Louise Thaxton

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Yet attitude means how can I proactively change the way I think? How can I proactively increase my life? How can I proactively create better relationships and better work situations for me to enjoy it? Hello everybody and welcome to the Gap the Get Attitude Podcast. The gap bridging you from who you are to who you want to become and helping you get from where you are to where you want to go. Hi, I'm Glenn Bill, founder of the University of Attitude, keynote speaker and author of the international best selling book the ABCs of Attitude. I have helped tens of thousands of people get attitude and this podcast will help you get yours. Attitude is the secret formula to success in your business and in your life. And I just want to welcome everybody. Please make sure you are subscribing, rating and reviewing the Gap podcast. Please share this and most of all, recommend to a friend to join us at itunes, Overcast, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. This month we are covering attitude booster number 10, which is be a part of something bigger than you. Today we have the famous Louise Wheezy Thaxton. Louise has a big personality. She has an even bigger heart and the thought of her being a part of something bigger than herself, well, that may be an oxymoron. Louise is a leader at Fairway Mortgage, Fairway Nation. She's a top producing, successful loan originator, team leader, and also the director and the passion behind the American Warrior Initiative who is doing unbelievable things for our fallen warriors and our warriors who have come back. So I want to welcome the infamous Wheezy Thaxton. Welcome, Louise.

Thank you for inviting me, Bill. What an honor.

Well, it's a pleasure to have you. And it's an honor to have you considering all the people that you're affecting.

Well, you and I have been buddies for many, many years. I could say decades. But I won't.

No. Well, that's good. I know. I think I was introduced to Fairway and what a amazing company. I've told the story about Steve, you know, to Steve, the president of Fairway, that he really helped me launch what I did as a keynote speaker.

He's an amazing CEO. He is. He is. He's got a heart to serve. And literally, I couldn't do what I do without him behind it.

And when you think about being a part of something bigger than you, let's just talk about the leader and the president. Steve, Jake, for just a second. When you think about being a part of something bigger than you, what's the lessons that you've learned from that great leader?

Well, number one, he has a heart to serve. He has a servant's heart. So it's never about him when you hear that. It's not about me. I mean, literally, he is one of the most humble, servant hearted human beings you could ever meet. We have three nonprofits with Fairway. The American Warrior Initiative is just one. So, I mean, what company has three nonprofits?

Not many. Well, tell us what the other two are.

One is the Fairway foundation, and that's been in place for many years. Fairway Cares was just started a few years ago, and that gives back to people who are hurting. Cancer, traumatic injury, just, you know, there are hurting people out there. And so we have this. Sherry Anderson, Jake's sister, is actually the CEO of Fairway Care. She does an amazing job now. She has a heart to serve also. But they send packages sometimes there's grants just hurting people. And they reach out to Fairway Cares. And Fairway really does care, obviously.

And then the other one was, what was it called?

The Fairway Foundation. That was established many, many years ago, actually, I believe at the beginning of Fairway, and it did scholarships for students and different things. And just as people within Fairway had a need, they would fund that. So like I said, three nonprofits for a company. That's amazing.

So what we're here to talk about with you, Louise, is first of all, your story. How you filled the gap from where you started to where you are now. Our podcast is about the people out there that are listening, that are wanting to move their life, that are wanting to get more vitality, that want to accomplish more, that want to bridge the gap right from who they are to who they want to be. And boy, when I think about you and what you've done with the American Warrior Initiative, I just had to have you and talk to you because I think your story and what you have to offer can move people. And so what I'd love to know is talk to me about your story. Where did you start? And how in the world did you get there?

It's so interesting. I've been writing a book for about. I don't know, 40 years. Those of us that are at a certain age, we know that in writing. Do you remember this? It was a dark and stormy night. And so you think about that in literature. And that is actually how it started. It was a dark and stormy night in September 2005, and a hurricane actually hit. My husband's farming operation, destroyed it, and we were left with only a quarter of the income that we had before the storm hit. We had no insurance. Now, at that point, Glenn wanted out of the mortgage business. You see, I was looking for something bigger than myself. I was looking for something with purpose that I could have passion about, and the mortgage industry was not it. And at that point, my husband asked me, can you make. Can you make more money in the mortgage business until our farm is rebuilt? And I go, how long? Because literally, I wanted out of the mortgage business. And he said, about a year. Oh. So there was a little military town south of me, and I couldn't spell. VA knew nothing about military culture, but I thought I had met a real estate agent that summer before the September that was Hurricane Rita that hit. And I had met this realtor in a transaction over the summer, just a little bitty $35,000 deal, if you can imagine that, Glenn. I had met this big Commission, made.

About $400 on it.

