Ep. 2 - Braden Douglas - No One Succeeds Alone

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Braden Douglas is the founder of CREW Marketing Partners, one of the fastest-growing strategic marketing and creative agencies in Canada. Founded in 2007, CREW has won numerous awards for their service and brand leadership. Braden started his career in brand management at Frito Lay and Procter & Gamble, but throughout his life, his passion has been helping leaders make a significant impact in the world.

He currently volunteers with LeaderImpact as a member of the Global Advisory Board, where he plays a key role mentoring leaders, speaking, and developing content. Formerly from Vancouver, BC, Braden has recently moved his family to Dallas, Texas where he has opened a fourth office. 

I had the opportunity to do a live follow-up Q&A with Braden many months ago after a keynote, and I am going to bring up some of those questions here today.  But the one thing I walked away knowing about Braden is that no one succeeds alone.  

Braden’s commitment to the people around him is evident in everything he does. I took this quote from the CREW website, “With a strong brand that commands respect and with a higher purpose, you could make the future better for everyone”.   We really can make a difference with our brand.  And once you meet Braden, you will see he does things differently.

Join us now for a conversation with Braden Douglas about his new book and really the idea that no one can succeed alone in your personal, professional, and spiritual life.

Remember - impact starts with you!

If you would like to check out a LeaderImpact group go to leaderimpact.ca/join/

Show notes and transcript can be found at leaderimpact.ca/podcast

Thanks for listening!

Click here to take the LeaderImpact Assessment and to receive the first chapter of Becoming a Leader of Impact by Braden Douglas.

Remember, impact starts with you!

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Welcome to the Leader Impact Podcast. We are a community of leaders dedicated to optimizing our personal, professional, and spiritual lives to have impact. This show is where we have a chance to listen and engage with leaders from around the world who are living this out. We love talking with leaders, so if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions to make this show even better, please let us know. The best way to stay connected is through our newsletter at leaderimpact.ca or on social media at LeaderImpact. I'm your host, Lisa Peters, and our guest today is Braden Douglas. Braden is the founder of Crew Marketing Partners, one of the fastest growing strategic marketing and creative agencies in Canada. Founded in 2007, Crewe has won numerous awards for their service and brand leadership. Braden started his career in brand management at Freedom Lay and Proctor Gamble. But throughout his life, his passion has been helping leaders make a significant impact in the world. He currently volunteers with Leader Impact as a member of the Global Advisory Board, where he plays a key role in mentoring leaders, speaking, and developing content. Formerly from Vancouver, BC, Braden has recently moved his family to Dallas, Texas, Texas, where he has opened a fourth office. I had the opportunity to do a live follow-up QA with Braden many months ago after a keynote, and I'm going to bring some of those questions here today. But the one thing I walked away knowing about Braden is that no one succeeds in life alone. Braden's commitment to the people around him is evident in everything he does. I took this quote from the crew website. With a strong brand that commands respect and with a higher purpose, you could make the world better for everyone. We really can make a difference with our brand, and once you meet Braden, you'll see he does things differently. So join us now for a conversation with Braden Douglas about his new book and really the idea that no one can succeed alone in your personal, professional, and spiritual life. Welcome to the show, Braden.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

Yeah, thank you for having me. It's great to great to be here.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

It is nice to see you. We actually just finished our big global forum, and I watched your kind of the bonus section of it. So it was nice to see you because you've just recently transplanted yourself to Dallas. How is it?

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Yeah, you know, it's uh it's it's been good. I you know, moving countries, um, starting something from scratch is always scary. It's difficult because it's just you haven't done it in so long. So um it feels a little bit like a duck out of water, but it's the people are fantastic. Uh there's just so much opportunity. It's uh it's been great. So the family's transitioning, everybody's kind of getting settled in and just trying to learn everything new again. But it's uh it's been great.

SPEAKER_01 2:49

Good. And the weather must be better than where I am.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

Oh man, you know, the weather is fantastic. 25 degrees, uh, it's beautiful. So I can't complain.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

That is wonderful. Uh I'm gonna I I have some really exciting news I'm gonna share it with you at the end, though, because I'm I'm really excited to hear about your book. But before we begin, I really want you to tell us a little bit about yourself.

SPEAKER_00 3:11

Yeah, well, you know what? I grew up uh in the Niagara region, uh, so right by Niagara Falls, uh had a great you know upbringing, uh have uh a couple siblings, uh went to university for a business degree, uh, and then got right into marketing. And so I didn't really know much about the marketing field, but uh started with Procter and Gamble, marketing fabric softener, uh, then um you know worked with uh Frito Ley and PepsiCo marketing potato chips, uh, which is uh which is so much fun, like doing commercials and promotions and you know new products, and you know, you eat a lot of chips. So I am a chip connoisseur. My dream job. All right, you know what? You say that, right? You think it's like, oh, it's gonna be my dream job. We called it the Frito 15, where you would, everybody who works there, you kind of gain 15 pounds, and then you realize, oh, I can't just keep eating chips all day. Uh, and so you kind of you kind of work it back. But I still love um you know eating, you know, I do eat a lot of chips still, uh, because we own a chip company. But it's uh, and then from there, I you know, had a life turnaround and was like, and this was in Toronto, and I was like, well, I just want to give back to the world, I want to make it a better place. So I took a job with a nonprofit in Vancouver, and and I was in there, and I, you know, I loved it, but I realized that, man, I just I love business. I love working with entrepreneurs, I love working in the business world. And I realized that almost every strategy of the nonprofit was how do we get businesses and leaders to make an impact, to actually, you know, use their influence, use their money, use their connections to actually help the nonprofit do what they do. And I realized how important that was. And so I remember I went home to my wife, uh Jen, and I said, Hey Han, like I think that there's a possibility of creating a company that you know infuses marketing and creative together, but we could help companies make a lot of money, but also have impact and to be able to use that wisely. And so that was the start in 2007 of Crew, uh, which is our agency, which has now grown, you know, to now we're starting our fourth office, which is uh which is pretty neat.

