Episode 117 | Overcome & Lead with Hope: Leadership, Adversity, and Rebuilding After Loss

speaker-0: Welcome back to the Lead with Hope podcast. I'm your host, Randy Kelly, and this is the show where we explore the power of hope in leadership and in life. Today I'm excited to introduce you to someone who brings three decades of experience in public education to this conversation. After 30 years in education, including 12 years serving as a high school principal, Craig retired from public education about a year ago. But retirement has not slowed him down. He has been focusing on finishing his book, Overcome. And now he's looking ahead to expanding his work as a speaker and sharing the lessons that he's learned along the way. His story is a powerful reminder that leadership doesn't end when you leave a position. So today we're going to talk about leadership, overcoming adversity, the transition beyond the principal's office. and what it looks like to take the next chapter of your life and lead with purpose and hope. Let's dive in. So, Craig, welcome to the show.

speaker-1: Hey, thanks for having me. Really excited.

speaker-0: So looking back on those thirty years that I talked about in the intro in education, what has been your biggest leadership lesson along the way?

speaker-1: For me, I think it is learning to take care of yourself. I think as educators, as leaders, we put ourselves last. And that did not serve me well. And and we all can do it fairly well. You can get back up the next morning, you can go in, but you're just giving a fraction of yourself. And so it wasn't until I realized I I just have to take better care of myself. I have to commit to preparing my my mind, my body, my soul. for each day that I really started to see a change in my ability to lead or ability to even make a difference in an environment. So early on in my career, I was on fumes and I just thought that's how you had to do it. And that's how a lot of educators do it. But that transition was a game changer.

speaker-0: And I hear the same thing when I coach leaders. I can tell you from personal experience, I learned it the hard way. I say I learned most of my lessons the hard way. I try everything that doesn't work before I find something that does, trial and error. But it is, it's so important that we take care of ourselves so that we can show up as the best version of ourselves each and every day.

speaker-1: I can just remember the late nights and early mornings just thinking that was completely normal to function on four hours of sleep and and think you're really bringing anything to the table, which clearly wasn't at that point.

speaker-0: I remember my time as the principal of Ramsey Grade School, and I had a teacher there. She was a fourth grade teacher, I believe. And that lady would get there at 430 every morning. And somewhere along the way, somebody had told me that I needed to be the first one there and the last one to leave. But by golly, it was hard for me to beat that woman to work. Talk to us a little bit about the progression through the last 30 years in education. Where did you start and where did you end?

speaker-1: So I started out in California with teaching high school and coaching football and baseball and and did every level of football and baseball you can think of. And honestly I thought that's where I was gonna stay. I was also at working at the school I attended and had a bright future there and then we decided to pick up and move to Colorado and it was an awesome move for us and I got into school out here in Colorado and began teaching and coaching and then, you know, had some issues and Some some adversity in my life that kind of shook things up and we ended up moving back to San Diego and I was searching. And I to be honest, I got completely out of education because I got into administration way too early. That was the only job available when we moved back to San Diego. And I didn't like it. I wasn't ready for it. I wasn't in a good enough headspace for it. I wasn't taking care of myself. And so I got completely out of education. Got into real estate for a year and for a few months I loved it. I wasn't dictated by Bells and you know, you kind of enjoy traveling around and meeting all these different people and and about six months in I realized I there's no purpose for me there. There it's not making a difference for anyone, it's making money for some people, but and so I I just we we regrouped, moved back to Colorado, got back in the classroom and just re locked in my focus and then eventually shifted into the assistant principal role, did all of them. Athletic director, assessments, everything you can think of, activities. And then the last twelve were as as principal. So it's kind of a unique route, but it was a good way to reset and make sure my purpose was solid.

speaker-0: I think that when we get clear on who we are, who we're becoming, and really what we want in this life, that purpose can really get us through a lot of adversity that we face in life. And frequently, Craig, I say it's not if we face adversity, it's when. we don't always get to choose what adversity we face, but we do get to choose what it produces. within us. So when you're looking at the adversity that you have faced over the past thirty years, what would you say is your biggest leadership lesson?

