The Iron Life Blueprint: Leadership, Faith, and Facing Life's Storms w/ Mike Housey

In this episode of Get Better Today, host Matt Mayberry dives deep into the concept of 'building an iron life' with Mike Housey. Mike is a seasoned executive leader, certified leadership coach, and bestselling author. He shares powerful insights from leading a $1.5 billion sales organization to remarkable success, his journey as an Ironman triathlete, and his experiences as a dedicated husband and father. Mike emphasizes the importance of authenticity, humility, and faith in both personal and professional life. He discusses overcoming personal adversities, including his wife's battle with brain cancer, and the transformative power of perseverance and love. They also explore practical leadership lessons and routines that foster resilience and fulfillment. This episode is a powerful guide for unleashing your inner hero and fortifying your path forward.

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About Mike Housey

Mike Housey is an accomplished business executive, certified leadership coach, and #1 Amazon best-selling author passionate about talent development and business growth. Currently serving as EVP/General Manager of Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits of Indiana, he has spearheaded impressive achievements, including driving a $1.5B sales organization to a 67 basis point gross profit margin increase over five years. Beyond the boardroom, Mike is an Ironman triathlete, devoted husband of 33 years to Marnie, and proud father of three. His wealth of personal and professional experience makes him a respected mentor and leader.

Connect with Matt Mayberry
https://www.mattmayberryonline.com/

Transcript

Mike Housey Intro

0:00

Welcome to a special episode of get better today. I'm your host. Matt Mayberry today. We're diving deep into the concept of building an iron life with Mike housey, a man whose journey embodies the epitome of mental and physical resilience. Mike housey is a seasoned executive leader, certified leadership coach. And number one, Amazon bestselling author As the current Executive Vice President and General Manager of Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits of Indiana, a division of one of America's largest privately owned companies, Mike recently led a 1. 5 billion sales organization to unbelievable success. transformational results. his commitment to personal growth extends beyond the boardroom. He's also an accomplished Ironman triathlete and dedicated husband and father. Join us as we explore the transformative power of building an iron life, uncover Mike's remarkable story, and take away invaluable lessons to fortify our own path forward. This episode is not just about building strength. This episode is about unleashing your inner hero. Let's dive in. Thank you so much.

Mike Housey's Journey

Matt 1:18

Mike Housey. Matt. How you doing today? Doing good. It's an honor and privilege to have you here on the show today. the first question I have for you is throughout your successful career and journey, what would you say is the most valuable lesson that you've learned throughout your journey? And also that has made the most impact as it relates to your leadership journey, but also just a lesson that you still live out still to this day.

The Origin of Iron Life

Mike Housey 1:44

You know, I spent most of my career trying to be someone who I wasn't. I tried to be a image of someone I thought would be successful. So I think the biggest thing I've learned is to truly be authentic. And what's really helped me get there is humility. Humility's been a game changer for me. And, you know, in our society, you don't see a lot of it, but I do see glimpses of it starting to trend. And I think it's really important. I learned through humility that intelligence doesn't come with a job title. that people don't really care what you say or how much you know until they know how much you care. And even to be thoughtful about how you, you know, start a conversation, I always try to come into every conversation intentionally with two things. I usually focus on kindness and curiosity is kind of my go to. And um, and for work, it's, you know, humility has taught me that the best way to solve a problem is to get a lot of people's fingerprints on the solution. And when you open the door of humility, ideas start banging around the walls. And, you know, what comes out is bigger than the sum of the parts that went into it. Um, at home, you know, humility is, taught me that the roots of relationships and my wife has taught me a lot of this. We've been married for 32 years, coming up next month, that it's really about putting self sacrifice, putting the needs of other people in front of yours. And when you do that, your love can really you know, really root and survive the storms that are going to come in everybody's life. Um, and for me, humility has taught me to be happy by being great at nothing, which is the subtitle of my book, but also to become better at everything that matters.

Matt 3:32

And speaking of that, you wrote this great book, Iron Life, which was a number one Amazon bestseller. I personally had the privilege of reading that beforehand before it was released. Phenomenal book. Can you share how the idea of Iron Life started and the significance behind it?

Mike Housey 3:51

so for me, it really started, so I got to tell you a story. Um, I had a, I was at an award ceremony once on Ellis Island and, uh, it was beautiful. The room was filled with music from the orchestra and waiters were walking around with silver platters. Uh, chefs from Manhattan were making the dinner and it was spectacular. I remember looking down, managing, uh, looking at the floorboards and it was like, An old farmhouse from 1800 and literally all four of my grandparents stood in that room at one time or another Coming to America with nothing but the shirts on their back literally and But what they did they didn't bring anything. What they did is they left me a legacy and I really boiled it down to love forgiveness kindness and And that's the legacy. That's the opening of the book. That is what I hope to pass on to my children and the people that read it. So that was the origin of it. Um, when it comes to the title, Iron, I've done four Ironman triathletes, triathlons. And so Iron, that's kind of how it started. After my second Iron Man, a lot of my friends were getting Iron Man tattoos. And I'm like, you know, that'd be kind of cool. But then I thought, I don't want to limit myself to be one dimensional. So I literally drew a heart. And in that heart, uh, on the outside, I drew iron, on the inside, I drew man. And then I filled that heart with everything that was important to me, my family, my goals, my dreams. And, and that really kind of started the origin of the book. And the whole premise is, To build yourself up to be as the best person you can be so that you can bring more love into the world and, uh, leading with love and in your, in, in the world, in the community, most of all in your home. And when you give love, you get love back. And that was, yeah.

Matt 5:48

I always love as an author myself, who's written multiple books, hearing the backstory of that, of how that idea originated, how that came to fruition is always a, You know, something I'd love to hear about, because there's always a deeper meaning behind that people always see the finished copy of a book, but they don't see, the rigorous work that goes into it beforehand to create that piece of work. So thank you so much for sharing that throughout your journey. And for everybody, by the way, who the name Mike Housey might be familiar is because all of you that read culture is the way Mike was actually featured in that book. In the very beginning, I talk about, my journey with Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits of Illinois. And Mike was spearheading that as far as the cultural transformation and a lot of the work there. So for all of you wondering of where Mike Housey, that name might be familiar from, it's for all of you that red culture is the way. And speaking of that, your journey, one of the things that I'm always fascinated with and have been really for the past 14 years is really digging into people's backstory. What made them tick, the trials and tribulations they had to overcome, but really where the journey started for you, for you personally, as a man, what's the backstory of Mike Housey? So

Mike Housey 7:01

the backstory is, to me, it's really everything because When I went through grade school, um, I was, if I wasn't the person, last person picked on a team, I was second from last. Uh, I struggled immensely in school, but worst of all, I was really, I never clicked with my peers. I didn't have friends. I was alienated. I was lone, lonely. And I just, it was just this tremendous weight on me all the time of just this emptiness and loneliness. And not fitting in and really, um, being ashamed of that. And I remember sitting in church one morning and feeling all this weight. And I looked up at the crucifix and I saw a picture of a person who was denied, betrayed, and ultimately humiliated on the cross. And I just felt this connection with Jesus at that moment. And I made a commitment, I think it was like in seventh grade, and it was, Hey, God, you gave me a body, mind, and soul. Those are three things you gave me, and I'm going to make a commitment to you. That I will never start trying to make, trying to make the best and most out of my body, mind, and soul. And, uh, that started a contract. And, um, it wasn't easy, but I never stopped trying. I never stopped praying. And, um, I've been able to turn every aspect of my life around. It's been, um,

Matt 8:31

And how would you say that not only that transformation but how would you say in general your upbringing has impacted you right now as a man, but also as a leader? Is there anything that comes to mind as far as characteristics and really things that define that moment for you?

