Billionaire Shares The SUCCESS HABITS That Will Make You WEALTHY | Arthur Blank & Jay Shetty

The people that are most important are. the people that we're serving. We embody. that, we tell stories around that, etc. And then we have our frontline. associates who are the next ones that. are touching and feeling all of our. guests or our fans, customers. And then, you know, it's my job and other. associates at the leadership level to. provide an environment to make sure they. have the resources, to make sure they. have the strategy, to make sure that we. create goals for them that are. reasonable, etc., and give them support. Hello everyone, welcome back to On.

Purpose, the number one health podcast. in the world because of each and every. single one of you. Thank you so much for. taking out time out of your day, out of. your evening to be here, to learn, and. grow, and advance your thinking. And. like you know, every week I try and find. guests that I believe are going to ask. us thought-provoking questions, give us. deeper insights to ourselves, and give. us so much experience, and abundance, and wealth of insight to learn from so. that we can learn from their lives,

their mistakes, their failures, their. successes, and most of all, their. wisdom. And today's guest is someone. that I've been really blown away by. I've met him for the first time this. week, but he just has this natural. humility, his natural grace, he's. extremely kind-hearted, and it really. blows me away when extremely successful. individuals are so deeply, genuinely. grounded and wanting to do incredible. things for the world. So as you know, this week I've been with the Arthur.

Blank Foundation. We've been at the West. Creek Ranch here in Montana, and we've. been discussing the state of well-being. in America. And the person who's put. this on is Arthur Blank himself, who is. the best known as the co-founder of The. Home Depot, and was named by Forbes as. one of the world's 100 greatest living. business minds and Sports Business. Journals most 50 influential people in. sports for the past 3 years. His. business portfolio currently includes. the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, MLS Atlanta.

United, the retail PGA Tour Superstore, the Arthur M Blank Family Foundation, and many, many more ventures. Arthur, I'm so grateful, honored, and humbled. that you're doing this. Thank you for. being here. Well, it's it's it's great. to be with you. As I said to you the. other night, I mean, you're the last. person I see when I go to bed. And it's always. very. warming to hear your counsel and your. wisdom. So, thank you for sharing that. with all of us. I appreciate it. Yeah, thank you so much. I was so touched to.

hear that you'd been watching my videos. without me even knowing. I I have been. I and I I love them all. They're they're great stories and kind. of like you said the other day we're. talking about. Albert Einstein had the ability to take. something that's. very complex and has a lot of sides and. edges to it and make it to where it's. digestible and understandable by. you know, by the majority of people. And. I think that's a that's a powerful asset. that you have. And one that I you know, that I try to. remember as well to try to make things a.

little bit easier for people to. understand and therefore you know, get. you know, get through with the points. you're trying to make. You do it well, very well. Thank you so much. That means. so much to me coming from you and we're. so happy and grateful to be in this. incredible ranch this week. Your space. here in Montana, we have this incredible. view and even more amazing is the people. that you've gathered and your team has. gathered for this such an important. conversation and cause. Yeah. Could you. tell us about where this idea for this. week came for you and what the purpose.

was from your perspective? Well, I think. it it was it was you know, born out of a. lot of years of my my journey in terms. of wellness and well-being and and I was. a very competitive runner for many years. of my life and and that you know, that. was great. But you know, we transition. out of that and I do a variety of other. things to keep myself physically and. mentally in shape now, but Um, know, we're living uh, in very troubled times. and um, uh, and I'm talking about really on a. global basis, uh, nationally as well as. globally. And despite um, our GDP,

which, you know, we discussed the other. day, is not being the real measure of. happiness in a in a country, um, despite. the growth of that, um, we've got a lot. of a lot of issues that young people and. older people are all struggling with. The fact that you met Laurie Santos from. Yale University in the corner of quarter. of the student body of Yale, 300 to 18. years old, has has now taken was taking. this course every year and had a had to. deal with, you know, positive growth, had to deal with the stress in your. life, etc. Um, at Harvard they have over.

a thousand students every semester do a. similar. So, the the. the reality is it's not only with folks. my age that are, you know, why is the. suicide rate double since 1996, uh, 30%. I should say, um, but the young people. today, thank heavens, are questioning. uh, themselves, you know, what is my. purpose? Uh, what's my purpose myself, what's my purpose in serving humanity, what's my purpose in what I'm doing, how. do I connect all these dots in my life.

journey together? And so, I I think the. the idea was to bring together, uh, you. know, the the best, the brightest, the. smartest, we have them all, uh, starting. with you, uh, and many others that have. incredible, um, backgrounds and. histories and bring such knowledge and. wisdom, uh, to the room. And the idea. was to bring together for us as a funder. and other funders as well, are there. ways that we can help, um, move the ball. down the field to use, you know, either. of my football teams, American football.

or soccer, as a analogy, but is there. ways that we can put our shoulder to the. wheel and do more than what is currently. being done? Is there ways we can assist, um, and we do that within our own businesses. and we can talk about that later if. you'd like, but um, but beyond that, you. know, what's the scale, what's the. impact? talked about that. Lord knows. that if we make a difference in one. person's life, that's a huge journey by. itself. But reality is that these issues are. such scale, not only nationally, but. internationally. As we've heard from uh.

