders podcast.

You came up with this brilliant idea that you’re going to talk about later, which is really how this whole, your whole podcast came to be. And we have even bigger plans beyond this podcast. So really it’s just meant to be a percolator or incubator or just an idea, idea, thought provoking sort of thing of what’s next? What do we do? How do we contribute to this society that we’re a part of? I’ve always had a challenge, which is why I enjoy working with the people I work with.

I can’t just take money and not contribute something to the community I live in. I. And it’s interesting, right? As we do business now, e commerce, we can do business across the globe easier than we ever have. We don’t have to put everything on a ship and, and do this stuff.

So does that mean our community is bigger? Does it mean we ignore where we live? What are your thoughts on this? Because we talked about a little bit before we even started. But what is our responsibility to this place we live? Ryu and I are rooted in the St. Pete area. What is our responsibility? And I think that’s what we’re working on.

Yes, yes, I do too. And I think for me, I think that started with something and I think it’s leading to so much more. Right.

And I think that to that point, yes, I sold plenty of mortgages over the phone for nine years of my life. Right? I mean, you’re making multiple calls a day, like hundreds of them, and you’re writing multiple loans a day, and you’re trying to capture that human interaction for the time that they’re in process, and then that’s it. And then maybe you call them back once a year, just follow up with them.

And some people don’t do that. And it’s like, you know, so you’re a number. That’s it.

This is very transactional base is what I’m describing. And that’s not something that I’ve ever really. My philosophy’s ever been around.

Right. I’m a relationship guy. I look at the numerous friends in Detroit from where I’m from and the numerous groups and everything.

I mean, I’ve built. That’s what I do. I build relationships and I connect people.

Right. So I thought it was very interesting coming down to St. Pete and getting into all this, networking through various things. Right.

Chamber Sun Leaders, very, you know, Park Disability center, various different, you know, ways to build relationships and help people grow. And at the same time, what’s the payback? The payback is you’ve done all this, so you’re top of mind at this point. So now when somebody’s thinking, oh, hey, you know, I’ve got a friend ready to purchase, or a friend was thinking of sending kids to college and wanted to know how they could tap into the equity in their home and what that could be like.

Hopefully Mike Wagner and Green Oak Lending groups on top of mind. And I feel like you do the same thing very well to keep the growth coach on top of mind. But, I mean, so that’s kind of my philosophy so far, and I know that’s leading to more.

But I mean, how do you feel? Like I’ve been. I’ve been criticized affectionately and labeled as being altruistic. And I think that is a challenge of mine, for sure.

I talk about payment in two different ways, and this is how I work with my clients. Payment for your soul and payment for your pocketbook. So I don’t deliberately worry about am I staying top of mind.

I worry about am I being effective and am I serving my purpose. That’s what I really focus on to that point. I work with a lot of people, and legacy is such a huge deal for a human being.

And I can tell you, for me, legacy is not even a blip on my screen. When I’m gone, I’m gone. And those who will remember me will remember me.

When I’m not remembered anymore, it doesn’t matter. I don’t think a brick on a sidewalk or a library named after me is really going to matter too much. I. I don’t have any sort of, you know, grand ideas on that.

I want to be effective in this moment and help. And now in this case, you and I are sitting across from each other. There’s three people in this room.

I want the three of us to create amazing energy and thrive in this moment. That’s mindfulness. That’s what I’m trying to do.

And I try to do that throughout my day, throughout my week, throughout my month. Throughout my life, I can’t say that I’ve always done that. This is an evolution.

So if the growth coach, if this new process that I’m working on called the sage approach, if that ends up being successful beyond what I’ve designed, then I’m grateful for that. But that’s not exactly what I’m focusing on. Absolutely.

No, that’s. That’s an awesome perspective on it. Absolutely.

Awesome perspective. And I feel like a lot of people feel that way, too. Where.

What impact can I make now and how can I contribute? And I think what’s cool about you is you help open those doors and really open their mind to different ways of contributing. And, I mean, a prime example of that. So Doug G.

Jackson, he’s got his law firm. We love Doug, right? Doug’s amazing. Love Doug.

