Episode 111 | Thrive as a Giver: Simple Strategies for Educators

Dr. Brandi Kelly: Welcome back to the Lead with Hope podcast. This morning I am super excited to welcome my friend Phil Janizowski. He is a nationally recognized keynote speaker who empowers the givers of the world to flourish personally so that they can create greater impact professionally, all the while they're avoiding burnout, boredom, and cynicism. So welcome to the show this morning, Phil.

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, your purpose, and shine your light for others. ⁓ 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 spread HOPE ⁓ empowers more leaders to rise. ⁓ for listening ⁓ until next time, ⁓ leading with HOPE. ⁓

Phil Januszewski: Randy, thank you so much. Honored to be here and excited to have a chat with you.

Dr. Brandi Kelly: is there anything that you really get a lot of joy out of in it ⁓ these days? anything like, I don't know, for me, a good cup of coffee in the morning, that just sets the tone for my day. What's something that is is one your favorites or something that brings you joy?

Phil Januszewski: Yeah, selfishly and personally, a good workout in the morning for me is a great way to start my day. And that usually involves an audio book and music simultaneously while the exercise is going on. And then from a more holistic point of view, like being a father, interacting with my wife and kids in the morning is also one of my favorites and biggest energizers too.

Dr. Brandi Kelly: I absolutely love that. So, Phil, besides exercising and connecting with your family, tell the audience who you are.

Phil Januszewski: Mm-hmm. Yeah, thank you. I'm a former physics and chemistry teacher of 20 years that sadly decided to leave the classroom. It was pulling on my heartstrings because I wanted to help more educators. I loved my work. I was still enthusiastic and enjoyed the job, even though we all know Brandy, it always has its challenges. And I wanted to help people feel the way I did. And I was lucky to stumble upon positive psychology probably eight or nine years ago. And realize that the way I lived my life accidentally and organically was allowing me to thrive even in tough situations. And I felt like I was worried the teachers were going to be leaving more and more. And I want to help stop that. So I say I quit my job so the teachers don't have to quit their jobs. So here we are. I find myself speaking across the nation to amazing educators and adult givers that give for a living. And I'm trying to help them not get burned out, jaded, cynical, or bored.

Dr. Brandi Kelly: That's great. Now, talk to us a little bit about how you do that. You know, that's the why behind your work. How do you do that?

Phil Januszewski: Yeah, I'm ⁓ not a rocket science kind of guy, even though my degree's in chem. I ⁓ like to keep things simple and light and humorous, as you know, Brandy. I love to laugh. I just try to help adults first of all figure out what they love, the things that actually fuel them up. Simple idea. that ⁓ isn't always simple, especially for givers. Sometimes they forget what they love because they're too busy helping everybody else. But once they know what they love, I help them build structure into their day. How do you actually schedule in the good stuff? Little hits, little wins that actually matter in the long run at the end of the day to create a sustainable life. That could be a good song, a good cup of coffee, a walk with a friend, calling your mother, whatever it is. are you scheduling them in intentionally, not just hoping they happen? Once that happens, and Brandy, I'm sure you know already, right? Like those things add up and Allow our lives to be sustainable. And when we're surviving and now thriving, the best part is that we can give our gifts away to others. And as givers, we thrive when we can help others, but we want to do it in a way where we're not depleting ourselves so much that again, we get that jaded, burned out or cynical energy. But we want to give and create that positive upward spiral where we give and feel good and help others feel good too. So that's what I'm all about. And It's not anything too difficult, but ⁓ you know, it people need the reminder.

Dr. Brandi Kelly: They do. And it oftentimes it's the simple things that make the biggest impact. I was thinking about that cup of coffee. whatever you're putting in your cup, you're walking by someone and say we're passing each other in the hallway, Phil, and you bump me, whatever's in my cup is gonna spill out. If it is the good stuff, the things that I love, the things that fuel my purpose and my passion. Optimism, hope, of those good things, that's what's gonna spill out. But if it is gossip and bitterness and that's gonna spill out too. So we have to be very intentional about how we are sustaining ourselves. And I talk about that in terms of that system of hope, you know, cultivating those habits that you were talking about. ⁓ focusing on that mindset or optimistic outlook, staying connected to your purpose. that's how we build that life of excellence. And I love, love, love the work that you do. when you and I have talked the past, you loved what you did all of the years that you taught, and you left on a high note to give so other people didn't leave. the profession. But is there an adversity, something that might have shaped you and shaped this calling that you feel to help people? Talk to me about an adversity that you might have experienced in your life.

Phil Januszewski: Yeah, I think it's a big shared one with a lot of educators. But I think that COVID really threw everyone for a loop. I'll be the first to admit that being a incredibly large extrovert, that those days of virtual school did not serve me well. However, when we came back, I felt that a lot of people were very bitter about what happened and weren't looking to completely move forward, but to kind of say stuck. And I felt like What is it about me that wants me to always continue to move forward and make the best of the situation? And again, I started to realize that the way I live my life and positive psychology research re reinforced it that the the decisions we make daily, those small ones, as you said earlier, really add up to a huge amount. And I really wanted to help people do that. So I think by going through that and seeing coming out the other end. How a lot of people weren't willing to bounce back completely and really hold on to whether it was anger or sadness, but not move forward. I I felt like, man, I I really need to help people so they can be more resilient, but also take control of their lives. I think it's easy for us in the education system to blame a huge system that is far from perfect. No one would ever say it's perfect. However, it can't change tomorrow. No one's coming with a cape tomorrow. So what are we going to do and empower ourselves? And You know, I like I like to do that in a a light hearted sort of way where you know, it's not threatening but encouraging.