Dan Buettner, Blue Zones, and uh you. know, and um. uh. And Ledu? Yeah, uh Bob uh Bob Waldinger, I'm sorry. And Bob Waldinger is from. Harvard. I mean, these issues are being. questioned, you know, throughout the. world. So, they're they're um. they're big-time concerns that we have. to face. Yeah, absolutely. And when I. first received the invite and saw what. the conversation was, I was just so happy and in awe that this. was taking place. Yeah. I just thought, "Wow, there's. someone out there who is so deeply.

invested and seems so genuinely caring. about what the challenges of the world. are." And then when I looked at the list. of people coming, I was just like, "Wow, this is going to be so exciting for me.". I got my notebook out, and I've learned. so much this week. Yeah. So, thank you again. And I want to. help my audience understand your. backstory because I think that's what. really shows where people's purpose. comes from. It's very easy to look at. you. We're sitting in this beautiful So, tell us about. Westbrook Alliance today. Yeah. It's, you know, this beautiful property here, but you actually grew up in a.

one-bedroom apartment. Queens. Right. Right. And you didn't move out. until you went to college and didn't. live in a home till age 32. Right, that's correct. Yeah. And so, tell us about how formative that. experience was and how what you learned. from it. I think I think it was very important. uh in my own life. My father was a pharmacist, but I I lost. him when I was uh 15. He was 44 at the. time, very young age. Uh my mother was 37. She took over my. dad's business and ran it, but, you. know, we always uh we always we didn't.

have very much. I mean, as I said, it. was a one-bedroom apartment shared by. all four of us. We had a single. bathroom. I mean, we were living in a. very, very modest way. And um. but the one thing I remember clearly. about my mother is that she it was never. about money, it was always about making. a difference and trying to uh give back. and trying to be involved in the. community, etc. I mean, I wear this the. bracelet that she that I that I had made. from our book it that it's inscribed you. can't see it on here but I wear one. every day it matches the color of what.

I'm wearing I try to match but it says. you you uh you only pass through once. make a difference. So, and that was the title of the book. that she wrote. So, I think that that. became ingrained in me the notion of. trying to make a difference, giving. back, being connected to others in the. community, uh and what have you. And we. were not in a position to write checks. then but, you know, writing checks is. great but doing the work itself and. getting connected to the individuals. that that you're trying to serve um is. is really the most rewarding part of. philanthropy in my in my view. It makes.

it all come to life, makes it all real, gives it more purpose than just sitting. and writing checks. Checks are. important, resources are important to. make things happen and bring scale but I. think it's uh it's important to have. that background. That I would say part. of it and my faith. uh I'm Jewish and uh you know, one of. the expressions in uh Judaism is uh. tikkun olam which means to repair the. world uh or tzedakah mean giving and and. and participating. Uh so, those were ingrained in me even. though I when I went to the services um.

you know, you don't think you absorb all. that, you know, you obviously did became. a monk at 18 but but you know a lot of. the the you know, congregational meetings I went to etc. I. wasn't sure exactly what but I was. absorbing more so than I even really. thought. So, I think those things are. very important in terms of my childhood. Yeah, that's incredible and like. regardless of how little you had, your. mom was your mother was always trying to. find time and energy to give to the. community in different ways. I think.

those are really powerful messages. I think when I bought my first home it. was, you know, $32,000. I was 30 32 years old. I remember. telling my wife then, I said, "Look, I'm. I'm not going to embarrass us. I'll pay. off the mortgage. I mean, I'll keep us. current. Don't worry about that. I'll. pay the bills. But, we're never going to. pay this mortgage off completely. I. just, you know, there's no way, you. know." So, obviously that part of my. life has changed. But, remembering that. and remembering that experience and what. it meant to not have the kind of. financial success that we have today,

going back to those days, I think was a. very important part of my own molding, if you will. Absolutely. I I think. perspective is so important. I remember. when I was 9 years old, I visited India. for the first time. And my father took. me to the home that he grew up. And he grew up in an area where they. shared a bathroom with 30 other. families. His home was as big as this. room. And they had seven people living. in this much space. And when I went. outside, there were like bats and. cockroaches and all this kind of stuff. And I was just like, I couldn't believe. that that's where my dad grew up.

And compared to, you know, we didn't. grow up in a huge house in England, but. compared to his home, my home was huge. And so, for me, it was so important, I. feel, at 9 years old to see that. Because it start made started making me. feel grateful for what I did have, rather than being ungrateful for what I. didn't have. Yeah, and I think, you. know, just as your your journey brought. you at some point at age 18, I think it. was, when you decided to, you know, go on the journey of becoming. a monk, you know, you're you're affected by your. background, your history,

all the connecting points in your life. And sometimes they don't all seem to add. up right at the moment, but there's a. big puzzle going on in your head and in. your heart and your spirit that actually. brings those things together. And it's, you know, that moment of saying, "Aha, this is my purpose. This is really what. I want to do. I feel at peace with this. I want to, you know, I want to go as far. as I can down this road, take others. with me, travel with others, etc." So, I. think it's been beautiful from my. standpoint. Yeah, and tell us how then, 5 years. later at 37,

you go from feeling tired of working at. a regional hardware store to then going. on to build. Well, the biggest. What is that process of thinking about. it, making it happen, pushing forward. look like? Well, it was wasn't We really. weren't tired of of doing it. It was a. company was called Handy Dan Home. Improvement Centers, which was then the. most successful home improvement center. company chain in the United States, but. it was was owned by a larger company. that was in financial difficulty. So, when Bernie and I and my partner,

who co-founded Home Depot, we we got fired, actually. So, it wasn't. like, "Oh, let's you know." It was a lot. of political reasons, and that's a whole. 'nother story. But, beyond that, it was. our chance, really, to live our lives. over again from a business standpoint. And though those stores were the best. run in the United States, we felt if we. ever had to compete with a large. no-frills down-market warehouse store, we really couldn't couldn't do it. So, we said if we couldn't do that, and we. were running the best company in that. sector at time, let's try to develop.

that and go with that. And that that was. the birth of Home Depot, and started in. '78. First stores were in '79. It's a. long story. When I left 23 years later, it was the second largest retailer in. the world, second only to Walmart, which. is a great company, and they have one of. their senior executives here this week, as well, and trying to understand. well-being and wellness, and how that. relates to the the the associates that. they have, and I don't even know what. their number is today. It's probably. about a million and a half, maybe more. than that. It's mind-boggling. That's. insane. What What gave you What I'm.

