1 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:05,559 Speaker 1: We will lend one hundred percent of the time. We 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:06,320 Speaker 1: don't check credit. 3 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:08,760 Speaker 2: I don't understand that don't check credit part. 4 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:11,719 Speaker 3: So credit scores in the United States, that concept is 5 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 3: very rigid and it's designed to protect the money. Just understandable, 6 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:18,720 Speaker 3: Totally understandable. Don't get mad at the reality. Let's work 7 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:20,920 Speaker 3: with it. FIGHTO came in. I think it's like nineteen 8 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 3: ninety six. 9 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:25,159 Speaker 1: To be fair. The trick here is the way to 10 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 1: be fair is tosess someone's past. 11 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:29,320 Speaker 3: So if you lead up to that moment you've never 12 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:31,760 Speaker 3: had access, then how all of a sudden is that 13 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:37,160 Speaker 3: system fair for us? Credit score or any data are 14 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 3: things that will not allow you to trust their potential. 15 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:44,840 Speaker 3: So I say this to bankers to make them uncomfortable. 16 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 3: They want to understand. Just I say, imagine one hundred 17 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:50,280 Speaker 3: percent of the people that walk through your branch, you 18 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 3: must say yes one hundred percent of the. 19 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: Time and get repaid nearly one hundred percent of the time. 20 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 4: Welcome to an army of normal folks. I'm Courtney. I'm 21 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 4: a normal guy. I'm a husband, I'm a father, I'm 22 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 4: an entrepreneur, and I've been a football coach in Inner 23 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:11,119 Speaker 4: city Memphis, and the last part somehow led to an 24 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 4: oscar for the film about our team. It's called Undefeated. Guys, 25 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 4: I believe our country's problems are never going to be 26 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 4: solved by a bunch of fancy people in nice suits 27 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:26,320 Speaker 4: using big words that nobody ever uses on CNN and Fox, 28 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 4: but rather by an army of normal folks. That's us, 29 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 4: just you and me deciding Hey, maybe I can help. 30 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 2: That's what Steve want to The voice you just heard 31 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 2: is done. 32 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:43,040 Speaker 4: Steve is the co founder of Just, a nonprofit lender 33 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 4: to eighteen thousand black and brown female entrepreneurs in Texas, 34 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 4: and because they built an unheard of system based on 35 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:58,000 Speaker 4: trust and community, they're achieving unheard of results such as 36 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 4: loaning money to one one hundred percent of applicants to 37 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 4: the tune of forty one million dollars, and yet they've 38 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 4: been repaid ninety nine percent of the time. 39 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 2: I cannot wait for you to meet Steve. 40 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:36,839 Speaker 4: Right after these brief messages from our general sponsors. 41 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:33,519 Speaker 2: Steve Wanna from Austin, Texas. Thanks for joining us. 42 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: My pleasure. How you doing Grilli again? Gat to be 43 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 1: a Memphis Well good? 44 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 4: Well, I really appreciate you coming by everybody. Steve is 45 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:45,920 Speaker 4: the co founder and CEO of Just J aust which 46 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 4: we'll get to to believe or not before I read 47 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:52,079 Speaker 4: all about you and I saw just. 48 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 2: Think. 49 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,080 Speaker 4: I think Justice is a pretty good title because I 50 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 4: got the idea just from I mean, I really knew 51 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 4: nothing about you, and I thought that has to be 52 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 4: about doing something just for people that aren't as fortunate 53 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 4: as us. And turns out it's really interesting. So we'll 54 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 4: get to it. 55 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 2: But first, I guess you're a Packers fan. 56 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 3: I am a die hard Packers fan. 57 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:22,360 Speaker 1: I bleed green and gold. 58 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 3: I was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, about a mile 59 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 3: from the stadium. 60 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 2: Were you really you're born about a mile from the stadium. 61 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 2: That's pretty cool. 62 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 3: I was talking to Cassius a little bit about the 63 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 3: culture of the NFL and sports and man I played 64 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:41,840 Speaker 3: football growing up. Was offensive lineman and defensive lineman at 65 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 3: all of five eight and seventy five pounds, but it 66 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 3: was it's just a every day and Sunday. That's one 67 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 3: of those moments my wife and my kids give me 68 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 3: because I feel connected to community just by simply watching 69 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 3: that game. I feel like I actually have some influence 70 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 3: over the game, which ibviously not the case. But yeah, 71 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:03,760 Speaker 3: you're a football coach, you know. 72 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 4: Well, we folks from down south very happy that we 73 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,119 Speaker 4: were able to send you a Southernsissippi guy up there 74 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 4: to a quarterback for you for many years. 75 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: Legend. 76 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, is he still a legend up there? Yeah, we're 77 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:17,919 Speaker 2: talking about Brett fa at FARV. 78 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 3: When he that whole transition Aaron Rodgers, there was a 79 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:26,680 Speaker 3: nation divided. Half of the Yeah, half of the jerseys 80 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:31,720 Speaker 3: were for the other half were twelve. And my grandmother 81 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 3: who she had, she was going to be a nun. 82 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:40,599 Speaker 3: She met my grandfather who's going to be a priest, 83 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 3: and instead they decided to have seventeen children. 84 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 1: Wow, there's yeah, they ran a bar. 85 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 2: Are you kidding? Irish Catholic unbelievable in Green. 86 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:59,039 Speaker 3: Bay in northern Wisconsin got it, but my grandmother said, 87 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 3: we don't own Brett Farr. Everybody got it all changed 88 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 3: when Brett Fahr went to the Minnesota Vikings. 89 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:05,920 Speaker 1: That was. 90 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:10,159 Speaker 3: Everybody and he had like one of the best years 91 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:13,359 Speaker 3: of his NFL career. It was total insults, but that's like, 92 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 3: don't don't mess with a gun slinger man. 93 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:16,840 Speaker 1: He'll he'll get you back. 94 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:19,240 Speaker 2: Well, I mean it wasn't his choice. 