WEBVTT - Mornings with Thom Brennaman 1/14/2026 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:00.800 Jordana. 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:02.480 I was starting to ask you, thank you for sticking 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:05.960 with us here for a minute. How would you describe 0:00:06.480 --> 0:00:10.120 to the average person walking around the United States right now, 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:13.120 what is the very latest and what are we witnessing 0:00:13.280 --> 0:00:14.040 in Iran. 0:00:16.160 --> 0:00:20.360 Well, we are witnessing a major wave of protests sweeping 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:21.799 across Iran. 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:24.680 They began in Tehran. 0:00:24.320 --> 0:00:29.160 Two weeks ago because the currency nosedived there. But they're 0:00:29.200 --> 0:00:35.760 coming on the backdrop of many, many complaints by Iranians. 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:36.040 Right. 0:00:36.200 --> 0:00:41.600 First of all, there's water shortages, there's rolling blackouts again, 0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:46.159 the economy is terrible, and Iran finds itself in a 0:00:46.200 --> 0:00:50.120 weakened position geopolitically as well, after. 0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:52.800 The war with Iran, the war with Israel. 0:00:52.800 --> 0:00:57.440 Right the twelve day war that really took out, we 0:00:57.520 --> 0:01:02.560 could say Delta a serious blow to Iran's nuclear program, 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:08.280 its ballistic missile program. It also thought its proxies, the 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:12.839 terror groups, if you will, that instead of pouring millions 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:18.520 of dollars into their people and their country, the Iranian 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:21.920 regime pours it into Hamas and has Blah, both of 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:26.200 those taking a huge hit. So the people on the 0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:31.800 streets of Iran are coming with grievances for many years, 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:34.000 but in the last two years it kind of has 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:37.280 reached a tipping point and we are seeing tens of 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:42.240 thousands of Iranians again across the country. But to get 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:46.319 some perspective, we can look back at nineteen seventy nine 0:01:47.080 --> 0:01:49.800 and we can say that we're not in a moment 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:53.680 yet where it looks like the regime is about to crumble. 0:01:54.000 --> 0:02:00.160 Right back in seventy nine, it took a year of protests. 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:06.120 Down the Shaw and in those months, right in the end, millions. 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:08.320 Of Iranians were in the street. Right now, we're not 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:11.760 seeing those numbers. Unfortunately. What we are seeing is the 0:02:11.800 --> 0:02:15.679 regime cracking down brutally as it has in it over 0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:20.400 the last decade, killing, wantonly shooting and killing protesters in 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:20.880 the street. 0:02:21.280 --> 0:02:23.359 As you said, the number is now over. 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:27.320 Two thousand by a US group tracking them here in Israel. 0:02:27.440 --> 0:02:31.520 The intelligence services here say the number is higher, somewhere 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:37.280 between four and five thousand, not twenty five hundred. And 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:41.000 the big question is what President Trump is going to do. 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:45.679 He's offered to provide help, He's encouraged protesters to keep 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:49.280 going on the streets, even to quote unquote takeover institutions 0:02:49.320 --> 0:02:51.840 which seems to hint at regime change. 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:55.520 But what is the president going to do? It is 0:02:55.560 --> 0:02:56.600 a fateful moment. 0:02:56.680 --> 0:03:00.240 There has never been a moment like this, or an 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:04.119 American president is willing to intervene and has threatened to intervene, 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:09.000 even militarily, to stop the protests, to stop the regime's 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:14.799 brutality and support these protesters who want a democratic, secular 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:19.880 government right. They don't want a government run by the Ayatola. 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:23.520 You know, go ahead, please go ahead, Jordana. 