Mike Housey 8:48

Um, I would say again, when I look at the legacy, my dad, you know, very blue collar family, my grandmother, uh, they're very poor. But the, uh, the giving back, you know, of literally feeding the poor. I watched my dad. Uh, he was in the catering business, we were driving home from work one day and he had me loading up the car, didn't want to ask, he didn't want me to ask a lot of questions so I didn't. And we, we, we literally pulled off on the freeway one day and, uh, he got out on the, on the highway and started running food up in an embankment and, uh, there was a bunch of people sleeping there and he got in the car and he said, you know what, I saw those guys, they, they look really cold, I thought they could use a hot meal. And, uh, Uh, you know, I say, if I was, if I did that to my kids, I would have had a three hour dissertation about the whole thing, but for him, that, that, that was it. And um, you know, my dad had some great friends to, uh, his, um, his, uh, best friend and my godfather, uh, the fireman, they call him Wild Bill, but he gave me my first pair of tennis shoes. And, you know, at that time also Matt, like I'll never forget 1976, the movie Rocky came out and Rocky wasn't a family member, but, but there's this guy, right. Who is, um, You know, just kind of a loser and left out and missed the bus in life and all of a sudden Rocky gets a second shot at life and what does he do? He straps up his shoes, he cracks a bunch of eggs in the morning, he grabs his dog Buckus after Adrian gave it to him, feeds his fish, Cuff and Link, and he hits the streets, climbs the steps, punches the meat. And that's what I did with, uh, uh, well, Bill Bradley was his name and I put my Brooks tennis shoes on and I just kept going. And I thought one day I'm going to get my shot one day, Apollo Creed's going to come and I'm going to be ready for it. And uh, so yeah,

Matt 10:42

that's, I love that. that's the power of inspiration, right? You can really extract it from anything, from the books we read, the podcasts we listened to the movies that we watch. And I think for me, Rocky is obviously the whole series of Rocky, right? I think every single movie. brings out a deeper lever of motivation. I think meaningfulness, at least for me in my life. And it seems like that's been the same for you as well.

Mike Housey 11:03

Yeah, it's, it's even worse than that because like for, I mean, even when we got married, like every morning, four 55, my CD alarm clock would go off and it was like the theme of Rocky, I'm surprised I didn't get divorced and the, you know, the first year, but, uh, Yeah. So it's, it's complete. And even the music, it just, it's something about it that just pulls something from us inside.

Wife's Battle with Brain Cancer

Matt 11:23

And speaking of, your, just your backstory and just knowing you in general, but also reading the book. Iron life. I really believe that the traumatic experiences of life, the challenges, the tribulations, the challenges that we go through, whether professionally or personally, are really not meant to devastate us or derail us from getting us to where we want to go. If we have the right perspective, those moments and experiences can be an accumulative effect. to really help mold us and become a better version of ourselves. and I know for you that one of those traumatic experiences, the day that you found out that your beloved wife, Marnie was diagnosed with brain cancer. can you bring me to that day that a, when you found out. And then B, what have been some of the lessons from that experience of not only learning of that diagnosis, but also the journey of overcoming that journey to where you guys are now?

Mike Housey 12:19

Yeah, well, a lot to unpack Matt, but I remember this beautiful sunny afternoon. I was at my son's baseball little league game. And, um, my sister in law who's a nurse called me and said you got to go home and take Marnie to the hospital right away. She was having some issues and at this point she started slurring her words. And um, I just kind of like just absorbed it. I found, uh, uh, my friend Kevin, uh, took Michael home and I took Marnie to the University of Michigan hospital. Uh, they started running tests. Um, I spent the night and the next morning Marnie insisted that I go home and take Michael to his kindergarten graduation and she was devastated that, that she couldn't be there. So we went and we went to this great party and then the next day I went back. And, um, I remember sitting in a room, there's a University of Michigan life flight helicopter coming down and, uh, the doctor said that you have an oligodendroglioma. It's a very bad form of brain cancer. And uh, so we didn't know if there's any other forms of cancer in the body and thank heavens they ruled that out. And, you know, we thought, hey, we can fight one battle, right? So, through this journey, it was, um, you know, Marnie was just, you know, courageous. So, she chose to really put all of her faith and trust in God during this process. And, um, you know, you have either a choice, either you can go down the, um, the WebMD route and really kind of derail yourself with all the horrible things that can happen or in Marnie's case, just put all of her trust in God. And what she found was, and she said if she had to do over again, she wouldn't have done it because so many people, friends, family and complete strangers just did unbelievably, um, just kind things, just little acts of kindness every single day. I don't even know how we put food on the table and like, just literally people would just show up with meals and I tried to keep the kids on their school schedule and when Marnie was going through radiation and chemo, she tried to be a great mom. So this love that poured in was tremendous. And the other thing we found, Matt, is that when chemotherapy, is almost worse than the disease and it's like that for some people. There's a whole nother world out there, uh, subculture, people that are helping each other trying to find holistic paths and cures. And, you know, through God's grace, we found some amazing people and one person that led us to, um, uh, really a cure. It's a holistic protocol. Um, it doesn't work for everyone, but it worked for Marnie and, uh, blew the doctors away. They couldn't really explain it, but, um, I got a phone call. I saved a voicemail. I'm on like eight iPhones since I got this call, Matt. But, like, it's 2014 and it's, uh, our nurse, Sandy Reimer, calling to say I just want to let you know, Marnie has the all clear, and it's been 10 years this year. So it's been an amazing journey of faith and love. and, uh, and perseverance.

Matt 15:37

Was there ever a time throughout that experience where you didn't see a way out?

Mike Housey 15:42

Um, I, I do remember one time where, uh, you know, Marnie went on to, you know, looked at the diagnosis online and she broke down and, and she remembers the time that, that I broke down. Um, but, you know, I think it was her, um, desire to be so strong for the kids that she just never showed weakness and, and again, it just came down to faith. You had to do something right. So it was just complete surrender and, um, complete commitment to the family. And um, yeah, so there's, there's tough days, but. You know, neither one of us would take it back.

