Honest Christian Conversations
A weekly podcast dealing with cultural and spiritual issues within the Christian faith.
Want to be a guest on Honest Christian Conversations? Send Ana Murby a message on PodMatch, here: https://podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/honestchristianconversations
Honest Christian Conversations
Finding Freedom in Business and Personal Life
Have you ever wondered how to bounce back from life's most brutal setbacks? Join us for an enlightening conversation with Richard Walsh, CEO of Sharpen the Spear, as he reveals his extraordinary journey from losing everything in the 2008-09 financial collapse to rebuilding his life and becoming a beacon of hope for others. Richard's compelling story, detailed in his book "Escape the Owner Prison," offers priceless insights for contractors looking to grow their businesses without sacrificing their personal lives. Learn how a transformative moment with his children reshaped his priorities, highlighting the critical roles of family and faith.
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Richard Walsh is the CEO of Sharpen the Spear, a coaching service for people looking to improve their lifestyles and businesses with biblical style principles. He hasn't always had the wisdom to undertake this task, but through hard work and humility, he has risen above his setbacks and come to realize what is most important in life legacy and faith in God. Today's episode will leave you feeling empowered to take on the challenges in your own life and business with grace, humility and trust in God. Be sure to share this episode with family and friends so they, too, can be blessed by the contents of this episode. Hey, richard, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. I'm excited to talk to you.
Speaker 2:I am very excited too. It's great to be here. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:I have started reading your book. A little bit of it. I liked the introduction. A little bit of it. I liked the introduction. It was sad to see what had happened to you, but at the same time you could see your humble nature shine through towards the end, where you got the big picture. You figured it out, what needed to change, and you took the steps to change it, which I thought was very interesting. I really liked that. So I want you to tell us what the name of your book is and why you decided to write it.
Speaker 2:The name is Escape the Owner Prison and the subtitle is the Contractor's New Way to Scale, regain Control and Fast-Track Growth While Loving Life. The reason I wrote it? Because after some people don't know the long story. So, 20 years in business, 08, 09 hit. I've seen financial collapse all over the place which affected my business.
Speaker 2:I was a custom water feature builder and a steel sculptor. I had international recognition on that stuff and everything else, but the collapse wasn't the actual problem. It was my business right. So I had done really well, award-winning, top guy, made tons of money, but I didn't really pay attention to the business itself. I just was being an artist and being out front and doing all that, and that collapse just exposed a lot of holes in my bucket, as I like to say, and we lost everything. So we went from losing my business, losing our home. I had six small children under four. At the time, my wife had to relocate and move to another state. That was challenging. From there I had to rebuild, so the big issue was really starting over.
Speaker 2:So escaped the owner prison when it came in. It's going to be down the road a little bit, so got to begin, didn't even know what I was going to do. I knew that I wasn't going to do what I did. I had enough of that. That business really became my identity For 20 years. It was who I was. Without that, without the company that's called Rick Rock, without a Rick Rock shirt on or a hat, my truck's all detailed, my guys, everything's working, then I didn't exist.
Speaker 2:It really came to that point where business was first for me and I had a big epiphany one morning early on nine about my kids, how I'd leave the house and like one time my son was chasing me down the driveway crying. I'm driving away in my truck, just looking at him in the rear view mirror and I just kept going, okay, like well, they got to learn. And then I come home and they all attack me. So I got six little kids and they love to see me and I'm like you know I started thinking that morning. It was just really an odd thing. I'm like you know, if I stay on this path of business first and win and do all this, that I'm actually going to ruin my children's lives. They're going to have broken marriages, failed relationships. They might do well in business, but they're really not going to understand what is truly important, okay, and the interesting thing about it was I'm like, okay, so I won't do that. I'm really an all or nothing person, ana. So I like walked in, I got out of bed, walked in the office and like we're done today, okay, we're going to collapse anyways, it's closed, and so I sped it up, that closed down everything else.
