S5E47🎙️ Live with Coach Melahni ❤️ Ake

Hi, I'm John Maxwell. When the top companies in the world are looking for trainers, speakers, and coaches, there's one name that stands above the rest, and that's Maxwell Leadership. Our certified team members have gotten proven results for companies all over the globe, and our reputation, I'm proud to say, is second to none. Some of our members have risen to the top of their profession, including the one you're going to meet today. I proudly introduce you to my friend Bob Fabien Zinga.

Welcome to the Leadership and Success Podcast with your host, Coach BZ, where we help you lead with purpose and succeed with impact. If you're ready to grow into the kind of leader others want to follow, this podcast is for you. If you're determined to elevate your success and leave a lasting legacy, this podcast is for you. As my mentor, Dr. John C. Maxwell, reminds us, everything rises and falls on leadership. Our goal is simple, to inspire you, challenge you, and equip you with insights that can transform the trajectory of your leadership journey. Welcome aboard to another episode of the Leadership and Success Podcast with Coach Easy.

But you can take one person and mentor them and teach them what you know. How are you valuing every person? So what I heard you say is this, so they can teach what you know. Oh, this is fun, isn't it? This is what we want to do is develop people.

Hi, we're at the CIT.

Training Innovation and Improvement Symposium here at Dayton at the Wright Brothers Institute. This is so exciting.

I think the biggest thing for me is the next step that I need to take is to gain clarity on my alignment, as you were talking, right, earlier, alignment.

So here, the big takeaway from this for me, for the value of just adopting some of the— I kind of put an acronym to it, LIVHIMP.

So listening, Integrity, value.

And so I can bring that and I can't wait to apply it. So I can't wait to get the action items from you. And I've already heard that. But what I want you to think about—

All right. I am really overjoyed today. We have a very special guest waiting for us in the green room. But before we get started and I introduce her, as you know, we have a moment of gratitude every time we meet here on the show. So today, like every single day during February, I was really excited and grateful for the participation of African Americans in the American story, right? There is no American story without Black history. And every single day in February, that's what I did. So we kind of go back to what we used to do. If you would maybe, Close your eyes for just a minute and think about one thing that you are grateful for right now. Maybe take a deep breath, slow down your nervous system, and think about one thing you are grateful for now. And for me, like almost every day, I am grateful that I am still alive, which means there is hope for me. Because somebody last night went to sleep and they didn't wake up this morning. But I am still here and I am so, so grateful for it. So let us know in the comments what you are grateful for. I would like to know. Let us also know where you are joining us from, what city, what state. Since we are global now, which country if outside of the US. And also, if you have a question for my guests, please type it in the comments and we will be answering live. So let me see if I can properly introduced our guest today. So today, I am going to be speaking to the one and only Coach Melanie Aik. She's the founder of Everyday Leaders Professional Coaching and Consulting, 8 times bestselling author, Maxwell Leadership Certified Executive, international speaker, trainer, and teacher. And she's also the host of the Everyday Leaders 50 in 50 podcast. For over 25 years, she has led in corporate America before fully stepping into her calling to equip leaders across healthcare, military, nonprofit, and executive spaces. She has led at 7:30 AM daily leadership devotional since October 1st, 2019, over 2,000 consecutive days of consistency. Wow. Her message is powerful and simple. It's not what you do in a day, it's what you do every day. So this episode will be titled Every Day Leaders Change the World: The Power of Daily Consistency, because we believe what we're gonna be able to teach you today, what you're gonna learn is going to be why consistency beats talent every time. All right, without any further ado, please help me welcome to the Leadership Success Podcast, the one and only Coach Melanie.

Hey.

All right. Good afternoon. I guess it's good evening where you are, Coach. How are you doing today?

I am great. Thank you so much for having me. This is so much fun.

Yes, this is going to be fun. I'm really, really glad you are here. So maybe to get started, what is one thing you are grateful for today?

Oh, grateful. Grateful for my family. My mother just had knee surgery December 29th, and she just turned 83.

Wow.

A couple weeks ago. So I am grateful that she has great health. She's recovering. She's a stubborn German, and she is doing great.

No, that is so wonderful to hear, and I hope she really recovers quickly.

Yeah.

Thank you for sharing that. Is there maybe something about you that most people watching us may not know about you when they first Mitsu, they may not know that I grew up playing ice hockey on an all-boys league. Really?

Yes. In fact, right behind me is my very first hockey jersey.

Wow.

Yeah, right up there.

Well, that's amazing because I think the, uh, the US team hockey, we just won gold, right?

We did. Women and men. Like, come on, we gotta celebrate.

Wow.

Yes.

The first time I saw American players is when I moved to San Jose. I guess we have the San Jose Sharks, I think is what they call themselves. But I've always wanted hockey to be like a Canadian sport and American football to be American. But I guess we are pretty good at whatever we set our mind to these days. That's pretty awesome.

Absolutely. And you know, in San Jose, that was pretty historic for me because when I was 40, I joined a women's competitive league. So we were playing in co-ed leagues all around to keep our fitness up. But I joined this women's competitive league and we participated in the nationals in San Jose.

Really?

And I scored a goal. And it was one of those highlights of like, I played defense, like, how am I going to score this?

Wow.

Took the shot, right? That was always my thing. Take a shot. You never know. Took the shot, scored a goal, and it advanced us to the next level. So it's really, really fun to think about our connections now.

Yeah, that is, that is really amazing. And it's also amazing how sport, especially team sport, can teach you a lot about life and business. Wow. Can you maybe expand on what you said, take the shot? Someone is listening right now, maybe they're thinking about, like you jump out of corporate America, maybe start their own business or consulting firm or maybe leadership development training or whatever, but they're kind of scared. They don't want to take that shot. What would you tell them?

Do it. Too many people are so afraid. We sit at our desk in corporate America and it's a great place to learn.

Right?

It's a great place to be disciplined, to have somebody keep you accountable, to be on time, to get reports done, to have the meetings, to be nervous in front of presentations. And yet when you sit and think about like, gosh, if I could just get rid of all these things that drive me insane and I could do it myself. If you have that desire within you, you're an entrepreneur and you have to figure out like what it is that you absolutely could do every single day and not even worry about the paycheck. Go do it, go try it. And as Chris Robinson, my business mentor, says, it's do day, right? You just go do it. I've always had that vision within myself to say, you know, if you're adding value to people, God kind of puts you in the right path. So you can't, you can't let the fear hide what is inside of you. And, uh, and I say, just take, take the shot, right? Take the shot. The worst that could happen is You have to take it again.

Yes. Yes. Because I was going to ask you, most people are afraid because they always ask, what if I fail? What if it doesn't work?

Yeah.

What'd you say to that?

It probably won't work the first time, right? You got to prepare yourself for it probably won't work, but what if it does?

Yes. Right?

What if it does? You have to think that it's going to. And so don't be afraid. There's so many stories that I'm gonna share with you today that are, are those opportunities that have put me in the next opportunity.

Wow.

That I had no idea, but things that God has planned for you, you can't see. But if you trust, if you trust the process and you, and you say, how can I be creative with my own will? How can I add value to someone? Show them something like Jesse Cole. We've just done Live to Lead this session, and he talks about energizing the experience, your audience. I have always felt that way because of my history that you're going to learn about.

Yes.

But it's always made me feel like there's something greater within that we need to share with people, and they feel that love and appreciation in our communities. And so the things that I have done that have pushed that envelope have allowed me to grow in a way that I never even thought possible, right?

That is really amazing. You mentioned Chris Robinson earlier, who is my mentor, but also Papa John. Can you tell us a little bit? Well, Dr. John C. Maxwell, I call him Papa John, most of us do at Maxwell Leadership. Can you tell us a little bit about your journey, how you got to meet him and be associated with Maxwell Leadership, which at the time I think it was called John Maxwell Team? We just rebranded a few years ago.

Yes. In 2016, I received several phone calls from advisors that were saying, hey, you should join the team. And I, at that time, I was in corporate America and I was in medical device sales and traveling internationally. And so for me, I said, I have a career. I don't really understand why you're calling me. I don't get it. Although I was really, I was on LinkedIn a lot and I was promoting our medical device things and, and trainings that we were doing. And so I finally, I don't know, probably 6 times that I was called and I said, you know, I really need to just hop on a call and find out what it's about. So I did. And I immediately said, this is exactly what I need. Right. Personal growth is something that I had forgotten about. I mean, I had challenged myself to do things, but I had not really leaned into a community. That provided personal growth direction. I'd read John's books. I had read many leader books, and John was one of my very favorites. But I thought to be able to gain access to John, right? That's different. It's not just reading a book or going to a seminar. And I did all of those things too. It's the communication and it's finding those dots that I have learned that my family had been so intertwined and connected to that has just— it's changed my life.

Yes.

The transformation that's happened because I said yes and I took that.

Wow. That is powerful. Now, we, we do share Papa John as a mentor, but there is another one. He's a mentor to me from a distance only, but he's actually one of your primary mentors as well. Can you tell me about this young man right here? Most people know him because he wrote a bestselling book Start with Why. And this book has been recommended at least a dozen times since last year. So it's on my list of most recommended books. Can you tell us about Simon?