Matt 16:22

Yeah, that's amazing. I think it shows you to the power of having something to fight for. And oftentimes it's much deeper than just us personally beating something, whether it's a challenge or a disease. It's, it's living for the people that we love and love the most and dearest. With that being said, Mike, what would you say for somebody going through something, whether it's something similar with a family member, whether it's. Maybe they're dealing with their own personal or professional challenge where they don't see a way out or they feel like their life's coming to an end. What would you say is something that has helped you and your family throughout that traumatic experience but has obviously impacted your life in a positive way because you went through that? What piece of advice do you have for anyone going through a challenge or a trial or tribulation that has them feeling defeated right now?

Mike Housey 17:08

So listen, you know, we're all going to get hurricanes and tropical storms and, and, uh, we're going to be tested in life. Right. And it's, it's not, if it's going to happen, but it's when it's going to happen. So for us, whether it's a story that I told about, you know, growing up and, you know, this feeling of loneliness and, and being a loser or Marnie story of getting through. this four year journey of, you know, brain cancer. The common denominator is really faith and it's connecting to God. And you gotta, you gotta connect to something, right? So, um, through time our faith has grown. It wasn't always this strong, but at this time we've just found that, you know, the creator and savior of the universe is a great person to tether yourself to in difficult times. So, I love to go to morning mass. Um, I say the rosary every day. I didn't think that was possible. I didn't think I could take a cold shower every day either. And I do that now, Marnie and I go to Eucharistic adoration together. Um, I took two days off work and we went to the, uh, Eucharistic Congress down in Indianapolis, which was absolutely life changing in terms of spirituality. So, um, listen, you can look to a lot of things and everyone has different ways to approach it. But, um, you know, getting grounded and, and God is, is, is critical. And if you look at the son of God hanging on a cross, I mean, it kind of tells you that you're going to have some difficult times and, uh, and ultimately, you know, you hope to end up in heaven.

Iron Life Philosophy: Strength, Love, and Fulfillment

Matt 18:43

I always say, and I was raised on this saying, rock bottom builds more champions than privileged. And my father always used to say that when I was growing up, obviously rock bottom can mean multiple different things for many different circumstances. But I think that's, that's the power of going through adversity, you know, is not running away from it, but actually running towards it in a lot of ways. and looking for the ways that we can develop and grow as men and as women and as human beings. I think there's so much power, uh, to be taken away and extracted from adversity and the challenges of life. And it seems like you and your family have done that and continue to do that because of those challenges.

Mike Housey 19:19

Yeah. And Matt, that's part of the, the origin of the word iron and iron life too. Some people are like, why do you call it iron life? And you know, there's a triathlete piece and the love. But iron is, uh, it's one of the strongest substances on earth. You can mold it. It's, it's, it can sustain high heat. And the only thing that could destroy, um, iron is rust its own rust. Um, we all have iron running through our blood. And the only thing that can really stop us is our own self doubt, our own fear, right? That's our rust. And, and, you know, through this book and this journey, this life, um, you know, I'm just trying to help show people that there's a way to, you know, prevent the rust. There's a way to take the rust off and just be that. You know, just get up when you hit rock bottom,

Matt 20:05

right? Absolutely. couldn't have said it better myself. And speaking of Iron Life, back to Iron Life, you shared a little bit about how that title came to the forefront, uh, when writing that book, but what overall objective did you have for the reader? what, what message do you have for everybody who hasn't read Iron Life yet, and they're thinking about it and it sounds intriguing. Uh, what, what did you want the main goal or objective to be for the reader to take away from that book?

Mike Housey 20:30

So, in the book, Matt, I use this analogy of an eight, uh, person, crew team, and I had a chance to meet in a Olympic rower in the nine, in the Seoul, Korea Olympics. I read Boys in a Boat by Daniel Brown, which is awesome. And, and, and so in this boat, the analogy is that every ore in an A person boat represents something that's important to your life. Mm-hmm. Um, it's either. a value or a relationship. And the idea is the more oars you can get in the water, the stronger you're going to be and the more fulfilled that you can be, the more love you can bring into the world and more fulfillment you feel ultimately. So in my boat, I started with, you know, that saying, um, put your oxygen mask on before assisting others. So the first three orders of my boat are, uh, body, mind, and soul. So the first one is my body, you know, trying to, you know, obviously gearing up for, I started with a mile and then I went to, you know, 5k, 10k marathons and, and Ironman triathlons. So it was a journey of just building my body. And then my mind being a lifelong learner, always trying to, learn perspectives, different points of view, um, and, and, and just constantly just trying to be. Um, not necessarily smarter, but just more informed and more well rounded. And then obviously the soul, you know, just really deepening my faith, um, you know, Christianity has an amazing roadmap to follow. And um, and then, you know, then there's like, uh, even I have health is another or, and it's separate than body because, and Matt, you've taught me so much in this regard, right? So. Um, fasting, you know, I've done up to 72 hour fast as a way to recalibrate my body, but also It connects spiritually, which is, uh, it's a very powerful experience. Um, you know, three years ago you gave me this, uh, aura ring as a gift. Yeah. Yeah. And like my wife makes fun of me cause every morning I wake up, she goes, how'd you sleep? I'm like, hold on, let me tell you, I gotta, I gotta go through all the diagnostics. But, but I had, um, I, I, you know, I decided that the way I was going to be successful is to cut sleep. So I ended up with pneumonia twice, shingles twice. And finally I'm like, okay, this isn't working. So that there's the health or. And then my relationships, uh, a husband, a father to my three kids, uh, leadership, right? So we all know really successful people, um, great at something, right? And, and so many of these people have one big oar in the water and their life is outbalanced. And their boats are going around in circles. And, and the final thing about this analogy is that in an eight person crew boat, there's only one person, the ninth person. That is looking forward and it's called a coxswain, right? So the coxswain is in charge of keeping everybody on tempo, uh, pushing them to a faster pace and, and making sure that the boat goes straight and it's going to the, you know, to the finish line. And, and so my big question in the book for everybody is who's your coxswain? Who's that person that's guiding your boat, that's helping you get your oars in the water, helping you synchronize those oars. And you know, while I would say many people have sat in that seat for me, certainly my father, my brother, my wife, um, day in and day out, it's God that's in my boat and he's the one that's helping me get my oars in the water. And really the finish line is love, right? So it's like, how can I bring more love? And in return, get more love. And, and ultimately that's fulfillment. That's where happiness comes from. You know, you can chase all these other things, but I think I boiled it down to that simple crew boat and I break it down. Like, so people can kind of evaluate their own crew boat. Where are they? And where are their oars and who's guiding them?

