Taking Healthy Risks, Mental Currency, and Leading With Positivity with Phil Januszewski

What's going on everybody? I hope this finds you striving and thriving and doing absolutely amazing. My name is Brian Martin. I'm a second grade teacher and host of the teaching champions podcast. And today we have a pretty special guest for you. This is someone who I've been looking forward to connecting with for a long time, and I can tell you that he did not disappoint. Today I'm joined by Phil Janet Zhu ski. And he's a science teacher, and a nationally renowned speaker, who with his partner, Matt makeup MMP presentations. And in this episode, listen to how Phil talks about modeling taking healthy risks, and how he's someone who embraces a growth mindset. Listen, as he talks about strategies that we can implement, to help our students become more resilient. Listen, as he talks about the little things that we do, and the difference that it makes, as well as so much more. This was such an awesome conversation, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I am super excited for the guests that we're bringing on today. This is someone that a few years ago, a friend of mine on social media reached out and they saw this gentleman and his partner presented their school and they said, You need to get in contact with these guys, because they are so positive. They bring such great energy. And this person said they remind you a lot of up they remind me a lot of who you are. So I am beyond excited for this conversation for myself. And I'm beyond excited for all of you out there to meet Phil Janis zoo ski, Phil, welcome to the show. My friend, Captain Martin is a pleasure and a privilege to be here in your virtual presence, my friend. And it is an honor for me as well. Now, for those people out there who might not be familiar with who you are, would you mind giving us a little background about your journey, it would be my pleasure to summon up my 32nd elevator pitch. I am a high school chemistry and physics teacher by day and a nationally known motivational speaker by night. So this is my year, my proud year 18th year in the education system, but a teacher at the same school out in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, and I love sciences. And I'm absolutely blessed to have this career. And then for the last 10 years. On top of that I have been exceptionally lucky to also have another career where I get to be a motivational speaker with my best bud through a company we call MMP presentations. So as far as my journey, it started back in high school, believe it or not Captain Martin when I was growing up, I wanted to be a chef Food Network was in its prime its birthing stages. I was watching Emeril Lagasse cooking all the time, and I wanted to be a classically trained chef. And maybe one day I opened my restaurant had great guidance from my parents and my guidance counselor, they said, You got to get your jobs in the restaurants then get your butt in there and learn. So between 15 and 17 years old, cooked in a lot of kitchens, and realized that I hated it for a job I absolutely loved to cook for my family and watch people eat, but I hated the pace, the lifestyle, everything about it. So thank goodness, before I spent all that money on college, I ended up junior in high school realizing that when I had all my eggs in one basket wasn't gonna work out. Thank goodness, I had a chemistry teacher named Mr. B, who was a human first, I felt like I trusted him. I felt like he knew me. And I told him, I am in such trouble. Mr. B, my whole life I wanted to cook and now I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with my life. And he looked at me and he said, Ah, well, you've got a lot of school spirit. You seem to like high school. And I said, Absolutely. I love it here. I'm like, all in whatever you need, you know, spirit days, I'm all about it. And he says, that's great. He says, You seem to really like science. And I said, Yeah, I'm really enjoying your class. Chemistry has been something that I naturally picked up and I'm enjoying. I love learning about the world says it's simple. Then you could be a science teacher and be in high school the rest of your life. And now to a lot of people, Mr. Martin, I think, you know, that's like a death sentence, but two weirdos like you and I, it was like a calling and it like everything clicked. And I said, Oh my gosh, that's it. That's what I'm supposed to do. I'm, I'm supposed to be a teacher. So I random my guidance counselor. They had a teaching internship program for seniors. I was lucky enough to get in. I got to student teach for a whole semester, three hours a day with a local junior high. Don't judge me, Mr. Martin, but I absolutely hated it in junior high. I do not like that age level. For some reason. Sixth grade science just wasn't my jam. And thank goodness, I did that because I was on the fence between middle school and high school. And I realized that high school was my calling. Fast forward, went to the Illinois State University. I'm a red bird in Illinois, and got my degree in chemistry with a teaching certificate student taught and the place they student taught, I was lucky enough to pick up a job. I've been there my whole career. 