Episode 299: Too Damn Happy - Building More Joy Into the Work with Phil Januszewski

Darrin Peppard (00:00)

Hey there, my friends. Welcome into episode 299 of the Leaning into Leadership Podcast. And what if feeling better about the work you do didn't require some massive change? What if you didn't need to completely redesign your schedule, take a month off, or somehow find three extra hours in your day? What if it was just a song, a 10-minute walk outside, sharing something you love with the people around you?

Or simply giving yourself permission to bring a little more of who you really are into the work. My guest today on the show is my good friend, Phil Janizowski. And if you know Phil, you know this conversation is going to have some serious energy. Phil spent 20 years in the classroom before stepping full-time into speaking. And now he says he quit his job to help other teachers not.

quit theirs. His new book is called Too Damn Happy. And while we definitely talk about happiness today, this isn't about pretending everything is great. It's about recognizing the small things we actually have control over, the things we can intentionally build into our days that help us flourish even when the work gets hard. We talk about building in the good stuff, giving away our natural gifts, vulnerability, relationships, and why

Sometimes the smallest shift can completely change the way we experience our work. Now, before we jump into my conversation with Phil, I want to take a moment and thank our sponsor, Hey Tutor. Hey Tutor partners with school districts across the country to provide high-impact tutoring in literacy and math, helping schools give students the additional support they need while supporting the educators already doing the work every day.

As an approved National Student Support Accelerator tutoring provider, Heytutor understands that great tutoring isn't about adding one more thing to a teacher's plate. It's about creating additional capacity to help students succeed. Now, this all sounds challenging, but here's the thing I love most about Hey Tutor. HeyTutor does the recruiting, the training, the hiring, and the managing of the tutors.

Not only are you not putting more on your teacher's plates, but you're also not overwhelming your already taxed leadership team. If your school or district is looking for a tutoring partner, make sure you check out Heytutor at heytutor.com. Or even better, hit the link down in the show notes. That'll let them know you heard about them here on the Leaning Into Leadership podcast. All right, friends, buckle up for this one.

My friend Phil Janizowski is back on Leaning Into Leadership, and we are talking about what it means to be too damn happy. I'll see you on the other side.

Darrin Peppard (00:00)

All right everybody, welcome back into the show. Man, am I stoked for this one? I've got my buddy Phil Janizowski joining me. He's been on the show before. Phil, brother, how are ya?

Phil Januszewski (00:11)

Darren, it's so good to see you. It's an honor. It's a pleasure, a privilege to be back in the studio with you, man. I'm so excited. Lots going on. Lots to talk about. And I'm here for it, brother. Thank you for having me.

Darrin Peppard (00:22)

100%, man. This is gonna be like absolutely incredible. folks, if you are like easily startled or easily distracted or anything like that and you're driving, just hit pause. Listen to this later, maybe when you're out for a walk, because Phil is like four energy drinks, like wrapped all together and then shaken, right? And when I get around people like that.

Those of you who know me and know me well, you know I'm gonna be the exact same way. So like buckle the heck up. This is gonna be a blast. Phil, I know I just wanna dive right in, right? Like, you've been on the show, people know who you are. we'll kind of catch him up as we go, but high school chemistry and physics teacher turned full-time speaker, now author. brother, catch me up on the last like.

year, year and a half since I had you here on the podcast. Like what is up?

Phil Januszewski (01:13)

Thank you, man. Yeah, a lot's been going on in a beautiful, beautiful way. But I accidentally got into speaking to adult educators and realized that I wanted to help them and I just kinda accidentally caught fire and I got to that point. May thirtieth, twenty twenty five, last year was my last day in the classroom. I had to kinda make that decision, that tipping point that I can't can't continue to do both at the magnitude things were going. So

Had a great beautiful 20 years in education, and now I I'd like to say, Darren, I quit my job to help other teachers not quit theirs, which is so hypocritical sounding, but I mean in the best, most sincere way possible. So yeah, I've been going across the country, pouring into educators, admin, even public health workers. Just a lot of good people that give, give, give, and not always are supported by the people that surround them.

