1 00:00:01,880 --> 00:00:05,519 Speaker 1: Hello, everybody, it's Bill Courtney with an army of normal folks. 2 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:07,680 Speaker 1: Welcome into the shop. 3 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:11,040 Speaker 2: How do you like that introut that tells me you're 4 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 2: getting delirious and start switching it up like that? 5 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:20,439 Speaker 3: Well, you never know how you doing? How's everything going? 6 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:21,320 Speaker 3: It's going? 7 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 2: Well, it's always weird because we're recording these like three 8 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,160 Speaker 2: or four at a time. So well, it's kind of 9 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 2: hard to like comment on the present moment where we're 10 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:31,280 Speaker 2: not living in the present three weeks out. 11 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 1: Why don't you come on over to the counter, put 12 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: your elbows on it. How's that's that work? That's that's 13 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 1: the uh. That's the nineteen forties radio version of Shopped 14 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 1: Off UH Today. Shop Talk number sixty eight is I 15 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:51,519 Speaker 1: don't know what is it about? What are we going 16 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 1: to call this? 17 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 2: I think I put a title in there. 18 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 3: The standard or how you do one thing? Right? Yeah, okay, 19 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 3: the standard or how you do one thing? 20 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 2: It's vastly interesting, number sixty eight, Bill. 21 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 3: That's what I said. Chap Talk number sixty eight. 22 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:12,440 Speaker 2: MLKA was shot and killed and RFK was shot and killed. 23 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:14,120 Speaker 3: That's right, nineteen sixty eight. 24 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: That's uh sobering, So chap Talk number sixty eight, The 25 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: Standard or how you do one Thing. Right after these 26 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: brief messages from our general sponsors. 27 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 3: All right, welcome back everybody. 28 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 1: I won't say hello and my deep voice because it 29 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: freaks Alex out. So we're going to talk about the 30 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,920 Speaker 1: Standard or how you do one thing. Andrew Peters and 31 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 1: his substack, which you can find at Andrew Peters dot 32 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: substack dot com. The Standard or how you do one Thing. 33 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: Rachel and I were both out of town for a 34 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:08,120 Speaker 1: couple of days this week for business, and one of 35 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 1: our kids made an easy decision sleep in skip training. 36 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: It wasn't just any training, though, it was the lacrosse Academy. 37 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 1: He had self selected, fully committed to, and told me 38 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:24,520 Speaker 1: he was all in. That's in quotations. He was all 39 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 1: in for the next day yesterday. He did show up. 40 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: When I got home late last night, I heard him 41 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:33,840 Speaker 1: call out Dad. He wanted a chat, and I was 42 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:36,400 Speaker 1: happy to. After a fist bump and a hug, he 43 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 1: told me what happened. In that moment, I felt tempted 44 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 1: to give him an out. It's been eight am to 45 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:47,519 Speaker 1: twelve fifteen pm, five days a week all summer. Good Lord, 46 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,919 Speaker 1: eight am to twelve fifteen pm all summer. That's a lot, 47 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: five days a week, all summer long, not how most 48 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: kids choose to spend their summer break. The commitment has 49 00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:59,640 Speaker 1: been there, But before I could speak, he added this 50 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 1: little jim. The coaches at the academy had made sure 51 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:07,399 Speaker 1: he knew that they knew he had chosen sleep over 52 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:11,359 Speaker 1: showing up, No yelling, no theatrics, just a clear signal 53 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: across multiple coaches. We hold the kids who say they're 54 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:18,359 Speaker 1: all into a standard and that decision didn't meet the standard. 55 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 1: It's rare in life to find people, coaches, bosses, even friends, 56 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:24,640 Speaker 1: who will actually hold you to the standard you set 57 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:28,919 Speaker 1: for yourself. It's uncomfortable. It's so much easier to let 58 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:32,640 Speaker 1: things slide, to make allowances to tell ourselves this one 59 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: doesn't matter. But when someone looks you in the eye 60 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 1: and says, in effect, this is not who you said 61 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:41,120 Speaker 1: you wanted to be, it will change you. There's a 62 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: phrase I've heard a dozen ways over the years. Nick Saban, 63 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: the goat of college football coaching, calls it the standard. 64 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,600 Speaker 1: Others say, how you do one thing is how you 65 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: do everything. Either way, the meaning's the same. You don't 66 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:57,480 Speaker 1: get to pick and choose when you're being your best, 67 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 1: the standard is the standard, whether the it feels big 68 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 1: or small, whether anyone's watching or not. Listening to him 69 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: tell me the story, I was and am so grateful 70 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: for the men who run the Cincinnati Across Academy for 71 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 1: creating the kind of place that calls a kid to 72 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:17,360 Speaker 1: a higher standard for themselves and for those around them, 73 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:20,719 Speaker 1: not just for my kid, but for my friend's kids 74 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: who have chosen that path, and even for myself, because 75 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 1: it reminds me that my own standard gets fuzzy in 76 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:31,920 Speaker 1: certain places, especially when the moment seems small. This morning, 77 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 1: we had a five minute finisher in our gym, the 78 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:37,440 Speaker 1: Pirates and I, and among other things, we had to 79 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: complete fifty push ups. I kept up at decent pace, 80 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: but when JB three to one yelled over how many petas, 81 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 1: I was a tempted to say forty, although I knew 82 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:52,600 Speaker 1: I just completed thirty seven, but in the ask was 83 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: the opportunity. I grunted thirty seven and finished the next three. 