The Hero Lessons

Matt 24:15

That's so great. And another key aspect of iron life that I personally have found very intriguing can you share with the listeners or those viewing here on video, can you share more about the hero lessons? What is the hero lessons and then how also can that apply directly to people's lives?

Mike Housey 24:34

Yeah. So I got to tell you a story. I was in, I grew up in Detroit, I went to school in Detroit and I was a freshman in college and I was going to school all day. I was working 30 hours that night and we just eclipsed 40 days without sunshine. Forty straight days and something psychologically happens to human beings, but they don't see. So I'm sitting again in the hallway waiting for my classroom to open. And, um, you know, the, the floor's dirty. It's winter time. There's mud and water on the floor. The walls are gray. The, the tiles are gray. Everything's gray. And, and back in 1987 or 86, whatever, uh, punk rock was a big thing. So people walking down the hallway, it looked like a cure concert, right? So now I'm just, I'm just in my mind just really kind of really. Ripping people and, you know, how they look and, and, and I see this guy down the hallway and, uh, he's, he's running his hand up and down the wall and he's way down there. And I'm looking at a few more, you know, uh, you know, people dressed in, uh, punk rock gear. And then this guy's getting closer and his hands running up and down. Now all my energy, my negative energy is going towards this guy. What is this guy? You know, what a, what a weirdo, uh, what a loser. Um, and then he's got this giant backpack. And what's he going to do? Climb Mount Everest. And, and I'm just ripping this guy apart. And all of a sudden he's getting almost across from me. His hand swings into a classroom and he stops and he backs up and he feels the wall for the room number. So, so here's the situation. The event is, um, 40 days of gray. Uh, I'm working my ass off. I'm feeling sorry for myself and my, so the hero, I got to break it down. So the H stands for humility. The E stands for events in your life. Um, a lot of them you have no control over. The R is your response to those events and the O is the outcome, right? So the event is 40 days of gray feeling sorry for myself. My response was just to rip on other people. And my outcome was just compounded misery. But the moment I saw that guy back up and feel the wall, like instantly humility hit me. And, and that's the most powerful piece. So then I had complete clarity. And from that day on, whenever I see myself or feel myself feeling sorry for myself, I stop and I think about that moment and I choose a better response. I choose a response that says you're incredibly blessed. Yes, this is very difficult. You'll get through it. Keep your head up. And by all means, build other people up around you. Don't try to elevate yourself by bringing someone else down. So that's the anatomy of a, in a real life example of a hero lesson, but we can use it all the time. Um, you know, just evaluating. And when you go to bed at night, just think about what happened today. Like what didn't sit well with you? What was that event? What was your response in the outcome? And then put your ego and pride aside and bring in humility and think, okay, I'm gonna be really honest with myself here. How was my, how was my response to this situation? And what you find over time, and mine was a dramatic story, is that when you see that, um, event happen again, you are ready to choose a better response. Um, there's a part of our brain called the amygdala. And, um, you know, there's this thing called amygdala hijack. Someone cuts you off in traffic and you want to flip them off. And that's, everything's bypassing your, your frontal lobe. And, and it was great when tigers were chasing us back in the day, right? But we got to gain control over amygdala and this is an amazing way to do that. So when you see that, now when people cut me off, you know, I say a little prayer for them, it took years to get there. But through that hero lesson, I was able to do that.

Matt 28:16

And how would you say that somebody like in the real world day to day from a practicality standpoint, how can they start implementing that, you know, into their own life?

Mike Housey 28:25

So I'd say two ways, Matt. One is literally when you go to bed, just do like a little inventory and just reflect on that day. Um, effect on what happened, how you felt. There's usually something that didn't sit right or really gave you some joy and just break down like, and bring in the humility and say, you know, what, what, what could I have done better so that when this occurrence or something similar happens again, I'm ready, I'm ready to choose a better response. The other thing, I had a chance to golf with a, um, uh, NFL linebacker who played for Ohio state. And I knew that Ohio state was big into the E plus R equals O. And I was really excited to ask him about his experience and, and he loved it. I mean, it was a huge part of the culture of the Buckeye football team. And, you know, and I told him about the humility piece and he loved it. And he said what he liked so much about it is that. It's a, it's a chance in, in real time to kind of hit the pause button, try to bring in some humility and think about what you want the outcome to be. So, you know, someone cuts me off or, you know, you know, what do I want the outcome to be? Do I want to end up in a, an accident? I want to end up in road rage. Right. Right. And so if I'm really thoughtful about how I want this, I just want to get to where I'm going safely. Right. So it helps me in the moment through humility, choose an hour that says, fine, you're having a bad day. Let's back off. Right. So, it can either be used reflectively or in, in real time. Does that make sense?

Matt 29:53

Absolutely, it does. And it's such a powerful, I think, tool to utilize and really, whether it's professionally or personally. I know for me personally, like you said, right? Someone cuts you off or you're stuck in traffic, it's very easy to kind of lose your mind and lose your temper and control in that moment. But I think the more you practice it, it's like with anything, right? The more you do it, the more you get comfortable with it, the more that patience grows. I know for me personally, being able to control the controllables, right? Being able to control the things that are in my ownership and span of control has been a game changer. Because if you look at 95 percent of what a lot of people stress about, or, you know, they're fretting over a mistake or something they may have done a week ago, 90, over 90 percent of those things that they worry about, lose sleep over, It's not in their control, right? The only thing that we can control is really changing our perspective on what we can control right now, which is how we're going to show up and respond in the present moment. And I think for me, I've always been fortunate to have mentors and coaches in my life to teach me the value of your perspective truly does drive performance, how you see the world drives, how you live your life. So I think that's a phenomenal lesson that we can all, all apply, whether it's personal professionally. So thank you so much for sharing the hero lesson, but speaking of not only the hero lesson, but also just, this theme of humility and iron life. Obviously you've already shared with how that's impacted you as a man and in your personal life. How have all these ideas impacted you as a leader? Cause you're an accomplished, a seasoned executive leader, a certified leadership coach. I've had the privilege of partnering and working with you. and, and I see it in the day to day, right? You really, truly care about people. It's not simply just about rising through the ranks and collecting the accolades and where you sit in the, the company's org chart. It truly is valuing people and making a difference in people's lives. How have, how has all of this impacted your leadership journey?

Mike Housey 31:46

So along the way, one thing that really impacted me, and I think it, I think when I met you and started learning from you, like it, there was like this immense synergy. And so when I was a senior in college, um, we had a student table at the economic forum in Detroit and The, uh, author of In Search of Excellence, Tom Peters was speaking.