And I had met her, and I actually went to her because I knew she was down there. And I said, I want to break into this market. And literally, long, tall drink of water, six foot tall, drop dead gorgeous real estate agent. And she trusted me, and she said, but you better take care of my sergeant. And you know what? The first time I sat across the table from that young man that had just come back from Iraq, and he was in uniform, and I sat across the table from him, and I just thought to myself, I have to do this right. And gradually. I'm always one to want to know about the story, Glenn. So if I'm sitting with you, I want to know your story. And as I started to hear the stories of these men and women who were fighting in war and I began to read books, I fell in love with what I was doing, the mortgage industry, because I could see that they had a need for a watchdog to step in and to take care of their needs. They had fought for our country. Now they needed someone in the lending part, the lending side of the transaction, to take care of them. I began to read books, warrior books, and watch warrior movies, and had always been a fan of those. But I became passionate about it. And Determined I would become an expert in va. Not just in va, but also in military culture. And at the end of that year, where my husband's farm was rebuilt, I no longer wanted out of the mortgage business. I had quadrupled my business.

Wow.

From September of. In 2005, I closed 74 units. In 2006, it closed 280 units.

A lot of loans.

And then in 2007 closed 360 units. So quadrupled my business by just falling in love with what I was doing. And that was serving those who serve. Literally. I wanted to spread that message of how these men and women needed us to step up. We. Well, as with anything, the more, you know, a culture and the more you. And this is an amazing group of individuals, then you realize that there's. They have a lot of needs, there's a lot of challenges. I realized, and this is one of the messages that take across America today, that there is a gap between the civilians of this country and the warriors who protect it. And I took on a mission to bridge that gap between warrior and civilian and to. For civilians, most civilians want to know, but they just, they don't know what to do, but they want to do something. You know, we live in divided times in this nation, but I believe there's one thing that we're united on and that's taking care of our. The men and women who have, who protect us and have protected us. And so civilians want to, but they're not sure how to do it. Warriors in our veterans in active duty military, many times just think they'll never understand.

Right, right.

And the divide, it just, it stays like that. Unless someone says, we're going to build a bridge.

Sure.

Between civilians and warriors and we're going to bridge the gap.

Well, good. Well, boy, isn't that appropriate?

That's what I thought.

I mean, you got talent. What a beautiful segue. So you know what you just said just for. We have a lot of realtors that follow us. We have a lot of mortgage people that follow us. So it's so great to have somebody from your industry with us. But I've always said, stop falling in love with your product or service and fall in love with your customer. And when you talk about being a part of something bigger than you, you have done it. You fell in love with your customer and you quadrupled your business. And when people listen to this, it's like you need to ask yourself, if you're out there saying, am I in love with my customer? Am I falling in love with my customer. Does my customer love me? And so I think, boy, what a fantastic takeaway for our salespeople. But not even our salespeople, anybody in service or in business. How are you feeling about your customer? And do you feel the way about them that Wheezy does? And more importantly, our military and our warriors fell in love with all of us Americans that aren't fighting. And you talk about. Yeah. And they put, they pay the highest price.

They do, they do. So I think too many times as sales professionals or whatever business you're in, we, we tend to want to take on the role as we're the hero in the transaction, where actually it should be our client is the hero. We are, we're just, we're the guide showing them and their hero story. So in, you know, when you're serving veterans or active duty military, it's a little easier. But what if you're serving school teachers? Aren't they heroes also? First time home buyers. Oh my goodness. Or a single mom. I mean, you know what, they are heroes to their family. And we're helping them to become. You think about that single mother with two kids and she buys that home and she goes in. Those kids are looking at that mom and saying, she's my hero. So we help to literally build up our clients and them to come the heroes of their story. With me, it's easier because they are heroes of America.

Sure. And I mean, that's so powerful to have an attitude that when you look at a customer or really anybody that you meet to make them the hero of their own story. What a great mission, what a great relationship tool, and what a great lesson for everybody. So Wheezy, that's awesome stuff.

Well, you know, the more that like with anything, the more I delved into the culture, I realized there were so many needs out there that were left unmet. Now, I am not going to bash the Veterans Administration or the va, but I think anyone knows that there are some challenges with the va. Sure. And my answer to that is this. None of us can do everything, but all of us can do one thing. And that is my mantra and that is my mission. None of us can do everything, but all of us can do one thing. And collectively we can do something to step in and fill the gap. Now, what Steve Jacobson Jake allowed us to do was through payroll deduction, you know, fairway people could contribute to the American Warrior initiative. And then 100% of those funds go to a local vet. So that's pretty cool. So we have offices all over the nation, you know. And so he. The fairway underwrites the American Warrior initiative, so they cover the cost so that 100% of any. You donate a dollar. You want to donate a dollar today, Glenn? You can, but a dollar will go to a local veteran. But you talk about the heroes of their own story. We step in and we say, we're not giving a hand out, we're giving them a hand up. Yeah, the veteran suicide rate is horrendous. Now, I don't. People will argue with you what the number is. If it's one, it's too many. We say 22. They're saying it's coming down. I hope that's right. I don't really see any evidences of that. But you think about 22 veterans, our active duty military, who are taking their lives every day. We need to do something as Americans to step up. So my mission this year is to put 52 service dogs in the hands, hearts and lives of 52 veterans or active duty military. I want to put a service dog into their lives. Now, service dogs save lives. And we heard it over and over again and we've probably done. We've probably donated over 50 over the last two or three years, but I want to do 52 this year.

