Why the Best Leaders Are Still Marinating | Jeff Williamson

SPEAKER_02 0:58

Welcome everyone to doing business with a service heart podcast. I'm your host, Steve Ramon, and I'm thrilled to have you join us today. This podcast is dedicated to exploring the idea of doing business and living life with a purpose of serving others and yes, achieving success. We believe that when we approach our work and our lives with a servant's heart, we can truly make a difference. I hope you all want out there and want to make a difference. That's the big part of this show. And we also created this show for you because I want everyone to be motivated, inspired, and educated to make an impact in your world. A servant heart is going to impact your world. Hey, whether you're an entrepreneur, a community leader, or simply someone looking to bring more purpose into your daily life, this podcast is here to support you. And audience, you're going to be blown away by this guy. Man, for five minutes, I'm already blown away. But get ready while you're listening to this show today. I want you to think about how you're going to serve today and what impact you're going to create today. Key word there is today that's not winning. And today's episode is brought to you by our amazing sponsor, Panther Alliance. Picture yourself joining an elite community of high-income, successful business owners and entrepreneurs from a variety of industries all working together to create a powerful referral marketplace and it's an incredible opportunity to expand your network and your business, elevate your business to new heights. Come on, Steve, you can read. You've done a few of these. Jeff, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00 2:43

Hey, thanks for having me. Excited to be here.

SPEAKER_02 2:48

Personal business, it crosses. It should. And that's what I say in my monologue. You know, our life and our profession. I'm speeches, but I want you to tell a story about your mom, what she did with her baptism. I just think it's so cool.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

Yeah. Um so um, you know, there there's all sorts of things that God puts in our way and opportunities that we get. And and I I know that uh as I got a little bit older, I start saying yes to quite a few more of these things. And um, and just so happens, I live at uh Myrtle Beach and we have an awesome church uh where in the summertime we'll do uh beachside baptisms. And my parents, they travel from Asheville, uh, North Carolina, and they'll come over to us and they'll say, you know, just they attend our church and I play the bass, and every once in a while they'll put the mic in front of me too. So if they want that that low Johnny Cash sign, I guess, right? But uh so they they love to attend our church and they just become part of the family. But you know, through all of my parents' journey, um, they they never were baptized. And um now one of the things about that, and what made it especially um special was my mom around 2020, um mid-2020, she she has dementia, and um a lot of my journey got put on hold, and a lot of the things that I did just because I I was asking questions and trying to figure things out, and and I was um, you know, I wanted to still maintain a servanthood's heart and I wanted to still be obedient with the gifts that God's blessed me with. And but uh, you know, fast forward, my parents had had mentioned, hey, you know, we would like to be baptized. We heard about it in one of your services, and hey, you know, that'd be great if we could do that. And uh one of the pastors says, you know, Jeff, you're you know, if you would be open to it, we would love for you to baptize because they wanted to be baptized simultaneously. So um my mom, you know, at this point in time, sometimes she struggles with names and and even my own sometimes, but she knows that she loves hot dogs, airplanes, and Jesus. And it's it's it's remarkable, and and I and she's as happy as she can be. And I I can only uh pray and that I'm even uh a tenth of her joyfulness and happiness, uh, you know, if if I make it a 75. Um, but to fast forward, I said, well, sure, I would love to baptize my mom. Um, you know, that would be uh amazing and crazy, and and why not? And uh so my mom, you know, even with dementia, she still has some spunk to her. Uh so when, and the way you do it at the beach is when the wave comes, you you you know, you you dunk them, right? But the the the wave that came was not large enough for my mom's liking. So my dad was excited because he got, you know, in his mind he was baptized, everything was good. And but my mom got up and said, I wasn't baptized fully. Uh, I need to get hit again because I I I'm still kind of dry on my right arm or wherever it was. And I looked at our pastor and I said, Do I do this? But do I? And he goes, I don't know, sure, do it again. So the next one I made sure fully, my mom was submerged. Uh, but what an awesome opportunity to serve somebody that served me so much uh in in her life, uh, you know, just thankful nights of of all the crazy stuff that I've done. And what a what a small, small way for me to be able to, you know, help and be part of that and to repay her for all the love uh that she has has you know given me and just how she's blessed my life. So what an awesome experience.

