How to Integrate Miracle Mornings to Transform Your Workplace with Eric Stranghoener

Eric, Good morning, brother. It is good to see you.

Hal. Good miracle morning. Excited to be together and looking forward to discussion. Thank you.

Oh, thank you for the good miracle morning. I missed that opportunity right there. Yeah, dude, I appreciate it, man. Well, we were just talking about you're going on a trip with your 13 year old son, which you do with all of your four boys, take them on a one on one trip. And I wanted to start with what matters most to you right now in your life. You know, I was on your Twitter or your X bio and just simply says husband, father, blessed. And I really think those three words, I would guess knowing you for the last few years, sum up what matters most to you. But I'd love to hear it from you. What matters most to you in your life right now, Eric?

Yeah, absolutely. First and foremost, it's my faith and that's my foundation. And then it's relationships. And as you highlighted, family are at the top of that list. So really have a big heart for people and I'm blessed to have many different relationships and different aspects of life and so just trying to invest in those relationships every day. And as you mentioned, certainly starts with my wife Andrea and my four sons.

Yeah, fantastic. And don't you coach, what's your coaching role? I know you coach some of your boys teams.

I do, I coach primarily some football and baseball. Football is my real passion and it brings me tremendous joy working with incredible group of young men. I like to say, you know, I have 25 to 30 additional sons, so to speak, and it's a real honor to play a small part and trying to inspire them in their lives.

So that, that is really, really cool. And, and how many of your boys are playing on that team or those teams?

So I've really been with my oldest son Cooper on a four year journey with his football team, have worked with my different sons in baseball as well. But the youngest two, Will and Wyatt, are twins and they are getting ready to turn nine years old. So just as we wrapped up with one football team, we're getting ready to start another journey and very much looking forward to that. And my middle son Luke is getting ready to start some baseball here in the fall. So they are all incredible young men and just trying to help them find their unique gifts and talents and dream big and pursue their dreams with all their heart. So it's a real joy to be a part of that coaching experience with my sons as well as their teammates.

That is really cool. I have not gotten to coach my kids, which I can Imagine, just imagine what that experience is like. But I'm finally. My son is into basketball. He's on a basketball team. So I'm getting at least the. Just that special experience of watching your child, you know, go from struggling at something and maybe not liking it to gaining skills and getting better. And so my wife and my daughter, we go to his games every Saturday and it's like the family is cheering him from the sideline. Yes. So it is a special experience. I wanted to ask you about something specific, which is I've heard you describe yourself as an eternal optimist. I've heard other people describe you as an eternal optimist. In fact, so much so that I recently bought you a book called the Eternal Optimist by Matt Drinkon. And I sent you that. Right. Surprised you probably a couple months ago. I want just talk about that for a second. How would you define that? What does it mean to be an eternal optimist and how does that serve you?

Sure, yeah. It was a tremendous gift that you shared with me, not only because of the title for the book, and now I've made a great connection and friendship with Matt, but also something that really jumped out at me on the back cover was Matt talked about this term, recovering perfectionist, which I shared that term with, actually our miracle morning community here at our firm, Reuben Brown. But I thought I just made the term up. It was off the cuff, but it's been part of my life journey is, you know, recovering from some of. From being a perfectionist and so connecting with Matt and having a conversation that was really powerful. But being an eternal optimist for me, honestly, you know how I feel this morning, Hal, is today is the best day of my life. And granted, I said that yesterday and I plan to say it tomorrow, but I have some, Some real rock solid truths that I base that. That statement and that mindset upon. And I. I know without a doubt the best is yet to come. And so you know, those. Those foundational truths that I have that can say that today is the best day of my life with confidence. And I try to bring that energy into everything that I do today, tomorrow, and the next day. Because every day is full of opportunities to love, serve and care for other people.

That's beautifully said, but I'm going to be devil's advocate for a second. How can every day be the best day of our life? And what if today doesn't go well, like Eric? So what would you say to that?

