Think About it Thursday

And this thing called 365 R. And to make it even harder, we brought these two in here. We got Chuck Toky, our sales coach over here, and we've got Tommy Richardson, our marketing coach. And Thursdays, we do what we call think about it. Thursday, this thing that most of us as human beings are going so fast and running so hard all the time that we tend to not think about things as much as we should. And in all honesty, there was an event today, actually happened yesterday, but made aware of it today, that stopped me in my tracks. I came out of a doctor's appointment, I had text messages and phone calls.

And.

I was informed that one of the greats in our industry died in a plane crash yesterday. Dustin Beagler was an amazing guy. I got to meet him about 10 years ago, and that kind of started a relationship with him and Marcus Coleman from Apple Roofing. And off and on over the years, we were able to get together, talk on the phone, meet at events. Got to know him pretty well. And he was one of those guys that was who he said he was. And you didn't have, like, this Dustin Begler out there in the world. It wasn't Dustin Begler behind the scenes. And it hit me hard, so hard. Caused me to think about it a little bit today. And so we thought this was maybe something that we should do. It's a hard thing when you lose somebody that is that valuable. Our industry is an industry that can be pretty tough to find valuable folks. And I've got a lot of respect for him, the team at Apple, and what they do and how they do it. And it was really like, I couldn't. I couldn't even drive my car. I sat in my car for about 10 minutes going, man, I can't. It seems like a horrible dream. Like, somebody wake me up from this. I don't like this at all. So I think about it Thursday, I thought we should maybe talk about what legacy looks like. Because the thing I noticed, like, the thing that, like, really stuck out to me because I instantly did what most people would do. And I went to Facebook. I went, is this real? I got this message like, is this actually real?

That's what we did in the car.

Yeah. And I went, okay, so I went and looked at Facebook, and it's message after message after message. And there was something that, like, stuck out to me. Like, as I was looking at it and thinking of processing everything, every message was how good of a guy he was, how he always took time, how he bent over backwards to mentor and help people. How he always had a willing ear, how he's always, like, curious, like, hey, how are you doing? He was really good about that kind of a thing and the impact that he had on everybody and the things they were posting. What stuck out to me is none of them were about how big of a business he had or how much money he had made. It was about him and his family and how he had willingly given. And so that's the thing today. What have you given? We constantly are kind of in this mode of take a lot of. And if we really think about it, I don't think when we, when we go, remember, bring that stuff. So, Chuck, what do you think? Whenever it comes to this type of thing, what should we be thinking about? What can we give?

Well, we. We hear so often that we need to give more than we take. When you, when you give, it's. What is. What is it that you give? Is it the information? Is it. Do you give selflessly and not expect anything in return? You know, I think it was. Was it Zig. Ziglar said, if you help enough people, that they'll help you as well. But you shouldn't expect that. You know, it's. It's give. And if the world feels like. Or the. If. If the universe feels like that you deserve it back, you will get.

Yeah, it's authentic, right? Like, I genuinely just want to help you.

Right?

You have a question, you're interacting with somebody and they're actually interested in what it is that you're saying, and, hey, I need some help. You go, yeah, okay, what can I help you with? And you do it just to do it. Not really thinking about, hey, boy, if I help this person, what can I get back?

Right?

If I help them, how does that give me an edge or position me? Or do. Do I get to be in their circle? You know, that they get to be in my circle? All that kind of stuff that's going on internally, if you're feeling that and doing that, it's authentic. And I, you know, Tommy, would you. Would you say that's something you can recognize whenever you're talking to somebody, like, whether it's authentic or not?

Yeah, I mean, I've. I've had experiences where you meet somebody and within the first couple minutes, you, you know, whether they're a very authentic person or not, if they genuinely care, you know, I, I didn't. I didn't know Dustin. I never had the opportunity to meet him. All I, I mean, I've heard you guys Talk about him for the past couple hours. And from the stories that I've heard from you guys, it does come across to me that he was extremely authentic. He did genuinely care, like, everything that you just said. And, you know, you don't meet. You don't get an opportunity to meet many people like that, and you try to emulate yourself after somebody. Like, where you want to be authentic, you know, you want to show people that you do care.