95 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:23,360 Speaker 4: He would have stayed at green Bay, right, he he left. 96 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:26,239 Speaker 3: He retired, and then he said, now I never mind, 97 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 3: and they said, wow, actually we're. 98 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: Pretty excited by Aaron Rodgers. Ye see, yeah, we don't 99 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 1: need this. 100 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 3: And then you know, the same things sort of happened 101 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:35,600 Speaker 3: with Aaron Rodgers and Jordan love Well. 102 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:38,719 Speaker 4: I'll tell you, I think Brett Farr was a perfect 103 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:42,640 Speaker 4: fit for green Bay because it's it's a blue collarish 104 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 4: feeling town, hard working, salt of their kind of thing. 105 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 2: And that's just how he played ball. He just hung 106 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:49,160 Speaker 2: it out there. Yeah. 107 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:51,920 Speaker 1: No, So it was a love affair absolutely. 108 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:55,159 Speaker 3: I mean he had the one of the longest streaks 109 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 3: of consecutive games and stuff that he went through to play. 110 00:05:58,000 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 2: I mean he was tough. 111 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: He was so tough. 112 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 3: And you know, green Bay is one hundred thousand people, 113 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:07,279 Speaker 3: if stadium fits eighty thousand, right. So I think for 114 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:08,839 Speaker 3: me and a lot of the work that we do, 115 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:14,479 Speaker 3: this idea of this transformational properties of community, really deep, 116 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 3: authentic community that rally around a higher purpose. And this 117 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:20,920 Speaker 3: higher purpose happens to be the green Bay Packers is 118 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:22,200 Speaker 3: pretty special. 119 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:22,599 Speaker 2: All right. 120 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:24,720 Speaker 4: So this interview has nothing to do with the Green 121 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 4: Bay Packers, but if you want to talk football, we 122 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:28,120 Speaker 4: can do that for two hours. 123 00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 2: And call it. You know. 124 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 4: So Steve grew up in Green Bay and uh, you know, 125 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 4: I don't want to get I think it's important obviously, 126 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:45,839 Speaker 4: But I guess you got a job in technology and 127 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:46,919 Speaker 4: learn to speak Spanish. 128 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:49,359 Speaker 2: Why don't you take us through how that all worked? 129 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:52,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, I was, there's no real good reason why I 130 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:53,160 Speaker 3: should seek Spanish. 131 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 2: I remember, there's really no reason why I should. 132 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,360 Speaker 3: I was. I remember really distinctly being a young kid 133 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 3: and my aunt was taking Spanish classes and I just said, oh, 134 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:03,200 Speaker 3: I could speak Spanish. 135 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: I made a bunch of noises and she said, oh, 136 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:08,080 Speaker 1: you just said cow like that's pretty cool. So I 137 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: had a direction. I had a place. 138 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 3: That I knew I wanted to get to, but I 139 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 3: didn't know what I was going to do along the way. 140 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 3: I didn't have some grand vision of certainly starting the 141 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 3: organization we have today. But I just really wanted to 142 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:22,960 Speaker 3: be fluent in Spanish, and they just wanted to want to. 143 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 3: And I had this great opportunity to go study abroad, 144 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:31,240 Speaker 3: and I fell in love with culture. I fell in 145 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 3: love with connecting with people that didn't look like me. 146 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:40,240 Speaker 3: You know, in Green Bay, we lack of diversity is 147 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 3: an understatement. I mean it was. 148 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 1: It was just the reality of white, white Midwest. 149 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 3: And you know, if you were black in Green Bay 150 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 3: in the eighties, they thought you were a packer or 151 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:54,280 Speaker 3: connected to the packers. 152 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:55,880 Speaker 2: Wow. 153 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 3: So ken Brooks, this kid I played pee wee football with. 154 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,000 Speaker 3: He was of freshman in high school and he got 155 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 3: asked for his autograph, no kidding, just to tell you 156 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 3: how little diversity there was. And I saw that there's 157 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 3: this amazing, you know loss that that we had. I 158 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:15,640 Speaker 3: had personally to not have a chance to understand how 159 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:19,400 Speaker 3: other people live in all forms of that income race. 160 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:24,680 Speaker 3: So learning being summersed in South America was just fascinating. 161 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:25,320 Speaker 1: It was amazing. 162 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:27,360 Speaker 3: So I knew what I wanted to do, but I 163 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:29,720 Speaker 3: didn't know how to do it, and that was being 164 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:32,280 Speaker 3: part of a broader, a bigger community. 165 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: So I got a job at a tech company. 166 00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:37,719 Speaker 3: And I was I was starting and I thought I 167 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 3: was going to die in a cubicle, and I'm like, 168 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:40,520 Speaker 3: they got something else that's got to give. 169 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:43,680 Speaker 2: Well, So let's go back to the study abroad. Thing. 170 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:46,679 Speaker 2: What what was it costa. 171 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:48,080 Speaker 1: Rica to Venezuela. 172 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:48,840 Speaker 2: Venezuela. 173 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 3: Wow, yeah, this is like nineteen ninety seven, so before 174 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 3: completely fell up. 175 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:55,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, and it was. 176 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 3: It was. It was one of the most prospeous South 177 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:03,920 Speaker 3: American countries. Chavis came in and promised to to fix corruption, 178 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:06,840 Speaker 3: give to the people, and then it became you know 179 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:09,520 Speaker 3: what it is today, which is so many including friends 180 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 3: from Venezuela, have have left because of what has happened 181 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:17,080 Speaker 3: to that government. And like there's amazing beautiful parts of 182 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:19,640 Speaker 3: that country. They had a chance to go to study 183 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 3: brought in Chile later and I saw a whole different 184 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:26,640 Speaker 3: form of both from climate to people to accents. And 185 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 3: I before going to Venezuela, I thought everything was like Mexico. 