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:26.480 I was going to say that, you know, but the 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:32.400 president is facing It's a really complicated picture, and I think, 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:36.440 you know, God bless President Trump and his advisors. They 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:39.560 have a really difficult decision to make. 0:03:40.000 --> 0:03:43.160 Are they going to do something to try to actually. 0:03:42.800 --> 0:03:46.120 Topple the regime, which runs the risk of a regional war, 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:50.840 or are they going to do something a little scaled 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:54.440 back and hit symbolic sites, but that would keep the 0:03:54.480 --> 0:03:58.800 regime in power. Would that be selling short the protesters 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:03.280 for America. Perhaps President Trump is still interested in getting 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:09.000 that nuclear deal, you know, and neutering Iran's nuclear ambitions, 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:11.000 and that would be a plus even if the regime 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:15.000 doesn't change, you know, And what's the calculation. Will the 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:19.039 Iranian strike US Bass, will they hit Israel? It's a 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:22.960 lot and I know obviously the Israelis are watching closely. 0:04:23.360 --> 0:04:27.200 Well, you know, I'm curious, Jordana, and I'm trying to 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:30.479 dumb this down a little bit, and thank you for 0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:33.000 doing so. For a lot of us who are here, 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:35.880 we follow what's going on in Iran. We knew about 0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:41.719 the nuclear sites that President Trump blew up not too 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:45.800 long ago. But you know, depending on who you believe, 0:04:45.880 --> 0:04:49.800 you know. Sociologist Charles Kurzman says he thinks that there 0:04:49.800 --> 0:04:52.440 were two to three thousand killed during the Revolution of 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:56.040 nineteen seventy nine. Historian Stephen Tucker has said roughly that's 0:04:56.120 --> 0:04:58.440 about right. A lot of people think there was a 0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:02.400 lot of propaganda with the current Islamic government saying as 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:05.559 many as sixty thousand were killed. But the bottom line 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:08.360 is is let's say you split, you know, say it's 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:11.240 seven or eight thousand, like you said, The bottom line 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:15.120 is is we are seeing mass killings. Are these just 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:17.960 from what you're able to gather from people on the ground. 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:22.040 Are these people that are protesting that are getting killed? 0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:24.920 Are they people who are violently protesting. Are they people 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:27.560 who are just anti regime and they're pulling them off 0:05:27.600 --> 0:05:30.359 the streets and executing them. And now they're talking about 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:34.080 public hangings there, that's right. 0:05:34.120 --> 0:05:36.800 Iran is set to hang a twenty six year old 0:05:37.040 --> 0:05:40.719 that they detained on Thursday night. They put him in 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:45.919 a kangaroo court, convicted him of offenses against God. It 0:05:46.000 --> 0:05:50.240 sounds almost comical if it weren't so tragically true. And 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:54.359 he did not have any lawyer, he could not appeal 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:57.479 his decision, and he is set to be hung today 0:05:57.520 --> 0:06:02.040 publicly in Iran for protests thing against the regime. The 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:05.599 people that are being killed are coming from all kinds 0:06:05.680 --> 0:06:12.599 of different socioeconomic classes in Iran. It's students, it's the 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:16.440 middle class, it's the older Iranians that have lost faith 0:06:16.600 --> 0:06:23.000 in the leadership of the Ayatola. It's intellectuals, it's artists 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:27.560 who are often involved in this. And you know, and 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:31.120 it's women. It's women who are among the most oppressed 0:06:31.120 --> 0:06:31.640 in Iran. 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:32.200 Right. 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:37.080 There are all kinds of Sharia laws against you know, 0:06:37.160 --> 0:06:40.600 what they can uh, Iranian laws against what they can 0:06:40.640 --> 0:06:43.880 wear and not wear and covering their hair, not covering 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:44.400 their hair. 