Oh, Simon. So, OK, so I joined the John Maxwell team in 2016. And part of that invitation was, now you get 2 tickets to come to our signature event, which is called Live to Lead. It's in Atlanta. And so I joined in September. And I had like a couple of weeks, you know, to kind of plan. And they said, it's the first Friday, and it's in Atlanta. Atlanta, and I thought, oh my gosh, there's no way. What did I— I've made a mistake because I have to be in Germany on Monday to train these device reps, and, and I haven't bought my ticket yet, but there's no way this is going to work out, right? And so I thought, I've just spent all this money and I'm getting things for free. I can't even show up, right? Like, this is the wrong turn.

Yes.

But then something happened. My awesome husband said, hey, I'll drive you to Atlanta and we can go, like, we had 2 tickets. We'll go to Atlanta and we can go to the Live to Lead. And, um, so I met Simon, I met John, I met Dan Cathy, Liz Wiseman, and Tracy Morrow, which is a great friend now. And, and I just started the journey and I leaned in. And so at that time at Live to Lead, they had kind of private book signings, you know, everybody got to do that. So I got in Simon's line and I had him sign The Infinite Game. Yeah. And I said, Simon, I'm so excited to meet you because I didn't really have any idea until a couple of weeks ago you were going to be here and I was going to be here. And yet I said, I'm teaching all of your material, Start With Why, translated in Germany. That's amazing. That's where I'm going Monday.

Wow.

Right?

So again, you don't know what's ahead until you say yes. And then, all this amazing stuff continued to happen.

Amazing. Amazing.

Yes.

Like they say, the rest is history. Now, you've built a brand for yourself around Everyday Leaders Change the World. What defining moment made that message personal for you?

Oh, okay. So, I went to the first International Maxwell Certification. Okay. Um, so for people that are watching this that have no idea what we're talking about, this is part of the process. You join the team, you go through this training for 3 days, and you're invited to come when the next time is that you can make it. So mine was March of 2017, and I sat in the room and I listened to John, and he talked about this 15 Laws of Growth book.

Yeah.

And I said, oh, I haven't read that one yet. And then he started talking about these masterminds.

Yes.

And I'm like, what? I don't have time to do this. Like, I, you know, again, I'm failing. I can't do this. There's no time. I, there's no way that I'm going to be able to follow the process and I've spent a lot of money. So I really doubted what was going to come next.

Although you're doubting, I can't believe it.

Although I said the only way for me to be accountable is to get people right here in the room on board because I need accountability. And I was traveling in different time zones. I was over in Europe for like 8 months, right? So I said, I need everybody's email address. I went around the room and on the tables that you sit at, I I just got everybody's email addresses and I said, I'm going to put on the Maxwell Leadership Facebook page that we're going to start a mastermind.

Wow.

Anybody that wants to join, let's go. Let's learn this.

So you must not be an introvert.

Well, I actually am.

I suspected. Wow.

But I'm a high I. I'm an ISD on the disc, right? So I need people, but Gosh, then I need to sleep for like a week. But so that's what I did because I knew accountability was the only way that I was going to be able to get it done. And I thought, wow, I've paid a lot of money to get mentored by John Maxwell. I need to listen to him. So as I went home and I started doing these masterminds, you may know Eric Reed, Coach Eric Reed. He kind of hijacked our Facebook page. Can I join? And I said, of course you can. Who are you? So he started to tell the story, right? And so he helped us really start to visualize what a mastermind could be. That was the best thing that could have happened. Somebody, a mentor inside, leaning in and taking us under the wing and saying, look, this is kind of fun and here's how you can do it. And it's a way.

Wow.

And from that, just, you know, over the course of the months, we met every single week, every single Wednesday we met. And at about, you know, August— so now it's March, you go down and it's about August— and I thought, okay, I'm 49 years old and I really needed to think about what was I going to do as I turned 50. It started laying on my heart, you know, because most people climb a mountain or they, they have this big goal or they go on a vacation or they do something big. And I didn't— I had never really planned for that thing. I never really thought of my life as like, okay, this is a chapter. It was just go do it every day, right? So, but this was different because now I had learned more about myself. And as we were studying the 15 Laws, I was applying every week a lesson, and, and it started to help me because you start off with Chapter 1. For those that have never read this book, get it, read it. Chapter 1 is all about intentionality, and it takes you through 8 gaps in your life, and it asks you the question to rate yourself, like, which of these gaps do you feel like you, you need help with, right? That you need a little bit of help, assessing. And I think at that time I could check 5 of the 8. Wow. I was really like, wow, this is, this is kind of ripping the bandaid off because it was about personal growth. And, and so that made me start to get really curious. Right. So another, another chapter in this book, but it made me get so curious that I thought, I've lost what I love to do, why I went to college. And I went to college to be a journalist.

Wow.

I went to be the next Katie Couric. I went to Ball State, to David Letterman's college, and, and thought, I'm gonna do this. When I got to college, something happened. I didn't enjoy campus life. They were changing the curriculum. They, they didn't, you know, for me, I was just kind of pushed into kind of a senior level class curriculum. And it really made me stop and say, I'm not so sure that I want to do it this way.

Yeah.

So I left Ball State. I left Ball State and I came home and I got a job at a bank and I started working my way through school. And that's, that's how that finished, right? That's how I got my degree. And my psychology and administration degree. But I didn't ever let go of the person that I was through high school and interviewing people in media and public relations. I love that part of me. And that became what I did in my jobs, from a marketing, sales, training, and leadership role, right? Helped me be that confident leader that I was inside, because I knew how to communicate to people, I knew how to add value to people. I knew what I wanted the outcome to be. I could see, you know, how to bring that together. And so that really helped me, even though I didn't get the degree in that. So here I am at 49 going, well, I haven't lost that. I can actually start interviewing people again.

Yes.

But this time, getting really curious about what I was so curious about in myself. How does, how does this book affect everybody?

Hmm.

Like, okay, so what are the challenges people had? What are the decisions they've made? How were they going through pain like I was experiencing? You know? So it made me look at the world completely different from a personal growth perspective. And I said to my husband again that he does media, audio broadcasting and production. And I said, Joe, um, do you think you could help me start a podcast?

Yes.

And at that time, 2017, right, it was kind of before the surge. And, and so anyway, my birthday is on the second week of January, January 12th, and I decided that, hey, I was going to launch my podcast on my 50th birthday. That was going to be the thing.

Well, Kitty Quick, watch out.

Wow. So it was so fun. And then I said, you know, for the challenge, right, accountability, here we go, consistency, I I said, it's got to be 50 shows in 50 weeks in my 50th year.

Wow.

So that's how I themed it. And, and so then I was scurrying around to like, okay, who's going to be my guest?

Wow.

But yeah, so that's kind of how all that started. And then, and then it was just about showing up, right? Being consistent and showing up. And then what was happening next was so awesome because my company was seeing how I was growing, right? When you start to focus on personal development, yes, the people that you don't think are watching you, yeah, yeah, kind of get afraid because now you've got momentum.

Yes, yes.

Oh, and that's, that's kind of what started to happen is I got really clear and confident in the things that I did know. And you know how John says Well, you know more, you can see more, right? And so you do more because you can see more now.

Yes. Yes.

That's what was happening in the Law of Navigation.

Yeah.

Yeah. It just— again, I started practicing, right? I was applying the lessons that I was learning. And so for me, things started to go like a freight train. It just got awesome. Really clear. Really clear.

Again, the rest is history. Now, I want to take you back, if it's okay, into a darker time, because I think it might help the people listening now. I know based on your work, you lost your father at such a young age. And how did that kind of shape your lens on life? How did that experience influence your drive, your resilience, and positivity?

Yeah, so my dad passed away. He was He was 29 years old when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. And, and we lived in Indianapolis. And so my grandparents decided that there was a physician at Stanford University that might be able to help him. So they were Nazarene song evangelists and they didn't have a lot of money. So we all rented this hotel and we stayed in this little hotel. El Camino Real. It was called the Stanford Arms Hotel in San Palo Alto, and where I started kindergarten. And he was treated at Stanford for, you know, a few months until they said, there's really nothing else that we can do. So at 29, as he was getting ready to turn 30 in September, we, we went back to Orlando to where my grandparents had a home. And that's where he passed away that December. And so I was 5, getting ready to turn 6 that January. And it was absolutely life-changing, right? I mean, when you have that kind of a loss, and, and so it was really difficult to have no other siblings. We moved back to Indianapolis because that's kind of where we live. That's where we were established. And my mom worked at the hospital. She was a nurse. And my grandparents really took me under their wing to protect me.

Wow.

And thank God for that, because they really gave me, you know, the— my grandmother read 1 Thessalonians 4:13 to me as I was just wondering, again, curiosity of like, What happened to Dad? And what— how do we— how do we know? Like, how do we know we're protected? And so I memorized 1 Thessalonians 4:13 as a child and always held that with me of like, this is what's going to happen when we all get to meet again. When, when, when God comes back, we're gonna just all be collected together and it's gonna be a happy experience. It's going to be so much joy. So don't fear the things that have happened, because there's more, more next, right?

Wow.