Matt 32:11

Great

Mike Housey 32:11

book. Great book. Timeless, right? And, and so, I remember Tom talking about a story. The big three, four GM Chrysler would hire him, uh, cause they had a problem. And Tom said what he did was he went onto the factory floor and he talked to the workers on the floor. Uh, he talked to the mechanics, he talked to the suppliers, he went into the office and he goes, and I put the pieces together and I solved the problem and I, and I sold it back to the company. And then he said, do you know what on pause said, I'm a multimillionaire and Matt, I never forgot that. I mean, the answers to the problems are right there. They're in the building. People don't have the full context, so they can't put it together. But when you have the humility and, and care about people enough to ask them what the problem is, they'll tell you. And then when you also have enough, humility and love for people and care to ask them, what do you think could get better? They'll also tell you. So by doing what Tom Peters did ourselves, right? That's how you create a super strong culture. Um, I like the analogy that I might do at my next meeting where everyone that walks in gets a puzzle piece and I'm going to ask him to throw the puzzle on the table. And at the end, we're going to build it. And what I'm expecting to see is a puzzle with pieces missing because, you know, some people forgot or they're like, ah, I don't really care. I'm just, I'm checked out. Right. This is stupid. And, and the whole message is, is that we all have a valuable piece of the puzzle. And if we don't, if we feel like people don't care about us, we're not going to contribute our puzzle. And I'm talking about our talents now, right? If, if they feel like they're, you know, they're just a cog in the machine, I'm not interested. Or maybe they're, they quit and stayed. That's a term you taught me. And, and you know, I don't care about throwing my puzzle piece up there. So at the end, you're going to have a piece. That looks maybe a little bit like Swiss cheese. And the thing is, no, everyone's super important and we can only be our best when everyone has their puzzle piece on the table and the leaders have to open the door for that.

Matt 34:15

Just because we may not have the answers right now doesn't mean the answers aren't there.

Mike Housey 34:19

Exactly.

Embracing Radical Curiosity in Leadership

Matt 34:20

I think one of the things that I've, I've always admired and I think respected about your leadership. And I always say that it's a very, it's a vastly underrated, I think, characteristic and competency. As it relates to leadership, which is radical curiosity, I think, having the understanding and realization that, hey, you might not have all the answers. That's fine, right? Even if you're the top person in the chart, right? Like, it's fine to admit that right now. You don't have all the answers. I think that I've always admired your ability to display curiosity and, and really search for answers, right? Search for, um, solutions to problems. And I think that that's, that's a huge leadership skillset that's not talked about enough radical curiosity.

Mike Housey 35:01

Well, Matt, under your leadership, we built an entire cultural blueprint, and it was just that way, right? I remember I met with the whole commercial team. You met with the finance teams, and we went through this process, and it was curiosity, and when people start seeing that, not only are you listening, it's not more just pretending you're actually curious. But then when they start seeing by products of that, well, they listened and now something is happening,

Matt 35:28

right?

Transformational Leadership: Evolving Over Time

Mike Housey 35:29

And they ask for ideas, the solutions. And I see those happening too. So then the buy in starts to come and the naysayers start to quiet down and, and everyone goes around the table and. They start working on it.

Matt 35:42

and speaking of leadership, how is your, what would you say? Or maybe the top two or three ways that your leadership has evolved over the years in my latest book, the transformational leader, I talk about the evolving leadership dynamics, just like the workplace dynamics has shifted and evolved from just even 10 years ago, quite frankly, even five years ago. But how has your leadership changed from when you first started in your professional journey to right now?

Mike Housey 36:08

I like to tell stories, Matt. So, um, I, I, and that's where my lessons happened from, right? So I remember I had a new boss and we were going into one of our big distributors and my boss was like, Hey, you got to really hammer on this or late on their payments. And it really wasn't my style. It's that, that, uh, aggressive combative style, isn't it? But I, I acquiesced unfortunately. And, and I went in there like a bull in the China shop and, uh, we were right, they were wrong. And, and we got her away. We won the battle. But what ensued is just this horrendous relationship. It got so bad that I could be in the room with this guy and he would say, Hey, Matt, tell Mike that we're not going to accept this. And that here are the terms, right? And he was like, I was right there, but he wouldn't say anything to me. And, um, and, and this relationship just got worse and worse and worse. So at this time I saw Mel Gibson's movie, uh, the passion of Christ. And it made me reflect on my life. And it was the worst relationship I had by a mile in my life. And I just, just didn't feel right. So I invited this guy to lunch, his favorite restaurant, not knowing if he would accept the invitation and he did. He came and I said, listen, um, we have a horrendous relationship. It's 100 percent my fault. I started it. I caused it and I'm here to apologize to you. I hope you accept my apology, but I understand if you don't. And it was, I get kind of choked up thinking about it because it was, he accepted the apology. And, um, I wouldn't say we became best friends, but I can tell you this. If I, my car broke down in the middle of the night, the guy would drive three hours to get me, you know? So, so that was transformational in terms of, again, you know, the theme of humility and back to the legacy of forgiveness, right? And asking for forgiveness. Giving forgiveness. It's critical. You can have these feuds that go on forever between companies. And some people just like that adversarial, but when you can build trust, you can get so much done.

Building a Positive Organizational Culture

Matt 38:07

Trust is everything. You can't connect with people without trust, right? you have to form that development that there before you can ever build and compound on trust. So that's a phenomenal example. And I think that it goes right into let's briefly talk about culture, right? Cause as I mentioned, you obviously were featured in my book, culture is the way. But right from the very beginning, you, you were what I deem a, an avid culture builder, where there's not necessarily an end date. It's a continuous focus on building a better team culture, better, organizational environment where people can flourish and thrive and really become a better version of themselves, right? Not just at work, but also become a better man or a better woman. what has worked well for you as it relates to building culture?

Transitioning to a New Leadership Role

Mike Housey 38:53

So Matt, out of your book, I took this idea. I didn't never heard of Leo before. So you talked about how the football coach at your alma mater, University of Indiana, had the same Leo and it stood for love each other. Tom Allen. Tom Allen. And I got to have lunch with and meet Tom Allen. And you talked about David Novak's idea with the, with the chicken, um, rubber chicken, rubber chicken or, and this idea ever since I read the book, I mean, it really kind of percolated for two years and in my new role in my job, um, I, I, I brought both to life. So I've created, uh, the Leo award and I have a little lion, like Leo the lion and Leo stands for love each other. And. peers nominate peers for going the extra mile going above and beyond and doing things that they don't have to do. And it is my favorite part of our monthly meeting where people get to recognize each other. And what it's doing is just strengthening the fabric of our culture because we're rewarding people who are going above and beyond and, and, and, and recognizing that is what's important to us. And together, you know, united we stand, divided we fall, so we're really breaking down silos and we're uniting each other and, um, and it's just, it's powerful. So Leo has been a huge piece of, of, of the culture and it just came from reading your book and I never heard of it. And then. I loved it so much. I set up a lunch with Tom Allen and spent a day with him and it was terrific. So I think that's something that really worked. Um, things that don't work are top down, heavy handed. Um, here's what we're going to do, you know, get it done. And, and when, when you take your heart out of it and you don't really show that you care, um, you delegate it, you push it off. Um, I think you gotta be in the trenches, you know, with, with your people and you gotta go through it. Otherwise there's no respect.