Well, I would say it starts for me with I experienced A transformative shift in my perspective from seeking happiness to living with a mindset of joy. Okay, happiness is dependent upon our circumstances, what happens to us, sort of the roller coaster of emotions and experiences throughout each day of this life. Joy is a constant. It's a mindset. Joy is founded in the principle that it's not about me and my circumstances, it's about the opportunities to serve others. So that's really been a critical shift from seeking happiness to living with a mindset of joy. And I would add to that as well. You know, I mentioned some rock solid truths, and those are, number one, I'm working to get stronger every day, physically, mentally, and spiritually. So the pursuit of that gives me confidence to be able to say that, and those are things that I can control. Number two, I mentioned the importance of relationships, and I have more abundance of relationships and more people in my life today than I had yesterday, but not as many as tomorrow. So the ability to continue to build relationships and try to impact and work with and serve others grows every day of my life. And then. And then third, and perhaps most important, and this is just my foundation of faith, is I believe today I'm one day closer to heaven than I was yesterday, and that's as good as it gets. So that is how and why I'm able to say that every day. That is not to say that there are not challenges. I know there will be challenges today. But again, it's trying to live with that mindset of joy and not just realizing it's not about me. It's really not. And the more we focus on others and not ourselves, I think we can have that powerful perspective of joy in our lives.

I love that. And everything you just described, it is a mindset. You have a mindset, right? Your mindset allows you to show up at your best every day, and that no matter what happens, you see that, you find the silver linings, you experience joy in the moment, all of that. And we're so kindred spirits in that. I mean, I recorded a podcast, you know, years ago called how to make every day the best day of your life, right? And it's not based on what happens to you. It's based on your mindset and how you show up. You can show up to the most difficult circumstances with the most empowered, tenacious, resilient mindset, and then, therefore, you make it the best day of your life. Because, yeah, it was difficult, but, man, you should have seen the way that I showed up. It's like, dang, okay, I see where you're coming from.

Right?

You mentioned joy, and you gave that distinction between joy and happiness. And I know that you use the word joy to describe your. Literally, your purpose in life. Why did you choose that word? You may have mentioned some of that, what you just talked about, but what does it mean to you? Why is joy the word that you use to describe your purpose?

Yeah, to me, Hal, it's all about joy in the journey. Okay. And life is a journey, and you've written many books, and I have not published a book yet, one day. But I think when I do, the title is going to be Joy and the Journey, and just talk about, you know, experiences that I've had and perhaps shine a light on experiences of others who have been able to live with that mindset, make a positive impact on the world. But again, joy is about every human life is precious, and every day is full of abundance of opportunities. And, you know, it's a shift from have to. To get to, you know, and it's that perspective that you mentioned. And, you know, and. And I think that the aspect of a journey, too, and being a recovering perfectionist is it's not this check the box activity or, oh, I finally made it, or it's not putting the. The ability to experience joy out there. I'll be joyful, I'll be satisfied, I'll be content, I'll be happy. When it's. It's focusing on experiencing it today. And that's a continued journey for me, and I'm grateful for all the many wonderful people in my life that help me and support me in that pursuit.

Again, I love it. It's a mindset. I learned that when I was 19. My mentor in my life at the time, Jesse Levine, he said, happiness is a choice. You choose whether or not you're happy. And that it didn't make sense to me because I go, well, that doesn't make sense. I'm happy when things go well, and I'm not happy when things don't go well. And obviously, semantics, happiness, joy, et cetera. And I like the way that you. You separate the two. You create the difference, you know, the different paradigm for each. But. But yeah, I learned that when I was young, and I was like, oh, happiness is a choice based on, you know, you choose to be happy even in the midst of the most difficult circumstances that you face. So. And you are. You are a light. You are you. You are.

You.

You exude joy, man. And I know that anyone that knows you would say the same. So you are a correct Me if I'm wrong. You're a partner at Rubin Brown, correct?

Correct.

And Reuben Brown is one of the largest. Or it's a cpa. A national CPA firm, right?

Correct.

So we met when you all brought me in to speak, and then I found out that when you guys were bringing me in that your culture is called be your best for others. And when I talk about the miracle morning, I say, hey, like, I literally closed my miracle morning keynote by saying, when I created this practice, it was. I was struggling, and I needed to turn my life around. And it did that. But I'm still doing the practice years later. Why? Because it helps me be my best for others. It helps me be the dad that my kids deserve, the husband that my wife deserves. So I was. When I found out that your culture, your company, your. The theme was Be youe Best forever others, I was stoked because I was like, oh, that's. We're so in alignment. Can you talk a little bit about your. The Rubin Brown's culture to be your best for others. What does that mean? And then I want to talk about how you guys integrate the miracle morning into your workplace.

Sure. Yeah. Be your best for others is a really powerful concept, and it's really. We anchor our beliefs as a firm, as a team, as one firm working together in this be your best for others concept, which is foundational to our culture, which really is about.