186 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:33,440 Speaker 3: I had such little exposure and I was such an 187 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 3: idiot going in college. I didn't even realize that it 188 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:38,600 Speaker 3: would snow in Chile, so I didn't bring a jacket. 189 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:40,080 Speaker 1: Oh gosh, So. 190 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 3: Like to keep going south Patagonia, is there there's beautifu're skiing, 191 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:47,920 Speaker 3: I mean, I blame it on the fact that there 192 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:50,600 Speaker 3: wasn't the internet the same way. It was definitely not 193 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:54,040 Speaker 3: my fault, you know, So that all that led to 194 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:59,200 Speaker 3: this deep, deep passion to be speaking Spanish. But what 195 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:01,960 Speaker 3: that really meant was being connected with folks that didn't 196 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:07,000 Speaker 3: look like me, And yeah, such such fun personally curious. 197 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:15,960 Speaker 4: The Spanish that's in Mexico, the Spanish that's in Venezuela, 198 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 4: the Spanish that's in Brazil, and the Spanish that's in Chile. 199 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 2: Those are almost different languages, aren't. 200 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:23,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, very different, Like. 201 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 2: I do not speak another languages. 202 00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:29,840 Speaker 4: I'm just speaking from like what I've read that it's 203 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:31,000 Speaker 4: more than just dialogue. 204 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:34,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, there's different language, well a couple of things. There's 205 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:40,040 Speaker 3: different slang. And you know, in Venezuela, bolo is means 206 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 3: like their local currency and bolo and Guatemala means drunk. 207 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:49,720 Speaker 1: Oh, so you know you've got to have understanding, and 208 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 1: I don't. I've stepped, I put my foot in my 209 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:52,680 Speaker 1: mouth a few sounds. 210 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:56,560 Speaker 3: But you know what's really fascinating about Guatemala is that 211 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 3: there are twenty three different Mayan languages in addition to Spanish. 212 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 3: So you would have people still addressed in their intraditional 213 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:11,640 Speaker 3: indigo where's and you know they're speaking where I was 214 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:14,840 Speaker 3: a Peace Corps volunteer. They spoke mom and that was 215 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:18,360 Speaker 3: not even not connected to Spanish at all. 216 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:23,000 Speaker 2: Wow. Yeah, all right, So you're doing this in college? 217 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:27,760 Speaker 1: College study brought me. I graduated college in two thousand. 218 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:30,200 Speaker 1: I studied a brought a couple of times. 219 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:33,320 Speaker 3: Then I got a job, a technology job because they 220 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 3: had big South American operations called unices, and like, that's 221 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:37,560 Speaker 3: how I'm. 222 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:37,959 Speaker 2: Gonna get there. 223 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:39,880 Speaker 1: I was, uh, I was gonna move. 224 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:42,600 Speaker 3: To Miami, and then you know, one thing led to 225 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:45,240 Speaker 3: another another. I worked for UNICES and they moved me 226 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:46,439 Speaker 3: from Seattle. 227 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:50,240 Speaker 2: To Austin, Texas. Where'd you go to college? 228 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:52,400 Speaker 1: University of Minnesota, Golden Gophers. 229 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:54,640 Speaker 2: The Golden Gophers. 230 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:56,040 Speaker 1: The worst chance in the world. 231 00:11:57,080 --> 00:11:58,959 Speaker 3: They spell out all of Minnesota and then at the 232 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:00,040 Speaker 3: end they say, go go for. 233 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:01,680 Speaker 2: It. 234 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:03,280 Speaker 1: Takes me fall As played the chance. 235 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:05,079 Speaker 2: All right, So. 236 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:10,840 Speaker 4: You were this Midwestern guy, you have a love for Spanish. 237 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:14,319 Speaker 4: You've been exposed all over Central and South America to 238 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:19,040 Speaker 4: not only language, but I guess culture. Yeah, curious, one 239 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:22,440 Speaker 4: more question. Did you learn more about culture or learn 240 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:24,319 Speaker 4: more about language studying over broad? 241 00:12:24,679 --> 00:12:29,480 Speaker 3: Definitely culture. You know, I think there was language what 242 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:30,960 Speaker 3: I really one of the things that would help me 243 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:35,439 Speaker 3: in to learn the languages. I played rugby really like 244 00:12:35,559 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 3: rugby in Venezuela, played rugby in Chile. I played rugby 245 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,000 Speaker 3: throughout college, and I was a chance to be connected 246 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:44,079 Speaker 3: outside of the university with people that that were from 247 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:47,560 Speaker 3: the from the local community, so it was only Spanish there. 248 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:51,040 Speaker 3: But uh, I think throughout all of it, I realized 249 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:53,360 Speaker 3: that there are we're all the same on some level 250 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,480 Speaker 3: and regardless of your background. So it was really a 251 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 3: humanizing thing that removed it from a map and from 252 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:04,040 Speaker 3: on TV to something. 253 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 2: E really. 254 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:10,960 Speaker 4: And now a few messages from our general sponsors, but 255 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:14,960 Speaker 4: first I wanted to share an awesome update that in 256 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:19,959 Speaker 4: January and February we're launching the first six local chapters 257 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:21,840 Speaker 4: of an Army of Normal Folks. 258 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:23,560 Speaker 2: If you happen to live. 259 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:25,679 Speaker 4: In one of these communities and you'd be interested in 260 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:28,960 Speaker 4: being part of it, email Alex and he'll connect you 261 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 4: to their leaders. These communities are Memphis, my hometown, Oxford, Mississippi, 262 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:42,960 Speaker 4: Alexi's hometown, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Wichita, and we're going to announce 263 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:46,640 Speaker 4: the sixth soon. If you'd be interesting in leading a 264 00:13:46,679 --> 00:13:50,200 Speaker 4: local chapter in your community, we'll hopefully be launching more 265 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 4: in spring or summer. So please reach out to Alex 266 00:13:53,559 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 4: on that. His email is Army at normal Folks dot us. 267 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:17,040 Speaker 4: We'll be right back. There's nothing like eating the crap 268 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:18,920 Speaker 4: I don't want another for two and a half hours 269 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:19,520 Speaker 4: and then going. 