Each Is One Own

Hey, this is Tim Pratt Jr. and I want to welcome you to the Student of Flight podcast. Listen, we're going to get into so many transferable truths throughout the content of these episodes that I believe God is going to use to help you apply, because he's going to reveal what's already been there the entire time. Enjoy. What's up everybody? So listen, this is not season 4, this is just one more bonus episode. I know season 4 was slated to drop last month, you know, this fall. I didn't due to some personal professional things that's going on. Nothing really bad, uh, you know, just some things going on that had me to push it back because I do want Season 4 to transition into more collective voices with me interviewing and things like that. So Season 4 will be coming January 2021. I wanted to drop this bonus episode, Each Is One, on Each Is One on because I found myself saying that a lot. And so I'm going to really try to unpack this with the grace of God in about 15 to 20 minutes, just to kind of really help you see why I say that a lot now. Because I used to say it and be like, whatever, because I just didn't feel like going back and forth. But now I see that it's not really even going back and forth, and it's not so much as that we always have to agree or disagree, or we don't even have to agree to disagree. It's just that each is one of them, meaning that that's the way you see it, I don't believe that you're right or wrong, and it's the way I see it, I don't believe I'm right or wrong. It's not that you're better than me. It's not that I'm better than you. That's what I want you to see the length of this episode. So I talked to 5 friends over the course of these last— this last week, um, and, you know, 3 are like very like personal friends and then 2 professional. And, um, you know, it ranged from just us in our careers, how we see things, what we're trying to transition to And what I noticed in it— I'm not going to name their names, and I'm going to make some points. And you know, I'm not trying to offend anybody in this one because this is just what I believe. So I want to take my time and like I said, really unpack this but get to the point. From my perspective, I've just gave you my definition of each one of them. Now what I do is that I'm a podcaster. I love to podcast, like create content. You know, minister of the gospel. Uh, I'm a senior technical project manager. And outside of that, I'm a husband, which is my most important one, you know, outside of a disciple for God. I'm a husband and I'm a father, you know. I coach my boys, uh, with my wife, you know, things like that. We volunteer. So it's a lot of things that I, I do. And you can get into transition to who I am And in a nutshell, I just say, hey, who I am is just a child of God out here, just, you know, trying to do the will of my Father. It's not always easy and it has its challenges, but, you know, in a nutshell, who I am is who God called me to be, who God made me to be. What we do, I do believe, is important. Like, you know, it's quotes out there to say, I am not what I do. Well, I get that, but a lot of stuff when it comes to me, I do believe that who I am influences a lot what I do. I'm seen in what I do. And so I get the gist of that comment, but I, I really love a lot of things I do. You know, for example, I'm dedicated to leadership and management books. I love studying leadership outside of the gospel. It's my favorite topic to study And I am— I will study the same thing over and over and over. I believe in leading people by serving them, and I believe in following. I believe in being mentored. I believe one of the greatest, the greatest testaments to our leadership is how well we follow. And now, if I had time, I would unpack this with Jesus. And, you know, just to— I'm not going to go there. I'm gonna say that for season 4, but I will unpack that even with using Jesus, Paul, people in the Bible, as well as just people that you see in everyday life to today. And so with me kind of going back to those conversations, you know, I think that some of us, you know, all of us, I think two of us that I know of out of the five of us, two of them, uh, have their master's degree. Uh, one is like, I think, more certified and kind of like a lot of coding and, uh, things like that. Like coding and software development and things, you know, certain stuff like that. One is certified in project management, uh, they have their PMP— no, Agile Project Management certification, and, um, just recently got that. And oh, they also have their PMP. So, and then I have another friend that's, um, I think he's a CAPM, but he's in transition to a PMP. And then I have two that— one is just two certifications and a certificate, and then I believe the other one is an associate's degree. I think that's right. Then myself, uh, I have a few degrees and, uh, one certificate and one certification. No one— all of us, all of us, because I, I don't want to give their names up and share too many details, so I'm just— never mind, I'm gonna transition. But the point is that all of us are striving. None of us think that we're better than each other from my perspective, but we all know that we are different than each other. And so with me, the reason why I like to say, going back to this, each is one, own is one, is that when I talk to them, if we're not careful, and I think this just comes from, you know, just we all know how to talk and, you know, collective friendships. I think 3 of us was just on the call the other day. Talking about, like I said, where we're transitioning, what we're trying to get to, our end game and stuff like that, is that I'm starting to realize that, you know, for example, we were talking about podcasts and books, and one of them had recommended a podcast to me. And I kind of learned this from ET just over time, what I had to do. And I was like, so I listened