Every single person that we're blessed to interact with and serve, both inside and outside of Reuben Brown. Our clients, our team members, those in our communities that we are committed to being our best again, not for ourselves, but for others, and the impact that we can make that we approach every interaction, every opportunity, every relationship with the highest level of service, respect, and good intention. And it's really incredible. And I was inspired by the tremendous alignment between what you created, Hal, and the miracle morning and what we strive to live every day as. Be your best for others. Regardless of whether you're at the office, if you're at a client site, if you're at the coffee shop or the gym, it's really, again, a constant approach to daily life and interactions. And, you know, we're not perfect by any stretch, but we've got an incredible, inspiring energy as an organization to support each other and challenge each other to live with the principles of be your best for others every day. And the miracle morning really provided a spark for us to take that. That culture to many of our team members in a very personal and intentional way as they start their day.

So I'M curious, before, before Miracle Morning, what did y' all do to foster, to nurture and perpetuate that culture? I'm curious, like, what were you doing before? And the reason I asked that. Well, I'm genuinely curious, but I'm also, you know, I'm thinking, like, a lot of companies, for example, they have a mission statement, right? And it's, like, written somewhere. Maybe it's hanging on the wall, but it's not really part of the culture. It's like, people aren't really identifying with it. They're not doing, like, there's no practices or rituals to continue to bring that culture forward from the corporate level to the actual individual. So, anyway, I'm curious if there was anything that y' all were doing before you brought Miracle Morning in. What was that?

Sure, there have been a few different things, Hal. And I believe culture is incredibly dynamic, and it is not a check the box activity. It's based upon the experiences that you create each and every day. Okay. So having said that, you know, some of the things that we've tried to do, in addition to making sure it's on the walls and it's included in a number of different communications that we have throughout the year at our organization, a couple of specific things that I think we've done that were really helpful to helping us really move that culture forward and truly embedded in the lives of our team members. Number one is we're so passionate about it. We wrote a book. Okay. We have a series of books on our firm's vision points with. With tremendous stories to really bring incredible perspective to what we mean, particularly for new team members that are joining our organization so they can start to have an appreciation for what we talk about with be your best for others and the elements of our culture and our values. The second thing is just sharing stories. You know, we have communications that go out every month that spotlight different be your best for others stories, team members being their best for each other, team members being their best for clients, and feedback that we received from totally satisfies clients who experience that be your best for others culture, as well as those in the community. So, you know, I think it's the stories that really help the culture come to life and inspire others to seek to do the same. But, you know, when you came and spoke to us almost two years ago at our team member update, which is an annual event where we bring all of our approximately 1000 team members together in one physical location to have just a total immersion of culture, and you came at just the Right. Time. And I say it was really like. Like rocket fuel to help us take this to the next level.

Yeah. That's amazing.

I love.

So I mean, what you're talking about. I think there's a lesson for people, you know, for whether in a business environment or even in our family environment. Right. That you are highlighting people that are living your values. Right. That are, you know, be your best for others you're highlighting. And then you're sharing stories so that everyone goes, oh, wow, that's what that looks like. Oh, wow, I could learn from that. Oh, I could do that. Okay. Wow, we're really living this. It's not just lip service. So I love that because I think that there's such a foundational lesson there and because we all learn from stories. That's how we've. Since the beginning of time. Right. The Bible is a collection of stories. We learn best from stories because it engages both our right and left brain. Right. Both hemispheres of the brain are engaged when we're following along with the story. And then the lesson is embedded, which kind of switches over to the left side of the brain. And you're like, oh, okay, I'm going to chalk that lesson away for when I need it. But I really understand the lesson because of the context that it was delivered in through the context of that story. All right, so you guys were already being proactive in the culture and really implementing your values as a company, as an organization. Then I come in a couple years ago, spoke Miracle Morning, and y' all started implementing the miracle Morning at a level that I don't know that I've ever seen a company do. And what I mean by that is lots of companies, I speak in my speech with, hey, y', all, let's do a 30 day challenge. Sometimes the company will lead that 30 day challenge, as I think you guys did. But it's been over a year. You guys have a miracle morning, a Reuben Brown Miracle Morning community, which I got chills when I came on your first call and you introduced. I didn't know that you had called it that. And then you introduced, hey, welcome, Reuben Brown Miracle Morning Community. I go, my gosh, you guys have a community, a miracle Morning community within your company. So talk about that transition. And like, what did you. What did you do? Yeah, I guess it's transition or an adoption of the miracle Morning practices into what y' all were already doing. How did that begin? And then let's talk about how, you know, you guys are sustaining it over a year later.