And that's what I've always held with me. And so through all those difficult times, I knew that it was going to be okay. Like, I had peace with me. So that's what's been really amazing to look at. You know, a lot of people go through difficulty, and they, they don't ever really understand how to connect that hope.

Yes.

Or faith. And I thank God every day for my grandparents because they really guided me. And I traveled with them to camp meetings and just had so much fun learning about how to build a faith-based community.

Yes.

And that's what they did. So, so that's just, you know, that was part of my life and really what my focus was from a very young age.

Wow, that is so powerful. Thank you so much for sharing that. I think I lost my father in 2011. He had prostate cancer. I was affected, but not as affected as I became when I lost my mom, because my mom was my hero. She was my everything. And, uh, yeah, if I didn't have faith, I don't think I would have made it. And what was very strange too is, uh, yeah, I kind of knew she had just passed away and she was in France, so And it was during the pandemic too. So basically the borders in France were all closed. They didn't allow anybody to fly in. So I had to have special permission from their prime minister, which I asked through the French embassy in San Francisco. But anyway, so they allowed me and my brother to go there. It's the day that we actually buried her. That's when I realized I will never see her again. Like she's really, really gone. It just hit me like a brick and Faith definitely helped me get through it. I don't think I will ever, ever get through it completely, but, uh, uh, I am— I was, I was unable to, to do much, much of anything, you know, the next couple of days after, after that. So I know faith is extremely, extremely important, but it's so hard.

People without it, I, I, you know, I— my heart hurts for them because I know that that's really the only thing that gives you the joy Yes, right. It just gives you so much joy knowing the memories. Be glad because it happened, right? Be glad because, because you have tomorrow to be hopeful for.

Yes.

And know that where they are, like, it's so peaceful. Um, it's selfish for us to go, I wish they were here.

Yes, yes.

But, uh, glad that it happened, you know? And I think about all the memories. My dad used to drive me around on his motorcycle with a monkey. We had a monkey.

That's unusual.

He was so fun.

Yes. Wow. So I, I am, I'm, uh, assuming your mom was a disciplinarian, huh?

Oh yes, she's a double German. Yes, she's very— that's why she's healing so well with her knee surgery, because she follows the rules.

Yeah, I really thank God for my wife because many times I am, no the parents of my— our two daughters, who is really fun taking them to Disney and having all kinds of great fun. When it comes time to discipline, I let my wife take care of that, but probably not fair. But anyway, so you spent like 25 years in medical device sales, like you did earlier, you said earlier, and leadership. What did corporate America teach you about influence, discipline, and execution?

Oh, you know, Teamwork, communication, you know, if you don't have that, you're never going to be successful. Everything is so competitive in the world, and that environment can be really ugly. And you have to be able to raise your lid. You have to find the people that are the lid lifters and move towards them, because there are many people in any environment— I don't care if you're in education You know, manufacturing, medical device sales, banking, whatever it is, you have people that just don't want to be leaders.

Yes. Yes.

And so you have to move into the right circles and you have to put yourself into those right circles, but that confidence.

Yes.

And if you don't have the ability to develop that confidence with the right people, it takes you a lot longer to learn that lesson.

Hmm.

Um, you know, and trusting, trusting the right people is because you can read them. You can ask the right questions. John always says, good leaders ask great questions.

That's true. He wrote a book about that too.

He did. One of the many.

Amazing. Yeah.

But, uh, but yeah, I mean, all of those lessons that you think about, John teaches us that are so simple because, because it works.

Yes. Right?

Yes.

And so when you start to apply those basic values, principles into the things that you do, you start to understand and you see things before others see very clearly about if I say no to this project or if I say yes to this project, what happens next, right?

Yes. So powerful. I'm glad you, you mentioned communication. I believe this is the last law book that Papa John wrote, the 16th, and then Law of Communication. Everybody here already knows about the Laws of Leadership because we've been studying this since last year. And then you just mentioned earlier the 15 Laws of Growth. I think we only have law book is Teamwork, which I have up there. But communication is so key. Now, it helps you with your business, with your marriage, with your relationship, with your friendship, with pretty much everything, doesn't it?

Yes, it does. It does. It's the base of— it's the base of everything because, you know, we show up as we are, right? And we want others to show up as we are. And that's the hardest thing.

Yes.

You know, we have to start showing up for others and start understanding. So with the Maxwell DiSC, the DiSC profiles. Now, I had taught DiSC for a long time, and I'm certified through Simon's Y Institute. And it's not Simon. It's a physician that sat with Simon and created this assessment called the Y Assessment. So I've learned that, but putting that with DiSC, and then not long ago, I became a DiSC consultant through Maxwell. Because I learned the value of having all of the Maxwell-branded information because I, it is in my DNA, right? So I'm not just like, oh, I wanna refer this, but I can help you go through this and teach you the principles in this. And so, uh, doing that really helped open the door to helping the groups that I serve communicate in a whole different way.

Wow.

Yeah.

That's powerful. Why do you think it's important? Earlier you mentioned, first you have to know yourself, and you spent a lot of time doing that. But why is it important to also know the personality of the other members of your team, the people you work with?

Oh my goodness.

DiSC will help you do that.

Absolutely. It's, it's so invaluable because the things that normally trigger you, right? You have this sense of forgiveness for other people, and you enter the room with curiosity again of like, how can I ask them a question that's going to add value to them and help bring out their strengths so that it's not about what I'm, my agenda is or what I'm trying to get out. We're collaborating, right? Communication is all about collaborating. It's not a one-side, I need you to know this information, you need to do this for me. That doesn't work in any room.

True, true. So powerful. So another thing that you say a lot, so I call that the melanism, you say, "It's not what you do in a day, but it's what you do every day." Papa John says something similar. When did that truth become non-negotiable for you?

Oh, wow. Okay. So 2018, I was eliminated from my position 4 months after I started my podcast. And in 2018, I joined this team as a startup company hired me to be their VP of sales and build their company for device products. So I had done that role for about a year and then some things changed. The leader, um, some awful things happened. And so anyway, it became an opportunity for me to open up a medical device company to help again, add value to my customers. So I did, because I said, I can learn this. Uh, I did everything wrong. I would never do it again. Um, I went through a lot of my 401k, like it was really bad. I had 46 employees that I was funding the company for and not getting investor dollars. It was horrible, right? Uh, right before COVID like it was just, you didn't know what was coming, but I didn't pay attention to that. I just knew. That I wanted to serve bigger, and I didn't have an opportunity because I was with the wrong people. I was just— I kept trying to make it work so hard that I was like, why isn't it working, right? Everything should be working. I know how to do this. I did not. Um, and I wasn't prideful. I was just— I was so overwhelmed with just, you know, thinking that I had to keep things going for everybody else. And so, so then in September of 2019, John released A Minute with Maxwell. Now, for those that don't know, he has a daily encouragement with a word that he just pushes out on video. He doesn't do it every day. He records them previously. They ship them out. I don't know why, like, some days you listen to them, some days you don't. This day I did. And he said, if you are searching for clarity and courage and wisdom, read Proverbs 31 days. And I thought, is it that simple?

Yes. Yes.

And so that's what I did. I said, well, I looked at the calendar. I mean, I'm logical, right? So I'm about application. I love Chris Robinson because I am about due day and I'm like, okay, let's go. So I reached out to a bunch of people and I said, hey, I'm going to start this Bible study on, on October 1st, and if you want to join me, I'm going to put up a public Zoom link and you can join me. We're gonna like use the Leadership Bible. That's what I bought when I went to IMC in 2017. I need to start diving in, like, let's do Proverbs. Okay, so we, we showed up on Zoom on October 1st, 2019.

Wow.

And in about 31 days, the, it was so clear that I knew that I needed courage to write to the manufacturing team and tell them, I am no longer going to be a distributor for your product. I am getting rid of all of this. I have to make a change. Wow. That's That's what happened in those 31 days. And I am so grateful that I, again, I listened to God.

Yes. Wow.

And took action, right? If I would not have taken action, I would have not gotten that clarity.

Yes. That is really, really powerful. And of course, for those who follow me, you know, we went through 31 Days of Proverbs in January. We went through each and every chapter. And now what I'm doing is I'm going back, but using artificial intelligence now to give like a 10-minute recap of an hour-long session we had for each one of the book of Proverbs in January. Something I used to do when I was a teenager all by myself, and then when I got married, I would do it with my wife. So this is the first time I've done this publicly. Of course, no, I don't focus on religion. It's just wisdom and just a leadership lesson you get out of it. And as you mentioned, no, the Maxwell Leadership Bible is our manual because not only you get the Bible, but you also get get all of the other leadership insights you will get.

100 lessons on leadership.

I mean, come on. Incredible. Yeah. But anyway, so for the AI recap, we stopped at chapter 15, but we're going to continue at chapter 16. And I will let people who follow me, you are going to know when I am going to do it. But something about you, Coach Melanie, I am extremely impressed. So you started October 1st, 2019. Every day at 7:30 AM over 2,000 consecutive days. How in the world did you do that? What kept you consistent when motivation faded? I'm sure motivation faded at some point. How did you do it? Okay.