SPEAKER_01 5:23

Wow. You know, uh when I met you the first time, I knew that you were just you're just that caring guy. And and that is what I know about you is that you care about people, you care about entrepreneurs, you care about businesses. So how do you play a positive role in the people around you?

SPEAKER_00 5:39

Well, you know what, I think um, well, thank you very much for saying that. That's that's really nice. But I I think it's really about, you know, you have to like it's not just numbers anymore. And I think in business, what I've learned over the years too is that there's strategic plans, there's your target audience, there's positioning, there's you know, pricing strategies and all these different things. But what it always comes down to is people and your employees, your customers, your suppliers, your clients. And for me is that you really have to get to know them. Like who are they? What are their spouses like? What do they, what do they really like to do? How do you how do you really create value for them? Um, and and I think that it's just if you go through life just thinking, what can I get from somebody? Uh, or either I'm just trying to sell you a product to buy, or I'm just trying to, you know, give you to, you know, come get you to work for me so that I can, you know, pursue my dreams. And and I think you have to really change that to say, you know what, how do I actually help them? Like, what's really important to them? Even consumers, as we think about our own businesses, you don't just think of your customers just as people who might buy your product, but what's their life like? Who are they really? And is this product or service really going to help them? And do I understand how it's helping them and why they're buying and why they're using it? And and it's this empathy, I think, that is um that's really important. I've just learned sometimes the hard way over the years uh of getting better at that. Um, but I still think it's about an attitude and a shift that says, I'm just going to give and I'm just going to serve, and I'm going to trust that it works out well. And if it doesn't, that's okay. But you still have to have that mentality of really just caring about them as people first. Um, and then you'll be absolutely surprised that the strategies, the thinking the ROI does come. Uh, but you can't just start off with that mindset.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

Yeah. It reminds me of um in the forum that we just had, the Leader Impact Forum, um, and I can't remember what speaker, but you talked about your story. Like we need to hear your story, because your story has impact. And I think that's important in your company.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

Yeah, well, I think that um, you know, especially as an entrepreneur, the the story of me, you know, being in nonprofits, uh, working with entrepreneurs, working with startups, and now with much larger companies, but you really it's just about your story has has because nobody else has it, right? Nobody else has your experience, nobody else has your life um, you know, relationships that you have. So it's it's absolutely critical that how that comes out, um, you know, it does make a difference. But you have to have a good story. Like nobody wants a boring story, like that sucks. So you kind of have to feel like, what is your story gonna be? Are you gonna be, you know, the what kind of character are you gonna have? What kind of adventures are you gonna go on, or are you gonna just play it safe your whole life and you know, and have you know this wake that you've left behind that's just broken and not getting great results? So I think yes, your story is good, but make it a great story if you're gonna do it.

SPEAKER_01 8:42

Yeah. In a little in your inner in just talking, you talk, you spoke about giving. And I know that when you're always giving, how you know, it takes a lot of energy, right? And how how do you get your energy back? How do you gain energy in your personal life? Like you go home, are you drained?

SPEAKER_00 8:59

You know what? Well, let's say even last night. Like last night I'm like, I'm exhausted. And uh it was like nine o'clock at night, and I'm just like falling into bed, and I usually like to read before I sleep. And you know, when you read like half a page and your eyes just can't even stay open and you're just zonked. Um but you know what I think it's and I even write about this in uh in my book is that you know when people talk about you have to take care of yourself, but it is really true. You you do need to work out so that you can have energy, you can actually, you know, have the kind of energy to be able to give. Um so for me, it's it's working out in the mornings, it's eating well, uh, it's uh being able to have some devotional time so that it's not just all about you. It's it's actually trying to really learn what God has for you and be like, okay, Lord, what do you want? What do you want? What are you trying to teach me? What do you want from me today? And taking that, taking those moments first. So I think the morning time is the critical time. Because if you wait, if you don't do it in the morning, I guarantee you, it's you won't do it. You just won't find the time to work out or you know, to to do stuff. And if you're always rushing around and you're not planning, you're gonna eat poorly because you have to grab it on the go or you're whatever it is. And so you do have to have that that time to just say, okay, what am I trying to do? Have that time in the morning so that you can be that kind of person you want throughout the day. And then for me, I'm like, I'm I'm just spent at night. And uh after you play with your kids and you're investing your family and stuff and and working, and you're just like, okay, next day, boom, you just start again. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