18 years now going strong, and blessed to enjoy the job every single day. I must admit, I am obnoxiously positive and happy about the career I have and it sure it annoys a lot of people, but they can get over it. I'm very happy about it. No, and I think everybody can hear that in your voice. Just like that positivity in that energy just flows through. So I think your students are blessed to have you my friend. And I just want to touch like real quick. A little side note, I worked at a restaurant for eight years growing up that's hard work. Like we I don't know if you're not in it, like appreciating those people who are working in the kitchens, the waitstaff they earn their keep, and it's not easy. And also for the listeners out there. You're on a Netflix show. Just dive into that super quick. Yeah, it's so random. Right? So we're in lockdown in COVID. I love to cook and bake. Absolutely. And during COVID I got into decorating cakes, I like to challenge it was fun with my kids. I currently have a tenant a seven year old as we're taping this, and we started watching this Netflix show called nailed it which is amateur bakers that are given like an eight hour professional cake and only like an hour and a half to make it so you're meant to screw up it's a comedy show you're not meant to do well. They said Dad Dad, you're doing all these kinks. You got to try out they would love you they would love you. And I was saying I don't know there's so many people who try out guys It's like it would be a waste of time. And then my son totally called me on like my dad words and said You always are telling us to take healthy risks. Why don't you do one you know, so he called me on my my BS so I tried out and nothing for about a year and then they reached out randomly and then earlier in 2022 they flew me out to outside of LA I got to film the show and humiliate myself in the movie but it was a great time I loved every second of it and I got to make an alien cake where you cut it open with a scalpel and it's supposed to lose our green slime and honestly it was it was one of the best experiences because me like getting on and then failing was really good for my kids to see really good for my students to see that hey, you can work your absolute best and get a lucky break and get on and still blow it so you know and I'm totally fine by it and would never trade that experience. So yeah, thanks. Thanks for the little plug there. I'm uh I'm on Netflix has been one day kind of 15 minute of Fame star there. Yeah, we definitely wanted to plug that but just listening to you right there because I think he dropped some awesome stuff. Number one, your son calling you out and saying hey, you're always talking about taking those healthy risks. So being that model because I mean that model is so important and then you talk about you know, I can go on there not take myself so serious because I think that's half the problem. A lot of times with ourselves maybe even as we get older we take ourselves too seriously. You go on there you have fun with it you fail magnificently by you do it and with a smile on your face so that you model for your students you model for your children all about that. I love that brother. Thank you. Thank you it was yeah, it was really cool experience and yeah, I was super excited someone won and I mean who gets to do that man get flown to LA and cooking get judged in a studio with cameras on you like what a what a once in a lifetime opportunity. So yeah, gratitude was definitely the overwhelming overwhelming exhausting feeling from that experience. And it's a great conversation starter. You know, it's a cool story to be able to tell maybe my grandkids one day What a cool thing. Yeah. 100% I was on an episode on Netflix. Yep. Right bro. Cool, man. And now I hear the energy that you bring, how do you create that, because for the listeners that can't see you, like you, you bring so much energy, but I look at you, like, if I'm comparing you to me, you have a lot better hair than I do. Thanks, bro, you gotta, you know, you've done a few more push ups than I have, and, and you have a few more tattoos than than I do, the energy that you bring into your classroom, because there's no doubt that the kids just absolutely love being in your space. You know, how do you bring that? Yeah, that's a great question. And thank you, thank you for the compliment. It is received. Thank you, sir, I appreciate that. You know, I, I'm genuinely excited to be at school, you know, almost every single day, right? You know, I'm human, there's some days where I'm off my game. But for the most part, I genuinely enjoy seeing all of my students and I feed off their energy as we were speaking before, you know, just get to know each other before recording. I'm an extreme extrovert. So when I'm around people, I'm not exhausted but energized from it. So when my students are coming in, I like to play music, always in the passing period, I'm in the high school setting, I like to set a tone of energy and greet them and just make sure that they know that even if they're not on their game, or they're not feeling the energy that regardless of where they're at, I'm there to accept them for where they are, who they are. And I'm genuinely excited to see them. And I think we all know, as educators that some kids don't feel that at home naturally. So if I can be that for them, and they know that that's genuine, like, that's a genuine love. I think that that energy for me comes supernatural. And also, you know, I think a lot of my energy stems from my confidence. And from that I take good care of myself, you know that I have healthy boundaries of getting enough sleep, I like to be physically active. And from that I actually do have that energy to give them that I'm not, you know, unloading my tank every day and exhausted, but that I have it there to spend on them. And with them. So I don't know if that fully answered your question. But I definitely make it it's an intention to have high energy for them. I want them to feel that. I absolutely love that. Now, you're big on because I know that you speak to teens as well. And so there's no doubt that you practice what you preach. How do you, you know, you just talked about healthy risks. You just talked about failing? And how do you bring that to your students? How do you make that visible for your students? Yeah, I think that, I like to say that I have a Conan O'Brien approach to my teaching. I like self deprecation. So I have no problem pointing out my mistakes, my flaws. And I like to show them my human side, my vulnerable side that AI I, you know, a bad dad moments, I screwed up, and I accidentally made my kid cry, you know, and I kind of like, talk to them about it, that I felt bad. I was pushing too hard on my son. And I was joking. But it you know, it was really hard on him. And I shouldn't have done that, you know, and they are kind of like, oh, you're a horrible dad, you know, they like heat it up. But I'm not doing it to get a rise