Speaker 2:Now, an important thing here is to read in the book is I was what I call a Sino, a Christian in name only, okay. So I was like I was going to church and doing that kind of stuff, you know, but I really didn't know what being saved was or anything. So the interesting part about that so that wasn't really a big factor. I really was focused on my kids and making that work. So we relocated, went through this stuff I'm going to speed the story here Started a new business, kind of figured out what I was going to do, scaled two more businesses, got back on top of things and that was all good.
Speaker 2:I did want to write a book. I'm like, well, I'm helping people, I'm their businesses. I really wanted to share my story but also help people in their businesses who were kind of trapped in the same situation. I was, because if I didn't start the business, if I'd opened the business, it wouldn't continue. That was the owner prison and I saw these patterns develop. So I started helping others.
Speaker 2:But at the same time, when I relocated, we're looking for a new church. We're going to these different churches and we're doing this stuff. I'm like we found one, did a couple, and I'm like I'm hearing about being saved One day. It's going through. I'm like, oh, what is that? So I'm typing. One day I'm sending an email to our pastor, right.
Speaker 2:So my wife comes up. She goes well, what are you doing? I go, I'm sending an email to Pastor Tim. She goes about what I go, about being saved. She goes what are you talking about? I go, well, I don't have a date. I don't even know we haven't gone to church for all these years. And I go do you have a date? She goes well, yeah, I got a date. I go well, I don't have a date. And she goes. I don't even know you. She gives me giant churches and everything else and never once is there an altar call, is there anything even remotely about it. It's all popcorn sermons. Now, feel good, go check the box on Sunday. So that was a big deal. Right Again, I'm thinking I'm this great guy and I'm a Christian and I have six kids. We're homeschooling them, we're going to homeschool our kids, we're going to do all this stuff, you know. But that was a big realization for me and that's where things really changed and changed how I did my business, stuff like that. So the book the book was like that was 2019.
Speaker 2:The book came out I, you know, I obviously got saved about 2012, that and then I'm like, okay, well, this is, you know, this is really great. Now we start. So I spent a lot of time in the word and I'm reading and reading. I've seen a lot of business principles, right, I said. But now I started really putting it into the word and this was so fascinating to be like, wow, this is all here. You know, there's nothing new. So that inspired me to do, obviously, the book for one and then helping others in that way and more of a kingdom mindset, like, really, who are we truly serving? How do we build a business that everyone benefits and not just the owner? How do we build this to make them better as people and families and things like that? That's kind of the condensed version of what it was. It brings us to where we're at now.
Speaker 1:I love that there's a lot of small businesses out there that they're just trying to survive. They're so focused on the business because they have families they need to take care of and they're doing their best, but they're neglecting their families at the same time, which is most important, and God, as well, is most important and because they're neglecting those things, they're going to have trouble. So it's good that you have a business that you can help point them in the direction. Of this is how your business is going to thrive. Let's put things back into perspective. Put God first, put family first, and then your business will be easier to handle, because you've got the rest of it in the row. Our church likes to do the pyramid. You've probably heard about it God first, spouse, children, everything else. When everything's in balance, life goes a lot easier.
Speaker 2:That's so important. What I do is, like you know, you've probably heard the five F's right. You got faith, family, finances, fitness and friendships right.
Speaker 1:I've actually never heard that. That's good. Oh, there you go.
Speaker 2:There's the five F's, so take it wrong with it.
Speaker 1:It's not mine, Of course, I don't there's nothing new on it.
Speaker 2:I've learned a few things from you, cino, and the five Fs Nice, there's more to come. There's more to come on it. But really when? So people come to me and they talk about work-life balance right, we just talked about balance and I love the pyramid, is that also even in that pyramid? So you're on the left and your husband's on the right or whatever. But as we draw closer to God in that pyramid picture, that pyramid, right? So as we draw closer to God when God is first that's why it's faith, family we are also drawing closer together as a couple. Right, because we're getting closer on that triangle and God's at the top, but he's got to be first.