really interested in, Arthur, is that. What gave you the courage. Yeah. and risk-taking after being fired. at the age of 37 to do that? Because I. think today, and it's interesting. because I was sitting yesterday at a. table with Larry, with Robert, Yeah. and we were discussing this, and. what they were sharing with me is that. so many students today, at some of the. best institutions in the world, Right. and all institutions in the world, Right. are so scared Yeah. of doing. anything that isn't the path. And what I.

mean by the path is they believe that. they go to Yale or Harvard, they. continue and they have to get a job in. what they're studying right now, and. that they have to live that very narrow. line. And they said in their words, they. said they know some of their students. are doing things they hate just because. it's the path. Yeah. Where did you feel. the confidence and the risk-taking. approach to try something new? And how. can our audience and listeners today. feel that they're not old? Because today. people think they're old at 25. Mhm. And. we think we're old at 28 to try.

something new. I got married at 23 first time and I uh. said, "Okay, this is 23 years old. I. need to get married." Today kids are. getting married much later, but in any. event, uh. I think in my own case uh probably came. from the experience that my um. uh that my father passing away at an. early age, him being an entrepreneur. He. was He was um uh working as a. pharmacist. He left several years before. he he passed away. Started his own uh. wholesale drug company across America, drug stores, hospitals, nursing homes,

et cetera. And then when he passed away, my mother took that business over. So, I. had all these role models in my family. of, you know, not giving up, of trying, trying something new, extending. yourself, you know, going on that on. that journey. I've been connected with. that with Bound for probably 40 years. now, and their slogan is to serve, to. strive, and not to yield. And so, I very. much believe in that and uh the notion. that we all can do more than what we. thought we capable of doing. Um and. doesn't mean you do it without, you. know, uh you know, safety nets around.

you, but uh but you can do more than. what you thought. So, I would encourage. and I do encourage people to uh as as. Dr. Dwyer uh would say, uh to find the. music within you and um make sure it. gets played. Uh so, I think. you know, a lot of us have to find that, you know, that music, if you will, that. passion, that that that point of. physical, mental, spiritual connection. that makes us feel. we're, you know, we're not getting up to. work today. We're getting up to to have. not have fun, but to do God's work. through our work do work with purpose.

Service to others, etc. So I think. you know, you try to find and I. encourage young people today to try to. find. don't worry about making money. If. you're good at what you're doing, you're. going to be fine and money really is. really not the main attribute to. happiness is as you will know. But I think doing what what you find a. passion for serving others in some. capacity. and being part of the greater community. not just of your family, which is. obviously critical, but of humanity.

you know, brings you the joy and peace. and I think if you can find a business. that in one form or another provides. that service. I think you you. you create a company expression I use to. our managers that you want our. associates to feel this company is. really worthy of your life. I don't mean. that in disrespect to religion or. whatever else may be, but they give you. 8, 10, 12 hours a day, whatever it may. be, but you want them to come to work. and not have to think of it as work. Think of it as you know, this is part of.

my mission. I I love the the values of. this organization. I believe in them. I. want to stand for them. I want to. participate in them. I want to help. articulate them. I want to help share. them with others who have to join our. businesses. And I think that that passion I think. that commitment is what will bring. bring a greater sense of joy and. hopefully you know, I'm I'm thrilled. really with. you know, Bob Waldron and here and Lori. Santos here as best examples and many of. the universities, but there's tremendous.

thirst. that our young people have who at the. end of the day really are our future. The young people have to find a greater. purpose, find themselves personally and. then find a greater connection to. others in their community and humanity. is is something that I. applaud and that's why your work. is so important because, you know, you're part of, you know, the voices. that young people are that everybody's. listening to. I'm 76, so I'm not young, but but I mean. but everybody is listening to today and.

trying to get. some. better guidance, broader guidance, more. spiritual guidance, connecting guidance. to everything inside of themselves than. they would have had otherwise. So, you know, I'm very optimistic about, you. know, the direction that we're going in, but it's not going to happen by itself, it's not going to change by itself. We. need people like yourself, Jay, and all. the people in the other other rooms that. are doing incredible work and making.

sure that those messages get expanded. and we're touching more and more people. and find ways to bring bring that. message of scale. And I think it's one. that that people. when somebody has that feeling that. I'm not really I mean this is this is. purpose to me. In. the true sense of the word, what I'm. doing every day has purpose. It's like. these, you know, young men you have. here, you know, we're recording this.

I mean I assume I mean they love working. with you, but they probably love, you. know, hearing some of these stories and. every day they exposed to, you know, some other thoughts that help them. enrich their own mind and their own own. thoughts. Yeah, absolutely. And when I hear you. speak from. the first day when you led the. introduction to even now, the words like. purpose and values and spirit they're so. deeply embedded in who you are. And and. one of the things I loved and we'll try. and get a slide to put it onto the video. version, but when you first started.

speaking, you showed us the two value. diagrams that you have. And one thing I. loved is that there was an upside down. pyramid and on the upside down pyramid, the person at the bottom of the pyramid. was Arthur. And and I loved that because and at the. top was customers. Right. And then you. had the other circular one with. innovation and all these other aspects. of values. I'd love for you to talk. through some of those because I believe. that. we hear a lot of people say this stuff. Right. I know. And and you've probably. heard it more than I have.