And they also work with humans, which is messy and complex. So I'm trying to help them feel way less tired and way more inspired. So find myself on stages pouring into great humans. And I also wrote a book too in the last year and it it's coming out here October fifteenth. I'm honored, man, and excited to talk about anything and everything with you, brother. You are someone I look up to and appreciate. So it's always a pleasure to be in your presence.

Darrin Peppard (02:32)

Yeah, man, I appreciate you so much. And I mean I'm just I'm just over here with like this gigantic grin on my face. So if you if you're listening, you can't see it. If you're watching on YouTube, you're like, like, damn, Darren's like ready to explode over there, right? And and I I I wasn't gonna go here right away, but I'm gonna go there because it's how I'm feeling. Like the title of the book is Too Damn Happy. And I'm I'm there's gotta be a dozen different reasons for the title too damn happy, because

I'm sure people probably say, Phil, you're just too damn happy, right? but I don't know, maybe give me a little bit of the core story behind just those three words.

Phil Januszewski (03:06)

Yeah, I think that Darren, it's not too far fetched to think that I'm a lot for some people, right? the way I've the way I've been wired my whole life is that I've been an energy outlier, that I've had a lot of a big zest for life, and that everything I've ever done, even the mundane things, as my friend Matt says, I I like to make magnificent and I just really always felt like an outlier. A lot of times that was a beautiful thing in a good way.

Like I could set the energy, set the tone, and help people that needed that support. But I've I've also found that accidentally and sadly, I've also been annoying to people that maybe weren't looking for that type of energy as well. You know, including some of my former students. I had a I had a student that was ditching my class every day for weeks, and finally the dean caught up with this kid.

And said, Why are you ditching Mr. J's class every day? Like he's a really nice guy. And he said he is, but honestly, he's just like he's just way too happy for me, man. I can't be around that. And that's what we've we had to like literally switch him to another teacher that was calmer, 'cause I cause my my genuine happiness to see them every day was too much. I was too damn happy. So I that theme just kind of seemed natural to me, both in a beautiful way and also in occasionally a troublesome way, but

I want people to feel a little bit closer to that and that's where this came from just from my heart that the way I live and also what I've learned over the years through positive psychology research has allowed me to realize that the way I lived my life, though accidentally and naturally, was allowing me to thrive even in high challenging, high pressure, high stress situations like the classroom, which is every moment of every day. There's different things going on. I've just been able to flourish majority of the time.

not just in that job, but any job I've ever done. And I wanted to share that knowledge with people and hopefully give something to laugh at, something to think about, and hopefully send on a little bit of a new path and trajectory to live happier and healthier. That's that's the goal, my man.

Darrin Peppard (05:11)

Yeah, I love that so much. And and and I'm gonna bird walk for for a minute. We're gonna we're gonna both dive back into our high school time. And I'm I'm thinking

Phil Januszewski (05:18)

Okay.

Darrin Peppard (05:19)

about you know actually as you're telling the story about this kid, I'm thinking about like I was a master schedule guy. I I still am a master schedule geek. Like I I work with so many schools around the country, and especially in their high schools, man, I will walk into the room where the master schedule is and just like soak it in, right? Like that's just who.

Who I am. I love master scheduling. I love a great puzzle. I say that because if I were your principal, you would always have first period prep. Because I think you would just absolutely like overwhelm your kids first period with all of that energy.

Phil Januszewski (05:53)

Ha ha yes.