Yeah, I am I totally agree. I find that if I don't take that time in the morning, my whole day seems a little off. Like I'm all I'm just rushed. I haven't taken that time to sit down and my time. And it's and I I have to get up early sometimes to have my time, but yeah, and you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

I've learned that most leaders I know, like the really good ones, they become morning people. And uh and so for me, I have to become a morning person, and now I love it. But it did take a transition. But it's amazing. Some people feel like, oh, I just do my best work at night, and and that's great. I would say that's very, very rare. Most people I know, you have to do it in the morning. If you don't get if you don't like waking up in the early in the morning, it's like, well, too bad. Like, do you want it bad enough? Like, do you really want to actually do this? Because if you don't, you just want to sleep, then you're just not, you won't accomplish, I don't think, what you really want to in the day unless you do it.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

All right, well, I'm gonna shift a little bit. So um, as a strategic marketing and creative company, you personally have a platform to influence people from brand influence, marketing management, communication strategies, and more. So, how do you how do you use your influence in your personal life? Sorry, in your professional life.

SPEAKER_00 11:45

Yeah, well, you know what, professionally, this is where you know we're we get to be um you know in strategic planning, and it's really about intention. So every company, you go through strategic planning, you're we're creating marketing strategies and plans, and it's about saying, well, guys, could we actually integrate some charitable initiatives into this? Or what's our giving plan going to look like? Um, where's our swim lane in terms of the kinds of companies we want to work with, um, the kinds of activities, and so we can actually integrate those and help clients and help companies integrate these things into their marketing so that, yeah, we're gonna sell your brand and we're gonna create brand awareness and great market share, but also we can actually integrate really cool initiatives. And so some things we've been able to do is um is giving back to uh First Nations and working with them on some of our food products that are say seaweed and snacks and and different things. We've done some that we've worked with um, you know, single families and single mothers, um, and that, hey, one purchase of this, you know, goes to 50% of the proceeds goes to this charity. And we've done so many of these kinds of initiatives where we've helped companies integrate that so that it's practically giving. But it's amazing that we could have just been like, okay, let's just do this really cool ad that's super funny, and people just, you know, buy your products. But when you can actually show them and be intentional about, well, how do we use our platform maybe in a different way? It's it most people are like, yeah, great. They just don't know how to do it. They just don't know where to start or what to do. So that's where we've been able to really integrate a lot of these, which is pretty satisfying.

SPEAKER_01 13:24

And I would think, um, and I don't have any numbers to prove this, you may have to jump in here, but I would buy from someone who I knew was doing something so great in my community. Like if I knew that you were contributing to uh a program, um a charity group, I might go, you know what, I'm gonna buy your product.

SPEAKER_00 13:43

Yeah, well, it does, you know, it's like 85% of people actually would choose brands that had a social impact um, you know, over others that don't. Uh, and it's and so there is there is an element, but you have to do it in a way that doesn't feel like you're you know you're just you know trying too hard. Like, do you actually and I think this is where why I think it's so important that um we work with people who what's really on your heart? Like, where do you really want to give back to? So we had one company that is a big closet manufacturer, and so if you ever see those you know, remodel your your house, and but they loved doing food pantries and they loved the food bank. And so we created a and so we were like, oh, that's that's awesome. And it's already a charity that they were giving to that they really loved. And so we said, well, why don't we just um integrate for the month of November that anybody who does, you know, um, you know, closet or pantry reorganization with you is you give back to the food bank. And they were like, oh my gosh, that's amazing. Yes, okay, cool. And and so they were able to just leverage relationships that they had, and it was something that was really close to their heart already. So it's it's those kinds of things where, but you can't fake it. You can't be like, um, hey, why don't we get back to children's hospital? And they're like, uh, okay, but if they're not passionate about it, and then you can get employees involved, you can get suppliers, you make it a really rallying thing. And I think that's where impact happens when you sacrifice, when you're giving, when you're really pursuing something to really for the benefit of others, and and then saying, you know what, I'm gonna use what I have just to make a difference. And I think that is, I just I love when that when those come together.

SPEAKER_01 15:24

Yeah. That is my favorite saying, make a difference. If I can just make a difference today, just one thing. Just, you know, so I I do love that. Um I I love I love your passion, and I hope that all clients, when they meet with you, they're like grabbing on to your ideas because you really, you really sound like you have amazing good ideas to help them grow and make and have impact. So I I love that.

SPEAKER_00 15:48

Yeah, thanks. It's fun.

SPEAKER_01 15:51

Isn't that great? It's fun. I love that. Um, so in your professional life, who is one person that made an impact on you and why?

