SPEAKER_03 0:00

Every day, nearly 18,000 children across the globe die from starvation and hunger-related causes. That reality is what ultimately drove Austin Samuelson and his wife, Ashton, to found Tacos for Life Grill, a restaurant brand built on the belief that business can be a force of real impact. At Tacos for Life, every meal purchased helps provide a meal to a starving child in need. What started as a simple idea in Conway has grown into 28 mission-driven restaurants across the country. To date, they've helped provide tens of millions of meals to children around the world. Austin's leadership blends entrepreneurship, faith, purpose, and a conviction proving that profitability and generosity do not have to be at odds. Welcome to Extreme Sensibility, Austin Samuelson. Austin, welcome to Extreme Sensibility. And I can't thank you enough for making the trek over. I know you're a busy guy. Got a big family, business, everything else, all the challenges in life. And uh, you know, we are honored to have you join us at our little place here. And hopefully we'll be able to share some information out there, some experiences with people that are meaningful and help give give some people some direction, some encouragement in life, and that's what we're here for today.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

So thank you for joining us. Well, I am excited to be here. I'm I'm super pumped. So good. I feel like we just met just a few minutes ago, and I feel like we're gonna become friends. So likewise, likewise.

SPEAKER_03 1:48

It's it's always great when you have that that connection that you feel with someone immediately, and uh and I I reciprocate that as well. So looking forward to this being the first step of a a lifelong uh journey uh with you a part of it.

SPEAKER_04 2:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:05

Well, um, you know, we uh I uh did a little research on you. Obviously, we know some people in common and um heard a lot about you over the years with what you and your wife had started uh with Tacos for Life in Conway, Arkansas. Uh always been intrigued with with the story. I was able to learn a little bit more about it just in researching it. Um and can't wait to for you to share that with our audience out there because there is there's so many lessons within that uh that experience, uh, you know, with family involved, especially with uh with your wife involved as a key component of that that journey and just the the direction y'all decided to go and how you got there is just uh it's it's really inspiring, uh to th say the least, of what y'all tackled and and the direction you wanted to go uh in in getting there. So, you know, let's just start in the beginning. Yeah. About yourself, you know, where'd you come from? Uh you know, where where was Austin some Samuelson developed? Yeah, well or cultivated.

SPEAKER_00 3:18

Yeah. Well, I'm from I'm from Arkansas. I grew up uh in Bologna, just uh outside of Conway, and uh you know, had a had a great childhood. My my parents are are just they're incredible people. I have I have a younger brother and a younger sister, and uh we grew up out in the country and just uh we just had a really fun, just normal, you know, childhood, you know, played played sports and uh learned, uh got the opportunity to uh I would say enjoy work early on, you know. And uh and then probably the the thing that was uh most incredible is uh I went to I always joked with my mom and dad, I'll go to church camp because there's a lot of really you know cute girls there and I want to meet girls. So my motives weren't always pure, uh, but I went to uh a super summer church camp before my 11th grade year, and I met Ashton. Oh wow and uh we uh we we hit it off, we hung out that whole week and we stayed in touch and I I went home and I told my brother, I was like, I'm gonna marry this girl. Wow. And uh uh let's see, I guess six years later it was, yeah, after we graduated from college and got married. That's cool.

SPEAKER_03 4:30

You know, uh my wife Kara and I we knew each other our whole life growing up in the small town that we grew up in, but uh started dating when we were in uh she was in tenth grade, I was in 11th. And okay, yeah, you know, uh again after cold I actually got married that last year of college. Uh so that's awesome. Yeah, same story. Those uh those relationships tend to endure. You you grow up together. Yeah, that's what we did. It uh it is really uh a unique dynamic having that opportunity to to experience that with someone you love and your partner for life.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

Yeah, absolutely. I feel incredibly thankful and blessed and and still feel that way every day.

SPEAKER_03 5:14

Yeah, you gotta step back and and take it all in every once in a while. But you know, growing up in the rule setting, yeah, um, you know, I I had that experience as well. Yeah, we I grew up in the city for a little while, then we moved out into the country. And uh the responsibilities you learn at such an early age uh and the consequences of not carrying those responsibilities or fulfilling them become very poignant very quick. Yeah. And you know, one of the things that I've noticed in just seeing other self-made people out there, uh business leaders that kind of developed on their own, a lot of them have that rural upbringing. You know, what do you think why why where does that what does that foster? Yeah. Uh that seems to create that drive in your opinion.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

I mean, I think there's a I think there's a lot of aspects to it, but you know, one of the things that we're trying to cultivate with our boys right now that I experienced growing up is we had horses, right? And, you know, it didn't matter what the temperature was outside, what the weather was like, you had to feed the horses. Right. Right. And uh I remember times when you know it'd be cold for days and you got to go bust the ice on the pond, you know. And uh you just those are the things that you you do. You do them whether you feel like it or not, whether the conditions are good or not, you you do it because that's what you're supposed to do. Right. And so I think there's an element of that. And we we have uh we have a few animals now with our boys, and getting to have those conversations with them, I I don't know how you replicate that in other scenarios. Uh and I'm sure there are ways, but it it certainly makes it easy when you're able to say, hey, listen, you know, I know you don't feel like it, I know it's cold out there or it's it's raining and you know, all these things, and uh you're able to look at them and say, but this animal's life depends on it. And when you signed up and said, hey, I want to care for this, you you have to learn that responsibility.

SPEAKER_03 7:16

Right. And the livestock component, whether it be chickens or horses, or there's certain times of year, just like the winter and the heat of our Arkansas summers, where if you don't feel like it one day, you can literally kill. That's right. And so those consequences of the selfish behavior um of the laziness become very much in your face. I mean, I had that experience, I think we all did, where we oh, they'll they'll be all right for a day, and then, you know, because I want to go play with my friends down the road, or or we got invited to go swim in a pool or something, and I didn't feel like running out and and rewatering, you know, the animals, and I would do it later, and then the consequences there. Uh so yeah, that weighs that's something that you know still is a bit of a tra trauma for me. It didn't end up being, you know, a massive issue long run, but just seeing those animals suffer because I was selfish, yeah, and because I was irresponsible. Yeah. And that's one of those lessons that carries on, you know, into being a father, into being a husband, into being a business owner and having employees. It's that responsibility that you feel, which is good in a way. Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming as well. Oh yeah, absolutely. It um but yeah, I can definitely relate to relate to that, and I think that is a a huge component in that. And then then just you know, another thing is the consequences and and the way life works, you know, life and death. Yeah. You get to see it in real time, yeah, dealing with animals and you know, the um your herds and your flocks, yeah. And predators and you know, all of those things. So yeah, I don't I don't know of another aspect of life where you do get that type of direct, you know, contact with those levels of of responsibility and consequence. Yeah. Um, I'm sure they're out there. I'm sure they are too.

SPEAKER_00 9:31

But it's it's certainly easy to relate to it and easy to draw those those correlations. And then the other thing too, I thought, you know, growing up, you get to see you get to see guys older than you work hard. And it's different than working hard, you know, you and I both worked in an office setting, right? And when you see uh you see guys, I I mean, I remember, you know, being you know, really young and going out in the hauling hay, you know, and and you see the the teenagers or the you know, my dad throwing up hay bells on top of a trailer, you know, way above their head, and you're uh you can't even pick one up yet, and having this desire to want to, you know, I want to be strong like that. I want to be able to be tough like that. And and I want to be able to work hard like that because I see these guys doing that. And that was respect.

SPEAKER_03 10:17

Yeah, it was how you got respect was how much you were willing to labor. Yes, that was one of the only attaboys that we got growing up. It was at the end of the day where you were almost worked to death, you know, my dad would say, All right, you did a good job today. Yeah. And that you know, and that meant a lot a huge coming from him. Or even more my grandfather, gosh, he he would uh I only remember a few times, but it was uh it seemed it, I felt like I was near death, you know, anytime that he actually uh commended me on a on a job well done. But uh, but it it it hung with me. It meant something. And uh, you know, I I definitely can relate to to that mentality of of labor and what it meant to have and the you know the reward that you get from knowing you did a job and you worked your tail off and you accomplished this and you hung with the big guys and all of that, it really sets you up for that drive. And also you're not afraid to work. Exactly. You know, you learn from an early age about what work is. And so many people now, and I see it, we've got some really hardworking employees, and I see some also that are terrified of physical labor. Yeah. And that just blows me away. That's one of the big releases that I still experience today, even getting a little bit older, you know, is going out and putting a full day in outdoors, you know, taking in the sun, sweating out some impurities, you know. When you're sore, but you're like, I'm sore for a reason. That's right. I did some good work today. So it's yeah, God created us to work.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

And we like to think of it as a four-letter word, often. Oh, yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:00

You know, that is a great, great way of putting it. And uh, it is not that. It you know, I've got uh yeah, it's been a little a minute since I've I've had some tools in my hand. We we did some yard work, pretty intense yard work, and I'm paying the cost for for my uh office dwelling, you know, life uh lately. But um, no, very, very rewarding. Teaches a lot of lessons that I think. So well, you you didn't go into farming. What what uh what was your plan for your life? You know, you you met this wonderful woman, you decided hey, she's the right one. Where are we going from there?

SPEAKER_00 12:36

Yeah, well, I've always been there's a part of me that I always uh I always wanted to, even from a very early age, I had this entrepreneurial bug to me. And so I always had this kind of feeling inside of me like I I've got to start my own business. I I want to start my own business. It just it's kind of always been there, coupled with this um just fascination with construction. My my grandpa and great-grandpa were both engineers, and I'd watch my grandpa draw and you know, do it the manual way. And he would he would show me stuff and let me draw with him. And um, and and he uh he would talk about buildings and point out things and just really inspired this kind of fascination with it. My dad's he was in construction as well. He was on the finance side. Um, but he would I I think it was third grade or so, he'd start taking me down in the summertime to his office and let me, you know, uh mow the yard and I would clean out the job trailers that would come in, you know, off the job. And um and just there was always just this kind of excitement. I loved hearing the stories of of the job site, you know, and hearing about the antics and the the fun things that were done, you know, and uh and just also at the same time the incredible, beautiful things that were built. Creation. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's part of, you know, God, God sews that into us to create, right? Because he's a creator. And so uh so yeah, as a you know, high school and then and then college, I went to Washton Baptist and uh got a business degree there. And really kind of the whole time I I didn't really waffle with what I wanted to do. I wanted to, you know, get a degree so I could get out and I wanted to get into construction. And ultimately I wanted to develop properties someday. Right. And that's I wanted to be in commercial real estate. And that's that's the path that we were uh we were planning to go down. Uh Ash and I we got married right after uh college and uh we uh we decided to move out to Los Angeles.