Love Doug’s staff as well. Love Alexis, right? He’s put together an amazing, amazing human being. Love Mike Durkin.

Right? So I had a talk with Mike Durkin. We were at a park brunch yesterday, and Durkin showed up because Alexis is in New Jersey. So what a team that they show up for each.

Crazy everywhere, right? It’s not even a thought in his head. It’s, I’m going to be there. What else does the Lexi.

He texted me, what else does Alexis need to go to this week so I can help? I’m like, what a team bonding, right? So it’s interesting. So I. I was talking to Dirk about our podcast today, and I’m like, I’m doing it with Eric. I love Eric.

Eric and I are working on great things together. I see nothing but a positive future with this guy. Couldn’t say more about you, right? And then you know how Dirk is.

He’s crazy. So Mike Durkin still just went on his ADD Charlie Day way. But, like, I think that his point and what he really resonated was from working with you so far, he said now multiple meetings with Doug Jackson, where Doug’s come back and said to him, hey, I know Eric’s working for you, and not just you, the rest of the staff.

But really, these are some of the best conversations and well thought out conversations I’ve ever had with you. So the impact you’re making, yeah, you don’t need a library or statue for it, but that will carry on. And I think that’ll carry on with people like Mike and anyone else, myself, anyone else you affect.

And now we’re going to be able to help people with that, too, because you’re teaching us. You’re teaching People to fish, man. Like, that’s the idea.

And I love that about you. That’s humbling. That’s a big deal.

I. I’m. I don’t. I. I don’t even necessarily want to agree with that, but I really appreciate it.

What I can tell you is Mike Durkin is a rock star. I agree. I love him.

And I don’t know that he would sit across from me and say that he’s a rock star, you know? Yeah. He’s a humble guy, and he doesn’t see it all yet either. And then I want to point out to.

To these nice things that you’re saying. If we just look at the law firm of Douglas G. Jackson, that’s led through leadership, right? So Doug has set a culture for his company and who he works with, and they’re buying in because of the man he is and the leader he is, which is part of what we’re trying to do here as sun leaders 100.

How can we create positive energy and affect each other in a positive way? Which really is interesting, right? In context of and through the lens of community and community building. But what keeps us from being connected? That’s maybe the solution, right? Why are we not better connected? You and I are great. Jordan’s in the room.

The three of us are Great. We had two more people. Can we keep that? We had 10 more people.

Can we keep that, we had 20 more people. Where is that threshold? I don’t know. I’m not smart enough to know that.

But. But I sure would like to break that code. That’s an interesting code.

And I think that even talking to both Jordan and yourself before we started this podcast was great because it put us in a really good mindset for it. But, I mean, that’s what you were mentioning. You brought up functional and dysfunctional communities.

Right? And that resonated with Jordan, resonated with me as well, because it’s interesting because there’s two mindsets on that. If you have a dysfunctional community, most communities, I don’t think. I think they’re a combination of both.

Like people, right? We have our functions, and we have our functions, and how do we get everybody on the same page? Right? But I think that comes with SUN leaders and other leaders in the community that set an example, Right? And that’s what I’ve known my whole career, is that you want people to do something, you do it, and they will lead by example every time. And they will go. I don’t want to miss out.

Look at all these positive Things. Maybe I’ll shift my mindset. You’re not in trouble for doing anything.

It’s not a negative thing. Change it to, let’s help you shift your mindset and let’s help you get involved. I feel like most people do want to, but people are also.

Everybody’s a snowflake man. We’re all different. Right? You have high energy extroverts.

You have introverts that are amazing human beings that would probably get burnt out for four days having a conversation with me, for example. Right? And it’s like you have all these amazing people. That’s what I think we have to work on.

You have to have leaders in all categories. You have to have leaders everywhere. We all have to buy in to the exact same idea of what we’re trying to do as leaders.

And from there, now it’s not so big. Now you have each leader with a small group of humans that are like, hey, I look to you as somebody, I look to you as a mentor. Great.

Now it’s your job to help them and mentor them so then they can see themselves as one. And now that community starts flowing in the same way like you brought up. Same river.