unknown 6:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:35

I love that story. I'll never forget it. And audience, I know it's unique to start with a story like that, but there's a reason. He's a servant's heart in a personal form, but he did, he took action first off. But these are the Jeff's the kind of person you want to work with, whatever capacity that you're talking about. And it doesn't have to be Jeff, it doesn't have to be me, but always look out for that servant heart attitude, that personality. So, Jeff, let me ask you, how do you take that servant mentality to your coaching?

SPEAKER_00 7:05

So um and I'll say this too, um, maybe a little bit more radical than some are accustomed to. Um, but I I read Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich um three or four years ago, and we're asked and tasked to come up with our own personal um, you know, uh mission and vision, our core value. And it it's the idea if you don't know what you stand for, you can fall for anything. So for me, I've always known that I've had a a um just a philanthropic heart on how I can try and uh serve others well, but I actually have it tattooed on my left arm. I got it so um shrunk down, you know, in terms of what I thought really mattered. Uh so I have love well, learn well, and serve well. Uh and it's it's just something that I get to see, and it's so dynamic, but I get to see it on my arm. Uh as I will screw it up all the time. I'm not perfect. Um, I've definitely fallen short of the glory of God so many times, but through uh his love, and you know, he's redeemed uh all the things I've done. So it's it's a so much a pay it forward mentality, though. Like I shared about my mom and my dad, they they've loved on me so radically well that I want to make sure I I bless others with how I've been blessed. You go to Starbucks and someone pays for your drink ahead of you, you want to pay that forward. You want to bless somebody else's life because there's no more of a special thing or personal joy when you see that you've made that difference in somebody's life and they have leveled up and they believe in themselves differently than they have before. Um, I call it that Christmas Day moment, I guess, you know, and it's just it's exciting for me, uh, maybe selfishly, but you know, if I know that even in the ounce, I've made a difference in someone's life, it's it's so, so rewarding.

SPEAKER_02 8:57

What is, and I was going through your bio, multipliers coach. Describe that, what that means.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

So Liz Wiseman, uh, she wrote um the book Multipliers, uh, Impact Player. She's a fantastic, uh, fantastic uh author. I highly, highly recommend um, you know, looking those books up. But there was an opportunity where we could um, it's like a certification where you you really get in depth with uh the multipliers book. It talks about even accidental, accidentally diminishing, where we think we're helping somebody else out and yet we're actually inhibiting their own growth. So it was an opportunity that I was able to um could because I more selfishly than anything, I needed to grow myself in order to allow my team and my clients and and my family, you know, in church to to become better. So I had to work on myself inward first before I could really uh have that ripple effect outward.

SPEAKER_02 9:55

I I love that. And what's the book again so the audience can get uh get it?

SPEAKER_00 9:59

It's multipliers.

SPEAKER_02 10:01

Beautiful. Get that book.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

That is so yellow cover.

SPEAKER_02 10:06

Yellow cover, okay. Multiplier is yellow cover.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 10:09

So leadership's big in coaching. I know you teach that. John Maxwell's you know, the team is what you're part of. Incredible guy. Um what's your advice for aspiring leaders or people that want to be leaders?

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Well, and and that's just it too. Um, sometimes the the phrasing leadership is taboo where people say, Well, I'm not a leader because I don't have a title, or I am not, you know, I'm not a manager, so that means I'm you know not a leader. And and I and I I don't get too amped up about certain things here, but that I will I like to fight tooth and nail. If you are trying to level yourself up, even in the smallest way, you're a leader. Like it or not, it's just the way it is. If you sit on the couch and you tell Netflix all the time, yes, I'm still watching shows, you know, and that's all you do, then uh maybe, maybe not so much. But I'll answer that and say that I saw on Facebook there was a um custodian that was um working in, I forget which which um I think it was like a double, like a Division II college, but they they won the championship for whatever sport they were in. But that that that custodian helped out and got tiles prepared and got different things ready. And and they, you know, no, they didn't play in the field, no, they didn't call plays, uh, but they rewarded that custodian with a ring and said, You are a leader because you made us prepared better than we would be otherwise. And to me, that's a perfect definition of what leadership is. It's it's putting someone else before you, showing their importance and how you can work on making them better, uh, be it through cleaning floors, washing towels, running a slant route, you know, to score a touchdown, or or whatever it is, if you're working together for the betterment of you know culture for mankind, for whatever you know, the the organization might be, then you're a leader.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