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:48.600 Uh So this is uh, you know these are this 0:06:48.680 --> 0:06:50.160 is a you know. 0:06:50.400 --> 0:06:54.240 We should really give credit to the Iranians who are 0:06:54.240 --> 0:06:57.960 going into the streets and risking their lives, hoping, praying 0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:03.320 that they're demonstrations can really bring a change to this regime. 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:07.560 And I think it's only possible, really, uh, if there 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:10.920 is some kind of help from the outside. Uh. And 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:14.440 over time, the regime is not according to the Israelis, 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:18.760 the regime is not in a moment today where it 0:07:18.760 --> 0:07:21.960 can be bombed out of existence, right. It needs to 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:26.920 be weakened over time until it falls over, much like 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:33.080 you know, much like the Syrian dictator, right who unfortunately 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:34.520 in that case it took years. 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:37.160 But I think Iran is a different. 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:42.960 Case, and getting rid of the Iranian regime would change 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:47.720 the entire region in the Middle East for the better, right, 0:07:48.760 --> 0:07:49.160 I mean. 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:54.920 The world, not just the entire world, right right. 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:58.840 Right, So this is you know, this is a regime 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:02.400 that you know, it's not it's not yet on its 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:07.560 last legs. But this is another important moment that could 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:13.640 be wisely used to continue to weaken the regime. And 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:17.200 I think the president has obviously a lot of options 0:08:17.720 --> 0:08:21.440 on the table, right he can, he can impose more 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:25.720 economic sanctions. He can think about targeted assassinations that would 0:08:25.720 --> 0:08:31.280 weaken the regime. He can think about cyber attacks, right right, 0:08:31.960 --> 0:08:36.240 he can, and he can think about limited military strikes 0:08:37.920 --> 0:08:41.440 or if if you know, if the assessment is that, 0:08:42.080 --> 0:08:45.880 you know, the regime would really fall in a couple 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:48.760 of weeks, then you know, if that's the assessment, which 0:08:48.760 --> 0:08:51.880 it's not, that's not the assessment here in Israel, maybe 0:08:51.920 --> 0:08:55.199 he would carry out, you know, much wider scale attacks. 0:08:56.559 --> 0:08:58.040 You know, there's still you know. 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:02.120 Iron still poses a threat to the United States, going 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:04.680 to Europe and to the region. 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:06.200 Yep, yep, Jordana. 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:08.800 I can't thank you enough for your time and your expertise, 0:09:08.960 --> 0:09:13.200 and godspeed over there in Jerusalem. We certainly appreciate you 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:16.840 taking the time to join us here today in Cincinnati. Okay, 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:21.360 we'll talk sin Oka A twenty six seven hundred wlw ah. Yes, 0:09:21.400 --> 0:09:24.400 don't stop believing. We call it plain glass, stained glass. 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:27.320 We do it every Wednesday at this time. With the 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:30.720 head pastor of the Horizon Community Church there in Newtown, 0:09:30.800 --> 0:09:33.959 right along the banks of the Little Miami River, he 0:09:34.000 --> 0:09:37.280 came up with the name of this four week series. 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:40.839 We talked a lot about last week New Year's resolutions. 0:09:40.920 --> 0:09:43.480 A lot of us make them, and often times it's 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:47.720 about our health, especially our physical health, getting in better shape. 0:09:48.080 --> 0:09:50.559 But the series is called The. 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:54.280 Me I Want to be, The Me I want to be, 0:09:54.840 --> 0:09:58.800 So Chad to recap in case people missed part one, 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:03.760 I'm not too busy. It's just not a priority. Recap 0:10:03.880 --> 0:10:06.719 that forrest before we move on to topic number two, 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:08.120 if you would please. 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:12.800 Sure, Yeah, thanks, shotting me again. When you say to yourself, 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:15.960 I'm too busy, it kind of gives you the illusion 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:17.720 that you're a victim of your own life. If you 0:10:17.800 --> 0:10:21.000 say I'm not too busy, it's just not a priority. 