270 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:23,120 Speaker 2: To beer together. Yeah, that's what rugby to me is 271 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:24,360 Speaker 2: the greatest sport on earth. 272 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:27,160 Speaker 4: From that perspective, you will literally for two and a 273 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 4: half hours trying to kill somebody and then everybody goes 274 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:29,920 Speaker 4: into experience. 275 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:32,640 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, is that how it is? Absolutely? 276 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:35,240 Speaker 3: I mean I think that they're saying, like soccer is 277 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:37,960 Speaker 3: a gentleman I forget how it goes. 278 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:42,040 Speaker 4: Soccer is a gentleman's game, like about Ruffians. Rugby is 279 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:45,680 Speaker 4: a Ruffians game. Yeah that's one of an old saying, 280 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:46,520 Speaker 4: but it's true. 281 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:49,600 Speaker 1: Right, So I've i go. 282 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:52,000 Speaker 3: I moved to Austin and I am I am like 283 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:53,440 Speaker 3: the captain of the rugby team. 284 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:55,880 Speaker 1: I am all in and. 285 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:57,960 Speaker 3: I partly because I didn't have a lot of purpose 286 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 3: in life. It was like go to the cubicle and 287 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:07,040 Speaker 3: the thing that sort of saves me from just day 288 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:09,160 Speaker 3: in and day out perspective is this purpose of rugby. 289 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:11,280 Speaker 3: But it was very bad for my back. It was 290 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:13,520 Speaker 3: very bad for the level of beer that I drank. 291 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:15,760 Speaker 3: I'm like, I cant get out of here. Man, I'm 292 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 3: gonna be like I cut pull the rip cord. And 293 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 3: that's why that's why I decided joined the Peace Corps. 294 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:25,480 Speaker 4: Okay, so you work, you get this cool job, you're 295 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:31,840 Speaker 4: in Austin. Uh, you've had all these experiences and was 296 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:34,440 Speaker 4: the Peace Corps after the cubicle plant incidental? 297 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:37,200 Speaker 2: Yeah? So so tell that because I think that's hilarious. 298 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:39,840 Speaker 4: Okay, So because there's a plant that was basically a 299 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:41,240 Speaker 4: metaphor for your life totally. 300 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:44,240 Speaker 3: And so it gets back to rugby. So I, you know, 301 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:46,760 Speaker 3: I'm playing rugby. I go to chiropractor because I can't 302 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:47,720 Speaker 3: like look sideways. 303 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:50,200 Speaker 2: You're really that bad? Yeah, how old are you? 304 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 3: I was twenty five, so that you know, I can't 305 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 3: feel a couple of fingers. 306 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:57,880 Speaker 2: Oh you got nerve down shoulders or so. 307 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 3: The doctor, the chiropractor says, hey, thanks for being a patient. 308 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:02,880 Speaker 3: Here's my here's a plan. Here's an office plan. 309 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:06,640 Speaker 1: So friend, we go by. 310 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 3: I s I had like great when you know, I 311 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:10,680 Speaker 3: put this office plant in my desk and then my 312 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:13,640 Speaker 3: boss's boss one day comes to you know, it's like 313 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,920 Speaker 3: a Friday. So I'm kind of hungover and she comes 314 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:19,840 Speaker 3: to my desk and she says, hey, Steve, you know 315 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 3: office space. So what you have that TPS report? You 316 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,120 Speaker 3: know what's the what you Wear's the report? I said, 317 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:27,720 Speaker 3: you know, I'll get it to you. As she's leaving, 318 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,360 Speaker 3: she looks and sees the plants it's dead on my desk. 319 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:32,800 Speaker 1: She said, oh, Steve, you should get with that. Planet's dead. 320 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:35,600 Speaker 3: And I said, well, actually, it reminds me every day 321 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 3: I walk in here, a little piece of me dies. 322 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 1: Oh gosh, Boss's boss. 323 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:43,240 Speaker 3: So she sort of back pedals a little bit and 324 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:45,400 Speaker 3: I thought it was funny, and she didn't think it 325 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:48,480 Speaker 3: was very funny. So I really it was a moment 326 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:53,240 Speaker 3: of reflection in humor and saying, well, that actually is 327 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 3: kind of true, so I probably should do something about it. 328 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:58,120 Speaker 1: And that's when I was sort. 329 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 3: Of the emotional push over the edge to finish my 330 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:02,360 Speaker 3: Peace Corps application. 331 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,960 Speaker 1: And that was ultimately they assigned me to Guatemala. That 332 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:07,920 Speaker 1: it happened shortly after. 333 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:12,720 Speaker 2: Okay, so let's recap A dude who grows up in 334 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:17,240 Speaker 2: Green Bay, part of a family of a potential nun 335 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:19,439 Speaker 2: and priests who said, Nah, let's own a barn, have 336 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:23,119 Speaker 2: nineteen thousand children and side on. 337 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:26,960 Speaker 3: My other grandfather was a banker and a lawyer, no kidding, Yeah, 338 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:32,480 Speaker 3: I had a bartender and a banker as my grandfatherly figures. 339 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:34,640 Speaker 2: That's crazy. That's very cool too. 340 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:39,960 Speaker 4: So you bounce around, you learn to speak Spanish, you 341 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 4: get this technology job, which is kind of a destination 342 00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:51,840 Speaker 4: for a lot of folks. And this plant metaphorically describes 343 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:55,600 Speaker 4: how you felt about living in this pubil, this cubicle, 344 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:59,200 Speaker 4: and where your life is. And you'd literally say at 345 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:02,040 Speaker 4: twenty five of I'm a resett and I'm going to 346 00:18:02,119 --> 00:18:04,840 Speaker 4: Peace Corps and let's be honest, the Peace Corps, and 347 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:08,919 Speaker 4: I mean it's great work, but it's great exposure and 348 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:11,840 Speaker 4: it's probably a great education. But you're not make any 349 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,840 Speaker 4: money doing it for sure, Right, So you were really 350 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:17,520 Speaker 4: at twenty five years old hitting the reset button. 351 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:20,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know, twenty five, I didn't have kids. 352 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:22,520 Speaker 4: I mean you can do that. You could it was 353 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:25,760 Speaker 4: grew single and broke once in life. So if you're 354 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 4: going to do it, now is the time. But the 355 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:30,679 Speaker 4: point is you kind of worked to get to this 356 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:33,520 Speaker 4: place and you just said reset. 