Sure. Yeah. And I'll talk about the beginning, but before I do that, I just want to say that we absolutely have a community. The community continues to grow stronger and it's some of the most extraordinary people on the planet that are a part of this Reuben Brown Miracle Morning community. And it's a real blessing and privilege to spend time with them every month, number one. Number two, I would say that, you know, the real key, I think, and perhaps again the lesson and the opportunity for other business leaders is this.

There's so much great content out in the world today. Quite frankly, I think you are one of the most impactful and important speakers in the world today and just so grateful that you were able to share your inspiring story. But it's so much more than your inspiring story. You created something that is transforming lives. And so here's what we did. You know, what happens is you have an event. You have keynote speakers such as yourself, perhaps someone listens to a podcast and there's this moment of inspiration, okay? But what typically happens is it's a gathering, it's an event, and then everyone has that moment of inspiration. There's a spark there. But then they go back and they have a full schedule of meetings and messages and an email inbox. And there was that window of opportunity to truly implement transformative change that so often is missed.

Sure.

And quite honestly, we just said immediately after your spoke that that was truly inspiring for our thousand team members. And to try to capture that spark of inspiration, let's provide something. Let's create an opportunity to sustain it beyond just the one time message and the one time event. Frankly, we knew that time was of the essence. So getting just some buy in from additional leaders at the firm, we said, let's send out a message. We're going to have a 30 day challenge. We're going to have a kickoff call. Frankly, we're not even sure how we're going to approach it or what exactly we're going to do yet. But we know time is of the essence. So we did that. And how we had an incredible response. Completely optional, okay? Right. There's no requirement, no obligation whatsoever. But if you were inspired and you want to make these changes and how you can be intentional to start your day, to be your best for others, come to this kickoff huddle. And we had nearly 200 individuals at all levels of our organization, from new team member recently graduated college, to Senior partners with 40 years of experience all over the country.

Decide to sign up and join us. So it was like, wow, we had this incredible response we better figure out what we're gonna do. But I think the lesson there is if you try to create the perfect plan, you can spend so much time building that, and then you miss that window of opportunity to capture that inspiration. So we had an initial 30 day challenge in January of 2023, and, you know, organically, it has continued to build. We get together, we started with twice a week. Okay, These are virtual huddles because folks are located all over the country and we talk about your miracle morning practices, the Savers, and we highlight twice a.

Week that is quite frequent. What. What days were y' all meeting and what.

Yeah, we would meet on Monday afternoons and Thursday mornings. So we try to provide, you know, we have. Again, we have multiple time zones, so we try to create opportunities that could fit within everyone's schedule.

Twice a week, you know, I would put together a slide deck, would kick it off. We would have something called a team member spotlight, where we have an opportunity for others to share about their experiences and how they're implementing the miracle morning practices. We have so much fun, Hal. There's so much energy. And I think one of the most powerful aspects of it is this is not come to this huddle so you can be a better or more productive team member of Ruben Brown, okay? It is a truly personal and professional holistic being your best for others in every aspect and domain of your life. And there's just an incredible, sincere and genuine desire to support and challenge others to be their best. We have resource giveaways. Okay, so we have a rec. We developed a recommended reading list from our community members so we would give away books. We gave away passes to the Ultimate Ninja Gym workout for the E and Savers Exercise, my all time favorite. We gave away a laminating machine, okay, which sounds crazy and silly, but this is so you can take your affirmations and your goals and you can actually take that piece of paper and laminate it so it's something you can carry around and you can spill your coffee on it and it's okay, you know, still be with you the next day.

Yes. You generously sent me one of those laminating machines, by the way, so I want to thank you for that.

I did. We have so much fun with it. And it's not so much about, you know, the resources itself, but it's just everyone feels the incredible energy and passion and commitment to help everyone be successful. And I think one of the foundational principles that we talk about almost every single time, is that the truth. That comparison is the thief of Joy. Okay. And your journey in this context of being your best for others and starting your day with the miracle morning, your journey is unique to you. Okay? Yeah. Be inspired by others, learn from others, get ideas, but, you know, keep your eyes on your own paper, so to speak, and make progress that is meaningful for you. We've had individuals who, you know, had goals for decades that this Miracle morning community inspired them to finally, you know, push through and overcome their fears because they heard other team members doing the same. We've had, you know, mothers of newborns who, you know, sleep is precious to them. Right. And. And so their challenge is just, how can I even just take five minutes to start my day? And we have other folks that are spending over an hour doing this. The point is not one is better than the other. The point is every single life is precious, full of potential, and this can really provide inspiration to help you move your life forward in a positive way that's meaningful to you.