We’re flowing the same direction slowly. And nothing’s ever going to happen quickly. We.

We know that. Right. And nothing great ever happens fast anyway.

But if we slowly keep doing what we’re doing now, and I think you and Josh are huge contributors to that just by starting Sun Leaders. It’s one of my favorite networking events to go to Edge Insights with Roger Kerlin, one of my favorite ones to go to. You guys make up my Friday.

I love it. But why? Because I’m surrounded by so many amazing people with the same heart and mindset and want to do the same stuff here. Let’s get them together.

So how do we make those groups even bigger? And this dysfunction thing’s really interesting, isn’t it? And that’s really one of the things that you, you. We’re going to talk about in our time together today is this panel idea that you’ve come up with and now you’re kind enough to include me on. But let’s talk about the dysfunctions of society, right? Dysfunctions of society.

What are the dysfunctions of society? If we look at the dysfunctions of a couple and maybe a husband and wife or a family unit, I don’t think that those are much different. As we expand that group of people, I think it comes down to the difference, which I talk about a lot, the difference between tolerance and acceptance. Tolerance is a dam.

Acceptance is flowing water. How do we get to a point where we accept everything? And that’s difficult, isn’t it? Because if I feel you’re causing me harm or danger or I’m scared, all of a sudden I can no longer accept. I might not even be able to tolerate you.

I mean, look at the wars that are going on, right? Those are territorial challenges. Absolutely. Driven by fear, ego, greed, power.

What are the things that create war? But as we talk about this tight knit community that we’re trying to create here, we don’t have to go to war with anybody that’s in a different neighborhood, do we? I would hope not. I don’t think that’s why we’re here. Sometimes it feels like it in other places I’ve been.

Why do we still have. Because you know that we’re working on finding a space for this thing that we’re trying to run. And I was talking to you about wanting to align missions and I think there’s a way to connect almost any mission, any two missions, I think there’s a way to connect them.

But I’m already struggling in my mind doing it because I know what that other party wants from us and from me. And I would like a world where we just don’t even have the boundary. Is that even possible? Possible, maybe.

And I think it starts with what the work you do with people and, and, and the mindset that people have. Right. So like a big thing for me is make myself uncomfortable, change my physiology.

If I feel, you know, we’ve all seen the little circle and the giant circle around it and here’s where you’re comfortable and all the good stuff is out here and all you have to do is just take the leap. And the good news is there’s a ton of people that have done it there too. That’ll help you.

But I think we’re so constrained and so nervous to go, okay, maybe, maybe I’ll, maybe I’ll come out here and test the waters a little bit and see. So I think that that’s why it takes, that’s why it’s a journey. That’s why it takes a long time for anybody.

Because, you know, my job is essentially to help people get into homes and complete their home goals. And yet I think all of our staff and all of our team members and all of our B2B community, all psychiatrists too, and you have to be able to invest a certain amount of time in humans to get them into that uncomfortable position where they see the Benefit. And it’s like, how do you do that? I like your group training because you focus on that.

And now you can reach more people. You reach 8, 10 people in a single hour, hour and a half session. And now they’re all walking away.

I think, I think like that group and getting that voice out to more and more. And then, you know, you don’t have to spend hours with people. I find you spend five minutes, take the time.

You send a text message. Hope your day is going well, man. Thinking about you today.

Hey, you know what? I. I got a guy or a girl I want you to meet. That might benefit your business, too. Oh, okay.

Give people hope. Give them something to get out there for. Right? They’re going to get out there.

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We talk about the American dream, which is, I mean, what do you define the American dream as? I think the American dream was to find out as homeownership. That’s what I thought. It’s not anymore.

It’s not anymore. But this is really what you do. You help get people in home.

So as we’re in St. Pete here in this community with what you do, is the American dream shifting? Are we shifting away from homeownership? What’s going on? I don’t know. I think. I think people.

I think everyone wants to own a home, right? And I think a lot of people, few years ago even were in a great place to do so. And I think that, you know, our economy is in the state that it is currently, and I think everything’s becoming more expensive in certain areas. To maybe buy it is to rent for sure as well, though.