to it, and they asked me, I was like, man, they hit me back up, and they was like, man, what you think about that? And, you know, I, I was like I struggled to get through it, for real. That was very good content, but I struggled to get through it because although I'm kind of in that phase of life, I believe God is transitioning me out of that. Now, I'm not gonna say what it was or anything like that. I just believe that I'm transitioning out of that. Now, does that mean that I'm better than them? No, it doesn't. Because I've done the same. I've recommended books to them and they was like, yeah man, that was a pretty good book, but you know, I, I think, man, I'm, uh, I think I'm gonna kind of like, you know, transition to reading something else. And at first I used to be like, well dang, because I really love the book, like just straight up, I really loved it. So E.T. made a point, he was like, when people come ask me, man, what book are you reading, he, you know, kind of goes back, what season of life are you in, or what's your next move, what do you feel like your next move What are you just coming up out of? Because what I'm reading might not be as impactful to you depending on your experiences or what you're dealing with and so on and so on. So I was like, wow, I never really looked at it like that. So I started looking like having conversations through those lens. So with me now, I'm just like, you know, I was like, man, just don't be defensive. Like, learn more about where they are, why they feel that way. Versus just a statement that they're saying and taking that statement alone for full face value. Because I can't take a statement for just the full gospel of what they're saying without knowing a little bit of background. For example, I can look at a passage of scripture and stay with 6 or 7 verses and maybe a few supporting verses for almost 2 hours. Whereas somebody else might look at that and be like, this is what I got out of it. And they got a very great revelation, very content, you know, the context is right and everything, and they might go on with their life. But they also might not be a teacher or preacher of the gospel, more so in like pastoral type ministry. Doesn't make them better than or less than, than me. I might have that calling and assignment on my life where I'm saying, okay, you don't understand that. Like, you might be looking at me and saying, dude, I feel like you spending too much time in that text, you should move on to something else. Where I might have to say, well, man, listen, in 30, 40 minutes, you know, Spirit-led, of course, don't want to put a time on God, but let's just use an example. I have 30 to 40 minutes to speak to a group of people, and I believe that Spirit is leading me to dig even deeper in this text. It's not that I'm more smarter than you or I'm more filled— that's not what I'm trying to argue or anything like that. It's just saying that I have a different calling and assignment on my life, so I need to spend more time and being dedicated to this text where I'm feeding on it and not just reading it. So it's different. Like I say, it's not that I'm better than or they're worse than me or vice versa. That's not what it is. It's just different calling, different assignment, different experiences. Each is one of them. Like I say, they don't have to agree with me, I don't have to agree with them. Get that gaming. My boys, nephews and stuff, they, they love Fortnite. They play the game, they're great at it. I used to play the game a lot, you know, like a lot of strategic games, especially sports games. But truthfully, outside of like little the Switch, like Mario Kart here and there, you know, Halo with my boys, or jumping on Fortnite with them here and there. But I'm talking about just dedicating, like one, like dedicated to it. I personally feel like playing the game a lot is a waste of time. A lot of people would disagree with that. A lot of gamers, a lot of YouTubers and stuff that make their living off of this, doing way better than I'm doing financially, whatever it might be, they can say, oh no, I totally disagree with that. Each is one own. I'm— I don't make money from it. I don't just— I spend my time podcasting, I spend my time reading a lot of books, I spend my time, you know, managing a lot of projects. My family life, you know, most importantly in my walk with God. I'm a— outside, like I say, outside of, uh, being a minister, you know, a senior technical project manager, uh, I'm a child of God, a husband first, father, and then, you know, everything else, my family, everything else. So with me, I just believe that the things that I do, I— it's more beneficial for me to spend time reading, talking to my mentors and coaches and things like that versus sitting up playing a game. That's just me. Am I saying that people that play the game are bad? No, that's not what I'm saying at all. Like I say, if I got a friend right now that's building a YouTube subscriber base, and he's actually included in one of these group of 5 people that I was talking about, he's building a gaming platform that's been in the works for a long time. I wouldn't dare tell him that, man, that's a waste of time what you're doing. He's building it. Now, for me, in my life, I feel like it is— I wasn't called to do the same thing that he was doing. I wasn't called to do it the way he's doing it. So we just have to be very careful. So I— that's why I say, to me, I just like— I don't see the value in it like a lot of other people. One of my favorite communicators and pastors of the gospel is a devoted gamer, but he's very articulate in all of this stuff across the board. He's a devoted gamer, you know. He said, man, I— now his devoted game might be way different than somebody else. He says that he still finds a way to devote about 10 to 12 hours a week on gaming. He's like, that's what I do, that's what I love