It's so inspiring to me, obviously, as the creator of the Miracle Morning, to see what you've done. What.

You mentioned that 200 people showed up to the first huddle virtually. Right. It was like a zoom huddle across the country. It's been a year and a half since January 2023. How many people are still. How often do you do the huddles? Like, how did that evolve to maybe less frequent than twice a week, but. So how often are you doing it now and how many people are showing up a year and a half later?

Sure. So I would just say that this is something that, as far as I'm concerned, we're going to continue for many years and decades, at least as long as I'm blessed to be a part of the team here at Rubin Brown. And we're continuing to, I would say, innovate and find ways to make it meaningful and get better. So we have some folks that, in that initial January 202330 day challenge, that gave them the tools and the resources and the support that they needed to then continue on with their miracle morning. And so, you know, they. They didn't attend the huddles after we've had new people continuously join. So I would say, on average, recognizing that we run into many, many scheduling conflicts. Right. This is optional, and folks have a lot of different things they're trying to accomplish in the day, but we have around 75 to 80 folks in a typical huddle. You know, we have folks that are consistent and make close to everyone, others that, you know, it's a little more sporadic but each January we're doing a 30 day challenge and then we continue with monthly huddles. Okay. The, the, the twice a week or 30 minutes. The monthly huddles are an hour. We've had in person lunches in our offices.

I was at one of those.

You were. It was, it was incredible. So much fun and so inspiring. So we've, we've had those a chance for in person connection, which I believe is so important and so impactful. We have also created a LinkedIn community where folks will, you know, post experiences, share pictures and ideas with a group in another format. And one of the most really remarkable experiences I would say that our community created through this effort is you spoke at our team member update in St. Louis in 2023, and then in 20, excuse me, in 2022. And then in 2023, we came back together in Kansas City and we actually had our group from all over the country begin very early before the start of that all firm meeting with a full miracle morning, all six of the savers, led by different members of the community, as the sun was rising in beautiful Kansas City, Missouri. And it was one of the most incredible experiences for myself, I know, for others. And we're getting ready to do the same thing in Chicago just next month where we can all come together in person in a very, very meaningful way. So one more quick note, just in the spirit of how do we continue to strengthen this and perpetuate this from years to come, recognizing what I said about different experiences and even scheduling conflicts, we recently launched small groups. So we tried to align different members of the community in groups of three to four to let them connect on their own time. However, frequently they would like to really develop deep personal relationships with folks from different areas of the firm and different locations, but also talk about how they can continue to implement the miracle morning practices. Because as someone who has, you know, been striving to always live, and I do the miracle morning every single day, okay, 365 a year. But you know, you need to continue to infuse it with, with, with new energy and, and different approaches to make it impactful for your particular season of life.

That's fantastic. It reminds me if anybody's listening. Actually, let me put this, set up the context, which is, you know, you're an executive, you're a president of an organization. If somebody's listening and they're like, why don't I don't lead people necessarily. This reminds me, in 2005, going into that year, my goal at Cutco, it was My last year with Cutco, and I was a sales rep, right? I wasn't a manager or a district or division or I was a rep. And I decided I wanted to have my best year, be my best, have the best year of my career. And I thought it won't really be meaningful if I don't lead other people to do the same thing, if I don't pay it forward and help others and hold out my hand and pull them with me along the way. And so I wasn't a quote unquote leader, right? But again, I think the leader with no title, like Robin Sharma wrote the book about, like, a leader is someone that helps other people, period. That's what makes a leader. And so for me, I reached out to all of my colleagues, probably 40 of people that were selling Tutka with me across the country, and I created a weekly every Sunday. It was called the Ultimate Club, I think something like that.

And we had roughly 20 people on each of those calls. And every week, though, I would go down the list and say, hey, what's your goal? What's your goal? What's your goal? How was last week? What do you commit to this week? And I would provide a support, encouragement, accountability. One person would teach on each of those calls. And so the reason I'm throwing that out there is like, if you're listening to this, you could do this in your family, right? You could utilize the Miracle Morning if it's helped you as an individual. This is about taking that, you know, taking it from just being your own personal practice and sharing it with people that you love and people that you lead. And that I go back to. The Miracle Morning began because I was like, I should share this with people that I love and people that I lead. And it shared with my family, then my coaching clients, and, you know, and then eventually it became a book and so on and so forth. So I just wanted to highlight what you've done and that people can apply this in whatever role that they're in.

