What can we do from a leadership like communication standpoint? Like to communicate at a high level so it all comes down and filters in and it does the work while you're sleeping.

Well, I think we are all always communicating our values all the time.

You are always telling people what you care about the most by what you spend the most time on and what you talk about the most.

So you can either intentionally communicate your values or you will unintentionally communicate your values, but you are always communicating your values in some way, shape or form.

Most people default to unintentionally stating their values through the way that they email, through the things that they care about, through the things that they complain about, through the things that they celebrate, the things that they get excited about.

Some people will get excited about a video going viral.

That doesn't mean you sold anything, but now you just told the team this is what they... care about.

What is something we could do that would be actionable for the room?

Now, let's lean into the message together.

You can be seated.

You are, you are too kind.

Uh, what a privilege it is to be here.

I am, uh, absolutely, uh, such big fans, uh, friends of Pastor Rich and DC.

Uh, just admire who they are on the stage and off the stage.

And, and if it is your first time, I just want you to know that there is a whole large group of people who have been praying for you for a long time.

Yep.

Now, let's lean into the message together.

[cheering] You could be seated.

You are, you are too kind.

Uh, what a privilege it is to be here.

I am, uh, absolutely, uh, such big fans, uh, friends of Pastor Rich and DC.

Uh, just admire who they are on the stage and off the stage.

And, and if it is your first time, I just want you to know that there is a whole large group of people who have been praying for you for a long time.

[laughs]

[upbeat music]

Wow.

Wow, wow.

Come on, can we make some noise for Jesus in this place one time? [cheering] He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Can we also make some noise for your pastors, Pastors Rob and Taylor McDew? [cheering] What I absolutely admire and love about your pastors is you rarely see a combination of extreme anointing and talent matched with extreme integrity and humility.

And I, I admire who, who they are and what God is doing in this place, um, but I also admire who they are when they're just with their family and their friends.

You've, you've got good pastors here.

I'm built different.

Speak to that a little bit and what you learned through those seasons of adversity that made you who you are today.

Yeah, you know, it was a very interesting, like almost like psychology experiment.

Like sometimes I like replay it in my head and just go, what was going on with that kid that would make him like do that or say that or respond that way? Because when my dad had a stroke, I remember walking up to my mother in the hospital and I said, don't worry about me.

Just take care of him.

Take care of my older brothers.

And I said, hey, I'll be fine.

Why would a fifth grader say that? I have no idea.

But you learned that doing it scared actually changed the trajectory of your life.

[gentle music] How do you know when to give or who to give to?

Yeah.

So for us, we, we have several...

And, and being a speaker is kind of nice, 'cause you get to meet so many different kinds of people doing all sorts of, of different things.

And, you know, if it's a cause, you know, there's somebody on our team, she helps raise money for single moms.

And I was like, "That's so awesome." And she had just joined our team, and so I just, I looked at my wife, I said, I said, "Hey, what do you, what do you think about this organiz- Hey, could you send me the website?" We send the website, and we just, we just give.

Mm.

They gave me a pass.

I'd love to know your answer to that.

It's so convoluted because there's so many levels to that.

If you think about, let's just stick with the NBA for a second, and I get to work with a series of different executives and GMs.

Their ownership group does not give them leeway to chase failure.

They have very, very high expectations, and you're simply... doing what they've told you to do, draft who they want you to draft.

You don't always get to craft the culture the way that you want to.

If we move over into the publicly traded space where you're looking at Fortune 100 companies and whatnot, you know, they answer to a board and they answer to a market.

Being more awesome.

Mm-hmm.

Like, they, they seem good, but that doesn't mean that they are God, and separating the good from the God can be very, very difficult.

So I don't think I've ever arrived at that.

I think every day I'm going, "Man, I've, I've got to lay this down," and like I've gotta surrender my business and my life and my parenting and my marriage to God every, every single day.

So I had a buddy call me the other day.

He's like, "Hey, Ari, so have you thought about a Netflix documentary?" And I went, "I mean, have I ever thought about it? Sure, but I don't think that's what I'm supposed to do right now." What is that? I would say it's a holy pause, is what I would tell my kids it is.

Like, whenever you're trying to figure out a decision, for there to be a holy pause to go, "Lord, is that what I'm supposed to be doing right now?" And I think that sensitivity, that slowness to be able to seek God in everything that you do to go, "Am I supposed to say yes to this? It looks good.

Isn't it crazy?