to do, it's my relief, you know, outside of working out and all the things I do. You know, he's a prominent pastor and things like that, very well-known, respected pastor. I still disagree, but I still learn a lot from him, so on and so on, because each is one own. So the point that I'm making is that, you know, whether, you know, in this same pastor— matter of fact, let me just, let me go back, put it in reverse and park there for a little bit. Um, he launched this platform thing called, uh, this New Schooling thing that I believe the registration just closed. And, you know, he's very respected with the Princeton Seminary and things like that, and, uh, has his master's and doctoral degree in it. And, um, you know, so he launched this program to kind of help people grow in their faith, 90 days, 90-day program. And people was asking him, well, shouldn't he just go back to seminary, you know, blah blah, if you're going to do this and this and that. And he was just— he said One of the first questions I asked before, when people say, should I just go get this certificate or should I go to seminary school? One of the first questions he say he asks is that, do you want a degree or do you want an education? Do you want a degree or do you want education? Do you want a degree or do you want education? Because before we can move forward in this conversation, what is your endgame? And especially as a project manager now, in the way I communicate It took me 3 years to just kind of get to this concept. What is your end game? I understand all the project planning, I know the 5, all that type of stuff when it comes— I understand a lot of the leadership laws and principles, but how, how I get to it is the key. You know, for example, it was a parable out there that, uh, there was a guy and, you know, he was managing his factory and stuff like that, and this is— they kept hearing this rattling sound. And they called this guy out, and the guy came out. He listened for about 15-20 minutes, and, you know, no one could fix it. The guy in the factory had over like 100-some people within the shop. They tried to look at— they kept adjusting things and tweaking, and they ended up spending a lot more money. I think they were saying like they spent like $30,000 in wasted time, you know, as far as cost. And so he called this guy out there, and this guy was like, he came out there for like 15, 20 minutes, just listen, listen, listen. And he tapped the spot and wiggled something or something like that, and the sound went away. And the guy was like, you didn't even do anything. Like, you didn't do anything. Like, you just— we've all done way more work than that. And he was like Oh, let me hold on. Wait, so he gave him a bill of $10,000, and so he was like, yeah, he was like, I'm charging you a dollar for what I did because I really didn't do nothing, but I'm charging you, uh, $9,999 for knowing where to, where to tap. None of you all didn't, so it was the experience. So you might say, I'm not trying to get into a whole debate about how much and all that type of stuff. The point that I'm trying to make is that a lot of times in life you don't know what someone experienced, the collective experience they went through. Like I said, I worked at a manufacturing company and then I transitioned to a small software company. I have— haven't worked for Google, Amazon, Microsoft, or I haven't worked for like bigger manufacturing companies like Georgia-Pacific and, you know, Toyota and all this type of stuff. Toyota is very big on— they one of the ones that champion the whole lean the, uh, Six Sigma stuff and, you know, lean production management and stuff like that. I haven't worked for them, so I'm pretty sure I would see leadership and project management through a different lens if I started out working for them versus working for Molex. If I was working for Google, Facebook, Amazon, you know, Apple, I probably would see software development through a different lens than I see it working at a small company. A very small niche company, you know. Now I'm transitioning to a bigger software development company because we're merging, we were acquired. So even they do things different. A lot of the core stuff is the same, but they do things different. So now I'm having to readjust. And the reason why I believe that, by the grace of God, outside of the grace of God, I'm successful in like project management leadership and things like that is because my dedication to the field. Only thing I have is a fundamental certification in Scrum And I have a certificate in the Fundamentals of Project Management from the University of Virginia that was both paid for by the employer. Now I got this self-study one that I recommended, a friend recommended to me, like SFC or something like that. So I guess you like— I mean, I don't really count that one, but if you want to say 2 all in, 2 plus 1 plus my degrees, you can. Can I go get a Certified Scrum Master certification, a Certified Product Owner, PMP? I can go to write up a letter right now and go have my job to justify me taking the PMP boot camp. Uh, I, I believe that depending on what I've heard in some of the boot camps, some are better than others. Um, I've seen people with no project management experience whatsoever and they go to like a PMP for like 5 days, PMP boot camp, um, and they literally just teach them over and over and over. They grilling, they are literally preparing them not how to necessarily do project management, but the end game is to prepare them to pass a test. Now, you do have people in there that I believe that can decipher and say, yeah, I understand you was helping me pass a test, but you also helped me do project management. It all comes back to the person. So you have the intent of this— a school, a certification program a mentor, a coach, you have their intent, and then you have the intent of the person. So right