out of them. I think it's not only helpful for me to kind of clear the air like, process, hey, I wasn't a great dad yesterday, I made a bad decision. But I want them to see that I'm a grown man, you know, I'm going to be turning 40 I have two children and a wife. And I know that like online, I try to promote a picture that you know that, you know, I try to promote the good things about me, but that I have flaws, there's cracks in my personality, and that I want to show them that, yeah, I make mistakes, and I move forward and learn from them and process them. So as far as failures, and that I think me being vulnerable human is a great way to demonstrate that. I think in my classroom, I try to promote and build in failure to get a little more technical through the way I grade my assessments. So when I have a unit, I like to give quizzes, and as we know, Quizzes can, kids can have bad days. But what I try to teach them is that a quiz isn't an ending. It's simply like a speed bump. And that when you have a quiz, when you get it back, it tells you what you know and what you don't know. And if you can learn from your mistakes, you should do better on the next quiz. And then in the end, I try to reward them by if they do better on a unit test. If say they got a 90% on a unit test, any other quizzes from that unit that were lower. I raise up to that 90% To show them hey, you know 60% At the beginning of the unit, but now at the end, you know and now 90. So your grades should reflect that you now know that, but what I'm trying to teach them and also well, I can be honest, bribe them through a grade, right? But yeah, if they learn from their mistakes, and they take their feedback sincerely, they should be able to improve. And lucky for me as dealing with high schoolers, they can, they can comprehend that and understand that process. And my goal is to show them, hey, if you do this with quizzes, like what else in your life can you do that with? And I know that you, you coach, basketball coach, you know that you I say all the time, Hey, guys, if you blew a game yesterday, and your passing was atrocious, what is Coach gonna make you do? And they always say, run until we vomit? And I said, Yes, you need punished. And they said, after you vomit, what do you do? We work on passing? I'm like, right? You focus on your weak spots? To build them? Why wouldn't you do that with your grade? Why wouldn't you do that? With your your life, your personality, your relationship? Why don't you approach it the same way sports do. And I say it's natural in sports, because that's the way it's always been. That's what coaches do. But I said, but you can be your own coach. So again, I get a lot of eye rolling, just like I do at home for my kids, I get it. You know, Brian, if we say it every day over and over again, eventually, it's going to stick and maybe they'll think of it when they're 35. Maybe they'll think of it tomorrow. But the more we say it, the more likely it is they're going to remember that and hopefully that can impact them. I absolutely love that. And I I subscribe to that as well, as far as that piece where you're constantly just planting those seeds of John Gordon. And not I don't know if you're John Gordon fan or not. But I was reading one of his books, or I was listening to a YouTube video that he was speaking on. And he was talking about, you know, you got a weed and feed and feed. And we, you know, taking out those negatives, and feeding that positive. And I look at it the same as failure. Like, I think there's a big problem in our society, the way that we look at failure. Yes, because it seems like it's something awful. But like you're talking about in sports, it's just the feedback. We take our failures, we reflect on them, how can I make a little tweak? How can I grow from that, but it takes a lot. I struggle with it sometimes. And I drink the Kool Aid to all of this. So it takes that constant planting and watering that. And like you said, we might not see that. But maybe when there's 35, maybe when they're in college, maybe when they're at their first job. And we all know about that learning curve at that first job. That those mistakes, just that feedback in that grill form. Yeah, I couldn't agree more with that. And John Gordon fan as well, big time for me on trying to find a positive spin to everything, or at least create the best possible outcome. Matt and I, my co speaker, Matt Nyesom. And presentations like to say we like to exercise that positive muscle, we do a fun little activity in our presentations, we give them an awkward meme that starts off, and then they have to finish it we put at the bottom but at least so like it'll be a guy that tangled in wires, and it says the Wi Fi is down exclamation point. But at least and we're trying to have fun, you know, we try to get a little pop out of the audience because there's always clever kids out there, you know, at least I switched my car insurance to Geico, you know, that's good one man. But what we're trying to teach them in a sincere but silly way is that when we try to tweak it a little bit, this situation isn't great. It's a failure in some form. But can I tweak it in a way not to ignore that it's uncomfortable or negative? But how can I make the best positive outcome? And we the more we do that and practice it, it's just like a muscle, the more we naturally do it. So like you said, you're planting those seeds of positive spins. And I think if anything, and maybe you get this too sometimes I'm a very positive person. And sometimes people can come at me as toxically positive and I just always like to come back to I'm not in ever ignoring the bad but I am confidently trying to make the best possible outcome of a poor situation, you know, two years ago COVID Right. I was trying my best to make the best of it. It wasn't great. It wasn't going well. But I still tried as best I could. And I was so grateful that I had that positive muscle built up from years before. I mean, having the speaking career as MMP presentations has made my life so much better in so many ways. Personally, I've become more resilient, mentally or