SPEAKER_00 16:01

You know, um, probably early in my career, so when I was at Free Dole, I was the youngest person that they've ever hired in their marketing department. And so it was like me and then a bunch of late 20, 30-year-olds and 40-year-olds and stuff. And so, um, and even my nickname in high in university was uh, you know, Corporate Canada. Uh, and people said, Man, you're like an old man trapped in like a 20-year-old's body. And, you know, at the time, uh, you know, you're kind of like you kind of laugh about it and stuff, but I still remember I would like even when my wife met me, she's like, Braden, you wore like the khaki pants with the tucked-in golf shirt and your blackberry on your hip. And I was like an old soul and trying to fit in with all these older people. But one of my managers, his name was Jason McDonnell, and and he he was the director of marketing at the time, and so I was reporting to him. And it was one of those where the in his personality, in the way that he approached the work, was something that was really different. And what it was is that he would just create a positive environment where you felt like your ideas, like he would push you in ways, but it would make it fun. There was lots of high fives, there was this energy that he would bring to it, um, and it was smart. You were, you know, you were forced to be really strategic, but yet the way that he just rallied others around these ideas, it just really I remember that impact of being like, man, like that's that's what I want. Like when you walk into a room and into a meeting, how do people feel? Like, is it oh, here comes Braden again, you know, it's gonna be a little bit, he's gonna challenge us and it's gonna be a little bit negative, or do you walk in and it just feels like the room just lightens up, that everybody feels like, man, I can do something here. And it doesn't mean that we don't gloss over or have you know those difficult conversations or whatever, but it means that when I saw him leading, he was able to then talk to finance and operations and get people excited about a new initiative. And yeah, it might be difficult, but do you think we can do this? Yeah, we probably can, but here's the issue, here's the issues. Okay, well, let's solve them together. And so it was this element, um, this idea that really impressed on me that whenever I want to lead or be with people, I hope that when I go, people are like, man, it was great having Braden in this meeting. Or I love working with him. And I just feel like we can actually accomplish this because anything new is tough. Anything, new ideas, new initiatives, new campaigns, because people hate change. So you have to be able to give them this attitude and belief that yes, we can do it. Yeah, it's not gonna be easy, but um, hey, let's refine it, let's make it great together. And so that's that always kind of stuck out at me.

SPEAKER_01 18:43

Oh, I love that. And I I think you know, you as a young guy joining a you know free to lay and you're coming in with your blackberry on your hip. And uh, you have to sort I I feel, you know, you have to surround yourself with you want to grow. So surround yourself with great people, with passion that you want to be like. So, you know, you found someone. So where where is this person today in your life?

SPEAKER_00 19:04

Well, you know what's funny is that we used to, we always kind of think of mentoring. I kind of talk about this too in the book, is that people think, oh, I need a mentor. I need somebody who's just dedicated to me and just you know working through it. And the more I've realized that that's really rare. And I think people shouldn't be looking at just one specific mentor that that you know takes them like Yoda and Luke Skywalker, and you know, you're gonna just have him on your back and you're just running around and he's training you. I think you have to look at mentorship in a community setting. And what I've learned is that who you surround yourself with, so even for me, I've got a leader impact group in the morning that we just actually met this morning, and you know, there's seven entrepreneurs, great guys, and they are all going through very different things. One one guy, his business is going amazing, his wife has breast cancer, and that is taking an extreme toll on him emotionally, on his family, and he's working through that. Another guy, uh, family life and spiritual life are going fantastic, but his business got destroyed by COVID. Uh, and he was in the fitness industry and it was just wrecked it. Uh, and then you have another guy who is, you know, his business is going well, his spiritual life is going well. Um, personally, he's losing friendships because he is, he he basically, you know, said, Hey, I'm gonna stop drinking, I'm gonna change my life around. And he's just and it's interesting how friendships are shifting uh away, and he's working through those. And and then they're able to speak into my life. Uh I'm able to speak into their life. Uh, you're able to, you know, really help each other really grow. And mentorship for me is about looking at those people who are in your life and then either asking them direct questions, and there's others, investors and stuff that I talk with that I'm like, hey, what are your thoughts on this? Like, what do you think I should be doing? And they take the time and they say, Hey, Braden, I know you, I respect you. And so you're able to have those dialogues. And I think mentorship is it about the intention of you to seek out advice and to be then also be able to pour out into others. And so it's a reciprocal basis. It's you're receiving and then you're giving, um, and vice versa. And who you surround yourself with is absolutely critical. So I think you have a bunch of mentors uh in your life and people that you are receiving from as well as people that you are then also giving to.

SPEAKER_01 21:28

I love that. Uh, I'm huge about surrounding yourself with lots of people. I never really thought about the the mentorship that, you know, uh that word, right? It's it's just you need a mentor. I have a group of people, and we're gonna come back to Leader Impact uh in a bit, but um, I wanted to ask you about um, you know, in your group, we talk about mistakes and failures, um, and it is more important to learn or we learn from our mistakes and failures. We learn from those. Um but would you be willing to share with us one the greatest failures or mistakes that you learned through it.

