Bus Obayomi

Guiding conversations with community leaders.

In this podcast, we'll explore the human journey of leaders, their stories of humility, triumph, roadblocks, and lessons learned. Come join us as we journey together and uncover the questions you've always wanted to know. This podcast is brought to you by the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce, providing resources, connections and belonging for business professionals and modern moments.

An event and meeting venue in the heart of Gilbert. So, do you know who's rolling in the house today?

I've got a pretty good idea and I'm excited to speak to you.

The bus is in the house.

Get on the bus.

Here we go.

All right. Our guest today is an emerging leader in our community. As a young child, he lived in Nigeria, but moved to New York City as a teenager shortly after 9 11, which changed the course of his life and appreciation for his country. Ten years ago, he and his wife took a leap and moved to Arizona, and they are now raising their family here in Gilbert. He is a wonderful family man, professional, and a graduate of the Gilbert leadership program.

Class 25.

Please welcome bus Obeyomi.

There we go. Bus, welcome to the show.

Oh, thank you. Thanks for inviting me. It's good to be here.

It's great to have a fellow classmate on board today as well.

The best leadership class that they've ever had.

I forgot my rule of no more Class 25 members on the podcast.

Well, that's too bad, because here we are.

You guys are trying to replicate class 25 with all these new classes, but it's never happened because it's just such a legendary class.

Do you know you guys really tried to live up to class 21, and I understand it's hard to beat the class of the century with that.

Let's go to what we call rapid fire.

Would you rather find your dream job or win the lottery?

Find my dream job.

Bus, what is your guilty pleasure?

Playing video games? Yeah.

Would you rather host a party for all of your friends or enjoy a dinner for two?

Host a party? I'm the dj. I love hosting people.

All right, Bus, what's on your nightstand?

A couple of books. Yeah, and I love to write journals.

Last TV show you binged.

I don't watch TV that much, so pass.

So it was the Kardashians.

It's okay.

No, no, I never watched the Kardashians.

Well, let's go to this one then. Fill in the blank.

Yeah.

Success is.

Success is a testament to your character. Success is perseverance. I do believe that for you to be successful, you have to endure. You have to persevere you have to be resilient. That's what I define as success. It's not more of the outcome. It's more of the journey that comes from it because that's what molds your character. So that's how I see success. It's enjoying the journey.

Fantastic.

What comes out of it. Yeah.

I like the blank.

All right. Okay. What song makes you smile?

You know, I love old school songs. I love Johnny Cash occasionally. And there's this random song I love to listen to. Don't Worry, Be Happy. Just love to dance.

Everybody knows that one.

Yeah.

Whistling it.

Yeah. It's just I have an old soul and I think that's what people don't know. I kind of long for, like, old school music because kind of maybe that's my guarded pleasure too, that people don't know. I just love to listen to old school Cat Stevens and songs. That's pretty random in my taste. Yeah. So, yeah.

That's awesome.

Bus. Are you more cautious or bold?

I'm pretty bold. I agree. Yeah. I get over the details and I just go.

What is your favorite rainy day activity?

Sleep. Yeah.

You don't sleep much. It doesn't rain much here.

No, it doesn't. It's really. That's been occasional, but we had a storm like a couple of months ago that was staying indoor. I think that's a good one. And most importantly, just having fun with the kids, playing around. Yeah.

All right, last question. Here we go. Ready? What is one thing, only one thing you are grateful for?

For family? I have so many things. Yeah, I was gonna say life, but grateful for family. I won't be here without just, you know, people keep me grounded. So then I'm very grateful for that too.

Awesome.

My wife and kids. Yeah.

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Learn more@dignityhealth.org Arizona all right, sir, so let's start this conversation about the beginnings. I always like to go to the beginnings. Tell us about your journey in the beginning. Obviously, you weren't in the United States when you started. Right. So talk about that life and what that was like. And growing up.