I love it. And are you doing that? So Wheezy is in town from Louisiana here in our beautiful studios in Broad Ripple, Indiana. And she just flew in, got off a plane, she's late and said, no, we're going to do this. We're going to spread the word. Are you giving away a dog tomorrow?

We are supposed to give away a dog tomorrow. Do you know this is one of the challenges, Glenn, and this is. You're just going to shake your head at. This is finding a veteran.

Yeah.

Do you know why it's hard?

No, why?

Because no matter. I have literally, from the voice of a veteran who had lost both legs, said, there's someone that needs it more than I do.

Oh, boy. Wow.

So each one of them are so self sacrificing and so humble. They go, no, no, no, do not give it to me. There's someone else who. So it is very hard to find veterans who will step up and say.

I need the help.

I need the help because they're warriors.

And it's just like the people that are in our podcast or that are listening, who aren't asking for help because of limiting self beliefs or because they don't understand those who are getting ahead in life, those who are bridging the gap, those are the people that have the courage to say, I actually need the help. And so, you know, if you're listening to this, have a mentor copy one, you know, it's like, gosh, don't be afraid to ask for help.

You know.

Great point, great point.

When. When I changed my mind and that's what I did, I changed my attitude. I call it change my habitudes. But I changed my attitude in September 2005, and I literally, I knew I needed mental toughness, I needed to develop warrior mindset. And so literally for the next year, I changed my brain through neuroplasticity. I didn't know that word at that time. Yeah, I only learned that word in the last two or three years.

Big word for a girl from Louisiana.

Absolutely. I don't have to spell it, do I?

No, you don't. No. But if you feel it and say it, that's good.

But, you know, I realized that's what I did. I literally changed my thought patterns. And you talk about mentors. Books are good. You know, I've had mentors that have been dead for 100 years that I've read them. And that is one of the first things that anyone can do to change their mind. And that is, you know, listening to podcasts like yours, that is one of the amazing things that someone can do, is to develop a passion, develop a purpose, and get a mission. Have a mission, wake up to a mission. I say get up, gear up and show up, Glenn. So, number one, getting up. And that is getting up physically, but also getting up mentally.

Sure.

Sean Parnell, he and I traveled together with the American Warrior Initiative. We co founded the American Warrior Initiative. And he Woke up on September 11th.

Yes.

And when he saw the towers fall, that's when he knew he was going to join the military. Do you know how many hundreds of veterans, active duty military I have talked to over the last 18 years that have said that's when I signed up, I knew there was a mission for me. It was my family. Now I. And for whatever who is listening to this podcast, you know what your mission is, you know the cause, you know the why, and that's what we have to wake up to. To where literally we know. And then I talk about, wake up, get, wake up, get up, gear up. And that is with books, that's with podcasts. That's literally where you will take I can't thinking and turn it into I can thinking.

Yes.

I talk and train a lot of loan officers and real estate agents on having morning rituals and evening rituals. Of reading, writing, recording, keeping a journal. And for the guys, I say now, Sean Purnell kept a journal in Afghanistan, so don't think it's a diary. You just need to journal. And that is part of the neuroplasticity. And then just showing up.

Yeah.

So getting up, gearing up. And then you show up and do the work.

If you can take me back. And it sounds like the big, the big shift in your life or when things started was that farm, was, was the tornado. Take me back to wheezy. Maybe when she was in her 20s starting. What did you do before you got in the mortgage business? What were you doing? You know, did you go to college? After college, how did things start from.

So I was a stay at home mom. Stay at home mom. I went through a divorce and went to work. And then you know why? I worked three jobs.

Hardest working people in the world.

I was a single mom with three children, three little children. And so I did, I had three jobs and eventually landed a job at a law office where I worked as a paralegal. And I really thought that's what I would do forever. I was a paralegal, thought I wanted to be a lawyer. Did closings. So I did closings, but also was side by side with the attorney when he, when he was in court. But you know what? There came that period of time where I thought, I'm sick of this, I'm done with this. And a local banker said to me, you want to come run our mortgage department? And I said, I don't know anything about mortgage business. And he said, you've got the personality. We'll train you.

I love it.

So I stayed with that bank for about two and a half years. So they shut down the department. And that's when someone that out service that I use said, hey, call this guy in Madison, Wisconsin, Steve Jackson. So I've been with Fairway almost 19 years.

That's so cool.