SPEAKER_04 14:33

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

And uh I had spent my summers in college working out in Fresno uh for my uncle. He's a farmer out there. And um I'd sit on a tractor all day and uh just really enjoyed enjoyed that, enjoyed California. You know, I know California can get a bad rap, but uh, but we really we really enjoyed it and enjoyed the um just the newness, the uniqueness of it. And um, and so when we uh just you know got married, we we were thought, you know, let's let's try something new, let's get out of Arkansas for a minute. But we always felt like we'd come back here and we did, but um, but we we moved out there and part of my drive was I wanted to get into commercial real estate in a really challenging environment. And uh and then also God has a funny sense of humor because that was also 2008 as well. So it was doubly challenging. So we uh we moved out there and Ashton taught school and and I I got in commercial real estate and uh I like to joke, and uh you know, you and I probably both we've interviewed a lot of people and hired a lot of people, and I always I always like to remind uh folks my first job uh I made $300 in the first six months. So wow, it was uh it was 100% commission and I I got that $300 because I did a a tax uh assessment for someone. And uh, but you know, it was it was one of those those seasons of life, yeah. It's like, you know, hey, um it didn't work out the way that I thought, but uh it's kind of like we were talking about before we started, failure isn't a bad thing, you know.

SPEAKER_03 16:05

No, I think it is essential for growth. It is, it is, and you never you can't appreciate it all the time at the time it's happening. No, because it's tough. It is and it's tough on multiple levels. Um but uh after you've had a few of these cycles, you can look back and say, Oh, that's why that happened. Yeah, and uh you learn from it and you're stronger and smarter, and or you hope you are, yeah and uh and move forward. But uh so yeah, the uh those experiences, wow, your timing sounds about as good as mine's been. 2008, nine, and ten were interesting, interesting times for us all. It was. So you you know, one of the things that you you did mention, you know, your grandfather and your father, you know. Probably at at such an early age as a boy, you know, we're all looking for those guiding lights, those mentors. You know, okay, what what who do I need to be like? And that can be a positive or a negative based on who you're surrounded by. But I had the uh wonderful benefit of of being around really hard-working men, men's men, you know, that instilled a lot of of wonderful attributes into me at an early age that I was able to to grow from. You know, you mentioned your dad and your grandfather. Yeah. Were those your guys?

SPEAKER_00 17:38

They were. I mean, and and I would say my dad is still to this day one of my best friends. We we work together now um with tacos for life. And um yeah, he just from a very early age. And my dad was a unique, he he is a unique guy. Uh, he didn't have a lot of hobbies. And uh so there were times growing up, you know, he wasn't from Arkansas. And so I we I felt a little out of place at times because you know, all my all my buddies, you know, were hunting with their dads and doing all that. And that's that just wasn't my dad's thing. But um we uh we worked together, like he always had a project going on. And you know, I think there were there were times where I didn't always appreciate it in the moment, but looking back, um, I never felt like you know, I was in his way or were you know slowing him down. It it always felt like he wanted me there with him. And we would have the best conversations, we would talk, and it was just really special.

SPEAKER_03 18:34

Well, that's that's so important, you know, and uh what you just brought up because you know, this is one of the things that I kind of beat myself up about, about being a you know, my opportunities I had as a father. We did a lot of work, a lot of manual work, a lot of labor. We built our own things, we fixed our own things, we took care of our own stuff. And the boys were right along there with me most of the time. And in the heat of the battle, you know, when they're not doing something right or they're drifting off and you've asked them to do something, you know, you tend to lash out a little bit, maybe out of frustration, say some things that you later regret. But you know, sounds like your father kind of was on a level kill. Yeah, he was.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

And and I can identify with what you're saying, because I I tend to do that too with my boys now, and it's like, I want to go, I want to get this done, you know. And you know, so it's a good reminder to to look back. Yeah, we you know, the other thing though I give my dad credit for, because I I'd have to say this is as I grew up and I wanted to get into hunting, hunting and and doing things, he all of a sudden had hobbies. Right. And his hobbies were my hobbies, and then as soon as I left the house, it all of a sudden he didn't care about hunting anymore. You know, it was about spending time with yeah, and I I just think, man, that is just uh that's a I I don't take that for granted.

SPEAKER_03 19:53

Right, you know. Well that's an important thing. I you your father was a an open man, yeah. You know, and that's uh I see that a lot. Uh you know, where you know the parents take on, you know, they d they just want to spend time with their kids. And that's that was it. That's something that uh as being a parent and kind of keeping that open mind, you know, don't always drag your kids along, follow them a little bit. Yeah, and uh about that experience in the end. But uh so you you grew up there and we all went out to California, had that experience. Then what happened after California?

SPEAKER_00 20:34

And okay, so while we were out there, uh God was He was working in our lives, and and really, you know, Ash and I we both grew up in great Christian families and we both uh sort of following the Lord at an early age. But you know, here in Arkansas, that can be uh it can be very cultural, you know. I mean, it can be that's what everybody does. Um that's I mean, for lack of better way to say it, that's what the cool kids, you know, do in a small town, you know, at least at that time. Uh but when when we moved to California, that was the first time in our lives where uh if we were gonna say we followed Jesus, you started getting tested, we needed to mean it. Yeah. Because it wasn't cool. It wasn't like, oh, that's great. It's like, why would you do that? Like, that's crazy, you know. Um, that's not real. That's you know, all the things, right? And and again, God was just He was so gracious and kind to us. The uh Ashton, the school that she taught at was a uh it was a Christian school uh that had a great church uh attached to it. And so God just put us around just a great community of of believers. Support. And uh there's a a couple there, uh well, there's so many people there. Um, but one in particular that we really talk about often that they're 15 years older than us. They had kids that are now our kids' age, and they just took us into their house. And it was never um, you know, it was never like uh, you know, super um what felt like highly planned. Or highly structured. It was like, hey, we're gonna cook dinner for the girl. They had two girls. They have two girls. And uh, you know, we're gonna cook dinner tonight. Y'all wanna come and by the way, y'all are gonna help us cook and help us clean up. But all along the way, we're getting to watch how they parented. We're watching how they interacted as a couple, they loved each other dearly. Um, and um, and just watch how they walk through life. Right. And we kind of got a front row seat to see them do that. And there's so much of that we're like, okay, Ash and I were like, okay, this is how we want to live, this is how we want to parent our kids, this is how we want to follow the Lord. And uh, so that was happening. Um, really at the same time as we're out there, uh, God really started creating within us this passion for hunger. And um and that happened in a couple different kind of formats for us. One was uh, you know, in in Los Angeles, there's a lot of homeless people. Right. And uh we uh we lived on Sunset Boulevard, just right up from PCH, and that stoplight was seven minutes and didn't matter. There's nothing you could do to rush it, you know. So you were you're waiting there, and there was always someone standing there, multiple people. And my wife is the most outgoing, you know, friendly person in the world. And so she would just roll down our window. If there was a lady that was sitting on the side of the road, she would just start talking to them. And um she would get to know their stories, get to know their names. Right. And um, and so that kind of developed within us, it's like, okay, what's what's going on here? A lot of question asking. Uh, the the other thing that happened at that same time, um, Rich Stearns at that time, this is 2008, he was the CEO of World Vision, and uh he spoke at our church, and it was a smaller church, so it's kind of a unique thing that he spoke, but he shared a couple things. And and again, this is you know, 2008, 2009 time frame. At that time, he said 18,000 child children die every day from starvation and malnutrition. And uh, you know, I knew hunger was a problem, you know, starvation is a problem. You hear, you know, growing up, you got to finish your plate because there's starving kids, right? In China. In China. Yeah. Um, but I like numbers. And when he said, man, 18,000 children are gonna die today, they died yesterday, they're gonna die tomorrow because of starvation, simply because they don't have enough food to eat. That kind of I kind of perked up, you know. I was like, okay, that's that's significant. And then he said the next thing, he said, you know, but our our world produces enough food to feed everybody. It's not a this is not some unsolvable problem. In fact, all the major, you know, the UN, UNICEF, all these like big kind of you know, organizations, they all say hunger is the world's most solvable problem. And uh, okay, so that's interesting. And uh, and then being in a Sunday morning church setting, he says, you know, the the real problem, this was the dagger. He said, most of us as Christians, all we really care about is the next truck we're gonna buy, the next car we're gonna, well, we're in California, you didn't say truck, next car we're gonna buy, you know. Um, and uh, and we're we just, you know, we just don't care. Right. We turn a blind eye to it. And so that was his real challenge for us was what if we took James 127, taking care of the widows and orphans? What if we took that that verse seriously? And uh so that really started kind of this uh this journey for Ash and I uh leaving there that uh really took a couple years for God to keep working in our hearts. Right.

SPEAKER_03 25:27

Uh that was the seed that was the seed, yeah. Yeah, it's amazing, you know, you're aware of the all these things out there, but it takes that one person or that one experience in some cases to truly touch and bring it into your reality, yeah, where you can truly process it and God's like, okay. Here it is. Here this is it.

