Episode 8: Setting a remarkable expectation with Jason Schroeder- From finishing cement to smoothing out the edges in construction management.

SPEAKER_02 0:00

You are listening to the Learnins and Missteps podcast, where we intend to change the image of careers in the trade. Each of the inspirational stories is designed to celebrate the real men and women who have built careers in the construction industry and how they impact the world around them. These stories are brought to you by three brothers who share a mother. I am Jesse, your host. Our in-house writer is Ernest, aka LaVos. Hello. And our co-host is Renee. Y'all ready? Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Hey Jesse, what's in the mix with this new episode?

SPEAKER_02 0:38

Oh man, Ernest, this episode is super high energy. We got to interview Jason J. Money Schroeder, and he tells us his path of where he started in the industry as a cement finisher, and all the way through to now owning his own uh consulting business, and he's also a fellow podcaster. It was unique in that Renee seemed to be responding to any of the nuggets that Jason had to share. And that makes me hopeful that the rest of our listeners will get to take away some nuggets for themselves as well. Jason poses a challenge of reading one book a week for a year, and he's given us a list of 52 books for anyone who's willing or prepared to take on that challenge, and we'll include that list in the show notes. So you ready to check it out? Yeah, let's do this. All right, here we are with another episode. This time we are talking to Mr. Jason Schroeder, family man podcaster, stepping out into the deep blue yonder with his own organization. It was Elevate Construction. Is that correct? Yep, that's what it's called. Awesome.

SPEAKER_04 2:00

And thanks for having me on today.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

Oh, my pleasure, Jason. Thanks for being here. Yeah, it was nice connecting with you. I think we connected over LinkedIn, and that that rapidly grew into some back and forth. You offered some coaching and some insight that absolutely has helped us um get rolling with our own podcast, with our own crazy little endeavor over here. And then we have our co-host Renee Duran on the call. What's up? Mr. Formal. I love it. I love it. So so Jason, we'll get started with what do you want people to know about you?

SPEAKER_04 2:40

So what I want people to know about me are a couple things. When I was working at Hensel Phelps, about man, it must have been 18 years ago. It might it might even have been 20 years ago. I was working as a field engineer, and I was a part of helping to put my wife's father's business out of business. He was a he was a subcontractor, and we were uh so I probably shouldn't have named any name, but it was yeah, so basically it was it was a situation got bad gone bad. I'll blame myself, so let me do that. I'll so I don't get the situation in trouble. I'll blame myself for that. But I as a field engineer put my efforts towards documenting and uh accusing that company of of not installing the conduit right on this prison, and it really didn't work out well, and they weren't successful. And so ever that ever since that experience, I've had a mindset of two things. One, you know, we should really take care of our partners, our subcontractors. I learned that at an early age, and so I feel like it's the duty of I feel like it's the duty of general contractors to really take care of subcontractors. I call them trade partners now. And I also came up through the craft. So I was a cement mason and then worked into being a rodman and then a field engineer and then worked my way up through the uh through the trade really. Never went to to a university and got a degree. So I have a high respect for the anybody out there who's in any kind of a position as a craft worker, as a craft professional, and feel like there needs to be, I don't feel like, I know that there needs to be a lot more respect for those wonderful people. I remember finishing tilt panels for a prison for uh the outside uh enclosure of the the tunnel forms, the tunnel cells, uh the prison cells, and uh we were then they would they tilt those up, and then inside the there's either a concrete cell that's um that's cast in place or masonry, right? And so as I was finishing those, as we went to go use the restroom, there would be porta potties without toilet paper, um, nowhere, nowhere to eat lunch, right? Just running us into the ground, concrete there five minutes after we're when we're it we're setting up, and I'm like, there's gotta be a better way to do this, and just remember lamenting that I'm tearing up my body. And so then I had a motivation to go become a field engineer and work my way up through construction management. But I want people who want to stay in those positions, which is just as glamorous as any other position, right? Oh, yeah, to feel to feel respected there and to be able to go do the best that they that they can do. Uh, last thought, my dad was a truck driver, he was a cement mason, or not cement mason, but a uh uh ready mix driver. Uh he he also was a cement mason, but uh he was a ready mix driver. He was the best darn driver there was. He was always an A driver, always kept his truck clean. He'd get out and help you uh, you know, grab the screen, grab the rod. Uh when people were placed in concrete if they needed help. He'd clean up the job site, he'd grab a shovel, you know, if somebody was needing he was the best truck driver ever.

SPEAKER_02 6:02

And so did you ever go on rides with them?

SPEAKER_04 6:05

I did. I did night. I I went on rides with him, I got to honk the horn, I got to help him, and I got to hang out in the batch plant uh for days at a time when I was a kid. So I saw how they batched it, and I was able to walk out in the batch plant and see how they loaded the trucks. So, so my point is is I want people to feel respected enough to where they can stay in their trades and be the best professionals they want to be. So there you go.

SPEAKER_02 6:33

Oh man, awesome. That is that is beautiful. That is a huge endeavor. It's evident that you are committed to that mission. How often do your colleagues or peers roll their eyes a little bit about that idea?

SPEAKER_04 6:47

That's a really neat. I've never asked been asked that question. I really appreciate you asking me that. I can't remember the last time that that happened. Thankfully, most of the time it comes in the form of we just don't know how to do it, or there's a budget in our way, or they don't see the vision, or we've just become accidentally and uh accidentally complacent. Because, you know, when I talk to most of the people that I talk to are foremen and supers and general superintendents or project managers, and then when we say, you know, hey, you can build nice bathrooms for people, or you can huddle with workers every day in the morning, or we can implement implement lean practices and we know how to do these things, they get fairly excited. The reaction that I get is a sense of, oh, this isn't hopeless. And then and then uh so okay, so this isn't bad mouth anybody because you all of us came up through the craft, right? But yes, I get I get rolling eyes from the craft saying saying that it's possible or that it's gonna change, and I think that's fair because they've been stuck with it for so long. Yes, I do want more of them, uh them, there's not them and us. Um when I say them, I mean them who are maybe a little bit um skeptical. I want the skeptical people to just give it a try when if we're on a job site or somebody's attempting something new. Uh, but I get most of the roll dyes from the craft because they have been disrespected for too long.

SPEAKER_02 8:18

Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, the trades, I came up as a plumber, 1995. My I'm a second generation plumber, and you know, now I I try to impart the experience of being a craft worker with with the individuals that I attempt to coach now. And and part of the message is you know, that all these trades folks are coming to your project with trauma. Meaning they've they have worked with other general contractors, other managers that that did not appreciate them and that did not treat them with any respect, that pit them against one another. Yeah, and so that's exactly what they're expecting. And when you come to them and say, hey, we're gonna make this a place where we're there we're communicating, it's our place where one team, they're like, Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what the other guy said. Um, so 100% agree with you, man. And and I applaud you for taking those efforts.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

That's cool. I mean, I've never heard it called trauma before, you know, because I I'm still in the field too, and then you know, a lot of the guys that we work with, our peers and stuff, they wouldn't call it trauma, right? It would be like, well, that's just the way it is, you know. And and it's like you gotta have thick skin to work here and stuff like that. But it's interesting to hear it called like trauma, you know, that that all these negative experiences is trauma, you know, and you you go to the next place or you go to the next, you know, higher up or whatever that's trying to help you, but you have that trauma, you know, and you're like, Well, I mean, let's see, let's see, you know, I that's that's where the rolling eyes come from, in my experience at least.