21, 22 in the mortgage industry, but 19 of it with Fairway.

So who was it that said, your personality is great and I believe in you. I don't care about what you know, but I feel you. Who was that person? What was the name of the bank?

Well, it was at that time people State bank. And it was J.J. blake. And here is the thing. I had actually the bank would close loans and I handled it. So I had little small town to where we handle a lot of transactions. And he was the president of the bank. So we were friends. And he just said, I go, jj, I have no idea. None. And he says, don't worry about it. You can do it. And he sent me all over the country training me to be a mortgage banker.

That's great. You know, we entered. Just interviewed a billion dollar real estate broker and we talked about her theme was when we were talking about be nice and we were talking about compliments and what it means to be nice. And I said, what was the nicest thing anybody ever did for you? And she said, you know what? It was when somebody found the talent in me and said, I think you need to come work for me. And raised me up and so love to hear stories about, you know, that obviously is one of the nicest things anybody's ever done for you. Right.

Well.

And if there's something else I want to know.

No, it was. He did. He believed in me. And he was very saddened when the bank. It wasn't his. His choice that they shut down the mortgage department, but as it turned out, I ended up with Fairway, which has been a blessing to me. And, And I, you know, I go back to. And by the way, it was a hurricane, not a tornado.

A hurricane. Right. Well, tornadoes here in Indiana. Right. We don't have any water right down here.

It wasn't supposed up in central Louisiana, either.

Oh, my God.

But literally, what changed? What, the, the. The. The forcing function.

Yes.

That happened was the hurricane.

Yeah.

But then when I started changing my mind and thinking I have to. I have to do this, what I was doing, I fell in love with it, I think, too many times we want to love it before we do it, but sometimes you got to do it and then you love it.

Yeah, right. You got to grow into it.

You do.

Tell me about Louise when she was a child. What was your childhood like? And what were the lessons from your childhood or your parents that shape you or shape your thinking today?

Well, you can't tell it now, though. I have never put color on my hair, but I was a flaming redhead.

Oh, my gosh.

So red hair and freckles and that Irish temper, probably.

Okay.

Pretty bossy. My younger brothers and sisters would say, that was pretty bossy. I loved my grandmother, loved my mother. But my grandmother was very special to me. I spent summers with her, and you know what? She always believed in me. My mother did, too. But my grandmother always believed in me, just like I'm a grandmother now.

Sure.

And I tell one of my young granddaughters that I remember back when my grandmother talked to me and told me stories and how it impacted me, you know, what things that we say to our children and our grandchildren matter. And still this, you know, decades later, I still remember some of the things my grandmother taught me.

Can you share? I mean, it doesn't have to be a long story or whatever, but, you know, when you think about those stories or you think about that impact or that slogan or the phrase, what is she? What did she say that sticks with you today?

Well, always wear a hat in the sun.

I love it.

They didn't have sunscreen back then, you know, always wear a hat in the sun. You know what? It was a work ethic. Always work, always work. Always tell the truth. She had a great work ethic. As my grandfather. My mother had a great work ethic. Now, my mother was an artist, a true artist, and she was very creative, and she wrote. One of the things that I remember about my mother, because she influenced my life a lot also, was she always wanted to write a book, but she never published it. Now I am writing a book, and I'm thinking, you know what? I need to get that published just to honor my mother. So mothers and grandmothers both impacted me a lot.

We can help you publish that book. If you need our help, you let us know. We have a speaker's bureau at University of Attitude, and we also can help people get books published. So we'd love to talk about that some more. Did you grow up in Louisiana?

Yes, I did. So I have been. Actually, most people would not believe this, but I have lived in the same town, not in the same house, but in the Same Town for 61 years.

That's amazing. I love it. I actually live one mile from where I grew up.

So there.

I'm there with you.

Yes.

And then. So what I want to get back to then is this being a part of something bigger to you. Talk to me a little bit. The American Warrior Initiative. Give me the sweeping. What is it? I would also like to know if somebody's out there listening that feels your passion for this and wants to get involved, wants to help. Where can they go to do that?

Absolutely.

So tell us what you've done. What's the mission, and how we can get people involved?

Well, so about eight years ago, literally, Steve Jacobson allowed us to go forward with this initiative, and it has morphed into what it is today, the American Warrior Initiative, which is a nonprofit that gives back to active duty military, disabled veterans, and first responders. So over the last three years, Fairway employees, I want you to. I'm going to say this really, really slowly. The employees of Fairway through payroll deduction, have donated almost $3 million to the American Warrior Initiative. We have helped hundreds of veterans across the United States, California to Boston to Florida to Texas. So we find the need and we feel the need. We have helped Vietnam veterans but put in walk in bathtubs. You know, I was at a Military affairs meeting the other day in Leesville, Louisiana. That's where I have a little office. Leesville, Louisiana, home of Fort Polk. And I was sitting across the table in Military affairs with a guy from the dav, Disabled American Veterans. And I just looked at him, and he was talking. I said, do you have a need with any of your veterans? He said, I do. He said, I have a World War II veteran. He is 93 years old. The bathroom is falling in. His niece had promised him that he would not have to leave his home. He wanted to stay. He was born in that home. He wanted to die in that home. He was 93. But they were going to have to move him because of the flora. And I said, no, you're not. We will fund that need. So from service dogs to home repairs to. We did just the other day, a branch emailed and they had a need. There was a. There was a veteran who had not been upstairs of his house for years because he couldn't walk. We installed a lift.