Dr. Brandi Kelly: Absolutely. And it's a good reminder that change starts with me. You know, the only person that you can completely control is yourself. So focus on your circle of control and start with you today. So for the listeners, you were to share some specific habits that could start with today, where would you encourage them to start, Phil?

Phil Januszewski: Yeah, I think that I I I always like to talk about our ers. So, like I'm a father, I'm a partner, I'm a teacher, I'm a speaker, I'm a pay it forwarder, I'm a weightlifter, I'm a music listener. We have to all figure out what our ers are, and everybody has different ones. but the ones that fill you up, you should really focus on sneaking those in. And not just before or after work, because I think that's a very popular thing. The way you start your morning or the way you end your night, ⁓ The bookends of your day are important. But A lot of our lives are spent at work. And I think we forget to bring in the joy and the things we love personally to our work. That term's called job crafting, where we don't just do our job based off of that black and white description on paper, but we bring ourselves to that job and that adds in a way that no one no one can be the superintendent that Brandy can be. No one can quite be the teacher Phil can be because we're all our own unique individual selves. But that is our power. And when I brought music to my classroom, when I brought brought cooking and creating to my classroom, when I discussed my fitness routines with other students that were into fitness and health, and I expressed my enthusiasm for them. By doing that, not only did it allow me to show my human side and connect with others, which is important and thriving, but it allowed me to enjoy. So I wouldn't say there's any specific habits except the habit. Of building in at least once an hour something you love. And it could be a two-minute thing, a song, like I said, a phone call, stopping by a friend at work. But all those things matter and add up to these little coins in the bank so that by the end of the day, you had a few more wins than depletions, and that's a sustainable life. And when we are feeling sustainable, we have a way broader spectrum of the world. We're open to new ideas. We're open to good things happening. We're not closing our mind down. So I mean, this is a win.

Dr. Brandi Kelly: Yeah. Absolutely. And I think it starts with knowing yourself. You have to know what is going to sustain you. What are the things that you love to do, as you said earlier this morning? And that is such a simple question, Phil, but it's not always an easy answer.

Phil Januszewski: No, I agree with you. I've run into many people I speak across the country that said, This is great, Phil, but I ⁓ I have aging parents, children, a job, an extra job, a husband, you know, like all these things. They're like, I I just I don't have time for me. I don't even know what I love. And I'm like, this is fair. Like, totally get it. ⁓ so I always suggest they look into finding their character strengths. If you go to the VIA Institute, they have a character strength survey. And if you take it. Yeah, out of ⁓ 20 something characters strengths, it gives you like your top five. But what that starts to do is it shows you when you're in your character strengths, you're more likely to hit a flow state, you're more likely to enjoy the challenge, you're more than likely to get energized. So I said if you think about those character strengths and also think back to some of your most favorite core memories in your life, who are you with or what were you doing? I think that gives you a sneak peek into the things that fill you up. And then it might be easier to pinpoint. Yeah, when I'm with this group of people, I seem to really enjoy it. All right. So are you texting them, you know, one of them an hour? Are you giving them a phone call? Are you meeting them up after work? Like what can we do that's easy and not depleting, but that is going to fill us up?

Dr. Brandi Kelly: We have an uncanny way of overcomplicating life. can just simplify a little bit here, you know, because like you said, maybe if you're with that specific person, I'll use my daughter, for instance. I enjoy spending time with my daughter. It might be as simple ⁓ just reaching out to her via a text. it's simple, but we overcomplicate it. Something else you said Getting into that flow state. Elaborate on that, please.

Phil Januszewski: Yeah, I think that when we do something that we are interested in and enjoy that typically fills us up, we're more likely to get lost in something. And and that could be like for me, like I I don't I love like digging in and creating a new PowerPoint presentation and all of a sudden two hours has gone by and I've, you know, worked on it. But again, I'm one of my Urs is creator, right? So like I when I'm doing something like that. I lose track of time and it I feel really enthused and zoned in. And that is a really healing experience when you reach that flow state. Another one for me is I love to like bake cakes and decorate them. And it's challenging. And I'm not great at it, but I love the challenge of figuring out the flavors and letting everything cool and timing it so that it's ready by dinner. But I want it to look good. But and it's all these moving parts that again. Light me up. But someone hearing this right now would be like, that sounds terrible for a Sunday afternoon. It's like, yeah, I agree. That's not your thing then. You have to find the things so that you can reach that flow state. And again, we a lot of times we don't have an hour to lose in a flow state because we are busy. But by knowing those things that often bring you into flow states when you have that time, those are things you should lean on. Because again, if we want to refuel, if we want to live sustainable lives. We have to receive that energy. We have to create opportunities to allow ourselves to recharge.