Darrin Peppard (05:55)

That or you would never have first period prep because your kids would be the ones who like get woke up right away with physics or chemistry, like here we go. Like

Did did any of your principals ever like, okay, we're gonna be real strategic with with Phil here because we can't we can't have every kid saying, Yeah, no, I Mr. J is like a cup of coffee for me in the morning and either I really need that or no way in the world do I

Phil Januszewski (06:23)

Yeah, I feel I feel like I was a polarizing human accidentally. But I I do feel like though I'm a bit much when people first meet me, and I I think even when I I've got that microphone like you, Darren, on stage, I think I think immediately some people are quite skeptical or critical. Like, is this guy for real or is this a bunch of lip service and this is like a theatrical show? But soon, and just like my students after a couple days realize

Like this is genuine. I I I love people and I'm here to serve and I wanna have as much fun as possible also while I'm doing my job to the best of my ability. And I think that majority I would say ninety-nine percent, ninety nine out of a hundred kids eventually figured out that yeah, you are a lot, but also like I know you absolutely love me and are here for me, so I'm gonna put up with you, you know. But there were the occasional ones.

Darrin Peppard (07:16)

Yeah.

Phil Januszewski (07:18)

That we're just like, Yeah, th I I this this is just way too much. I need someone more tame. And and I and I respect that too. We can't be for everyone, Darren.

Darrin Peppard (07:25)

Sir. Yeah, there

you go. I get that a hundred percent. So so I'm curious, we we were talking before we hit record about kind of the and and this is kind of the core of the book, but like these ten things that you most commonly heard from people with with the the speaking and and the and that type of thing that you've been doing now for this last year or so and and you were doing it plenty before that. Now you're just doing it full time. So essentially your classroom has become

Much, much, much larger. So here's what here's where I kind of want to go with this. I think this could be a little bit of fun here.

Pick two or three of those. Like I hear this frequently as feedback and ultimately I decided to take and and make a book out of out of these ten things. But

Phil Januszewski (08:09)

Mm-hmm.

Darrin Peppard (08:10)

let's I I still want people to like go buy the book and and and s reach out and say, my gosh, Phil, you've got to come talk to my teachers. You've got to come talk to my nursing staff, my, you know, my my you know whatever, right? So two or three of them.

Let's let's just

Phil Januszewski (08:25)

Mm-hmm.

Darrin Peppard (08:26)

run with it.

Phil Januszewski (08:28)

Yeah, so so one that shocks me, because I'm I'm a really structured guy, but that in my talk I always talk about building in the good stuff. And by that I mean creating a schedule, habits, routines where you sneak in the things that you love, but not just on the weekends or before and after work, like many people naturally do. But I'm talking about like sneaking it into your actual job.

and what I ha I'll do a lot of times is have them do 24 hour audit of their typical day, and then they figure out of those 24 hours, how many times do you hit on the things that you truly love and enjoy? They they could be the most random things, but so many adults when they stop and take a look, they say, my gosh, like I I don't build in anything fun into my job. And I and I can't believe I didn't notice that. So often they're like

Maybe I should just play a little music more at work or for like a teacher. I play guitar. Why why don't I ever play a song for them occasionally and just let them see my passion and who I am? And it's funny that they often feel empowered then to like, I can take back control of my life. Like I've been in this pattern and and just surviving or just going through the motions, which I think we do a lot.

But when they stop and actually like write it down or think about, like how often am I actually checking the box of things I enjoy that isn't officially part of my job description? Because the good news is a lot of us enjoy a lot of parts of our jobs. But but that is one that so often, not just teachers, but like principals will come up to me and be like, Phil, I can't believe this. I can't believe that I'm not taking 10 minute walks during the day. I love to be outside. Like how easy is that to do instead of scrolling on my phone?

And it's like that's all you needed, man. You needed a guy with a bad haircut and a little of energy to remind you that, you know, like life is beautiful, but we've gotta choose to make it that way too. so that's one of is like building in that structure. And I thrive on structure, even though our schedules never work out perfectly any day. I still like a good schedule to

Darrin Peppard (10:39)

Yeah.

Phil Januszewski (10:40)

build in things that fill me up. I think I think that's one of the biggest ones.

Darrin Peppard (10:42)

Yeah.

I would I would imagine that's something too that, you know, as as a speaker, I think the the more that you speak, the more you start to look for when they lean in, you know, as opposed to when they lean back. And

Phil Januszewski (10:53)

Yeah.