Cool. Cool.

And so you ask.

You ask, how did we get there?

How did we get there? So at the American warriorinitiative.com and you can actually donate now. One of the cool things I did, and you know, people are always wanting to do something cool for their birthday.

Sure.

I had a birthday in April.

I don't think I saw that on Facebook.

You didn't.

I'm gonna have to get in your feed better.

Well, you know, you can do these birthday fundraisers. And I thought, well, you know what? I'm gonna do it. And I did. And I raised $3,000.

Unbelievable.

And had someone that was gonna match it. And so we're gonna fund a service dog from my birthday so they can choose American Warrior Initiative as their charity of choice. So we have one of our vendors that works with Fairway that wanted to run his first marathon. And he said, wheezy, if I can do, you know, if I can get enough donations, will awi, you know, match any of it? And could we do a service dog? And I said, you know what?

I said yes.

Heck, yeah. Heck, yeah. Are you kidding me? So he ran the Philadelphia Marathon. He actually raised 5,000. Awi matched his 5,000. And at the end of that marathon, we don't. We had a. We had a need and we had a veteran and we gave us a service dog. So there are just so many things that you can do now. Do you notice this shirt?

I do, yeah. Everyone remember everyone deployed on Friday. I got my shirt. See, if it was Friday, I would have worn my shirt.

Okay, well, I wore this just so I could talk about it. So wear red on Friday.

I like it.

To remember everyone deployed. And that is just one of the ways that you can even stir it up within your community is just to get people now to just remind them that we're still at war. To remind people who are living in cities that maybe hadn't thought about that if you don't have someone who is deployed, maybe you don't think about it. But wear a red on Friday. And if you don't, I'm coming after you.

Alright, that's good. Well, and it's, you know, and I know, I've heard that, you know, we're still at war and there's, you know, I'm not sure half of America's Americans don't understand we're at war. Talk a little bit about that mentality and what that means and, and people are oblivious. I don't know that people even think about the men and women who are serving our country. Talk to us a little bit about that warrior mentality and what's going on with the perception that you see because you travel the country on Americans. What's their perception of all this?

Well, it's been said that America is at war. And I always say, no, that's not true. America's at the mall, right? We've got men and women who are deployed and they're at war. As I said earlier, unless you have someone who is in your family a lot of times, unless you turn on the news and then even we have become desensitized to it. We have been at war for 18 years. I want you to think about this. And actually I was at a graduation just a week ago where the high school principal stood up and he said, these kids who are graduating were not born when 911 happened. So if you think about that, we've got high school seniors going out into the world that do not know. Now there are people who are bringing awareness. Now one of our veteran initiatives, her name is Lisa Thompson. She is a high school teacher in Natchitoches, Louisiana and she is teaching Outlaw Platoon, Sean Parnell's book. And she is teaching that to her seniors because it's got Some language in it. He's a soldier and he wrote a book, right?

Yeah.

But she's teaching Karen Vaughn's book, World Changer, to our ninth grade, which is about the life of Aaron Vaughn, who gave his life. So she is teaching two warrior books to high school students because she wants them. She says when they leave school, she wants them to know. Wouldn't that be great if more high school teachers did that?

They'll probably get shut down, unfortunately. Right. You're not allowed to talk about that.

Well, and you asked me about, what do I see? So if I go into a military community, this is one of the challenges. If I go into a military community, and let's just say it's riding the big mill. A lot of the real estate agents are either, you know, military spouses or they are veterans. They hear what I say and they think everyone knows that because it is. It's their everyday life. Then I go into Boston or I go into Atlanta, Georgia, or, you know, you go into Idaho, some of these places. Then they say, well, I didn't know that. I had no idea of that. So it just depends on the location, if there is that, and if you just Google it. For anyone who is listening to this podcast, don't just trust what I say. Just Google gap between military and civilian. What is the divide? And there is one. And what could we do to bridge that gap? And one of the things I think we can do is start to actually get involved with our veterans as they have come. Come home from war. How can we help them as they reintegrate into society? We have a. I believe we have a duty. I think that this is our obligation.

Sure.

You know, a nation that forgets about its veterans will cease to be a nation.