Speaker 2:I think the struggle is people. You run a business and it's your income generator. Right, that's how you're supporting your family. You have to do it. But if the business is a hot mess and it takes you to do everything and you're working 70, 80 hours a week, 100 hours a week, because you want to provide for your family and you want to be successful and all the cool stuff that I did, I did all that right for years and years. I got married later. I got married at 34. Didn't have kids until I was 39. That's when we started having children, you know, and three are adopted and three are biological. But it's that whole process.
Speaker 2:Through that, again, I'm like running, running, running hard and people say, well, why any work-life balance? And they kind of walk away. I don't really like the catchy little phrases like that, because no one tells you how. So like it sounds good, you know, it's a cool picture, but how do I get there? And in business, what I have to tell people, I said, okay, well, here's the five F's. Right, sounds really cool. I like that. Wouldn't it be great to be balanced on all those and have God first and all this. So that's really neat. But if the business is a mess, none of the five F's can happen.
Speaker 2:Okay, you have to fix your business. You have to get it running itself, primarily right, where we get to what we call working on your 5% as a business owner. That's the 5% of the business. Only you can do Right, this is really important. Like you don't need to be doing the day-to-days that's going to get hired out. You're going to build a business properly so that other people have authority and they have permission and they're able to do all this stuff in your business so we can run. Now we can talk about the five Fs, now you have margin in your life, now you have time to do this stuff and see it and be there for all of your children's games and plays and everything else that they do you can be there for because you are now truly control your schedule, because now your business serves you instead of you serving it, because most people are stuck in that way, serving their business right, the business is the owner, is the jailkeeper.
Speaker 2:I think when people understand that and that's why what I've done with owners is, once they get that realization, we can do things very quickly in their business.
Speaker 2:But that's where the freedom comes from. And I'll tell you with clients like I'm working with guys let's say, right, so they own a business, we get there, they're going. But the joy is like when their wife contacts me and says I never thought this was going to be possible, like we're at the beach for like a week with the five kids, like having a good time. We just eight years been building this bed, like never been able to have time right, like in total control, and we have the money and we have this and we have this right. So that's the reward at the end. But I think the focus when you understand well, first who you're working for right, your business is a business, but you're still serving the Lord. Right, do all things as unto the Lord and when you understand who you're truly serving, it puts a very different lens that you're looking through a very different lens, that you're looking through very different perspective and it really helps you speed to the result that you're looking for. It's really cool.
Speaker 1:Humility is key in business, I believe, because, as I was mentioning about the introduction to your book, there were a lot of I statements at the beginning of the introduction. I have to do this, I need to do this. It's about me I need to. When you have that mindset, not just in business but in any part of your life, I'm always reminded of the Bible verse that says pride comes before a fall. You have to be humble, otherwise things are going to crumble. No, I was not trying to make that rhyme, but that is true. If you don't make sure that you keep God-centered and you realize that you might need to delegate some stuff to other people in your business because you can't do it all, then it's going to start crumbling and you're going to need someone to come in, like you, who's going to be able to be honest with them in a caring way and say I'm here to help you. You need to get out of the way You're ruining your business by trying to do it all. I mean we get burnt out so easy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's and you're not. It's funny. I was an eye addict, so it's like it was just, it was all I mean. And that is not easy to overcome when you run in that direction, when, cause, here's the reality. I learned this actually recently, which is really strange. I was on a podcast, I was reviewing my book, great podcast and he's talking to you. He goes. Well, what's driving you? And stuff like that, Like all this stuff, I go. I don't know. I think I just like people telling me I'm great he goes. Oh, you're a word of affirmation, guy you love it.
Speaker 2:I go. Well, actually, that is all Because I didn't. I wasn't focused on money at all, like it didn't matter to me. I made lots of it, and that's a problem too. It needs to matter. Things you don't pay attention to tend to go away. If you don't pay attention to your money, it goes away. But and that was a problem but at the same time, I'm like wow, famous on this and this and praise with these people on these big committees and doing all this stuff, and it was. I'm like wow, that's kind of that was terrible.