That's a game changer right there, where you turn other people into leaders in your organization because that's a positive effect. And when you change the lives of your employees, your staff, your directors, or all those people, it it's crazy. You work on leadership. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 12:23

I was just gonna I was just gonna say leadership is influence, bottom line. It it doesn't mean title.

SPEAKER_02 12:30

Yeah, you can throw all the titles away and still be a leader. That's right. That's just what we need to do just to talk about he's the vice president. That's all the reason why he goes there. So I see in your bio dreams. I love that. There's goals and there's dreams. But why is it so fulfilling to go to the dreams and helping people get there?

SPEAKER_00 12:48

Well, you know, uh there's so many times where um people have ideas and they'll um, you know, they and and and then they they say, you know, it'd be nice if, or um and and people don't act on these on those dreams here. And and it's an unrealized dream I wrote about in the book is is just called a wish. But if we put legs to these dreams and we put application to these things, um, and I'm reading a book right now, um, The Leadership Challenge, and it talks about how small wins are so so important. But as we go to and through our dreams, if you have these small little wins that you put in your place, it makes things so much easier to see the final product come to fruition. And it's like the best way to eat an elephant is one small bite at a time. Um, so it's it's where you know we're we're we wake up every morning and we have the idea. It's like, do I want this to be a wish or do I want this to be a dream that's being realized? And uh, you know, I know I've I've I could say there's been some times I've just caused things to be a wish because I things were too daunting. Um, but it's so important to recognize just just you know that how that application can get us so much further ahead with our dreams.

SPEAKER_02 14:02

That message needs to be out because I say get better 1% every day. I use the improvement phrase because even the grand slam. It's like doesn't work that way. Some people probably was no.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

I played softball and um I was I was the second hitter. I could never hit home runs. I mean, I could, you know, and I was just not now. I mean, I'm a lot slower now, but I could always out uh outrun the throw, and and my batting average was always pretty high, and and that's fine, but it it's it's the base hits that cause you to win. Uh it's like Moneyball, you know, it's a fantastic movie. Um, but uh you you're absolutely right here. It's just that small little application, one percent every single day, uh, causes us to level up.

SPEAKER_02 14:51

That's what athletes do. All those pro athletes, they're not trying to go from 300 to 400 pound bench press or that's right, run you know, uh 4.8 to a 4.4 gradual and working towards gradual.

SPEAKER_00 15:05

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 15:05

World's the world's crazy right now. I almost said mess, and it's not a mess because that's a bad attitude, but it's crazy. But what advice do you give a business owner's uh with their challenges today? There's multiple. What's advice you can give?