Yeah, no question. Talk to me about. And I know you have lots of them, and I know you have lots of stories, but what's the one military or the one vet story that personally affected you the most, that shook your soul, that said, I gotta do more? Can you share with us that person or that situation?

Wow, you have put me on the spot. Well, okay, I'm gonna share this story because I believe that many times as sales professionals, we have heroes sitting across from us and do not even know it.

Right.

So if you come into my office and there is someone sitting in a chair and they're looking at me, oh, my credenza. My credenza is filled with war books. It is hundreds of war books. And there was a young man, and I was doing his loan application, and he looked Past me, I knew he was looking at the war books. And he said, they wrote a book. They're writing a book about a battle we were in. And I said, well, what was the battle? Who's writing the book? Well, it was Jake Tapper of cnn. And the battle was the battle of COP Keating Command Outpost Keating. And I said, well, can you tell me about it? And he started to talk. He said, well, there were 60 of us in a remote outpost in Afghanistan when the 200 Taliban descended upon us, and it took 10 hours to get help. By the time help got there, eight had died. And when he got to that point, he broke down. Now we're talking to someone who was almost 20 years in the Army. And he sat across me, and he said, you know, I thought I could talk about it. I don't think I can right now. And I said, you know what? It's okay.

Sure.

I said, we'll talk later. As he would come back and I'm in the middle of his loan application, he would tell me more, and he would tell me bits and pieces. We ended up doing a short video. But the battle of COP Keating, so stuck in my mind. He introduced me to a Facebook group that was a private Facebook group, and it was of the survivors. There was one of the mothers of the fallen. His name was Michael. And she reached out to me and she said, I love those boots you're wearing. And. And I would love for Michael's son to have a pair of boots. I said, I will send him one. She said, when I get the money, I'm going to get me some. And I said, no, let me send you some boots. Now. That had nothing to do with mortgages. So then flash forward the book came out, and then my husband is taught. He said, you need to come see this on television. I come in there, and the first time In, I think, 20 years, two medal of Honor recipients for the same battle. It was the battle of copkidding. I'm going, oh, my gosh. It was two Medal of Honor recipients.

Amazing.

So flash forward another year, and we have one of those Medal of Honor recipients speak at one of our events. I go up to him. I said, we may have a mutual acquaintance. I told him the name of the. Of the young man that I did his loan. He goes, that man is a hero. And he saved my life. Now here's a Medal of Honor recipient telling me that the guy who was sitting across from me a few years before.

Wow. Yeah.

Had saved his life. And I think about that is we do not take the time to listen to the stories, Glenn. And when we do, we will realize there are heroes among us.

Yes.

And that really impacted me.

What if we took the time?

What if John had not seen the book? What if John had not felt open to say to me, they wrote a book about a battle we were in. What if I had not said, well, could you tell me some and tell me in bits and pieces if you have to. So there are literally hundreds of stories. But that one really impacted upon me that as professionals, to find out their stories, to ask their stories. Our Vietnam veterans, you know, that's one of the forgotten groups of individuals. They really were disgraced when they came home. America did not honor them the way they should. I mean, it just is the truth. And so one of my mission as I go around the country is I always ask if there are any Vietnam veterans in the group.

Cool. Cool.

Now, many Vietnam veterans will not raise their hand.

Right.

In fact, the other day there was a Vietnam veteran and he showed me his Vietnam veteran hat and he said, this is the first hat that I've owned in 50 years. And he put it on. He said, that's the first time I've put it on.

Wow.

And so it's also a way, as we, as we talked to, as I talked to Vietnam veterans and finding out stories, talking about stories, when you have someone and you know, they may be from that generation, they tell you they're a veteran, tell them this. And I'm just going to say this to the listeners of your podcast, if someone has served in Vietnam or even a Vietnam era veteran, you say two things. Number one, thank you for your service. Number two, welcome home. Because I was on, I was on a plane, we were deplaning, a gentleman was ahead, he had the hat touched his shoulder. And I said, I just wanted to say thank you for your service. His wife said, honey, when was the first time you heard that he had Vietnam veterans? He said, three years ago.

Wow.

She said, have you ever heard welcome home? He said, that was the first.

Isn't that great? Yeah, you've told me that before. And I make it a policy to do that. And, you know, I think about, Sean has said, you know, about talking to veterans. He said, it's okay to ask, you know, what's your. When civilians or people that aren't in the military come across a veteran. I think those two things are wonderful. Any other thoughts about how to treat a veteran when one comes across you?

Well, thanking them for their service and thank their, you know, if they have a family. Just say, you know, I want to thank your family, because family serves also right now when I'm in the airport, and if there's someone that you know, I'm standing by, and you'll hear a lot of people say, thank you for your service. I usually add something to that. Thank you for your service. How many deployments?

Right. Yeah. It's amazing what that answer can be.