speaker-1: Right. So I think early on in my career, or I would even say the way I was raised, I was raised to be a here I am person, a here I am leader. And there's really two kinds. You're either a here I am or there you are. Having gone through losing a brother, losing my dad, losing my mom, it it it just taught me that life is uncertain and that everyone is carrying something, whatever it is. And so my passionate level and my empathy just grew tremendously going through those losses. And I completely shifted from thinking, well, you know, when I'm in the classroom, I'm I'm I'm in charge and I'm up front and I have the wisdom and or when I'm on the field, like it's all about me. It's the here I am leader that I was raised to be. And so developing that compassion, that empathy through loss completely shifted me over to a there you are, where now I walk into a room and I just look around to see who needs a connection, who needs something. How can I support them? Servant leadership is taking your position for the benefit of other people. And so those lessons just completely flipped my leadership goals and and what I considered good leadership, what I considered effective leadership. And it was kind of a nice mix because I still had a little bit of my my dad and brothers and intensity that I was raised with as a more compassionate and calm leader. So I could bring that out when I needed it for coming to. but for the most part I had learned to just be a there you are person, not just in leadership, but in my li my family and my friendships as well.

speaker-0: and when you talk about a here I am leader versus a there you are a leader, that there you are a leader is what I'm hearing you say, Craig, is it's about being compassionate, empathetic, calm, and just meeting them where they are.

speaker-1: But I had the luxury of retiring. And so I have you get all the the phone calls, the voicemails, all the cards, all the video statements. We even did a little retirement party. Mm-hmm. And hate to sell it to people, but nobody brought up good job raising graduation rates. Yeah. Nobody brought up all you grew those the subgroup from the SAT. That never came up. What they talked about was how you sat with me in my own office when I had call that parent who was super irate, or when you just let me take a period off and you covered my class after my dad died and so I could re gather myself and get home. Or you delivered pizzas and and you delivered them to my house when I was quarantined. Those are the things that remember. Those are a there you are leader. The people are your most important commodity and you love on them and you treat them well. And you know I've joked with my staff a couple different times, you know, we're a family and we love each other. Doesn't always mean we like each other. Yeah. We are gonna have some struggles, but we definitely have to have that foundational love. I never talked about loving my staff or loving my student until I'd really experienced what I had in my life and developed that compassionate side of me.

speaker-0: And I think we all want that. We crave that, especially now in our society. You know, we're the most connected that we've ever been with social media, with technology. We're always on our phones, but we are more lonely now than we've ever been. And that's the kind of leadership we need to model showing people that they're important. I'm a person of faith, Craig, and it's what I read about in the Bible each and every day. Jesus was that model for us to show us what servant leadership looked like. He got down and he washed the feet of his disciples. That's the kind of leader that we should strive to be each and every day.

speaker-1: When I got into the this building, it was already a wonderful building with amazing people doing great things. But I just remember our first back to school night when it was meeting, I just started helping gather up all the tables and the chairs. I did I'm not above that because I'm the principal. It's not the custodian. That's not how I see these things. And about 15, 20 people joined in with me. I'm like, that's great. By the time I left, it was 115 people joining in because they said, that's what we do here. We don't just rely, we all step in and we help out. And really at the end of the day, people are looking for a present leader, not a perfect leader. They want a a someone willing to be vulnerable, willing to say they made a mistake, willing to get up there and just, you know, tell them, Hey, I'm struggling. I'm having a hard time with this and and I I feel like maybe we did that a little too much sometimes. I think appreciate people appreciated that vulnerability.

speaker-0: Yeah, completely agree with you. we're we're all gonna face adversity in our life, like I said before. And that's something we have in common. And if we can find those things that we have in common, it helps us to connect with our humanity, but we have to be vulnerable and share those stories, right?