Yeah. One of the things I, like, noticed about Dustin was when he was in a room, you could see that people gravitated, and it wasn't because he was loud or height or any of that kind of stuff. And I really think it was because, like you said, the first time you meet somebody, you kind of get this instinct.

Right.

They're real. They're not real. But we're constantly in this watch mode. Right. Like, we're watching, like, hey, I like that interaction. That was pretty cool. But is he really that. So our actions play a lot into it. And all of his actions and all of those people that are looking to be remembered in this way, your actions are going to be the thing that solidifies that belief. If at any point Dustin's actions didn't align with the way that he was coming across, you probably wouldn't have this outpouring that you see out there. I want to just say that to all people watching on Facebook, whoever's watching listening, kudos to all of you guys. Kudos to you for recognizing that, seeing that in the individual doing whatever kind of outreach you're doing. I reached out to Marcus earlier today. I said, hey, man, I know you're busy getting lots of text and stuff. Just want you to know I love you, care about you. Justin meant a lot to this industry. And I. I talked to Nathan about it today, too, and he goes, his only response was, it's just shitty. I don't like it. This feels bad. This industry needs these good people.

Yeah.

And so we lost two people in.

A very short amount of time that were on top of their mountain. Yeah. Yeah.

It's only been about six months since that. And another one, like, if you remember, like, when that all went down, it was the same thing. All I can remember is about Dennis being helpful. He was all. He'd take a shirt off his back, he would return a phone call. He'd spend an hour on the phone with you. He'd come out to your location, help. Like, he was always very, like, genuinely helping. And I think it got him a great reputation and left a Legacy behind that's maybe that's the way it should be done. We're seeing more and more of that. I think Dustin was kind of already that way too. You know, this is a tough question, so if you don't want to answer it, don't answer. But how would you like people to remember you, Chuck?

That is a tough question for me. It's, it's. If anything were to ever happen, the way that I want to be remembered is that, that I was a good leader, a good father, a good husband, that I literally did everything I could to better anybody that I talked to, anybody that I worked with. And when you look at Dustin and Ben, they're remembered for what they've done. That's the reason why they got so much. The song social media lit up today.

Yeah.

Anybody that posted anything today was drowned out. Yeah. Because of the love that, that was poured into our industry. Same thing when, when, when Ben passed, it literally lit up the, the social media.

Yeah. I mean, and you're seeing more of this, right. Demar Hamlin, you know, the football player for the Bills, his whole story with the heart attack on the field, literally like died on the field. They resuscitated him and he's out. He walked out of the hospital today, which, that's wild. But the prayer that came from that, the general, what's the final tool? Does anybody know, like how much he's raised for his non profit?

Last I saw was like seven and a half, eight.

Sure.

It's higher than that by this point.

So we don't need a pinnacle moment like that to be that Dustin wasn't walking around every day going, hey man, I can't wait for somebody to have a heart attack so I can help them. It was, hey, man, I just genuinely want to help you. I don't ever remember any flash from him at all other than he did dress sharply. I will say dress sharply. Yeah. He usually had a good pair of shoes on, a nice haircut and stuff like that. But it wasn't overdone either. It wasn't like a look at me type of thing. It was. I just like to be sharp.

He was that. When you think of the, the room and it's the quiet guy in the room and that's the one you want to go talk to. He was that guy. Everybody knew who he was. He was very soft spoken. He didn't. I mean, he would come up to you, but he would never shy away from a conversation. He would never shy away from a question. He would answer the Question in its entirety, not try to hide anything. And, and that's. I think that's what we all respect. Well, we, there's a lot that we all respected, but that was one of those things that we all respected.