0:10:21.360 --> 0:10:24.000 It's both convicting. Oh my goodness, I'm not doing this 0:10:24.040 --> 0:10:26.520 because I'm not prioritizing it. On the other hand, it's 0:10:26.600 --> 0:10:29.040 very freeing. That's right, I'm not doing that right now 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:32.160 because it's a lesser priority. I reference the idea is 0:10:32.160 --> 0:10:35.280 a guy named Nehemiah who helped rebuild the walls in 0:10:35.280 --> 0:10:37.439 the city in Jerusalem, and when he did that, there's 0:10:37.440 --> 0:10:39.440 a whole bunch ofield of trying to distract him. He 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:41.760 sends a message to them and says, hey, guys, I'm 0:10:41.800 --> 0:10:44.680 doing a great work. I don't have time, don't have 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:46.800 time to come down and talk to you. In other words, 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:49.719 you're not a priority. It's okay that there's certain distractions 0:10:49.760 --> 0:10:52.000 in life, certain things in certain seasons of life you 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:54.640 can't do. But when you say it's not that I'm 0:10:54.679 --> 0:10:57.679 too busy, it's not a priority, it really helps crystallize 0:10:57.720 --> 0:10:59.640 you and keep you from making the excuses we all 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:02.120 make to okay. The second thing we talked about last 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:04.000 week is just learning how to just love your life 0:11:04.000 --> 0:11:06.680 the way it is and not wait for some arbitrary 0:11:07.320 --> 0:11:10.480 future deadline to begin trying to enjoy what you have 0:11:10.559 --> 0:11:11.120 around you. 0:11:11.200 --> 0:11:14.400 Absolutely, and that could come in just a roof over 0:11:14.440 --> 0:11:16.240 your head, It could come in your spouse, it could 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:18.760 come in your children. The things are doing well as 0:11:18.760 --> 0:11:22.600 opposed to focusing on what they're not doing well. Today 0:11:22.720 --> 0:11:26.880 we're going to talk about make a to be list 0:11:27.520 --> 0:11:30.400 rather than a to do list. 0:11:31.920 --> 0:11:34.439 Yes, and I think this is something I think the 0:11:34.480 --> 0:11:37.040 classic question to be or not to be? That is 0:11:37.080 --> 0:11:39.320 the question. I think that really is. The question is 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:42.280 have you really thought about yourself? Who am I becoming? 0:11:42.920 --> 0:11:45.080 Am I to do list should flow out of my 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:48.200 to b lists? And I can look at good circumstances 0:11:48.240 --> 0:11:51.440 and bad circumstances and say, are these help shaping me 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:53.520 and who I want to be? When I was in 0:11:53.520 --> 0:11:55.319 my twenties, I've been married a couple of years, and 0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:57.800 I just had we had my first child on the way, 0:11:58.480 --> 0:12:01.080 and I really was challenged to do this. I sat 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:03.160 down and began to think about, who are the people 0:12:03.200 --> 0:12:06.800 in my life that I want to be like? And 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:09.240 I don't know who you'd come to mind, but like 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:11.520 one of mine was my grandfather, And I thought about 0:12:11.559 --> 0:12:13.880 certain character qualities he had and I wrote those down. 0:12:13.920 --> 0:12:16.120 And I thought many things about my father that were 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:19.439 really aspiring to me. Ways he parented, the way he connected, 0:12:19.480 --> 0:12:22.319 the way he controlled his temper. And I just took 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:24.320 a page and I began to write down all the 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:28.520 character qualities I wanted to be And I wanted god, 0:12:28.679 --> 0:12:32.280 I wanted a life I wanted to intentionally partner with 0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:35.640 to become. And so I wrote all those pieces down. 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:38.680 And so I'd encourage anyone who wants to create a 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:41.959 tab list, find a hero. Of course, we're all flawed. 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:44.440 I'm plenty of flawed. All the people I mentioned are flawed, 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:47.720 But find those character qualities and all the different heroes 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:50.120 in your life begin to say, what would it look 0:12:50.280 --> 0:12:54.760 like if I could become that version of myself. It's 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:57.840 almost like finding a hero or finding a model for yourself. 