SPEAKER_00 22:05

Yeah. Learn. Yeah, you know, and we're kind of joking around that, you know, I I've never made a mistake. I don't know what, I don't know what that feels like. I hope it doesn't hurt, but you know, the reality of it is that it's, you know, your life is full of mistakes. It's how you deal with them, how you learn from them, and how you move forward is really the key thing. But about three years ago, and and this is where, you know, for the first 10 years, uh, our agency was growing super fast. And we started planting offices, I acquired three companies, and you you just feel like you can't lose. And what started to happen was I became I think subtly more prideful as the company was doing better. And the pride kind of led to this idea of look what I've done. Man, I've made some really good decisions and it's paying off. And you know and you even though you don't say that out loud because you don't want to look like you're you know full of pride, but I think internally I was thinking man I'm a really good leader. And you start to do this. And then about uh three years ago at about the same time we had three of our largest clients uh leave. And then not too long after that um another another client left and they they left us because you know they got acquired um you know a new CMO came in different circumstances um that happened and all of a sudden our revenue dropped uh by about 30% and it was one of those where you you start to realize that actually Braden like you don't control a lot of this success. Like this is really about God's hand in your life and I felt like at this moment I was I went through this period of like my identity um I had to lay off people and that is one of the worst um that was that's one of the worst things especially because you pride yourself on great culture and positive and and then to have these conversations with people that you know that you have to let them go and they look at you like man I I trusted you I you know I trusted you to provide and and I really struggled with this and it was a probably a it took about eight months um and even during that time like when the ship is sinking you can see who's in it with you and who's not and everybody everybody loves like a you know a great story a great positive trajectory but when it goes bad that's when people start to jump ship like oh man I don't want to you know be here so we had people resigning uh we had uh you know people leaving too and it just felt like the my whole world was unraveling and at this time I had to say well where is my footing like Braden are you is your identity just locked into a successful business uh a good person um and that's who you are and that's what gives you confidence that's what gives you your self-esteem or are you getting it from where you should be which is if you call yourself a Christian if you call yourself a follower of Jesus and you love God and it's like do you really get your identity from that or do you get it from professional success? And I would say I got it from God but I acted as if I did it myself and that was a really good awakening for me and it was something that it really um yeah it really just turned me around where I was like oh my gosh like it it felt like a big spiritual spanking. It was just like bad braiden you know and but it was a wake up call and I think that you know what you know God disciplines those he loves. Like it was one where I felt like it was hard but it was the absolute best thing I needed because it forced me to evaluate and to actually really come back in a in a humble way to the Lord to say you know what God like my success isn't about what I did and my failure isn't about what I've done either. It's you just keep trying your best doing what you're doing you're learning you're growing but it's all about relationships and people and loving God and loving others. And I had to learn that the hard way I don't wish that on everybody but even through even the pandemic I think we're all learning about how important relationships are that the world is is crazy. It you don't you can't predict certain things that are going to happen or disasters or whatever but how you work through it is so important.

SPEAKER_01 26:24

Wow I feel like that's a bit of a counseling session Braden for me um I think I I owned I owned I own an events management firm and when COVID hit it was we were done and there was all events were canceled the books were cleared and uh I had to have those conversations with my planners and they you know they had to go somewhere else they there was no events and there's still you know we haven't recovered but I thank you for sharing that because it's hard to share our failures but we we learn so much from them.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

It's true. It is totally true. And you know what here's and when and I think that um you know people say oh you sacrificed to keep employees and this kind of stuff and and I think yeah that's commendable but you your main job is to keep the ship afloat because it will come back again. But I still remember he said you haven't you haven't been in business long enough or you haven't had a big enough operation that you will have to lay people off. You will have to let them go not always by your choice um by circumstance and you have to realize that I'm not their savior I'm not another one there. But how I do it and I remember this HR consultant when I was doing these he came in and was like okay Braden when you you give them the resignation letter and you don't say a lot about it because you don't want to get sued and and you just kind of give it to them and then you have somebody walk them to their desk to get their keys, their personal belongings and then you walk them out you know and I was like oh okay and uh you know because I'm not used to doing this and so I followed that and I remember thinking when it was done I I felt like such a low I just felt gross. I felt like oh my gosh like why would I treat somebody who spent years with us um like a criminal like all of a sudden they're just gonna start stealing and like wrecking things and um like don't I know them well enough? And I remember they were like no but Braden this is best practice. And I'm like man well maybe that best practice isn't that best like maybe it's just been that way because you have big corporations who just have faces who have just are all about litigation and but I thought to myself after that day I'm like you know what I'm not gonna do that anymore. We're gonna do it just as as a human as somebody who really cares about them. And so now it's about you know offering you know more severance helping them find a job talking them through with this like giving them options and working with them so that even if they even when they leave they can come back and and say to people yeah you know what it didn't work out and maybe the company didn't do this or whatever happened but man such great people and I have nothing but great things to say about crew and Braden and and that's my hope is that it's not necessarily that we have to do certain things that are hard but how we do them is such a great reflection of our character.

SPEAKER_01 29:05

Yeah it it's our brand and and you're the branding guy. Like this is Braden's Braden's way. All right well we're gonna switch a little bit to our spiritual side because I I want to hear a little bit about uh you and your spiritual journey to faith we throughout this whole you've talked uh this whole uh podcast you've talked dripped a little bit about God and how he how how he's been in your life so share with us your little your journey to faith.