So the 31 days was awesome. I got my little graduation cap on, played music, and we were like, woo-hoo, we did it. But then, You know, it was like, okay, so what do you do next? And so we were all just like, well, we keep going.

Like, that's what you do. Yeah.

And so that's what happened. It's just everyone wanted to keep the momentum because we were learning so much.

Yes.

And I said, well, okay, here's the Zoom. And so then I just kind of put it on my website now, and I have it there where anybody can join any morning at 7:30 AM Eastern, and we go through whatever chapter. Like, now we're on Job. Oh my gosh, that's so hard. But we're on Job, and so we're finishing that. And then we just kind of let the Spirit lead us to, like, what are we learning and what do we need? Like, what, what do we need as a group next? And this community is, is international. Like, we have people from—

that's amazing—

that join, and it's 30 minutes. We play the, uh, we play the King James, then the Message, then we do the Daily Reader, right?

Yes.

Um, every day. And then we, uh, we also do a lesson if there's a Breakthrough Box in the Leadership Bible. We do that and we just have conversation and we learn and we grow and we say apply it and we'll see you tomorrow.

Wow.

And your website, that's everydayleaders. Com.

Yes, everydayleaders.com.

Amazing, amazing, amazing. You should be so, so very, very proud. Now, what about sometimes you also talk, and Papa John talks about this, the 1% growth every day. What does that mean to you? And how does it— how do you apply that in practice?

You know, you feel it. That's the thing. You can't even understand it. You can talk about it. All day long. Until you do something every day and you understand that transformation, you just can't even understand what happens in your heart, what you see differently, what you have exposure to do differently.

Yes.

What people in the community see you and expect just of themselves, of say, well, I know you can do that because I see you. To do, right? And it's not about like this ego or pride. It's just I know that this is what I must do. This is what I must do. And I am not a, hey, let me join that, and let me join that, and let me join that. I'm, you know, I'm like, hey, this works for me, and if it can help you, that's fantastic. Because what I've learned is it's powerful.

That is really, really incredible. Because like you said, 31 days you went to the Book of Proverbs you had clarity, and then you had the courage to just say, "No, I'm not gonna do this medical device thing anymore." That must have been kind of scary for you to do that, though. How do leaders build courage like you did when clarity clearly exposes uncomfortable change?

Oh my gosh, you know, it was really hard because I felt like I was letting a lot of people down. I felt like I was letting my customers down that I had built this one product line for a long time at clinical facilities— NYU, UCLA, wow, you know, Peter Cyanide, Cornell— like places that they were my friends. So to say that now I was going to have to do something different, or they were going to have to be expecting something different— and I am all about the experience, right? So my customers are, are my heart. And so that was really, really a difficult decision. But I knew that what I was involved in was not alignment with who I was, and I didn't want to be. I almost felt tortured, like, you know, well, you do this. And, and so just different cultures, and if you're not prepared for that as investing in a, in a community, a business, um, it was really, really crazy. It taught me a lot, and I said it was the thing that I will never do again. Not that way anyway.

Wow.

Um, but I learned a lot and I wanted to get away from it, and I, and I got the clarity.

Yes.

You know, Proverbs 31 is the, the woman, the strong woman can do and overcome. And I, I just thought, righteous woman. Yeah, exactly right. I don't need to do it this way anymore.

So powerful. One thing that amazes me is just, no, probably maybe what, 2,000-year-old, but it's still relevant today in 2026. That's just That's amazing. But also once you get that clarity though, to me it makes it so much easier for you to know when to say yes and when to say no, right? Something is not aligned with your values, with your purpose, where you are going. It doesn't matter if you make a lot of money or whatever it is like, no, but that's good for somebody else, but it's just not for me. Right? So it allows you to be very focused on your own priority and where you are aligned and consistent with your own value. And that's really freedom. Isn't it? Yep.

It was, it was total freedom. Really scary because then I was a consultant trying to figure out like, whoo, what do I do now? And so I did a lot of things, you know, I did a lot of things and still wasn't in alignment for a lot of different companies that I thought, okay, I'll try this. And yet I thought, these are really bad leaders. These are really dumb people out here leading companies. And it frustrated me so bad. And I just—

unfortunately.

Leaning into the team going, so, but what also happened during that was my dad's identical twin passed away. Wow. So I had my, my father's identical twin for many years up until 2020.

Yes.

And so John's father passed away just a few days before my uncle. And so that alignment, like with John, I feel like there's so many things that I have been aligned with him. In life. And that was just one more thing. And my father's name was John.

Wow.

Uh, and so that really, you know, all these things started to come together. Like I've had this loss. I've had this big change in my life from a career and trying to think like, what am I going to do next to have this big challenge?

Mm-hmm.

And so I just kept leaning into who did I know and stopped trying to align with other kinds of industries when I knew medical device. I knew the world of process control and workflow. I knew how to lead people. I knew how to build community.

Yes.

That's what I started to do, which was so natural. And then, things just started to change.

Yes. Yes. Wow. That is really amazing. And I think it's real freedom when you do work and you get paid for it. But you could do it without pay for the rest of your life. You're having so much fun. It's a different kind of thinking and living than being in that rat race. So let's make sure— oh my goodness, we almost running out of time. Looks like we just got started. I do want to talk about the 4 Cs framework because I think it's important to you and I think it can help a lot of people who are listening now. Can you walk us through your 4 Cs framework? Confidence, Clarity, courage, and consistency. Yeah.

Well, it's clarity first, right? So you've got to get clear. And maybe there are things that trigger you to make you unclear and it gets you really upset. Those are the triggers, right? That's why the DiSC profile and the why are so important. Because if you do not know yourself, as John says, you can't do anything else. You, you always think it's about somebody else and somebody's doing it to you and not for you, right? Um, so that's really, that's really the clarity. And then having the courage to take that step and not just waiting or planning for it, but the courage to act, the courage to act. So you got to do it now. You got to get clear, then you got to do it now. That's what builds the consistency in your life to give you the confidence. Um, and so then that just That's a snowball, right? That snowball effect gives you the next step to give you everything else that's going to open up to you because then you have momentum.

Mm-hmm.

Then you have the momentum until you can do all of those steps. And the courage part is really hard. The clarity part is really hard. Taking that action is really hard. But my gosh, if you can just push through that and you can get that confidence to get on the ice and take that shot and score that goal.

Wow.

There is nothing like the other side. Nothing like it.

Yes. But you do have to take action. Speaking about that, one of your, uh, melanism is, uh, God-sized awareness requires God-sized action. How— what, what does that mean and how do you apply that in a professional context?

Oh, you know, there's been so many examples that I could give you right now, and it would take hours.

Yes.

But the things that I have learned, that I have seen, that I have taken action on created the opportunities. And they weren't just opportunities for me. They were opportunities to grow communities.

Yes.

They were opportunities that people came to me.

Wow.

They were drawn to me like I had honey out. And I, and I was like, how did you know about this? I didn't even talk to you. Like, how did you know about this? But people helped me with programs at schools for at-risk youth that just— I need a program developed in 2 weeks, and it was every day at a high school.

Wow.

And people just came and showed up and said, do you know, I'm looking for— I want to serve a high school girls program. Do you have any connections? And it was exactly at the time when I needed that help. And what happened is we ran a program every day, every day, leaders, every day for an entire year and served these girls with just people that showed up and consistently, right? Every single day. And we were all business leaders, consultants, running our companies, doing things. And yet God provided the pathway. I was like, I'm not a teacher. I don't have kids. I'm not even school system. But yet he put this opportunity in front of me to say, I need you to serve here. And so, so I did.

Powerful. Well, you may not have kids in the natural, but you definitely have a lot of leaders that you have developed. So, uh, thank you for all of the work you do. It's incredible. Now, one, a member of our community, a very active member, Daniel Young, he says, for leaders trying to build a safe haven community for people in toxic toxic, ultra-competitive environment. So that's Silicon Valley right there. What makes it a true white circle that protects integrity, sustains hope, and not more noise? It's a very good question.

So you have to put the right people in that circle, right? That's the thing. And you know by asking the right questions when you have a toxic person. So you always say, right, like, if you could remove that one person from the room, who would that be?

Yes.

And so you can't manipulate it, but you have to create the environment that real leaders will show up. Real leaders will show up to serve each other. And so you have to create that environment where people are going to join together. And maybe it's a challenge of, hey, we're going to do this and lift that lid so that people will rise to the occasion. And the people that don't want to rise, they won't go. Yes. They just won't go.

Wow.

And so you can kind of de-escalate that by, you know, collect themselves. But that's always how it happens. And we always want to say, like, I just want to put you in timeout and you can go in this room.

Yes. I guess you have to have the courage to act, going back to your 4 C's, right?

Yes.

Create the energy, right? Create the energy that lifts. And so, and maybe, right, maybe they change their heart and maybe they become, they see something in you that inspires them.

Yes.

Change their attitude about it. And that —That can always happen.

That is really powerful. Okay. We are already running out of time. I hope you can give us just a little bit more time because I want to talk about your bestselling book. Actually, you are a co-author, right? Everyday Moment: Lessons That Transform Lives. I think the people listening right now need to hear more about this. First of all, why do you think this book needed to be written?