I couldn't agree with you more on your philosophy and the application of what you just described, of what it really means to be a leader. And we've actually seen, you know, folks at different levels, amazing team members at our firm, I would say, grow as leaders and whatever the respective roles through this journey, through this experience. As simple as it sounds, folks, you know, in a group of, you know, some cases, 100 people, being able to become very vulnerable and share, you know, both their challenges and their triumphs, you know, in the spirit of Trying to inspire others to grow and be better. That's leadership. And I have been so blessed to have some people share with me, one on one, the profound impact that that experience has had to them. And all we're doing is. And it's, again, it's not about me. It's about the incredible people at our firm and within this community who are just willing to show up and be inspired and inspire others. And some cases that's listening and taking notes and then applying that to your life. In other cases, it's sharing a story. You know, I'll give you one quick story of an example of and success. This was a huddle, actually, during our original 30 day challenge. Each huddle was, you know, I'm thinking of new ideas, how we can make it really meaningful. And in this particular huddle, I organized a panel of different folks at different levels across our offices at the firm. And we were having this great panel discussion. I was actually happened to be visiting Nashville, so I was scrambling, you know, to join the call, you know, after a breakfast meeting. And then when we transition from the panel to the open forum discussion, which we always provide time for anyone who wants to share in each of these huddles and a partner decides to open up and share his experience. And this is someone, just an incredible leader, wearing many different hats, actually had recently, this is, I think, really special. Had recently been the leader of his own consulting firm that joined Reuben Brown, okay. To be a part of our overall growth and impact story as an organization. So working to support his team, to continue to grow his aspect of the practice, working as part of our one firm organization. And he said, you know, I've really gone all in and committed as part of this process to the miracle morning. And in the midst of one of the busiest seasons of my life and, and also being caretaker for my wife, who recently underwent a procedure and needs quite a bit of assistance, you know, and as I've embarked on this miracle morning journey, she looked up at me the other day and said, you know, there's something different about you. I can't quite say, but you're just your energy, your presence and your love, you know, that you're bringing in the home and what. How I see you're interacting with the teams, there's something different about you. And he shared that, that impact. And I just thought that's incredible, you know, and I think it speaks to the spirit of how we've tried to really support, you know, with Be youe Best for Others being our culture, you know, growth Personally and professionally. And lastly, I'll say we talk about inspired team members, and I feel like if we can, you know, approach our day being inspired, then we're going to have, you know, great success as a business. And, you know, I really think that business can be a tremendous force for good in the world when you look about. Look at the amount of time that, you know, team members devote to their careers and trying to be good stewards of their roles at the organization. So I'm really hoping that there's even just one business leader that hears this and is inspired to implement the Miracle Morning community concept at their organization.

I love it. It reminds me of a book I read years ago called the Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly. Are you familiar with that one?

I have not read that one, but I will add it to our list.

You would love it. But basically the concept is. And it's a parable, but it's about a leader who's struggling in his organization, and then he comes across a dream manager, which basically is a. It's teaching you to find out what your people that you lead, that you work with, what are their dreams, and then support them in achieving their dreams, whether it is aligned with your work or it supports your work or not. And I'm sure I'm not probably describing it perfectly here, but what I recall was the idea that if you, as a leader or as a parent, right. I tried to do this for my daughter. Her dream is to be a professional actress. I have a lot of reservations about her being an actress. Right. Being in that industry. And I would have realized I've got to be connected to her. I need to support her dreams. Right. And help guide her and steer her. And plus, if I don't support her dreams, I'm going to have very little influence in helping guide her along what hopefully is a really positive path. But my point is this. When you differentiate yourself as a leader from just someone who is managing the person to maximize their productivity as it serves you and your business and your bottom line, people sense that. They see that. They go, he doesn't care about me. She doesn't care about me. She just cares about me making her money or doing my job well. But when you shift your focus, as y' all have, like when you're integrating the Miracle Morning as part of your culture and you're having these huddles and you're serving and supporting and you're telling these inspiring stories that are highlighting people in their personal life, in their professional life, well, what that does is it Creates a whole different connection and rapport and level of trust with that person. It's like, hey, you know, a lot of us might be challenged to find really supportive, loving, encouraging, positive people in our personal lives, but if we go to work, it's like, wow, my boss cares about my goals and my dreams and my family and my kids. And, like, they're supporting me and being the best version of myself in every area of my life, including the ones that have nothing to do with their bottom line. Like, I'm in. And as I'm saying this, I'm reminded of something that you said. I don't know, a long time ago when you and I spoke about this price six months ago, a year ago, you talked about the Miracle morning being Reuben Brown's, like, differentiating factor. Meaning, like, that you were from. You said, from, when someone becomes an intern for y', all, you give them a copy of the Miracle Morning, like on day one. And I want you to. You to articulate this, but basically I'm reminding you the idea that this is a, you know, right now business is competitive. And you were talking about how the miracle morning is your competitive advantage in the marketplace of finding great talent.