And it’s like, I think that is a goal. And I think that. I think when you look at most Americans, most Americans were brought up in a way where parents work to pay the mortgage off, work the same job and all that for 30, 40 years, retired with the.

None of this exists anymore. Right. 401ks sometimes, you know, hey, it depends on what your job is now.

That’s great. But for a lot of us, especially a lot of us in our, like, industry and small business owners, for sure, it’s. It’s almost like, no, this the dream now, the goal now is how much revenue can I. Can I bring in? And.

And certainly how much can I save? Because, you know, retirement’s coming up and I don’t want to get screwed. And I don’t think I’m going to be in my home anymore for 50 years. Right.

all. I mean, I think most people look at property like, you know, I’m going to buy this. This is going to get us through until we have kids, and then I’m going to buy this, and this is going to get us through until they’re out of the house.

And. And then we’re going to downsize to this on the beach in Florida. Because if you’re from Michigan, that’s where you usually move here.

And you’re. When you’re retired. I did 34.

I was smarter, but whatever, you know, and I think that that’s the path that people follow now. I think maybe some people. I think it’s interesting, you know, I think no longer are you in a job or in a home for your entire life and you die in it.

Now you’re going to be in multiple jobs and multiple homes your entire life. Tell you what, I had this romantic idea when. When I was growing up because we lived in Bellevue, Washington, so I could always know how long we’d been in our house because it’s basically when I was born.

So I. We were a little cul de sac, suburbia. It was built in 1966. And I always thought, man, if I could just buy out this whole cul de sac and I will then create this moat in this castle and I will pass it on to the next generation and it will be in the family for years.

That’s not the way it went. You know, you’re building Camelot, and that’s a lovely idea. I loved it.

It would be so great. But the reality is that area priced us out to a certain extent. There’s a house fire.

My dad died in a house fire. The house burned to the ground. I rebuilt it, and life was no longer there.

Life was all the way across the country because I moved away. Because when we were young, we. When Diana and I started out, we couldn’t afford to live in that area.

So it really is fascinating. We don’t hang on to the house anymore and give it to kids and build family wealth that way. We build family wealth in different ways now, but it doesn’t seem to be that forever home, you know, like, maybe it is, maybe it was.

But then to your point, if a family’s your first community in a way. Right, right. Would it matter what four walls and roof were around you? That’s interesting.

It wouldn’t. Right. Because the memories are created anywhere you go, you know, so it’s like a lot of people don’t pick what home they want here.

They just get into a bidding war and get whatever one comes up. You know how it goes. But it’s the love and the family and what you’re going to do and the memories you’re going to create.

That’s what’s important about that house and the safety and security of coming in there at night and shutting that door and knowing that that’s it. I’m with the family, I’m with the dogs, I’m with the kids. I’m with whatever it is now.

I’m in my safe zone now. This is amazing. I think that, to me, is always what a true home is supposed to be.

So that’s why I’ve never had the constraints of owning a home for 30 years. I look at that as a financial investment. I look at it a little differently.

Right. Yeah. That’s how I see properties.

Right. But at the same time, like, I know personally, I’m creating just a absolute ton of amazing memories with. With my wife Kim, right now, every day in the space we live.

So that. So, you know, and that could have been there, and that could have been in St. Pete and that could have been in Delaware. It’s the memories getting.

I’m glad it’s here, but it’s the memories getting created. So really interesting because you talk about the four walls to. The four walls matter and get.

Now breaking down those barriers. I always get concerned with keeping families together. Can we even have a strong community? Can we keep a Community together.

And can we grow the community if we can’t even keep families together? It’s an interesting question, and I don’t want to be judgmental in that process, but what are your thoughts on that? Yeah, I mean, everybody’s got their. It’s an interesting thing, right? So if you look at families and everybody comes from a different background, everybody’s had a combination of their own experiences. Your experiences, right.

You might be in your 50s and I might be in my 40s, but what we’ve seen has been very different. And what we’ve been exposed to has probably been very different. Some common themes, but.