0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:00.400 I had a buddy of mine became one of my 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:04.320 heroes in my industry, and he said he is in 0:13:04.400 --> 0:13:07.120 his sixties and the time he said Chad his last 0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:09.600 name Sutter. He said, the world has yet to see 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:12.920 a Sutter who's actually happy. In the seventies, he talked 0:13:12.920 --> 0:13:17.240 about all his relatives get grumpier and grumpier, the chronologically aged, 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:19.040 and he really wanted to be a person filled with 0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:22.360 joy and other centeredness. And if you remember the old 0:13:22.440 --> 0:13:24.719 commercial about the tombstone pizza, you know, what do you 0:13:24.800 --> 0:13:28.000 want on your old tombstone? It's more than though on 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:31.760 my tombstone. I accomplish these things. When you're sitting at 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:34.679 your deathbed and people are around you who know you, 0:13:35.040 --> 0:13:36.959 what do you want them to see about who you 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:40.079 became over your seventy eighty ninety years. I became a 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:42.880 person of love. I became a person of peace. I 0:13:42.960 --> 0:13:47.079 became a person of real character. I was kind, I 0:13:47.280 --> 0:13:48.839 was and that's what you hear at funerals. I do 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:52.080 lots of funerals. You get to hear about people's character 0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:55.080 qualities far more than you actually hear about the things 0:13:55.080 --> 0:13:58.199 they accomplished and what really lasts that people really remember 0:13:58.240 --> 0:13:58.599 about you. 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:00.400 So, you know what's interesting say that. 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:04.040 It's really interesting you say that because about funerals, and 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:07.439 you know you do so many of them. And I've 0:14:07.480 --> 0:14:10.800 been to a couple where you've handled at Horizon Church 0:14:11.040 --> 0:14:13.840 and it really is amazing. I mean, you don't sit 0:14:14.000 --> 0:14:15.920 up there and when your kids get up there, or 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:19.000 your grandparents or your grandkids get up there, they're not 0:14:19.160 --> 0:14:21.640 talking about the building that somebody named after you. Not 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:24.400 that there's anything wrong with having a building named after 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:26.720 you if you were committed to something, or you gave 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:31.280 money to something a university, of high school, whatever, animal 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:33.520 shelter or anything. Not wrong with any of those things. 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:38.880 But it really is what people want to hear. It 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:41.000 is finding a hero. 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:43.720 When you're sitting at a funeral of boy. 0:14:43.840 --> 0:14:47.280 My granddad used to do this, and I'm thinking to myself, Gosh, 0:14:47.360 --> 0:14:49.960 when I a granddad, I want them saying the same 0:14:50.040 --> 0:14:50.560 thing about me. 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:51.280 Yeah. 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:53.720 Yeah, And even if you did get a building named 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:56.080 after it's because you were generous, it's because you were 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:59.360 other centered, it's because you're trying to impact other people. Later, 0:14:59.760 --> 0:15:03.520 it's still that to do or that accomplishment still trace 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:05.880 back it to it to be there's a on the 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:07.840 stained glass side. There's a verse in the Bible say 0:15:07.960 --> 0:15:09.600 this is the will of God. It was like, what's 0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:11.640 God's will for my life? This is God's will for 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:14.800 your life, that you would be conformed into the image 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:17.480 of his son. So, whether you're a Jesus person or not, 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:20.760 if you've ever read the biography of Jesus, Matthew Mark Luther, John, 0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:25.280 the guy is just a stunny example of a life 0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:27.920 best lived. I mean, I think he's got himself. But 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:31.680 even if you don't, he gets angry at the right times, 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:34.600 He gets angry at the right people. He is so 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:39.480 in control under duress, he has peace. So find a hero. 