as Matt likes to say my catalyst mind is my mind is catalyst that when failure comes my way, I am more resilient to that where I can imagine people who had an act accidentally been working on that for years would have been way more difficult, right? So again, if I can show my students that by being vulnerable, I can show them that failure happens. But we can learn from that by can make connections in their other outside of their classroom. Like you said, hopefully that seed gets watered one day, and it makes sense. And we can empower them. I mean, that would be the best gift as teachers, right? Just empower them in some way. 100%. Absolutely. And since you're with the older kids in the K through 12, system, and your students, they're getting ready to go off to college, and really be on their own. What are some things that you see that are struggles for them, that you really try? And whether it's in your classroom, or whether it's through your presentations, were some struggles that you see that they face that you really try and help them with? That's a really great question. I think one of the big ones is self confidence, just figuring out who they are, and being proud of where they are, and excited for where they're going to go. And I think sometimes they're just so busy, I gotta get to class, I got to get this paper done, that that self reflection doesn't always naturally happen. So if we can take a moment in class, just to say, like, at the end of the semester, guys, look at this problem you just did, it took eight minutes, but you literally packed 17 weeks into this one question. And we never stop and think about all the little things we've gained on the way right, like, try to empower them that yeah, I am growing every day. And even though I'm here right now, tomorrow, I won't be I'm always hopefully moving forward. So if there's a way that we can allow them to process that and help them grow in their self confidence, I think that's so important. And I don't know, with the curriculum I have, and I have a lot to fit in. There's definitely more I would love to do with that, that I don't do. And I think that's why I'm lucky that Matt and I's MP presentations, get to do that with our audiences when we get to speak because I think that's a piece that every classroom needs. But we also have a job to do, we're expected to do a certain amount of work. And I respect that too. So it's a balancing act for that, for sure. So confidence, hands down, is super important. I think also there there is this mentality now that more is better, as opposed to do less than obsess like choose a few things, and really do them well, as opposed to stretching yourself and that my coworker Matt likes to say all the time to his students, he's a guidance counselor, a school counselor, you know that more isn't better, better, is better. So do the things good that you want to do. And I think a lot of students feel pressured to pad their resume to become really impressive looking on paper. But instead, you know, I try to encourage them that you can have depth by doing only a few things, you know, as opposed to doing so much so. And I think as adults, we need to hear that too. Like we don't have to do everything and we shouldn't do everything. 100% I think that's how burnout sets in. And that pressure, we put unrealistic expectations on ourselves. I have some heart to heart conversations with some of my students, and I tell them, like you are brilliant, you have a beautiful mind, you have a wonderful personality. I am afraid you are doing so much though, that you are going to feel like you peak in high school and you're going to be like on a downhill before you even get to college. So I don't want you to burn out I want you to have that fire, not not going into college. And then I want college or that skill, that trade you're going to learn or that job you work your way up. And I want you to launch off that and keep going up and forward. And I feel some students like just got to make it through high school with all this stuff. And then like it's going to be easier that I don't want them to I don't want them to get burned out. So yeah, I think those individual human conversations we have in our downtime are so valuable us at every age but but at the high school age, a lot of them have a college or a skill or a job on their mind that's coming up in the next year or two and they know it you know it's it's happening. Yeah, and I love like that human piece when you talk about being human being vulnerable, letting them know not putting up this shield, this coat of armor, you know that the kids think that you don't struggle with anything to let them know, you know, these are things that I've struggled with. These are things that I've had to overcome. So Literally, I try to give as many of my personal stories to them, I want them to know, you know that what we decide now, minds, our minds change. I tell them all the time about the restaurant industry growing up, and you know, I just, it wasn't for me and I thought it was what I thought the job was wasn't, wasn't the reality and that we have to be open to that. And the more we can experience, the more comfortable we can feel. So I really like to try to coach them that if you are interested in becoming a dentist, I think that's a horrible idea. I hate teeth. But I you know, make a joke like that. And then I tell them, you know, you should do then why don't you try to file paperwork or answer phones at a dentist office, even if they don't pay you work there a couple months, I said, you might get a vibe, right away that oh, yeah, this is my environment are oh my gosh, people's teeth are disgusting. Like, I can't be anywhere near this. But I say why not? No. Now, you know, and if if you really had your heart set on it, and this one dental office didn't work out, then go to another one to like, try numerous ones out, there's people looking for free workers, I'm sure all the time, try it everywhere. And you get a sense of the job, even if you aren't doing the job, you know. So, experience is so important. And again, so I like to show that vulnerable side