Yeah, he was genuinely willing to pour in other people and probably that was a lot of sacrifice, to be honest with you. There's a lot of sacrifice in that, you know, especially in his position. He's probably being tugged at every day. Hey, can you help me with this? Can you help me with that? I would like to talk to you. Can I get some time? And I didn't see anybody going, yeah, I hate that dude. He didn't spend any time with me. All the posts were extremely positive. We only have so much time on this planet. Whether that's the hoped 80s that we live into somewhere in there or tomorrow.

Right.

This is going to take a while for me to process, to be honest with you. Just that the next event I go to, there's going to be a leadership panel up there and the guy that I actually listen to won't be sitting on that panel.

Right.

That's. That's a hard thing. Like I'm still like, jeez, I cannot believe this. And I don't get impacted like that very often. It was a guy that adds value. So, you know, when you're talking about leaving a legacy and those type of things, I think a few things are there. Like, you know, serving right authentically and genuinely, but almost like pouring, pouring into something like, hey, I really want to help you. Willingness, you know, to be there and do those things. And sacrifice. There's a lot of sacrifice that goes into that. I'm grateful for the time that I got to know Dustin, the interactions that I had with him. Always positive, always upbeat, always looking to innovate. He was always innovating and looking at how could we do this industry better. I think part of his legacy in this industry will be what Apple Roofing becomes. He set the groundwork for something pretty amazing. Seeing companies like Crest and NMC says a lot about who he was, that they are now part of a team. And I am hopeful and I believe that through the efforts that Dustin made while he was with us, he's left behind those leaders that can step in and kind of fill that gap. It's going to be a tough thing. It's going to be really hard. I don't know what they're like. Everything's just moving too fast right now. But this may be something that if there was a foundation or Anything like that that Dustin was into and supporting, I'm not aware of it, but I'm going to call out, like to whoever's watching this scene is if there is something, let us know about it. If there's a way for us to help and serve there, we want to be a part. If there was something he was about and he believed in helping, I want to help. And I know you guys do too.

Absolutely.

I swear I wasn't gonna get a tear. It's. It's a hard thing. It's a thing where, When it, when that time comes, especially in a way like this, all the questions are up. Right? Like, do you have your bases covered, family taken care of? And what I think is a joyful piece out of this is to see the community come together. Yes. Industry is like, hey, what. What can we do? What can we help? And we feel that there's. I think that's so much of wanting to give back because he gave so much. Right. Would you. Have you ever seen anything like that before in your world? I mean, you are going to give a.

Not. Don't. Don't compare me, please. Don't you. I've seen stuff like this once in my life and it was a soldier who died in Afghanistan who lived in Wilmington. And this was long after I had gotten out. When they brought him home, like the entire town shut down for the day. Like, I don't know how familiar you are with Wilmington, but college was just shut down. And they had a parade that went all the way down college, which basically takes you from I40 to Carolina beach and it's about a 15 mile stretch and they had the American flag draped over top of the road and they just had a procession and thousands of people came out and just stood on the side of the road and they were like, you know, praying for your family. Everybody had an American flag in their hand. That's probably the, the biggest outpour I've seen in person. And actually being there was. It was wild, man.

I would have to say that everybody came out today.

Yeah.

Yeah.

This industry coming out in support is super cool. So what I want to leave you with this is think about it Thursday. I want you guys to think about what is your legacy? We talk about that word all the time. I think it's almost become a little bit cliche and overused, but today it brings home, like, really. And truthfully, what legacy is. Dustin's legacy is unbelievable. What will yours be if you were to not be here tomorrow? What would people say about you? I hope that if that time comes for me, it's half as good as what this has been for Dustin. Lots of respect, lots of love to his family. We're praying for you both the personal family and the Apple family. We love you guys. Thanks for being here today, guys. I'm sure we're going to be thinking about it tonight. Like, what are we. What are we doing every day? Will that be like on that day?

Yeah.

Thanks, everybody, for hanging out here on Facebook live with us here at Contractor Coach Pro. Love you guys, too. That's what we do here. Love serving care. However, we can help with this. Reach out to me directly. We'll step in. We'll do what needs to be done. That's it, folks. We'll catch you next time.