SPEAKER_04 9:56

I yeah, I like that analogy. I and I none of us like that it happens, right? And uh yesterday I was on a podcast with a guy named Charlie Dunn. He works at DPR, and we were talking about the contract, even the contracts are it's kind of like taking a bunch of people and that are good people, want to work together, want to be transparent, want to communicate, but we put them in different colored gang shirts and give them knives, and we we throw them, we throw them in a knife fight, and we're like everyone play nice, and they're standing around with their knives thinking, okay, well, what do I do now? I can either knife this guy or put my knife down.

SPEAKER_02 10:38

That's it's a hundred percent accurate, right? Because we'll go back to the contract, and you know how I I remember somebody saying, Hey, well, your contract, well, whatever. Like now, those are fighting words, right? Check your contract. Oh, really? I did check the contract, and guess what, superintendent? It says you have approval power not to exceed $500. So I'm talking to the wrong person. Now there's a fight. Yeah, uh, it's it's you I love that. Contracts is like arming people with knives. Everybody's wearing different color hard hats, and so we know which gang they're in. That's gold, man. That's gold for you.

SPEAKER_04 11:17

Well, I grew up in Southern California, so uh, I relate to that. You can relate.

SPEAKER_02 11:24

That's funny. Okay, so speaking of growing up in Southern California, what were your earliest career aspirations?

SPEAKER_04 11:33

When I was in high school, I hated high school so much that I just wanted to get out. The first the first job I ever asked for was to come work on a concrete crew, and they they did tilt-ups mainly, right? They did other things, but um I it I think legally, but it so I'll mention this because the statute of limitations is up on all this stuff. But the so I I went and got a job, lied on my learners or my uh workers' permit, got a job at 13 and a half, and ever since then just started working every free day that I had. And I I remember asking uh a family friend for the job, and it was caught it was in concrete. I was so nervous, I still remember doing that. And so I started cleaning tools and rolling cords and cleaning trucks and just work my way up from there. So I kind of just thought that's what I was gonna do. Oh, yeah, and so I I knew I'd be in construction. All for all I knew, I you know, I'd be 40 years old and still doing it. So I didn't really think about it. So I tested out early intentionally uh out of high school and started working when I was like 17 and a half and just started you know running with the motions, uh going with the motions there. I enjoyed what I do did, and I was very good. I was a very good finisher. When I got an opportunity, I actually hurt my shoulder, I overextending or you know, doing some things that hurt my shoulder on the on the project side. And so they said, Hey, please go help the field engineers, you know, go be a rodman, that's what they called it. And I would hold the rod or pull the end of the tape or whatever while they were doing construction, layout, and control. And I loved it, and I was like, wow, this is really neat, and and started to to explore opportunities to do that, and then was able to six months, six months later, actually be a full field engineer and work my way up to lead field engineer, then did some training, uh, then into a superintendent, project superintendent, general superintendent, field director, and then project director. And so that path was very kind to me, right? I didn't go to school. I remember buying a going into debt, buying a $3,000 computer, stealing AutoCAD, a boot cap a boot uh or a bootleg license of AutoCAD. And so my impression of of this is that I didn't know to answer your question directly, but I I fell in love with that field path in construction management. And so my quick message is that not only can that kind of accidentally happen to anyone, um, no matter their race or background or education or what they what language they speak, but it can also intentionally happen. And so I really do I like when I get onto a job site, I I feel like we're all equal. Yes, I feel like the person sweeping is is no different than I am, and that we're all on the same plane, and as such, if somebody chooses to stay in the trade, and I've said this before, but it's really important to me, or they choose to go into construction management, there's no differentiation of the classes in on my projects, and so I want people to know that they can make it. So there's a guy named Ramon Lugo Cruz, and and he's I love that guy, he came from Mexico, he actually did a couple years of school in Mexico. He came up here, didn't speak English. He was operating the hoist, and I don't know, I could just see something in his soul. I'm not bragging, I'm just saying, like, you know how you could see something, and so I challenged him to start doing night classes uh to learn English or to do whatever. After a month and a half, he was practicing English. So after two months, two and a half months, he was actually speaking English with me conversationally. We moved him from the hoist to be an apprentice carpenter, and then he was able to start doing more and more things, and then we got him behind the automatic level, then we got him behind the total station, and I gave him the book, the field engineering methods manual, and then there was a pharmacy project, it was a $20 million job, so one of the smaller ones, and we taught him how to do primary control layout, secondary control layout. Uh, we bought him a robotic total station. He had everything that he needed, he did all of the lift drawings, all of the coordinate file, our uh primary control files on AutoCAD. He learned Revit, uh Autodesk Revit, and now he is a professional field engineer and likely going to move move his way up through construction management. That was a year and a half from not speaking English to where he was laying out his own project. And I'm so proud of that because not only did he believe in himself, but it's it's proof that if you give people the right opportunities, they can thrive and succeed. So those are the paydays for me. And uh I didn't know what I wanted to do, and and somebody helped me, just like that little story about Ramon.

SPEAKER_01 16:25

It sounds like you haven't forgotten about the little guy, you know, the the little guy, right? You just said that you know, the guy even sweeping on on the job side, you feel like he's equal to you, right? And I was just having a conversation with my my foreman the other day, and um I would say he he's told me he sees something in me. He's he's told me countless times, like, you don't belong here, Renee. Like you're you're you're gonna be up there. You he says, when you got here, I made a joke that I'm gonna take over the CEO's spot, right? And he's like, he said, when you when I first talked to you and I first took you to the restaurant, you told me you were gonna take his spot. And he's a and he'll tell me, he's like, you that action that you did the other day, he's like, you're not gonna get there like that, right? That's how he corrects me, right? So I was having a conversation about that. I feel I won't forget about where I came from and the people that helped me get here. Because it's all been a team effort and guidance that they blessed me with that they didn't have to give me, right? And I don't want to forget about them. And he told me that he said that when you're when you're up there, when you make it to the next spot, you're not gonna remember us. He told me that you're gonna forget about me and you're gonna forget about your co-workers and stuff like that, and that's okay, that you have to step on people and stuff like that. And and I don't know, I just that just doesn't sit right with me. Like, what do you think about that?

SPEAKER_04 17:59

No, I feel like, and so your your foreman is that who you're talking to, your foreman?

SPEAKER_01 18:05

Yes, my foreman.