So, I mean, nature versus nurture, who knows? Like, and you’re going into it and you’re doing the best you can as a human being. And you know what I mean? It’s like, how do you do that? I think that, you know, again, I think people like you help with that. Especially if you’re a small business owner and you’re doing that with your spouse.

I can’t imagine how much pressure and, you know, anxiety that would put on a relationship. Running a business with your. With your spouse.

It can. A lot of people. A lot of people.

Some people, it’s probably amazing. And like, they’ve done it for years and it’s. Everything’s roses, but, like, that’s not life, right? So it’s like, I feel now when you look at community and you look at your community leaders and you look at somebody like the growth coach and Eric and Diane, who literally run a business together, helping people run their businesses if they’re in a relationship or married or whatever it may be, right? I think, again, it’s a little.

Everything’s little, right? These are huge ideas. And how do you break them down? I always go, what. What impact can we have, right? What can we control? And if we can control these little things, they may lead up to something great, right? What are the little things that we’re controlling? Probably different in every circumstance, right? But, like, I mean, it depends, like, mortgages, what could I control? I can’t control the Fed index, right? I’ll tell you that.

But I can control opening up 14, 16 new avenues of business in our beautiful city, doing all that I do, right? And that’s what I’ve been able to control over the past 13 months since I’ve started doing this. And that’s what’s giving me mental sanity and clarity and positivity and allowing for future events to now happen. Going in there, going great.

I manifested it, and now it’s coming to fruition, right? And it’s like, that’s what I’m able to control. And I’m also able to control connecting anybody around me, right? My ears are always open. I know what everybody does, right? So when I hear somebody needing something or I need this, I can control that, too.

And I can go, great. I can control. Controlling you two people together.

I think you’re both great humans. I think you’re going to be able to help each other out, and I think you’re going to be able to build each other’s businesses, more importantly, so you can stay here and give back to the community you love. I think that’s what you know.

So it’s interesting that we. We can control that part. And then my next question I ask people is, what should we.

Not necessarily. I do ask people, what should we control? I ask that question to help bring focus to what we are actually capable of. But when do we reach beyond, and you mentioned it earlier, get uncomfortable.

When do we work beyond that complacency? And I think that’s hugely important as we think about building a community. You and I are in multiple groups, and every now and then we hear diversity and inclusion. Lately, diversity.

Inclusion has been about the LGBTQ community specifically, and that’s important, but I wanted to expand beyond that. I want this to be a concept of no man, no woman, no human left behind. I want everybody to think that they’ve got a space in this party.

I want every human soul to understand that they’re hugely important and they’re necessary for this community to thrive. That’s where my concern is. I think we leave people behind.

I think they become disenfranchised. I think they lose hope. And I want to know how we fix that.

Why do we continue to put people on the streets? Why do we continue to have this discussion about affordable housing? Why can’t we define what affordable housing is? Why do we still have conversations about the black community, the Hispanic community, not being able to interact with a chamber or a group, even though the invitation is there, but that’s not inclusion. An invitation is not inclusion. How do we get that to push forward? I like it.

An invitation is not inclusion. You’re 100% right. Because an invitation.

Most invitations you get are kind of just like a damn. Just throwing it out there if you want. Right? Like, nah, okay, maybe we’ll have you over here.

That’d be great. Like, nobody’s invested in you. Nobody cares if you show up or not.

How do we help people feel that we Care if they’re there or not. How do we continue to build on the fact that we want you here no matter who you are? Because we have the same goal and we want to help you and we want to help you and we want to help us and we want to help everybody. The whole thing is we all want to do it together.

But I mean like, I do feel like St. Pete, our little area in Florida here, St. Pete does, is forming that for a lot of those groups. Right. Like I do, I feel like a lot of minority groups are well, starting to become maybe more well represented in St. Pete and all that as well.

That’s the key. Representation, but representation, that’s it. And what that comes down to then is again, people from all walks of life, there’s leaders and those leaders will now need to step up and get uncomfortable and show that they didn’t.