of me that I thought I had everything figured out. And I was lucky to have a vulnerable human teacher that changed my life, you know, so talk to people learn from others, it's so important. I think that experience piece is huge, because you don't know something looks phenomenal. Because we only see a small piece of it. It's It's not until the moment when you get in there. And you're doing every aspect that you completely understand what it encompasses 100% I love to do these little I call Mr. J interviews, I try to find different people in different careers. And I just do like you and I are doing right now on Zoom, and I record it. And then I share about every two weeks with my chem and physics students. A different career could be science related or totally random. And it's just 15 minutes. What's your job? What is the regular day look like? And what was the path to get there? And I love them to hear that because some people's paths are super sloppy, you know, right? Like, holy smokes, I was gonna be a cook. Now I'm a Chicago firefighter that dives in Lake Michigan in the summer to save people from boats, like I didn't know that job existed, how would they know? So I tried to introduce them to that. And I tell them even if you're not interested in the job, hearing other people's pathways and pivots can be so empowering. So you're getting experience from them through their experience. So just just take it in, listen, that's all I need you to do. Listen and tell me one thing you learned from it. That has been one of my goals since COVID. And getting used to zoom is trying every two weeks to introduce them to just a new random profession, so that they can again, get that experience a little bit and maybe think, Hey, that sounds like a cool job. Maybe that's something I could do. Who knows? I love that. Now, what I love about you is like your energy. And like you talked about, like being very positive. And I know, just through contact back and forth. Were both Shawn anchor fans. Yes. And I was listening to a podcast that he was on this summer. And he was talking about the age old question everybody talks about is your cup half full or half empty? And on this interview, and it was actually with Oprah. He said, we asked the wrong question on the time. Everybody hears that question. So oh, you know, I'm, I'm a half full person. I'm a half empty person. And he said, That's not what we should be asking goes, what everybody should be realizing is that we have a pitcher right next to that glass. And at any time, we can take that picture up, and we can fill that cup back up is about understanding what's inside our pitcher. What fills our cup up? What are some things because it's getting to that time of the year, January as we're taping it, January, February, March for myself, and I know Chicago area you you get a little bit of snow and cold weather to that we bet it gets to that midpoint where it gets tough during this stretch. How can we or should I should say how do you maybe maintain that level of positivity? What are some of the things that you found for yourself? Yeah, I would have to say that everything starts that's in my control. So I have a very unexciting life from day to day because for the rebel or the adventure seeker my entire day is scheduled. I Monday through Friday, I get up the same time every morning, for me filling up my cup, my pitcher's filled up by exercising. So I do that before my wife and kids are awake, I get home, shower excetera, like my whole day is segmented. So by having that schedule, I have naturally built in the things that fill me up that fill my picture up, that fill my cup up. So for me, that is exercise, that is time with family that is reading and learning. That is music. That is my job and seeing my students and feeling like I've contributed to society in some way. And all those things I've already built into my schedule. And if you asked me, you know, like on Tuesday, what are you doing at 9am? I could tell you,

30am? What are you doing at eight a pm, I could tell you already, for the most part, what is happening at those times. But by having a schedule. Like I said, I've plugged in naturally, the things that fill me up. So I don't have to be grasping for straws, praying that I find the time to do the things that energize me. Now that is not exciting. Like I said to the adventurer person that loves to fly by the seat of their pants, let's see what's going to happen today. But for me that has been so valuable, so that I can maintain this energy. And I do that by choosing intentionally to fill my day with the little things that are going to continue to keep my energy. So regardless of the time of year, whether it's August, right in the beginning for me, the school year, like you said, the the dog days of February where it's dark, and people are sick and dragging in that ring for a spring break, I feel like I have the same energy because of that discipline of the schedule. Absolutely owned the day, don't let the day own you like that. And one thing that I love about YouTube brother is I know that you said you're very extroverted, and people can listen to you or they see you on the microphone and how you work the crowd and everything that that self confidence comes through. But one thing, because I'm someone that really struggled younger, with self confidence, and it's taken a lot of work, and I still and you probably get that voice in the back of your head too, because that chart is pulling you backward a little bit because I you know, I like I said, I put in a lot of work. And it's still fighting that voice back. What are some strategies? Or what are some ways that you have found that other people can use to be more confident because the adults, I think a lot of us struggle with that self confidence piece, whether it's giving that talk in front of the school, or just a simple inside the classroom or face to face conversation with someone? What are ways that we can become more confident? Yeah, there's, there's so many, I think there's so many ways in our control that we can do that. I think one of them right off the bat is just