84 00:04:57,440 --> 00:04:59,400 Speaker 1: This morning, as we were walking up to the house 85 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:02,799 Speaker 1: for coffee post workout, I saw my bike thrown casually 86 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:06,479 Speaker 1: into the flower bed. No malice no grand statement, just 87 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:08,479 Speaker 1: lazy placement by the kid who'd ridn't it? 88 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:10,000 Speaker 2: Do you remember that at all with your kids? 89 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 1: Bill, No, I wouldn't put up with it, but it 90 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: was enough to make me stop and think about the 91 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:17,359 Speaker 1: same conversation I've been having with my kids for years. 92 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: The life you choose to lead is reflected in the smallest, 93 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:24,159 Speaker 1: easiest decisions. Where do you put the bike? What happens 94 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:26,039 Speaker 1: to the grocery card after the bags are in the car? 95 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:29,719 Speaker 1: What does on time mean? How do you speak to 96 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 1: the person who can't do anything for you? Because how 97 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: do you do one thing is how you do everything. 98 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:39,200 Speaker 1: I don't think it's about perfection. If so, then I'm screwed. 99 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:43,600 Speaker 1: It's about consistency. It's about refusing to departmentalize my efforts, 100 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: my attitude, and my commitment to only one domain of 101 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:50,120 Speaker 1: my life. I think it's about keeping my promises to myself, 102 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:53,679 Speaker 1: even when there's no scoreboard, no audience, and no direct consequences. 103 00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:57,159 Speaker 1: I've been reminding myself this week that nobody drifts into 104 00:05:57,200 --> 00:05:59,600 Speaker 1: a life lived at a high standard. You set it, 105 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 1: you keep it, you start over when you miss it, 106 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,160 Speaker 1: and you do it again tomorrow. The standard isn't someplace 107 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:12,839 Speaker 1: you visit, it's the place you choose to live every day. Wow, 108 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: do I agree with every single thing that he wrote. 109 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 3: Time is an interesting one to me. He mentioned it because. 110 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:31,320 Speaker 1: The hands on a clot are really a scientific actuality. 111 00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:35,960 Speaker 1: And if I say I'm going to be somewhere at 112 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: PICKADM eight, I kill myself to get thirt eight. Now, 113 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:43,600 Speaker 1: there's not times that I've late or missed or whatever 114 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 1: everybody makestakes. But it is a standard that you get 115 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,880 Speaker 1: where you're supposed to be on time as best as 116 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 1: you possibly can. And if something's ten minutes away, you 117 00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:59,719 Speaker 1: don't leave ten minutes before, you leave twenty minutes before. 118 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:02,799 Speaker 1: But because as my football used to coach, you say, 119 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: early is on time, on time as late, and it is. 120 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:08,720 Speaker 3: It's a simple standard. 121 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: But if you think about it, it's actually rude to 122 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:14,680 Speaker 1: selling selfish to make somebody wait on you because you 123 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: just didn't have the decency to leave on time or 124 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:21,120 Speaker 1: to show up when you said you would. 125 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 3: To me, it even says a lot about your character. Time. 126 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 3: Something as simple as time should be a standard. Service 127 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:34,520 Speaker 3: should be a standard. The way you approach everything should 128 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:39,800 Speaker 3: be a character driven standard, And to your question, my 129 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 3: kids got ripped if they let their stuff out because 130 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 3: I'm a knee freak, and one of the standards around 131 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 3: my places you can use anything I have, but put 132 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 3: it back where you got it, and if you don't 133 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 3: put it back where you got it, you will never 134 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 3: ever be allowed to use it again. 135 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 1: And that's the reality. And I'm still that way about that. 136 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,240 Speaker 1: I just I think it's rude, and I think it's selfish, 137 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:08,640 Speaker 1: and I think it's ridiculous to use somebody else's something 138 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 1: and they do not return it the way you found 139 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 1: it or in better condition than you took it. It's 140 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: just ridiculous, like if you borrow something. In college, I 141 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: remember borrowing people's car and I always would make sure 142 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:24,880 Speaker 1: there was at least that much, if not more gas 143 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 1: in it when I returned it than when I got it. 144 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: Some jerk brought my car one time and I didn't 145 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: even check the gas gauge, and two miles down the 146 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,440 Speaker 1: road I brought out of gas because the jackass ran 147 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 1: a whole quarter tank out of my gas tank and 148 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:44,040 Speaker 1: didn't have the deccy to fill it back up. That's 149 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:50,360 Speaker 1: kind of a standard. So anyway, I really appreciate all 150 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:51,440 Speaker 1: of this content. 