Yeah, absolutely. So a little backstory. I was born in Lagos, Nigeria. It's a big city. Grew up in kind of a really small community there. I left when I was 14. My parents left four years before we moved here. Just American story where your parents could move to a different place for a better life. But my case was we just. We mostly had, like, uncles and aunts that lived with us. But our parents were not around for four years. They came in during the Christmas and then they went back mostly just to. Because they won the lottery and were able to come to the United states in the 1990s. So they came here to prepare a place for us to come back. And they come up with this challenge where we're so young and living in a new country. I mean, living in a different country. So, yeah, I was there for 14 years, and I moved to New York City as a teenager, and I think I was excited to move to United States to be with my parents, because I felt like we, you know, we're just distanced for a long period of time, for four or five years. Right. So it was nice we connected with them. So moving back, I lived in New York City. I think pretty much my milestones was kind of living in New York, coming from Nigeria, went to a public school in New York City. Winter challenges. I tell people I went to three different high schools in three years because, yeah, going to like, the Auburn struggle. I lived in the Bronx with my parents, so the first high school was an interesting experience. I think there was a shooting there, and we just crazy finding a good school. And then I went to my second school, which was Stevenson High School in New York City there. Then it wasn't the best of experience too. I think I kind of got jumped and my friends like, okay, we need to get you out of here. So my last high school was Lehman High School, which that was where I graduated from. But one of the lesson there was just being resilient and growing up in a pretty tough environment too, in New York City, coming from a different country and trying to adapt. So you have to kind of, yeah, you have a lot of pressure, right. One aspect is you're trying to adapt to a new country, and at the same time, you're also trying to. You find yourself in a culture not the numb, but it was just a pretty open experience. A lot of the kids there were. I think the teachers were more focused on making sure the kids do not end up in jail than actually graduating. But that was. I think that was more the moment But I think I. I knew I wanted more for my life. I was very focused and I think I had parents who kept me grounded, had my faith, and I think with that I was able to navigate kind of a tough teenage years in New York City.

So, yeah, I'm curious, going back before you made the move, what did you anticipate and what were you feeling in terms of your expectation before you moved to New York?

Yeah, I think, I mean, a lot of like what we knew about America was through movies. I mean, my parents were here. I mean, I wanted to connect with my parents and I wanted to be in the. I mean, I was pretty young, but I just wanted to. I was looking forward to move back and a lot more just, you know, stable society. And I was looking forward to that. It was unfortunate that came around.

You got that out of the movies, right? That we were stable here?

No, that was the movie picture. I mean, until I got here and then I ended up in the Bronx. So that was a different story. So I had a good picture. But then I got here and I'm like, I want to get out of here, go anywhere.

I can only imagine that would be an eye opening experience.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, yeah, just, you know, I think most importantly was just meeting with my parents, being just the same place with your parents and your siblings together and doing life together as a normal family.

What did your parents do back in Nigeria before they came here?

So, yeah, good. So my mom, my dad was an architect back in Nigeria. My mom was a schoolteacher out there. So my dad traveled a lot. He was kind of traditional architect. They have plans and all that stuff. Then they would ask me, what does your dad do? I would tell them, my dad is an artist. Because it was always painting and drawing stuff. And it didn't make sense to me. Cause I was like, he's always drawing houses and homes and structure. But, you know, it got to grow. You know, he was, he was an architect. He had plans and now you can do that digitally. So. Yeah.

Are you an artist?

No, I'm not. I'm not an architect. I did not study anything architecture. I mean, I wish I spent a lot of time at the same time. When he left and they kicked out my mom was. You know, maybe that would have been moment for me to have picked up, you know, his creativity and all that stuff. But I don't. I don't think I did. But he also had other passions too. He was very active in the church we were going to when we were younger. I think we Got that he was also very involved in his local community. I mean, when I was younger, he ran for office in Nigeria when we were younger then. And it was a very interesting time when he ran because he ran in an opposing party for a local office. And at that point, the politics there, it was a do or die. So they were killing people within, you know, like locally for anybody to run within that party. And for me, I was just excited. My dad was running, so I was telling people, my dad is part of this party and my mom is like, you're gonna kill us. Even keep telling people. Because then, you know. But it was an interesting. So, yeah, all the passions I think we picked up on, even with my siblings as well, I think it's more just leadership overall was something I picked up.

What was the biggest cultural difference you've noticed from there to here, Nigeria and America?

There's a lot of differences, I think the sort of family structure. So we think of family as, you know, like your. Your. Your husband, wife and kids. I think over there, you know, just random people become family. Like, you know, uncles would come to your house and they would just easily just integrate as a family. They not really differentiate as much, or aunt or. So you have all this bunch of people like extended family members that come in and live with you, and somehow they don't even respect the fact that it's your house, but they act like it's their house because they start making you do the dishes for them or whatever, clean their shoes, whatever.

But yeah, that's, that's because you were a kid and they were just telling you what to do, right?