SPEAKER_00 15:19

Well, where there's opportunity, um it I I would always say look for opportunities of collaboration and communication. Um, I I find that there's, you know, in today's culture and today's environment, if you don't understand or if you don't agree, then it's a uh a negative um experience. And I've learned more in the last uh and I love um, you know, one of my one of my friends and mentors said the older I get, the less I know. And and I I really love that because it it's it's so true. Um, you know, we felt we like we knew everything when we were in our teenage years, and the older we become, we find out that we we really didn't. But it's it's understanding that there can be more than one right answer. There can be more ways to, uh, and I hate the phrasing skin a cat. I think that's just it's a weird phrasing, but you yeah, you get the idea that um we sometimes, and that's where the kind of the my second book came into play, where um I went about life with the understanding of this is what you would do. And thankfully, people that were courageous enough challenged me in my approach to where I learned even greater, even deeper. I understood, you know, and and it's funny going back to, you know, um talking about baptism, I mean talking about Old Testament versus New Testament, they Jesus challenged the people saying, Hey, yes, here is the law, here's the law you were so comfortable with and understood. But I fulfilled the law, and I I've come to uh, you know, it's like love and love. Those are the two things. If you want to know what the two new laws are, it's the love and the love. But we we need to adapt and change and be open to to receive what's going on because we continue doing the same thing over and over again. I mean, we know that's definition of insanity. So I would say for for business owners that are seeing a roadblock, seeing a wall, um, people even relationally, if they find that there's just something that's not working, don't keep pushing. That's not going to make it better. Stop, pause, reflect, you know, yield and see, you know, it's like the gap between, you know, when you're reading the Bible, if you see uh between different verses, consider the gap between those verses. Consider, you know, in chosen, the the series does a fantastic job of that. But it's it's recognizing how much actual conversation and thought goes into those things between the period to the next number uh or the next verse here. So, but just understand that there's there's more than one way uh to go about things, and and uh and that's usually when success starts to creep in.

SPEAKER_02 18:06

And that's a that's such a great message to hope. There's not one way, and if you can't do that one way, you're you're out of luck. It's not doesn't work out. Uh it just gives you faith and hope, which that's right is so awesome. Let's talk about your books now. Audience, uh the name of this book is It's Marinating, right? Still marinating. Still marinating. Yes, sir. When he told me, I thought barbecue right away, but this is much better, and I love barbecue. My wife loves barbecue, it's much better barbecuing. Talk about the mission of the book and what you're trying to accomplish.

SPEAKER_00 18:37

Well, and and why I call it still marinating is if we feel like we have arrived and we have it all figured out, oh boy, that's a dangerous time. Um, and and like you, I have three uh different grills in my backyard. I I love grilling, uh, one's the flat top, um, Blackstone. I have a regular grill, and then I have a smoker grill, and they all do different things. And my wife was like, hey, that's too many grills, but then when I make food on it, she's like, that's actually the right number of grills. So she's okay uh with it. But in the book, Still Marinating, I wrote about, and I think we've all had this experience uh for the chicken wing lovers out there. Um, I have bought those microwave wings where you just throw them in the microwave, and three minutes later you get this substance that's not real chicken wing, it's like this mealy, it's it's not good. I mean, it does physically provide some nourishment, it doesn't taste good. It's at least I don't care for it. It's not good. Um, those are my words. So then if we marinate, and marinating is to draw attention to, to be intentional, to to do something different, to try to see betterment for that object or that item. So if it's a chicken wing or if it's a steak or or wet or chicken breast, and you're you're putting a rub on it, or a uh an aioli, or you're putting some sort of uh marinade on it for that matter, um, you're going into it recognizing that this is good as it is here, yes, but I'm gonna go into it and really put more time and attention into it. And in the book, I talk about kind of different stages of of drilling wings, which is kind of fun. But my favorite though is if you're gonna smoke some wings, that takes the most time. You gotta go, you you put you put it there and you leave it, and it seems like nothing's happening. You know, it's like, yes, it's over these these charcoals here, and I'm getting hungry, but oh my goodness, I guess I'll continue to wait, but I because I know the product is gonna be that much better. And that's and you know, as a metaphor, we're the chicken wings. The more time and more, you know, intentionality with our growth and just kind of what we're trying to accomplish, the better we become. Um, you know, would I rather have a three-minute microwave society wing? No, heavens no. How about a six to eight hour smoked uh chicken wing? Absolutely all day long. It tastes that much better. The product is always that much better. So, as a grill person uh at heart, I thought it was just a fun, unique uh title. And and just I realized there's so much to that because you know uh we all should still be marinating in so many different things in our lives.

SPEAKER_02 21:10

Well, you just gave me a new line. I love this. What a great analogy. Your microwave is transactional, your transformation is a smoker.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

That's right. That's exactly that.