We had a fantastic guest speaker, so at times, we will invite guest speakers to our huddles. You've been so gracious to join a few of our huddles as well, which was truly inspiring. But one of our guest speakers, after he joined and participated in our huddle the next day, I was speaking with him and expressing my gratitude, and we were just reflecting on the conversation that we had. And he said, you know, I've never experienced anything quite like that in the workplace setting. And he said, you know, and he's a tremendous leader himself. He said, I believe the organizations that truly go all in and helping their team members grow and develop personally and professionally are the organizations that are going to thrive and have the most success going forward. And look, just to be clear, we are not perfect. You know, we are on a journey as an organization with beer best for others. But we are striving, you know, to strengthen it each and every day and looking and finding new ways where we can help each and every team member Brown be their best for others. But I would tell you that, you know, starting with the interns. We had a lunch with an intern group just a couple weeks ago, and it's an example of just the continual perpetuation of this element of the culture. And. And one of the incredible partners that I work with said, you know, who's have many years of experience in her career. She said, you know, I just discovered this Miracle Morning concept and implemented this, you know, at this point in my life, I can't even begin to imagine things that I could have achieved, goals that I could have achieved if I would have started, you know, when I was, you know, an intern or in college or just beginning the career. She was so passionate about it that we said, well, let's, let's, let's start that process at the beginning. And we had a lunch, we had a discussion. We tried to make it very relevant and relatable to. To folks at that early stage in their career. And the response was incredible. And now they're invited to join the full community huddle. But, you know, how, you know, one more example, you know, when you talk about, you know, just the aspects of leadership, I think it's so important that, you know, has been said many times before that we not only, you know, lead with. With our words and with the mission, but by our actions every day. And I think that's something that our incredible community of this team members in Miracle Morning have strived to do. And I'll give you one quick story. You know, in the great, you know, Miracle Morning framework that you've created, the E in savers is exercise. And we had a team member that was, you know, very transparent and vulnerable and opened up in one of our huddles and. And talked about something that she was trying to do to make some positive changes in her life in that particular domain, and she started climbing the stairs, okay, 16, 17 flights of stairs after lunch, as a way to get exercise. And, you know, as oppen often happens in these huddles and the spur of the moment, you know, I said. And some others joined in and said, well, when's the next time you plan to do that? I'd love to join you. So, sure enough, a small group of us gets together and we climb the stairs together. Okay. And, you know, in that moment and the relationships that we were able to build and demonstrate and be present and showing that support was just one small example of how we can show up, as you said, you know, really taking action to be our best for others in a way that can inspire them to continue these positive changes. And I even have a couple of feedback quotes, if we have time before the end, that I can share about the impact from some of our community members of how their lives have been transformed through this as well.

So the floor is yours, man. Please, please share.

So here's just. Here's just a Couple of examples here. Because I made my health important, I was able to make lifestyle changes that I want to stick with forever. Exclamation point. Here's another one. By having intentional positive thoughts, it starts my day with joy, humility, and a sense of my own power to accomplish what I need to for the day. Wow. So inspiring. Here's another one. I am so grateful for those who show up for the inspired guidance and dedication to helping me be the best I can be. Thank you so much. Here's one. I felt more positive energy and more appreciative of my spouse. I was getting to work earlier. Fewer snoozes. Okay. Again, so we're not leading with and talking about, you know, just the work aspects, but there's an example of where it made a positive impact. Here's one more. Thanks to the goal worksheet we received in December, I identified areas I wanted to grow in and wrote down measurable steps and posted them on my fridge. This group helped me stay positive and conscious of ways to get closer to my goals. Wow. You know, love and accountability, you know, challenging. But supporting each other to achieve our goals in all domains of life has. Has been really impactful. And you are the inspiration behind that and just very, very grateful to continue to support you in your mission and what you've created. Because I think. Here's one more quick thought for you, Hal. Going back to joy. I think in a world where we have incredible technology, okay. Endless amounts of information, okay. But so often we're consuming, consuming, consuming, consuming. I think what can help you be more joyful is to create. Okay? More than you consume, create more that you consume. And again, that's at all levels, at all seasons of life. And in other words, as often has been said, you know, it is certainly much better to give than to receive. And I think that can help others increase joy in their journey.