It does. And you know, the expression on their face. I was at. I was in just one of the little, you know, Dallas DFW and a little skylink going around, and I said, how many deployments? He goes, seven. I go, seven. He said, yes, seven. I mean, you. You can just get into a conversation, just say, how many deployments? Now, some mate may feel like, well, why does she want to know that? But it kind of helps you to. To where they know that you're concerned about that. You know, if you have the address of someone employed, send them some homemade cookies. Do you bake, Glenn?

I bake a little bit. I prefer to eat what is baked. For me, though.

You know what? Just doing the small things to me. Just doing the small things. But anyone can start an initiative wherever they are, you know, no matter where you live. You could start with small stuff. A small initiative. There's maybe a Vietnam veteran that needs a walk in bathtub for four or five thousand dollars that could change their.

Life, you know, and now people listening have a source to maybe make American.

Warriorinitiative.Com and they can make a donation and make a actually just put glenbealpodcast.

Get Attitude Podcast.

Get Attitude Podcast and just do that and shoot. We make it do something. Wouldn't that be awesome?

That would be awesome.

If you and I could get together and we could set something. Wouldn't that be awesome?

I would love to do it. We should.

You know what? I do believe that most Americans want to do something. They're not sure what to do and they're unsure of where to give. With the American Warrior Initiative, you know that 100% is going to a local veteran.

Yeah, that's so cool. So obviously, Weezy, you understand the concept of do something that is bigger than yourself. Your stories and your wisdom in this podcast has been humbling. It's been eye opening. But most of all, I think it's been empowering because there's people. You don't have to be a warrior to be a hero. And I do believe when you said, there's heroes among us, and you're looking at heroes every single Day. That's really the spirit and the attitude. Boy, if we just had just. If everybody looked at everybody as a hero and not as a person on the other side or not as a threat to them or not as competition, but truly as a hero, that attitude could breed some unbelievable growth.

Could it?

Could.

And as we are just the guide helping them, and that's what you're doing. You're really the guide, Glenn. You're helping people be heroes of their own story, and you're the guide and you're showing them that. So thank you for what you do.

Well, My pleasure. Now, here's the deal. We always like to end our podcast with a little wisdom, and it's kind of a quick hitter interview. And you just speak from your heart. You're on the. And you are impromptu, so I'm not worried. If your answers suck, we can edit them. And so. And it's okay. But I guarantee you, knowing you, you're going to give us some wisdom. Now, I have a feeling you're 61, which means you're going to have to give me six answers. And this is called 66. 66. You don't even.

I'm Roots. I'm. I'm on Route 66 this year.

I love it.

I'm on Route 66. That was the theme of my birthday party in April, was Route 66. I am traveling.

That's good. Well, to think you're probably living your life to the fullest and you probably have more vitality and you're probably making bigger impacts than anything, and you're 66. Right.

I mean, you're just getting started.

Just getting started. So let's get some wisdom from the decades for you. What I want you to do is just tell me what comes from your heart or your head is to give. We call our listeners gappers. To give our gappers just a quick shot of knowledge. Okay. And this may or may not make sense, but, Louise, as an infant, what would you. What advice would you give our gappers as an infant? What comes to your head as a baby?

Believe in yourself and believe that you were created by God for a purpose.

Right. Believe in you Happens to be one of our attitude boosters. Right. Number three. I think it's right up there. I love it.

You know what? As if when we're born, actually when I believe that we're born and it is in our DNA because we are created in the image of God, that we do believe that we can do. I mean, think about it. When you're a baby, it Means like you're just going to cry and think somebody is going to satisfy my needs.

Right?

You believe anything is possible. And you and you and you've got that possibility. And then the world, our brains get hacked by the world.

That is true. All right, so now I want you to think about Louise or wheezy as a 10 year old, what advice would you give our gappers from when you were 10?

It's not about how you look, it's about what's inside.

Love it.

You know, I was a skinny kid with freckles and red hair, and I was always thinking, I don't fit in with everyone else. And if speaking to that girl or from that girl, I'd say, you know what? What matters is what's inside.

Yeah, awesome. Now you started getting a little rambunctious. I know that redhead turned 20, became a young woman. Talk to me about that. Talk to me about that attitude. Or what would Louise at 20 give our gappers as information?

So I wish that 20 I would have gotten this message. I didn't get it till years later, but in the book of Joshua, chapter 1, verses 8, 9, it says to meditate on the word day and night. Then you will have true success. I love. It's one of my favorite scriptures, Joshua 1, 8 and 9. I always put it on my graduation cards when I'm giving it to those young people.

Wonderful.

I'm not saying I got that when I was 20, but boy, Glenn, I wish I had. Yeah, I got it later, but I wish I would have gotten it when I was 20.

Well, then that takes us to when you were 30. So tell us what was going on and what when you think about being 30. I'm guessing you probably had your three kids at that point.

I did.

You might have been going through that divorce at that time. What advice would you give our gappers about attitude from being 30?