SPEAKER_00 29:29

Yeah so I was uh so I grew up in a um I grew up in a Christian home and my parents uh they were not Christians until my mom was pregnant with me and so when she was pregnant with me um she contracted uh German measles and she was kind of in her second uh second trimester and at that time German measles was going around in Canada and if you had it there was a high chance that your pregnancy that you could have uh deformities uh with that and so she remembers it just she said I just I prayed to God and I said God if you let this baby be healthy I will serve you I will just I will be all in for you and uh and so you know she had me and I was fine and and then all of a sudden they became like crazy church people and so they and so they they were like the dancers of like a of like an Anglican church. Like they it was like my mom became the tambourine lady and uh it and and so it was like so I grew up kind of knowing uh you know a lot about uh about God and my parents were fantastic people and and things but as I progressed through life I got more involved in student counsel and sports and I did you know with school and I just started to see Christianity and uh and stuff as almost like a crutch like oh that's that's good for people who don't have a lot going on but I've got lots going on I'm I'm fine you know and and so I just kind of drifted and university when I was out of my house it's like I you know I was free I was didn't have to go to church I'm like finally like you know and just lived my own life and then in uh when I was working this was at Friedolai um I was there for about a year and a half or more and in Toronto living by myself and so coming back uh one night and I kind of talked about this a little a bit in my book where you know you start to really start to look at your life a little bit differently when you know when crisis hits. And so I remember you know working super late one night you know being like only one in the office and being like Braden like what are you doing with your life? And I can I remember driving home I go upstairs to my room to my apartment and I look look across in my mirror and I'm just looking at myself and I'm like Braden you are such a fraud you are like a mile wide and an inch deep you're like a puddle and you have no like what are you going to do? Are you just going to climb the corporate ladder your whole life or you just trying to get that next title make more money you know just try to live your life the way that you think you should live it and you're maybe a good person and hopefully nothing happens and you know but it's like it's like where is your soul? Like what and I just remember almost just almost like crying like I just started hating who I was going to because I was chasing something that I thought was really good that the world would say Braden that's great yeah make more money you're doing really well you're getting pats on the back but inside I was just I was just living for me. And I knew because of my parents growing up I knew that there was more but I didn't love church. And so I started looking at this I was like okay well I'm gonna do it on my terms then so I remember kind of scouring around for churches and there was a church called the Meeting House which is in the Toronto area and it was a church for people who aren't into church. That was their one and I'm like oh that's perfect that's me and so I remember I'm showing up and it's kind of in this like theater and it's this startup kind of church and the the the pastor gets up there and his name is Bruxy and he's got this like long hair and he kind of looks like an overweight Jesus a little bit of what I picture Jesus to look like. And and he was the first time just really clear like you know educated smart and they have a QA session at the end of his sermons like that he just okay anybody asks questions and I remember like oh gosh like most churches don't do this. Usually the the you know the pastor stops and he's like I think I'm in charge here. I know what to do okay no no questions please you know and but he was just it was like open and then I started being like okay this is actually kind of cool and so I remember going uh went to a young adult um small group and I'm asking all these different questions and just you know peppering them because I'm like if I'm really gonna follow Jesus I'm I want to know is this real like I know you guys say he's real and I know that you know we have you know forgiveness for our sins and we have eternal life but is this really true? Like is it doesn't really make a difference are you guys just a bunch of homeschooled kids now that are just you know you know hoping to you know have this relationship and so uh I just you know the more I started to research the more I started to read the Bible for myself um going through the gospel of John and just hearing who Jesus was um hearing what he you know that hey yes I'm God's son but man I love people and I challenge those and you know those ones that were religious the Pharisees and stuff about where's their heart? Like where do you really love God? And I remember thinking yes that's exactly it it's do I really love God with my whole heart mind soul and strength and do I love others? And am I really trying to live you know for him and do I know that you know do I know that that faith in him you know forgiveness in this I'm like yeah this this is it and I remember driving home one night and that just this moment of just just like crying you know and you're you're listening to this and you're like Braden you cry a lot and I'm like I don't cry I don't usually but I just felt like in that moment you're I was just in this car and I just felt like that that the Holy Spirit just in there I'm just like crying to be like God I am so sorry for living my life on my own like I really do need a savior and and you're it and I want to follow you and this and I remember that was about 25 at the time and thinking yeah this this is real like this is legit. And and then that from that moment it's about just learning and growing and you know and just seeing the refinement in your own life and and it I you know my friends like that they were like well brain you're different now and this is odd but um but we like it you're it's positive you've got it's like you start living like for heaven you start living for eternity like how can I make a difference and that's what really propelled me then to go to the nonprofit and to do stuff and my whole life trajectory has changed um because of that and so that's kind of the the nutshell long version short version I it's a great version and I I love that you shared that because um I think there's a lot of people that grow up um my myself and my husband grew up in a certain faith and we just we we went away from it.

SPEAKER_01 36:26

It's the similar story to yours we went away from it and we came back to find something that was great for us and and and now we're raising our children in that and in saying that I'm gonna raise my children the best I can in our family and one day I hope you know I hope I hope whatever their decision is you know I'm gonna raise them and hope they follow God. And I don't know what church they'll go to. Maybe they'll go to the church that isn't for church people.