Oh, well, there are so many things that happen in our lives and that transformational moment like I talked about, and I've discussed that a lot in the book. But also the people that are in the book had those moments as well. And they are a part of my life. They've been parts of my life in many different perspectives. Um, two of the girls helped me with my nonprofit for the girls at the school, and we were able to grant and serve them. One of the girls I played hockey with in 1999, she told me, one of the girls was on my nationals team. Uh, one girl started the Bible study with me. Wow. One, we've created some businesses together. One's my mom, you know. And so it was an amazing moment to be able to serve these women and say, hey, if you had something to share, how could you talk about that moment that transformed you? Right? Going back to the podcast, but helping it become more tangible for people that they could be on that journey too.

Yes. So, uh, Why do you believe transformation happens in moments, but not in milestones?

Oh, because, because if you close your eyes right now, you know, the moment you fell in love. Hmm. Yeah. Right. You know, that moment? You know, the moment when you rode that roller coaster and you just about had a heart attack? Yeah. You know, the moment when you graduated, when you received that certificate, that completion? It's the moment, right? It's— yes, it's a goal that you achieve, but it's that one second. It's that moment that you feel like that is something that no one else could ever feel the way that I just felt it. Yes. Wow. Having a parent pass away, like, you know, that's only something that you can experience that one moment. Like you said, it's— it can never happen again, right?

Yeah. And unless somebody else goes through the same thing, they would never quite understand what you went through. But looking back, you have so many moving stories in this book. What is one story from the book that still moves you emotionally today?

Well, you know, when I was eliminated from my job, when this happened, I was so— I was still going through personal growth. But what I realized through learning about myself was that I started to appreciate people that had also experienced this kind of what I felt was so much pain. Mm-hmm. And I was so devastated. Like, how would I be eliminated from my job? And they told me that I had no value, right? Wow. Totally wrong. But I was so hurt. And I knew that I had way more in me than they even appreciated. And it took me— I don't know, it took me back to when my mother was a single parent. And maybe she had experienced this kind of a loss and pain. And there were so many things that as a child, I may not have understood, you know, where she was at the time that all of this was happening. And something inside of me stirred to forgive her for things that I may have held against her. Wow. Like, I, I got it, you know. I started to see selfishly how things that you don't understand because you can't— yes, so you can. Wow, that's powerful. But that's what happened. And, and she even said when she read it, like, well, what was that? And I said, you know, there were just things as a kid, like, but you were a single parent, you, you didn't have great community with your family. And you didn't have what I— my grandparents took me under their wing. You didn't have that. You, you— she did not even go back to the hospital that she worked at and tell people that her husband had passed away because she said at that point, at 30 years old, she didn't have a community like today that would support you. Yes. So she kept that inside. And I'm like, I have all this support. He didn't have that, right? So as I understood that, I thought, how selfish of someone, right? To think— not like that I could have had more. It was just those things that you don't understand that I just kind of said, gosh, that's a lot of weight for somebody to carry.

Wow, man. I think we definitely need to learn more about empathy in this country, for sure, especially now. And how to better communicate and be more inclusive for sure. Now, for those who are reading your book here for the first time, what is maybe one principle you think, if there's only one that they should apply this year, which one would you recommend?

Consistency. Yes. You know, add consistency in your life in some fashion. To do something different than you've ever done. Push yourself beyond a limit so that you can learn something about yourself through consistency. You know, I haven't done the 75 Hard challenge when I wrote that book yet, but that taught me a lot last year about myself. And, you know, I wasn't ever going to go back. I'm like, I don't care what it takes, I have to finish every day for 75 days because I can't go— I can't give up. Wow. So, yeah, hard, hard. Talk about hard. But you have to have the mindset, right? And so anything that you want to try to do, you can totally do. You've got to prepare for it, and you've got to take the action.

And so it goes back to, uh, what I titled this episode, right? Everyday Leaders Change the World. And I I think it has to do with that word consistency. What is an everyday leader?

It's someone that values yourself so that you can value other people and you can make a difference. And you have to do it every day, right? And you have to find— like, for me, it's been the Bible study. It's been learning how to assess who I am every day, to be reset so that you can do it as a private devotional. You can do it however you see it. Yes, it became about building a community, because now we, we are a community. We go to the Live2Leads together. We used to go to Atlanta all the time. Wow. But now we do things differently as a community, because we understand and we value growth.

Wow, that's amazing. That's amazing. I think we weren't meant to live our life all by ourselves. We're supposed to live life together as a community. Find your tribe. That's so powerful. Okay, one more question about the book. I know technically we are out of time. Can you give me maybe 10, 15 more minutes? Of course, of course.

We have more to talk about.

But yeah, because I have so much.

Oh my gosh.

Absolutely. Yes. One more question I want to ask about the book, writing the book, how did that change you as a leader? How did that affect you being one of the co-authors?

Well, I've written a lot of of co-authored books. And then so this project took me 2 years because I could not finish it. I was about the— I went back to all the gaps, right? Perfection gap, expectation. What? Oh my gosh, I've learned something new. I should write something else in here instead of just like finish it, right? So I had somebody drop out of the book and just, you know, was frustrated. And I was like, you know, I'm so sorry, but I I need to get this done for them. It wasn't about like, tell the right story, tell it the right way. Just tell the story. Like, you can do this more. That's the thing. Just do one. Yes. And then I was in a lot of other co-authored books. So I got to share different parts of different stories. Right. And, um, and so, but it was really like, it's about serving these women. Let's go. We need to get this out. And my mom, when I asked her to be a part of it, she wrote her chapter and she said she went to the library and after she wrote her chapter she shook. Like, she just— her whole body shook. She had never talked about things— wow— me that she had written. So for her this was like therapy of telling about transformation in her life. And I was, I was Wow. Yeah. So it was— that's amazing. Pretty awesome to happen. Yeah. And yeah, so you never know, right? You ask that question, somebody permission to grow in a way that they never had ever thought about.

That's really amazing. And I know it's not mostly for women, but no, I like to read the women leadership books too, because I think leadership is not gender specific. Guys can learn as well. But definitely for those watching now, get this for your spouse, your partner, your daughters. But really, this could make a big, big difference. Sometimes you just need one idea that has the potential to completely change your life. And something you said, let's talk about perfection for just a little bit, especially those who follow me from the military. Sometimes we try to be perfect, but sometimes perfect— excellent is good enough, right? How did you learn that lesson where you don't have to be perfect you are good enough.

Oh my gosh. Okay. So my husband and I have been working together in business for a long time. He's, again, he's in media production and, and he's more of a mastery and details. And I'm kind of like, just get it done. Right. But what I, what I learned is it's important to do it as best as you can. You don't have to be perfect, but if you can just do it the best you can, we did in 2021 a 6-hour virtual leadership summit. Wow. And we had 25 speakers. And so we really organized it. And it was so great because we, we, you know, for 6 hours we sat in our chairs and we just kept people running. You know how it is. Wow. And we did it and it wasn't perfect. It was amazing. And we served so many people and did our masterminds afterwards. And I still get people talking about that. That's amazing. In 2021, right? Because it's COVID and we thought, well, let's be creative and serve people. And yet I still have people call me and say, you should be writing a book about how you did that.

That's amazing. See, because for people like us, especially most people who get in the military, I think they are about my type. No, it's like paralysis by analysis, right? You just want to be so perfect and then you never get anything done when you can help so many people and serve so many people by just getting it out. And something I've learned in Silicon Valley, it may not be the first iteration, it's never perfect. It always has a lot of issues with it and bugs, but then they have the iterative process where they fix it as quickly as possible and make it better and better and better. Pretty much every software Microsoft has ever released has always been a beta software. And then they get the feedback from everybody in the world and then they fix it. But the thing is, if you wait for the software to be perfect, you're never gonna be able to get to market.

You never experience it, right? So if you never do it, you never know what to change. And that's the thing, it's, uh, it's so incredible. You talk about it, but until you do it, yes, you don't understand it.

Now, you, you mentioned your husband. I think you have to tell us a story. What is the story behind this one here?

Oh, I love this story. This is so awesome. So, okay, so go back to my grandparents and traveling around the country with them, going to camp meetings. And my great uncle, my grandmother's brother, was a Baptist minister. And so every— everywhere that he went, he would want to tape ministers on a cassette, you know, like a cassette tape, like this one. And so this is one that he taped. So he was at a meeting He was at a meeting in Kentucky back in 19— I think we said his— I think it was like in 1970.

I'm gonna see if it says that on the, on the picture.

I don't think that it says the year, but, but his dad said he was a minister for so many years. So, so John was calculating it.

If there are any Gen Zs listening right now, a cassette tape is something that's kind of like media.

But for old people, I guess it's one of those things you want now because you didn't have it. So my uncle went to the pulpit and he would press the cassette button and he would press record, and every minister he ever preached with— wow— he would have a cassette. And then he would travel in his van and he would listen to the sermon and he would write sermons.

Do you know the first time I learned about, uh, John Maxwell? He used to be a pastor and he used to have cassette tapes that he would send out. That's how I first learned about him, and then I learned about his book, and like I say, the rest is history. But, uh, there's definitely a lot of, uh, story and things happening with just cassette tapes.