SPEAKER_00 25:47

You know, it's just the way that we needed to hear it too, you know, and that's a cool thing. Yeah, and so we uh we we picked up he has a book, great book called Hole in the Gospel. Um, we we put both read it, and um that was really the challenge. And it's like, hey, there's these things going on, and as Christians, what role can we play in in taking care of the widow and the orphan? And what can we do and how can we live our lives with intentionality uh to help, you know, push back on the darkness in this world? And so that started this journey for us of of asking God, okay, God, what is it? And and for us as you know, 22, 23 year olds, we you know, it was pretty simplistic. It was like, well, we're gonna try to make as much money as possible, and uh we'll give a little bit of it away, you know? And and that's that's okay. Um, and that's that's what we thought the the plan was, but but God kept pushing us and uh He kept building this this desire, this passion, and almost like this uh discontent within us to question, okay, maybe there's something more, you know, to this.

SPEAKER_03 26:51

That is uh I I like the the term you use, discontent. Um because uh you know, with uh when you hear about calling, you know, before I felt a real calling, opened myself up for it, it's just restlessness. Yes, yeah, you know, and once you once you kind of recognize it, it's like okay, when I shut my eyes at night, now I'm not just thinking about my day-to-day, I'm thinking about this this calling, yeah, this thing that I have to take action on. Yes, you know, I've accepted it, I've opened myself up for it, and now it's here, and it's not gonna let go. And so, you know, that I can I can relate to that that feeling. Um, and so y'all took that and and started developing and evolving, yeah, and then had the revelation of food service. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:50

Maybe I'm skipping ahead. No, you're you're right on track, and and because it's about as abrupt and as crazy as that is. Yeah, so we, you know, we ended up moving back to Arkansas and again, kind of on the same, okay, someday we're gonna do something, someday we're gonna do something. And and man, the craziest thing happened. We were back here. I was working in commercial real estate, Ashton's teaching school at Little Rock Christian, and uh, we go to church one Sunday. We go to a different church we don't normally go to. And the the preacher literally gives like pretty much the same uh sermon, same talk, whatever that Rich Stearns gave a year earlier. And I just remember kind of I just remember sitting back in my pew and just being like, God, what are you doing? Okay, what is this? You know, what's what's going on? And I didn't I didn't hear anything else um the rest of that morning. Uh but he I just very remember just just very very very I I hear heard him as clear as day, just like, hey, there's something here that I want you to to be attuned to. And that's where he started speaking to us about hey, what if what if there could be a business that did something to feed kids? And because I felt very much, Gabe, with this this wiring and the way God created me, you know, I I felt like God had created me to be in business. He created me to be entrepreneurial. Uh going to I went to Washtal Baptist University. Um I'm pointing like it's this way because it's kind of that way. Um, and uh, you know, half of my friends were in the kit Christian studies department, and they had a very clear calling on their lives to be preachers and to go into ministry. And uh, and then there are the rest of us heathens, you know, in the business school. Um, but but I I just I had this sense uh, okay, God created me with these gifts and created my friends with with gifts. Yeah. And so how do we step into that and answer this calling? And so that was kind of what this question then kept coming back around to. And that's where God was just so kind as to keep moving Ash and I both in this direction. And and he and he did it in a way that only he would do it because then he planted this crazy idea in our heads that, like, hey, it should be a restaurant. And uh we're like, okay, let's do that. But we're like, wait, we've never even worked in a restaurant one single day in our life.

unknown 30:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:11

And that's one of the hardest business models to succeed at. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:16

And uh yeah, you're you're in it now. You're you're getting it. So um, but you know, that's that's kind of, I guess that's the way God works. And he was so gracious in that. So we we we we joked around with it for a little while, we dreamed about it, and then uh finally we said, okay, God, you won't, it doesn't seem like you're letting this go away. We're gonna, we're gonna jump in. We're gonna it really is a surrender, you know. Yep. And uh, and so so we did that. That was 2011, and uh we opened our our first restaurant in uh September of that year. And I still for you know 15 years, 16 years now, I've tried to figure out how to open a restaurant that fast and haven't been able to. Um, but God just provided every step of the way. He uh we had we had we had no business opening a restaurant. We didn't have the money, we didn't have the knowledge, we didn't have any of the resources. And uh and God just provided every step of the way. We um He provided the location. Uh, we we've the the location that we opened, Pizza for Two is our first restaurant. The location that we opened was uh there was another restaurant that was set to go in there. And uh I kept telling the landlord, I was like, okay, when that changes, let us know. And sure enough, that changed. And it and it opened up. And uh we we went to six banks, and finally, after the sixth banks said no, yeah, we we uh learned, okay, God's got a different plan. And uh, and that was that was kind of uh one of those pivotal, pivotal moments where you know banks kept saying no. We're like, okay, God, we we feel like you've asked us to do this. Did we hear you correctly? Did we did we make a wrong step? Whatever. And uh we Ashton and I and my parents were uh um they were helping us out a little bit. Um we we just all agreed to pray about it for the weekend. And let's not talk about it, let's not try to strategize, let's just pray and just see what God says. And we came out of that and we all had this this strong piece that God was saying just keep moving forward. Right. And man, he provided.

SPEAKER_03 32:22

Yeah. Every every dollar we needed, he provided. That's uh, you know, and and you hear these stories over and over again, and this is one of the things I was resistant to uh before I became Christian. It was almost like fairy tale. Yeah. This was not a reality, this was something people were making up to justify their decisions. Yeah. Uh it's not until you experience it yourself that you realize this does happen. Doesn't mean it's gonna be easy. Yeah. In fact, a lot of times it means that you're signing on for a harder journey than you've ever imagined. Yeah. But it is the journey is laid before you to start stepping through it. And you know, the just flashing back, you know, you're telling your story, you know, the the restaurant industry. You know, we we uh other than waiting tables in college, you know, uh briefly, I had no restaurant either. And uh, you know, but it it it was like this place just kept popping up on our radar. Yeah. And, you know, we didn't have the money to do it, and then we did, and then this happened, and then my son and his wife, you know, we prayed a lot and and thought about it and talked about it, and it just kept coming back up, and all of a sudden, here we are in the chaos of the restaurant world. And you know, uh, so when y'all ended up, you you opened up your your pizza place. Yeah, I know you already thought about giving back, but it was it this um the same format, or yeah, is that where y'all start fostering?

SPEAKER_00 34:07

That was because this was kind of at the time when Tom's shoes was really really taking off and super popular. And that was where the whole this whole thought process came from. Having never worked in a restaurant day in my life, I was like, well, if someone can do that with shoes, how hard can it be for a restaurant? You know, and uh and God was probably laughing the whole time, you know. You'll find out, but I'll be but I'll be there. I'll be there. And uh and so um, yeah, that's uh we we we really felt this uh desire to want to have a very simple, like, hey, you buy a mill, you give a mill. And and for us, um, it really came down to, man, we wanted we wanted every guest that walked through the doors to be able to understand that, hey, I got to help be a part of making a difference today. Right. It doesn't, it's not dependent on percentages, it's not dependent on even profits. It's you bought a mill, you're gonna feed a child, regardless of what happens. And so you can explain that to a five-year-old and they get that and we'll get excited about it. And so yeah, that's where it started with Pete Pizza for Two back uh yeah, just a little while ago. Right, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:10

And so I'm sure, you know, looking back on that, just like a lot of uh the experiences in life, you know, it gave you you kind of that that small incubator to work through what works, what doesn't, kind of, and obviously y'all found uh some new direction. And so how did y'all come about that? I mean, what challenges led to that the big ones? I know they were probably a million, you know, just knowing restaurants and business. Yeah. Uh, but what really redirected y'all? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:43

That man, that's uh such a crazy, just amazing way that God He kept He just always has His hand on us, you know, and we don't always see it in the time. But we we were probably two years into uh running Pizza for Two, and it was hard. I mean, it was uh I mean, we're we were thankful we that we were getting to do what we felt like God called us to do, but it wasn't easy. We weren't making money, we were losing money. Um, the restaurant business is a is a hard business. My wife is really she is so gifted for it. She she just loves she would be in the restaurant day in and day out, every minute of the day.

SPEAKER_03 36:22

You have to have a passion.

SPEAKER_00 36:23

And that's her I'm more of a behind the scenes guy, you know? And so um it it it was always very draining on me. Um and so we we're two years into this, and and we get invited to go on a trip to Africa and uh to to visit one of the organizations we've been donating to. And uh we said, okay, we'll go, you know. And then as the trip gets closer to us, we're like, what are what are we doing? We don't have the money to do this. This is we can't we can't leave the restaurant for you know 10 days to go to Africa. And um, this is this is just not not at all what we should be doing. And but we've made the commitment, we bought the tickets and probably on credit cards, you know. We we we packed bags and and we went, and uh Travis behind the camera here went with us and he got to tag along and and see see the journey and and experience it. And and I remember I and and this is just real, but I complained the whole way to the airport. I'm like, I don't want to go, I don't want to do this. We we shouldn't be doing this. Doesn't make any sense. This doesn't make any sense. And at that point, you know, it was really uh like, okay, God, what we did this, we did this restaurant thing. Now, now what's next? You know, and we uh we get over there and again, God just he just has a an amazing way of working. And the uh the very first day we go to this care point, and uh the ladies there that that run the care point, they're uh they're they're cooking the food and it's you know, these big metal pots full of rice, and uh we somehow get volunteered to go up and and scoop and feed the kids. We're with a pretty small group of people, and um and we we start scooping and it starts with the littlest kids and you know, girls, and then goes uh you know all the way up to you know to the boys being last. And uh we start scooping and like, oh wow, this is cool. You know, this is exciting. This is this is why we do this, you know. And and that excitement quickly it quick quickly wore off because I'm I'm scooping, Ashton's handing it out, and I'm I'm watching this pot go down really quickly. Yeah. And uh and I'm looking at the line and I'm like, the line continues to grow. And uh and so we get we get maybe halfway through the line and the pot's, you know, got about a quarter left. And uh and I run over there and I'm try talking to the ladies, and they're like, that's all we have for today. That's all we have. And uh try to make it last. And I'm like, well, this is the reverse because now we're getting to the the you know, the teenage girls and teenage boys, they need more to eat. And uh and they told us beforehand, you know, most of these kids, this is the only meal that they'll have today. Most of them are orphans. Um and um and so you f you felt that that weight, you know. And we uh we run out of food. About 10 or 12 boys left in line. And um and you feel about that tall. Oh yeah, you know. And um we, you know, we were able to scramble around and myself and a few other guys, Travis. We ran down the street and there was a little hut selling bananas and some bread, and we got that. And and we were able to give them some food. And you know those kids, they sit there and they they piece it up and they'd already fed their their younger brothers and sisters, and you know, you watch that and you're like with people who have nothing. Yeah, just puts puts it in perspective.