SPEAKER_00 36:54

But that's a great story and but you know what but this is where I always just I think that it's I want to be a Christian that other people that would say if that what if that's what being a Christian is like that's pretty cool. I like that. I like that version I don't know what you've got but I like this and it's not about church or denominations or whatever. It's about it's about do you really love God? Do you know him? Like and it's then you get to read the Bible about trying to really understand who God is like what's going on here? What's the context and and Jesus what is he what was he trying to actually do uh in the sacrifice and why that makes a difference and it's funny you kind of talk to a lot of Christians and I or a lot of people who may have had a church background or or maybe a Catholic or or different stuff and what I find is that they just haven't taken the time to discover it themselves or they've had bad examples in their world of of Christians that have called themselves Christians but they're not really living it or maybe they're they're hypocrites or something they had a negative experience and it's and I just feel like oh man just don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. Like don't like it's so good and it's so amazing and just because you had one bad experience or maybe even a few it's like it's it you will find you will find a good community and you will find people that are different. But here's the thing is that it's open to everybody right all you know if you go into a church it's not like a church for perfect people it's a it's a place for broken sinful people trying to figure it out themselves and life is crazy and they make dumb choices and they're still trying to work things out and but the idea behind it is but I want to I want to you know be more refined. I want to actually love God better. And if I'm not and help me to do that well.

SPEAKER_01 38:37

Yep definitely not perfect here. So thanks for good point. So how did you become involved in Leader Impact?

SPEAKER_00 38:45

So in uh the early 2000s a a good friend of mine went on a global exchange uh to Panama and she came back and she was kind of my age and she was um uh and she's like oh Braden you love leadership and all this kind of stuff you gotta you gotta you know check out uh Leader Impact and there's a guy named Ian Whitfield who's coming into our city um you should go have lunch with them so I'm like oh okay sure I didn't even know who they were or whatever and so I had um so I had lunch with Ian and there's a few of us there and I'm like man this sounds amazing like this sounds really cool and so from there um you know like I was just so I got to know the organization a little bit and when I went to British Columbia there was no uh leader impact out in the West Side uh there was maybe a you know maybe an event you know but nothing that we would say would be leader impact so I talked with um Esther DeWaldi and Preston Wheeler and so Esther is a CEO of Phantom Screens and Preston you know was a uh hog farmer who now is kind of working at Leader Impact and we were like hey we should start uh we should start a group and so we got to so we we said okay let's start this out and this was in Abbotsford British Columbia uh which is a city just outside of Vancouver and so we got together with about seven eight others and we we said okay let's start this up and we were like okay this is really good we and so we said guys like could we make this even better? And so we went through um this burst in your bubble kind of sessions together as a group of um seven of us and then we said okay well let's invite others and so we all invited um you know people and there's about 20 of us meeting at Esther's um corporate you know meeting room uh in her manufacturing facility and so we said okay well what are we gonna go what are we gonna do with them and so we said well and I was like well why don't we do John Maxwell's 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership that was the book that we said okay let's go through that it was about 10 weeks and we met in the mornings at 7 a.m and it went until 830 and we went through this and it was great. People loved it it was 20 people in a room too it's lots of people it was busy uh we were bringing in muffins and just trying to make it like a really fun time and we thought okay 20's getting a little bit big we should probably split off and so I said Esther okay you take 10 um I'll take 10 and meet at my office in my boardroom and uh then we started with two groups and then we started with then those broke off and then there was about uh about four and then six it was it started to really kind of grow um from that and that's where we started to then figure out okay well what are we gonna do after we're done this and so we started just writing content and curriculum and and the small group model that Leader Impact has adopted has kind of started out of what um Esther and myself and Preston were doing and even the content. And so that's when we just started to you know even then we created the integrated life series which a lot of Leader Impact groups use today and just the format and so it started out in kind of the west side of Canada and now has you know started to grow.

SPEAKER_01 42:02

I think I love doing this podcast but my cheeks hurt so bad from smiling like I'm just like this is amazing. I never knew that about you Braden that's really exciting. So leading right into your book uh you've written a book called Becoming a Leader of Impact which is now being used by leader impact groups I'm gonna say around the world because in the global form in the global summit I saw your book behind people. Like they're they're doing their thing and it's right behind them and I'm laughing. Because it's yellow I I can definitely see the book.

