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Speaker 1: Life Audio.

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Speaker 2: Join us in celebrating an incredible milestone as the beloved Jesus Calling brand reaches fifty million lives impacted. As we honor the legacy of author Sarah Young, we reflect on the stories from celebrities, pastors, authors, actors, singers, athletes, scholars, and everyday people who have been inspired by her devotional writings. To join in the celebration and to hear some of the stories of people whose faith journeys have been impacted by all the writings of Sarah Young, head over to Jesus Calling dot com.

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Speaker 3: It's through our surrendering that God does his establishing, whether it's in our career, our finances, our marriage, or you know, our sense of control. And I think that obedience is what ultimately land me to the White House.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to the Jesus Calling Podcast. This week, we'll hear from Michael Leach, who went from the high pressure, competitive world of the NFL to navigating the intense landscape of national politics, ultimately becoming the first ever Chief Diversity officer in the White House. Leech reveals the defining moments from simple childhood boundaries on the South Side of Chicago to faith led decisions that cost him his seemingly secure career that prepared him for roles he never planned. Later in the episode, we'll hear from entrepreneur and business leader David Meltzer. David opens up about growing up with intense financial insecurity, reaching extraordinary success, amassing over one hundred million dollars by the age of thirty, and the catastrophic moment he lost absolutely everything. Let's begin with Michael's story.

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Speaker 3: My name is Michael Leech, a proud father of twin daughters who are three years old Pray for me, a husband to my incredible wife of nearly fourteen years, and the founder and CEO of Bridge Trust Partners, which is a purpose driven advisory firm where we help leaders organization's clarify vision, built trust, and fund what matters. I'm originally from the South Side of Chicago, and growing up I had big dreams. For a while, I had imagined myself as an actor or maybe a professional athlete, and you know, I love sports deeply, but early on I realized that my athletic ability had its limits, but the business of sports didn't, and so my dream then centered on becoming the NFL commissioner or an NFL team president one.

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Speaker 1: Day, and that realization really changed everything for me.

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Speaker 4: You know.

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Speaker 1: I combined my love for.

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Speaker 3: Sports and business and pursued sports management in college, which ultimately opened doors that I could have never imagined. And I had two loving parents who were very much, deeply rooted in faith and just demonstrated what it meant for me and my two brothers. I was the middle child on what it looked like to walk by faith and not by sight, as they always said, and they kept us involved in sports, you know. And I think what I loved most about sports wasn't just the competition. It was the way it brought people together, right, whether for four quarters or whatever the game was, People from different neighborhoods, backgrounds, beliefs could share common identity around the team. A vivid early memory of fear, I would say for me, comes when I was between five or seven years old riding my bike on the South side of Chicago. My parents had very clear boundaries, as many parents do. I could ride my bike on the sidewalk only, but only to the second to last house on the block, never to the corner, and so I would ride. I would stop, turn the bike around and go back the other way over and over again, and at the time, you know, it felt restrictive, but looking back, they learned something deeper that gang activity potential other activity happening down there. I had to trust my parents' judgment and trusting that they could see farther than I could. And I think that same sense of trust was shaped inside our home, especially on New Year's Eve, while other families are celebrating, nights looked different. We would have to turn all the lights off, never forget, get down on our knees and pray together as a family because in our neighborhood people would often shoot their firearms into the air at midnight, and if the house was lit, it could become a target.

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Speaker 1: And so instead of fireworks, we prayed.

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Speaker 3: And I remember, as a young child, to somebody's whispering, simple prayers to God, asking them to bless our family with a new house one day, a big backyard, and maybe even a swimming pool. And I remember praying something I didn't fully understand yet, but that God would give me a life and a job.

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Speaker 1: That would help me change the world in my environment.

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Speaker 3: And so I didn't realize it at the time, but those moments were teaching me how to trust under authority. And I think even through as we're talking out through Jesus Calling, we used to read those daily devotionals together after dinner with to me my two brothers. I had to give a shout out to my mom, Maria Leech, who gifted me my first copy in college, and I carried it with me through every season, rereading it year after years.

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Speaker 1: My life changed.

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Speaker 3: Even while we're working with the Chicago Bears, I would read Jesus Calling Me for anything else. Even before the head coach's calendar I was reading that book. Faith wasn't abstract, it was really practiced, and I think that early trust helped me to later trust my heavenly Father, not just my earthly father. And that's kind of why I came to believe that God does set boundaries not to limit us, but.