357 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:37,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, only in hindsight, did my mother say that? 358 00:18:37,119 --> 00:18:39,719 Speaker 1: She was very, very worried, very concerned. 359 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:43,320 Speaker 3: But I had an amazing support system with my family, and 360 00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:48,000 Speaker 3: you know that there was something different about being in 361 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:53,000 Speaker 3: a rural Guatemalan community, living side by side for two years. 362 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:57,160 Speaker 4: Yeah, so there it is. That's the reset. Now let's 363 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:00,119 Speaker 4: pick it up from there. You go to Guatemala with 364 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:02,240 Speaker 4: the Peace Corps and a lot of folks don't understand 365 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:04,200 Speaker 4: what that is, but that is a two year commitment. 366 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:07,760 Speaker 2: What in the world do you do in Guatemala for 367 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:08,359 Speaker 2: two years? 368 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:10,919 Speaker 1: The irony is I'm actually working with farmers. I had 369 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:15,199 Speaker 1: this dead plant and now I'm supposed to help, so 370 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:16,000 Speaker 1: I help. 371 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:20,320 Speaker 3: There was a greenhouse project, so I helped these farmers 372 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:25,840 Speaker 3: get to local markets sell their their tomatoes. And what 373 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:30,000 Speaker 3: was another example of how important exposure is. So I 374 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 3: took a group of of our local farmers and you 375 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,520 Speaker 3: know they struggle to speak Spanish, They're speaking the local 376 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:37,480 Speaker 3: indigenous language. 377 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:38,840 Speaker 2: Oh is that is that right? 378 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:44,160 Speaker 4: So these Guatemalans who are rule are still speaking whatever. 379 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:46,360 Speaker 1: In my community is mom? Mom? There's others that catch 380 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:46,560 Speaker 1: you go. 381 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:50,560 Speaker 3: There's twenty i think twenty six different languages Okay, So 382 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:52,720 Speaker 3: I take them to a pizza place, say, this is 383 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:55,760 Speaker 3: where we're selling your tomatoes, and half of the people 384 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:58,399 Speaker 3: had never seen pizza before, and this is like fifteen 385 00:19:58,440 --> 00:19:58,960 Speaker 3: minute drive. 386 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:03,400 Speaker 2: And I was I think that's phenomenal. 387 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:07,800 Speaker 4: Yeah, these folks in Guatemala who don't really even speak 388 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:12,160 Speaker 4: Spanish in Guatemala because the rural farmers have not made 389 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:15,800 Speaker 4: it more than fifteen minutes away from their village to 390 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 4: see pizza. 391 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:18,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's. 392 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:24,680 Speaker 4: That's that in and of itself should be opening to 393 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:27,119 Speaker 4: people listening to us, that that's the reality and the 394 00:20:27,119 --> 00:20:28,680 Speaker 4: world in many many places. 395 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:32,200 Speaker 3: And I think the big thing that I really hit 396 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:35,439 Speaker 3: home for me is in the Peace school, I see volunteers, 397 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:41,520 Speaker 3: they pick empathy or apathy. Oftentimes the actions can look 398 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:45,119 Speaker 3: very similar. And for me, I told that line a 399 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:49,120 Speaker 3: couple of times, I'd be really frustrated, and then more 400 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:51,879 Speaker 3: often than that, I chose empathy because I realized I 401 00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:58,280 Speaker 3: did not understand what they had lived, their access to 402 00:20:58,359 --> 00:21:01,359 Speaker 3: whatever it was education or experience. It's, you know, my 403 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:06,920 Speaker 3: counterpart in one hilarious dude that could could grow anything, 404 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:09,639 Speaker 3: you know. I asked them to finish the report for 405 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 3: some some funding. We got I said, I've done three 406 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:14,000 Speaker 3: quarters of it. Just you finished the rest of it 407 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:16,000 Speaker 3: because you have the answers, and I come back the 408 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:17,040 Speaker 3: next day and do anything. 409 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:20,639 Speaker 1: And I'm like, on, like, bro, come on. 410 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:24,119 Speaker 3: And what I very quickly learned is like he had 411 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:27,119 Speaker 3: never turned on the community before and he had stuffed 412 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:27,800 Speaker 3: in a new role. 413 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,280 Speaker 1: This new role had some administrative part to the job, 414 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:32,320 Speaker 1: and I'm like, I am an idiot. 415 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:37,359 Speaker 3: So that exposure, I think there's a big dose of 416 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:41,119 Speaker 3: humility that comes to that understanding if you were making 417 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:46,399 Speaker 3: assumptions and judgments on people that are so flawed, you know. 418 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 3: I think that was the biggest gift, especially in hindsight, 419 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:50,040 Speaker 3: that I got from the Peace Corps. 420 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:50,760 Speaker 2: Mmm. 421 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:57,640 Speaker 4: Interesting, all right, so Guatemala and your two years is up. 422 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:01,480 Speaker 3: There's a I mean, I don't know how much these 423 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:03,320 Speaker 3: stories want to go through, but I find myself in 424 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:04,480 Speaker 3: a Mexican wrestling ring. 425 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:09,000 Speaker 2: Oh I want to hear that. How do you quote 426 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:10,959 Speaker 2: find yourself. 427 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:13,400 Speaker 1: Wrestling twice. 428 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:15,920 Speaker 2: Prostitution? 429 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:22,760 Speaker 4: First of all, when you quote find yourself somewhere, typically 430 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:26,040 Speaker 4: the backstory to that is you took a number of 431 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:29,440 Speaker 4: steps very proactively to end up where you vote found yourself. 432 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:31,840 Speaker 4: So how tell me that that's the greatest thing. 433 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:35,080 Speaker 3: Well, so we're going to go my peace war buddy, 434 00:22:35,119 --> 00:22:37,959 Speaker 3: and I I'm gonna I'm going to extend my trip 435 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:41,960 Speaker 3: for my service to There was a natural disaster in Guatemala, 436 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:44,119 Speaker 3: so I was going to extend for another few months, 437 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:46,080 Speaker 3: but you know, a little break. We're going to take 438 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:47,680 Speaker 3: a drive to Mexico. He's going to keep on to 439 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:50,040 Speaker 3: the United States, and I'm gonna come back. So we 440 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:52,720 Speaker 3: we find ourselves on the beach in Porto est Condido 441 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:55,560 Speaker 3: and the southern part of Mexico, and then it's the 442 00:22:56,520 --> 00:23:01,200 Speaker 3: ad for Mexican Wrestling on the beach, Like it's so perfect, 443 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:01,520 Speaker 3: you know. 444 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:03,080 Speaker 1: I grew up watching WWF. 445 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:08,880 Speaker 3: And we show up and everybody's on the beach. There's 446 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:13,080 Speaker 3: big crowd, and then I go up with my friend 447 00:23:13,119 --> 00:23:15,240 Speaker 3: Brian and he says, can we get in the ring. 448 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:15,800 Speaker 1: Just take a picture. 