speaker-1: But I never thought losing family members would create a foundation or platform for me really to speak into the lives of of the people I led or even just friends. The amount of time I've had conversations with people about when they've experienced loss. You just when you've gone through it yourself, you know what you want to hear, what you don't want to hear, the questions to ask. I I have no problem, you know, having those conversations. Or before I d I don't know what to say. I don't know what to do. You don't need to say anything, just be there. And so it's learning those things that it's being able to bring that to the table with people has been a a wonderful blessing that I did not expect. I didn't think that would happen. I wasn't thinking about it at all, but what a wonderful thing to be able to bring into my into my career.

speaker-0: there are going to be people listening, principals, superintendents, and they're going to be thinking, Craig, this all sounds great, but you don't know my school. You don't know the people that I'm trying to lead. It's a toxic culture right now. Behavior is off the charts bad. What would you say to those people that are listening?

speaker-1: Well, the first thing I would say is you just describe my school because you described every school in the United States right now. The the behaviors are off the chart, you know, coming out of COVID, we still haven't recovered in the way we we lead, we teach, and the way students learn. And so I would say that you're right. That is a struggle. And you're gonna get the type of life and the type of school that you perceive you're in. And so if you if you want to say those things about your school. Great job. You will have that kind of school all year and it'll be that way next year. It's until you make your own decision that I am going to be the difference maker. It's going to start with me. If I'm standing alone stacking chairs, I will stand alone and stack chairs until the people around me start to realize, that's what servant leadership is. And I'm going to talk about loving on these kids and the kids that struggle and what a wonderful thing that they're even here today based upon what they were going through. To fight that battle with a lot of teachers, like, no, no, no, they were five minutes late to my class. You know, they don't get to take that quiz. And like, you know, we're not doing that anymore. We don't do those things. The fact that that student showed up, you have no idea what's going on in their house. And if you had a relationship with them, you would know what's going on in their house. So, yes, it is an uphill climb in education right now, no question. But the the need for vulnerable, positive. culture building leaders is at an all time high. And so I would never let anyone say it's not possible in my school or in my district. I would say I'd love to join you and help you because I know we can get you there.

speaker-0: it's a mindset practice, It's something that you have to take captive your thoughts because, like you said, whatever you are saying to yourself or aloud, that's what you're going to continue to get. And there were times when, you know, a teacher might get frustrated and bring a behavior issue to me and then say things like, You don't understand what I'm dealing with. You can decide how you're going to spend your time. You can either spend it proactively doing the things that are going to bring about change, those mindset practices, reframing your thoughts, focusing on your circle of control, or you can use your time being reactive and dealing with behavior challenges every single day. It's not going to change overnight, but I can guarantee you that if you show up and focus on the good, you're gonna find more good and you're gonna enjoy your life, your leadership, your work, all of it, so much more.

speaker-1: I love that you call it mindset work because that's exactly what it was for me too. And John Gordon, I you know, if you've read any of his things, he he talks a lot about controlling your thoughts and the fact that virtually none of us can change our first thought. It is just full of childhood issues, family issues, early teaching issues and discipline things. And so when that when something happens, like you described that teacher, that first thought is going to be negative probably for them because that is what they have learned over the years. But the second thought, the third thought, the fourth thought, they control those. Yeah. And so it's teaching people to realize your natural reaction might be negative in some of these situations. Take a minute, step back and and get yourself into that positive mindset and control that second, third, and fourth thought. I've gotten to the point now where sometimes I laugh at my first thought because it is so negative and so bad. I'm like, I thought I was a positive person. I can't believe I used to function like that. That that was how I just I bel I thought it, so that must be truth. That's how I'm gonna go with my day. And so now I just kind of chuckle, thinking that used to guide me. Now I am in control of what my thoughts are and what I bring to the table. And that changed everything for me. It's a hard concept to get people to understand because it doesn't happen in one day. It doesn't happen in one month. It happens stacking multiple days of spending time alone, thinking, processing, focusing on gratitude, and then One day you realize, wow, I do have control over my thoughts.