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Speaker 1: To protect us and prepare us. And I think, just like my parents, he could see farther than I could.

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Speaker 3: And I think that was really the formative years that got me sort of working in my prayer life, even though I didn't fully know how to articulate it. Then during my time with Chicago Bears, especially as assistant to the head coach. I represented the head coach and meetings, managed logistics, worked the sidelines, and really was that bridge between all players, executives, media, fans and communities in the head coach. And one lesson that stayed with me in that space because I was amazed I got that role when I just turned twenty five for was this lesson. And it was this that everyone communicates, but few connect and when you're interacting with hundreds of people in high pressure environments, communication alone isn't enough.

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Speaker 1: Like connection was what for me built trust.

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Speaker 3: And I think trust is what allowed teams, organizations, even families or people to go farther. And I think that lesson shape not just my career in the NFL, but but everything I lead today. Sports teaches you collaboration, consistency, humility, and service. You know, and you don't get to skip steps in the NFL. You always have to work your way up from the bottom. And I would say one of the leadership principles I still live by is this, you know, one of the best ways to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Right, That's where my commitment to servant leadership was formed. I left the NFL only because I believe God called me to do so, and I trusted that if he called me to unfamiliar.

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Speaker 1: Territory that he will sustain me there also, and he did.

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Speaker 3: And I think that obedience is what ultimately led me to the White House, you know, in a role that was specifically created for me by the President of the United States. Stepping into the White House as the first ever Chief Diversity Officer meant walking into a role no blueprint, immense complexity, national visibility, and a host of other things. And the day to day work it really centered on organizational culture because people don't care how much.

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Speaker 1: You know until they know how much you care.

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Speaker 3: And so learning and development, staff policy, stakeholder engagement.

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Speaker 1: And I often distilled my role into three pillars.

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Speaker 3: Learning and development, connection and community because I think we should never stop learning, because life never stops teaching.

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Speaker 1: And yes, there were fears, of course, but it was my faith that anchored me. You know. I viewed the role through stewardship, right, not ideology.

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Speaker 3: If God called me to steward it, my responsibility was to steward it well. And that season taught me the power of surrender. I think it's through our surrendering that God does his establishing, whether it's in our career, our finances, our marriage, or you know, our sense of control. Fast forward to my work today, whether building culture, falsehood, inclusion, or leading the firm alongside my wife now, the same principle still driving. The season that carried the most uncertainty that required daily grounding was when I was living in Philadelphia, That's where presidential campaign headquarters were located, and I was leading it as chief people officer, and it was just incredibly taxing, working eighteen hour days.

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Speaker 1: You're on call twenty four to seven.

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Speaker 3: Everything is a priority and urgent and felt like a fire that needed to be put out, and you never knew how big the fire would be and how long it would burn for. And so each morning, whether it be on my walks to the office, train rides to the office, or whatever may be, I began with prayer and for this Jesus Calling or Jesus Listens book that I carried with me since twenty eleven, or something in the Bible app a plan that I was on.

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Speaker 1: I would do that and then listen to praise and worship.

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Speaker 3: Music, and I would do that, whether be elevation worship or torn well as you name it, just the kind of center and make sure I wasn't confusing my resources with who the source was, because I believe that everything you consume will eventually come out of you, for better or for worse.

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Speaker 1: What you listen to, what you eat, what you view, what you watch.

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Speaker 3: And I learned that, you know, when I did that, when I just surrendered the day at the top of the day, that it.

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Speaker 1: Didn't matter what came at me during the day.

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Speaker 3: It didn't matter whose hand it started from, Like even if it started by the hand of my enemy, it had to pass through the hand of my God before it got to me. And I think that helped me sort of have this deep belief that again God is able to intervene and dispatch angels to work on your behalf when you don't know you need someone speaking for you in the next room or in that organization or on that email threat. And so for me, that really gave me a sense of peace and understanding that even though things are going to come up, He's always going to stay up and above what's coming your way. I would say that to everyone listening, I really believe someone is like on the brink of something significant under the sound of my voice. And God doesn't waste moments like this, even though it feels serendipitous. And I'm just humbled and grateful to be a vessel and offer what God first gave to me so others can live with greater faith. And I would say the reason it's so important is that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. And when you have something like this to start, you'd be surprised at how your first impressions and what you lead with, and how you respond with and what you think with the first thoughts that come in your mind as you engage with other people.