SPEAKER_03 40:02

I you know, growing up with a father who was a medical missionary, um, you know, that is one of the most grounding things that I think I wish everyone could experience. Because while I wasn't uh religious at the time, it's humanity. Yeah, you know, and that's that's what you are dealing with. And it sets your bar for how blessed you are in a way that you cannot understand unless you experience it on that level. Yeah. And you know, our experience was in Central America, um, and it it was it was pretty rough in some of the areas, but your story about the kids, and I can I I can envision it because I've seen it. Yeah, these children have nothing. Yeah. And this is the only food that they're gonna get. And even at that, instead of hoarding it all themselves, they want to make sure that others are taken care of uh in that. And you know, it uh I got to witness that as well and and how powerful that impact is, and you see why people get into the mission work and change their dedicate their entire life to this. Like and y'all have done that through through your organization, you know, being able to at least offer something back. We can't always fix the geopolitical issues that are a big factor in them not receiving having food. You know, we can't re we can't fix the war, we can't fix the these uh cultural uh components to some of these societies. Uh but at least we can make an effort to make a difference. Yeah. So wow. Powerful stuff.

SPEAKER_00 42:11

Yeah, it was, and it it really changed, it changed all of us. And you know, we we left that trip. Ash and I did like you said, we were changed, you know, and uh we were able to step outside of like, okay, this is hard, this sucks, this isn't what we we thought. We were watching our friends take off in their careers, and you know, you compare yourself, and then all of a sudden you're like, okay, that that's okay. None of that matters after you after you see that. And so that's where Tacos for Life was born on really on that plane ride back to the states.

SPEAKER_03 42:44

Yeah, we're like, okay, the pizza thing's been fun, yeah. Uh, but we need to reinvent.

SPEAKER_00 42:48

And so and you said it a minute ago, Pizza for Two was this incredible little incubator, and we called it it was like the grand experiment of like, okay, what we're constantly changing and trying new things. We're like, okay, what if we just wiped the slate clean and took all the things we've learned, all the feedback we've received. Um, and uh what if we were to to you know start start over, try something new. And so that's where Tacos for Life was born. And uh we opened everybody like soccer. I know that's that was exactly tacos and cheese dip, right? And so, you know, uh that was that was the premise. So, you know, we we launched out of that and and came back. And again, you know, it's you know, I I just turned 40 and now I find myself getting more cautious and more like uh practical or whatever. But you know, as 25-year-olds, we had no business opening a second restaurant. Right. After struggling with the first. Yeah, we couldn't get funny. We had we we we we had no idea what we were doing. We didn't have a team, you know, we were working every day. Um, we couldn't stay.

SPEAKER_03 43:50

I was there were a couple of things that you mentioned. First of all, y'all were continuing to honor your give back even when you were. Not making any money. Yeah. That that says something right there. And were y'all working your other careers when y'all were able to dedicating, you know, to that? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:12

Because I can't imagine trying to do we we've already talked about my dad a lot on this, but uh I remember um because my dad, his CFO of a general contractor. So he's you know, we really relied on him, you know, help think through the financial side of things as we're planning. And I remember right before we opened Peace for Two, Ashton, she uh she felt just just very strongly I'm supposed to quit my my teaching job. And because I was gonna do the restaurant full time and she was gonna continue to teach so we could have insurance and have just a little bit of you know um you know money coming in. And uh and I remember her uh we're we were talking to my parents one night and she uh she she says that my dad kind of leans back and he's the kindest, I mean, nicest guy in the world. And he he's like, Why why do you think you need to do that? You know, like you can just see this. It was like she was speaking Spanish to him and he knows no Spanish, you know. And uh, but but again, it was like this step of faith where it's like, okay, no, God, God called us to do this, we're gonna be in it, we're gonna we're gonna do it together, and it makes no sense. And then I mean, that's really was the story of Tacos for Life as well, you know. And we we did an incredible uh I say we did it, we didn't do it. We we did a crowdfunding campaign uh to open the restaurant to help fund it. And uh the over 350 people from all around Arkansas came together and helped contribute it, and they just did an incredible job uh really buying into this uh this shared vision that we all had of like, hey, we can kind of like what you said, we can't change, we can't we can't solve starvation tomorrow, but we can help feed a few more kids in that one village in Swaziland, Africa that we went to, for instance, or we can help support a uh a couple that's running an orphanage in Central America that doesn't know where their next shipment of food is coming from. Right. We can help make a small difference and be a part of it. And so people bought into that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 46:19

You touch people, they touch other people. That's right. Yeah, yeah. You it's it and that's one of the things that you know bad is contagious, it's cancerous, it spreads, but good is as well. Yeah, that's right. Smiling, yes, open a door for someone, small little things add and spread. And uh this is a big thing. Yeah, yeah. Uh you can imagine just if you were able to to put the numbers to it, how many people y'all have been able to touch with this. Yeah. And it's not just that one meal, it's that child surviving to adulthood having a and and then being able to take their experience, how they were helped to further that. Yeah. Um, it just becomes kind of overwhelming at times to it truly is.

SPEAKER_00 47:06

And we get the privilege of going and well, so the organization we work with is Feed My Starving Children. Incredible Christian organization. Just they what if if every nonprofit was run the way that they run and the way they steward uh God's calling on their organization and their resources, the world would be a different place. Uh, but they have an incredible, incredible model. And uh they are feeding kids all over the world, and we get to partner with them. But they've been they've been doing this now long enough. So it's um we go on trips, we'll take our team on trips, and we'll go to places where you know the food has been at work for a while, and my team will lead there and they'll say, Man, I really wanted to have that experience that that you and Ashton always tell your story about that we just talked about. And and I'm like, well, but we don't want to have that, right? You don't want to have that. And you so you don't want to go that, go and see that everywhere. We still know that's reality, but to be able to see and go to places, and so we've been to places, Gabe, where um you know villages in the Dominican Republic and the sugarcane batets where the food is actually not being served there anymore because it's not needed. Right. The community has they needed that shot in the arm. Yeah. And now, so you have kids that grew up eating the food and they've they've been able to get an education, they've been able to learn job skills, they're no longer um, quite frankly, in enslaved to working on the sugarcane plantation. It's not real slavery, but but it's they're locked in if they if you can't break that poverty or that cycle of poverty. And and so now they're coming back to their communities and they're the ones serving and taking care of and hunger is a big part of that control as well.

SPEAKER_03 48:48

You know, if you can't eat, you you don't have ears to hear to learn. You are that your body goes into that primal mode, yes, and that's all you're gonna aim for. There's no room for anything else. Yeah. You know, um amazing stories. Is there one specific kid or one experience that stands out as kind of a beacon for you?

SPEAKER_00 49:11

Yeah, there's one guy that I think about Ishmael, and he's in the Dominican Republic. I love the the DR, the people that are just absolutely incredible. Yeah, amazing people. And you know, so you know, he grew up on a sugarcane batet. And and really, so if you work there, uh you work for uh the sugarcane, you know, plantation is you know, um, one of the major sugarcane companies, right?

SPEAKER_03 49:34

Yeah, a lot of people aren't gonna understand what this is. I know a little bit about some of the most labor-intensive, hottest work you can ever imagine.

SPEAKER_00 49:44

Yes, chopping it, chopping sugarcane all day long uh to make a dollar or two dollars a day. Yeah. Right. Um, with very little, very little nutrition and very little anything. And so the kind of the deal is you uh you work here, and if you work, if you have a family member, then you can live in one of their houses. And um, you know, that's a stretch, right? And you're talking about a shack with dirt floor.

SPEAKER_03 50:09

I was about to say a house.

SPEAKER_00 50:10

That's a yeah, and then um, and then what little money you do get paid, you can then um buy things from the general store that the that the company owns and pay what they say you should pay. And uh yeah, and so it it creates this horrible cycle. So the the we went, this is a couple years ago, okay. And um, we had gone to uh it's called Batet 106. I'd been there a few times before, uh, but the the group that was uh that we were with, we decided to go to another batet first. And um they wanted to sh they they wanted to show us this this new uh this village that they had just started making real some relationships in, just had gotten approval to start uh bringing food in. And uh, and we go there and uh my two boys were with me in Ashton and two of my four, um, and uh and we go and we we get out of the car and everybody just kind of disappears that lives there. They go into their their houses very quiet, very untrustworthy, and you know, very untrustworthy of of us. You know, we we had no trust built there. Right. And and so um, you know, we Well they're proud people. They're proud people, and and and no one likes to be seen at their worst, right? And so um we we finally we start to make some connections and and the guy that we were with that's been working in that area for a long time, loving on people, uh he he introduces us to a few people, but it was very, it was very cold, very sad, very um, it was dark and um very hopeless. And we got to do a food distribution that day, and all of a sudden that that coldness started to warm up and smiles, and the kids came out and and and you know, Jesus talks about kids a lot for a reason, right? And getting to see my my boys at the time on this trip, and and they are the first ones to make the connections and to bring the smiles out, and they don't have to speak the same language, and we have to know each other's names, you know.

SPEAKER_03 52:11

They're not carrying all the weight that uh the rest of us have developed.