Darrin Peppard (10:56)

I would bet when you talk about that, that is really a moment when you see most of them lean in or you see that that that thinking face of, Yeah, it feels right. You know, I really like

play music, why why wouldn't I have music played in my classroom or, you know, whatever, whatever it might be? I think that's really fantastic. And that's something I think all of us could do. In fact, I I'm finding myself sitting here in my office thinking about, you know, what are some things that I could do. And and granted, I have a schedule that allows me to, you know, I I lifted weights this morning. I walked this morning, you know, those kinds of things. But

Still during the course of my day, I have a very full day. I have a very full calendar today. What can I work in that that I enjoy? And I'm gonna be intentional about that today. I I might even just

Phil Januszewski (11:40)

Yeah.

Darrin Peppard (11:41)

shoot you a text later today and say, Hey, just so you know, here's how I here's how I did this today. So which yeah.

Phil Januszewski (11:45)

I love that. I love and I I

like to share my of course because you know now we're we're solo entrepreneurs, Darren. Like we can build our schedules. So first of all, that's a huge turn off to an educator that's like nice for you to say, man, but I got from seven

Darrin Peppard (12:00)

Right.

Phil Januszewski (12:00)

to four PM. So what I do is I always show them my s my daily routine and schedule from my last ten years of teaching. And I say I'm not telling you how to live your schedule, but I want you to see every hour.

How I hit on one little, I like to say, coin to put in the piggy bank, one little thing that fills me up every hour so that yeah, all parts of our job are depleting, but some parts, I mean, not all of them, but some parts. But if we're building in wins, we're gonna create this sustainable life. And it's not overwhelming. It's like sneak in a a a three minute song. Call call your best friend for two minutes and you know, or text them and send a joke or a gif. Like

Sometimes we get overwhelmed with how much we think it would take to make us feel better or happier, but really it is it's all these tiny little shifts. And that's what the whole basis of the book is. Every chapter they read, they'll be like, that wasn't mind-blowing. I if you know me, I'm not a mind-blowing kind of guy. It's just that we need these reminders that we have control to flourish if we choose to. And it is up to us. We can't we can't control anything outside of the world besides ourselves.

And that doesn't mean it's always wonderful or great, but we can choose what we do in our daily life to make it a little bit better. And that's what I'm hoping to empower with people through this book.

Darrin Peppard (13:20)

Yeah, I think that's fantastic. I love too that you you share your schedule from when you were in a classroom. So one, it makes you very relatable. it makes you very real. Like this like you said earlier, this isn't just some dude up here, you know, paying lip service, you know, who hasn't seen the inside of a classroom in

In 20 years or or something like that. I mean, you you lived it, and now you're saying, hey, I'm not saying you have to go do this, but but here's how I did it. And

Phil Januszewski (13:45)

Yeah.

Darrin Peppard (13:45)

and that's an opportunity. And it's it's very much you being the guide, not being the hero in in the story. You're you're

Phil Januszewski (13:52)

Yeah.

Darrin Peppard (13:52)

empowering them to say, okay, you know what? Tomorrow I'm gonna try this. Just one little thing, right? Give give me another one. Give me give me something else that you hear frequently that you then flipped and said, okay, this has to go in.

Book.

Phil Januszewski (14:05)

Yeah, my other favorite one is giving away our natural gifts. And by that I mean that once we get to a place where we mentally are available to think about the things we love that we can share with others, it is the biggest v bang for our buck as far as like positive psychology research. So my my example is is a tangible one, though not all gifts are tangible. But for me, I love to cook and bake. So when I

Cook and bake something for a co-worker, or I would make pancakes in my class quite a bit to surprise my students for the first 10 minutes of class. We'd eat a little bit and have this family vibe before we went into our regular class schedule. But but by sharing our gifts with others, it not only lifts up others, but we also get energized because we lifted someone. So it's this together, we're creating this upward positive spiral, which

is a term from positive psych, but it's the best win-win. It's like if I want to feel good, but I also want to make others feel good, sharing my gifts is the way to do that. Now, the one thing I get from a lot of admin and teachers coming back afterwards is I love the idea of giving your gifts, but what if you don't really know what your gifts are? And that's why I often say in this moment, if you're by someone you work with, I want you to lean on them and ask them.