now, you know, I was— before this pandemic hit, I was supposed to go to the Scrum Alliance, which is the, like, the equivalent to PMI, and, uh, take their Certified Agile Leadership things where they basically teach you Certified Scrum Master, Certified Product Owner, and then Agile Principles. They teach you those over a 2.5-day intense workshop going about 9 hours a day, and then you take a test and you do a presentation at the end. And some people, you know, some people do it the other way. I was going to do that one, you know, but the pandemic hit. I didn't go. Uh, I might, I don't know, like now I kind of like, I'm like, I kind of want to, I kind of don't now. But the point that I'm making is that I very well had the intent to say, hey, I never really have been trained and developed under coaches and mentors. Like, just everything outside of the, the self-certifications that I had, you know, and really got from my last employer before this one has been self-taught, self-education, learning on the fly, learning under other certified Scrum Masters and PMPs. That was like, okay, I just want to go see what other people in the industry has to say about it. Because I wanted to learn. I want to broaden my horizon and things like that in the field because I want to make contributions to it. I'm dedicated, but at the same time, I'm also dedicated to leadership. When I was in drafting and engineering— and I'm going somewhere with this— I, um, yes, I— you can say leadership is influence, and I could have led there and all of that type of stuff. I get that. But I was limited in that role. So I was looking for a role to say, okay, these are my skills, this is what I believe that I'm called to do. Project management is a vehicle. Project management allows me to nurture and cultivate these skills more. I still have to know about project management because that's the profession, but at the same time, it allows me to nurture and cultivate, like I just said, those project— I mean, those leadership skills. So now I'm in a situation where, you know, I've been in this for about 3 and a half years. You can say 4 and a half if you include kind of the last part of my Molex career when I kind of transitioned to more of like a coordinator role. So altogether you can say about 4 and a half years of project management experience. And I've seen a lot of waterfall and I've seen, of course, a lot of agile and more so, you know, we used the Scrum version of it. Uh, like I say, a lot of times people— and just for clarity, Scrum is a part of Agile, but a lot of times people try to use Agile and Scrum interchangeably where they're not. They're not. So like, a company can do Agile and never do Scrum is what I'm trying to say. So the thing is, is that when it, when it came down to it You know, I had a friend that was mentoring me and stuff like that. He's not even in project management anymore. I also had another lady that was mentoring me that I asked, I said, should I get my master's or should I get my CAPM? And she was like, I think you should get your master's first. I didn't get neither. I didn't go back and get neither of them, either of them. I just chose to focus on the agile thing. Transiently, it worked out. You know, I prayed. That's why I felt like God was leading me. It wasn't that she was right or wrong. I just believe that's where God was leading me. Each is one own. Each is one own. Go back to kind of the beginning of what we just said, and I'm about to try to really wrap this up because we look like we're at 21 minutes. It's not about agreeing or disagreeing. Like I said, with the whole gaming thing, it's people that make a lot of money off of it. I think I get this example with my oldest son. You know, our youngest son is— he's in the Development League. We work with him a lot. He goes to practice with his older brother. But if my wife and I put our oldest son in basketball camps and all this type of stuff, you know, AAU and all of this, but he didn't have the dedication to really make a stride and a difference. No matter what we put him through, I just believe that he's not going to do as good. Yes, he's going to have a high IQ, he's going to learn a lot by default because he's around these things and he's in them, but he has to have the dedication and the intent. And that's the same way I look at people when they ask me, should I go back to school? Should I go get a certificate? Should I go get a certification? What is your endgame? What do you need? We are in different walks of life. Like I said, it's not that I'm better, and it's not that you're better than me. It's not that I'm more knowledgeable than you. It's not that I'm— you're more knowledgeable than me. We all have collective experiences, each is one own. We all have been called. God knows what he's called you to do. He can instruct you on that. I can't. I talked— like I talked with the Bible, the call on my life, the way I approach the Bible. So we have to learn how to look at things, you know, like I said, kind of going back to these 5 people that I was talking to. All of us are in different walks of life. All of us have different end games. All of us are transitioning to different things. It's not that we are better than each other. Or somebody is worse than each other. It's just the calling and the season of life that we're in. So it's certain things that I might read in a book that I really need right now that's preparing me for a season that I might be transitioning to. You might not need those things. You could be getting them from something else. You could have already been through them. You could have learned them. Life could have taught you those things. I might need a book to be taught I'm still probably going to go through, but once again, each is one own. Each is one own. So it's not saying don't be teachable, don't be coachable, don't be reachable, and things like