Mhm. But from spending a bit of time with you. and and seeing the success of what. you've done, it seems like you've. actually been able to to really do it. Right. Yeah. Please share with us some. of those values and how you constructed. them specifically and and where that. upside down pyramid and you at the. bottom idea came from. Yeah. So I I think Jay, all of our businesses. um. regardless of their um. exactly what they're doing, you. described them all well earlier, all at. incredibly high very high success.

um portfolio and results, um. they're all based on the same set of. values. And the same set of values is. the wheel of six if you will, but. they're all have to do with. relationships, all have to do with. community, all have to do with respect, all have to do with giving back. None of those key values have anything. to do with, you know, what's our maximum. revenue, what's our rate of. profitability, what's our return on. sales, etc. It's it's all has to do with behavior. and how we treat uh the people that. we're serving. So whether we're serving.

guests here at Mountain Sky or at West. Creek or whether we're serving customers. in our PGA business or whether we're. serving fans in our Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United and our stadium which has. been voted in the country the last two. years, little plug. Uh. But um you know, everything we do is all. about service to others. So you know, we know if we do the right. things for the right reasons uh in terms. of the the tactical decisions. uh but if we have this welcoming home,

this welcoming feeling where we're more. concerned about who we're serving than. about ourselves, that comes across with. a sense of trust and and caring. So, an. example would be. just to demonstrate that in in the. National Football League, 32 teams, the last 2 years the Atlanta Falcons. were voted number one in the NFL for fan. experience. Major League Soccer, we're 24 teams, we're ranked number one in Major League. Soccer in terms of fan experience, but. and it may have a lot of has to do a lot.

of different things and food and. beverage and our unique the strategy and. in that regard, but in the setting in. the stadium, but beyond that, it has to. do with the fact that every single. person in any of these venues that we're. talking about feels like they're an. honored guest, feels like they are the. reason we're there is to serve them. And I would say to you, I mean, our. associates are are compensated well, but. having said that, their greatest. compensation, in my view, is that, you.

know, they're seeing people smile every. day. They're making people's dreams come. true. They're making people's problems. go away. The sense of community, all of. these things that we share and talk. about, I mean, they they love all that. So, our associates feel like, you know, I may have a tough day at home or a. tough day some It may be when they come. into work, though, and they're and. they're confusing work with play and. they're making the opportunity to serve. right there is is very powerful in terms. of enriching their own experience. So,

you know, that that's a key driver in. everything that we do. We also feel. strongly in community and giving back. and and you know, we do that with the. service in the businesses themselves, but we do it in a broader sense in terms. of our own philanthropy. My family. foundations, you know, 40 million. dollars since 1995 and that'll probably, you know, double and triple in the next. next 10 years. And then each of our. businesses have has an associate-led. fund of themselves, which is very, very. significant dollars, but the beauty of.

that is that these are not trained. philanthropists. They're just. associates. They're not executives. necessarily. They're trained, you know, you know, to how to go through. evaluations, etc. They make the. decisions. They're closest to the people. they're serving. They understand the. communities they're living in. They. understand their industries incredibly. well. And so they make decisions about, you know, how much we're going to. allocate in certain areas. And they they. do that work. And we support them. We. don't guide them. We just, you know, we. give them X amount of dollars and they. take care of it. Um the beauty of that.

is that the associates feel a tremendous. sense of pride then, not just in their. work, quote unquote, which is having. purpose in terms of serving others, but. also they're part they're physically. part of going out and doing site visits. in a variety of settings and making. decisions about, you know, well, you. know, we've been blessed here. Now, how. do we help others? You know, how do we. how do we do this work and expand it? So. um to have that pride, that gives the. associates even more purpose and more.

sense of that, you know, when our public. said from my standpoint, whatever's left. over, 98% of my state is going to be. going back through philanthropy, family. foundation, my kids foundations, these. associate-led foundations. Um because I, you know, I've I don't. need any more clothing. I don't need any. more of anything. I need more, you know, growth myself, but. but I want to see, you know, I want to. see the world a a better place than it. is currently today and be part of that. And our associates feel that way. So the upside down pyramid, if you will,

with. guests, customers, fans on top and me on. the bottom, reinforces the message that. the people that are most important are. the people that we're serving. It's but I mean, it's not, you know, it's not a bunch of words. It's. we embody that. We tell stories around. that, etc. And then we have our. frontline associates who are the next. ones that are touching and feeling all. of our. all of our guests or our fans, customers. And then, you know, it's my. job and other associates at the. leadership level to provide the.

environment to make sure they have the. resources, to make sure they have the. strategy, to make sure that we we create. goals for them that are reasonable, etc., and give them support. So, um. and your your question, which is. probably the best question. um that as a business person you ask, is that, you know, often an entrepreneur. has a vision um and it's successful, but. once they try to expand it, it becomes. not successful. So, you know, at Home Depot, we um we.

struggled with that as well. When we had. four stores, I remember meeting with the. gentleman from uh Goldman Sachs, who was. the most highly regarded banker on Wall. Street in the retail space. And uh. um and he um he sat down with me at. lunch. He said, "Well, you have these. four stores, you know, in Atlanta. They're very successful and you have a. unique culture, but you know, he didn't. ask me a question." I was only 37, so I. was like, "Woo, meeting with this guy is. a really big deal." So, I you know, he. said, "As you expand, you're not going. to be able to maintain this culture. You're just not going to be able to do. it." He said, "Cuz you're.

you guys are so physically involved, the. level of training, the level of. commitment, the level of the associates. understanding your viewpoints and all. this.". Um so, I it was troubling coming from. here him cuz we had aspirations to. become a national company, which. obviously with. 2,200 stores now and stores in Mexico, Canada, and the US, it's, you know, um it it's, you know, amazing story. But, the key to that. was not what's on a piece of paper, not. the six core values that we live. It was.

not really the inverted triangle, but. it's the ability to make sure that what. we would term in case of Home Depot was. an orange apron. So, it was orange, a. lot of orange in our business. That associates, you know, bled orange, if you will. And what that means is that. they understood the values. We didn't. make them write them down. We didn't. make them They weren't They weren't the. same exactly in this order, but did they. live them? Uh could they articulate them. in whatever words they wanted to, but. most importantly, could they live them? And. and so we became very paranoid about.