Dr. Brandi Kelly: I talk about, you know As a child in play, go back to what you did in play. And that might give you a bird's eye view as to what is going to help you to replenish yourself, restore yourself. we talk in education, ⁓ in in the circles, in mental health ⁓ about getting ⁓ rest taking care yourself or self-care. And I think a misnomer, Phil, is that you. have to completely unplug, you have to, ⁓ get hours of sleep, all of these ideas around rest. And I do think they're flawed because as you said, sometimes it's the simple things. you do need the sleep, don't get me wrong, and you do need to take care of yourself, but start where you are. Start where you are. And maybe that is simply doing something that you enjoy, like connecting with that person. that helps you to feel grounded and safe and and appreciated.

Phil Januszewski: Yeah, I would say too, like I think our egos are our own worst enemies sometimes when we're unhappy. We obviously we think hopefully we think pretty highly of ourselves and that we're important, right? However, when we think that way, sometimes we think it would take a monumental shift to make me happy in this situation. And again, I think that's our ego, where really it's there's nothing too sexy about the small changes. That actually make a big difference. I always say if an asteroid's coming at planet Earth, right, and we're like doomed, we would just throw a little sh spacecraft up there with a little rocket and push it off off track about a millimeter. And if you go off track a millimeter for millions of miles away, I mean you are miles and miles off your original trajectory, right? That's the same with us. We're that asteroid moving forward with momentum. If we just shift it a little bit. After a couple days, that path is completely different. We have to get over ourselves and make the small changes. And when we do, we'll be surprised at the impact it makes on our mindset, where how we show up. And then we start getting a little addicted to it. Like that felt good. I wonder if I can do this here. And all of a sudden you become more efficient at building in the good stuff. And you you live a life that's a lot happier, more fulfilling, and you give more, which is great because We all want to do a good job and especially in education, we're called to help others. Let's show up in a way where we feel like we're thriving to do the job we really wanna do.

Dr. Brandi Kelly: that's how you create sustainable leadership. So great, great advice there. ⁓ Phil, when you think about the world right now, there's a lot of uncertainty, there's a lot of stress, a lot of hopeless people. So I always ask my guest this question, what's you hope in the world right now?

Phil Januszewski: Yeah, the hope I have in I'm a I'm a cynical science guy, right? the hope I have in what calms me is knowing and accepting that I cannot control anyone else but myself, but I can control the way I show up and role model what I think the world should show up as. And we all have a different way of showing that and we all have different value systems. But I try to show up every day and model exactly how I wish the world would be for all. And by doing that through kindness and presence ⁓ respect and love and just time, I think that I demonstrate that. And it makes me feel like I'm at least planting small seeds of a better world. And I think if we all let go of the fact that we can't control others and focus on how we show up for others in our small circle and our small impact, I think it makes a bigger deal than we can really honor it. Again, that ego gets in the way.

Dr. Brandi Kelly: It does. That's great. Yes. And I'm right there with you, Phil. I think what's giving me hope in the world right now is people like you. you do show up with enthusiasm, with ⁓ optimism. You your hope. ⁓ And I to talk just a little bit about the stress leaders retreat because we were there together and I did not get to see you speak. But there's a rumor that I heard that you made pancakes in your keynote. Is that right?

Phil Januszewski: ⁓ yeah, I whipped up some pancakes old school style, like I used to do in my classroom. And I I spoke about the power of giving, right? That it doesn't take much to make someone feel super special. And when we give in our own normal gifts, it means even more and we feel good and they feel good. So yeah, I'm always down for a good pancakes.

Dr. Brandi Kelly: Yeah. Warm. Absolutely. Yeah. All right. Well, Phil, this has been a wonderful episode of the Lead with Hope podcast. I always enjoy talking with you. I want to give you an opportunity to share with the listeners how would get in contact with you if they wanted to bring you to their event or to their school.

Phil Januszewski: Yeah, thanks so much for that. So if you're looking for anyone to lift up your team of adult givers, my name's Phil Janizuski. Just Google search my name. You'll find me at Phil Janizowski.com. If you happen to have a group of teenagers or young adults in high school setting, I'm also a youth speaker with my best friend Matt, and we're called MMP Presentations. And we build self-confidence in young adults through highly interactive assemblies and experiences. And we have a great time doing it. So if you're looking to laugh and learn. ⁓ we're a great pick. And then also if you're just looking for a pick me up, ⁓ little shameless plug, Brandy. I have a book coming out in fall called Too Damn Happy. And I'm excited that it's ⁓ to release that sometime this fall. And if you're looking to just read a little bit more about what I'm about and what I believe in, I overlap a lot with ⁓ Brandy's ideas as well in ⁓ shared leadership and serving leadership. Feel free to reach out. I'd love to give you the info and let you know when it's coming out.

Dr. Brandi Kelly: Phil's a great human being and I highly recommend him. So reach out to him, get in touch with him. And Phil, I look forward to staying in contact with you and seeing where this crazy journey called life takes you.

Phil Januszewski: I'm grateful for you and for your time and I'm right beside you. Let's keep making the world a better place, friend.