speaker-0: And that consistency compounds. And before you know it, more often than not, you are being positive. And you don't know who you're affecting with that positivity. You're planting seeds each and every day. And it's in doing that that we truly overcome, which by no accident, that's the name of your book. So talk to us a little bit, Craig, about your book, why you wrote it, and maybe give us a little bit of of what the book's about.

speaker-1: So overcome is really a 25-year work in progress. you know, I lost my brother 25 years ago on 9-11 and it rocked my world. I was unprepared to deal with grief. I was overcome by grief, overcome by anger, overcome by confusion. I had lost people earlier in my life in high school and never really dealt with it. So that all came back up. And and so I I made a lot of mistakes and I struggled and I was a not a great version of myself in the classroom in the home anywhere. And so I there's no way I could have written the book 20 years ago or even 15 years ago because my journey has gone through starting to kind of figure out how to live life again, being able to laugh again. And then my dad ends up getting sick and dying and here I am again dealing with being feeling overcome by grief. And then Starting to rebuild myself out of there by taking back control of my thoughts and my morning routines. And then my mom gets diagnosed with Alzheimer's. And then she goes downhill quickly and she passes away. And it's like, okay, really testing my mindset work and my ability to get myself up out of bed. But so it's the book is all that work. It's the 25 years of that work. And my hope is that someone can say, I am just struggling right now. Need I need to just know what are some strategies that I could use, or I just need to know that someone can relate to what I'm going through. It's not a self-help book, I'm not a psychologist, but it is a majority of the book, I'm overcome by grief. Kind of a play on words, or overcome by anger. And then it's really the last two chapters that I realize, no, I can overcome these. It doesn't mean I'm moving on. It doesn't mean I'm forgetting. I'm still can honor the people in my life. I can overcome these things, use it, use that strength that they taught me to honor them and find gratitude in my life that really it is a it is a joy to grow old, is a privilege to grow old. And so I used to just complain about my knees hurting and my back hurting and the gray hover and the wrinkles. I embrace it because I'm still here and what a wonderful thing here. I'm here for a reason. I'm here for a purpose. And those are things that I'm carrying forward in this book and I'm hopeful that people will find that encouragement when they read it. There's some tough parts. I mean I go pretty deep into the story of nine eleven and the days and years that followed, but I think people can relate to that things they've dealt with in their own lives.

speaker-0: nine eleven's something that most of us, if we were alive at that point in history, right? I remember exactly where I was on that day. I was at central grade school and I remember we had a special ed teacher who had a family member that was in the towers or or nearby the towers that day. we can all relate with that part of the story. And then the other part that really resonates with me, Craig, is is that grief. I've shared on this show when I was fifteen, my brother Brandon drowned. And then nine years later, my mom had cancer and she passed away. I was her caretaker. I'm the oldest of three children. I was the one that was responsible and and that kind of fell to me to take care of her. And then, Most recently my dad has died. He had Parkinson's with dementia. And even today, there are moments where I'm still overcome with grief. If I'm being honest, it's tough. It doesn't go away, but we do get to choose. what our future looks like. We don't have to stay stuck.

speaker-1: I used to think overcoming grief meant forgetting. I need to forget either about them or about that or about the pain. And it wasn't until I embraced, no, I want to remember them fully. And it it's you know that you grow the capacity to carry what was handed to you. You don't you don't set down what life has handed you, you don't avoid what life has handed you, stronger. And it's when I realize that's how you get through things, you you grow the capacity to carry these things. And I you know, I talk about leadership We all bring baggage and my baggage is heavy. I have a lot of it. I've also developed the capacity to carry those things. And like I mentioned earlier, I believe it's had a positive impact on some people as well. And so that that's such a good example you gave of still being overcome by grief at this time all the time. You know, this book coming out, I'm so excited and yeah, love to call my dad and talk to him about it. I'd love to talk to my brother about it, my mom about it. You know, been able to at least share it with my sister. But yeah, it it's it's an ongoing thing and I think that is beautiful. If we didn't grieve the people we lost, that meant we didn't have a great relationship with them. It's love that continues on, but they're not there to receive it, so we feel it internally. That's what grief is moving on. And I've learned to embrace it as beautiful. I don't want it to go away. I want to keep it.