succession planning, making sure that when people got. promoted, that it's not the first. question was not are they technically. really good at what they're doing, whether it be in a store or a store. support center, even our headquarters, if you will. We always call them store. support centers because they were there. to support the stores that were. supporting our customers. But. the key was, you know, do they. understand it? And so. understand our value set and do they. live it? If they live it, they had a. chance to move ahead, become a store.

manager, become a district manager, whatever it may be. If they didn't, it. didn't mean they were bad person, but we. put them in another another area where. their ability to affect, you know, large. numbers of people was not going to be as. great. So that ability to understand and. live our values and become a role model. and lead by examples. One of our core. values, lead by example. So. you saw last night that I served pie. So. I mean, I'm, you know, this is maybe off. the subject a little bit, but I mean, the example is it's important, it's not. just important I do it at Mountain Sky.

as well. Our our guest ranch opens to. the public. Because, you know, I want the guests. that really see me in a position of. service to others. I want our associates to see that. It's. not just a bunch of words, actually. leading by example is nothing that I. wouldn't do to help. Uh. Last year at Mountain Sky, I was sitting. in the bar area and having a drink and I. heard somebody say, "Well, you know, our. bathroom is not working and you know, it's over there." I said, Yes, so I went and I fixed it myself and.

there was another one that wasn't. working, I fixed it myself. So, you. know, I came back. I I just, you know, that's kind of my nature, you know, it. was not working, go fix it. I don't it's. not a matter of title or who I am. I. didn't ask anybody else to do it, I did. it myself. So. the associates next day had come and say. to me, "We heard that you actually were. fixing toilets yesterday." I said, well, yeah, man, it wasn't, you know, I mean, it's part of what we do is that we we. have to lead by example. And those. storytelling, those examples, uh, and picking the right people behind. that that understand those things and.

live those things, um, are are the way. you expand a an organization over a. broader scale. If you have really bright people, they. don't get what you're doing. They don't. get your purpose and your vision, then. it's not going to work. Doesn't mean. they're not right. Doesn't mean they're. not good. Doesn't mean they don't don't. have a different purpose in life, but. they're not going to be able to support. your organization. Yeah. So, um, you. know, in much of what you're doing and. expanding is so incredibly in the last 3. years, um, you know, you have to have the right.

people around you. People who understand. Jay Shetty, people who understand your. value set. I mean, they can have their. own, but it has to be, in a certain. sense, has to have sense of service and. sense of purpose, uh, deeply ingrained. as well. Absolutely. Absolutely. And. thank you so much That was a beautiful. answer, by the way. And. amazing to hear that you were fixing. toilets and definitely saw you at Pie. yesterday. Yeah. But no, I I I think it's I think it's. amazing and I've definitely felt that. with you personally this week, just how. personal you are with everyone and how. much you make sure and check in with.

everyone and making sure we're all okay, which is which has really been beautiful. and very very amazing to see that as. well. And and and that answer was. amazing because for me, that is what defines leadership. When I. meet someone, I'm most endeared by their. humility and by their character more. than. how much money they've made or how. successful they are. And I think that's. all of us. We We remember people based. on how they make us feel Right. as. opposed to what they have or what they. say. And I think the fact that you've. been able to do that in an organization,

tell me about a time, Arthur, where. actually you may have made a mistake or. a failure in an in the organization, and. I'm sure there were many, but any that. stand out to you where you really. learned an important lesson that stayed. with you that made you change. everything. Yeah, I hope there weren't too many, but. but there were some. I'll give you an. example and this was one at Home Depot. as an example. We The only acquisition. we made when when I was there and Bernie. was there was a group of. nine. stores that were in our industry.

They had stores in Dallas and elsewhere. in Louisiana and Mobile and Baton Rouge. etc. And this we acquired the stores and then. what our decision was that we didn't. want to lose the volume that they had. It was a fraction of the volume that we. had, but we didn't want to lose the. volume. We were very paranoid about. losing volume. Focused always on. revenue. And um. So we decided to keep them open and. change the stores. So it really was kind. of like changing tires on a car that's. going, you know, even 30 miles an hour.

It gets very ugly, very difficult to do. etc. etc. So when we opened the stores. we realized we had. physically we had changed the stores. They looked like traditional Home Depot. stores, great stores. But the the associates didn't really get. us cuz we hadn't really put them through. the kind of training and exposure and. understanding. that was critical to all of our. associates. So there was a separation. there from, you know, our value set. which drives everything to the people. that were serving the customers who, you. know, were well-intended but they didn't. understand our priorities. They.

understood the traditional priorities. which was not as rigorous about customer. service as ours was. So we ended up closing those stores for. a short while and, you know, putting. everything on pause. Taking all the associates, training. them, doing everything we had to do etc. etc. When they reopened they reopened as. as our Home Depot stores. So I I think. that was an example of where we got a. little ahead of ourselves. And probably, you know, forgot to check. certain boxes that we needed to check. Another example and both in our PGA.

business today is a good example. We're we're We're. at about a million square feet in golf. retail in the next uh next 5 years, which is there's nobody in golf retail. expanding anywhere and people you talk. to say, But we we we it's been extraordinary. successful. But the point is that. those stores require a high level of. service and the people understanding the. industry, club fitting, ball fitting, you know, etc. etc. and and relationships to.

customers, etc. So, uh to our guests in the store. So, you. know, we take a lot of time now in. moving a large group of people to the. new store to make sure that we don't. make that mistake again. So, those. number of people can train the. additional 40, 50, 60 people that we're. hiring and making sure that they get our. culture. Uh so, you know, culture really drives. everything that we do. I mean, everything we do. Those value sets, they. drive every everything that we do and uh. you know, the body can only absorb. change at a certain rate um and um.