That what’s the worst that happened, I didn’t die. In fact, my business is doing better. I want to introduce you to all these great like minded people.

And now we can start growing all those. We can grow all the areas. Right, you grow all the demographics.

Everybody can come up. It can be a great thing for everyone. Because I do think that LGBTQ+ is very important.

I think that we do need to talk to it about it. I think Black Lives Matter was extremely important. I think, I think the outcry is people do matter and they don’t feel right now and they probably haven’t felt for a very long time that they matter.

I wonder. So I wonder. I was having a discussion on a podcast and somebody, I said, well, what’s our responsibility in the community? And the answer was, well, I’m not so sure we have much control over.

That’s up to the elected officials, which I hear, I get, I understand, but I’ve wrestled with that ever since we had that discussion. Do we just turn it over to the elected officials? I did my duty, I voted, and now it’s yours. I’ll be over here all senior court doing, doing, making my widgets or whatever it is I do.

And then we’ll try again in four years. Is that, is that the end of it? I would hope not. And it doesn’t have to be.

I mean, if you look at it, how many committees and boards are offered for us to go sit on? Right? What changed? But I’m not even so sure. But that’s really interesting because now I’m going to be a contradiction. Yeah, yeah.

When I join these committees and these boards, I feel like the hired Help. I’m not even so sure my voice is heard that I’m listened to. It’s a power structure.

Right. It’s a. And it’s.

And I’ve heard even the chamber. Some of the viewpoint is there’s two tiers to this. Right.

So I feel that’s an invitation. Come in, help us set up the tables, put the tablecloths on. Thank you so much for your hard work.

I mean, I’d like to be heard. Yes. I’m not so sure I am heard.

Those are large venues to be heard in too. Are they? They are. They are like.

I mean those are built good people doing good work. That’s not the point. Yeah, these are good people doing good work.

But I’m not so sure it’s inclusive. Yeah, that’s what we have to solve. So how do you solve that? We have to be diligent on a day to day basis and continuously.

I get uncomfortable if that’s uncomfortable. I don’t find it to be uncomfortable. But then the other question is, do people want to play in the same sandbox? My hope is yes, because we keep talking about as a just a city specifically grows.

Right. Gentrification. So we move people out wherever we move them to.

I don’t even know where we move them. Then we build this rich whatever because it was a that. I don’t think we’re ever going to change that.

But how do we do it more responsibly? How do we not disenfranchise a whole group of people? That’s one of my concerns. And now we have these property values skyrocketing. It’s not affordable.

My. A lot of kids, My kids might not even be able to live here. They’re gonna have to go to wherever the next Saint Peters, where the next San Francisco is.

Wherever the next Seattle is. Diane and I came here because we couldn’t afford Seattle anymore and we had a big family. I want to solve those problems.

I don’t. I don’t know how. It’s extremely tough because there’s probably a lot of people out there that don’t want you to solve those problems.

It can probably work pretty hard so that we don’t have a say to. You know what I mean though? Like when you really look at it, that’s, that’s. There’s people that don’t want to solve the problem.

There are people that don’t want us. There always are. Always.

And that’s the difference, isn’t it? Yeah, but you can look at them as roadblocks and just give up. Or you can look at them as hurdles and then find ways to jump around. Right.

And what little impact we have, that could add up to bigger impact. I think that’s where we have to start. So where you and I are at in this level that we’re at, we got to work in both directions, don’t we? Inclusivity is not just reaching those who we feel are not invited.

We’ve got to work against the people who are inviting us as well. That’s hugely important. I hadn’t really thought of that before.

I was more inclined to just go, yeah, well, they don’t want me there. Yeah, I think we got to be a squeaky wheel to a certain extent. And you have to set that example and then you have to never back down from the example you’re setting.

Right, right. Like that’s the whole thing. I mean, how are your convictions in it? All right, are you ready to do everything it’s going to take to make a change? Are you going to be invested, Are you going to be ready to invest the amount of time, energy, effort, bandwidth, whatever you want to put that it’s going to take? Are you able to do this sustainably for 5, 10, 15 years? Are you able to show others how to do this so they can do it when you’re dead and gone? Right.