Yeah, yeah, because of my kids. But. Yeah, but that was an interesting experience. But some cultural differences between there. But I'm not sure how much I can infer from my experience there. But I do think a lot of my milestones were here. Growing up in New York and going to college, Upstate New York, which where I graduated from. And then I moved to Arizona.

What did you study there?

My undergrad was political science and I minored in sociology. And my intent was to be to go to pre law. I mean, it was in pre law. My intent was to go to law school. And I knew I wanted to get involved in one way or the other, but I also did not want to stay in New York. From there I went to get my master's as well. But then Arizona was actually going to a law school here 10 years, over 10 years ago. But I knew I didn't want to pursue law anymore, but I just wanted Any reason to get me out of New York?

Sure.

So education kind of did that, and I'm glad to have chosen to be in Arizona. They think I got lost. When I tell people I live in Arizona, car broke down. I don't know.

My car broke down. You shared with us, though, the impact that 911 had because you had moved here just shortly after that. How do you think your experience was different? Because of the place our country was in at that time?

Yeah, it was a critical moment because everybody was talking about what just happened. I mean, it was like 15 minutes away from, you know, just, you know, the World Trade center. Just everybody was mourning. I think those. So it was a mixed feeling in terms of I was excited to reconnect with my parents, but also the mood of the nation during that period. I think that got me interested in American politics and absorbed myself into that. It was a period where I was considering, like, joining the military, actually. So my last year of high school, I was. I was actually. I just signed up. I was about to sign up for the army, you know, and all that, and Iraq. Afghanistan started. And my mom and my dad was like, hey, you know, join the military. And my mom is like, no, you know, if you want me to die, then go to Afghanistan. Because it was. It was. It felt like a dumb war during that period. So I was close to actually just, you know, getting recruited and joining, but that changed because of just the politics of things during that time. Sure, yeah.

So it's interesting, though, when you talked about your parents and your dad being an architect, your mom being a teacher, and then looking at your pedigree of all these degrees you have, you know, certified project manager, professional agile practice consultant, things like that. There's a lot of architectural influence there, teacher influence. Right. So certainly your parents had a big influence you on the direction and path you went. Who else kind of was in your sphere during that time that might come to mind?

So my parents definitely had an impact. A lot of my. My brother, in terms of just, you know, being poised, I think he was very driven and involved in a lot of things.

Older brother, younger brother, my older brother.

You know, he had a great impact. I think sometimes younger bonds just follow because we need a template. And I think he led. He had some good example, really, just, you know, he was really poised and pretty driven and ambitious too, and just a good guy overall. And I think that kind of laid the example of being resilient. Even growing up in New York was kind of more like, you don't have to become Your environment. You go beyond your environment. You don't. You can live in a place. You don't have to become it. You know, you build your character. You mold yourself to rise above where you live or wherever situations around you. And a lot of that, I got that from him. And fate, I think, is the biggest part of my life that kind of guided how I see and do things and. Yeah, and I think this build my character in a more deeper way than I can imagine as well. Yeah. And I think one of my earlier inspirations of different people through books, I mean, I read the. I had the autobiography of Frederick Douglass in the part of how he taught himself to write a freed slave and decided to start his own newspaper. Just do things by himself and not become a victim of the period he was in, but rise above that. So I think I've been able to get my inspiration from people who have overcome obstacles and kind of take the bull by the horn, if that's the right word, and shape their own destiny and build their own character. So those has been my inspiration and. And a driving force for the man I'm becoming and the man I am right now in terms of. Don't make excuses and just looking for ways to be the best version. The best version of yourself.

Yeah. And did you meet your wife. You met your wife in New York, right?

Yes, we did. Yeah. So little backstory. A friend of mine got married, so I was part of the groomsman, and she was part of the. The bright strain.

She caught the bouquet, didn't she?

Yeah, man. No, no. She was my partner that way then, so she was my partner. We were like. We just got paired up, and she liked me, and I liked that there was a connection there. But honestly, for a period of time with just organic friendship, because it was like mutual friends. So we kept a friendship for a long time. And there was a day she gave me a call, she was like, we've been a friends for a while. Where are we going in this relationship? Like, do you like me or you don't like me? So. And I had no other option. I was like, yeah, you don't like. You're the only person I care about. And I truly. I mean, even though I was focused on my career, but I was like, yeah, we. I want to take it to the next level. I just was waiting for the right time. I guess I was being too slow. So.

So you're saying she. Beyonce, you said put it right.