pace at a certain rate. So, I think it's. it's important to be able to acknowledge. that and make sure that, you know, whatever your culture is, it doesn't get. diluted as you expand. More often than not, it does happen. Um I've had some experiences and, you. know, one other example of that when we. went uh at at Home Depot, uh we started. to expand into the Midwest, um we went. to Detroit with a group of stores and um. we realized then we were opening up.

stores at we had store and a half store. every day and a half. and that uh we couldn't really sustain. that rate of of growth. So, we. we went to the board, Bernie and I, and. said, "Look at, we've decided we're. going to maintain growth rate of no more. than 25% a year." It had nothing to do. with financial modeling and everything. It had to do with. how many associates could we uh impact, you know, hire, impact, train, make sure. they understood our orientation, became. Home Depot fanatics, blood orange, you know, all those things.

we asked them to do. Uh we said that's. the most that we can possibly do. So we. we kept our growth down to a point that. we can that we can still produce the. kind of success um. and deliver the kind of experiences in. all of our businesses. Yeah. But same. thing happens out here at the ranches is. that we've made some adjustments over. the years. We do it very slowly, very. modestly. because we don't want the experience to. change and we want to make sure that. everybody's ready for the change. Absolutely. Absolutely and that's. amazing advice for all of us, anyone.

who's listening or watching right now. and is growing a small team into a. larger one, an entrepreneur that's. expanding their business. Culture is that thing that's going to. make sure that you succeed in the long. run and it's so easy to hire fast and. hire quickly and I know Alex and I and. and with the businesses that I work with. right now, we're actually some of the. slowest hiring people in the world. Well, it's it's it's you know, it's it's. it's terribly important. I mean I I had. a. CEO of a major competitor of ours.

meet with me once. I was actually. playing golf over at Augusta as a guest. and he was there. And he said to me, well, you know, if. you you're here around lunchtime, I'm. out on the putting green and you know, come over and say hi and I I knew him so. I did. So and he had left he had left the. company at that point and he said, you. know, we sent we probably visited 200 of your. stores a year and at that that point in. time we had stores in Chile as well. He said but and we could copy. everything. We copied the size, the. pricing, the assortment, the signing, I.

mean everything he said. He said, we'd go around and ask people, you know, culture thing, value thing and no matter. where we went, no matter who we spoke. to, they all said the same thing in. their own words, but they all were doing. the same thing and we were not able to. do that in our company. Wow. And but. that's because you know, we recognized. the importance in that. It was not a new. message every single day. It was the. same message as over and over and over. and over again to the point where people. said, "Oh, boy, here we go again. Listen. to customer service.".

And every example that we could find of. great customer service, we celebrated. that. Um I mean, we had issues with, you. know, that we had to struggle with as. well as a company, but we celebrated uh. the successes and particularly weren't. successes in how many stores you opened. up. The fact that our earnings per share. grew at 49% a year for 23 years, our. stock grew that quickly. We didn't talk. about the stock market and how wealthy. we're making people. But we had a lot of. pride in that. because then we gave other people the. financial capacity to make a difference.

in their own lives and have a financial. purpose in their lives and taking care. of their family, extended family, community, giving back. But uh so it was. it's a you know, it was a it's a. beautiful model because it's um it's one. where. associates and who you're serving um all. appreciate. uh the investment you've made in doing. the right things for the right reasons. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. And like you said. earlier, the Arthur M. Blank Family. Foundation has given $400 million over.

over since 1995 to so many incredible. ventures and many of them have been in. the space of childhood development, education and the arts, and parks and. green space. And I wanted to know why. you specifically selected each of those. three. I mean, they're so beautiful in. their own right, but I'd love to know. from your own perspective as to why you. believe those three areas are so. important. Well, I think, you know, anything and doesn't have to be in. Montana, obviously, cuz most people. don't live here, but you know, anything. connected to green space, to parks, to.

nature, to getting outside, to finding. that solitude, that quietness, that. place where you can uh reflect and a. place where you actually you can uh. you know, go with family and friends and. experience things that that aren't. driven by, you know, on my phone every. every 3 and 1/2 minutes um. or less. Uh so I think that, you know, that's an area that we've always felt. very very strongly about. Obviously, we. involved in conservation here in Montana. as well and elsewhere in the West. So, it wasn't it's not just these two.

ranches which are we think are models in. terms of ranches should operate. Not. just from a guest standpoint, but from. you know, in terms of the the the actual. act process that we have going on. So, we've always felt strong about that. Being outside, being connected to nature, being. connected to people that you're outside. with. It opens up a different. perspective. on viewing the world and viewing each. other. And having that sense of community. A. sense of community is so important. I.

was raised in apartment house. And. and as well the rest of my family. But. you know, what's interesting is that in. those those apartment houses when it was. during the summer when it was warm, even. in the fall and spring was in New York. City. People would bring their little. chairs downstairs and everybody would. sit like outside the apartment because. they had that you know, that need, desire for connection to others. And I think that's true whether you're. living in an apartment or whether you're. living in a home or whether you're. living So, we at our ranches, we don't.

promote the use of technology. Sorry, Jay. Apologize for that. But I But I mean, you know, there are places where people. can use technology because of. conferences and other work. But but we. don't actively promote it. We want. people to get outside. We want people to. experience nature. We want people to. touch and feel things and that silence, that solitude and that you know, finding. the quietness with themselves, that. inner calm which they can do so. beautifully in nature. Public education. has always been a big issue for me. I.