SPEAKER_04 18:06

So I think he's probably just being realistic from what he's seen. People have six human needs, right? Certainty, significance, variety, love and connection, but there's also two more uh growth and contribution, right? And I think a lot of people by accident follow the system, they become a part of the system, and the system is forgets people, and so once they're in that spot, they get two things they get certainty in their position, and they get significance in their position. And so by feeling like they're at a higher level of position and that others aren't, and that they're important, that feeds their human need for significance, right? So I think it just happens to human beings like uh by accident, and then by training, not by goodness on my part, but by training, uh, because I do a lot of coaching training and I I follow Tony Robbins and I do a uh like ten fifteen thousand dollars a year of leadership training. I'm always taught don't focus on certainty and significance, focus on growth and contribution. And if we get if we get our significant or if we get our our human needs met by giving to people and by contributing to them, then we can be better, wholler, uh happier human beings. And so I think that the the focus will be as you grow, Renee, and I I'm not, you know, you you know your own life, I'm not patronizing you, I'm just saying as you grow, the question will be do you get your kicks, you know, off of being important and being in a position, or by elevating others? And I, you know, from your personality, I bet it's gonna be by elevating others because it's actually pretty easy to do that, and it costs us nothing to elevate other people. And I was saying it the other day, and I'm just gonna enter the danger here. There are there are people in protected classes and minorities and women, it costs us nothing to elevate them. It it literally doesn't cost us a dime. And if it does, great, uh, let's spend the money. But it doesn't cost us anything to elevate those people and to celebrate when a when a woman or a minority or somebody in the craft or somebody without the the same background uh you know is is promoted and respected and paid well. I just love it. Back in the day, you and I, you got you remember, you remember, Jesse, back in the day 20 years ago, we weren't celebrating the promotions of women. We weren't celebrating the promotions of minority. That's gotta change. I feel like the more we get into the mindset of no, now you got to step on some people to to make some progress, which your foreman didn't say by being rude or being a jerk. It's just how life has been. I think we're gonna get it, we're getting quickly into the spot where, yeah, along the way, we were able to help a lot of people out. A lot of people came with me, and we were able to make a huge difference for the people didn't have the same opportunities. And just one other quick comment. As we're coaching the generation coming up, it really is about some of those simple basic things. How do we dress? How do we talk? What language are we using? Are we using uh jokes in the right setting? Are we learning how to type? Are we learning computer skills? Are we learning how to delegate, right? Are we learning how to communicate outside of our outside of our heads? These simple things that you would find in a book like Focal Point that teaches anyone how to you know become a millionaire, like these same concepts are the same things that we craft workers need or needed to get to our next level position. And I'm I'm excited about that. And I love that your foreman's coaching you on that. Like, hey, you the future you doesn't say stuff like that. I really like that.

SPEAKER_02 21:54

He's fortunate to have uh a leader like that in his realm, right? Uh you know, I I think uh A lot of what you said, Jason Rakes reminds me of we've all had many, many leaders, supervisors, managers. And for me, there's a very simple distinction between the manager and a leader. Leader does what you say, right? They invest in people, they invest in growth, and they invest in developing others. Manager is pretty good at managing things, and then they treat people like things. Big, big difference. Yeah. Um you said 20 years ago, right? And how we didn't celebrate promotion or elevating of protected classes. You know, I got promoted from a plumbing foreman to a field superintendent. Very and I was I was the youngest one in the business unit at the time. And I had gone to a big meeting in at headquarters, and somebody like straight up said, Oh, you're part of that affirmative action deal, right? And I said, Wow, and I like it. I was like, What is what are you? I I didn't had no idea what they were talking about. I was thinking it was like a new project coming up or something, until later on that day in the evening, I was like, Well, wait a minute. That was that was a jab, you know? Um, and and we have come a long way, right? We we have come a very long way. A lot of organizations out there are being intentional about equipping those that have been flown under the radar or ignored, whichever way you want to look at it, and equipping them to elevate and move into to greater responsibility because they have a lot to contribute. If we don't celebrate them and elevate them, we're missing out. Yeah, right. You're right. It doesn't, I mean, dollar-wise, it doesn't cost us anything to develop others, but really we're leaving money on the table when we don't. Yeah, because then we're just committed, we we surround ourselves with bobbleheads. Everybody agrees, yeah. You're saying, yep, yep, yep, yep. Yep, and and the growth, uh, and the contribution ends up becoming stagnant. So it's a beautiful world to be able to connect with you and share that thought. Like that's that's amazing, Jason. So you started off out in the lot helping sweep up, clean up, and that led to getting a full-time job, being a concrete finisher. And so the way you explained it was it it kind of revealed and opened itself for you. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_04 24:33

It did, and to your point, we really need to elevate each other. I so so I'll give you a for instance. The first job that I was able to get in in construction was a family friend, and then and then to get on with Hensel Phelps as a uh as a cement mason through the unions here in California, uh, that was a connection through somebody I knew at my dad's work. And so there are people helping out all the way, right? Yes, and so I became a field engineer, and then uh some good connections within the project where I was working got me uh a really good opportunity as a lead field engineer in Texas. And then I started doing training throughout the United States. I did that for seven years, and that happened through a connection with Wes Crawford, the uh the professor or the um uh professor emeritus at Purdue University who who wrote the Field Engineering Methods Manual, which is a fantastic book. Actually, quite frankly, for anybody who's wanting to take that step from being a craft uh professional into construction management, I have to uh throw that reference out. I just look at every step of the career. There was somebody like like you said, Renee, a little on a, you know, if we're looking at it like they're climbing a mountain with their hand down, helping me, which doesn't put me down when I say down, like in a lower position. It just means elevating me to higher levels of fulfillment in my own life, right? But uh not forgetting the the the other guys through the help and connections of other people. I went from Rodman to field engineer, field engineer to lead field engineer, then to a national trainer doing that, then to a uh virtual design and construction manager to area assistant superintendent, project superintendent, uh general or senior superintendent, general superintendent, field director, and project director, and now I own my own business. And so somebody who didn't go to school, I thought that was pretty those were some pretty neat opportunities because at every step, the things that I needed was the opportunity, the tools and equipment, the training, right, a place to work, and the time to do it. And I was able to get all five or six of those things at every step. And and and and so as we're talking about this, what I'm learning from you guys is you know, let's make sure we get all six of those things, all five of those things for anyone we're helping, right?

SPEAKER_02 27:05

Yes, yes. That's uh I mean that's a pretty concise toolkit. And it's not it doesn't sound like um it's not like this enormous investment, it's really more contributing and sharing the gifts that you're already equipped with, yeah. But but it's a matter of awareness, yeah. So you I mean you talked about Mr. Lugo, um, how you helped him go from the elevator operator, which is a in a critically important role on any project, to now to now being a straight up full-time field engineer. And you did that by my my my guess is that you weren't like the talent development specialist within your organization. My guess is that you, like you said, you saw something in them and you decided to impart some of the knowledge, experience, and wisdom that you had to another human being. Simply that. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_04 28:05

Yeah, and sometimes, thank you for that. Sometimes it just takes, and it's hard for me because I'm always in my head. So I'm the E N F J personality type for the Mario Sprigs, and that that N, I'm always in my head just thinking I could be like in a room and not even notice anything. So it's taking a couple seconds to connect with a human being, and actually that was the skill I was taught. I'm glad you asked this question. So I had a really trusted mentor that said, Jason, you need to take more opportunities to just stop and look at somebody in the eyes and connect. And it's those moments that then triggered the opportunities. And after that, I started having more conversations and telling people about opportunities. And most of the time, then it's just the cost of a book. And I I don't I don't have stock in this book, I don't get royalties, but it's called the Field Engineering Methods Manual. And I'll usually buy that, it's like $58 and it's well worth it. I'll buy that and and give it to somebody who has expressed a desire, or I've asked them if they have a desire to, you know, either be better in their current position or um, you know, progress to the next step. And I'll say, hey, read chapters one through eight. If this, if you read chapters one through eight, and one through eight is like you know, getting started, getting organized, it's about communication, it's about construction technologies, it's about scheduling, it's about personal organization, it's about how to use an automatic level, uh, how to use a total station, you know, basic things, right? Uh doing lift drawings. I say read read chapters one through eight, and if they come back and they're like, yeah, like this is a jam. And they'll put in the work to read it. I'm like, all right, all right, we need to find an opportunity for you to go do something here. And so usually it's a $58 investment in a book and about 30 seconds of actually paying attention.

SPEAKER_01 29:58

Jesse, you got 58 bucks for me? I got a lawn that you can mow.