Matt 40:47

And how has that transition shifted for you, being the head of sales at Southern Glazer's Wine in Spirits of Illinois to then going over and running the entire state of Indiana as the executive vice president and general manager? How has that transition been for you? Because obviously I know that you've had a lot of great relationships in Illinois. You've done very well there. You helped mold the culture there, right? As far as what that is now and, but how has that transition been of kind of going into a different role, a different state, a different team, new faces, faces you've never seen before. How has that been for you and what has been maybe some things that have been challenged for you in ways of building culture and connecting with people on a deeper level? So I started

Mike Housey 41:29

in October, but I didn't really physically get to Indiana until January of 23. So I started in October, but I didn't really physically get to Indiana until January of 23. My son was finishing high school. So my family was back in Illinois. So man, I had six months of like just in an apartment, you know, five days a week. And I vowed I would never cook in my apartment. And I literally every single night I took groups of people all around the state of Indiana out to happy hours, lunches. Uh, we broke bread, we celebrate it with the drinks that we sell. And my entire six months was just cooking. doing nothing but trying to really get to know the people and have them get to know me. Um, my DNA was like what I cared about and Um, it really wasn't none of those meetings was about performance. It was about understanding what they're going through. Um, a lot of leadership changes, compensation model changes. There's a lot of, a lot of things that, you know, they were dealing with. And so that was, I don't know, that was just like, to me, game changing. Cause I felt like I connected at a personal level. Um, I got out, I hit every corner of the state. And, um, I don't know, I feel like they welcomed me. I feel like, you know, an honorary Hoosier. It took me a while to get a, an Indiana license plate because they're, they're, they're more expensive than Illinois, so I was cheap and they were fired up when I finally got my Indiana license plate. But, uh, yeah, so that was just, I don't know, just connecting on a human level. Yeah. And now I think we look at problems collectively. And, um, and we, we set up an advisory council. where we really throw the problems on the table and we look for solutions. And we have the people that can help bring those solutions to life at table also. Amazing. Yeah. And, and we did it. We, we conquered some big things in 23. Um, went through a big, uh, you know, really positive growth and 24, but we're going to get that back on the table again, because if we can find, we can find issues before they really start brewing or, You know, uh, smoke before there's a fire. Um, that's, that's how we win together.

Matt 43:43

I think that's such great advice though. I think for, cause a lot of the listeners are executive leaders of medium to large size organizations. And I think that for anyone, whether you're transitioning into a new role or now you have a new team, Leading a new business unit or have new direct reports, or even switching, switching jobs entirely. I think that there's so much value in kind of what you said the first six months though, of taking people out to dinner, connecting with them on a very human level, first and foremost, before you ever started talking about the X's and O's and objectives and, the vision of where you wanted the company to go, right? I think there's so much value in that because I, I think it's more important now than ever before with, AI evolution. At the end of the day, business is and will always be about people. Absolutely. And, and I think that you can never underestimate that. I think that there's so much leadership gold in what you did those first six months.

Mike Housey 44:39

Yeah. Yeah. You can, you know, it's, it's like momentum. You can't see it, but you can feel it. And I can just feel like this momentum brewing and, uh, it's good. I'm super excited. What's going to come next. Uh, I feel like we can conquer, uh, the world.

Matt 44:56

And throughout your journey, rising through the ranks professionally, becoming the great transformational executive leader that you are today, impacting hundreds, if not thousands of people's lives on a very personal level, helping people get promotions and go throughout their evolution professionally. One of the things about you that I don't think quite a lot of people may know about, unless they really know you, is that you've also managed to keep the core tenets of your personal life very intact. As you said in the very beginning, right? There's a lot of people who may be very ambitious, may even be very successful, but maybe in their personal life, they're the most hated person. Or maybe they're the most hated person in their own household, which to me, that's the ultimate failure. You're loved publicly, but you're hated in your private household. How have you been able to manage your professional journey while also keeping those core tenets in your personal life intact,

Mike Housey 45:52

you know, and you just became a father, Matt. Congratulations. Thank you. Um, I had two daughters and then a son and I remember reading a book that said that, uh, your daughter's self esteem first and foremost is going to be formed and watching the relationship between her father and her mother. And so I just remember thinking that every day when I walk into the house. You know, I'm on, I'm being observed, uh, probably unconsciously, but I'm being observed. And not that I had to change, you know, my, my demeanor, but it was always ever present that this relationship with, with my wife and how I treat her is going to directly impact probably my daughters for the rest of their life. And, and that was really critical. And then Just connecting, you know, with my kids. Um, when we go to church and say the hour father, we, we hold hands, right? And, and we have this thing, uh, where I'll squeeze, do you love me three times and they'll squeeze back. Yes, I do. And then I'll squeeze how much and then they'll, you know, it's their little hands. They'll squeeze you as hard as you can and you grimace and, and it's just, it's just this connection, right? So. We could be anywhere and I could just do the hand thing and we could tell each other we love each other and nobody else knows, right? It's just this quiet thing. Wow. So I think that's, that's a, that's a big piece of it. Um,

Matt 47:17

And what, what advice though? Cause I think you're, you're a shining example of that. I think that is a huge misconception. I think professionally and in the corporate world, right? I feel like that a lot of people feel like you have to sacrifice Your personal life or your family, to get to where you want to go or rise up the ranks. and obviously, right? I mean, you, we all have to sacrifice, right? Yeah. For every level of achievement requires a greater level of sacrifice. But I think that family isn't one of them, so what, what piece of advice just do you have something very practical that somebody can keep in the forefront of their mind as they move forward?

Mike Housey 47:49

So what I did, Matt, is I took what was important to me, whether body, mind, soul, whatever things I wanted to work on. And I, I just, I said, okay, between 5 a. m. and 7 a. m., nobody expects anything of me at all. My family's sleeping, work is unengaged, and I have this window where I can do anything I want. So if I have the discipline to go to bed early and get up early, which most of the time I'm pretty good at, Then I have this window where I can really get fulfillment and you know, whether it's, you know, working out or, or reading or writing that book, right? It's, it's my window where I get, I charge my batteries, I get my oxygen mask on, I get my ores first few in the water, right? So with that done, then the rest of it is, it's a lot about sacrifice. It's a lot about putting other people's needs in front of yours, um, whether at work or at home. And, um, especially at home, right? It's just having that humility that, listen, you're, you're a dad and you're a husband and this family is, is critical. So, um, You know, figuring out how to get to the games, how to throw the ball, how to, I read my girls, the entire Harry Potter series, the entire thing. I had voices for Dumbledore and Hagrid. And then Michael came along. We did Percy Jackson and Aragon and, and, and just, you can't substitute time. And, uh, the last thing I'll say, Matt is, You know, my advice to people is if you have faith, teach your children the faith, because in this world, they're not going to get it from anywhere else. Um, I had a friend of me said recently, I'm good. I'm sending my kid to a Catholic school and I'm like, no, you're not good. Um, what they're going to learn there is woefully short of what needs to be taught. And it has to start with the dad and being reinforced by the mother. And that's just the bottom line. Um, if you don't talk to your kids about faith, the morals, the values that you hold, you can pretty much count that they won't carry that on. And that's harsh, but it's true.