SPEAKER_00 52:15

And so they they loosened up and um so it ended up being being a good visit, and we got to um we got to provide food for every family there in that little village, and and that was that was great. And uh, but also at the same time you we saw, okay, this is the need of what what needs to happen here. And then we got to go to bate 106 that I was telling you about. And the food, we didn't take food. They didn't the food is no longer being sent to this batet. And you get off the bus and you're immediately tackled with all the kids, and they're speaking to you not in Krill, not in Spanish, but in English. And that's not because, you know, like we're special, but in the Dominican Republic, if you want to have in this part of where they live, you know, the best jobs, you need to know English there, okay? And so these kids are coming over in there, and it's like, whoa, you know, and then there's a young kid there named Ishmael, and he grew up there, and he is that dude is an entrepreneur, let me tell you. He's got a shoe store, like he's selling Nike shoes in there, and he's he's got a barber shop, he's cutting hair, and the the kid is hustling and he's got all kinds of dreams for all these other things that he's gonna do. And but it's just one of these amazing stories of a kid that grew up just like where we're at of this other batet, scared to death. You know, his future was I'm gonna go chop sugar cane, just like my dad, my grandfather, grandfather.

SPEAKER_03 53:41

Try to eke out enough to yeah, and just I'm gonna survive in life.

SPEAKER_00 53:45

Right. And and instead, because some folks said, hey, like if we can get clean water and we can get nutritious food in here, then all of a sudden those moms can start thinking about other things besides how do I just feed my kid today? They can start thinking about, okay, how do I get them education? And then with a little bit of support and other groups coming in. And it's a beautiful picture of the church because you see, you see the Baptists working with the Catholics and the Pentecostals, and and all of a sudden everybody's coming together just to work and say, hey, Jesus talks about taking care of the least of these. And um, and that's what everybody said, hey, let's do that. Not so they can be dependent, not so that we can create dependency and and we can be the hero. It's like, hey, no, they God created them with a purpose and with strength and with energy. Um, but they were dealt a bad hand in life. So let's get them some some basic necessities. And then all of a sudden, what you see is you see kids like Ishmael saying, Hey, I no longer have to think about how do I survive. Right. They're dreaming about a future where it's like, I can start businesses. I can think about sending my kids to college, you know. I I can think about going on vacation. And it's you just see that and you're like, wow, that's just one little, that's one generation and one one place of it just starting with food. Right. It's just absolutely incredible and just so inspiring.

SPEAKER_03 55:06

Yeah. The um, you know, you hit uh kind of an interesting point. You know, you're not in these efforts. You know, there's a uh, I guess some division in our society today because we look at handouts differently. Yeah. They can be used in all different ways of controlling people or helping people, or uh, but you hit on dependency. Yeah. You know, and that I'm sure is the balance. I mean, what people need to understand out there, what y'all are doing is so baseline fundamental. You know, it's not like you're creating this pop you're not feeding the bears, in other words. You know, you're not creating this uh culture that then just sits on their haunches and and and never does anything. You're giving them that baseline that they can then grow from. I mean your brain doesn't work real well when you don't have proper nutrition. Well, it won't develop properly. And yeah, um, so just at that level, you know, you enable them to have that freedom to explore things beyond just day-to-day survival, you know, and that's that's one of the the things that I think some people are a bit confused about the effects of these outreaches. Yeah. Uh that, oh, these people are just lazy. These people all they gotta do is get up and work, you know. The resources are not there. Yeah. You can't create food where it doesn't exist. Yeah. You know, and that is uh that's one of the things that I got to got to see as well, and and I know uh know y'all have. Um so y'all uh you've got Ishmael as your as your beacon of the of the true potential of what y'all can accomplish uh through these efforts, which is is really cool, amazing. We got to uh have a few of my dad's uh contacts through the years in Honduras and Colombia and Guatemala. They came back as students and went to college and lived with us and are still close friends with us. So we got to see that evolution as well, and now they have families and are doing great uh actually back in in their home countries. Uh so all it takes is that that touch, that helping hand sometimes that can change generations. Yeah. You know, that's the other thing. You change one person and then you change a future for generations. Yeah. And how how uh amazing a gift that is for us is something we're leaving back, you know, but it takes it takes that sacrifice. So I'm sure y'all have had a lot of the sacrifice. Um, you know, a lot of people look they want to see what they want to see in an individual or an operation. They don't see what goes on behind the doors. Uh you know, the you and your wife, that dynamic really resonates with me because that's what Kara and I have have dealt with through the multiple businesses we've uh created and fostered and and run and raising a family in the middle of it. One of the things that it took me you know a little later in life to reflect on, uh, but kind of the the superpower that you can have as an individual when you have a supportive spouse and the importance of that, you know. So what's your experience with that? I mean, you see what people can accomplish on their own, you see, you know, but you also see uh people who have conflicts at home and how it just rips everything apart, and you know, uh what's your take on it?

SPEAKER_00 59:00

Yeah, I mean we wouldn't be having this conversation if it wasn't for Ashton, thank God. That's that's the reality. Um, I mean, we we complement each other so well, and and I mean I I think a little bit, well, a lot of uh even where I'm at today and what uh what we are doing today, even outside of Tacos for Life, is because of this desire that we both have to be able to work together and to be able to um to uh follow God's calling uh in a unified like togetherness, you know. And um, and I think so so often it's easy to, you know, especially as guys, for us to um get caught up in like, okay, it's all dependent on me. Uh, you know, I need to go chase this thing, need to go do this thing. But man, I think we go back to the Genesis narrative, like God looked at Adam and said, Hey, this isn't complete yet. Right. And and there is something to that, even as we approach work and as we approach uh living with purpose, uh, that man, when we're able to do that with our wives, like you and I have both been able to do, uh, there's a richness to that that is just really it it's a blessing. It's truly incredible.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:22

And it and it goes back to the beginning and it is so important. And when we're making these decisions in life, we're so young.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:32

And but the consequences are so profound. Yeah. It's kind of scary. It is, really, yeah. Um, because the choice of a partner in life is one that can bring you the most unbelievable joy or the most horrible misery that you could ever imagine. Yeah. And, you know, that is why I believe, you know, you uh were a direct beneficiary, and I'm sure your wife, of good parenting, of reality and love, and what makes a relationship a relationship. I got to see that as well, just in strong leadership and um, you know, and how important that is because we're asking kids to make some pretty big decisions at a very early age and knowing they need to know themselves, yeah, and they need to know their direction. At least know what is good and what is not, yeah. And what is right and what is not. And um, you know, having that partnership, well, it's not easy.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:46

It's not.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:46

In fact, I I believe that in a way, you know, you're carrying a little bit more burden because you're in it together, because you're not living separate lives under one roof. You are unified. Yeah. And so those decisions affect each person greatly. Yeah, they do, yeah. And you know, that's what uh there's a beauty and a difficulty all wrapped up into the but I I truly believe that it it's kind of that power in unity, uh, that ability to accomplish those things that if you're thinking of you doing it on your own are impossible. You know, and having God and a partner in life at that level uh is just an unbelievable strength that a lot of people unfortunately don't have access to. And uh, you know, it's something that I've uh I've been a beneficiary of. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:50

Well, and even and and even my encouragement is, you know, even if you're not in that with, you know, okay, my wife and I have different careers, you can still be in it together. Oh yeah. And you know, Ash and I, we we're so passionate now with, you know, trying to connect with younger couples and and really trying to, you know, hey, just encourage them to do life together, to be in it together, to make, you know, if you know, we always I always joke all the time when we started dating and call and like especially in college, I hated running. I didn't like to run at all. But you know who did? Ashton. And you know who likes to kind of run now? I'm not a big runner, but I still love to run. You can find enjoyment. I find I I do find enjoyment, and oftentimes I'll run even now when she's not running. But it's that um that learning to find those common uh you know hopes and dreams and and goals together as a couple. You know, I just think that's it's it's something we don't talk a lot about. I I don't think we do in in church or in in circles of men. A lot of times we talk about, okay, what do we as men need to do to get it right, to to um to be healthy, to, you know, we we need to find community and that sort of thing. And and all those things are right. Um, but uh I kind of wonder sometimes we miss step one, and that's how do we find our first community with our wife. Right. And how do you maintain it? And how do you maintain it?

SPEAKER_03 1:04:19

That is the big one of the greatest challenges that I found, and and you know, just like in Genesis, you know, God recognized we were incomplete. We need that guiding light, that um person that kind of dials you back in because we tend to push forward, put the blinders on. Yeah, okay, I'm gonna put it on my back and we're getting ready to head here. And I know I rely on my wife to kind of uh hey, tune in. Yeah. Uh you know, let we've got some other things happening in our world, in our family, uh than this business. You know, so uh them kind of bringing us back to reality, um, you know, and that balance of relationships, family need, business, especially when you're doing it all on your own, when you're an entrepreneur, when you're creating something that it you're seeing it foster, you're seeing it grow, but you're sacrificing so much to get it to a point where you think that it it needs to be. I mean, how do you I know you had to have been through some of this? Oh, yeah. You know, how do what's your through through this point in life? It continues to evolve. I've seen that. But how do you balance it? What do you rely on to be your kind of guide in in this of of okay, I've got to back off, I've got to step away, I gotta do this. Our relationship's starting to struggle a little bit, um, but I still got all this going on at work.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:57

I think um, you know, and we have A mutual friend Matt, um, that uh we we really started talking through this a couple of years ago, and it was it was really eye-opening for me. But he described it, you know, in life, if we have if there's four quadrants, okay? You have one quadrant that is um we can call that church, you know, church activity, whatever. The next quadrant is business. Third one would be activities, you know, we've got kids that are they're in sports right now, so it's a lot of sports, right? But for the, you know, for the when we were before kids, it was like hobbies, right? Um, and then the last one would be like schooling and education and those sort of things, right? And so, you know, where I was a couple of years ago, what I let happen in my life was um I went and placed myself in the business quadrant. And I said, okay, we have this business, we're feeding kids. There's kids that are starving. We have this purpose, we have even this calling that Scott God has put on our life. And um, we gotta we gotta strap it on, we gotta make it happen. It's up to, it's up to me. And so I planted myself over there in the business quadrant. And then what happens is everything then pushes from that quadrant out, pushes on Ashton, pushes on the boys, pushes on. Well, how much time am I willing to give to church, for instance? Is it convenient to go to church or is it more convenient not to? Do I need to recover from business? To, you know, uh, what does this mean for the activities that we choose for our kids? What does this mean for the schooling? And, you know, uh, we homeschool right now. We're in a season of homeschooling. I don't know if we'll do that forever. Not everyone's called to homeschooling. Um, I'm I'm not one of these guys that's gonna preach that that's the only way. Right. But God had had invited us into that uh based on some educational needs my oldest had. And um, but but I became very frustrated with that because that was affecting took Ashton out of the business altogether.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:57