Speaker 2:You talk about humility, and I think the best statement I ever heard on that was being humble, or humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less, right? So and I never did that, it was always me first and you do that with a wife and six children. That's not a good combination. It's not going to be a fruitful family thing, and it's still and I'm not by no means perfect and it's still today. There's things that I do that are not. I'll still catch myself on my way forward.
Speaker 2:You know it's all about you, huh, well, I'm also a very focused guy. We were talking before that, before we started. I'm like so, like, if I'm going to the store because I have to get something, I go to a store and I go get that thing. Okay, so I'm the guy you can have 10, 20,000 items and I get the one thing I need and I don't shop, I'm mission oriented only. Okay, so I get that. I come in and I'm out. Right, I'm moving very quickly. I get it. Part of being a Marine, you know, just accomplishing the task. So she's like you didn't call me to see if I need anything. I was like no, I just got the thing I needed. She goes yeah, okay, life has a lot of reminders right on this kind of thing.
Speaker 2:It's important to really get it dialed in and understand, but it has to be front of mind to really make it work. That's the challenge.
Speaker 1:In your book you talk about mindset. How has your mindset changed through the whole process of restarting your business, coming to Christ and being more focused on your family? How have you seen the mental benefits from all that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's a complete different piece. Now, as believers, we understand that peace has surpassed all understanding. Right, we get that and that's huge. But that piece I don't think people well, I shouldn't.
Speaker 2:This is going to be a very general statement, okay, I think a lot of people don't understand what that actually entails, what that means. Because I think a lot of people don't understand what that actually entails, what that means. Because I think a lot of us, especially the I mentality people, I would never, because I never asked for help. So all those 20, I wouldn't. And I had multi-billionaire clients offering me advice on things I should do. And what do you know? You don't build water features. You know, I think like, and they're all right, okay, but I never took help. I wouldn't ask for help, I wouldn't accept help. So, twice as long, twice as hard, that's what it took for me to do stuff.
Speaker 2:But I think what you're also not going to do and again, I wasn't a believer at that time you're not going to cast your cares, cast your burdens onto Christ. That's what we miss in business. We put all the stuff on ourselves. It's us, us, us to achieve, and we don't know or we forget that Christ is there. Right, we draw close to Him, he draws close to us. But what's the first step that's us right, drawing close to the Lord? I mean, he's a gentleman, he's not going to force anything on you. If you can make this, if you can reach out literally like Lord, I need help with this, like I can't do all this by myself. I, you know, I asked you to bring someone in my life to help me to you, take this. You know it's all this stuff when you start thinking about I. I wasted so much time and effort. Again, I didn't know the Lord in the way you should. At the time. I didn't even know anything about a relationship with Christ because they never talked about it at church.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:They didn't talk about it.
Speaker 1:That is heartbreaking to hear, honestly, and I'm pretty sure there's a lot of churches out in the world that are just like that, where there's people who have been going there since birth pretty much and they never knew that they actually were not believers. It reminds me of in the Bible when Jesus says get away from me, I never knew you. That is a scary thought. And I actually was there for a while, until I was 30 years old.
Speaker 1:I grew up in the church. I knew all the things, I knew all the stories, I knew how to act, what I should and shouldn't do, but I always had that nagging am I really going to go to heaven when I die? Feeling. And it didn't stop until I was 30 and I realized I really needed to have a relationship with God. I must not have had one before. And then I asked him into my heart and things changed and I never have that question anymore and my heart breaks for people who were in your position, where they've never heard that, they don't know what that is and it's like that's what we as Christians are supposed to do. That's what we were commissioned to do by Jesus himself. Go and make disciples, tell the world about me what I did for you, and there's churches that aren't doing it. It makes me angry.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's a lot and these are thousands of people. We had to sit in the gym and watch it on the screen. And then they're planting churches. I'm like you're planting, and so I don't know anything. At the time I was like, oh great, you know. I mean, I was kind of brought back by a friend of mine in business and his example is what really brought me back to church. Right, I grew up a Mormon, okay, Then left that at like 17. So I'm like, well, this is, yeah, there's something. One of my spiritual gifts is discernment. So even at a young age, I'm like, yeah, there's something wrong here. And I did it all. I mean every day, seminary in the morning, doing all this stuff, all this stuff, growing up in that, just surrounded constantly, and then I left and went the way of the world right so.