Like, what is your natural gifts? And a lot of them don't realize it's like their humor, their energy, they're good listeners. Some of them have this calming sense to them that makes people feel more safe and secure. So I think my examples are very tangible. So people's brains immediately go to like, how can I give physically? But a lot of times it's just our natural gifts are different, unique, quirky.

Some of us just like absolutely it's not not me, but some people like love Star Wars and know everything about Star Wars. Like, all right, are you bringing that into your classroom in your quirky way that shares your passion with students? And they, even though they're not getting quite why you like it so much, they get excited for you because you're excited. And in return, them getting excited, they're gonna share their passions with you. And all of a sudden

People are lighting up because they're sharing personal things about them. They feel vulnerable, seen, accepted, and we're rising together. So again, it's not that big of a give, but it once we know our natural gifts and we can share them, not just with students, but co-workers, our families, we rise more together. And it's really not that overwhelming once you can start pinpointing some of your natural gifts. So cooking's one, but for me, like humor or or

Or just being the guy that's willing to like take the hit to like in the meetings, I'd be like, forgive me. I may be the only one in here, but I am completely lost on this idea. Forgive me if it's just me being an idiot. But it would lower the stress because I think a lot of people would also be confused, but no one wanted to say anything. So I'd be I'd be the first to admit like I'm I don't understand or I feel like I'm weak in this area. Can I get some support? And I felt like that was also a gift that I don't know what you would call that.

But just being able to be open about your weaknesses, I felt like made p other people feel comfortable too. That we don't have to hide ourselves and pretend that we're perfect and know everything. So all of us have these gifts and it's a huge bang for your buck if you're willing to share it more. Because you can be more yourself and you can have more fun. Like, who doesn't want to feel like themselves at work? And the people around you that know you're being yourself, they trust you more. They they feel closer to you. They

They feel they they can be vulnerable too. So I would say that that one too, a lot of people are like, Yeah, man, I I gotta like just stop doing my job only, but like build in those little things to give to others to make it more exciting for me. And I think we can control that.

Darrin Peppard (17:59)

Two two really big things there and and they lead to one takeaway for me. And I'm I'm curious where this will take us in our conversation. But in both cases there, what I what I'm hearing you say, and and and maybe I'll preface with this before I go there, so frequently

And I know I said this as an administrator. I hear administrators talk about this all the time. I mean, there's books written on this and all these kinds of things. I mean, heck, even like Rita Pearson's TED Talk, right? Kids don't learn from people they don't like, right?

Phil Januszewski (18:33)

For sure.

Darrin Peppard (18:34)

So much, so much of what we do. You remember talking about this before we hit record in regard to the the entrepreneurial space that you and I occupy together.

So much comes back to relationships. And we talk about the importance of building relationships between teachers and students. And you know, sometimes we talk about the importance of relationships within staff, not near as frequent as we should. What you're talking about, though those two pieces alone, while I have many takeaways, the one that I want to chase is

You're opening a door. You're giving a couple simple examples for educators to

Start to build those relationships. You know, we think so often about when we build relationships with a kid, it's, you know, comment on their sneakers or ask them what kind of music they like. But when we flip the script and we we allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to use your words, to not hide ourselves, we open the door for kids to feel like they can build relationships with us. So I really don't

Phil Januszewski (19:49)

I love

how you said that. I've never thought about it. But a lot of these these chapters in the book are opening doors to relationships, which we all know we're social creatures. But it's funny you say that. Like I think sometimes we think of relationships as we need to know our students, but I think our students need to know us as well. It's a two-way highway. And I do think that sadly there are some professionals that are incredible humans, but also feel uncomfortable.