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:41.160 And it's almost like if you've ever been on like 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:43.520 a carnival cruise line, there's always that day that they 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:45.560 bring out the ice sculptor and they've got this big 0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:48.160 block of eyes that start chiseling away at it. To 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:51.120 be conformed in the image of something is to say, hey, 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:53.800 life's chiseling away with me right now, or I feel 0:15:53.840 --> 0:15:56.160 like God's chiseling await with me right now. But it's 0:15:56.200 --> 0:15:59.400 not meaningless pain. I'm being chiseled into something. And you're 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:01.720 watching that sculpture and you're like, what in the world 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:04.000 is going to become? Chop chop chop, chop, chop chop chop. 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:06.520 After about thirty minutes, you're like, oh, my goodness, it's 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:09.080 a beautiful swan, it's an angel, it's whatever it is. 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:12.840 You realize all that pain, all that challenge was purposeful 0:16:13.760 --> 0:16:15.440 in the same way you look at your own life 0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:17.680 and say, God, I'm going through some times I don't 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:21.120 like right now. There's some hard times to some chiseling times, 0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:24.360 but I want to partner with life, partner with you 0:16:25.000 --> 0:16:28.480 so that I'll be chiseled into somebody who is other centered. 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:31.640 And what I did to make mine more memorable for 0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:34.400 me is I took my one of my twenties. I 0:16:34.440 --> 0:16:36.200 did my last name. That got too long, so I 0:16:36.240 --> 0:16:39.320 did my first name. Take those character qualities and try 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:42.160 and shorten to something you can remember, like my name Chad. 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:44.680 I kind of took that and said, I want that 0:16:44.840 --> 0:16:48.480 to represent number one connections. The main thing I'm trying 0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:50.640 to be about is connecting to my wife, connecting my kids, 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:53.280 connecting with people who are important to me, and people 0:16:53.320 --> 0:16:56.320 I work with and work for. Age humble, humility is 0:16:56.360 --> 0:16:59.920 a huge critical juncture. I just see pride destroys mayor 0:17:00.200 --> 0:17:02.440 is it destroys people's ability to learn and grow? So 0:17:02.680 --> 0:17:05.639 humility was one of my character pualities. A for chat 0:17:05.840 --> 0:17:07.920 is authentic. I want to be the real mean matter 0:17:07.960 --> 0:17:10.880 whether you see me on stage or see me off stage. 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:13.520 And my kids get to know that I admit when 0:17:13.560 --> 0:17:15.080 I do stuff wrong. So I want to be authentic 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:17.879 and indeed dependable. I just see so many people who 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:20.840 say things that don't follow through. So those were like 0:17:21.040 --> 0:17:24.040 my four character qualities reduced into four words. And then 0:17:24.080 --> 0:17:25.960 I had a longer one for hope and which includes 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:30.240 things like initiate for other centeredness for oh, the needs 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:32.040 of others, and I begin to write down the needs 0:17:32.080 --> 0:17:34.600 of my spouse specifically as right to target. It just 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:38.719 became a really helpful way to check in and verify 0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:40.960 this is what I'm trying to accomplish, and this is 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:42.639 what I'm hoping the life and God's going to do 0:17:42.720 --> 0:17:45.040 in my life and It really has become a memorable 0:17:45.080 --> 0:17:48.120 way for me to partner with the challenges and then 0:17:48.480 --> 0:17:50.119 assign my to do list from. 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:50.680 That to be list. 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:56.120 When you make up this list a to B list 0:17:56.320 --> 0:18:00.320 rather than a to do list oftentimes. And I was 0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:03.320 reading about this just recently in the last day or two, 0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:06.760 and the quote was from this big, huge hedge fun 0:18:06.880 --> 0:18:10.080 guy who opened all these charter schools in New York City, 0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:13.080 eighty of them I think he opened. And he was asked, 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:15.320 you know the meaning of life? And he says, to 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:21.000 sacrifice for the betterment of others. Now, I mean, that's 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:23.280 a beautiful way of looking at life, right, to make 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:28.680 your personal sacrifices for the betterment of others. But that 0:18:28.880 --> 0:18:31.280 took action on his part, and he talked a lot 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:34.320 about that, and how yeah, it's one thing to write 0:18:34.359 --> 0:18:36.560 it down, it's another thing to go do it. Give 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:41.040 everybody out there, give me something that Okay, here's a word, 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:43.480 you know, you just used them off the letters in 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:47.399 your name. Give you an example of something where Okay, 0:18:47.880 --> 0:18:50.680 I'm gonna make this to be listed And now what's 0:18:50.720 --> 0:18:53.920 something I could go do to put that in practice? 