Speaker 2:I just went to the Marine Corps, got out, started a business, do all this stuff, and again, it wasn't until I was, whatever. I was 44, 45. And the great thing one of the many, many, many things I love about God is there's that grace Like thank you for keeping me alive until I could accept you, because I did a whole bunch of goofy stuff. It's just amazing. So I just have that level of gratitude knowing. But, like you said, so I want to live this. I want the Holy Spirit to be in me and to be present in the presence of others. So I want them to ask I'm not the guy going, hey, do you know Jesus? And I'm going to talk.
Speaker 2:That's not who I am. I mean there's a gazillion ways to share the gospel, right, my thing is I go deep in the word, I understand it, I focus on depth, not breadth, and then with people I encounter, I'm different, right, and if they knew me, then, as you mean now, like wow, they'll ask and I'll tell them what it really is right. That's why I put in the book too, but I let people know like this is the foundation, this is why I can do this now, you know. So when you ask, like how did this change in the family? And now I can go home, I can be with my kids. We homeschool them all the way through school, right, we did the whole thing. I even got in one church and the pastor like told me I shouldn't be homeschooling, it's too stressful. And my reply because I'm pretty straightforward.
Speaker 1:I said listen.
Speaker 2:I said do you want to know what's stressful, sending my children to the heart of the devil every day for eight or 10 hours? Okay, to me that's stressful. Now you can all have your whatever I. So we will sacrifice whatever it takes to do that. And that was just our, our goal, right, we understood it, we've done it, we put through it.
Speaker 2:And I was speaking with a woman who was a public school teacher for 20-some years and retired and you know that's a different conversation out of all that. But she's like, she's thought like, well, that's because you're well off and you're this and you could do all that. No, if you want to understand the homeschool community, especially the faith-based who want to raise their biblical worldview, they all sacrifice. It isn't because I have all this money I can make my own school at home. I mean it's one income, right. I mean homeschool families with 13, 14 kids and the mothers. I mean these guys are it's all sacrifice. Anything for the Lord is going to be sacrifice, right? Yeah, when you really think about it, I mean we're only guaranteed one thing here on earth and that's persecution. As Christians, you think about it.
Speaker 2:So I mean, we're only guaranteed one thing here on earth and that's persecution as Christians. You think about it. So everything is going to be a struggle, but it's worth it. The fruit that's produced is unbelievable. When I look at my kids now, my oldest is now in the Marine Corps. My other kids, they're all working. They're productive man. They're just awesome kids. They can look you in the eye, they can shake your hand. They're not obsessed on screens and it's. They're productive. People are going to do great things.
Speaker 2:You go, that was worth every sacrifice that we had to make. Whatever I did, you know, make less, do less, whatever it is, or build things correctly how I put it all together was so, so worth it. You know, to see that fruit, Because that's my legacy. Business is my legacy. Yeah, I want to help 10,000 business owners create freedom, profit and impact in their business. That's my move. Okay, but my family, god, and then the family right, and what I did with that like now they can go out. They're arrows. They're arrows in the hand of a mighty warrior, and I am a mighty warrior. Okay, but you got to launch those arrows, you got to get that stuff out there. So putting the focus on that was so critical in it and what changed so much on it is? That's what mattered to me right, it's God, just like your triangle. You said and this is really important to reemphasize this we got God first, and then it says family, but, like you said, it's spouse.
Speaker 2:I always tell people you really got to look at this. It's you and your wife or your wife or your husband, whatever that is, and you have three, five. You and your wife or your wife or your husband, whatever that is, and you have three, five, six, 20 kids, whatever it is. Here's my litmus test. I said when you and your wife are speaking and your kid runs up and interrupts and asks you a question, do you or your wife turn and address them and just say, okay, what do you need? I can do that. Or do they say hold on, we're in the middle of a conversation here, let us finish and then we'll talk to you? That is, like, seems so simple, but that is how you. Okay, this is how it works. We are first the conversation with my wife and I need to be first from a communication standpoint, prioritize it. Then the children, because if the children move into that slot, that is a problem because they will divide, I mean the children.