SPEAKER_02 21:22

Wow, that's powerful. Still marinating, guys. I'm gonna say it again because I'm loving what he's doing. I'm gonna get the book just because I love the title, I'm gonna put it up there, but I want to read that because I do that, but I I I love learning because then I can share with others like you're doing today with educating us and motivating us. Uh, we're getting close to the end here. How can people get a hold of you?

SPEAKER_00 21:45

So um I have a uh site, Coastal Leadership Coaching.com. Um, it a lot it kind of goes through my services, um, be it through mastermind uh course teaching, through one on one coaching, um, wherever the Need arises. As you mentioned, still marinating is on Amazon. I'm excited about that, been doing very well, has had great reception. My next book, it's in the publisher's hands as we speak. The other side of the coin, I take the idea of we've never done it that way before, and I try to break it down with different ways. And even you know, with an evangelical approach to it, also about how if we said no to certain approaches, how much further the world would not be progressed. If some is good, more is better, in a sense. And my wife is is has so much uh bias in in me, and I'm so blessed by her love and support. I've started my third book um talking about belief and um belief in oneself, belief in others, so things like that. So that's coming next year sometime. But uh uh on Amazon, still maritime is available, Coastal Leadership Coaching uh.com is available too as well.

SPEAKER_02 23:03

Great, that's awesome. Let's let's finish with a big question. Yes, and this is a personal, we're gonna learn more about you as a person. So you come to a restaurant, there's a table of four, you sit at one table, you're gonna get the idea where I'm going here. Dead or alive, who are the three people that are gonna sit in those chairs? Why? But here's the most important question what food would you order?

SPEAKER_00 23:30

What a good question. Um, so I would say, um, as I mentioned, my mom is dementia. So I would say my mom from uh probably 10 or 15 years ago, uh, I I miss I miss uh that version of my mom dearly. Um before I was born, um my mom had a miscarriage. So between my brother and I, I have a um a brother that I'll I'll be able to see um you know when I pass and and when I see him in victory here, it'd be awesome to be able to get to know Mark, my brother. So uh that will be uh so so awesome. And um and this is such an obscure, I have two family members, but the one that I I want to really just kind of sit back and listen to is is uh Simon Peter and just some of the things that he uh saw, and he was such a revolutionary uh mind of person. Uh on any gram scale, I'm an eight-wing seven, so I imagine he probably too was an eight-wing seven, uh a ready firing kind of guy. Um so it's just I just want to hear stories. I want to learn more. And the Bible comes alive when I read, you know, about about him, but uh, you know, it's a living word, but it's still it would be kind of fun to be able to sit with him and just kind of listen and hear what has to be said and and uh to know, you know, wow, this is pretty cool. And and and just talk about as he has paved the way in certain things, you know, tell him about his his successes, his failures, what he learned, and how I can then champion some of those things in my own life so I can try to lead other people to to uh to him and uh you know just to kind of move the kingdom forward.

SPEAKER_02 25:12

And what food would you order?

SPEAKER_00 25:14

Oh, good. Um Mexican. I I love um, but and it the the interesting thing is I don't like sour cream or guacamole. I just I I don't so but anything else, tacos, uh burilla, uh chip salsa. Um I mean I I love Mexican food, just maybe not all the sauces. I like the hot sauces. Um, but uh that that of course or or chicken wings. Uh you know, I spoke about that for such a long time.

SPEAKER_02 25:39

But uh great table, great food. Oh, I love it.

SPEAKER_00 25:42

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 25:43

Hey Jeff, thank you for having a servant's heart and going out there bringing value and helping people. Thank you for being on the show. I really appreciate that.

SPEAKER_00 25:51

Yeah, thanks for having me. Blessed to be here, and uh hope this resonates with uh with your viewers.

SPEAKER_02 25:55

Uh I'm sure it will. It's resonating with me. And I've got my pads full here. Uh uh, don't forget my TV show, put together we serve every Friday at 2 p.m. Pacific, five p.m. Eastern. And as always, me and Jeff, thank you guys so much and girls for watching or listening to this podcast. And we look forward to seeing you in the next episode of Doing Business with a Server. See y'all.