speaker-0: Yeah, and it does. It builds our capacity if we allow it to. And

speaker-1: destroy us if we allow it allow it to as well because I've been there. I you know they say all adversity either you know develops you, diminishes diminishes you or defines you. And it's I've gone through all three of them.

speaker-0: And it's a process too. It's not that, you know, one day you're overcome by grief and then the next day, it's just all gone or I'm all better. it it's a process and it takes consistent effort and it also takes daily habits that compound. So are there any daily habits now that you have cultivated in your life to help you to stay you know, upright to help you to lean into your purpose and to do the things that you're doing in this life with purpose and with passion.

speaker-1: Right, I can I can think back to when I started to commit to my changing my morning routines and the daily habits as as maybe rock bottom and then building back up out of it because I used to be the one that would sleep in as late as I could and just hurry off the work and we lay around the couch and abuse alcohol and emotional and all those kind of things. I was pursuing comfort. I was looking to just feel better until I realized no, I need to put in the time and I need to work. And so I just set my alarm much earlier. Got up in the morning and I would start just by praying, you know, and or just sitting in silence and being able to bring my thoughts to God, even these very negative, angry thoughts, and just be very honest about it. And then I would read after that. I would read the Bible often. I'd read books about the Bible. I would read leadership books, sometimes just inspirational or funny books that would help me just understand what was going on in my mind, what's going on in the world around me. What does grieving really mean? The third thing that was critical was I began to exercise routinely. And so I would make sure I just got a sweat going either on the treadmill or working out, out on the pavement, whatever it was. And I when I could feel those endorphins firing, completely different person. I'm so much more present, so much more aware. And so those three things, when I started putting those together and lining them up and compounding them, it got to the point where when I didn't do it, I didn't feel like. Or if I had a s very early meeting, well, I'm getting up even earlier to make sure I can do those things. And what's been odd about this process is I'm writing this book, some of these kind of negative previous emotions are coming back to me and it's making it more of a challenge to do my morning routine. It's like it brought me back. And yeah, I'm being a little more short with my kids or with my wife and what she reminded me of. It's like I know I know what to do. And I I shouldn't have to be reminded to do it, but it is the ongoing for the rest of your life challenge to do those things. So I I'm committed to getting back into to doing it well because I know the impact it has on me, my mindset, my family and the people around.

speaker-0: And just what you were saying there, in my mind, that reminds me why it's so important to have a mentor, a coach, an accountability partner, somebody in your life who is going to be honest with you and hold you accountable but do that in a supportive way. A friend of mine, Ben Woods, calls it grace givers and truth tellers. We need grace givers and truth tellers in our lives. And when I got my first coach as a principal, it was a game changer for me. Why we don't do that for all of our principals, all of our superintendents is kind of beyond me.

Dr. Brandi Kelly: I want to invite you into something that I'm creating. It's called the Hope Collective. And the Hope Collective is a VIP coaching and networking experience for leaders who don't just want to consume more information. They want to grow. They want accountability. They want meaningful relationships and honest conversations. It's about creating a space where you can step back, get clear, get supported, and move forward. And I am intentionally keeping this group small. There will only be 20 spots. I want this to feel personal, connected, valuable, and honestly a little exclusive. So if something in you is saying I think this is the season where I need a space like that, send me an email. Tell me you're interested in the Hope Collective, and I'll add you to the list. Once these 20 spots are filled, they're filled. And I would much rather have 20 people who are truly committed to doing the work than 200 people who are just watching from the sidelines.

speaker-0: I do think that if you're in leadership in any capacity, a coach or mentor, accountability partner, somebody like that could really serve you well.