Awesome. Well, Eric, you are an inspiration. I know you always acknowledge me and you acknowledge everyone. Part of what makes you a great leader. But you are truly an extraordinary leader. Like very few, if any, have ever taken this concept. The miracle morning that impacted you on a personal level and then been so proactive to help other people. You're one of those proactive leaders when it comes to going above and beyond going out of your way to help the people that you love and lead. And I'll just say your kids are very lucky to have you as a dad. Man.

Yeah, it's not about me. It's just about being. Trying to be a steward of the culture that we're fostering here in a small role that I can play and just helping, you know, again, others try to wake up to their full potential and again, be intentional on how they start their day. I know on one of our calls I mentioned, you know, there are approximately, what, 8 billion people in the world. Okay, 8 billion people are going to wake up tomorrow and start their day somehow. Why not be intentional to start your day in a positive mindset with energy and inspiration to be your best in the service of others? You know, if we can continue to help more people on that journey and to persevere through challenges and to focus on others before themselves, I think there can be just an incredible tidal wave of goodness in the world to make positive change at a time when we could really use a bit more of it.

Awesome, brother. Well, I couldn't agree more. And I just want to remind anybody, listening what you said earlier, which is imperfect action that you literally committed to do a miracle morning huddle when you had no idea what you were going to do on that huddle. And if anybody's listening to this, like, take action. Don't just go, oh, yeah, wow, that's so much. What a great idea. And I could see how it's transformed Eric and Ruben Brown's culture. And that could do it for me and my family or my workplace, really. Take action. Write down, commit that, hey, I'm going to schedule the first miracle morning huddle. Call it whatever you want, and then I'm going to schedule it and then I'm going to figure out what I'm going to do. And that first huddle can be. It could be a lot of questions. It could be right. It's just. And you can let people know, hey, guys, we don't have a plan. We just know this practice can transform our lives as individuals and collectively as an organization. Any final thoughts before we wrap up?

Eric, just how that, you know, building on what you just said and that call to action, we're here to help. I would be thrilled to help any business leaders who have an interest and pursuing a similar type of approach to supporting their team members to thrive and be their best personally and professionally in the service of others. Would love to help. I know you would love to help, too. So I extend that as an offer. And in fact, Hal, you know, one thing that we might want to consider also is having some sort of event for the clients of Ruben Brown to share, you know, the miracle morning in the spirit of trying to always be our best for our clients. So that's Something that we can talk about offline. But I'm just very grateful for the opportunity, you know, if probably the most profound truth that, you know, has, has helped me personally to try to strive to be a better leader is just going back to what I, what I talked about is having joy in the journey and focusing on others. It's, it's, it's not about me. Every single one of us has a God given plan and purpose and just tremendous potential to make a positive impact. And that's what brings me the greatest joy, is trying to help others find that and support them and that. And like I said, there's an offer out there to help if anyone. You know, we have sort of the starter kit, right, because, you know, as you said, it was imperfect. You know, some things took off, some things, you know, didn't quite go well. But we've experimented, we've tried, and we've created a thriving community to take our be your best for others culture, you know, out into the world. And I'm just grateful for the opportunity every day to continue to be a steward of that and any way that I can help and support you. You're a dear friend and grateful for the energy that you bring out into the world every day. So looking forward, lots more to come. The best is yet to come. That's what I'll leave you with. The best is absolutely yet to come. I can say that with 100 confidence.

Well, I'm with you. And I just have to say you just made a really generous offer. If somebody wants to take you up on that offer, Eric, and get some guidance from you on how they can implement Miracle Morning in their organization, what is the best way to get a hold of you?

Yeah, just call me. Just call, text 314749, 4179 anytime of day. Try to be responsive. So again, 314749, 4179 would be glad to take your call and look forward to connecting.

Oh, man, you just gave out your cell phone. Amen, dude. I am so curious.

I'll report back.

Yeah, What'd you say?

I'll report back on any call.

I can't wait to hear. Yeah, people reach out. And that's funny, a lot of people, right, they don't reach out, but it's like, hey, dude, you just got Eric's cell phone number. One of the. I mean, if you could have a conversation with Eric, like I just had just. You're an incredible human being, so. All right, brother. Well, I appreciate you. I love you. Thank you for your love and leadership and faith and the way that you live your life, man. And until next time. I'll talk to you soon.

I love you, too, Hal. Enjoy the day.