Speaker 2:That attention is division, it's division and there's a level of discipline you have to instill and I didn't know that in the beginning, you know, but that is really important because there is order. God is a God of order and systems and everything right. You have to understand like he has a plan. He tells us right, we show it. If we can stay inside those boundaries, that's where the blessings are right. Inside his boundaries, things are right. Inside is boundaries. So if we understand and develop those for our children, you know they're going to be so much better off because I just I see in the world there just isn't there's such a lack of that because it's all instant gratification you know from screens and everything.
Speaker 2:We can have whatever we want, whenever we want, regardless of income level. Right, we can satisfy anything that we want or need. And it's almost yeah, it's a challenge, let's put it that way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree, and yeah, my husband and I have been doing that too with our kids, because our youngest will always try to interrupt and we're like no, mommy and daddy are talking. You need to wait. When an adult is talking to another adult, you need to have patience and wait until their silence and then you can say excuse me, but you don't just interrupt. And they never like it. But we're teaching a valuable lessons that at some point they'll appreciate when their kids are doing it to them.
Speaker 2:Oh, I get it. Well, my kids are going to learn. That's why Dedo said you can thank me later. You can thank me later and they're like what You'll get it.
Speaker 1:I do the same thing to my kids. It's like you'll thank me later. What does that mean?
Speaker 2:And they'll get it. It'll be awesome because they'll be in their 20s or whatever it is and they'll have a couple of kids who are like oh, yep, okay, and then they'll literally thank you. It's those things. It's like when you look back at a teacher that we had right, that one great teacher at school cared but made you work and really drew the best out of you. You know you didn't like it, but you look back and that guy, mr Metzger I can tell you about Mr Metzger. That was him. The guy was unbelievable English and I, like, failed English all the time, but he was the one guy who helped me become a writer.
Speaker 2:He pulled all this stuff out of me and like encouraged it and I'll never forget that guy and I've been out of school for a long time.
Speaker 1:But you don't forget these people, because those things matter.
Speaker 2:People are going to respect those who help instill discipline, right, and create order. No one wants to operate in chaos, right? People think that's freedom. Freedom is not chaos. You know the great thing? You have a lion in a cage. You open the cage, the lion is free, right. But what's the lion going to do? He's going to go starve somebody. He's going to see a picnic table set up for a picnic. He's going to come and eat whatever he wants and destroy it. He's not going to ask whose is this, can I have a piece? Right, that's freedom, okay.
Speaker 2:But then there's liberty, like Paul talks about liberty. Right, that's self-restraint, self-governance, that's what God's given us. Is self-governance so able to say, okay, that's not my food, I'm not just going to grab a piece of chicken off the plate and we'll keep walking. You know what I mean. So it's like you have respect and you have self-governance, and that's what liberty is and that's what we have in Christ. So it's just not this. And that hyper grace movement is all about do whatever you want to do because you'll be forgiven. Right, it's all grace, grace, grace. And that's not the case. You know, that's just another lie. You have to be able to instill that. So, with me and business, and again that kingdom mindset and combining the two, there's such freedom in that, in your business, in your life, because it all gets to spill over into everything when before, all that spilled over was businesses.
Speaker 2:First, there was never any balance that I could achieve because I didn't know what it was. I just thought you know the world's going to drive you to success, right, and the great thing I learned was ambition in the driver's seat is a terrible thing to have. Ambition only belongs in the passenger seat. You need to drive, you need to decide where you're going, not ambition. You need to be ambitious, right. If you're going to be in a business, you want to achieve something, you have to work and you have to have the energy and you have to go. But it can't be the main driver, you know, and when it's when it's the driver, it's going off the road, it's going wherever it wants and it's not going to be a good place.