getting experience, right? You said you've done work right to work on that. And how do you do that trial by fire? Getting out there taking small steps to like, if public speaking is your fear, speaking up asking a question during a meeting, right, or making that tough phone call with that parent that you're dreading but you get through it and the more you do it, the more resilient and natural it becomes. So I think experience is one of the great ways of building confidence. The more we've experienced, the more our brain feel safe because they've said I've been in something of a situation like this. So we don't have to go back to that reptile brain of fight or flight or freeze right? We can like okay, I've been in something like this hot water before I think I could do this. So experience for sure. I think another way that I gained confidence is through the people I choose to surround myself with my wife, my co speaker and best bud Matt from m&p presentations, he we read a book we both read a book as the analogy. I feel bad because I never remember what book it's from. But he says that there's people in your lives that are engines and people in live in your lives that are anchors. And engines are the people that push you forward. And anchors are kind of the people in your life that don't really support you or slow you down or question what you're doing and it's probably because they're kind of questioning what they're doing. So surrounding yourselves with engines, I feel like builds up my confidence because if I feel like I am slacking or I'm slowing down or holding back a little bit, those people in my life that are like we got this Come on. Let's try this. What's the worst that could happen? I think having that peer pressure in a positive way can really you know your posse your group, your crew can really make an impact on your life. Think about it in the teachers lounge or lunch, who you choose to eat with who you choose to speak to, during your prep hour really quick, has a huge impact on your, your mental currency. And if we're intentional about surrounding ourselves with other confident people, I think that naturally overlaps with us as well. So those are two things. And I think that's it for for off the top of my head at the moment. Yeah, no, and I love that and talking about like that mental currency I, I've heard a lot of very successful people talk about, like the people that you surround yourself with. Because the people that we surround ourselves with, they're constantly planting, we talked about that planting seeds. They're constantly planting seeds in our mind, whether we realize it or not. So when we're in that faculty lounge, when we're in that teacher next door, or if we're calling our friends over the phone that work in a neighboring district, like what seeds are they planning in our mind? What are they reinforcing? What ideas what everything? I mean, we're right, we never everyone we know is one of our teachers, right? And yes, they're just planting those seeds. And you just the more you can plant those good ones? Naturally, gosh, the better. The more confident, the stronger, the more energy you're going to be. Just, it's I think it's a win win. I do. It is. Absolutely. And I think this is a great segue because I was talking to Phil, before we got on about his Instagram feed. And he's been putting out a ton of motivational videos that have just when we talked about that, that message, that seed that's being planted. And you told me the backstory a little bit about how that started. Could you share that real quick? Yeah, sure, sure. So years ago, probably my first or second year of teaching. So about 17 years ago, I just had this like, feeling like I made a sign, you know, kind of like an 80s, Rat Pack movie kind of sign or something. And I think it was it said make good decisions this weekend. It was a Friday, and I held it in the hall above my head. And a lot of students noticed. And I think a lot of them get annoyed. They were like, What's that guy doing? You know? And I was like, ooh, ooh, there's emotional response here. There's something here. So then the next Friday, I did another one. And the next Friday, I did another one. And then I stopped. And a couple kids said, Hey, where's your Friday sign? So I was like, Oh, this is a thing now. So for years, on Fridays, I used to hold this sign as people were leaving, and the people were like, what's the sign going to be? And then it started to get like, my, my students would help me write it, like, hey, anyone got anything good to say, you know, someone quoted Bill and Ted one time be excellent to each other, you know, so it just became this thing accidentally, that was genuine, that I had no idea. But some kids really looked forward to it. And I, I, so I kept doing it. Funny thing, I had a really rough eighth hour, that's my last hour of the day, they were so rough that they actually drained me that I stopped doing it, because when they would leave, I would just like put my head down. So a couple of those students I've kept in touch with and I told them You killed the Friday sign your class. Anyways, so that went away a little bit. And then COVID happened. And we couldn't do the signs ever. So I just occasionally would do an Instagram little video of just me in my car, like saying, hey, thinking of you, or just to give a little tidbit of wisdom. And the response I got from students. And as I was telling you, Brian from former students, they randomly found me on Instagram, former parents of students, or former student parents or whatever, they were literally like messaging me like, Hey, I needed this today. Thank you, I really appreciate what you're doing. And I again, kind of like the Friday sign day thing it was filed, this is something people could use. So it just became more and more and now I try to do you know, about two, two reels a week where I'm just trying to give some type of lesson or thought that's positive, or like you said, just trying to plant that seed and I have nowhere have like you said the some big following but but the people that I interact with that needed to hear that