A few years ago, I was down in Lake Powell with my family when I looked over and on the same beach as us were not 1 but 3 of my previous scout leaders. All were just hanging out together, enjoying the most beautiful place on earth.
It had been over 15 years since I had seen any of them and we all looked quite a bit older than we did when I was a little 15-year-old determined to make their life a living hell.
I told them how much it meant to me that they sacrificed all those weekends for us...
To take us on camping trips, to spend one night every week to get together and entertain us.
I know I wasn't an easy kid... I was curious, brash, bold, and lacking a filter.
I said things and did things that did not make their lives easier as they tried to teach us the ways of life... I got much more emotional than I thought I would talking with them...
Because I saw them for what they were, just great men who sacrificed their time and wanted to help mold a generation of kids from the neighborhood.
I hoped I had done them proud and that they would know all their hard work and sacrifice had paid off if even just a little bit.
Years before that, I had the chance to coach high school baseball at Brigham High School and to this day, it's probably the most rewarding thing I ever did.
Those kids were so fun, so excited for life, and so wanting and willing to learn.
I cherished the conversations that would go on during and after games. On multiple road trips trying to get out of a ticket in St. Louis, keeping them out of trouble on a cruise ship to Mexico, or helping them on their senior trip to Lake Powell overtake another boat full of girls for them to hit on while I played dumb talking to the dad as he tried to tell us it was time to go.
I loved most seeing the love for life and curiosity they had to grow and learn. I don't have any kids of my own yet, but that time coaching helped me realize that an entire community of strong men raises the best kids... Coaches, dads, teachers, neighbors, and leaders in the area. The women always do their part; I want to ensure the men do theirs.
My entire 20s were getting gut punched with one tough lesson after another...
I remember finding out I didn't collect sales tax on my business, which wiped out my yearly profits. I partnered with several wrong people and invested in all the wrong things.
In my defense, I was winging it...
I didn't know how to invest correctly in real estate or buy the right stocks and mutual funds.
I needed me at 41 to help teach the younger me what to look out for.
I also remember deep conversations with friends after I had blown it with a girl I was dating or one I had just kissed...
They tried to teach me I didn't know that I was being needy or that I was making all the wrong moves. I thought it was because of who I was and not because of a lack of communication skills.
Lots of unnecessary heartaches.
I learned how to fight when I was in my 30s... I cringe to think about what could have happened if I ever needed self-defense before discovering it.
Recently, I was walking with a woman in New York, and two men started to yell very aggressively at her... It all happened so quickly that I barely had time to put myself between them and her. Thankfully I took years of Krav Maga training and knew exactly what I needed to do. I de-escalated immediately while holding a strong frame and honoring her... They sensed that I wasn't afraid; they took a right turn and left us alone. It felt so good to "naturally" know what needed to be done in that situation... Young me would have tried to fight and who knows where that would have led and the skills I would have needed to know.
And then there are also things like... What does being a good friend look like? How can I shortcut all the drama and surround myself with the best guys?
It took me 30 years to figure it out... I can't wait to teach it to these kids and can't wait to call on all my amazing friends to help.
These are why we launched the We Are The They Next Gen program...
Because these are skills that took me decades to learn but that helped me every single day as an adult. I will provide these young men with a program that will expedite their growth by decades in just a year.
If I can use myself as an example so that these kids don't have to go through everything I did, that alone made this a no-brainer to launch! I can be for them the person I wish I had known when I was younger.
If you have a son ages 14-17 who wants to join our one-year youth coaching program, check out the link below and get him signed up.
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