No, she did. No, she was. She called me out. She was like. I mean, is this friendship going somewhere or are we just talking? Talking? And maybe she was coming from a place too, because she had all the guys who were coming to her and she was like, I didn't like these guys, but I just needed a sense of direction of where we're going. So that was good.

Okay. And then you convince her, hey, yeah, we did.

I convinced her and say, hey, we want to be together. And then afterwards was when I moved to Arizona, she never been here. She's a homebody. She loves just be with a family. And she was living in Quint, New York. So I was on the other. She was on the other side of New York. But she didn't. She never thought of Arizona. I mean, nobody ever thought of Arizona actually on the east coast. But yeah, you know, and while I came here, it was like, hey, if I stay here for too long, somebody's going to take you away from me. So I had to propose very quickly. And then afterwards, two years after we got married and we started living, you know, she would join me here. So it was kind of my way of making sure I sealed the deal and I completed. Because guys are crazy.

Wait a minute, wait a minute.

So guys. No, no, no, not like New York. New York. New York guys like New York City guys. Like, even though she had the ring too, there was still guys that were like, but you're still not married. I mean, and he's over in Arizona. Who cares? Like, I like you.

I'm like, I get it, I get it.

Show some respect, you know, some territories.

I was just going to make sure you hid really understand crazy here.

Sarah. Sarah. Yeah, yeah. Not. Not like all guys, but like just the culture.

I understood entirely what your message was, and I agreed. Absolutely.

Yeah. Yeah.

But all right, so you get to Arizona.

Yeah.

That's brand new for you.

Yeah.

Where do you go? Who do you find? Who's helping you during that time of your life?

So I came to Arizona and I was in law school for a year. It's just, you know, just figuring things out. I think I was focused on school and it was intense too, the demand of that. But I wanted to implying to get married and all that. I realized I couldn't balance all that. So I. I took on the job, you know, at that point, because I was like, I can't continue with the law school and focus at the same time. And the time I went to start a family, it just wasn't working out. And I've been in school for a long time. I have a master's at that point. And so I transitioned and I also needed to get a job because I've always thought of myself working in the corporate world. However, the first job I got was in a warehouse because there was no other opportunities and I needed to feed myself, I needed to survive. So at that point, the priority was more survival. It was a more fancy job. So I was doing like a night shift. I was pushing cart. The interesting part was, you know, because I knew it was temporary, I was trying to stabilize. So I'll be pushing cart, but I would still have my blazer on. And then I'll go to a warehouse, dress really fancy. As you guys see, me and the guys there will be thinking, what the heck is this guy? You're in the warehouse, dude, why are you wearing your blazer? And it was more from a point of just kind of like, you know, certain things are just temporary. You're just. And also reminding yourself, like, okay, I'm a pre focused anywhere I'm going. Just kind of reminder of not forgetting yourself. But during that period, I think that's how I stabilized. I mean, I made some few friends along the way, but honestly, it was kind of figuring out things myself. And after that, and then I got into a corporate world. I got a job with Vanguard, so I was going to the financial sector for a while in insurance, if you remember. So, yeah, so there was a transition there. It wasn't easy. I think there were times where I was barely paying my bills. I was living in Phoenix. Yeah. Because I was in kind of like a gap period. But those are molded ym and those.

Are the times in life that actually build character and remind you what your priorities are.

Yeah, and those are the times too. You can easily, you know, you can easily forget yourself and, you know, just, you know, lose your self esteem, your sense of focus, your sense of direction, or these are the times you develop bad habits and that are destructive because you don't know how to maneuver and deal with life. And I'm glad I was able to kind of go through that, that experience and. And just build, you know, my character and just empathize with people and. And be, you know, put myself in people's shoes and know that look, it's. There's dignity in labor. No matter what you do, take pride in it. It's not all about, you know, it's not about what you're doing, but do something. And I think that's always a good start.

Yeah, I love that.

Yeah.

Okay, so now fast forward a little bit.

Yeah.

So now we're gonna go to Gilbert Leadership Class 25?

We could, but we've already been there, so. So I'm actually curious because as you established yourself in this community, you took the opportunity to run for a public office yourself. And what, what did that journey look like? Where did that inspiration come from?