Daily Routines and Habits for Success

Matt 49:45

I mean, listen, just like leadership, we always, you know, you hear me say a thousand times already, until the leaders go first, no one else is going to follow suit, right? it all starts when the leaders first model that behavior. The same thing with parenthood. I think that, I'm a big believer in that values are not taught, they're caught, how are you behaving every single day when no one's even watching behind closed doors, the conversations that you have with your spouse and significant other, how you treat them, how you respect them. It's all a cumulative effect of how children are raised. And that's even what I've learned from even some. Yes, I am a new father, right? but I have learned from some pretty extraordinary people. Um, I think that the importance of that. so I'm very excited for that. And thank you so much for sharing, uh, those nuggets of wisdom there. And, and speaking of keeping those core tenets in your, your life intact, despite continually having these ambitions. One of the things that I'm a huge advocate of, and you know this, and I know that you are as well, is your, what is your daily routine, what habits, what rituals do you have to really set you up for a positive day and to help you thrive? Is there anything that you want to share as far as what has the role of habits and routines played in your life? And if you would be willing to share kind of what some of those habits are, that would be great.

Mike Housey 50:59

Yeah, for sure, Matt. And, you know, I'll give you a couple of examples. So when, when Marnie was recovering from her surgery and chemo and radiation, we did a lot, we went down this, uh, a lot of these different protocols I talked about. And one was really getting to all organic. Um, and, and, and I, I vowed to make her a organic green juice every single morning. Well, I ran every morning. That was just something I did, you know, as a training for things. So my first thing was, You know, create a vision, right? I want my wife to be healthy. I want her to heal. And, and then that was one. Number two is I'm going to make a commitment that I'm going to shop for the produce. I'm going to organize six bags of, you know, the different vegetables. So in the morning I can get up and I can make her a green juice. And then, then I would go running from there. Um, so I linked it to a part of my day. I committed to this vision. And, um, and then, you know, I kind of stepped back and I think the big thing is like, how do you feel when you do this? And yeah, sometimes I feel exhausted. I feel worn out, but deep down there's a sense of, Man, I am doing something. I'm making a contribution that is, it's important, right? It's important to Marnie and her family. Um, I think there's another piece and I'm huge on micro habits, right? So while I'm juicing, I got my headphones on and I'm listening to audio books or news or podcasts, something to educate me. And then I would throw in these, uh, a drink, um, uh, do a, swallow a cube of garlic or a clove of garlic, wash it down with apple cider vinegar, just cause it was like gritty. And I did pulling where you put coconut oil in your mouth and you get rid of toxins. And I did all these things while juicing. Um, and today I'm not really training for anything right now. We've got a lot going on at work, but I wake up every day. Um, I'm following, uh, uh, different health people. So I start with my feet on the ground, connecting to the magnetic pole of the earth for 10 minutes. Um, I do, I'm on day 180 of Duolingo learning Spanish. So I'm grounding, I'm doing Spanish micro habits. Uh, then I do Wim Hof breathing, which is a huge part of my ritual. That's huge. Yeah. For three years. Right. And then, and right now the sun comes up about 6 40 in the morning. So I can do Wim Hof while looking at the sun and getting that vitamin D into the, you know, from the morning sunshine. Um, then I do my workout, uh, usually kind of a hit routine right now, some weights. And, uh, I do a cold shower every single day. I didn't think that was possible, like I said earlier, but every day it's a cold shower. And then, uh, on the way to work, it's the rosary. And I, when I show up at work, that, that routine is unbelievable. I've grounded, I got vitamin D, I've done breathing, I've worked out and I've connected with, with God and it's, and I just walk in ready to

Matt 53:50

And just like the title of your book, Iron Life, I mean, I always say that how you start your morning is almost like putting that body armor on for the day, right? I mean, you're good. There's going to be things that irritate you or get on your skin, and it's, it's how you start your day is how you're going to, the rest of your day is going to go usually most of the time, and so I think I'm a huge believer in routines and rituals and really have been my entire life. And, Um, it's hearing you talk about how those have been very beneficial for you. I always tell people, is to not overcomplicate the process because it's very easy to say, geez, Mike, I can't, I can't do nearly half the things you just talked about, but I think it starts small. Yeah. It starts small. Start where you are. But what is something that you could be doing to feed your mind, to nourish your soul, to feed your body with, really positivity to help you have a thriving day.

Mike Housey 54:35

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we all brush our teeth, right? Link, link, link something off of that connected to. Something that's important to you. And again, in that crew boat, where's your boat heading? Where do you want to go? What's your finish line look like? These are questions that a lot of people don't have answers to. And

Matt 54:50

absolutely.

Mike Housey 54:51

And you got to think about where, where, you know, what's the purpose?

Matt 54:54

Absolutely.

Mike Housey 54:55

What are you going to contribute? What are you going to leave behind? What are you going to take with you? Yeah. You know?

Matt 54:59

Yeah. I think if you are struggling with any rituals or habits to start instilling into your morning, I always suggest to start with something as simple as an attitude of gratitude. I use the five minute journal. You can purchase that on Amazon, but it's simply writing down three things that you're grateful for every single morning. I think having the attitude of gratitude is how you build the, the abundance of wealth and, you know, just really just to set yourself up for a successful day to remind yourself every single morning of what you're truly grateful for. It really helps to put you in the right perspective. So

Mike Housey 55:29

yeah, I remember the very first time I met you, we did that seminar where you were in the keynote speaker. And I remember that was one of the big things that you taught the group. And um, yeah, and that, and to me that's incorporated in whole breathing ritual is that, that gratitude and no matter how bad things are, uh, you know, a really good friend said if the whole world stood shoulder to shoulder and threw up all the problems in the air, you'd reach for your own. And first I thought. Then you walk around the world and you're like, yeah, no, you're right. I'd be, I'd be jumping as high as I could to grab my own problems back.

Matt 56:04

That's a great one.

Mike Housey 56:05

Yeah,

The Impact of Ironman on Leadership and Life

Matt 56:05

that's a great one. wrapping up here in a second, Mike, one of the final questions I do have for you, how has Ironman and the triathlon experiences benefited your life from a leadership perspective, but also personally, right. Excluding the physical. aspect from it. How have those experiences benefited you as a leader and then also in your personal life?