449 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 3: I was like, sure, fine, But that to me was 450 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:23,520 Speaker 3: this once in a lifetime opportunity to go through the actual. 451 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:27,680 Speaker 1: The dream I had alreadys had in my head. 452 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:30,120 Speaker 3: So I whipped him around, threw him against the ropes clothesline, 453 00:23:30,119 --> 00:23:32,919 Speaker 3: and picked him up, slamed him on the on the 454 00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:36,159 Speaker 3: turf and then it was awesome, and it's actually on 455 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:38,119 Speaker 3: YouTube somewhere, so I'm trying to get my views up. 456 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:42,240 Speaker 1: But it was such a cool climax. 457 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:45,560 Speaker 3: And then I proceeded to get typhoid fever and spent 458 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:46,440 Speaker 3: three days. 459 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:52,600 Speaker 1: In a Mexican hospital. And the kicker of this is 460 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:55,000 Speaker 1: actually was the greatest gift I've ever been given. 461 00:23:55,320 --> 00:24:00,719 Speaker 3: Of course, because I couldn't I couldn't continue my service. 462 00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:04,640 Speaker 1: It just I had a bunch of stuff that happened medically. 463 00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:06,840 Speaker 3: So because I got back, I started looking for a 464 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:10,960 Speaker 3: job and at that time, Whole Foods Market had just 465 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:14,200 Speaker 3: started a foundation, and I got a like a monster 466 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:18,440 Speaker 3: dot com job hosting that said, hey, you might qualify 467 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:22,760 Speaker 3: for this job, and it was. 468 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:23,480 Speaker 2: Just because you were bilingual and. 469 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:25,840 Speaker 3: The well because actually the guy that started the foundation, 470 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,720 Speaker 3: he was a Peace Corps volunteer in the seventies on durists. 471 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:31,960 Speaker 3: It was you know what the foundation started, which I 472 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,560 Speaker 3: think we'll get into, was started in they started two projects, 473 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:37,639 Speaker 3: wanting Guatemala and the other in Costa Rica. So they 474 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:41,159 Speaker 3: need someone to go back and support those two projects. 475 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:43,480 Speaker 3: So they're really looking for someone that was like a 476 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:46,480 Speaker 3: peascore volunteer that could, you know, roll up their sleeves 477 00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:47,840 Speaker 3: and not be afraid. 478 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:50,680 Speaker 1: Experience in speaking Spanish was essential to it. 479 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:55,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, will be right back. 480 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:15,080 Speaker 4: Just curious to get between your ears midway through or 481 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:17,119 Speaker 4: seventy five percent of the way through your time of 482 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:22,760 Speaker 4: water mile. What you know, this is a two year commitment. 483 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,840 Speaker 4: What in your mind, who you're thinking is next for you? 484 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:30,240 Speaker 3: I you know, the Peace Corps to me is like 485 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:31,360 Speaker 3: a fine wine. 486 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 1: It gets better with age. 487 00:25:34,119 --> 00:25:36,720 Speaker 3: So when I was in the experience, I was not 488 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:41,400 Speaker 3: very happy because I in so many ways I think 489 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,760 Speaker 3: of like the beautiful part of like American culture. It's 490 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:47,320 Speaker 3: like we're builders, We're gonna change, We're gonna fix stuff. 491 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:49,400 Speaker 1: And that was not what I was supposed to do. 492 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,320 Speaker 1: And I was met with what are. 493 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:52,919 Speaker 2: You supposed to do? 494 00:25:53,119 --> 00:25:54,760 Speaker 1: There's three goals of the Peace Corps. 495 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:58,679 Speaker 3: One is provide some technical expert expertise and you know, 496 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:00,840 Speaker 3: help so I knew something and stuff, so I was 497 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:04,119 Speaker 3: sort of helping farmers. The other is in exchange, so 498 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:06,399 Speaker 3: I learned from them, they learned from me. You know, 499 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:09,200 Speaker 3: we're good people. And the third goal is we come 500 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:11,240 Speaker 3: back to the United States and we share what we've learned. 501 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:15,440 Speaker 3: So in some ways this podcast is sharing that third goal. 502 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:20,040 Speaker 3: So you know, I thought I could go in and 503 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:22,280 Speaker 3: I could fix anything, and you know, but I also 504 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:25,199 Speaker 3: didn't know what needed to fix, be fixing or you know. 505 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:28,359 Speaker 1: It was back to that lack of understanding. 506 00:26:28,359 --> 00:26:32,080 Speaker 3: So I felt less capable of service, less capable of 507 00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:37,280 Speaker 3: contributing something meaningful. So when I was leaving, I just 508 00:26:37,359 --> 00:26:39,880 Speaker 3: I love business. I thought, you know, I'll just get 509 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:41,440 Speaker 3: a good job and I can speak Spanish. I was 510 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:44,679 Speaker 3: going to go sell hialty tools at home depot. I 511 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:46,119 Speaker 3: was going to be a rep. That was I was 512 00:26:46,119 --> 00:26:48,440 Speaker 3: actually potentially gonna go back to Green Bay and sell cheese. 513 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:53,280 Speaker 3: I just wanted to both do business because I thought, 514 00:26:53,359 --> 00:26:56,040 Speaker 3: you know, there's a fair exchange, and I want to 515 00:26:56,040 --> 00:26:57,840 Speaker 3: do it in the context of speaking Spanish. 516 00:26:58,200 --> 00:26:58,520 Speaker 2: Got it. 517 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:02,959 Speaker 4: So Monster reaches out and you're like, here, it is 518 00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:04,119 Speaker 4: business Spanish. 519 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:07,320 Speaker 3: Probably important to give a little bit of context. Then, 520 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:11,240 Speaker 3: how the foundation got started? So John Mackie, founder of 521 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:15,520 Speaker 3: Whole Foods to Market, he twenty years into building the 522 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:17,120 Speaker 3: grocery store, said hey, it's time for us to give 523 00:27:17,119 --> 00:27:19,400 Speaker 3: back to global community. We trade one hundreds of countries, 524 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:22,240 Speaker 3: and he found and fell in love with micro credit. 525 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:24,280 Speaker 2: Well that makes sense, that's cool. 526 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:25,359 Speaker 1: Super cool. 527 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:27,840 Speaker 3: And John Mackie's smart guy that did a bunch of 528 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:29,920 Speaker 3: research and said, why don't we just start, Why don't 529 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:30,800 Speaker 3: we partner with the best. 530 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:34,480 Speaker 1: So the best are this group out of Bangladesh, Greman. 