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Speaker 1: It's just more centered and more grounded.

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Speaker 2: To learn more about Michael Leech, visit my Faith Overfear dot com and be sure to check out his new book, Faith Over Fear Harnessing Resilience in the Face of Uncertainty at your favorite retailer. Stay tuned to David Meltzer's story after brief message, celebrate the mothers, grandmothers, and mom figures in your life with the Jesus. Listens for Mom's Prayer devotional by beloved author Sarah Young. Inside you'll find fifty prayers that speak to the power of love, the gift of strength, trusting God during challenging times, have encourage and so much more. Accompanying the prayers are beautiful illustrations, scripture, verses, and quotes that will uplift women of every age and help them talk and walk more closely with Jesus, making it the perfect gift for Mother's days, birthdays and more. Find it today at your favorite retailer. Our next guest is David Meltzer, an entrepreneur and business leader. David shares how growing up with financial insecurity shaped his understanding of success, and even after he reached the highest levels of achievement, he still was left to search for something more.

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Speaker 5: My name is David Meltzer.

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Speaker 6: I am a speaker, author, entrepreneur, investor on a mission to empower over a billion people to be happy by teaching them the three things I'm good at, making a lot of money for the sake of helping a lot of people, and having a lot of fun. I grew up with a single mom and six kids in Akron, Ohio, with one thing in my mind to resolve the only problem or struggle in my life, which was financial insecurity. My mom worked two jobs, one as a second grade teacher, packed our dinners in a paper bag so we could eat, and then drove around Akron, Ohio, filling turnstiles at convenience stores with greeting cards, just so we could have enough money to survive. The only time I wasn't happy was when there was a financial struggle or difficulty. So from a very young age, all I wanted to do was to make a lot of money for the sake of helping my mom, buying her a house and a car, creating financial security for my family, and of course continuing the fun and the love that I grew up with my family. Unfortunately, I was misguided when I reached my early days of success in my twenties because I attributed and identified all my success to how much money I made. I was worth over one hundred million dollars by the time I was thirty, and if my bank account went up even as little as one hundred dollars, I was happy. But went down as little as one hundred dollars, I was disappointed or sad.

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Speaker 5: So although success.

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Speaker 6: Came early, I gave it a meaning that was trying to fill a god size hole with everything, but God and money doesn't fill the God size hole that we are given. And I bought into other people telling me that that was true success. In two thousand and eight, I lost over one hundred million dollars. I went bankrupt. But even worse, I had to tell my mom that I went bankrupt, but even tell her that.

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Speaker 5: I'd lost her home, that she had to move.

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Speaker 6: And when I walked up to her house in tears, barely able to communicate to her, she looked at me and asked me, are you okay?

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Speaker 5: And I barely could say yes. He said, is Julie your wife okay? I said yes? Are the kids okay? Yes?

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Speaker 6: What's the matter? How can I help? I said, Mom, I lost everything. I lost over one hundred million dollars. I went bankrupt, and unfortunately I didn't take my name off of your title.

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Speaker 5: I lost your home. You're going to have to move.

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Speaker 6: My mom looked at me and said, oh, do you need some money?

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Speaker 5: I said, Mom, I don't think you heard me. I lost everything. You need to move. She said, oh, no, no, I heard you. Are you okay?

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Speaker 6: What can I do for you? In tears, I blurted, Mom, why am I being punished? I've tried so hard to provide.

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Speaker 5: Everyone around me everything that they desired or needed.

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Speaker 1: She said, punished.

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Speaker 6: I said, yeah, why is God punishing me? She said, Oh, God doesn't punish. You're being protected and promoted, loved and perfected by God. You just don't realize it. I said, well, Mom, I don't believe in God. She smirked at me. I'll never forget her face. She just smirked at me and said, oh, son, you believe in God, You just believe in the wrong God. And it hit me, It still hits me today that I was trying to fill a god's size hole with everything but God. Time, I took stock and who I was and what I wanted to become and realized not only did I have to seek the wisdom, but I had to have the faith that I was regardless of the evidence. There was no evidence that day i'd ever get back. There was evidence was contrary that I would ever get back to where I was with financial success. But it was faith that told me I was being protected, promoted, loved, and perfected by this struggle, this setback that created a set up here nineteen years later, more than I ever dreamed of. Two years before, I lost everything. I was a liar, a cheater, manipulator, overseller and back end seller. I hated my mom, I hated my dad, I hated my best friend. And now my wife was leaving me, and I told her I hated her. It was that day when I got caught lying about going to the Grammy Awards with the rapper, when I was using drugs and alcohol to numb the pain of my own integrity and lack thereof that I was told by my wife that I needed to save myself, that I needed to take stock and who I was and find my faith once again to get to where I wanted to be here better, or I was going to die.