SPEAKER_04 30:07

Hey, I whatever you need, you know, and I just real quick a plug for that book because I do feel like it's uh it's like the the like there's the scriptures and that book that everyone needs, right? Or like whatever they believe in in their personal religion, right? They need something that helps them with morals and ethics, and then they need that book because it I was doing like the other day for Elevate Construction, we put together a personal organization training, and we're putting together scheduling training now and team building training and all these things. And I was going back, uh referencing that book, and I'm like, oh, that's where I first learned it. Oh, that's where I first like this book tells you here's how you dress, here's how you communicate, here's how you can start using computers, here's how you can start to be, you know, interact with professionalism and ethics. And I'm like, this one book got me set me on a trajectory, like you were talking about, Renee, that your foreman's imparting to you that was priceless and really prevented me from wasting a lot of time. Because just one quick plug most supers, if a craft person is makes it to a super, they'll the most of them they get stuck at like superintendent level two. Because they never learned the to-do list, never learned personal organization, communication skills, getting things out of their head, delegation, like these key skills weren't learned early on, and so they get stuck there at that level two when they have the ability, the aptitude, the intelligence, all the tools they need to go as far as that to actually become the CEO. And so I'm really I'm really interested in hey, what are the what are the back to basics things that people can do to head uh you know take it all the way?

SPEAKER_02 31:48

I want to circle back to the conversation of of of growth and and helping people, right? And we talked about you you shared a story about Mr. Lugo, and and we've talked about how we as individuals need to celebrate and help elevate others. But I also want to say that the others have an onus as well, yes, right? It's not just us lending a hand, um, and that hand is very simple. Share what you got, yeah. Like some of your friends, the people you knew, they just helped you get a job. Yeah, then you leverage that opportunity to grow it into something else. So we can all of us can influence the lives of others if we contribute the simple gifts that we've been blessed with. And on the same token, the other side of the coin, the individual, like Renee, he's gonna get the a $58 book, which is um a pre-2021 Christmas gift from me.

SPEAKER_01 32:55

Hey, that's not fair, man.

SPEAKER_02 32:58

But Renee has to read and apply the knowledge he gains from it.

SPEAKER_03 33:04

Yep.

unknown 33:04

Right.

SPEAKER_02 33:05

So it's a two-sided thing. It's not just it's not just access, it's also action by the individual.

SPEAKER_04 33:11

Yep. I would I'd love to to give you a thought there. I feel like I've been taught that respect equals high expectations. And and this is actually something where, and I if I offend any of your uh listeners, please forgive me, but like when general contractors, so I believe in a couple things. Like when I get onto a site, I do a couple things in sequence. Number one, I build remarkable bathrooms for the craft, number two, a remarkable lunchroom. Number three, worker huddles every day, five, ten minutes in the morning, all of them bullhorn, connecting. Hey, here's what's going on, here's how you interact with the site, here's two minutes of training. We love you. What thoughts do you have? Let us know, feedback. Those are key things that I do every job, in addition to the barbecues and the other things that that kind of has have historically been done. But also the other thing is I require perfect cleanliness, striving for perfection, cleanliness, organization, and safety. And so I feel like it's, and this is me, you don't have to agree, but when when the general contractors are like, well, we can follow the rules, but you're just a craft worker, so I'll remind you 17 times or 50 times to put on put on your glasses. I feel like it's that's a form of disrespect because essentially they're saying you're too stupid or unable or uneducated or a different class or whatever, so you can't do it. So I'll pity you. But for the rest of us who are actually smart, we can we can wear our safety glasses. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. If we're all equal, and we are, then we can all follow the rules. And so I expect a lot from people. Yes, and I I have run jobs, and this sounds like bragging, but it's not. I'm just giving people the glimpse. I've run jobs where you you will not see people without their glasses. The job is beautifully clean. In fact, I've got YouTube videos to prove it on my YouTube channel. You can anybody can go check it out anytime. Where where like it's organized and the deliveries come on time, and then there's usually like five percent, one to five percent of people that just don't want to play by the rules, they're just grumpy, life's been hard, they can't see past themselves. Where we invite them to go home and take a break and then come back through orientation, and once they get their heads straight, or maybe they never fit, right? But for the 98 nine percent of the people, they can they can fit, they can follow the rules, and they're just as smart as I am. So I believe that respect equals high expectations. And so my message with the doing the hard work is you you're spot on, just say I'm so glad you brought that up. You're so wise. We gotta stop watching. Like, if I if I was to give advice to myself 22 years ago, or or to give advice to anybody right now, it would be when you go home with your spouse or your partner or your husband, like help them with the dishes, change a diaper, get off the couch, stop watching so much TV, grab a book, get one on audio, and spend more time. And if you watch TV, fine, but spend more time with audiobooks and spend more time in trainings than you do with TV. I'd say get some nicer clothes. I'd say make sure that you're you're nice, you're you're got a nice hairdo and you you shave or trim. You know, I like like like Renee. I see you got a nice, I wish I had that nice look right there with the scruff. If you got scruff, be intentional about it, keep it clean like you do, right? I would I would tell these folks, stop wasting time with friends that are tearing you down, with TV that's tearing you down, with all of these wasted habits, and get out there and do the things that rich people do, which rich people learn, because rich people, it's a mindset, right? They're they're not victims, they're victors. They unless they were given their money, right? People that earn their riches, right? They're out there reading books, they're out there making friends, they're making connections, they're doing trainings, they're investing in their minds, they're helping their spouse, they're gaining influence, they're with trusted mentors that are good people. And here's the here's the comment: you are the average of your five closest friends, and you're the average of your five most used media resources. And if if somebody said, Oh my gosh, I've got some friends that are tearing me down, yeah, we love them, yeah, we care about them. We're not gonna spend a lot of time there and let them ruin our lives, we're gonna spend a lot of time on higher vistas of achievement and pull them with us, right? If we answer those questions and we're like, oh, friends aren't too good, and my media, if if they cut me open and and what the inside of my blood was whatever I've been watching, they'd find a bunch of raunchy YouTube videos. That's not gonna, that's not gonna get us where we need to go, right? Because everything's inputs. I was telling my son the other day, I was like, when I get after you, son, I'm not calling you a dirt bag. Like you, you are a vessel, you're like this this pot, this beautiful pot. You can either put garbage into it or you can put good things into it. And then when you pour it out, you're gonna pour out whatever you put into it, right? And so if I'm saying you're doing bad things, that doesn't that doesn't offend your vessel. That that doesn't mean you're an ugly pot. It means stop putting garbage into the pot. Stop putting those things. You son, you need to be doing scriptures, you need to be doing your church assignments, you need to be doing good books, you need to be out there working and hustling on on and hanging out with good people. And he finally understood it that what he wasn't what he was doing wasn't him, it was that he was this receptacle, and you can put things into it, good or bad. Finally, it clicked. My message to the craft to anybody out there is whatever you want to be, the inputs have to be right for the outputs to be to get you where you want to go, because it's all math.

SPEAKER_01 39:00

Where did you learn those? The average of the five people and the five immediate outlets.