Cassette tapes, right? So my uncle— so here's the thing, my uncle taped John Maxwell's dad. This is Melvin Maxwell. Wow. So as my uncle had passed away in 2020, I was kind of going through all these So I got all the family stuff, right? Because that's what happened. Because I'm in ministry, basically. So I get all these tubs, these plastic tubs, these gray plastic tubs with cassette tapes overflowing. And I decided one day in March of 2024, I'm going to drag them into my office. And I was like, you know, I'm just, I got to go through one of them. I just got to start this before I came to the conference. Wow. And I opened it up, and that's the tape that I saw on the top.

That's amazing.

And it's Melvin Maxwell. And if you know John Maxwell, he has salt and light on the back of his— yeah, he always talks about salt and light. Be bigger, be better, be brighter. This is his dad preaching salt and light. Wow. Now come on, that's amazing.

Melvin Maxwell. Melvin Maxwell.

So, and again, his father had passed away right before my uncle. So I thought, well, John says be a, you know, be a river, not a reservoir. I got to get this to him. I got to figure this out. Wow. So we called Andrew, and Andrew Manzano is who records John all the time, and Joe's good friends with him. And he said, um, what would be the best way that we could give this to John so he could listen to it? Yes. And so we, um, have kind of a different— we have all kinds of audio stuff. But anyway, we recorded it, and Joe gave it to John, as you can see in the picture here. So I'm handing John and telling him the story. I said, this is your father recorded. And Joe had a little lanyard he gave him, um, so the recording, so he could put it in his computer and listen to it. Yes. And, um, and so I have that now on Dropbox because I kept a copy of it.

And that's amazing, giving it to John.

John, I have a video of him You know, everybody was taping it, you know, Andrew and Christian De La Rosa was there like, click, click, click.

Wow, that's amazing.

But I said to Ray, I said, I have something that I want to give to John and not in the alumni room, but I just, I want to do this privately, but I want, I need to give this to him before I lose it. But he looked at me and he said, I go, John, this is your dad. And And he was like, you know, wow, you just took him back for a moment. And then you could see the tears. Yes. And he said, he said, this is my dad, this is my dad. Wow. Um, and so, you know, being able to give something to someone that's priceless, not get— yes, from any— they can't buy it. But when you This is what happens with growth. Hmm. You are able to do things that you would never believe possible because you don't know. But when you start to grow, you start to see things. Things are put in your path from your connected, right? When you're in alignment. Yes. Things start to kind of come together for you and you see how do you serve people that you truly have a heart to serve. And this has happened to John. It's happened to so many of my leaders that I serve because, because you, you see it, right? You, you don't— I couldn't have like prescribed this, this from forever, but to have it in the moment again when I opened, when I opened that tub and I looked down and I saw that pink and yellow and I thought, oh, what you know, what's this? And it said Maxwell, and I'm like, is that a Maxwell tape?

And then I was like, Melvin Maxwell? Wow, that is amazing.

Could not believe it, right? Could not believe it. So then we listened and I thought, yeah, this is Melvin Maxwell. But I also heard my uncle fuddling around in the background, like crazy. So, but so cool to be able to be at IMC to to have that experience and to give something that you love your mentor and give them something that you know that they just appreciate, you know, that they can sit in that moment and go, I can hear my dad again. Like, he probably had never heard that speech at that time. So now he gets to enjoy that.

Yes, that's really legacy, more important than leaving money or anything like that to your children or your grandchildren. It's, uh, I know John's daddy talked a lot about him. He was a man of integrity, of character, and there's nothing in the world in my mind more important than that. Wow. Yep, that's incredible, man. Thank you for sharing that story. It's almost gonna make me cry. It's, uh, wow, powerful, powerful.

I love it. I just love it. And, um, you know, it's so— it's when what happened when we went to Argentina, which also made me so emotional because because I feel like those are moments, again, when people do something that, you know, is so important to them that they want to include you in that. So when we were in Argentina last September, John had us all in the room as kind of the launch for the country. And so he does this sometimes when he comes to the countries. And we were able— 140 coaches were in the room. And he says, I want to give you something. And if you know John, there are, you know, certain things that he really appreciates. He values them. And he said, I want to give you something from Mark and myself, not from the Foundation, not— this is a personal gift. And I had this specifically picked out for you as coaches that are here serving with me. Wow. And he had each one of us come up to the stage. And he gave us a Montblanc ring pin. Wow. It had significance on one side and Argentina on the other. Amazing. And I bawled. Yes. It affected me so profoundly because I knew that that was something that John— he's not materialistic, but he values quality. Yes. And for him to pass that on to us because we were there, I'm just getting emotional now. But it was one of the, again, the moment that you just step back and say, I'm receiving this gift from you because you value me. Right.

That's amazing. And one thing it says, right, once you test significance, significance, success will never, never satisfy. What's the difference between significance and success?

It's others.

Wow.

You know, success is you. Yes, you can do, you can prove to do anything, but But the significance is what goes through you, how you see the world differently, how you show people that you value them and that they feel value.

Wow, amazing. Yeah, I remember I mentioned in the green room, I went with John and the team to the Dominican Republic. I think it was 2021 because COVID was already there. I remember it took us longer to get access and get through the airport. And we had to do all of the shots and all of that. But once we got there, man, the impact we had on that country, we were there for just about a week, I think. But me personally, I was able to speak to probably about 150 or so local teachers, businessmen, consultants. I mean, it was just amazing. And because I understand Spanish, but I don't speak Spanish, so I had to have a translator, but just being there and having such a huge impact, I mean, it's gonna stay with me. For the rest of my life. It's just amazing.

It's amazing. But, and you're right, the translators. I had been in Germany, like I said, in 2016, so I had— didn't have a translator with me, but I learned how you have to slow down when you're in a different country. And yet we do have translators when we go on these trips. Yes. And it is amazing to think how, with, you know, even the AirPods had just come out in Argentina do that. But having our people that volunteered their time, say 140 coaches. So now you need 140 volunteers from the country that are giving up 4 days. Yeah. One of the people that I met was a thoracic surgeon. That's amazing. There and gave up his time because he wanted his country to be better. Wow. I mean, come on. You can't experience this even if you wrote it down like Here's what I would like to have happen, right? But it's the access that John's influence gives to the team that when you lean in and say, I want to be a part of Significance with John, you sign up for the e-ticket.

That is amazing. And now what I wish is for us to do it right here in America. I think we need it more than any time in our history. It seems like, but no, it's just life-changing when you live your life for others. Okay. I've already used so much of your time, but if I can maybe 10 more minutes before. Yes. Okay. I have so many questions for you. So one, so for this last segment, I kind of tried to get into your head, your thinking, your mindset, how you got to be as successful as you have become now. So one question I would ask is what actually you kind of recognize those questions was I have a 7th question from Papa John. So the first one, what is the greatest lesson you have ever learned in life, in leadership in general?

You know, it is to meet people where they are. That's amazing.

So the person I interviewed yesterday, uh, retired captain, US Navy, told me the same exact thing.

That's really incredible, you know, because When people hurt you, when you're going through change and growth, you expect them to, to be a friend or be patient or consider your feelings at a certain level. You, you consider people to do things for you that are impossible. And so if you meet people where they are, you can also see where their heart is. And, and if it's if it's a good heart or if it's a manipulative heart. So if you can really just step back and understand, you know, like I did for my mother, the forgiveness of understanding what are they doing right now, what are they going through, how are they influenced or affected, you can make the best decisions for what you need to do next if you can just learn that one lesson. Wow.

Wow, powerful. So, what do you think is the secret of your success in corporate America with medical sales? And then, you became a certified international author, bestselling author 8 times now, keynote speaker, teacher, trainer, like everything you do, consulting, leadership development. Why are you so successful, you think?

I don't give up. You know, I'm persistent and I just keep moving forward. I keep doing things, trying things, learning things, developing communities and collaborating with people that I see have value and are trying to do things that they may not have access to and bringing the right people together to give them the tools, either through joining the John Maxwell team, like, you know, the Maxwell Leadership Team, giving people access to things that they, they think that I want to do more and I want to be more. Of course, we as coaches think, oh, you should just hire me. I can solve your problems. Not me. I want to give them access to things and community like John gives to us. That's what I really see is important.

That's really powerful. When you say you keep moving forward, of course, we're talking the green room now. Everybody, even those who are extremely successful, I believe you are one of those people, you still have to go through failures at times. And I guess Papa John calls it learning, right? Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. But we do have to have learning session times throughout our career and our path. So, how has failure shaped your life?