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:57

And so even though my oldest kid needed it, I was still at many times frustrated and and let a little bit of bitterness grow in me of saying, well, that's hurting the business. Right. Because I placed my identity, I placed all of my effort in that business quadrant.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:14

Right. And well, you feel like if you if you let that slip, then the everything else is gonna fall apart.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:21

Well, it's like this is what God created me to do. This is what he asked me to do.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:24

Well, and also you look at okay, what's supporting this family? What's doing this? What you know, and so it it's that trickle down. If I don't do it, it's all gonna fall apart. Exactly. If I don't dedicate all of my time to these efforts, because you know, I I use the excuse and still do. Uh you know, to some degree, I try to catch myself, but this is not permanent. We are working towards a goal, it is there. Yeah, and when we get there, things are gonna be better. Exactly. But the thing is, is that time is passing. Yep, kids are growing up, you and your wife are aging, yeah, you know, uh life is happening as you're trying to reach this goal, and if you don't regulate it, you miss out on all that. And you know, that's one of the things that while I'm not gonna say it's too late for me to recognize, I wish that I had had someone explain it a little bit to me at an earlier age. And that's part of what we're trying to share here is that this is a struggle. Yeah, this is real. And in the end, business is is great and we can change the world with business. But our real responsibility is our family. Yes, and that is not always monetary, that's not always the nice house, that's not all we want those things, but time and engagement, and then a dad when they need you. Yeah, you know, that's the balance that you start kind of you know, shocking you back in a little bit. And I know my wife was really the only one to stand up to me and and and tell me this and repeatedly tell you it's not just one conversation because I'm freaking hard at it, but yeah, um, you know, that's where we're at right now. So that that challenge is something that we are dealing with right now, even though our kids are grown, got grandkids coming up. I don't want to repeat that. Yeah, I want to enjoy life a little bit and trying to find that balance.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:34

But um yeah, and and I would even say, is it a question of balance? Because in balance there's tension, right? And so um really what what we had to work through was uh centeredness. And so if we take these quadrants, you know, and and you have an X, an X-axis and a Y-axis, right? And you have the the four quadrants, I was planted firmly up in the top right of the business quadrant, right? And then everything was pushing from that out. So then the the question came, okay, if we say Christ is at the center, okay, and if Ash and I build our marriage and our family around Christ, and we put that right at the center at the point of the two axis, what would life look like if that was the goal? And then we pushed everything from that radiated out of the center. Right. So every decision we made as a couple touched our kids and pushed into how we interacted with business, how we interacted with church, how we interacted with activities, and how we interacted with you. Yeah. And so it it became less of like, okay, how do we live balanced? How do we how do we do that? To like, how do we how do we draw back and s and and and make it a goal to be centered and then let these decisions that we make uh you know radiate out from there. Right. And so we uh we started working through that a couple of years ago and and really uh gave it led us to make some pretty radical changes in our life. And changes that we never thought a couple of years ago we'd even consider making. Um, but just if if we if I back up just a little bit on the story, uh in 2000 uh January of 2025, um God gave me a word. And and and Ashton, she's like, she always has a word for the year. She always is like, okay, this is you know, new year, all this stuff. And I've I've always been like, that's cool. I like to set goals, but but God very clearly that in January said, Hey, I'm giving you this word and it's new. And I'm like, what does that mean? What is new? And I was I was in a very much a uh a place of like, man, I'm I'm working hard to hold it all together. I feel like we're barely hanging on with the business. Kids are growing up, traveling all the time, working all the time. And um so new there there can't be new. I mean, that's not even that's not even possible, you know? And uh, and but again, God just kept he he had a plan and he kept working. And and it led uh ultimately, uh, this is May right now. Um uh a year ago, May, we uh we made the decision, it was a hard decision, but to step out of the day-to-day operations of tacos for life. I imagine it was terrifying. It was. And I felt you feel all the emotions, you know, you feel like a like a major failure. Uh, you feel like, man, I've I I couldn't do it. I couldn't, I didn't have what it takes. Uh you feel like you failed your your team. Uh, you feel even at in your lowest moments, like you failed God. Like he, well, he called me to do this. We're doing something important, so I can't step away. That that'd be a fail, that'd be a failure. And um, but it wasn't. No. And um, and that's the beauty of of this. Uh, you know, we were talking about like weakness earlier, you know, and for me, my my false view on my faith was yes, God is uh God is a good God, but we we if we want good to happen, we gotta make it happen. Oh, you gotta work. And that was a very wrong view of God.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:18

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:18

And what I started to learn and experience and what he's been teaching me over the past couple of years is he is such a good and gracious father. And if we'll let him, he has good for us. It doesn't always mean it's gonna be easy, right? And it's gonna be painless, but he has good for us, just like we have good for our kids. We want our kids, we want good things to happen for them. And there's times we let them go through hard things or they have to have consequences. But but at the end of the day, we want what's best for them. And in my mind, I was so screwed up in my thinking of like, man, I've got to make it happen. It's all dependent on me. And I had this ownership mindset as opposed to a stewardship mindset. And uh, and God gave Ash and I the chance to be able to hit the reset button and to step out. And um, and you know what happened when I stepped away? Dang it, if the team didn't do better. Yep. Well, and that and the business started to, you know, start to take off and all these things, and it's like, and you know, you call the team, you're like, hey, you need help? Like, no, we got it. And I'm like, are you sure? Can we get together and brainstorm? Well, yeah, I'll call you if I need you.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:23

But it all never happens, you know. I mean, for me, when that starts happening, you take this business that you've fostered and you've grown and you've babysat everybody and you've brought them up. And then you, you know, like I walk into the restaurant back into the kitchen, and you know, I'm used to cooking on the cook line. Yeah. Like, guys, y'all need any help? No, we got it. Like, you sure nothing? It's getting ready to get busy. No, we got it. Like, God, you know, okay, maybe expecting to have to suit up and save the day. Yeah, exactly. Y'all are telling me that I'm not needed now. But what it it enables you to do, and uh one of my good friends came into our uh medical business, our prosthetic business years ago. He actually was not a good friend at that time, he was one of the damn consultants that I can't stand. But yeah, he became my closest friend right now that uh has led and been a part of me getting through a lot over the past 12 years. But um, you know, he told me, he was like, You have got to get out of the trenches so that you can better guide this operation. I was always just labor-minded. Yeah, you know, and when you're in that mode, you can't see the bigger pictures. You can try, but you keep getting pulled back, pulled back, pulled back. And it wasn't until he helped create the system that allowed me to step away from the day-to-day that allowed my phone not to ring almost 24 hours a day. Yeah. And empowered my team to do their job and to make decisions.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:07

Um you know, I wasn't and then we did the same thing. You know, once that happened, then boom. Yeah. You know, that was kind of the the magic that occurred. And so, but it's hard and it's scary. And when he first started this process, I was like, this makes no sense. Yeah, I'm not sure. No, if I do this, it's all gonna fail. You know, if you're if I do what you're asking me to do and disengage at that level, this isn't gonna work. I know, you know, this is my baby, you know, these are my people. I know what, but anyway, it's it's about having faith. Yeah, and at that point I was not Christian, so it wasn't having faith in God. Um, but it's kind of the same thing, uh, on a much grander level. Yeah. But knowing God has your back, He's got a plan for stop fighting. Exactly. Um, you know, because there are other things that you're where you're needed, yeah, or another direction or another oversight. Or your family at home. You know, so it's uh but standing on the edge getting ready to punch that, you know, take that step is absolutely it was terrifying.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:13

It's very terrifying, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:14

You know, but your burnout, yeah, your white, you know, you're exhaust, you don't realize how you're exhausted you are until you step away. Right. Yeah. Uh at least I didn't. And it took months or even years for me to kind of recalibrate and recoup. So it uh wow, yeah. I can definitely relate to to that level. Well, we've covered quite a few bases, you know, the uh talking about the business and leadership and and our impact on so many different in so many different ways, being a father, a husband, um, a uh an employer, um, and then the good that y'all are doing through tacos for life, you know, with the outreach. Um you know, one of the things that uh I've experienced, especially in the restaurant industry, is uh the diversity of the population that we're hiring. We've got people from every background, every ethnicity, um, every belief structure, um, and we're all unifying or attempting to unify to create good food and a great experience for people and um and take care of our employees and understand everyone. Yeah, so I know you've gotta have been in that uh dynamic as well. And unlike you, you know, until recently, I didn't have the faith component. So I didn't have I'm sure a lot of people assumed, you know, that I was Christian, but that wasn't a thing that was uh a big forefront in in who I was or who my or what my businesses were. Um and it's something that it's pretty obvious, it's uh attacked in a lot of ways now in our society. But you know, what what's been your experience on that? How do you balance that?