0:18:53.960 --> 0:18:57.359 And I'm talking of maybe outside of okay, being nicer 0:18:57.760 --> 0:18:59.359 or more connected to my wife. 0:18:59.480 --> 0:19:03.560 Right, I'll give you one. Reject passivity. There's a tendency 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:06.359 in all of us, except for work maybe to reject 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:09.159 passivity and the things that really matter and to delay it. 0:19:09.600 --> 0:19:12.399 And so how can I be intentional in initiating the 0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:14.520 things I want to be true? So it's like two 0:19:14.600 --> 0:19:17.480 years went by and I have not initiated in accomplishing 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:21.080 my goal. I've not initiated in really taking seriously that 0:19:21.160 --> 0:19:23.240 I want to lose weight I want to really have 0:19:23.640 --> 0:19:26.560 I've accepted passivity. When it comes to I get home, 0:19:27.000 --> 0:19:30.000 I completely check my brand to the door and don't 0:19:30.040 --> 0:19:32.879 think that I need to engage with the people around me. 0:19:33.440 --> 0:19:35.960 So that would be one. I want to reject passivity. 0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:38.239 So what's the opposite? I want to initiate and then 0:19:38.280 --> 0:19:40.760 really right down, what does a person who initiates in 0:19:40.960 --> 0:19:42.200 your current life look like? 0:19:42.920 --> 0:19:43.680 What does it look like? 0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:46.600 You want to have a better connection with your mom 0:19:46.640 --> 0:19:48.560 and dad, for example, So I know, I like, for 0:19:48.720 --> 0:19:50.359 years my mom and dad and I had a very 0:19:50.400 --> 0:19:53.320 close relationship, but we just weren't in a family that 0:19:53.359 --> 0:19:55.600 says I love you very often. My grandpa never said it, 0:19:56.160 --> 0:19:58.280 so I decided in my thirties, I'm going to stop that. 0:19:58.440 --> 0:20:00.199 I know I love my mom and dad. I they 0:20:00.240 --> 0:20:02.680 love me, we just don't say it. It's kind of weird, really, 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:07.280 so I just decided, and it was strangely awkward at first. Sure, 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:09.639 it was thirty years ago where I decided I'm going 0:20:09.680 --> 0:20:11.800 to end the phone call by saying, Mom, I love you, 0:20:12.560 --> 0:20:16.520 And it was so weird that that so was even 0:20:16.520 --> 0:20:20.399 at the time was awkward because it changed then Mom 0:20:20.480 --> 0:20:22.720 starts saying and Dad starts saying. Now, I always knew it. 0:20:22.840 --> 0:20:25.840 It wasn't lacking, sure, but I had to take the initiative, 0:20:25.880 --> 0:20:28.040 and I thought, that's what I'm gonna do. We mentioned 0:20:28.080 --> 0:20:30.639 my brother. In the ten years we didn't talk Western 0:20:30.640 --> 0:20:33.080 in law. Just recently I re engaged with It'd be 0:20:33.160 --> 0:20:35.640 easy to say, you know, it's kind of better off. 0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:38.520 Let by gods be bygones. I can't control how they're 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:41.399 going to react, but I'm going to initiate. Another thing 0:20:41.440 --> 0:20:44.040 I'd say, is that date the women in your life. Yeah, 0:20:44.040 --> 0:20:46.000 when your mom's in town, if she's out town, they 0:20:46.080 --> 0:20:47.680 say Mom, while we go out to dinner, to go 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:50.159 she and I. Your mom will probably be amazed by that. 0:20:50.480 --> 0:20:52.680 If you got a daughter. I started dating my daughter 0:20:52.760 --> 0:20:55.040 when she was two, maybe even one. You know, we're 0:20:55.040 --> 0:20:56.680 gonna go on our little Chick fil A data and 0:20:57.000 --> 0:20:59.399 we go get chicken minies and Sunday morning, or we 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:01.840 go get nice can call him evening. But the women 0:21:01.880 --> 0:21:04.480 in your life initiates and we all do that when 0:21:04.520 --> 0:21:07.159 we're first dating. You know we're going to woo them 0:21:07.200 --> 0:21:09.280 all and then we kind of get into passivity. What 0:21:09.359 --> 0:21:11.480 does it look like to date your daughter, date your wife, 0:21:11.600 --> 0:21:13.920 date your mom? What does it look like to really 0:21:14.040 --> 0:21:16.000 be intentional? So that'd be one. Another one for me 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:18.359 is fun. I know it's not as high for other people, 0:21:18.440 --> 0:21:20.480