The lessons, oh my goodness. It's incredible. I think failure for me, because I'm a high I, I trust a lot of people and a lot of people have let me down. And I have learned lessons of just because you can doesn't mean you should. Hmm. Wow. And it's been really hard because I want to, I want to build community. And for me, it's why can't we all just get along and see the same way? And yet there are some people that really have agenda-driven hearts first. And it hurts my heart, right? It hurts my heart when I find those people because I think, well, it doesn't have to be this hard. And yet again, meeting them where they are, you have to say, I got to cut my losses. And maybe I've learned some great things from them. One of the hardest things for me is to, to trust people that have bad influencers in their life. So, you know, when I see something, um, there's a lot of celebrity hype still because, you know, Hollywood is competing with the internet today. And so you have a lot of celebrity that, that they have bad language, they have bad values, and a lot of people think that they're great people. And, and so if you just would step back and listen and say, well, why are they, why are they acting that way? Why do they influence people that way? So the people that you surround yourself by, yes, right? Sometimes you make bad judgment calls because you're like, I didn't know that they really thought that much of that kind of an influencer. And so that's been a big lesson of just paying attention, right? Don't be so first to jump in and welcome everybody. Really understand who you are working with and what they really value in their everyday life? What do they do consistently? Yes. Yeah. And, and let them show you, right? Ask the right questions so you can learn before you commit. Wow, that's been huge.

Another book of Proverbs talks a lot about that. And talking about value, I know Papa John teaches, right, I have great values, and you need to have good values, and I value people and then I add value to people. If you do it that way, you can't go wrong. Wow, powerful. Okay, so I know that leaders are learners. What type of things have you been learning these days?

Oh my goodness, there's so much that I'm learning. I'm learning marketing systems. I'm learning GoHighLevel. I'm learning systems is what I'm learning. The biggest part of, you know, Craig Groeschel during this last Live to Lead. Great people can have bad systems and they just aren't seen. Yes. And I think that's been really one of my nemesis is I need better systems to serve broader and bigger, not, not wider, but deeper. Yes. Right. So that's what I'm trying to learn in this season of my life is how do I develop the right systems? So that I can really dive deep and I can serve the community that I need to be serving. And I've never been one to kind of go wide, like, oh, let me get involved in all this. Yes. And yet I think there are so many gaps because, because I really have a big heart and I want to go to that next level. And so for me, it's what are the tools? What do I need? How can I multiply the things that I already have learned and know And the people that are, you know, the podcasts that I've had for years, it's how do I get that content back out and redistribute it and make sure people are learning the lessons that, that it's not just content, right? I mean, my gosh, John Maxwell's dad was taped in the 1970s and it came back and look what it did, right?

Yes. Yes. It's amazing.

But that's what I know. And, and so content lives forever. You just have to have the right system to be able to serve. And that's the biggest thing that I'm trying to elevate now is don't be so stubborn about it. Let people help you that really understand it. Yes. And, and don't be threatened by their knowledge because they want to help you. That is really powerful.

I, I do want to mention something about legacy, right? Because, uh, It's really important, I think. And sometimes people are a little bit afraid. I want to put my name out there. I don't want to start a podcast or write an article or write a book. But just a simple example, General Colin Powell, who I consider one of my major influences in my life. I met him once only, but this man was quite special. But I am so glad even though he's no longer with us, he did write two books, both of them New York Times number one bestselling books. So even though he's no longer with us, I can still go to his book, read his book and still be mentored by him. So it's really powerful how whatever content you create can really last a generation. And that is so important. And for those who are listening right now, they may be afraid of, they don't want to put their name out there. I'm telling you, that's one of the best things you may do. Of course, some people are going to not like what you do, criticize you or whatever, but that's not the people you're writing the content for anyway. So there is somebody out there who's waiting for you to tell them something, that is going to affect their destiny. And that is quite powerful, isn't it?

Yes. You know, you got to do it. That's the thing. If you don't do it, if I hadn't started the podcast, I, you know, I haven't done it in about a year and a half consistently because we've just been moving the offices and changing things. But I think, you know, 25,000 downloads from our original podcast, you know, and people still call me every day and say, I didn't know you interviewed the VP of Disney. Tracy Morrow, and I didn't. And I'm like, yeah, well, that was really just my heart to learn about them, right?

That is crazy. That is amazing. That's why from this interview, I'm going to get a whole bunch of content. One, of course, is the podcast itself. Then in about, well, let's say 3 weeks. It used to take me only about a week and a half, but I have a long queue, which is okay. I will be consistent. I will eventually catch up. But I'm going to have artificial intelligence give like a 10-minute summary of our hour-long conversation. Then I'm going to write an article about the leadership lesson we talked about. Then I'm going to have very short clip of the interview because most people today, especially kids, their attention span is very, very small. So 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, that's good. 1 hour, that's just too much. So I'm going to give them a 30-second, a 1-minute clip from our conversation now. So basically out of one interview, we're going to have like a whole bunch of content and I'm going to ping you for all of those things. And it's really incredible what the impact you can have by recycling the same information and content over and over again in different ways. So anyway, thanks so much for sharing that. Okay. Again, I feel a bit guilty. I've already— we've passed 27 minutes, but if you give me permission, I have a couple more questions to ask before we close. Okay. Thank you. So if you could choose 3 people to have dinner with, who would you choose and why? They could be alive, they could be dead, they could even be fictitious characters. Actors, who would you choose?

Uh, my dad. I would love to have dinner with my dad just to, you know, ask all the things that nobody really has ever been able to share with me. Um, I'd love to be able to pay that $10,000 to have dinner with John, to go to his house, because, you know, it just, uh, he warms my heart and I love him and I, and I want to just learn everything that I can from him. And he always gives us that opportunity to donate, you know, some money and, um, and come to his home in December. And so I'd really love to be able to, to do that intentionally and enjoy and experience that. Um, you know, and the third person I, I think is my grandfather. He died when I was 21 years old, and his experience— his, his father was a Pilgrim's Holiness minister that had a community center, a church, a tabernacle where John's dad preached as well here in Indianapolis. And incredible, you know, just, just the things that he learned in his life as a minister and how, how, how he lost two sons before he passed away. Um, he taught me so much, and I would love to just sit with him and share with him what I've learned and how we've continued to, to grow the legacy for the family, you know.

Amazing. Wow, I, I really admire that because many people, they would use, no, legends or, uh, influencers, famous people, or Obama or MLK or whatever, but you're talking about your dad, your grandfather, and your mentor. That is very, very powerful. Wow, thank you for Sharing that. Okay. Some of the books, I guess we've already mentioned. Why should people get the Leadership Bible? Which again, everybody who's watching me knows that's part of my curriculum, that one and 21 Laws of Leadership. But just in case they weren't paying attention, why should they read this? It's the only book you should—

I tell people this in the team even., like, oh, which book should I buy to teach blah blah blah? I'm like, the Leadership Bible. Well, which book should I take for communication? The Leadership Bible. Well, what's for teamwork? The Leadership Bible. And they're like, what do you mean? If you go to the index, it gives you leadership lessons, leadership summaries, every 600 lessons in there. With that and the Daily Reader and the one you said, the Leader's Heart, like, this is a great one too. But if you just take those lessons, you can have an entire— you're, you're the rest of your curriculum for your leadership journey. Yes. From all those lessons. It doesn't say Job or Ezra. Like, it tells you about, like, what's your perspective as a leader and what should you be planning for and thinking about and asking about. It is the best book in the entire world for you to do what we do. Yes. Yes, yes.

Wow, powerful, powerful. And then you've already talked about the, uh, 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth. Why should we read that one?

Uh, from my perspective, it changed my life. You know, when somebody leans in and says, I think you should read this, and then you ask them why, and if it changed their life, that's why. And so it's changed my life. I applied every lesson. It's what my podcast was based on, asking people lessons from every chapter. Yes, it changed my husband's life. He joined the team. It's changed my mother's life, my stepfather, my friends, my community. And now I have about 16 or 17 people that have joined the Maxwell organization. Wow. Because they have also gone in this journey with me to say, oh, I get it, like, I understand it now. So when you change from the inside, it just changes you, right? And so you got to start, start anywhere, but start.

Yes. Wow. And then the third book you, uh, mentioned was, uh, The Maxwell Daily Reader.

I love this one. This is the one we use after our devotional every morning at the end because we say there is a lesson in here. It's 365 lessons from one of John's books. So he tells a story, and it basically gives you a challenge to think about. And so what happens with us is it doesn't matter. We aren't on Proverbs every day. We're on wherever we decided to go. Interesting is it doesn't matter what day we're on, the same day we go to like March the 1st, right? We went to March the 1st today and we read the story. We're like, ah, that's Job 30. Like, that's aligned with a lesson that you're supposed to take and apply. That's amazing. Happen because it's your mindset of what you want to see and what you want to do and who you want to be.

That is amazing. Is there maybe like a song, a book, or a movie that would be your life's theme or anthem?

Oh my gosh, I haven't thought about this one.

Good.

Um, you know, Probably my grandfather used to sing Through the Upper Window, and my uncle put all of his songs on YouTube, and so I listen to them all the time. But that's probably my very favorite song because I can see him and everyone else standing by. I can see them there, the Day of Hope, saying, you know, it's It's don't get worried or struggled or stressed because just do what you can do while you can do it. That's all we have is we do what we can while we can.

Wow, powerful, powerful. Thank you for sharing that. If you had one and only one day to live, what would you have liked your final contribution to be?

Adding value, adding value to people. Probably doing a broadcast, right? Giving hope, giving a message, giving a challenge for people to realize that they too can have the joy in the journey no matter what situation that they are experiencing. And making sure that people really can understand that so that they can have it. You know, it would be a content that they could have forever. Yes. Yes. Yeah.