speaker-1: I think that would have helped me tremendously. I did not have one of those people in my life necessarily. I had a bunch of friends and I had people older than me that I looked up to. And so I I had it informally to have that complete structure in place would have been huge. And that and that's why I'm trying to get into that world as well and just supporting. I met with the principal this morning. You know, I have five or six people I'm already meeting with just to support. And how are you doing? How can I support you? And ask questions that I wish I was asked. Right. Why are you doing this? How come this? What are you taking care of yourself? How's your family? What are your kids? All those kind of things that I even though I didn't receive a lot of it in an official mentorship, official coach way, I think it would have benefited me. I'm trying to give those things back 'cause I know how beneficial they are.

speaker-0: And sometimes it's just challenging your thinking. So thinking about your thinking, that metacognition piece. I had a coach in the superintendency, and he would just ask me some probing questions to help me to think about my thinking. And it really opened up my perspective. To realize things are not black and white in this world. And it's it's good to have those people who are not evaluating you, they're not judging you, they're just encouraging you, supporting you, and helping you to become the best version of yourself. I think it's so important.

speaker-1: And I think I do a better job of that for other people than people doing that for me, if you're completely honest. And that could be why it took me twenty five years to write this book.

speaker-0: when people go to get this book, we need to know two things. We need to know where do we get it and when is it dropping? When is it going to be available?

speaker-1: So it real soon, August twenty-fifth, it comes out, Amazon, any anywhere you can find books, it's on there. It's called Overcome Rebuilding Hope after losing my brother on nine eleven. There's more information about it on Fredwoodall.com. Click on books and you can see some pictures and some summaries and some testimonials. it that's been a really exciting thing for me was being able to connect with some people who knew my brother who pretty well known people in the sports world, Steve Maryucci, a former coach, Tom Rinaldi for Fox Sports, that they they've been able to be a part of this project a little bit and write testimonials and encourage me and support me is something I never thought I'd be doing.

speaker-0: And you know, when I wrote Lead with Hope, my first book, my brother Brandon was 13 when he drowned. And when it dropped, I did a podcast episode with one of his classmates and talking to them about what was going on within them whenever they went back to the classroom and that desk was empty, talking to them about how that loss has shaped them and the person that they have become. That was really eye-opening for me. the process of writing a book, especially a book where you're being vulnerable and you're talking about some scars really. it's it was healing for me, Craig. And I hope writing this book was healing for you as well.

speaker-1: For sure. And they say that it's called expressive writing, which is different than journaling every day. This is really just a just a word vomit of just get it all out. Don't even worry about what you're doing. And for me, that was my first hundred pages. I just wrote it all. I don't even think I indented it. I just wrote it and that's what I submitted. And they're like, Great story, but you're all over the map. And so I worked with an amazing company that helped me turn that into a book. But that expressive writing was huge. And I've never been a very good journaler or any of those things, but that was super helpful for me. Yeah. yeah, to to just process it myself and realize what I hadn't processed yet or what I did process well that I wasn't giving myself credit for. And the fact it had on my family. And me back I had a seven week old daughter when nine eleven happened. Well how present was I in our first year. Those things are tough. to reflect on, but it you can either dwell on that negativity or you could say, well, that's gonna inspire me to to be present now. And that's what I'm trying to do.

speaker-0: So, Craig, now you have transitioned out of the principal role. You're in retirement, you're looking to do some other things. You finished this book, you're gonna be coaching, you're gonna be speaking a little bit. Talk to us about the challenges you're facing in this transition.

speaker-1: So it's an interesting question because my wife is literally she's a psychologist and she's moving to be a retirement coach. So she keeps sharing all these statistics with me of people struggle with this or that. I'm like, I don't feel like I'm really struggling with those things. But I think a lot of it is I'm I'm still feeling I think from thirty years in education and twelve as a principal. And so when I have a day that no one's in the house and I'm by myself, love it. Because I'm fairly introverted. So we'll see when that wears off. the biggest thing for me is I I don't have as many connections. Like I said, I'm kind of naturally introverted. And so in your roles, right, you're talking to people all day long. You develop such good friendships with people and you're eating with them and you're challenging each other and you're sharing funny stories. You're sharing difficult times. You're always with them. You're supervising, you're seeing the same people all the time. And now I don't see any of them probably at all. Until I go watch my own daughter play in a game or a choir concert or something. So That has been probably the biggest transition for me is the lack of connections. I'm not gonna lie, I've loved it in some ways because I'm not having to talk all day long, but it's it that has been a challenge for sure.