Because it will happen and then does it die with you or does it continue? Right. How do you do all that? I mean, I would tell you very slowly and with a lot of advocates that you acquire over time and through those advocates, people know people. It’s like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon back in the day.

Right. All leads back to him. Well, it’s true.

We know a lot of people and we in St. Pete, it’s nice. I mean, we’re two people, one people, person removed away from people that we would want to get in front of. So how do we create those advocates? How do we get them on our side and then how do we allow them to make introductions? Introductions, that’s interesting.

You know how I think we should do that? You’ve got a really good idea that you keep giving me just an absolute ton of credit for. So we created this idea together and it was your idea. But we’ve had a great flow of energy and conversation on it where I really do feel like we have this kick ass partnership on it.

It’s us, 100% us. We are together. It and it’s called Together We Thrive.

So we should be, we’s right in there it’s not me or you, it’s we. And we’re all here for it. And I, I really, I, I am getting super excited about this panel.

And I think that when we do this, maybe eventually quarterly or however this comes together and we can get in front of the amount of people that we’re going to get in front of with the guests that we’re lining up to speak, right. I think that that’s where that change can really be really be given to the masses. Right? And like, now people, you have 80 to 100 people that may attend an event that are now going to go tell their spheres of influence, oh my God, listen to all this and blah, blah, blah.

And if we’re going to chat about it, we’re going to go out to dinner and talk to our spouses about it and this. And well, word’s going to get around, right? And then, great, now we’re going to be able to pick these up and these are going to be better. And this is a great way to get education and what’s going on in our community out in front of people to make them hyper, aware, right? And that’s the idea.

None of us are hyper. Aware. We live in our own worlds.

How do we make people hyper aware about important things right here in our backyard? Hyper aware to have the discussion and then hyper aware to take the action 100%. And it’s really interesting because I think in context of our conversation, we probably have opportunities to already participate in similar things that either we’re not aware of or we don’t really feel welcome in. So you and I are creating this, this event where people really won’t have to do much except show up, have a conversation.

And this is why I like group coaching. That’s why I like this idea of this panel discussion, because we’re getting a whole bunch of people together and we can only do good things. I can only do so much alone.

You and I get together, we can do more. We get a whole bunch of groups. There’s people that are smarter with their expertise, and there are different questions, even a different way of asking a question and looking at the problem.

So I’m pretty jazzed about it. Extremely, extremely jazzed about it. This is going to be something I feel like we’ll continue together for a very long time.

And I think that bringing it full circle, this is a component of what we are able to do uncomfortably to make a real difference and change in the community. And when you ask, how do we do that, I think these are the ways it begins. And now to.

In context of this conversation, we’ve been so busy just doing the mechanics of it now, we do be deliberate and reach out to whoever we consider people who might not join us in the first place. How do we get those people involved? How do we let them know that it’s not just an invitation, it’s almost, you know, begging you to come to the table so we can have this healthy discussion? This is more like we don’t beg and we don’t invite. I don’t like to beg either.

Right. You should. You should want us for us.

I got to be honest. Right. But at the same time, this is us really coming out and saying, we’re not inviting you and we’re not begging you to come here.

We are encouraging you to come out and be a part of something bigger, and we want you and we want you as part of it, and you matter, and we want you here and we want you to tell people about it. Please come out and join us in something bigger than yourself. Right? Yeah.

Is there a way to get in front of the problem rather than always reacting to the problem? That’d be interesting. Yeah, man. I don’t like putting out fires.

Do you know, all the time. I’m not a firefighter. I give nothing but credit to anybody that does that.

I don’t want to do that. And I, you know. Okay, but that’s another great point.

You know, when I told you about this house fire we had in Bellevue. Bellevue was a very expensive place to live at that point in time. Microsoft ended up moving into town, and we had the dot coms, everywhere from Silicon Valley is going to this town.

So everybody who came to my house to serve us, they couldn’t even afford to live in that community. You know, they would drive two hours to get to their station, then they would serve the community, be it the policemen or the firemen or the paramedics. I don’t want that in our community.