it fills me up knowing that they needed it and that I was there for them. Maybe I was just a little bit of positive twist in their life that day. And I know that that fills my cup up so I just keep doing it and and well you know, just I'll be there. Now and I know those videos are helping people out and I love that high school students you know when you talk about I got a 15 and 18 year old, and they go home and they're by themselves. And they need that little pick me up, they can get on Instagram and check that out. And I bet you there's adults out there that are alone in their apartment, or in their car, and they need that pick me up. And they can go ahead and check that out. So I think it's a beautiful thing what you're doing. Oh, thank you well received, man, thank you. And I think to like your daily quotes and affirmations I think one of yours today, you know that not everybody woke up in the greatest situation or happy in that, thank you hit that on the head. And you're consistent reminders of that is just such a great morning, some people will call that like a morning devotional right, or whatever they want to make it. But when they see that it's such an important reminder. And the more all of us can do that, to put out the positive side of social media, just think the better will be I love little consistent reminders from other areas of my life, including media that make me stop and think for a second, wiggle my toes in the sand, be present. And think about others. It's, it's a beautiful thing. So again, not only in my life, but I choose to surround myself with positive people and my social media too. So that I'm just getting that reinforcement of all the good that is out there that people that do care. I want to surround myself with that, for sure. Absolutely. And you know, that makes me think real quick, um, Susan Cain, I believe, that's her name, the author of quiet. And it's a really famous book. And I hope I had her name right about like the path of introverts and the power of introverts. And I was listening to her, because she recently came out with a book, and she was on a podcast. And she was talking about, you know, when we talk about the people that we surround ourselves with, and the social media feeds that we surround ourselves with, when she said one of the things that she does is she's big into nature. So she makes sure on her social media feed, that one of the things that first thing that she opens up is just that Instagram page that just has these beautiful pictures of nature. So that's what she's filling her mind up with. Or I think she also mentioned, like some, some painting and art. And so she opens her up and just getting in that mental framework where she's scrolling through and seeing seeing that. And it's all about what we find in our minds. So yeah, and that little intentional choice she made. I mean, what what a little what a difference that can make, you know, I love opening up my feet and seeing a giant tattoo on someone. Yeah. And then I tell my wife, I'm ready for another, another one. And she gets all excited about that, I'm sure really thrilled. So does my mother. So awesome, brother. Well, you know, you talked about those little things and those little things make a difference. And sometimes we don't realize the little things that we do, that the students are holding on to so keep it up brother. Now two of my favorite questions that I always wrap up with, what is a book that you would recommend? What is a podcast that you would recommend? Okay, okay. Man, you know, I love to read so I was hard to pick like a book or one book but you and I both are big positive psychology fans. So Sean Akers Happiness Advantage is one of my all time favorites just about when you help others along the way it ends up giving you a trajectory to have success as well. So I'm a huge fan of that. And then one of the most moving books I've recently read that I love is actually a Chicago guy. The authors are che Cooper it's called the most beautiful thing and he was a part of the first high school all black rowing team and about how that sport changed his life. Super, super great read. I got a chance to interview him too. For my three minute m&p and under three show I do with m&p presentations, he was awesome. He has a great story. And and then my last I know you asked for one book, but I'm going for three Oh go more please. And then I'm all over the place with my books. I love music. So Dave Grohl the lead singer foo fighter, former drummer of Nirvana, his book, The storyteller, and his over arching theme of gratitude, and I can't believe I get to do this. And his crazy stories of like meeting Paul McCartney from The Beatles and just doing the most random things. It was such an inspiring and sincere read. Plus, I'm a huge music fan. So it was just wonderful. So those have been my top three as of late, but I love to read and I have an overwhelming The large book list and now I have the book quiet on there, too, that you mentioned earlier. Yeah, I said those all three of those books and I read The Happiness Advantage. And I will back that up as that's a great read. And those other two sounds phenomenal. Now, are you a big podcast listener? Yeah, so I am. I love podcasts and audiobooks. I jump back and forth. But I am definitely not like a loyal podcast listener. I'll jump here, jump there and all over. So one for me, because I'm in a, I'm in have a speaking business. I like to listen to the speaker Lab, which is all about how you speak and how you project your brand out there. So I really enjoyed that one. And then I really like one that is about like, again, I really like enjoy learning about like, being a business owner, and personal branding, and all that kind of stuff. So I recently stumbled on one and she is apparently extremely famous, but I feel bad. I've only recently heard about her. Her name is Amy Porterfield. And she does online marketing stuff, and I really enjoy her message. So there is a there's a ton no Gosh, right. Couldn't you talk forever about podcasts and books? Oh, there's there's so much information. The toughest part is