It's not over till it's over.

Atta girl.

You know, it's not over till, you know, you go through. I remember when I was going through a divorce, someone gave me a slip of paper. I'll never forget it. And in fact, I've since heard it many times, but all of my friends thought I authored it because I would always say this when anything, when anything happened, this too shall pass.

Yeah. Amen.

Right now. That is whether it's good or whether it's bad. Sometimes when we think, I mean, we are rolling and we think it's always going to be there. You know what, there's going to be a Bump in the road when things are bad. Smooth road is up ahead. So this too shall pass. You just keep pressing. Yeah.

Perseverance, right? We always say number eight, love adversity. And we know that adversity is the mother of perseverance. You cannot persevere unless you have a little advantage adversity. So those of you who are facing adversity, we will be doing a whole month on love adversity. But understand, you can't have perseverance unless you got a little adversity. Right. Let's talk about wheezy at 40. That's probably right when you hit Fairway. And things probably really started to change.

So in my. It was not exactly 40, but so what I would say to someone in their 40s is, you're never too late to make a profession change.

Right.

I had worked in a law office as a paralegal. Switched over to a. More actually in between there for about, I think I call it my temporary period of insanity where I opened a restaurant.

Oh, my gosh, no.

Yes.

That's crazy.

That was crazy. So I, you know, I got. I went into restaurant rehab and then went to work for the bank, and so then eventually ended up with Fairway. So I did that stuff. But it's never too late to change your profession. Sure, it's not too late. I think sometimes when your 40s, you think, well, I've always done this or always done this line of work, but it doesn't have to always be that way.

Would you say then that piece of advice might be do not open a restaurant.

Do not open a restaurant.

I can't tell you how many restaurants.

Somebody probably told Colonel Sanders that. And he goes, well, I think I will.

If you know the story of Colonel Sanders, he was told, I think, hundreds of times not to do it, but yeah, about one out of every hundred restaurateurs makes it. Now, let's go to your golden birthday. 50 50. When you hit your 50s. What lesson did you learn in your 50s?

That it is never too late to go from average to over the top.

Right.

I was an average loan officer closing five to seven transactions a month. I call that average. And I was in a little town of 2,900 people closing 5 to 7. So a lot of people might think.

That would be really good. Yeah, that's great market share.

But I went from there to a military community of 8,000 and went to 25 to 30 transactions a month. So hitting your 50s. I did that when I was just in my early 50s. It's never too late to find your passion. And don't settle for average.

I love it.

Looking for where, where, where can you. Where can you direct your passions that to make a difference? Where can your passions. Because when you get on fire for something, you know what? You're gonna light up everybody around you.

Yep. There's no doubt. I love that. That's so good. Now this is gonna be the last one, which is your 60s. What have you learned in the past six years? What can our gappers take from Louise being 60?

You know what, What I have learned over all my life, and probably this goes back to what my grandmother and especially my mother. I come from a long line of tough women.

I love it.

A long line. And you know What? I have five daughters, 17 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Wonderful.

And I have got some pretty tough women that come or that are coming after me also. But what I have learned is that we have to develop a mental toughness. We have to. That is. There are that right there. The mental toughness of life. The mental toughness with our families. The mental tough. That doesn't mean. That means being emotion, having a high eq.

Yes.

And being able to handle things without an emotional breakdown. But having that mental toughness.

I love it. I love it. Well, Louise, you are amazing. You've lit up our podcast today. I just hope that everybody listening feels her. I hope people visit the americanwarriorinitiative.com I hope they make a request at getattitude. With getattitude, Louise, your message of where you started and your proof that being a part of something bigger than you affected your life and quadrupled not only your business, but as I look at you as a 60 year old beautiful woman, the impact and the influence you're having has probably quadrupled too. You've probably never had the impact or the influence. And if you're out there right now saying there's more for me and I feel stuck and I know that there's something that needs to happen in my life to bridge the gap, to get me from where I am to where I want to be, to get me from who I am to who I want to become. I think Louise's message of having a passion and giving of yourself to other people and looking at everybody as your hero. When you look at everybody as your hero, the attraction, the contagiousness of your spirit, your ability to live a bigger life, something that's bigger than you, to be truly fulfilled, to squeeze the juice out of life, that's what attitude booster number 10 is all about. And that's what our unbelievable guest, Louise Thaxton, has taught us today. So, Louise, thank you so much again.

Thank you for inviting me. It's been fun.

Yeah, it has been fun. Hey, if this episode boosted your attitude again, please share with a friend on social media. Join the Attitude Movement on Facebook. Check us out at the University of Attitude. Make sure that you rate, subscribe, and review our podcast. If you aren't where you are, all you got to do is check us out every Wednesday and get attitude. Thanks for joining. This podcast is a part of the C Suite Radio Network. For more top business podcasts, visit C suiteradio. Com.