SPEAKER_04 39:06

I read a book a week, and so there's there's some books that I can remember, and I'll give you the list if you want, if you want me to email it to you. But my bet oh, this is my single bet, greatest advice that I'll give anybody. Strive in the next year, five years, six months, read a book a week, and it's made all the difference. It's probably made the difference, and again, I'm not bragging on, but if we don't share these things with people, they don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. It probably meant the difference of about a hundred thousand dollars difference in my base pay, these books. Actually, I know for a fact that it did. The things that I've learned, I have it uh, I have ver I've gotten promotions that made the difference of what I was making before to now a hundred thousand dollars more. There's books like The One Thing, Um, Essentialism, Focal Point, How to Win Fra Influence People, The Culture Code, Uh, Leadership and Self-Deception, which is all about not getting tipped over and doing the wrong thing. Like there, there's a grouping of books that that if somebody will actually go up apply, it will take them to the next level.

SPEAKER_01 40:16

Are any of Jocko Willink's books on your list?

SPEAKER_04 40:19

Yeah. Uh Extreme Ownership is on there. I haven't read his new one. Uh, there's also another one. So Jocko Willink is apply or uh appeals mostly to the thinking type person. If you want a type person, there's a book called Unbeatable Mind by Mark Devine, kind of same vein. That book changed my life. Yeah, absolutely changed my life. We've enabled me most of our problem is being held back by fear.

SPEAKER_03 40:45

Yes, right.

SPEAKER_04 40:46

We have negative habit loops, and those books, especially like Unbeatable Mind, will teach you meta teach us meditation techniques, mental control techniques, uh, and and other systems to not only align our life but allow us to get past that monkey mind, you know, that mind that's just grabbing at all this random stuff and the that fear and really head us into a good direction. You know, when we do field engineer boot camps, the all of day one is fear elimination. Like we don't even we don't touch a total station and automatic level, we don't touch any, it's all day, it's getting them past their fears, and then they're able to the next three days and four days in the boot camp actually go perform and not be in their own mind. I don't know. Did that answer your question, Renee?

SPEAKER_01 41:34

Yeah, that answers my question for sure. So I got another question though. Okay, so um after I finished reading Stream Ownership, right? And I was like, I am Jonko William, and you know, I'm gonna freaking attack the day, right? So I have a wife and two young children. I have a I have a one and a half year old and a three-year-old who's supposed to be four. And um I've been guilty of attacking the day so hard where I felt like and I and I saw the symptoms of me leaving them behind. I I felt like I didn't know how to balance um you know, grinding it out for our future and being present for them. So, how did you do? Do you have kids? Like uh, how did you do it?

SPEAKER_04 42:28

Yeah, I've got 11 children. Yeah, and they're they're they're all bought and paid for and insured. So I thought I said this in a different interview, but when I take the kids through Walmart, they're like, You're a super dad. When my my when my wife goes, they're like, Are you on welfare? It's actually not funny now that I think about it, but it it's kind of funny. It's like totally a different reaction. We're like, Yeah, we they're all bought and pay for it anyway. Um, so a couple things that were impactful in my life. Number one, and I know people have different thoughts about him, but Tony Robbins, man, I went to his Unleash the Power Within event, and I would challenge you, Renee, to do that. If you haven't go spend the 240 bucks or 60 bucks to do the virtual, yeah, he talks about how to get your whole life in balance, right? Um, because if our physic, if our finances, physiology, our spirituality, our our learning, our work, all of these things in life aren't at a balance, then we're not gonna go as it's like this wheel of life. If you had this jagged wheel, right, it's like blah blah blah bum blah blah. But if they're all balanced, then you're you're damn it, like you can run 60 miles an hour. The thing that people don't get, which you picked up on, is that they're not gonna make a lot of career success unless they also focus on family, your health, your finances, your spirituality, all of these other things, right? And so uh a couple things that I did. Was um, and I man, I'm glad you asked me this question, because we teach this in boot camps, but uh it comes down to uh to uh knowing about it, which it seems like you do, then getting leverage against it, realizing what's gonna happen if you don't change, and taking massive action. And usually for me, that requires something like a Tony Robbins event. But I will say there's a book called The Go Giver, which changed my mentality from take, take, take, I want, I want, I want, I want, to actually we get success in life by giving to our families, to our wives, to our children, to the people that work to others. And for it, let's say somebody had a tinge of selfishness like me, and they can see the path to success by giving. It's a little bit of a fake it till you make it type thing where once they start to give, then you're like, oh, I like this just for the sake of it. You know what I mean? I like doing this because this makes me feel good. Oh my gosh, look what that person did because of this. The other thing that I would say, Renee, I'll give you some advice. The best thing you can do is mandatory date night every week. Excuse me.

SPEAKER_01 45:12

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04 45:13

Like, no matter what, right now, schedule, put it on your clock, reminder, alarm clock. You're poor, you're rich, whatever, it doesn't matter. You go on date night, you go out in the car, throw on a movie with your your spouse, your partner, whatever, and you say, Hey, this is us, this is our time. And the other thing is you go through that door at the end of the day ready to give 100% with your shoulders back, you're like, I'm not sitting on the couch, I'm not going straight to the TV. I'm gonna change me a diaper, or I'm gonna do some dishes, or I'm gonna add value here. And you know, there's a book called The Five Love Languages. Find out what your spouse or your partner loves and what their his or her need needs are, and say, I'm gonna go do this once a week. Like, put it on your phone. I'll give you a little funny analogy. You remember the cartoons, the Disney cartoons, or the Looney Tunes cartoons, they had like the shoulder angel and the shoulder devil. Yeah, so whether somebody's religious or not, check this out. So, and I'll give you a church analogy first. Like, let's say everybody goes to church on Sunday, preachers got them all amped up, or whatever, you know, like they're jamming. All the shoulder devil has to do, that's it. That and then he can take a break, he or she can take a break the rest of the day. As those people are leaving the building, all the shoulder devil has to do is to get that person to not write it down, is to not put it on their calendar, is to not put set an alarm. That's it. So if they if he can distract you long enough to where you don't do that, it's like none of the stuff they just learned, they're gonna do anything with. I got it, he they're gonna be the same. I got this, right? So, conversely, all we have to do is get it onto our personal organization systems. Like right now, if I tell you date and I, if you throw that on your outlook calendar or your day planner or your fridge or something like that, then you won. But if you don't, then you never make any change. I'm I'm lecturing you now, Renee. I apologize. But what I'm saying is like is that what I teach people, and actually we have a new course out, it's called Personal Organization Mastery. I teach people to start keeping a to-do list and start time blocking things in whatever their calendar system is. And but the order in which, ooh, this is gonna blow your mind. Okay, this is how people take the next step. The order in which you do that is number one, you put your family stuff on that calendar, number two, you put your leader standard work, and number three, all the chaos and meetings after that. So this is what it would look like. Okay, so coaching Johnny's baseball game, date night, being home early for the wife on Fridays because of whatever, or doctor's appointments. That goes on my calendar first, and that's it. That's that's first. Then there's something called the Pareto principle or the 80-20 rule, which you guys know about, which is that 20% of what you do is brings 80% of your success. That's true. And so if we've got 10 things, what are the two things that I'm doing that not only is gonna let me take my next step but reinforce my education, but also get me those promotions, let me give influence to other people and be fulfilled, and let me really do those two things really well. So then I say, All right, your leader standard work, which is that 20%, plug that in your calendar next, and then everything else, because we have it backwards, right? What do we do now? What does my boss want me to do? Let me go here. My buddy asked me to help out, which is fine, but um, somebody scheduled me for an Outlook meeting, random phone calls, this and that. And so basically, you're spending all your time at the whim of somebody else, whims of somebody else, and you're neglecting your success, which is your family first, your leader standard work second, right? And so here's my analogy. So check this out. What if everybody, Renee, had access to your bank account? Everyone, anybody, they could just type your name in, uh Rene Duron, and get access to your bank account and spend money however they wanted, and you have no say they don't even have to spend it on something, they could literally just go cash it and throw it out on the sidewalk. No accountability, and then if you were like, hey, hey, timeout, stop spending my money, like they would get mad at you, they would shame you, they would guilt you. And then guess what? Now you got to pay the bills, and you and your little kiddos need food, and you don't and you only got 200 bucks in the account, and you need 800. How would you feel, Renee?