Sharing their full self with kids for whatever reason that could be. You know, maybe they're just afraid that they'll get judged or whatever it is. But I've found that relationships, I don't think that's I don't think that's a surprise, but like relationships was the most important and my most favorite part of teaching. I mean, science is great. It is, and I love it, but it wasn't my favorite part of teaching. It was getting to know these awesome humans. And I would love

sharing like the awkward stories of me at their age. My my dating and like quote unquote love life was like weird and messy and they just loved hearing about me bombing or like homecoming freshman year asking three different girls that all gave me weird excuses and then like the the homecoming date I ended up with she's a wonderful human but we had like an awkward horrible time and I

pitted out and didn't want to let her know and was drying my armpits. Like like me being that like sharing with them like my biggest embarrassing moments. Like they would eat it up. They loved it. But it also like gave them permission to be like, yeah, life is just sometimes messy, but like I'm a s I'm a successful human. I'm I d I don't know. I I I've made it through and so will you, you know, like so I just think that when we're more vulnerable and transparent

It can matter there. So I I don't know. I I think you're right though. Opening the door is the way to go. And like you said, it's not just kids, it's it's teacher to teacher because kids notice how we interact with each other as professionals.

Phil Januszewski (00:01)

And I think that when we share parts of our life with others, it at least palms out, gives the opportunity for others to feel like they can share back. And I love what you said there that I know we focus on relationships with kids, but I think that's just as important with adults. I think the kids see how I interacted.

With my coworkers and that when they would come in and I'd be excited and I'd hug them, they would think without even knowing or realizing they were thinking, this is a good place to be. This is a place where people like being here. Therefore, I probably should like being here. We can model those relationships as adults to our kids because they're watching whether we think they are or not. They notice. So I I I love how you said that though, man. It's all about opening doors so that we can connect and we're social creatures.

If we feel like we're more connected, we feel safer, we feel like we can thrive more, and then we aren't just neutral, but we're we're flourishing, which is the goal. Like let's get there.

Darrin Peppard (00:59)

Yeah, absolutely. So one more question before I get to the the question I ask everybody here on the show.

Phil Januszewski (01:05)

Okay.

Darrin Peppard (01:05)

So just because I'm super curious, right? And eventually I am gonna get a chance to see you speak, but like tell me what the Phil Janizuski experience looks like. Because I'm sure there's others who are like, huh, you know, I think I'd love to have Phil come talk to my teachers or something like that. Like, what is the the Phil Janizowski experience?

Phil Januszewski (01:26)

Yeah, that's a it's a great question. I don't know if anyone's ever asked me that on a podcast. Thanks for asking. I mean, first of all, it is high energy, and I'm a very casual person. So it'll be high energy and there's a lot of humor that I like. I like to laugh. I think laughing is therapeutic, especially laughing together. So my humor is definitely a lot of tongue in cheek, and we get very real. So I think when I first come into a crowd

I think they think I'm gonna be very cheerleader, rah, rah, rah, and ignore all the challenges. But what I love to do is go right for the throat and address the elephants in the room. I wanna make sure that everyone in that room knows I see, value them, but also understand as best I can how challenging their work is. Once we do that, then we get into the okay, now that we know what reality is, how do we move forward? So everything I do I wanna be realistic. I want them to know it's genuine, sincere, and I also want them to know that it's

It's possible to do. It's not like, hey, this is tone deaf. Carve out three hours of every day and it's gonna change your life. No, it's like, let's carve out three minutes every hour and make this happen. so yeah, I want them to leave lighter and their faces hurt from smiling and laughing, man. That's the goal. That's the goal.

Darrin Peppard (02:37)

Yeah.

I love that man. I really do. I think that's fantastic. all

Phil Januszewski (02:41)

Mm-hmm.

Darrin Peppard (02:41)

right, man, we're gonna get to the same question I ask everybody here on the show. It's a leaning into leadership podcast. So Phil, tell me how you're leaning into leadership right now.