I want the people who are here to live here, to feel like they belong here. That includes our service industry. Now, one of our solutions, and we’ve come up with a different way to solve this, and I’m grateful for that.

I don’t think we’re quite there, but one of the solutions I heard when I was in a group was, oh, we’ll just bus our service. Like, our wait staff will bust them in. We’ll have little parking areas for them.

But so condescending, even the way you’re saying it, though, you know what I mean? Like, and I know you’re saying it to make the point on how it was said to you. And it’s like. It’s like cringeworthy to hear.

Like. Like what? Yeah, that can never be the answer. Never be the answer.

So I don’t know. And so these are the sort of things that I’m hoping we get some light minds there. Yeah.

And they go, yeah, this is what I’d like. This is what I need. It’s interesting.

As we’ve been talking, I know we’re kind of starting around out of time, but as we talk about the workforce, if we’re always trying to solve a problem in our preconceived idea, we have the preconceived. This is a problem with coaching. So many coaches I know have this preconceived idea of your problem without ever listening to what the real problem is.

I’m going to create your problem and give you my templated solution to it. And you’re going to pay me thousands of dollars. Oh, what a great business plan.

I almost swore for the first time that would be. Almost got him. That’s not the way to go.

I need to listen to what the problem is and see if we can find a solution. A solution. And I’m not smart enough to find the solution.

Together we’re smart enough to find the solution, and that’s the key to solving the problems in the community. But you just pointed out, and I’m probably talking to us in circles now, that there are some people who might not want that solution. So how do we solve that problem? That’s a fun puzzle.

The more and more people that do want the solution, usually people tend to have to go along with it eventually. Right. So I don’t think you worry about the outliers that are standing against you.

I think you build up enough support to get it done and shift that entire mindset where now it’s not a choice. Now if you don’t do it, you’re putting yourself into a position where you’re going to look like you’re going against the flow. And nobody goes against the flow.

You keep it flowing. We just need to flow in our direction. That’s what we need.

And I think that you have a lot of outliers that just. They might have the same opinions they have their whole life, but you know what? They get quiet when there’s enough voices saying something else. It’s going to be fascinating.

I think one of the first things I would ask people is, look, what do you want in Your community. How do you define community? Maybe there’s just. Maybe we’re just a bunch of loners.

You know how, like, when you’re in suburbia, and which we currently are, and you just kind of, like, get out of your car after a long day, you make eye contact. You don’t want the neighbor to say hi to you. You just want to go into your house.

Like, you’re living my life. I got, like, nine things to do when I get in that house. I’m like, dude, I do not have, like, 30 minutes to talk to you right now.

And that sounds so bad. Like, I get it, but I talk to people all day. Like, so do you.

It’s like, oh, my God, it sounds so bad. I always do it, and I always smile and I’m always present there, sort of. But like, yeah, that’s so funny.

Yeah, you’re like, here’s 20 minutes out. I was getting the trash in. All right.

Were we able to cover everything you wanted to cover? I think so. And I really, again, I want to say I really appreciate you being on here, Eric. Eric Nutting, the growth coach, definitely a huge help in the community.

So sought him. I seek him out. Eric, you want to give a quick plug? I don’t know why I’m plugging, first of all.

Yes. Thank you for having me. I got a feel.

I, I, I wasn’t as focused as I usually am today, but I think it’s because of the concepts we’re working on. You know, usually I’m laser focused, but I just, I think I’m still trying to wrestle with what this means as I watch this city I love and this community of people that I’ve really become fond of growing. How do we do it the right way? So, anyway, thanks.

It means a lot to me to be here. I more than appreciate it, man, you’ve made my day. I mean, that’s for sure.

And this is a great launch off. The next one will actually just a quick plug. We will have Roger Kurland, who is actually the head of our Edge district here in St. Pete, on to talk a little more about our panel that we’ll have coming up in September.

Kind of a little teaser right now, but Roger will be a great interview as this man knows everyone and his heart is so aligned with St. Pete, it is insane. So stay tuned for that, and thank you, everyone, for tuning in. Sam.