SPEAKER_00 49:38

I mean, pretty crappy.

SPEAKER_04 49:40

Would you be mad?

SPEAKER_00 49:41

Yeah, I would be mad.

SPEAKER_04 49:42

Okay, that's exactly how most people spend their time. Let that sink in for a minute. What I just said, have access to your bank account by simply typing typing your name, uh spending your money, not even using it productively, and guilting you when they when you say stop, and then you don't have enough money for your family. That's exactly how we spend our time. They just type our our name into an outlook calendar, they invite us to a meeting, right? The meeting could have a purpose or not have a purpose. You don't show up for the meeting, they guilt you about it, right? There they say, go do all these random tasks and stuff, and then guess what? You the hours that you needed at the end of the week to spend time with your kids and your wife and to do the things that will get your next promotion, it's all gone.

SPEAKER_02 50:30

Wow, that's real talk. Right? It's real talk. I mean, I I I remember a time when the first thing I did at like before I I got up, I woke up, I'd grab my phone, and I checked my email. Yeah, right. And then the rest of the day was me running around like a squirrel trying to do all this other stuff that other people felt was a priority, and my day was freaking 16 hours long.

SPEAKER_03 50:59

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_02 51:00

And and then then, you know, through to similar learnings and trainings, um, it's like, wait a minute, like they're not doing that to me. I'm not a victim here. I'm creating the environment that that I'm sending signals that it's okay to do that. Yeah, I need to flip that. And it it took it took some took some learning, it took some practice. Uh, but we have the keys, right? We we can free ourselves from that sort of thing.

SPEAKER_03 51:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:27

Uh I I I read, uh, I don't know, you probably read this, Jason. Uh a book by Victor Frankel called Man's Search for Meaning. Yeah, and so to date, that is the most impactful book. That book saved my life. Along with my little brother Renee, he he also saved my life. He he gave my life purpose a long, long time ago. Not anymore. No, I'm joking. Um, but there was one specific part in the book where Victor Frank talked uh that the quote is there's a space between stimulus and response. And within that space lies our power to choose. And the more we practice that power to choose, the greater that space becomes. And that was like so profound. Like, wait a minute. All this time I've been thinking, poor me, you know, I'm a little victim, nothing, no, it's not fair. Yeah, all that type of stuff. I have bad luck, whatever. And I read that's like, no, like it yes, bad things are gonna happen, and yes, great things are gonna happen, but it's a matter of how I respond to that stimulus that's gonna make the difference. Yeah, and the reality is I have the power to choose how I'm going to respond.

SPEAKER_03 52:50

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 52:51

Uh, and and so I had to change the five the five um contacts in my life, the five resources, personal relationships, the five inputs. Um, you know, I'm I used to be a mega gamer, remember, Renee? Like, yeah, I remember I was gaming all the time, right? Um spending time out chasing women at the bars, like those that those were my inputs, right? I was putting that into my vessel, and what came out of it was garbage, because I was putting garbage in. Uh but it took some discipline and and what felt like sacrifice at the time, and the reality is it was not a sacrifice, it was an investment. Uh, and it's helped me grow into to a better person, better example for Renee, and and uh giving me the ability to better contribute. And even I've even don't tell anybody, I've even started to listen to people now. Can you believe that?

SPEAKER_04 53:50

I love that Renee's camera's either stuck or he's in disbelief. He's like, no, no.

SPEAKER_02 53:59

Man, this has been a beautiful conversation so far, Jason. I I really appreciate the wisdom you're imparting to Renee. That I'm grateful for that. So thank you. Thank you. And so far, we've talked about how you started your career, what your passion, what your passion is about, helping people, growing people, uh specifically around the trades. And and before we we started launched into this, you know, uh, you've given us a sense of how you got to where you're at now, but I I discovered today that you very recently have made a transition uh in terms of what what your job or current occupation is. Yeah, would you mind telling us a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_04 54:45

Yeah, I'd I'd be happy to. So I was a field director and a project director at a large uh commercial construction company, a $1.5 billion company. And um I I switched to uh my own company, Elevate Construction. So so I just I'm saying this because I think the the transparency will help help others. So Katie and I we took out our retirement, which is like a sacred cow, uh killing killing a sacred cow, started our start started our business. Um, so I'm full-time as of yesterday, actually. So we do coaching, consulting, and training for construction. Our our mission really is to elevate construction from coast to coast, to bring respect back to the uh to the industry and to workers specifically by training leaders. And when doing that, we'll preserve families. I absolutely hate, hate, hate, hate, hate when younger construction couples and families break apart because of not being able to manage that. So we uh uh so I so I do that full time. So I take on clients on retainers, but we also do uh worker and foreman and field engineer and superintendent project engineer and and project manager boot camps. Also, have some boot camp schedules scheduled for uh scheduling and some other really uh cool events, and so we're actually putting out online content right now. So the first course that we just put up was personal organization mastery because 99% of anyone in construction, that's their base step that they have to master, right? Um, we just had a new book come out, Elevating Construction Superintendents, and it it loops in lean principles and uh and along with these tried and true, you know, hundred years ago master builder concepts. Our next book will be Elevating Construction Field Engineers, and then after that, elevating construction foreman. And so we're just we're jamming down this road of showing and collecting, first of all, and decoding and making it simple. No, not simple, making it understandable how in this industry we already know through our collective wisdom how to run remarkable projects and to elevate each person on site. So let's go get it done. And so that's our uh that's our that's our business, and it's scary but fun at the same time. So we're putting it all on the line for for the industry right now and and going for it hot and heavy.

SPEAKER_02 57:25

Man, respect, mad respect, Jason, for getting out there and doing it. Um, but you you've probably discovered this right now, but I want to I want to pull it out so that our listeners can can really wrap their head around it. You've discovered, you and your partners have discovered a secret sauce that has made your careers and your experiences very fruitful and earned you um accolades, earned you promotions, earned you a lot of money. And it's very easy to keep that secret sauce hidden from everybody else. But you've decided to go ahead and share that secret sauce with others. Like what I understood was your the mission is driven around helping improve the quality of life of others, yeah. Right? So, because in our industry, you know, I used to joke that uh for a while there part of my responsibility was uh recruiting and hiring folks and assigning um teams to different projects, and and a lot of times, you know, the recruiter or HR would say, Well, Jess, you know, that person, they're going through a divorce, or there's some sort of consequence related to substance abuse, right? And my response would be, good, that's like a prerequisite. Because I mean, I would say that because that is prevalent in our industry because of the stress, because of the way we don't take care of ourselves, we don't take care of our bodies, we don't take care of our spiritual maintenance, mental maintenance, like all we ignore all of that. We're an action-oriented industry, so it's like suck it up, don't complain, get out there, make it happen.

SPEAKER_03 59:08

Yep, right.