Yeah, I think I kind of made some snippet like, of childhood and things of in my, you know, inclined. But I always. When I was in college, I actually was involved in student government. So I've had opportunities to serve. I was a school senator. And then somehow I became the school student government vice president. And I realized that I was able to thrive in those leadership. My personality, my friendliness, the kind of just, you know, the personality that I bring in was very unique. And I also delivered to make an impact. So my early experience in college was somebody calling me like one of the students, you know, in the middle of the line and was saying, hey, I bought this textbook and somebody didn't want to refund. The fact that I took actions and saw result that came out of that, it was refunded. So all that kind of just inspired me that, you know, to be able to solve people's problems, to be in that leadership position and knowing that that carries influence. And I think the aspect of influence provides result and just being that voice of reason and speaking on behalf of those who, for whatever reason, they just need somebody to be there for them. And I think that has been my inspiration ever since.

What did you take away from that experience?

Running for public office? Yeah, just the journey. Don't despise the days of humble beginning. And one, I mean, I talk about. You asked me a question about on the rapid fires, like am I bold or, you know, the other one. I think I tend to, if I have a passion, I just go for it. And I always feel like you bring, you know, you always bring something that's distinct that others don't have. You might think there are a lot of great people around that are way more qualified than you are or well experienced. But I think your passion, your care for the community. I think my care for people, my ability to connect on a personal level, my ability to want to know people well from the superficial. So all there's been a driving force. So me going through that experience has molded me. I would say the first time I ran, my first child who is five years old now, she was like few months in and I would go to like downtown Gilbert, she would be on a stroller and I'll be asking for signatures and at Some point, my wife was like, this is never going to happen again. You better find other people. I think you learned a lesson learned of like, you get to connect with people and also you get to understand the issues that impact the community. So I mean, I started with, you know, my little understanding from Gabriel leadership, but I think along the process, you begin to understand what's most important to the constituents that you're here to see and how do you beat the right voice? How do you make sure you're really focusing on what's most important? And I think that's the maturity part.

Well, and I think it says something that you're willing to actually get in the arena. Right. Like you're willing to put your time in and connect and learn. It's, I think, very easy to sit in the seats and share opinions. But not everybody's willing to actually jump in the arena. So.

Yeah, it's a ring. That's right. It's the ring. It is a ring.

Sorry, I, I see it as the Olympic.

Yeah, it is, it's, it's. You have to. No, I, I think it, everything molds you. Right. And I, I do think that people, if you care about community, you don't need to have all the answers, but be able to dive deep and see how you can solve problems.

Yeah.

So it's always I, I see things as milestones and journeys and the outcome might not be what you expected, but it comes in different ways. So being able to enjoy the journey and not be resentful and just see, see what's the best that comes out of it. And the relationships that you, you build along the way and appreciate people and see, you know, some people show up that you never know, like, you know, like out of nowhere. And you develop these relationships just being open minded and molding that as well. So. But if you ask my wife, she'll probably tell you different things. She's probably like, yeah, I, I don't want this anymore.

Different lens. Yeah.

No, but she's, she's been supportive and loving, so I think that's the, was most important.

Yes.

Yeah.

Well. And grace in the, in, in the journey and understanding that even if it wasn't what you expected, it was what was planned. And so that's okay.

Yeah. Believe in, lesson learned. Like you're, you, you have your passion for something and you know, sometimes you wait, you think there's a better time. I mean, look at us, class 25. I can't even believe that was so long time ago. And we're going, I'M going great here too. So I'm like, time is flying and Ben, you already look white hair now.

Yeah.

Looking like a grandfather. Now we can. Oh, but time flies and I think cherishing the times and I don't want to live in regret and look back and say, hey, I wish I've done this. I want to do it even if I didn't get a result. I really want to look back and say, okay, I've learned two things, three things that makes me a better person. So I don't want to live my life in regrets of why, why I didn't do it. It's more of a question of, yeah, I did it, I learned and I'm glad it's in the past.

I love that. Well, now you have time to serve on Gilbert leadership board, so we're looking forward to that.

I got recruited, I got.

You fell for the trap.

I know.

Ben's just hurt that we've never asked him. It's okay.

Yeah, really hurt, you know. So that's good though. I'm glad you're on that board because that, that's a great program and so I'm really proud that you're in that because that just shows that Class 25 continues to shine.

Absolutely.

Hey, but what's next? I want to know what's going on next. You got that? Where else? Where do you see yourself going now? What's going? The horizon.