speaker-0: And I would describe myself as an extrovert for sure. And, you know, after almost 25 years in public education, I left to start this business due to some health issues primarily. But that's the thing that I miss the most. I get into schools, I get into, different settings where I'm speaking, I'm coaching, I'm doing some professional development, but it's not daily. And I do miss the daily connection of having people around all the time.

speaker-1: Yeah. I'll go speak at an event or go work with some principals and you can feel that energy and you can feel that that vibe. And for me it's nice to then go home at noon. Yeah. Have my afternoons instead of getting home after the basketball game at ten o'clock at night and having to get up to the free meeting.

speaker-0: that's a fair point. I do not miss those late meetings. I do not miss the snow days as a superintendent. there's a lot of of things I don't miss either. And the the cool thing about Sparco BDU and the business that I'm building and the work that you'll be doing as well is we're really just pouring into people. We're helping people grow and to become the best version of themselves. And I absolutely love that work.

speaker-1: And I I realized that late in my career that you're just in the people business. You're not in the data business. You're not even really in the education business. You're in the people business. And I got to where it's like, I'm gonna hire the best person with the the most positive attitude. And I can teach them everything else because you're in the people business. And that means you need to develop relationships to be able to challenge them. But yeah, stepping out of the people business into my basement. is a challenge and I I need to figure out a way to incorporate some more people, but I'm enjoying the downtime as well.

speaker-0: And we all need the downtime. We've got to rest. That's a non-negotiable. It's just how you do it is is based on your wiring and who God created you to be. one of my favorite questions that I ask all of my guests is what is giving you hope right now?

speaker-1: So for me it's it's seeing the people that are still in the work. You know, when I meet with these principals and none of them are defeated. They'll talk about struggles, they'll talk about challenges, they'll talk about stresses, and I think that is so impressive how you have that much energy and that much confidence to go into what you are gonna lead tomorrow, to to deal with the staff that to start a whole nother school year because I I don't have it anymore. And so to see people that are still willing to dig in and teachers that are excited to go to work and teach the next generation of people, that brings me so much hope because as it started to fade for me as I got to the end of my career, we just I assumed it was everyone else. It's not. There are still plenty of people excited and energized and ready to go. And that is extremely helpful for me.

speaker-0: I've got four grandsons right now, they're at an age where they're not in school yet, but we need good people. Helping to shape what education's going to look like. So, Craig, this has been a wonderful conversation. And as we are leaving today, can you tell the listeners how they would get in touch with you if they wanted to learn more about your work, your book, or just connect with you for a coffee chat.

speaker-1: Greg Woodall dot com is the best way and there's multiple little contact buttons and you know, you can click hey, I want to talk about coaching, I want to talk about speaking, or I just want to connect, or I just want to talk about the book, whatever those whatever it is. I'd love to just get emails and thoughts about how the how the book impacted people or questions even they have about the book. So that is definitely the best way to get

speaker-0: Right. Well, I appreciate you being on the show today and I hope we can stay in touch. so again, thank you, Craig.

speaker-1: Enjoyed the conversation. Thank you.

LWH Closing: That's a wrap for today's episode of Lead with Hope. ⁓ Remember, ⁓ the world needs your leadership and change starts with you. ⁓ Fuel your life with HOPE, embrace your purpose, and shine your light for others. ⁓ If this episode inspired you, I'd be so grateful if you could take a moment to give us a five-star rating and share it. ⁓ Every review helps spread HOPE ⁓ and empowers more leaders to rise. ⁓ Thanks for listening ⁓ and until next time, ⁓ keep leading with HOPE. ⁓