Speaker 1:Your mindset is always focused on God and your wife and your kids, and then business. Do you have a routine or anything that you do to make sure that you keep everything in its place before you start your day?
Speaker 2:Yeah, very much, very much so.
Speaker 2:So there's a great saying. I believe it was Jim Rohn. Give him credit, it was. We are defined by our rituals, right, the things that we do every day that happens we have. So here's mine. So I wake at 4 am every day, seven days a week. I don't play the work week, it's a seven days a week. 4 am get cleaned up. I drink 32 ounces of water within five minutes of being up. I make a special mushroom blend coffee. Good for my brain, good for everything in my body.
Speaker 1:So I have two cups of that. My husband does that too, Not coffee but, he does it with tea, but yeah, he puts mushrooms in there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Check out Laird Superfoods L-A-I-R-D. They have a dark roast. I'm doing a shameless plug here but I have nothing to gain from this but it's the finest coffee. They have a Peruvian high altitude coffee. It's dark roast. They have medium too, but with all the functional mushrooms I mean chaga, lion's mane, mataki, all this. It's unbelievable. Like, if he's a coffee, he's not a coffee drinker, then he doesn't drink coffee.
Speaker 1:He does drink coffee?
Speaker 2:yes, I don't, but he does Drink that, Drink that. It'll change his life.
Speaker 1:And all their products are amazing yeah just check out leardsuperfoodscom. Okay, enough of that. Sorry, I didn't get any from that, but I'm a big fan, so it's part of the morning ritual, right.
Speaker 2:So I have two cups of that while I'm doing my Bible study. So I do a Bible in a year plan. I'm always on that. So that starts at 15, 20 minutes and then I get into. Then I put on. I do a soaking music. So William Augusto, another. He does soaking in his presence, the whole. I mean tons of stuff. It's just instrumental and it's amazing All different. So I put that on and I continue to study in the Word.
Speaker 2:So I do about an hour until about 5.15, 5.15, 5.30. Then I go to the gym at 5.30 and I do a real intense one-hour workout. I box, I do all that stuff. So I do a very, very intense workout five days a week on that. Do that, come back, get cleaned up, make my breakfast always, make my own food, everything else, and then I'm ready for the day. So now I'm set, right, I'm dialed in to God, god. First I'm hydrated, I've got my other abs, I've got great food inside me.
Speaker 2:Now I can head off to my office. I can get going on the day. So that's usually by about 7.30, 8 o'clock, pretty much heading out the door. If I need to go out the door, I can work at home, so I've got a pretty flexible schedule for movement and that dials in my day and when I don't do that it's not a good day. So I don't work out Saturdays and Sundays, unless I really feel good, because I use that two days of rest but everything else is the same. So it's four o'clock, it's the water, it's the coffee, it's making my breakfast, all that stuff I do it, you know. So that for me really keeps me straight, really gets my day started right, I can feel great, I can be here early doing podcasts. I'm on point. Years ago I started doing the Bible in a year and I started. I read the Bible about two, three times I think, before that. You know cover to cover and let's not like the goal right, like it's, it's good, but it's the Bible, so like you're never going to read it enough.
Speaker 1:Okay, you're just not.
Speaker 2:Like you're always going to be getting something from every time. We all on this, the living word of God. So now, the last eight years when I started, it's like and I'm not bragging, I'm just saying.
Speaker 2:I have not missed one day, not a day to travel, whatever it is. I've never messed up that schedule. So I'm in a hotel, it's 4 am, it's this I never and I'm like and it means something to me very I like checks on boxes, so I get it and the app I use is a Ben Bros app and I use that when you do the reading for the day, you get to check that you did it.
Speaker 1:It's very exciting for me.