went through. public school my whole life. Didn't I went to a didn't go to private. school till I went to college. I went to. small business school, Babson College. out of Boston. And so, I feel like you know, you know, the more that we can do in. terms of public education at a higher. level, um, creates, you know, really unlocks, uh, minds of all of our young people. Uh, that exposure, Thomas Friedman was. right many years ago when he wrote his. book The World Is Flat. Um, and I think. we're realizing that more and more and.

more over time. The book's 25 years old, but reality is that we're seeing that. every day. It's becoming less curved and. more flat and everybody's connected. Um, and I think, you know, that's a. wonderful thing. Um, so I think, you know, public education, uh, because not everybody or very few. people, uh, can afford, you know, private schools and, you know, and kind. of an answer that's that's just works. for a handful of people relatively. Um, so that's always been very important. to my family and, um, and my children as. well. Uh, they're very actively involved.

in that or that arena. Um, so those are. some of the things, uh, we do a lot of. work, um, in. areas of culture because we think. culture is another way. there's lot of times there's too much of. an emphasis, in my opinion, on on book. learning and what have you. And some. people learn differently. They learn by. expressing themselves through yoga, through arts, through athletics, through. whatever it may be, music, drama. Um, and so I think you have to let people. kind of find themselves in that in those. ways as well. Sadly, within the public.

education area, a lot of those, um, opportunities for expression. have been cut back and eliminated. Uh, so we'd like to see more of that. expanded over time cuz I think it's very. healthy for everybody. Yeah, I love that. how you've chosen three things that. encourage so much internal growth. Right. Like I feel like your investment in. parks and green spaces is about people. finding internal calm. And even this. week we've had all these incredible. outdoor activities that you've arranged. and the team's arranged here for. everyone to partake in and we've seen. how people are bonding closer when.

they're out and about in green spaces. and outdoors and going on these. beautiful walks and riding or whatever. else it may be. And and especially what. you're speaking about, the education. system, of course. And then I I think. you're spot on when you talk about how. arts. and the arts allow us to express. ourselves more effectively and how. that's never always encouraged. Right. And so your investment in that space I'm. sure has made a difference. Well, I think you know, as you know and. many of our guests know that you know, that education, you know, the the book education is very.

important. The life education. is in many cases even more important and. exposure and what have you. It's one of. the reasons we our foundation is just. just started to invest on an. international basis. We're doing work in. Africa, doing work in the Caribbean, etc. But one of the reasons is is not. because, you know, I mean, we don't have enough. opportunities within the United States. We do. And must needs we do. But I wanted to. send important message, you know, to our. family and to our associates is that,

you know, not just talking about, you. know, humankind being. being connected, but actually. demonstrate that. So. you know, case of Nigeria where 60% of. the population lives on less than a. dollar a day, you know, we want people. to be aware of that and you know, how. how do we participate and support. answers in those areas of the world. So. um I think that the notion that we are. brothers' keepers, uh which is an integral part of our. faith and the faith of, you know, part.

of everybody's faith, I believe, uh is very important and it's not just. it starts maybe with your family, your. extended family, your community, but it. really has to include everybody on the. face of the earth. That's why the earth. is important. Uh. you know, the earth is important cuz we. all live here. We got to take care of it. a little better than we have been. Absolutely. That that resonates so. strongly with me because one of the. reasons why I became a monk and one of. our teachings was that you became a monk. and you were free from your basic family. responsibilities so that you could see.

the whole world as your family. Right. And so that you could go and. extend yourself even further. And I. think it's beautiful to see you do that. I mean, you have six children and Six. grandchildren. Six grandchildren. Six and six, right? Yeah, six and six. What is your What is. the legacy. dogs. A couple dogs as well, yeah. Amazing. And horses? And horses, yes. yeah. Uh. what are the What is the legacy that. you're hoping that they're going to. carry forward to the future generations. as the foundation grows. Well, I I don't you know, I think it's. important for them to to find. themselves. Um you know, they need to.

climb their own mountains. They need to. explore themselves. They need to. you know, fall down, pick themselves up. They're. to need to learn deal with adversity and. growth, uh both uh physically and. personally. Uh so, our older children um are all. involved in our family foundation. Um. and we're actively involved in a variety. of areas that we've talked about and. many we haven't, but they're involved in. all of them. Uh in addition to that, they're all each. one is starting their own foundation. now. Much smaller, but I want to see.

make sure they know how to evaluate, make sure they know how to do their. work, etc. because uh. when you're giving, you're giving, you're always getting more. I mean, makes no difference whether it's. physical work or financial, whatever it. may be, the more we give, the more we. get back. That's just kind of the way. the math of the world works, the. universe and our and our soul uh works. So, uh the younger children have um uh. age age-appropriate exposure to. philanthropy. One 22 to her 18, so.

they're they're younger, but they're. getting exposed to it mostly by doing, uh not by writing checks, but by doing. things and being connected in service in. a variety of ways. Um and they're. interested in all of our businesses as. well, but you know, bringing them along. very slowly, making sure they understand. our values, that nothing is going to be. given to them. Whatever they get has to. be earned and earned primarily through. understanding these values, living these. values, being a great role model, caring. about community, caring about others,

caring about service, caring about. purpose. And um. you know, my my hope, my desire as a. parent uh. is that, you know, the children will. grow when I'm long gone and they will. have their own, you know, their own set. of values, the values hopefully they've. learned from their mother and mothers. and their father. And they'll continue. to do, you know, work that we're doing. today and expand it. I mean, I I don't. I don't have a written set of of things. that these are the seven things we're. going to do after I'm gone. So, I'm not. going to manage my foundation from my.

grave. Um I have enough faith in my. children and uh. they'll make the right decisions based. on uh the passions they know their. father has. Their own passions, which are critical. So, they they're really feeling they're. doing the work that's important to them. And that they uh are doing work that's. important in terms of the times that. we're facing. So, this well-being, you know, wellness. well-being notion is is at a critical. mass, you know, today in our in our. country uh if not the world, but. certainly in our country.