531 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:38,160 Speaker 4: Bank about a Bangladesh, Yeah, Bangladesh. 532 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:39,960 Speaker 2: Where did that come from? Well? 533 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:43,760 Speaker 3: They micro credit was this thing that started to gain 534 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:46,880 Speaker 3: momentum in two thousand and five. The World Bank called 535 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:51,960 Speaker 3: it the Year of micro Credit. It was the first 536 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:56,720 Speaker 3: solution to a social problem poverty, that had a business 537 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:01,520 Speaker 3: like approach that could make life loans, get those loans repaid. 538 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:05,359 Speaker 3: So there was a ton of excitement from people from 539 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:08,840 Speaker 3: all walks of life that saw potentially a business like 540 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:12,639 Speaker 3: solution for a real, entrench social problem. And it started 541 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:14,280 Speaker 3: to shift how people saw the poor. 542 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:16,200 Speaker 2: And the idea. 543 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:20,600 Speaker 4: And now I'm asking, I'm stating, but with a question 544 00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:25,800 Speaker 4: mark at the end, if I kind of moderately understand 545 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:29,119 Speaker 4: the whole micro credit thing as it pertains to two 546 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:33,280 Speaker 4: thousand and five and Bangladesh, it's exactly what it sounds like. 547 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:36,480 Speaker 4: Really small loans three four five hundred dollar loans two 548 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:43,320 Speaker 4: very very poor rule farmers or maybe even entrepreneurs to 549 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:48,360 Speaker 4: just help them get over the line. And they were. 550 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:52,160 Speaker 4: The term on these things was really short too. I think, yeah, 551 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 4: it is that about that. 552 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:58,080 Speaker 3: So Professor Unie wrote a book called Banker to the Poor, 553 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:01,680 Speaker 3: which really helped catalyze people understanding of how it worked, 554 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:06,960 Speaker 3: but also deeper the underlying problems facing those in abject poverty. 555 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:11,160 Speaker 3: So the story goes in nineteen seventy seven, he goes 556 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:15,160 Speaker 3: back to Bangladesh to help rebuild the country they gain 557 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:19,640 Speaker 3: its freedom from Pakistan, and what he saw as a 558 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:23,440 Speaker 3: professor was that people were dying of famine. 559 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:25,240 Speaker 1: So he went out and tried to understand why. 560 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:29,840 Speaker 3: He comes to discover that there's people borrowing money from 561 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:30,479 Speaker 3: loan sharks. 562 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:31,160 Speaker 1: They've got to pay. 563 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:32,520 Speaker 3: They get a dollar today and they got to give 564 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:33,920 Speaker 3: them back two dollars at the end of the day, 565 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:38,280 Speaker 3: that kind of thing. So he bands together forty two 566 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:41,440 Speaker 3: women and gives them a total of twenty seven dollars 567 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:44,480 Speaker 3: to free them from these loan sharks. How many twenty 568 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:50,920 Speaker 3: seven dollars to forty two women. Yeah, in this case, 569 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:53,240 Speaker 3: he got to put in context of Bangladesh at that 570 00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:57,920 Speaker 3: point in time, there was women doing the work weaving baskets, 571 00:29:58,000 --> 00:29:59,680 Speaker 3: but they were not actually. 572 00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:01,760 Speaker 1: Allowed to touch money. They didn't have a voice. 573 00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:05,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, so it's a profoundly different context than we that 574 00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:08,240 Speaker 3: anyone can really understand you in today. 575 00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:11,320 Speaker 1: So he goes through this process of discovery. 576 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:14,280 Speaker 3: You know, can you imagine trying to serve someone that 577 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:18,040 Speaker 3: you're not actually allowed to talk to. So he had 578 00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:20,560 Speaker 3: a students to a female students I would have to 579 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:23,560 Speaker 3: talk to to talk to the women as they built 580 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:23,920 Speaker 3: this thing. 581 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:26,960 Speaker 1: And flash forward twenty twenty years later. 582 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:30,840 Speaker 3: Multiple millions of people in Bangladesh, primarily women, are gaining 583 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:33,360 Speaker 3: access to small loans a couple hundred dollars, and they're 584 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:35,760 Speaker 3: able to invest invest that's a big part of it, 585 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:38,640 Speaker 3: and be able to invest in making more money. 586 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:42,880 Speaker 1: Huh So John Macki says, this is awesome, we should 587 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:43,160 Speaker 1: do this. 588 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 4: Well, I want to go back to the Bangladesh thing. 589 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:48,840 Speaker 4: Women were not allowed to handle money or. 590 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:49,320 Speaker 2: Speak to men. 591 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:56,040 Speaker 4: Correct quick question, how does the species pro create if 592 00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:57,360 Speaker 4: women cannot speak to men? 593 00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:01,040 Speaker 3: I mean, I'm not at certainly a student of Bangladesh history, 594 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:02,760 Speaker 3: but if you go back to Bank of the Poor. 595 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:06,640 Speaker 3: Because of his professor UNI's status, he was a professor, 596 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:09,880 Speaker 3: He was not part of their family. The idea that 597 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 3: he could just simply go have a conversation with another 598 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:14,560 Speaker 3: woman in a world village was not. 599 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:16,600 Speaker 1: Acceptable, no kidding. 600 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:21,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, So you know, it's certainly, and I think that's 601 00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:24,200 Speaker 3: this cultural context that is so important for us to 602 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:25,680 Speaker 3: understand and be. 603 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:28,920 Speaker 4: That's fascinating to me. I'm gonna go read about that. Yeah, 604 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:34,960 Speaker 4: probably tonight when I have twelve minutes extra. So they 605 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:38,120 Speaker 4: make twenty seven dollars loan to forty two women, and 606 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:41,840 Speaker 4: they found out that just that little amount of money helped. 607 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:45,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, and that at the same time, there's groups from 608 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:47,640 Speaker 3: all over the world that were starting to explore an 609 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:50,360 Speaker 3: experiment with this kind of thing. Because there is one 610 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:54,400 Speaker 3: universal truth about people in poverty, whether in Memphis or 611 00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:58,760 Speaker 3: Austin or World Guatema, it's an absence of resource and 612 00:31:58,800 --> 00:31:59,560 Speaker 3: money is the most. 613 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:05,960 Speaker 2: Clear agree more that is that is it's access. 