like narrowing it down and what to focus on. And I will say like I love the art of public speaking in what is a teacher? We're all public speakers. So checking this out. And this is a new one. I haven't heard of the speaker lab like checking that out. Because that can help us inside the classroom. And Amy Porterfield yet I've listened to several her podcast, she's pretty big on the business side of the world too. So some good stuff. If someone wants to connect with you, if someone wants to bring in m&p presentations into their school district, what is the best way that they can reach out? Oh, thank you for asking. So for Matt and myself have m&p presentations, we are on all social media outlets. Our handle is at M P presentations. That's it. Or if you just search hashtag N P two day with the number two MP two da y you'll find us were obnoxiously everywhere. But we love doing all school assemblies. We love helping staff develop self confidence and more camaraderie and a positive mindset. So we're everywhere you can search for us there. And then as far as me is my personal account, I'm on Instagram, and Twitter. And that kind of overlaps with my personal life and my teaching life. And I'm just at Phil Jana zu ski. So if you're just looking wonderful Brian's notes and copy and paste my name, you'll find my weird looking face. Absolutely. And I suggest that for everyone, because you put out such a positive message all the time. Now, if you could have the listeners walk away with one thing today, what would that be? I think walking away, I think the thing I think is most important is that if we can put our human side, front and forward, especially when it comes to being a teacher, if we come to class every day as a human and approach our students as humans first, even for the first few minutes, I think that allows us all to drop our guard down. And from there, we can really do great things we can learn, we can have a good time. And we can grow in more ways than just in science, for example, in my class, so approaching the world as your beautiful human flawed, authentic self. And showing that to other people allows them to drop their walls down. And from there, you can make some really valuable important connections and learn from them just as much as they learned from you. So I think that's getting over our ego. And from there. It's a beautiful career and a beautiful life when we do that. Yeah, that's great words, my man. And I just want to thank you, Phil, um, everybody can hear it in your voice. They don't they don't need to see you. I wish I had this on video. But you know, since it's just audio, they can hear the positivity love, the good energy, the fact that you're the real deal. And the world needs you. Our students need you. I think there's a lot of teachers out there that need to hear what you're saying. So I appreciate you my friend and keep doing that good work. Thank you all the love and energy right back to you. Appreciate the opportunity and so grateful we connected you are one of my engines daily in my life with those posts. So thank you for putting that out there. I appreciate all the seeds you're planting. I got a full forest just from you, brother. Same here same here my friend This conversation was so good, Phil's the real deal, and he did not disappoint so many great takeaways. And this is the teaching champion of steak, where I share three of my favorite gems from this conversation. And the first gem was all about being that model of taking healthy risks. Because no matter how old we are, whether it's a primary student, who's just starting out their educational career, a high school student who's rounding out their K through 12 experience, or an adult, it's important that we're continuously taking healthy risks. And as Phil described his experience on the Netflix show, it truly made me think of how important it is for our students, and for our loved ones, to see us putting ourselves out there to see us taking risks, because there's great power in our students and loved ones seeing us try and fail. And try again. The second gen that I loved was all about how Phil talked about continuously sending a message to our students. And that if they hear it enough, eventually it will come to be. And this is important, because if there's anything that we want our students to truly thrive, it can't be just a simple one time conversation. It has to be repeated over and over again. And like Phil said, we may never see it take roots, but maybe down the road, it will click with that individual. And it will be largely because of what we chose to emphasize. The third gem that I appreciated was one Phil talked about the people that we surround ourselves with, because that matters. The people we surround ourselves with, they take up space in our head. And these individuals, they can either be engines or anchors. They can be people who speak strength, courage and love into us. They can be people who make us feel good about what we do. Or they can be people who drain us who make us weaker, make us feel empty. And it's important that we pay attention to the voices we fill our head with. These are just a few of my favorite gems, please let me know on social media. What were some of your favorite ones. A big thank you to Phil for all his amazing takeaways. MMP presentations deliver a fantastic message. And they will be great to bring in to any school district. And a big thank you to all of you for being here. For being part of the teaching champions community. We support we encourage we lift each other up. And if you think someone would benefit from this message, please share. And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast. New episodes come out every Wednesday and Sunday. And always remember, it doesn't matter if you're from rural America, to urban America, to Canada to Spain to Bahrain. We're all on that same team. We're all on that same mission, and we're always better together. Keeping amazing my friends and as you go out into the week, May you step into your strength may step into your shine. And let's build our champions out. Have a great week everybody