SPEAKER_00 1:20:11

I mean, how do you uh be open to a lot of people and and uh but it still hold true to Yeah, I mean there's there's so many things within that that you know we've we've wrestled through or thought through over the years or tried and failed at, you know, but I think the kind of the one of the core things early on that we wanted to do was as a business, as you know, Ash and I as as leaders of we wanted to be known for what we stood for, not what we stood against.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:45

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:46

Okay. And so I think right now, so often the easy thing to is to say, well, this is what I don't do, this is what I don't believe in, this is what I'm whatever, not gonna um and so for us, it's like, okay, well, we're saying we want to feed kids. Well, it'd be pretty disingenuous to like feed kids on the other side of the world, but treat, you know, our guests or our team members horribly. Right. Right. And so, um, and so that was that was kind of the first kind of tenet for us was like, okay, how do we how do we create an environment where everyone feels loved, accepted, cared for, uh, seen, and appreciated. And we didn't, we haven't always done that well, but that that's always the goal of that. And then also at the same time of being like, okay, uh, I I do have a belief that uh Christ came to save us from our sins. Um He didn't come to save businesses from their sins, right? So he's after people. Um, and so we get that question a lot. Well, is this a Christian business? And I'm like, well, I I don't think there can be a Christian business, right? But we try to run this business on business principles and um and ultimately it's really just about how do we love people well. Yeah. Yeah. And so um, so that's you know, there's there's been many times where, you know, I've I've looked back and I said, man, I think we could have been more bold in our faith with the business. And I'm seeing businesses now. I think this next now generation of like uh, you know, early 20s, like 30-year-olds that are starting businesses, they're even more bold in it. And they're like, hey, we are really planting a flag. We're only gonna, you know, play Christian music. We're gonna only, you know, we're gonna we're gonna be very clear about um our faith and our decor and all these things. And um, and I'm seeing that, and I'm and I'm really challenged by that because I'm like, oh, you know, I kind of we took the approach, we're kind of grew up in the the phase of like the Chick-fil-A phase where it's like lyrics can be really nice, and then everybody's gonna assume you're a Christian business. Right.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:46

And that's kind of yeah, uh that's where my you know experience was as well, you know, seeing Chick-fil-A evolve and then also being attacked and going down the DEI tunnel. And then that not where you know it was really this evolution for them. I'm pretty sure it has been, yeah. Losing their footing and finding it again. There's a lot that happened in between there.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:09

And so I I think there's I think there's ways and opportunities as business owners for us to be more bold with our faith. And I think we have opportunities as uh, but uh at the end of the day, uh the thing that that I always come back to is if we can create an environment where people feel seen and loved and cared for, they're not labeled or put in a box, um it just opens the door for gospel conversations to happen that are uh you would never have that opportunity in most other settings. No. But whenever you're able to work shoulder to shoulder with someone and then the restaurant business, get your, you know, we say get your teeth kicked in, you know, with a hardship and you're able to do it and love each other and treat each other with respect and not, you know, and that's that's rare too in our business, right? Um, but whenever we're able to do that, um it opens up it opens up doors of conversation.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:02

It takes those barriers down a notch. And that's one thing that uh, you know, again, relating with the restaurant business, um, you know, it goes back to one of the Christian principles of leading by example. Yeah. For me, if you want to turn me off and you want to make me combative, put me in a corner, make me feel attacked. Yeah. And you're gonna you're gonna get the results from it. Uh that's something that I felt uh, you know, growing up, not uh being a believer, but growing up in the Bible belt. Yeah. Is that Christianity was spread through beating people over the head with a Bible.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:45

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:46

Um I believe you open a lot more doors by just leading a Christian principled life and other people will follow. They'll be curious, if nothing else. Yeah. And fight back against the the prejudging, yeah, the assumptions of of what you are supposed to be, what they're being told you're gonna be if you say you're Christian. Because they want to see doors slammed in their face. They want to see the pushback and the distancing and being told they're wrong and being told they're horrible people and all that, and that's not where it needs to go. Um, and you're talking about people feeling safe, yeah, feeling respected, feeling loved. You know, that is something that that we try to do, and I think we do a pretty good job. My my son and his wife are uh, I mean, that's their family there, you know, and it is a diverse family. Yeah. You know, we've got uh, you know, felons, we've got you know, teenagers, we've got the whole mix of society there, and it and it operates and in that restaurant industry we're all depending on the next person to do their job. When they don't do their job, you feel it quick, especially in the kitchens. Yeah. And there aren't a whole lot of uh environments where you can see that impact so clearly and so quickly as you do in in uh in the restaurant kitchens. And so you're asking all these different people to work as one body and put aside all the differences and find the commonalities. And you know, that's one thing with your uh vision, you know, with your your mission. Find that common. Who can say that that's bad? Who can disagree with feeding children? You can't, you know, and so I think that that's a good uh guiding light for uh where we're at as a society now. Yes, there's a lot of differences, there's some very significant ones, but instead of looking for that, kind of like you alluded to, find the commonalities and let's start there and then work our way back. Yeah, you know, and that goes with people who are non-Christian and and people who are Christian, but also I see it within the Christian community. There it seems to be a desire, and hopefully that's breaking down a little bit more, but between the Baptists and the Catholics and the, you know, all the different, you know, uh divisions that we've created there that combat against each other and compete, you know, again against the right, you know, who's the most righteous. And it just it erodes and just gets nasty. And and that and then people that you're trying to convert, you're trying to show the light, they get to point to all of these things, yeah. You know, as examples of why it's not good. Exactly. You know, so you're shutting doors. So I really, you know, uh the restaurant is such a a dynamic.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:00

world you know and to have it tied into this mission that y'all created is is pretty amazing and and also just the the faith based component to it you're right there you know uh you you are that open door on so many levels the people that you're helping and the people that you're employing yeah and uh you know so uh do you have any stories with the uh y'all been at it um yeah you know a few years now of of the kid that came in you know uh pierced up and yeah yeah I mean I I think uh there's a there's a couple stories one uh a young girl that uh we we we we opened a another concept and that's a couple years ago and we were trying out this new concept and and ultimately over the course of about a year we we learned that it wasn't gonna work it wasn't it wasn't uh wasn't viable um and there's a lot of in that uh ash and I really felt like we really prayed through this and we we really believe that God like opened the doors for us to open up this new concept and to and to to to go forward into it and and we we really uh gave I I mean I I I feel like we can humbly say we really prayed through every step our team prayed through every step everyone worked so hard and we really gave it our best effort and so in that you're as it's you kind of see see it going down and you're doing everything you can to get it right you're like okay God we we were obedient why is this why is this not working you know but what was going on at that same time there's a young girl that worked there she's a sweet young lady um and uh she she'd walk to work every day and um really really quiet hard to get to talk and uh ashton can get anybody to talk and Ashton start started talking to her started getting to know her and started building a relationship with her and that relationship went from like her actually talking to her when she came in the restaurant because at first she was she was she was young she was just she was scared to talk to Ashton even you know to ultimately her coming to church with us and then you know deciding to follow Jesus. Wow and it's like okay so we we spent a lot of time a lot of money our our our feelings were hurt that this this restaurant didn't work we we lost some money on it uh but this young girl is got her her whole life is now changed right and she knows who Jesus is now and so you you look at that and say okay that's worth it you know and the world would tell you well yeah okay that's nice but you know you failed you know and uh but but to be able to go back to that and then but you have no way of quantifying what this means 10 years from now.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:01

Exactly 20 years from now she could develop out and come back to you with the most amazing business concept ever that you know goes goes bonkers. You know you just can't that's where you just have to roll with what God puts before you. Yeah. And that's one of the things that you know I've had to recognize is that it you know we hit on it earlier. Yeah failure's just part of life. I mean that is part of your learning curve. Yeah. And with people like myself who are a bit hard headed and and you know push forward and and you know don't listen as as well um you know sometimes those lessons have to be painful yeah for me to recognize what they are otherwise I'm gonna blow it off and just keep on keeping on.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:53

And God finds those he knows you you know so he knows where to lay those down so that you know you you learn from it in a meaningful way. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:32:03

And um and we never know you know what what that in you know yeah you know the thing I've been learning right now is we're so focused and we're wired this way um to focus on you know five 10 15 year outcomes and things that we can measure. But so much of what God's called us into and invited us into as kingdom men is uh a lot of them we will never know the true impact or that like what you just said a second ago that you can't measure a life that's changed or getting to have I think about another another lady that's she's she's been with us I want to say 10 years now and she came to us she's coming out of a women's recovery program and she's been sober this entire time. Wow and every year on her anniversary she'll she'll send a picture of day one it gets me choked up when she started and she was a skeleton of a person yep no hope in her eyes and now she's vibrant she's now a grandma wow and uh you know what talk of this for life didn't do that we we're not keeping her sober we're not you know none of that but we get to in a very small way uh get to have a really small impact and she she works full time she spends you know 40 hours a week there in that restaurant but you you gave her an environment yeah to succeed in yeah you gave her that safe environment that where she felt loved obviously she had had a rough go and sometimes that's all it takes that's all it takes yeah because you know I growing up in the Delta in a really poor area of the country and getting to see what not only going out of the country and seeing that level of poverty and and existence but also living it yeah to some degree in the areas that I grew up with with the kids that I grew up with they don't have that security.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:05

Yeah they don't have they don't experience that love that trust uh all of those things that I believe are essential to to flourish.

SPEAKER_00 1:34:16

Yeah um and and being able to offer that environment you know is is something that's powerful and it's all well within our capacities exactly each individual and we we can take it for granted you know because we're so focused on what does this month look like this quarter look like this year look like in running a business and and you know I've I've got a a pastor that he likes to say hey what if we focus more on the uh the 10,000 year returns you know what let's make investments that we'll be proud of 10,000 years from now instead of making investments that we're gonna be proud of 10 years from now.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:52

Yeah that that shifts your focus that that is a good perspective. You know to back up just one thing that we've learned is just some simple stuff. Everybody's okay well that all sounds great safe environment all this you're gonna have problems. Yeah you're gonna have problem people that you can't say that are wanting to disrupt yeah you know one of the things that we do at um at our operation this goes all of our operations um it's that golden rule but uh we impart that on them but we set some very obtainable defined uh components to it as well and one of them especially in the kitchen a lot of guys again a lot of different backgrounds a lot of different maturity levels no hands you don't touch anyone yeah with anything yeah if you do it gets serious real quick yeah and it's just little things like that that are tangible and defined yeah that start changing an entire culture to create that sense of stability because at their home or where they came from it was hands all the time it led to fights it led to arguments it led to killings stabbings whatever yeah we stop that at the door yeah you don't do that yeah and then all of a sudden it becomes if you have somebody that steps in and wants to test that the whole group reacts you know it's not tolerated yeah and so you can start fostering that environment you know through just little things yeah just identify the the metrics well it's the it's the practice right of like okay everyone wants to know what's expected right I mean we any any anytime we enter into any type of situation we want to understand what's expected.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:38

So I think that's a great point of like it's it's nice to say we're we provide a safe environment but how do we do that? And it's by by sharing the expectations. And when we violate those expectations it does have to be addressed because we're not just gonna be you know lovey dovey and all this stuff. Like we're gonna there's there can be grace and there can be mercy but we have to be clear on what the expectations are and um because that's what that's what protects the environment. That's what creates a safe environment.

