What's that difference between protecting young people and preparing them? Yeah,

no, I think that's a good, we spend a lot of time on Boost.

So Boost is a program at Cree.

It covers 26 separate skills.

And one of those is you versus your phone and who wins.

Because again, this is again, you know, starting in high school that you're in a battle for your phone.

I know it.

And to me, that's really, concerning because they don't have resilience they don't have the grit that i think you need to have to be successful but if you could teach one teenager one mental habit to help them deal with setbacks what would that be yeah

yes so what are these skills that you teach in the boost program and why are they important

so i always call it say it's the three legs of the stool so you need all three legs to be strong so the first leg is really people skills things that you can do to become likable so it's listening and asking questions making it about the other person we know we're born to connect and really that's The biggest thing is not one-upping someone in a conversation, a great greeting, saying their name, giving compliments, smiling, eye contact, understanding nonverbal communication.

So that's the first leg of the stool.

The second leg is character.

So being honest and humble and kind and have an empathy and being able to say, my bad when you messed up.

sincerely thanking someone, not gossiping.

So there's a bunch of skill development pieces within the character leg.

How do you... through your program, help youths and young adults who have grown up as digital natives to pursue or embrace or even be open to something more analog, which they have never experienced.

So how did you go from building an insurance business to eventually selling it off for eight figures? Yes.

So really, again, regarding the BOOST program, which is really what we're talking about, I had started a program 20 years ago.

I have three children.

And when my oldest was a teenager, I knew that there were certain skills that he would need just to navigate life.

I wanted him to do well in school and be a good athlete and some other things.

But really, at the end of the day, it was certain skills about connecting with people, having character.

that was going to make or break and allow just to have a better life.

So what advice would you give to people out there who are probably just doom scrolling and comparing themselves to people they see online and stuff like that?

you know, confidence, responsibility, communication, like what are, what are some of those, what are some of those skills?

So, so I always put it in three buckets.

I call it the three-legged stool and you need all three legs to be strong.

So the first leg is people skills, social skills, just the ability to connect with someone.

Again, for the, for the young men out there, it's, we were born and wired to connect when we're thriving and feel good We're connecting with people and there's certain skills that you can develop.

The biggest one is it's about the other person, not about you.

So learning how to listen and ask questions and remember previous conversations and not one up someone where you just can't wait till they're done to tell your story and really make it about them is huge.

How would you like adults to learn the same skills you teach kids if it's not their normal way of living since kids are easier to shape?

So thinking about the 26 skills, what have you seen as the impact on students, either students who have used this program or even your own kids focusing on these skills?

So really, that's a great question.

That was my biggest concern, because again, I'd been in the business world.

And by the way, when I was in the business world, my last X amount of years, I, because it was again, this big national company would fly me around to teach the same skills to the young associates in different offices.

And I saw how much they craved it.

Now they were early 20s, but they craved this stuff and really enjoyed it.

So again, that made me excited to think that there was something there.

And