614 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:10,800 Speaker 4: It's access to credit, access to good medicine, access to education, 615 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:15,000 Speaker 4: access to transportation. We can name a list of one 616 00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:19,880 Speaker 4: hundred things, but access is the is what I've grown 617 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:23,600 Speaker 4: to learn is the biggest impediment to getting out of 618 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:24,520 Speaker 4: abject poverty. 619 00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:26,680 Speaker 2: It's just access to things that most of us take 620 00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:27,120 Speaker 2: for granted. 621 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:29,880 Speaker 1: And I think it's a big piece of that. That's 622 00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:33,560 Speaker 1: that question, a story is deep. 623 00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:37,400 Speaker 3: Understanding of what are the limitations to that access. So 624 00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:41,280 Speaker 3: there's this idea of a triple whammy effective poverty. It's 625 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:44,400 Speaker 3: also that income is often low, but it's not just 626 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:47,520 Speaker 3: that it's low. It's highly volatile, and it makes it 627 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:50,640 Speaker 3: difficult to pool together lump sums of money. So those 628 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:53,479 Speaker 3: three things together make it extramely difficult. 629 00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:56,200 Speaker 2: Well, income's low, it's volatile, meaning. 630 00:32:56,840 --> 00:32:59,760 Speaker 3: One day a dollar a day now four dollars tomorrow, 631 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:01,560 Speaker 3: nor money for the next three days. 632 00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:04,560 Speaker 4: How do you plan right? How do you budget? So 633 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,480 Speaker 4: there's no financial literacy, well. 634 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:10,920 Speaker 3: No, And also lack of trust, lack of lack of 635 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:14,160 Speaker 3: belief that it's going to be better when it you 636 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:14,800 Speaker 3: never know. 637 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:17,040 Speaker 1: It's always it's a roller coaster, all right. And what's 638 00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:17,600 Speaker 1: the third one. 639 00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:20,320 Speaker 3: The third one is because of the first two, it's 640 00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:24,200 Speaker 3: hard together to pool together lump sums of money. 641 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:26,640 Speaker 4: Which is why you can't invest, which is why I 642 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:27,360 Speaker 4: broke credit. 643 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:29,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly, So microad addresses, but it's also things that 644 00:33:29,840 --> 00:33:33,360 Speaker 3: you're not aware of. Oftentimes there's a great book called 645 00:33:33,400 --> 00:33:36,640 Speaker 3: Portfolios of the Poor that talks about South Africa and 646 00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:39,960 Speaker 3: people go into debt for the funerals of their loved ones. 647 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:44,640 Speaker 3: So pulling together lumps some somebody to weather storms, whether 648 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:47,920 Speaker 3: the low points is really important as well as not 649 00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:51,400 Speaker 3: being able to capitalize opportunities because of the lack of credit. 650 00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:56,000 Speaker 3: Lack of lump sums compound all of those things good 651 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:56,760 Speaker 3: and bad. 652 00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:04,560 Speaker 4: So interesting, it's beyond this, beyond the purposes of our conversation. 653 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:08,160 Speaker 2: You can fix a lot if you could fix that. 654 00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:13,080 Speaker 4: So this micro credit thing, you answer the Monster dot 655 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:16,439 Speaker 4: com and the Whole Foods guy likes this whole micro 656 00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:18,600 Speaker 4: credit idea and this. 657 00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:24,000 Speaker 3: Is a story gets crazy. So John Macki meets Mohammed Unis. 658 00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:28,200 Speaker 3: Mohammed unas, as we can replicate the grid. John Macki 659 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:32,520 Speaker 3: is a founder and CEO of Whole Foods. Mohammed Unis 660 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:36,760 Speaker 3: is the founder and CEO of Gamen Bank in Bangladesh. 661 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:40,640 Speaker 3: So they come together and Muhammed Unis as, we can 662 00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:42,719 Speaker 3: replicate the Gamen Bank anywhere in the world as long 663 00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:43,400 Speaker 3: as we have money. 664 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:46,160 Speaker 1: John Macki is like, well, I got money. 665 00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:50,600 Speaker 3: So they partner to have Whole Foods now the foundation, 666 00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:54,759 Speaker 3: Whole Planet Foundation fund all of the necessary capital to 667 00:34:54,800 --> 00:35:00,799 Speaker 3: build a sustainable replication of Gamen Bank in Guatemal and 668 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:01,720 Speaker 3: Costa Rica. 669 00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:05,960 Speaker 4: So we're going to take what they learned in Bangladesh 670 00:35:05,960 --> 00:35:09,120 Speaker 4: about micro credit. And because I've made all this money 671 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:11,080 Speaker 4: with Whole Foods, We're gonna make whole what bank? 672 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:13,800 Speaker 1: What's the foundation they start was called whole Planet. 673 00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:18,000 Speaker 4: The whole Planet, I get it. So the foundation created 674 00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:20,840 Speaker 4: by the success of Whole Foods is now called Old Planet, 675 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:25,080 Speaker 4: and we're going to replicate in Costa Rica and Guatemala 676 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:30,840 Speaker 4: with micro credit. What the success has been in Bangladesh? 677 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:33,040 Speaker 4: And how are you balled up in this? 678 00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:34,759 Speaker 1: They air dropped ten Bangladesh. 679 00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:39,480 Speaker 3: He's from Grimen Bank, Okay, into Costa Rica and Guatemala. 680 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:43,279 Speaker 3: These guys definitely don't speak Spanish and they English is 681 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:46,960 Speaker 3: a little broken as well, so that is their their 682 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:50,880 Speaker 3: support is bags of cash and like a connection to university. 683 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:55,800 Speaker 3: So they quickly say, well, they've we've got a problem. 684 00:35:56,280 --> 00:35:58,160 Speaker 3: Let's hire somebody, Let's hire a residence. 685 00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:03,320 Speaker 2: They need a Mexican wrestler, that's what we profile. 686 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:05,840 Speaker 1: Have you been in a Mexican wrestling ring? You do 687 00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:07,080 Speaker 1: love to give me back this. 688 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:09,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, so I was fortunate to be the right place 689 00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:13,080 Speaker 3: at the right time. I could not have dreamt of 690 00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:15,440 Speaker 3: a more ideal situation. 691 00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:23,200 Speaker 4: And that concludes Part one of our conversation with Steve 692 00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:25,919 Speaker 4: Wanta and you don't want to miss Part two that's 693 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:29,680 Speaker 4: now available to listen to. Together, guys, we can change 694 00:36:29,719 --> 00:36:31,799 Speaker 4: this country, but it starts with you. 695 00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:33,319 Speaker 2: I'll see in Part two.