SPEAKER_00 42:33

So tell us um how you laid the foundation of your life to become a person of faith and impact well I think you know even that book um was out of Leader Impact to say hey guys we you know we we do all these business books with Patrick Lancioni and Jim Collins and Henry Cloud and and I thought you know what we need our own like we need like we've got great leaders in leader impact like we should really have our own and and maybe one that talks about our philosophy. And and so that's where you know if you ever if you ever mention an idea to a nonprofit usually they come back with hey that's a great idea you should do that. And you're like oh okay um I'm not sure how we find time uh but and but this is where you're just like okay yes I think we should we we should do that. And this philosophy of your personal professional and your spiritual life was a concept that I started to use a lot with Leader Impact and and and then they really adopted it and say yeah that this aligns because you know my life and what Leader Impact is about like this is it. And there's so many other leaders and people listening to this right now that yeah your professional your personal your spiritual life coming together to be that be a leader who has impact that's what it's all about. And so um and so for me it was about saying well professionally I want to be great at what I do. And I think as a leader you have to be great At what you do in order to have credibility or to older or in order to have resources to be able to use more effectively. And so my hope is that when people come to Leader Impact, or even for me, is that I always want to be learning. I want to be reading. I want to be challenged. I want to keep growing as a professional in as a marketer, but also as a leader. And so that was really an important aspect. And then personally, this is about relationships. This is about the relationship. This is about mastery over yourself and your time and your self-discipline. But it's also about mastery of your external relationships, whether you're you're married or you have a significant other, your kids, your family, your friends, your neighbors, the your employees, the people that have been put in your life. Because if you can't impact them, you're not going to impact anybody. And I think so many times, some leaders, we we look at the masses, but we forget the micro, like the really important relationships. And those are the ones that are so important. And we all have these spheres of in spheres of influence that we've been given. And I believe that if you can't have impact those around you, those closest to you that really know you, you're not going to impact others. So are you investing in their life? Are you caring about them? Are you helping them achieve what they need to achieve? And do you know what those are? And so really helping people work through that. And then spiritually, is that if you don't have a spiritual life, if you don't really want to, you know, you know, follow God and really understand, you know, his ways of doing it, then your professional personal life become very self-focused. They become very about what can I get out of this? I want to grow, I want to have this new vacation property and earn more money and retire comfortably and all these things that the world would say is important. But once you have a spiritual life and you realize what God wants and the life that He calls you to, of being other centered and giving and pouring into something that's bigger than yourself. And that is just like, whoa. And so for me, it's like, I want that. And when you combine that with being a great professional that has resources and platform who is pouring into relationships that they've been giving that are now other centered and for the benefit of others, you become the leader who's going to have impact. And that's what I think the book and everything is all about.

SPEAKER_01 46:23

Yeah. Well, I'm excited to tell you you have made an impact. I mean, in the times that I've met you, in the times that I've interviewed you, and uh I have started a new group with I've been in Leader Impact since 2015. I started a new group that we're Zoom, and I'm bringing in people from around my province. So not because you're Zoom. So I've got someone, you know, from I've got a member of the Legislative Assembly who's sometimes an Esteban, and we've got some people in Saskatoon, so I'm really excited. And yours is the first book we're gonna do.

SPEAKER_00 46:50

No way, that's awesome. Well, congratulations. It's you know what? I here's the thing. I I commend you because it's tough. There's always pain at the beginning. You have to recruit them, you gotta tell them what it's about. Hey, do you want to come join this group? And they're always like, well, and they're trying to figure it out, and and it's like, but taking that initiative, like that's amazing. Thank you, Lisa, for doing that.

SPEAKER_01 47:11

Oh, you might yeah, I'll be looking for some prayers. I'm I'm super nervous. Uh, but I mean I've been in it so long. So so my final question for for you, Braden, because I think you've really talked about leader impact, is what and so I don't need to ask any more about that, but thank you for sharing everything. And my last question is what brings you the greatest joy?

SPEAKER_00 47:32

Oh man, great, you know, great question. You know what? I um I love to play. And what brings me the greatest joy is that when I get to play with um play with others, and so uh when people come to our house, I love playing games. Um so even so like so in our neighborhood, we had um we play this like manhunt with the kids, right? So and I just turned into like a big kid. And so we had this like dinner party, and usually like you know, the parents were kind of sitting down here, and you know, the kids are playing, but I always say, Okay, guys, after dinner, okay, great, okay, parents, okay, let's go, we're gonna go play manhunt with the kids. And they're all like, What what do you mean we're gonna play manhunt? Like, we parents don't do that. And I'm like, no, no, we're all playing, and uh, and so we we you know, all the parents are into it, and and man, like you have so much fun, and I love just you know, integrate, you know, integrating play with our kids, with families, with others, because it breaks down barriers, and I just you can't help but have a huge smile and just enjoy it. Um, and your kids love it, like, and everybody just has a great time. And for me, like what brings me joy is when you get to play with with friends and family and people and uh and stuff, because you just you just get to enjoy each other's company, you get to just have fun um with each other. And so for me, like that brings me a ton of joy.

SPEAKER_01 48:56

Oh, Brayden. You're awesome. Thank you so much for taking the time. We you know, almost 50 minutes. Thank you for taking that time out of your life, your life, your day to share with us.

SPEAKER_00 49:06

Thank you for having me. It's uh it's great. And I hope it's uh I hope you have a lot of fun too, and congratulations on your group. Hopefully it uh goes really well.

SPEAKER_01 49:13

Thank you. Well, I I feel pretty blessed to be part of this podcast and just being able to dive deep with you and an opportunity to read your book. Uh, I'm super excited about that, so thank you.

SPEAKER_00 49:23

Yeah, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 49:24

So to everyone listening, we hope you enjoyed meeting Braden Douglas. You can find him at Crew MarketingPartners.com or BraydonDouglas.com. Leader Impact is a global movement dedicated to leaders having a lasting impact. We believe that true impact occurs when your personal, professional, and spiritual life is fully engaged. We have a network in over 350 cities from around the globe. We host live and virtual events throughout the year and have a growing network of peer groups that meet weekly across these. Our podcast is just one of the ways to help you accelerate your growth as a leader. If you're part of Leader Impact, you can always discuss or share this wisdom with your group. And if you are not yet in a Leader Impact group, we would love to have you. So check out the groups available in your area at leaderimpact.ca or get in touch with us and we will connect you. Stay in touch with our newsletter, newsletter at leaderimpact.ca or on social media. And remember, the impact starts with you.