SPEAKER_02 59:09

I I work 26, 28, 30 hours straight, and I'm the man, right? Because I did all those things. But but that degrades the home life, right? That degrades the human being, the whole human being, and and what you're doing, what what your mission is sounds like helping people have all of it. Yes, not not just not just the career success, yeah, life, right? Grow as an individual. And but that's a result, that will be a result of you sharing the the lessons that you've acquired in your life. Yes, and so by sharing that, the the main idea here is sharing the knowledge and the wisdom that you have garnered throughout your life, rather than keeping it in your pocket, you're gonna share it with the world. And and I will submit to you that there's no doubt in my mind, because that's the motive, there's no doubt in my mind that this will be a beautiful experience for you and everybody else that that you touch. So thank you, first of all, for doing that, for for having the foresight and the humility to put yourself out there and being vulnerable. Um, and also I commend you for for getting out of that that jumping into the cold water, right? Like I gotta do it. It because it's not guaranteed.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:38

No, not guaranteed. I appreciate that. That's very nice. It's uh it's nice to have a lot of support. And uh yeah, it's it it is scary, but at the end of the day, even though I got 11 kids to feed with with God, I could we'll make this work, we'll be able to feed them at the same time and change the industry. What I one of the things that I learned is there's just not a lot of construction training. There's still there's a lot of there's a lot of stuffy PowerPoint, boring training out there. But is there a training out there that's actually gonna make a difference? And I just don't see a lot, and that that's not meant to be insulting, that's meant to say for all of us who have something to give, now's the time. There's a vacuum, there's a space, and there's a need. And we've got to get it out there, uh, and we will. You know, my goal is to get it more where we live. You know, we uh we live on these phones, oh yeah, right? So, how can we get the training and the information to where it's as addictive as as Facebook, as useful as YouTube, and as quick as Wikipedia? You know what I mean? Anything else isn't gonna get us to where we need to go.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:44

With the new physical distancing requirements, we most of the the training and stuff we were doing had to had to morph, right? It had to become virtual. And for a little while, you know, I was stuck in this this mindset of like, man, well, it's not the same. What about the human connection and the engagement and and da da da da da da da da? And I was out for a run, and I'm thinking, like, how how do I make it like a meaningful engagement, even though we're not there live? Because let me tell you, when I'm there live, it's awesome.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:15

That's uh that's cool, right?

SPEAKER_02 1:02:17

I that that's me joking a little bit. But then I thought of like, well, wait a minute. You know, I used to watch Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street and be completely enthralled with what was going on, right? And then every other show you talked about it, right? We'll sit there and consume all this stuff and it keeps our intention for exorbitant amounts of time. So then it really then I'm like, okay, there no more excuse, Jess, right? Like it's not about the medium, it's about the content, it's about the energy, it's about the message. So if I if if we craft the message, the content and the energy to fit the medium, it absolutely can happen. So there's no excuse, right? Mr. Rogers said so. I love that.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:15

I love Mr. Rogers, by the way. Yeah, I love that guy. I I would watch his his uh the show about him and just over and over just weep. I just loved what he was doing.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:25

He was a visionary for sure. Yeah, so speaking of vision, Jason, you are an impactful human being. What fingerprint do you intend to leave on the world? I love that.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:36

I want all porta potties, disrespectful porta-potties gone. I either want nice, spacious, easy to clean porta potties that are cleaned three to five times a week that have plenty of toilet paper, no graffiti, all the jam, or uh trailers for the craft, or built it custom-built bathrooms inside buildings, or wherever they need to go. In fact, I got a YouTube video of the bathrooms that we built at the research laboratory. I want people at the end of my life to say, Man, Jason really got us better bathrooms. Yeah, because I believe everything starts in the bathroom. Lean cultures start in the bathroom, success starts in the bathroom. How usually, well, not usually, you guys know when you go into a restaurant, if it's all nasty, so goes the rest of the restaurant. A household, if it's nasty, and I tell my kids, hey, however, we take care of this bathroom is how we take care of the rest of the house, right? So, how we take care of a project, it starts in the bathroom. And the legacy, you know, I people people are going to, I don't want, like, they're gonna say, Man, Schroeder was the Tony Robbins of construction. Like, he was the one that poked poked poked me, made me a little bit uncomfortable, pulled me out of my comfort zone, told me that I could do better and do more, and really got us all heading in a good direction. That's that's that's what's gonna happen. So, because that's that's what I that's how God programmed me. He didn't program me any other way. I'm the person on my on my profile it says Jason Schroeder bringing out the best in others, um, the mentor, the coach, and that's that's just how I'm wired.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:17

Man, whore. What do you think about that, Renee?

SPEAKER_01 1:05:19

I think that's that's super super cool, man. I feel I feel like motivated now because I you know, a lot of the the wisdom that's been shared with me, or like the stuff that I look into and like the people I listen to on YouTube, the audiobooks and stuff, I don't hear a lot uh yet where like they include your family, you know what I mean? Like they include you know, bringing your wife and your children with you. I haven't heard that yet, or maybe I'm missing it, but it's really, really cool. And much less God too. Like you you even said God, you give the glory to God too. I'm a I'm a Christian man. And um, you know what I'm saying? And I'm I'm I've always been just so terrified, uh, because I've I remember I'm pursuing uh you know boxing career, right? So I I was like going to San Fernando's boxing gym and I was like waking up 4 30, go to the gym, work for 12 hours, come home, go to the San Fernando gym till 8 30. And by the time I'm home, I'm freaking pooped. And like I where's my wife and my kids? And I've been so terrified, and and like, man, like we we declined like big time, you know. Like I I couldn't, I didn't know how to balance. And but I was going with all the the wisdom I was looking at, you know, and I hadn't heard about how to bring your family with you, and it's so cool and so refreshing to hear hear it from somebody that's made it and brought their family with them and gives praise to God at the same time. So I think that's so super cool. I um thank you. Just thank you for sharing that with me.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:59

Yeah, you're welcome. Thank you. I I like to answer questions. I'm very much in my happy zone when I'm answering questions like that because most of the time I'm on the other end and interviewing people and or doing a solo podcast, and it can feel lonely. I feel really loved right now. But but you know, I could I my my message is that there's no re and this is not good grammar, but or sentence structure, but there's no reason to not live a remarkable life. It's just there's no reason to not to. The people out there that are listening to your podcast, they they and this isn't fluffy stuff. This isn't like real estate salesman stuff. If they want, if they want to go make it to that position, they can do it. If they want to have a successful family, they can do it. If they want to be closer to God, they can do it. If they want to make a million dollars, start a company one day, they can do it. It's all about the inputs. And fortunately, we know what those inputs are. And then back to what Jesse was saying, you know, discipline will always beat mere talent. That's my one of my favorite quotes. Discipline will always beat mere talent. And so if there just and I love I love Eric Thomas. I don't know if you guys like have ever heard of Eric Thomas. Oh, yeah. I like I like it when he's up in my face and he's like, you know, for those of you who are 70%, that's and I'm I even sound like him a little bit 70% beast mode and 30% gazelle. That's just enough for that other person to outdo you. And yeah, he's like, you've got to get up earlier, you've got to stay up later, you've got to grind. And you know, for the last three months on this podcast, I took his advice. Sometimes I'll be up till midnight or one recording a podcast when I got up at 4:30 or 5, you know, and it's been grinding and grinding and grinding and getting the message out and stuff like that. That's the kind of work that people gotta to build on your point, Jesse, that people gotta do to respect themselves, you know, and and take them to where they gotta go. And the other thing I would say that one of my other favorite quotes is uh if somebody's going the wrong direction, they don't need motivation to speed them up, they need education to turn them around. And we know, we know the three of us on this call know the the secret sauce to how to build a remarkable life. We know the books, we know the methods, we know the training, we know the people to go talk to, we know the prayers that you gotta have, we we know the balance that you need. We know. So let's turn off the TV, let's stop sitting on the couch, let's stop disrespecting ourselves, and let's go get to work and and be the person that we need to be. This is me getting on my rant because you guys have fired me up. But like we can't get we can't go on a mission if we don't have our our finances in order. Like if someday they called me on a mission to South America or something like that, or South Africa, or whatever, North Africa. Like if I don't have my finances and family in order, I can't go. I can't give money to somebody starting out if they need like 15 grand or something to go, you know, to college or something, if I don't have money myself. I can't go give wisdom if I don't have wisdom myself, right? I can't do these things. So I shamelessly say I'm going to be rich. And the reason I'm gonna be rich is because I I'm going to give those riches to other people. If I when I'm poor, I can give them my love and my kindness and my compassion. So there's always something you can give, but I also want to be able to give my time, my riches, my wisdom, anything else. And so I just want all of us to be okay with the fact that it's the money is not the root of all evil. The love or the covetousness of money is the root of all evil. And people that say that money won't buy anything everything are shopping in the wrong stores. They need to be shopping in the stores where you can give to other people, shopping in the stores of wisdom and knowledge and buying books, shopping in the stores of training. You know, that's the one thing we need to invest in our minds every year at least five grand. At least if you're not spending five grand every year on personal training, you're not investing in the one thing that will give you the biggest rate of return, even over 401ks or the stock market or real estate. So I would just say, guys and gals, like it's time, like right now is the time. It's not cheap talk, it's time to live a remarkable life.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:19