Phil Januszewski (02:50)

Right now I'm leading in the leadership, I think by giving. And by that I mean that not only do I want to do the best of my ability, but I want to help others do the best of their ability too. So, Darren, as you and I were talking about before the podcast, we're meeting so many great humans through this work we do, and it's humbling and overwhelming, but finding ways to connect them with other great people and to share our gifts in any way we can, and one of my gifts I love to connect people.

And I think the way we can grow as leaders is by meeting and learning and connecting with even more. So I just want to be a master connector that brings good people together because good people need to know good people. And because I get to go all over now, like you, man, I feel like I'm meeting just more and more and more great people. And I want them to feel supported. So yeah, if you want to lean in leadership, man, give your gifts and connect great people with other great people and good things happen. And

When they feel like they're thriving more, they're gonna be able to serve those they serve even better. It's a win win. I I want my cake and eat it too, and I want the same for everybody else, you know?

Darrin Peppard (03:56)

Hundred percent man. Awesome, awesome stuff right there. So I know people are gonna want to get connected with you. Obviously they're gonna wanna check out the book when it drops. all of that stuff. So, like how do people connect with Phil Janizoki?

Phil Januszewski (04:08)

Yeah, thanks, brother. First of all, if you're on any social medias, my handle is Phil Janizuski. If you just Google search my name, you'll find me in my obnoxious picture. I'm at Phil Janizuski.com. And then my book, yeah, officially is released October fifteenth, but pre-sale start any day now. And if you just search the book title, too damn happy, you're gonna find it, man. There's no other books named that currently at least.

Darrin Peppard (04:32)

Outstanding stuff, man. This was so awesome. I'm so glad we got a chance to catch up again. And man, I know it's gonna happen. It's gonna happen fairly soon. You and I will run into each other, whether it's at an event or we bump into each other at an airport. I feel like now that I live in Colorado again, I'm at DIA like all the time. So if if you're flying west, odds are strong you cut through there anyway. So

Dude, we're gonna run into each other soon and and I really look forward to it. Thanks so much for coming back here onto the Leaning Into Leadership Podcast.

Phil Januszewski (05:02)

Grateful, Darren. Cheering you on always, brother. Thank you.

Darrin Peppard (08:32)

Man, if that didn't energize you, I don't know what to say. As always, I was stoked to have time to sit down with Phil. Make sure you get down in the show notes, folks, and hit the link, grab a copy of his awesome new book, Too Damn Happy. And now it's time for a pep talk.

Episode 300 is right around the corner. This Wednesday, in fact. Yes, a special release for number 300. I'm sitting down with some great friends, all of whom have been on the show before, to talk about leadership, some about this podcast, but also to reflect back on how each of us has grown as a leader over the past four plus years. Now, why four plus? Because that's how long this podcast has been running.

So, in today's pep talk, let me challenge you to think about how you've grown over the years, how you've changed, and maybe even something you do now as a leader that maybe wasn't possible for you four plus years ago. Here are a few for me. When I first started this podcast, I was only working with a couple leaders, and I had very few speaking opportunities. Since then, I've written two new books: thousands and thousands of leaders.

I have spoken in front of, and dozens of districts and schools I have and continue to support. But maybe the biggest growth for me as a leader is the focus on the importance of team. I see such an impact on the overall leadership success with a strong aligned team is part of the equation. I'm even beginning to grow our team here at Road to Awesome, helping us to be the best.

Business we can possibly be and impact the greatest number of leaders. That to me, when I reflect on my growth, is the biggest piece. Heck, I'm even writing a new book focused specifically on leadership teams. And yes, I know, I've said that a few times, and believe me, it will come to fruition not too far down the road. So, what about you? Where have you grown the most? Spend a little time this week reflecting on that. That is your challenge.

that's your pep talk. Hey folks, as always, thank you so much for listening in on the Leaning Into Leadership podcast. Rate, review, and subscribe. Please share the podcast with somebody else who might enjoy leaning into leadership. Get out there, have a road to awesome week.