I really hope this, uh, podcast does it. Of course, it's not for everybody, but it is this for someone, and I know the right people will be listening. Thank you so much for sharing. So powerful. And if you had the magic wand, you could solve any problem at all in the world, what is the one problem you'd like to solve first thing tomorrow morning?

I want everybody to have confidence that they can do what they see.

Hmm. It's powerful. Wow. So if you had the ear of every woman in America right now, for the next 60 seconds, what would you tell them to do tomorrow morning?

Oh my gosh, uh, pick up The 15 Laws of Growth. Yes, start reading chapter 1 and get into my class because I will teach them how to apply these principles to have the confidence that they need. They can have everything that they want in their life if they just take the step, take the shot.

Take the shot. And that's everydayleaders.com. All right. We are coming toward the end of the podcast. Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end, but I could be speaking to you for hours and hours. So how can we add value back to you, Coach Melanie? Oh gosh.

Okay. So we've got so many programs going on. Buy the book, Everyday Leaders, Everyday Moments: Lessons That Transform Lives. Buy the book. Follow me on all my social media: LinkedIn, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook. Go and support all the things that we're doing. And if you want to have the experience of the private event for Live to Lead, we— our license ended yesterday for some of the speakers. But I have curated some content personally from the Jessie Cole Fans First experience. That was probably one of the most popular ones. But John and Craig Groeschel and then Valerie Burton, we have that content because I invested in next year's license. So I have that content to be able to bring into communities and can do that privately. So private events, I can do it for a virtual or in-person and love, love, love serving with this content because it is absolutely life-changing. And you talk about taking action. It inspires people to do whatever it is that they see in their dreams, to take that next step.

And by the way, Craig Groeschel is also the pastor of Life.Church, right, in Oklahoma. Really a fantastic, fantastic leader. And he does have a leadership podcast as well. And he's also— most people know about the Life Bible, the app. Many people use that, but that came out of his church's ministry too, which is pretty, pretty We use that every day, the YouVersion. We're like, okay, here you go, Craig. Exactly. It's just amazing. And also the other one I like to mention is still my pastor, even though I no longer live in Alabama. Chris Hodges is a spiritual son of Papa John as well. He has the biggest church in Alabama. When I left, it was more than 20,000 people, which is just unheard of. Church of the Island. When I lived in Tuscaloosa, that's where we went. But anyway, great, great people, great, great leaders, they understand this principle, but not just understanding them, it's putting them in practice every single day, going back to your 4 Cs and consistency being one of them. All right, so this is great. So we are really going to the end here. Is there a question I should have asked that I didn't get a chance to ask, Melanie?

No, I don't think so. I think we talked about everything.

Okay, so this is going to be my last question for you. If you could go back and give a piece of advice to your 17-year-old self, standing at the edge of this incredible career you've had, what would you say to 17-year-old Melanie?

Don't fear not knowing what the experience will teach you.

Hmm. Wow. Take a shot.

Take the shot, do the things. Don't expect it to be perfect. Yes. You know, and, and don't worry about fitting in with the friends. I've had so many friends that have just, you know, kind of gone by the wayside. And as an only child and a high I, it really hurt me at times in my life because I thought, why am I not included? And what I learned is I was being built for something completely different. And that's okay, right? But at those times you feel that you are maybe not in the right spot and God's just designed you for something completely different. He's wanting you to grow into something completely different. And so that's what I would say, like, just try to see past what you experience at the moment and see what's next for you.

Wow, that's so powerful. You are valuable just like Wow. Powerful. Thank you. Okay. We do need to land this plane down. If you just give me a couple of minutes, I wanna ask you lightning round. It's gonna take less than a minute, but don't take too long to think though. Just first thing that comes to your mind. What is one word that defines leadership? One word. Consistency. Okay. Morning routine or practice that keeps you grounded? Devotional. Okay. A book or a quote that changed your life? I think I know which one.

It's not what you do in a day, it's what you do every day.

Yeah. Okay. Uh, who inspires you most today?

John.

Yes. A leadership habit you refuse to compromise on? Integrity. Okay. What is a question that every leader should ask themselves frequently?

Am I doing enough? To serve.

Hmm. Always about other people. That's powerful. And what did you want to be when you were a kid?

I wanted to be a journalist.

Well, you're kind of a journalist now. You're a podcaster. So I think that counts. All right.

3 adjectives describing you as a child. 3. I'm sorry, what?

3 adjectives describing you as a child. Oh, hyperactive.

Okay. 2 more. Curious.

Okay. I can see that. Fun. Okay. What about as an adult? Same. All right. You're quite consistent. So you live as Miss Four Seas for sure. Okay. I like to end on a positive note. What is something you are feeling optimistic about?

I am optimistic about change. I am optimistic about the things that can happen next, and I'm really looking forward to what is next.

Well, most people are afraid of change. They like things to stay the way they are. Artificial intelligence, robotics, automation, they are afraid of all of that. Why are you so optimistic about change?

Because I know it's going to be better. It's going to make everything better, right? More opportunity, more growth, more connections, more collaboration. Like, all of it brings more.

So it's really the mindset, isn't it? Man. Yeah, because it's really strange in life. I don't know. The same thing happens to different people. Some people, they just crumble and they are completely done with it. But then other people, they just thrive and they get better and better and better. They don't get bitter. It's just amazing how that happens. I love that. Okay. The very, very last question, and this is it for the show. What is one word that represents our shared experience on this podcast today? One word. Peace. Peace. Okay. I am so grateful Coach Melanie Eckworthy, this is the first time we've talked in person, but I feel like I've known you my entire life. I guess that Maxwell Leadership DNA is for real. And thank you for being our master teacher today. And we are so grateful.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Coach Bob. I love you.

Thank you. Love you too. Thank you. That is amazing. Wow. All right, guys, this one went a little bit longer, but I think what she had to teach us was so, so critical. Critical. So I want again everybody to get a copy of the book. And the book is Everyday Moment: Lessons That Transform Lives. It's really meant for women, but I think men can learn from it too. So get a copy for your wife, for your kids, for your partner, because I think this could be life-changing. And also make sure to follow Coach Melanie on all of the social media, but we are on LinkedIn now. So LinkedIn, Melanie Ek Everyday Leaders. And her website, everydayleaders.com, where you can get access to Live to Lead, her coaching, and everything else she offers. We are so grateful for her time today. All right. As you guys know, in February, every time we met, we celebrated Black History Month. So I had a couple of vignettes, one about something that happened in history here in the US, but also some things that happened in the military with African Americans serving in the military from the very beginning, from the independence war to today. So what I have decided, I am going to continue doing that. So I think we only had 28 days this month and leap years we get 29 days only. And I think that's just not long enough. So what I have decided to, to do is, yes, we are going to continue, uh, celebrating, uh, Black History Year is what I call it now, not just a month but an entire year. So what I, what I, what I have— let me see, I am sharing my screen. Let me switch it over. Oh, actually, let me do it. Just a moment. Okay. Technology. Here we go. I think you can see this better now. So for those again, who follow me on LinkedIn, you can follow me and read the article, but I definitely decided one month is not enough. So we're gonna do Black History Year on the Leadership Success podcast. So I wanna share about some things that that happened in history. I think it's this one here. Let's see. Okay. Yeah, let's do history. I am gonna come back with the military. On today, March 1st, in 1921, they brought down ban on interracial marriage. That was just not allowed. And one thing when I study our American history now, I've lived in the South, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I knew in the In the South, they were racist, pro-slavery and all of that. But I was really surprised to see so many laws in our history in part of the country I would consider Yankees, right? Those people were supposed to be against slavery and pro-freedom and all of that. But anyway, I want to make sure we don't forget this one. You can go read my post for more info. And also I just showed you a second ago another first in military history, the very first African American woman who became a general, a flag officer in the US Air Force, that was Brigadier General Marcelle J. Harris. She was born in 1943 in Houston, Texas, originally dreamed of becoming an actress. She studied speech drama at Spelman College in Atlanta, and then during her senior year, she joined a US tour of military bases in France and Germany, and the experience ignited something deeper. So she became the very first African woman to be a one-star general in the U.S. Air Force. I believe she retired as a three-star, as a lieutenant general. It's just amazing to see and to learn our history. So I think that is important. All right, so that is a pretty pretty much it for today. And like I had mentioned before, we are going to go back and continue the study on the book of Proverbs. We're gonna pick up at chapter 16, AI. So I'm gonna do that one of these days when I don't have an interview. And I have a couple of interviews scheduled for you guys next week. Again, I'm gonna let you know in my feed. Again, thank you so much for watching Beyond Leadership and Success Podcast today. So until tomorrow, have a wonderful rest of your week. Bye for now.

Thank you for tuning in to the Leadership and Success Podcast with your host, Coach BZ. If today's episode added value to your leadership journey, be sure to subscribe, share, and join us again for more wisdom nuggets on how to lead better and achieve greater success. Remember, leadership is is the most critical skill of our time. The world will always need leaders to inspire others, drive innovation, and execute meaningful strategy. So why not count yourself among the bold leaders shaping the 21st century? Until next time, stay inspired, stay committed, and keep leading with excellence.