Man, so you're on fire, Jason. You got me pumped. Renee's pumped. I can tell by his the volume in his voice and that big old goofy smile he's got. But I want to bring this this this back, and you touched on it, and it's a hundred percent true. You're fired up, I'm fired up, Renee's fired up, and our listeners, that listener right now. I see you, you're picking your nose. Pay attention. Write the next action that you're going to take, the idea, the seed that was planted in your mind, write down the action step. Type it into your phone, whatever you got to do, pull over, put the car in park, write it down. What the hell are you going to do? What action will you take based on what you've heard in this podcast? This because there has been Jason has given us huge nuggets that can change your world and will equip you to change the lives of the people you care about. But if you don't take the action to write it down, dictate what it is you're going to do with what you've heard today, it's not going to happen. You got to take daily action. I've been to many conferences and listened to many podcasts, and I get fired up, right? And I'm gonna, I'm I'm roaring, man. When I get out of there, I'm gonna I'm gonna tear it up. And then a day goes by and real life starts happening. Two days go by, and again, that energy and that excitement dissipates. And then it's like, where did all that energy go? Like, well, I didn't, it's like taking a shower, right? I don't just take a shower once a week. I wish I could get away with that. I have to take a shower every single day, otherwise, I'm funky, right? I get in a funk. So, to maintain the energy, the excitement, the the clarity that that that you're experiencing, Renee and our listeners out there, what is the action you're gonna take? Simple, like right now, it's this simple. Write it down one thing. If it's five, write down five. What are you gonna do about it tomorrow? It's just like taking a shower. You gotta wash under your armpits or you're gonna get funky.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:44

You gotta do it every day.

SPEAKER_04 1:13:47

I love that. I love that. You know, I that's so true. You know, and people need to keep all of your listeners. My first advice would be to keep listening to this wonderful podcast, what you guys are doing. If anybody ever needs any help from me, um, or you got a GC that's not behaving, send them to my podcast, Elevate Construction Podcast, or my website at elevateconstructionist.com. Um, we you know, one of the and I'll give you a challenge, Jesse, just so your listeners can hold you accountable. We gotta do, we gotta do a worker informant boot camp. But with our energy combined, man, like we we can get it done. So even if it's virtual or we go do it six feet away, we just get a bigger room. We got let's put let's challenge ourselves. We gotta do one. We just got to.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:36

Uh done. We will do something for sure. Piece of cake. Love it. Uh so you've given us your podcast, Elevate Construction Podcast. You gave us your your email address. That's I I'm pretty darn sure that some you're gonna trigger uh some curiosity in others. Are there any other ways that people can get a hold of you?

SPEAKER_04 1:14:56

Yeah, you can search the Elevate Construction Podcast on any of your apps, or the webpage is the Elevate Construction Podcast.com. The website is elevate constructionis.com. The IST stands for insights, solutions, and training. We did that to differentiate ourselves from the actual thousands of construction companies that have the name Elevate Construction right throughout the US. Um my number is 602-571-8987. And my email is Jason S at elevateconstruction Ist.com. And uh if you are a craft person that is wanting to take a step into being in a superintendent, check out it's on uh it'll be on Audible soon, but it's on Kindle and Amazon right now. Elevating Construction Superintendents is a book we have out. And then you have to get the field engineering methods manual. And it's called Construction Surveying and Layout by Wes Crawford. Uh, if you're if you're taking some of those early steps, either as a foreman or wanting to get into construction management, or you're a layout professional, or you just want to be better at what you do. So those are the things that I would recommend right now. And I'd be excited to hear from you. And I'll I'll obviously send people your way, Jesse, because I think what you're doing is remarkable.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:16

Thank you, Jason. Renee, any last any last words?

SPEAKER_01 1:16:20

Oh, actually, yes. After this, uh the meeting, I'm gonna go right down on my little uh whiteboard on the fridge, uh, date night every week.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:29

Date night, baby. Send me a picture after you do it.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:32

You got it.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:33

Yeah, yeah, date night. Because you know, that is the that is the single biggest. Okay, so two things. My last thing. If somebody's if somebody has a religious affiliation, three last things, three things that we can do tomorrow that'll change your life forever. Start really being dedicated to your church or your religion. If you read scriptures, read scriptures. If you pay tithing, pay tithing. Whatever you do, do it. The other thing is start heading towards reading a book a week. It might even be once a quarter until you get there. And then do date night. If you do those three things, you're those are those those will change your life forever. You'll be like, hey, Jay Money, you'll you change my life forever. That's what you'll say. You'll call me Jay Money because I brought money, money in your life.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:18

So oh, Jay Money in the house.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:23

I like it. Well, man, this has been amazing, Jason, and and I I accept your challenge. Okay. Um, and and I we absolutely got to connect uh again in the future. It's a brand new year, and and I think there's no excuse for us not to. Man, that was a high-energy interview that Jason has contagious energy. So, Renee, can you carry on that energy to to recognize in or giving a shout out to one of our listeners?

SPEAKER_01 1:17:51

Let's do it. We got uh some feedback from Krista. She says, at the risk of showing my age when your sidekick chimes in, it is a little bit reminiscent of Cheech and Chong to me. Shout out, Krista. Um, I gotta watch the Cheech and Chong movies now to get the reference.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:13

Because you've never seen oh my god, you'll you're gonna love it. That's gonna be amazing. Yes, Krista, thank you for the feedback. Thank you for listening and and and spreading the good word out there. And to the rest of y'all, we look forward to being in contact with you and kicking off an amazing 2021. Man, you are one dedicated listener, sticking with us all the way through to the very, very end. Please know that this podcast dies without you, and we invite you to share how the episode is impacting you, along with your thoughts, questions, and suggestions. You have been gracious with your time, so we added social media links in the show notes to make it super easy for you to connect with us. Be kind to yourself, stay cool, and we'll talk at you next time.