You know, I have different pockets. I'm multifaceted. Right. You would seem from political realm and that's all they see. But if you see me from the faith realm, you that's all you're going to see. Right. But people knew me from church and they're like what's was this guy who's pastor like doing in politics? Right. So I read multiple hats and I, I, I'm also in the corporate world. Right. I work as a management consultant. So I, I, I do want to be able to drive from that lens and also just impacting people in the, you know, I really focused on take, you know, consulting aspect of things and being able to empower, inspire people and find opportunities in that sector, technology sector and also the kind of business rebuilding on the side and all that stuff. Yeah. I really do think it's not mutually exclusive. Everything is intertwined in my world and I'm trying to find a way to make sure to connect everything without conflicting in any way. So I think there will be a. You're going to see a lot of me give a leadership too. Kind of came in and I think I'm in a place of just place of rest and you've done the work. All the things will fall in place. Just working the pace of grace and just being yourself and keep doing it. Yeah, I'm really not going to spend my money on campaigns anymore for sure. I'm not doing all that. You know, it's my enjoy it. I feel like just enjoying the process of, you know, giving back and whatever I can do from the business side of things. That's my focus right now.

Fantastic.

Yeah.

Well, you're an important part of our community and I look forward to seeing how you serve in the future as well. It's been wonderful to speak with you today and get to learn more about you and I look forward to working with you more.

Yeah, it's such a pleasure, Sarah. I mean, you're amazing. I think I've gotten to know you throughout.

Wait, wait, wait. I think her head's expanding. Hold on, hold on.

Oh, stop. Stop it, Ben.

Thank you.

This Ben is troublemaker. Like, how did you endure? Like couple of podcasts.

He's been the best ride.

He's a difficult personality. I read a lot of books trying to figure out just how to manage this situation that we're in.

I would say the Ben was amazing for our class. I mean, he was the central in jw.

Even a broke clock is correct twice a day. So he had a good year.

No, it was, it was, it's a great class. I mean, everybody was amazing. I mean, you know, I can remember every single person doing amazing things for the community. So. Yeah, I look forward to working with you too, Sarah. I mean, just, I think your leadership is kind of just. I've been looking for a place to just get connected and stay connected to the community without having to go and like more like, you know, public office type. But I think your leadership is a great opportunity to stay connected and stay involved and see what, what goes from there.

So it's going to be awesome.

Appreciate it. Yeah, I'm excited.

You know, there might be people out here that are listening right now that have never heard of Gilbert leadership. This might be a good time to just kind of. How do you get involved in that, Sarah?

Yeah, so it's a wonderful program that's a deep dive into the community. It's a 10 month commitment, a competitive program and it just brings a lot of value to personal connection, but also really strong understanding of how our community operates. So. GilbertLeadership.com for more information.

Yeah, great. It's great. I really do think Gilbert Leadership was my stepping stone to overall, just, you know, just Gilbert as a whole. It was an immersion into, into Gilbert. Every facet of Gilbert, business, politics, every area. You get to understand Gilbert on a larger scale, on a bigger scope. So I highly recommend like that. It was my gateway to Gilbert from my point of view.

So do you have to be a unicorn like bus to apply for yourself or can anybody apply?

You have to live or work in the community or be an employee of a chamber member business. We usually have about 50 applicants a year and we only accept 25. So some people do come back a few years before they actually get in the program.

Okay.

Yeah.

Well, boss, thanks for being here, man. It's been great to connect with you. Thank you for all your story, sharing your story. It's, it's an interesting, very interesting journey.

I appreciate that. I do, I, I, and just there's a lot to talk about, but I, I, I, I love, you know, just, I have a lot of stories, a lot of things to share, but this is not the, the place for that. You're probably at some point, it's like, boss, we need to hand the podcast right.

We're gonna go hit the bar. Next story out.

Yeah. Or write a book.

There you go.

Yeah, there you go. All right, well, thank you.

Appreciate it.

All right, so if you like this episode, which I pretty sure you probably did, Sarah did, I think you should join our tribe and subscribe and get all these episodes coming right to your inbox. We appreciate you listening and thanks for joining us. Guiding growth conversations with community leaders.

Ben, let me ask you a question. How do you see other community members being involved in this podcast?

This is going to be a great opportunity for so many people in the community to have a chance to be heard if they want to tell their story or, or if they just want to be part of this journey with us and help sponsor it in a way that helps bring more people to the table with us. So I think there's many opportunities at hand. Whether you want to again be on the show. Reach out to us. Let us know what your story is and how you think you could be part of it. We'd love to hear from you. Reach out. Let us know and we'll see if we can make that connection. Sa.