151 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:52,800 Speaker 3: What's your standards? 152 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:55,720 Speaker 2: So three things come to mind. Somebody once told me 153 00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:58,840 Speaker 2: the story like, hey, if you move your golf ball 154 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 2: at all, you're going to well, like, look, if you're. 155 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: Hang on now, not if you're foursome agrees that you 156 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 1: can roll the golf ball with your club. 157 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,280 Speaker 2: It's making a point. If you're willing to cheat a 158 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:14,320 Speaker 2: little bit in that case, are you going to cheat 159 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:15,120 Speaker 2: in the rest of your life? 160 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:16,280 Speaker 3: Right? How you probably? 161 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:18,520 Speaker 2: And that's his point. How you do one thing is 162 00:09:18,559 --> 00:09:19,360 Speaker 2: how you do everything. 163 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:21,120 Speaker 3: That's a really good point. That's right. 164 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 1: That is absolutely right, like showing up time, putting stuff up, 165 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:28,680 Speaker 1: caring enough about somebody else's stuff. If if you do 166 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:31,320 Speaker 1: those little things that way, you're probably going to do 167 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 1: them on the big things. It's good. 168 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,079 Speaker 2: Another story, Actually, I was talking to my kids about 169 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:39,680 Speaker 2: this the other day. So one of my friends is 170 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 2: friends with Michael Jordan, and they had offered for me 171 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:43,760 Speaker 2: to caddy for Jordan one day. 172 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:44,679 Speaker 3: Are you kidding me? 173 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:48,199 Speaker 2: And my dad said no, why because I had football 174 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 2: practice that day. Your Dad's right, because I had made 175 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:56,240 Speaker 2: a commitment just like this. And Sophia was like, why 176 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:58,400 Speaker 2: didn't you like blast him or say no, And I'm like, 177 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 2: he's my dad. I didn't have a choice, like word. 178 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:05,400 Speaker 1: More importantly, your dad is dead nuts, right, it's right, 179 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 1: it's uh. 180 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:08,680 Speaker 2: My friend got to do it instead and got a 181 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 2: thousand bucks and the experience of cutting from sortan. 182 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:15,520 Speaker 3: Well, he's probably a loser today. Go ahead. 183 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:18,560 Speaker 2: I think My third thing is I'm also reminded of this. 184 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:21,920 Speaker 2: Have you heard of the America's Cup. It's the sailing 185 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:25,280 Speaker 2: world championship. So Dennis Connor is one of the famous 186 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:26,040 Speaker 2: coaches from it. 187 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:28,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's not a sailing thing. I mean it's yachting 188 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:29,520 Speaker 3: and they got. 189 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:33,960 Speaker 1: These huge crews and they they sing flock across the water. 190 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:36,560 Speaker 2: But like, actually I interviewed somebody won the America's Cup 191 00:10:36,559 --> 00:10:39,240 Speaker 2: and their team practiced like every single day except three 192 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:41,920 Speaker 2: days in the year. I mean literally like New Year's Eve, 193 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 2: New Year's Day, Christmas Eve, Like I mean they were Yeah, 194 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 2: And so Dennis Connor's crew had this line that they 195 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:53,880 Speaker 2: ought to be committed for their commitment to the commitment. 196 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:57,840 Speaker 2: They ought to be committed to jail for their a 197 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:00,840 Speaker 2: mental institution for their commitment to the commitment. 198 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:03,839 Speaker 1: And I still wonder that guy's won more America's Cups 199 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:06,360 Speaker 1: than anybody else because that's that's the standard. 200 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:09,840 Speaker 3: That's how they approach it. Yeah, it's good stuff, all. 201 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:12,040 Speaker 2: Right, everybody writing from Andrew Peters, What do you think? 202 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:15,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean pretty good stuff, you know, But Andrew's 203 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: pretty sharp guy. So all right, everybody, that's shop Talk 204 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:22,520 Speaker 1: number sixty eight. The standard how you do or how 205 00:11:22,559 --> 00:11:24,800 Speaker 1: you do one thing? I kind of think the subtitle 206 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:26,679 Speaker 1: should be how you do one thing is how you'll 207 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:28,959 Speaker 1: do all things. But I kind of get what he's 208 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:31,720 Speaker 1: getting out there. But everybody get it. We got to 209 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:33,720 Speaker 1: have we got to have a standard in our life 210 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:36,719 Speaker 1: how we approach everything. And wouldn't it be magnificent if 211 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:41,480 Speaker 1: the standard for all of us was to employ our 212 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:45,400 Speaker 1: passion and our discipline and areas of need and serve 213 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:49,760 Speaker 1: in order to lead. If that was a standard, our 214 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 1: entire culture changes. If you like this episode of shop Talk, 215 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 1: please rate it and review it. You can write me 216 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 1: anytime at Bill at normal Folks dot us, send me 217 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:01,880 Speaker 1: ideas for shop Talk, send me ideas for an army 218 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:03,360 Speaker 1: and normal Folks, or just reach out. 219 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:06,199 Speaker 3: Send me an email and I will respond. Join the 220 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:11,480 Speaker 3: army at normal folks dot us, what else. That's it. 221 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:11,960 Speaker 2: We're good. 222 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 3: Okay, that's it. We're good until next week. Do what 223 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 3: you can. That's shop Talk number sixty eight.