SPEAKER_03 1:37:07

Right. And that's what uh one of the things that as our business evolves I'm sure you've gone through it our employee handbook was a couple of pages now it's like this yeah you hand that to our line cook or a dishwasher anybody really and they it goes in one air and out the other. But we came up with our ten commandments. Okay. Uh I was like the we're losing people in this all of this policy and everything. We have to have it legally yes I understand. But we came up with our Ten Commandments and they were pretty straight up and wording that everyone can understand. And that's what we hold because all the rest of it will come it's kind of like our you know the Ten Commandments that Moses uh brought down you know it uh pretty much everything in life can can be tied right back to that. And so we came up with ours and that I think is held pretty true. We have to reinforce it every every once in a while but uh you know keep it simple.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:06

And why did God give us the Ten Commandments? Not so that we can like oh these are all the things these people can't do it so that this is how we're designed as humans to flourish.

SPEAKER_03 1:38:16

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:17

Exactly yeah when we honor God and put infirmes when we don't create idols out of different things when we uh you know when we don't steal or kill that you know those kind of things it's it's literally for our flourishing and that's what you're doing in your restaurant right you're giving them hey these are the rules so that you can flourish and be successful in this environment.

SPEAKER_03 1:38:34

Exactly you succeed we succeed and that's another thing that uh gets lost in business a lot of times it's that it's that risk reciprocity yeah um that uh that we don't see well you know we both have uh we're out there in the culture yeah you know that we exist in what are some of your biggest concerns that you see out there um you know your biggest challenges I I would lean more towards concerns yeah um and also biggest hopes because there's a lot happening right now there's a lot there's a big pendulum swing that I'm seeing and I think I'm a part of it. You know uh again people coming back to Christ or discovering Christ uh for the first time um and the impact that that's having especially on this younger generation that's just coming into adulthood.

SPEAKER_00 1:39:28

Yeah I think um I think it's easy for us to get caught up in all the challenges right and I'm so guilty of that and um you know you you know so I'm I live in Conway and so it's easy I've got a friend that he runs the facilities and and uh you know he'll tell me stories of things that they have to implement or put in place on campus to you know because uh a group wants it that you know it's just it's out there and doesn't make sense in my mind and so it's easy to be like well man where is where's this going? And I've been guilty of that and and we've even you know a year or so ago we he was having a rough day I I happened to call him about something while I was driving back from Little Rock on a Wednesday afternoon and uh he was he just kind of he needed to vent you know and and so as a good friend I started venting with him you know and and it ultimately ends up to the world's going to hell in a handbasket you know and uh and and and we're like oh man what's what is wrong like where is all this going it was a Wednesday night and we we ended the we ended our venting as good Christian men did and said hey you're gonna go to a prayer service tonight and uh and and so we both agreed yeah that's probably what that's definitely where we need to be after this conversation we went and you know what we get there and it wasn't the typical our church does first Wednesday prayer and it's just the coolest thing ever and the majority of the students or majority of the people there are students coming to a prayer service there's no big band there's not like there's not all this fancy stuff and what happened that night these college students started baptizing college students that were choosing to walk away from this lifestyle this I'm I'm just gonna go and do whatever I want. I'm gonna go party all the time and saying you know what there's got to be more out there in his name is Jesus. And I want to lay all that down because he's got good for me. He's got better for me. And it was just this complete reversal in my mind of like getting caught up in like all the things that I can't control and I I have no influence over and getting to see oh wow there is tough there is hard there are things that don't make sense there are these challenges in this world but man there's also God is doing something there is a movement of God happening with this younger generation right now that quite honestly is just it's it's invigorating to see. We get to in Conway we get to see it with all the college students and kind of have this first row seat to it but there's this expectation that with these college students that revival is going to break out that it's going to be like the Jesus movement again that it like lives are going to be changed and it's not what you see on TV. It's not what you hear in the news that's all control. Yeah yeah it's it's manufactured in a lot of ways and so I'm I'm just so I'm hopeful for what what is happening for what uh what guy's doing um I'm hopeful for what I see and uh you know the church we go to for instance there is a group of young 20s guys and girls that man they are just passionately engaged in the youth group and they are there all the time and I I'm constantly giving those guys high fives and telling them how thankful I am because whenever I grew up going to church you know you didn't have better heroes to look at that were in their young 20s. All those guys had left and they were out chasing their career and doing their thing. And these are guys that are doing that and saying hey we can follow Jesus fully and and we can we can have fun. We're pretty pretty cool yeah and we love Jesus with all of our heart and we're gonna submit and be obedient to him and uh man for my boys to get to see that that's pretty that's pretty exciting to get to to get to see that.

SPEAKER_03 1:43:21

And that's something that you know the youth ministers and I'm not talking about the formal ones I'm just talking about the couples and the individuals that are involved in the church that are in their late teens, early 20s and you know the 10, 11, 12 year olds they remember how much you looked up to that group when you were that age. The impact that you can carry and also that desire not to disappoint goes a long way. As kids can't fully comprehend all of the different things about you know belief and life and and faith what they can comprehend is I want to be like that and I don't want to disappoint.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:44:11

And that carries a long way as they continue to develop that combats what's going on on the street what's going on on the phones what's going on social media because that's real. Yeah and those are real people and those are real people that love me not some influencer you know that I'm tuning into to watch eat or whatever. But uh yeah the the the youth is where it's at yeah and that is one thing that you know struck me early on with what Charlie Kirk was doing why he was focusing where he was you know because that is our future and there is a movement happening and it's up to us to help foster that uh to talk real to show examples through the way we live and that's a responsibility because we're sinners we're not perfect. Yeah and uh you know we if we're gonna accept that role as a leader we're gonna have people watching for our good and our bad yeah and we've got to really control what we say what we post you know how we live our life because it can go both directions you know pretty quickly. We're talking about youth we were all young once you're a little younger than me but if you had some advice to give your younger self you know what would what would that be? What would what you know just wisdom would you try to impart to that that young guy that you know is the entrepreneur at at heart and ready to go and um the uh the beauty of ignorance at a young age yeah I think I think it's this willingness to really uh trust in God's goodness and and really be willing to step into okay so Jesus talks about in in on the Sermon of the Mount he he has he says in in in Matthew six thirty three I think um it says if God gives such attention to the appearance of the wildflowers, most of which you are never seen don't you think he'll take care of you, attend to you, do his best for you.

SPEAKER_00 1:46:35

And then Jesus goes on to say what I'm trying to get you to do is to stop worrying about how much you can get and start responding to my giving. And then he goes on to say the verses that we've all heard before but it's it's the message version says it this way, okay? It's a seek first kingdom of God. But Eugene Peterson's version says steep your life in God reality God initiative and God provision and everything else will be taken care of. And so uh I'm certainly at this place in my life at age 40 and I wish I would have started this 20 years ago of really saying okay God that's that's where I want to put my life if if if you say that you care more about you know all these other things um and and you're saying hey let go just open your hands just let me let me lead you let me take care of you um everything else is gonna be fine.

SPEAKER_04 1:47:33

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:47:34

Um you know I've lived most of my life saying okay I got one hand open but I got the other hand still closed and I and and I just in case just in case that God doesn't come through I still got I still got my safety net you know and um and I think uh I've I've got to see some men in my life that are a few steps ahead of me I'm getting to see some younger guys that are like hey I'm gonna be fully open I want to be fully I want to I want to really like see what God does whenever I do that and I see this uh I just see this this movement taking place with that you know with him working yeah you know the more you create and the more you have the scarier it is to open up you know you there's a lot on you a lot you know and that's where that faith really comes in.

SPEAKER_03 1:48:23

I mean it's uh and some of it I I believe for me is I'm seeing that potential but I'm also seeing how drastically different God's plan can be for you. And in some ways that's terrifying. That's me wanting to hang on to what we have now and you know not fully engaging in every every direction that he wants and that's a that's a it's kind of a a battle. It is yeah and uh it's not one that you just wake up and just you know I think it's an evolution it's a it's a test it's a it's a learning process it's it's a maturing and you know I think we're designed to create order we're designed to have authority you know and um and I heard this this last week uh John Eldritch said this but he he said you know uh we don't create order through control we we create order through alignment with Jesus but most of us our default always is I'm gonna control yep and so being able to let go of that and say okay Jesus how can I be aligned with you how can I you know trust you in that it's a I'm I'm learning it I'm learning it right now it's a it's a journey and um you know one of the things that keeps resonating with me again pretty fresh to all this but there's times where you have to calm yourself yeah to receive what you're supposed to hear you've got to get away you've got to meditate you have to clear your head and that's a difficult thing for me it is because my my brain's always clicking yeah um but if people will just take that time yeah take that time for yourself we're a pretty selfish uh society right now well take some time some you time yeah and get somewhere quiet and just think about it yeah you know open that door a little bit yeah and assess and uh because God wants to talk to us yeah he he wants to direct us he's a loving and good father yeah yeah he but we have to create that space that you're talking about to let him do that yeah because the rest of the world doesn't yeah doesn't necessarily want that to occur so you know it's uh it's a an amazing journey you've had an amazing journey through life and I'm excited to have heard about it and excited what God has uh in store for you and your family moving forward because wow 40 years old that's young to do all that that y'all have done and accomplish what you have and have the wisdom that you have uh at this point in life and I'm sure you know your children are are going to be beneficiaries from that and be amazing people onto their own. So well done. Oh thank you well same to you though yeah well we're all working in the in the same direction I think so um but I appreciate it again you coming on uh on extreme sensibility hopefully we've laid out some sensibility and some direction in life to our our audience and uh look forward to having you back someday and and following up and hearing where you've gone on this new you know kind of uh pathway that God's laid before you but thank you again for coming thanks for having me on yeah it was an honor great time yeah