Speaker 2:I don't know. Okay, see that little blue check. I'm like, yeah, cause. Then every day you see the whole day, every day, every year I've been doing it. I'm like this is it? Here's my little check. You know I do it. Then I get into more study, but I do that part, you know so. But that consistency has made such a difference in everything I do and my kids now they get up at like five to go to work and everything. Now They'll see me, I'm in my chair, my coffee, I'm studying. So they see that every day too. So there's again that example, because more is caught and taught with kids. Right, you catch everything you do. You can tell them all this stuff, what to do and how to be good people. If you're not living it, it's all for nothing. Yep, I agree, you have to. They will fall back on what you did, not what you told them. It's just a really important thing.
Speaker 1:Intentionality that's the catchphrase for your life intentionality. I like that very much. That's a very good morning routine and I'm very proud of you for being able to stick to it no matter what happens. That is definitely not an easy thing to do, I can tell my schedule gets wonky often with my family. I still try really hard to at least read something or listen to praise and worship music every day when I can, because I do feel the difference. If I don't, I'm always intentional at least about doing that. But it can honestly say it's not always at the same time, all the time I would like to be. But it's a little easier when the kids are in school. I mean during the summer it's a lot more difficult, I think, because you guys have your routine. You know they're homeschooled, so you've had that routine. I think that's also helpful. My kids still go to different schools and everything, but during the school year it's a lot easier for me to keep my consistent routine.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's all navigation, it's all navigating, it's all priorities and stuff. You know, I learned that and I've gotten up at 4 am since I was like a little kid. I was born at 4.20 am, that's what. I attributed to that was my birth time, so I was like I've been doing it since birth.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's funny, but I always told people.
Speaker 2:It's like nothing's going on in the house at 4 am. There's no distractions. I even keep it dark, right, so I'll just reset on the phone. You know, do that like. I just sit in the dark. You know I love watching the sun come up, you know so I got this great east facing window in my chair and the sun starts creeping up. We're out kind of farm country, you know so that horizon is just awesome, you know so I've I've been able to design that right, which, again, I couldn't do 20 years ago. But now I like I such purpose.
Speaker 2:Like you're saying, you're able to design your routine, but like you do, you still make it happen, right. Maybe it's nighttime when you do it, maybe it's before you go to bed. Maybe it's on your construction guy you're working. Maybe it's lunch in the truck. You know you got 30 minutes and you spend time in there while you're having your lunch and stuff. You know we all have to make time for the Lord. Again, we have to do the work. We have to do the work first. He's going to be there. But if there's no effort, well, we know how. That is too right. If our kids don't do what they're supposed to do. Well, it's not strengthening the relationship. They're ignoring the things we've asked them to do. They know they should do and things like that it's important. And rituals, I think, with children, if you can build those in some sense, have something that's consistent. You know if it's going to work out, if it's time in the Bible, that's important because they will grab that for sure.
Speaker 1:Prioritizing God is something that I've definitely been working on, and I'm also trying to work on it with my kids, and I like how you reminded everybody listening. You need to make sure that you're being the example, because things are caught more than they're taught, which is absolutely true. Your kids are watching and you need to be making good decisions if you want them to make good decisions, because they're going to do what you're doing, so I like that you reminded us all of that. Richard, thank you so much for coming on today. I've enjoyed our conversation. You were so full of nuggets of wisdom and new catchphrases, like CINO and the five Fs. I love it. Where can people find out more information, especially small businesses that might need your help?
Speaker 2:You can go sharpenthespiritcoachingcom, so sharpenthespiritcoachingcom, and I'll tell you what I love these conversations. So I don't get to do these kinds of conversations a lot, right, I do a lot of podcasts and stuff, but let's give a gift to your audience. If they go to sharpenspiritcoachingcom, go to my contact page, send me a one sentence email. It says hey, I heard you on a show.
Speaker 1:I'd love to get the free audio version of your book and I'll send it to them Wonderful they would love that it's a pretty good book. Yes, from what I've read so far, it's an amazing book and I can tell it's going to be very helpful for everyone who listens. So, yes, everybody, make sure you go to his website, do what he said You'll get the free audio and I'm sure it'll change your life. Thank you again, richard, for coming on. I appreciate it so much.
Speaker 2:My pleasure Absolutely. Thanks, Ana.