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Speaker 5: Initially my response was I hate you.

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Speaker 6: But the next day, when I looked at a jacket my father had given me for my thirtieth birthday that had no pockets, the time that I told him again I hated him, and he told me I was just like him, that money would not buy me love. Money was not my God, and so he gave me a jacket with no pockets to hang in my closet to remind me.

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Speaker 5: After six years, while I was.

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Speaker 6: Running the most notable sports agency in the world, while I was worth more than one hundred million dollars, while I had access to what even billionaires couldn't afford to.

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Speaker 5: Have access to. I looked over at that jacket and realized.

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Speaker 6: I don't hate my mom, my dad, my best friend, and I certainly didn't hate my wife.

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Speaker 5: I hated myself. And so I sat there that day.

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Speaker 6: And found my calling, taking stock and the values that my mom had taught me that are faith based values of gratitude, forgiveness, accountability, and inspiration.

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Speaker 5: I was going to live my life buy these values.

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Speaker 6: And practice them every day in a faithful, devotional way, understanding that although I was very disciplined, there's a difference between discipline and devotion, and I was going to live with discipline as a subset of my devotion, my divine direction, my calling each and every day, and live by the foundational values that I had learned and lost now to execute and to learn again. I think it's a non negotiable to connect with God daily and as I receive my calling to empower others to be happy, to change the world by empowering a thousand people, to make a lot of money, help a lot of people, and have a lot of fun. That calling came to me, and it is only faith that has fulfilled that promise and understanding that I need to give time and space to God every day. It's a non negotiable practice. And it's not just prayer. It's my non negotiable practice of having minimum amount of sleep, a minimum amount of time on my health, a minimum of time with my family and my.

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Speaker 5: Faith every day seven days away.

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Speaker 6: Two minutes a day of faith is worth two hours on a Saturday.

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Speaker 5: If I could.

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Speaker 6: Encourage anyone to make God and to make their faith non negotiable, whether it's meditation or prayer or just living in the divine direction of taking care of your sleep, your health, your family, and your faith every day, knowing that two minutes a day is worth two hours on a Saturday. I'm reading from Jesus Listens, January two. Beloved Jesus, I want to be all yours. I invite you to wean me from other dependencies. You have shown me that my security rests in you alone, not in other people, not in my circumstances. Trying to depend only on you sometimes feels like walking on a tight rope. Yet I don't need to be afraid of falling because your ever lasting arms are a safety net underneath me. Please help me to keep looking ahead to you, Jesus, I know that you're always before me, becketing me on one step at a time. As I spend quiet time with you, I can almost hear you whispering follow me, loved Lord. I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers, neither height nor death nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate me from your loving presence in your precious name.

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Speaker 5: Amen.

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Speaker 2: To learn more about David Meltzer, visit dmeltzer dot com. If you'd like to hear more stories about the true meaning of success, check out our interview with Cindy Thompson. Next time on the Jesus Calling podcast, we'll hear from John Acuff, a best selling author, speaker, and former corporate marketer who turned a satirical blog into a platform that now helps millions rethink their mindset and pursue meaningful goals.

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Speaker 4: One of the soundtracks I use in my own life is that fear comes free, hope takes work. You'll never have to look for fear, it will find you. You'll never have to look for stress or anxiety. It will find you often in the grocery store, not even connected to anything you're doing. But hope takes effort, Positivity takes effort.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to the Jesus Calling Stories of Faith podcast on the Life Audio Network. Every week, we'll bring you stories from people who share their journeys of faith and how prayer and a relationship with God transformed their lives. Be sure to follow us on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and leave us a review so others can be inspired weekly by these stories of faith. Finally, you can find encouragement resources and more on the Jesus Calling website at Jesus Calling dot com