Mike Housey 56:30

Martin Luther King has this quote that I love and he says that, um, something like, you know, um, if you can't run, then walk. If you can't walk and crawl, but by all means, keep moving. And I feel like From where I came when I was young, like, I felt, I didn't have any friends, I felt, I didn't even know I had any friends, I mean, people went out of their way to alienate me and leave me out and do mean things and, and, and I just, I just like, okay, I can either crumble or I can, I can go, right? I can try to persevere, I can crack the eggs and go for a run like Rocky. And, and the Iron Man just teaches you that there is gonna be, there's gonna be a lot of grueling days, but that Martin Luther King quote is just so important. You just, you just have to keep going. Um, you know, crossing the finish line at 14 hours, 146 point, 140. 6 miles, you're gonna It was absolutely grueling and it, you know, it was, um, it's just every ounce of energy you have. But, you know, I connected to a vision and a goal and, and I, I went through these habits. So Yeah. I had a training regimen and I followed the regimen and I got up in days I felt horrible and sometimes it's surprising. I tell my kids, just show up at the proverbial track, whatever it is, and sometimes you'll be amazed. You might feel horrible and you have the best workout of your life. You know, the days you get there and you just grind it out. But every one of those workouts just makes you a little bit stronger mentally and physically. Um, every day, man, I hop in a cold shower and every day, I'm like, am I ever going to get used to this? And I never do. I mean, it is a shocking every day today as it was the day before. But, um, I do feel a sense of there's reasons I'm doing it and I'm connecting to the reasons why. And I feel better because of it.

Matt 58:20

And it builds up the resiliency. I think that, You know, speaking of that, I say the same thing when I get into a cold tub of let's say 34 degrees, right? I always think to myself, am I ever going to get to a time and experience where I like, this is just, I'm, I'm, I'm good with it. I'm,, no, the answer to that is no, you know, but I think there's, there's so much value in that because I always tell people never, ever, ever, ever, ever stop doing hard shit. Yeah. and the more you can do that, my, my wife, my friends, they all think I'm crazy in a way, In a good way. but I had a mentor once, who he was a coach, very dear friend of mine, made a tremendous difference in my life. But he always said that the more hard, the harder you train and go in private, the more you're going to go out in public and on the victory stand. and what I took that as. Is that the more I do hard stuff, the more I do things that I don't want to do, the more I do things that are going to, basically bring me out of my comfort zone, the better I'm going to be able to handle adversity, the better I'm going to be able to handle the death of loved ones, the more I'm going to be able to handle adversity and failure, so I think it's the more you can do hard stuff, the better off you're going to be, as far as whether that's dealing with adversity, adapting to change, whatever that may be, or just the transitions of life. But I think there's so much, so much wisdom to be found in doing hard shit.

Mike Housey 59:40

Yeah. And Matt, you are a role model for doing hard shit. And, and what's interesting about you're extremely humble about it too. And like, I learned about what you do in, in, in increments and in conversations over time. I mean that you're just very, very low key about it, but it's so inspiring because there's some things like, I don't think I can do this, but Matt does it. If Matt can do it, maybe I can do it. Right. So just the hope that if you can do it. There's a shot. I can get it done. Um, you know, maybe take me a while, right? But I, there's a shot that I can do this. If you can

Matt 1:00:15

iron sharpens iron, iron

Mike Housey 1:00:17

sharpens iron.

The Essence of True Leadership

Matt 1:00:18

That's it. It's fact. Absolutely. Very last question for you, Mike, what is your purpose moving forward? what, what is the overarching objective, your purpose? So,

Mike Housey 1:00:34

you know, I, I view my job as a husband, as a father, as a person. My ultimate job, Matt, is to try to help my family get to heaven. Um, and be a, someone like you are, that, you know, They will want to look up to and they want to say, I think he's got it figured out and I think that this is the way to go. And I think this is a way to treat people. And I think that, um, I'm going to, I'm going to give love and I'm going to, and it's going to come back to me and I'm going to forgive people seven times, 70 times, right? Our society is more of an eye for eye, right? Um, I'm going to, I'm going to take time and I'm going to do something to help someone else's life. Um, you know, my brother, I helped him start this charity. We've taken 110 kids out of a failing public school system and put them to the most elite school in Michigan and they all go on and they go to college and they come back and they give. And it's, I don't know, that's, I don't know. You know, to me, that's just a big piece of it. So I don't know. That's my ultimate goal, Matt. Um, I won't know if I'm successful until long after I'm dead, but hopefully.

Matt 1:01:51

Well, you've done a tremendous job up to this point. Um, thank you so much for joining the show. It's been an honor and privilege to chat with you today. And thank you so much for sharing. not only your story, but all the experiences that you've had throughout your life, whether personally with your family, the trials and tribulations that you guys had to overcome, which ultimately made you guys stronger that you obviously shared here today, but also just the leadership, because I feel like there's so many people continually really misunderstand that you can still demand excellence. You still can push and strive for greatness while also loving and serving and caring for people.

Mike Housey 1:02:30

You know, Matt, I think the best definition of leadership I ever heard was a leader is a person who has followers, right? And you can't

Matt 1:02:38

lead if no one follows you.

Mike Housey 1:02:39

You can't. And there's two reasons that people will follow you. They'll follow you because they have to, um, in the, in the Roman army, uh, you ever heard of the word decimate? Yep. Decimate, right? So the decimation happened when Caesar lined up all his troops and killed every 10th person Uh, show cowardice or retreated or whatever, right? And, and you've fouled because of fear, but then you look at someone like Martin Luther King, Gandhi, who lived with his people, Jesus Christ. These are people that have followers because they love them because they want to. So you can, you can, you know, no one's going to be Caesar and no one's going to be as good as Gandhi, right? But where are you going to be in that, that continuum as a leader? I think deep down, we all want to be someone. We all want to have someone we want to run through a wall for, and we would all love to be someone that people would run through walls for, and, and, and that is the key, it's, it's, you're not going to do it with, uh, with a hammer, it's, it's got to be through love and caring, you, doesn't mean you can't have tough conversations, right, right, you got to have them, otherwise, um, you know, you know, You're not communicating, you're not setting expectations, you're not holding people accountable. You're, you know, the iron doesn't sharpen iron and everything falls apart.

Matt 1:03:51

I always say the best coach I ever had, they'll, they'll certainly MF ya. Every chance they get, but it's what they did behind closed doors that really gives you the opportunity, that's why you're not closed off when they do MF ya. Or when you do make a mistake and they're on you and correcting you and hard coaching you. so absolutely, I couldn't agree more. So, Mike Housey, thank you so much for joining us. Everybody, please. Go get a copy of Iron Life. Check this book out. It will make a difference in your life. I really enjoyed this book. I know you will too. Thanks for coming, Mike. Alright, Matt. Thank you.