that. It's just saying that I have to understand the season of life that I'm in, the season of life that I have came out of, and the season of life that I might be going into. Each is one own. What you're doing might not be for me, and what I'm doing might not be for you. And this is what I learned And I had to do this episode on the fly when I was just kind of collectively talking to, you know, uh, like I say, my friends and some professional relationships that I had over these— this last week. We have to really consider that, you know. And the last thing I'll leave you with, you know, like I say, with me outside of being, you know, a disciple of God, being called by God, a husband, father, and just, you know, a son, and so on and so on— I love what I do. I really do. I get to podcast, I get to preach the gospel, an opportunity to pulpit, um, you know, minister, work with a lot of behind the scenes with church. I'm a very behind the scenes person, and I get to do project management and, you know, and get to use my leadership gifts. And, uh, one of the biggest reasons that I believe that helps me become a better leader is because my dedication to follow and submit. And that's a whole nother thing. I can really unpack Jesus with that one, but I'm gonna leave that for season 4. But submitting to authority that's been governed and delegated over me, and you know, and also even in the worst leader, I'm still learning leadership because I'm learning what not to do, what not to say. Even in the worst leader, it's— I believe it's always something that you can learn. And so as well as when you have a great leader, you know, the Bible talks about— I believe it's in Proverbs— that we rejoice in I can't remember like the exact way I said, but we rejoice when it's good leaders and we mourn when it's bad leaders. But the point is in that passage of scripture is that even in my mourning, I'm learning, okay? I'm mourning that like, wow, this sucks, man, this is such a bad leader. But I'm also learning what not to do. But then when I have a great leader, this model, I'm like, man, I really— I'm learning a lot what to do. So whether it's this person is PMP, whether they're a development lead whether they're a certified Scrum Master, whether they're a, uh, a pastor that went to seminary or a pastor that didn't. Because just because you went to seminary, you could be very skilled in knowing the word of God but not live the word of God. So you can be very skilled in the written word but miss the living word, like the Pharisees. The Pharisees had all the credentials, but it amazes me how Jesus chose men that didn't have them. And they the ones that turned the world upside down. Now, does that say you need to denounce your credentials if you worked hard for them and things like that? No, I'm not saying that. Let's go to Paul. He was Saul. He was just as credentialed, but he still turned the world upside down because he submitted his credentials to God. He submitted, saying that all of this stuff that I have, it don't mean nothing. And that's how I am. I tell people all the time, man, what you see. Yes, I, I'm dedicated to intellectual things and stuff like that. I love— like, we have to study. We— the Bible even tells us in the word, like, study to show self-approval. You know, as a workman, we know the passage of scripture. Study to show ourselves not approval unto man, not approval to anybody. I don't study or go get things to approve myself to man. I do it because I believe in scripture, and I believe that I'm doing it because I believe God is going to help me use that. He's going to put the necessary favor on my life to help me be better, to help me get into certain areas and things like that. So with me, I'm very confident through the power of God and what he has called me to do, how I get there. I have talked to people that are very credentialed. I don't care if they have a seminary degree from the best school. I don't care if they are a certified Scrum Master, certified Product Owner, Agile Leader. Like I just said, I have literally seen boot camps. I know people, I have people that I'm connected to, I've sat down and had coffee with where they have like, man, I had to get the certification because I had to get in the industry, but they don't know a lick about project management, applied project management, and they literally forgot everything they did. But they went to a boot camp and they were trained how to pass a test. Let's just be real, this is the world that we live in. But that doesn't mean that all PMP people are like that. But it also doesn't mean that all PMP people or certified Scrum Masters— it's certified Scrum Masters too, Agile people— it doesn't mean that they know what they're talking about. That's just the truth, because it's all about intent. How many people you know have doctoral degrees, master's degrees, bachelor's degrees, but they still say a lot of stupid stuff? And you're like, how in the world did you get it? It just— Creflo Dollar said something that was so real, and I'm gonna leave you with this. Your education does not make you smart. It just shows that you had the necessary discipline. Your education does not make you smart. It just shows that you had the necessary discipline. That's all I'm saying. So what are you dedicated to in addition to your discipline? What are you dedicated to? Each is one own. If you don't hear nothing else, each is one own. It's not that you're better than or worse than them. And vice versa. You're just different, and there's nothing wrong with being different. Hey, what's up? I want to thank you for taking the time to listen to the Student Life Podcast today. If this content has impacted you in any kind of way, please take some time to share it on your social media feeds. And also, if you want to connect with me or just learn more about me, go over to www.timothyprattjr.org. Once again, thanks.