Uh whether it be the rate of suicides, which continue to climb at dramatic. rates, which affect, you know, the. veteran population, a. very young population 10 to 14, and uh. is double what it is on a national. basis. So, they're you know, those serious issues. we're facing today. They'll have other. maybe issues in the in the future. And. so, whatever they are, you know, they. should feel, you know, the passion, the. drive to want to make a difference in. those areas. and put themselves and resources in.

place to help others, you know, come to. a better conclusion that that whatever. it may be. Absolutely. And I've read. that your favorite quote on a t-shirt is. that there is no finish line. The Wi-Fi. here is called Finish Line. No finish. line, too. What does that mean to you? And also, what is the personal work you're doing. right now in that regard? What are the. internal things that you're working on. at this stage in your life? Um. Well, I think, you know, it came came to. me uh.

primarily from my my running initially. Uh I ran competitively and. um Nike had this t-shirt so there is no. finish line. There was a guy running in. the woods and couldn't find another one. of them. I saw it some place. I Phil. Knight was kind enough from Nike was. kind enough to get me one of the shirts. and. you know, and I think uh in virtually. all areas of my life um I understand. that, you know, um. you know, the the next day isn't. necessarily the end. There's always. more to do and etc. etc. And I think you.

have to have the ability to deal with. adversity, grit, bounce back, you know, and uh continues putting one step in. front of the other. I got that from my. long-distance running. You probably got. that from your mom code and and maybe. athletics as well and other other areas. of your life, but um. you know, the ability to understand that. these problems that we're facing are are. not you know, you're not in and out in 5. or 10-15 minutes. It's not a. transaction. It's about relationships. All our businesses are that way. It's.

never about the transaction. It's always. about the relationship. So these causes, these issues that we have today in our. country and worldwide uh are not going. to go away tomorrow. So we have to have. the wisdom to understand that. We also. have to have the uh tenacity to say. we're going to make a dent and we're. going to make a difference just as my. mother said in the bracelet I'm wearing, but we're going to make a difference and. every day we're going to continue to. strive to move forward and to make a. difference in that area. So. I think. um. you know, it's important I think my.

oldest daughter would say, "Dad, that. you know, I I love the expression and. love the feeling, but you know, um which brings me back to myself a. little bit." He said, "But at some. point, you know, in your life you need to, you. know, uh you need to be able to say that. I'm kind of at a you need to be at peace. with where you are.". And that's where I think um my version. of wellness and well-being has changed. cuz it used to be running 7 days a week. If I didn't do that, you know, that was. that was my design around fitness and. well-being.

In many ways, you know, physical fitness. is important. But I think the whole notion of trying. to dig deeper and really understand. myself. and my real purpose and uh. you know, are we connecting the dots as well as we. can, taking time for myself to every day. to. do meditation. I need to get back on. that horse again. Did it for a number of. months with. you know, I got encouragement by by. Deepak Chopra, but I need to get back on.

and do it again cuz I saw the value of. that, you know, for a very long period. of time. The work I do in terms of yoga. and just the quietness living in a quiet. space and taking time to reflect and. that's one of the reasons I love. Montana. We come out here and we. walk, we hike, whatever it may be, horseback riding and uh. and see this beautiful scenery, but it's. quiet time. So, the ability to be calm, the ability to reflect, the ability to. build into my life every day. where I'm not kind of a gerbil on the. wheel, which is constantly running. The.

ability to get off that off that, you. know, that cycle and uh. pause, reflect, you know, understand, build back my strength, my my vision. Um. I think that's been an important part of. my own personal growth. That part of it. didn't take place. until, you know, probably just maybe 4. or 5 years ago, I think, when I I began. to think more about, you know, in a. broader sense, a deeper sense. purpose and and and service to others. A. good example of um how we can connect.

you know, a great business to doing the. right things for the right reasons. We built our new stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, voted the best sports facility in the. United States in the last 2 years and. maybe in the world. But it's built in downtown Atlanta, which is magnificent today. But it's a. part of downtown Atlanta, the west side. of Atlanta, which is the birthplace of. Dr. King, birthplace of many civil. rights leaders, um that has gone, you. know, downhill for the last 30 years. Unlike most other areas in Atlanta, when.

I moved there, there were a million. people. Now there are over 7 million. people living in Atlanta. And so we set out from the very. beginning with saying, "Look, we're. going to build the best stadium in the. world that's designed around the people. that we're serving, the guests that are. in the stadium." There's no question. we're going to be 100% successful at. that. And I met with a lot of people uh from. the religious community who said, "You. know, I said, "Well, how do we help How. does this create a situation where we. can create a rising tide will float all. boats, uh all these communities that are.

connected to our stadium but have fallen. fallen backwards, uh slid backwards, um. and they say, "It's not about buildings, it's about, you know, human capital.". So we spent 3 years uh actually uh cuz. one of our key components of our values. is to listen, you know, to listen and. respond, listen and respond. Whether it be people we're serving in. our businesses or people that we're. serving with through the foundation. So we walked the streets of the of the. west side, uh met with neighborhood groups, and,

you know, basically didn't say very. much. We just said, "Look, we're going. to build this magnificent stadium. We want it to be a positive force in. your lives. We're done talking. Now you. tell us what is it that's important to. you? What's important to your community? What's important to your family? Etcetera, etc.". And, you know, it it's it it wasn't a. list of 100 things. It was a list of. four, five, six things that were really. critical to them. And so we made it clear from the very. beginning that, you know, will the. stadium project will take us 7 years. from the design, you know, the thinking.

about the structure, etc., building it. But this is going to be a 20-30 year. process. That's where there is no finish. line kind of filled filled in as well, fits in as well. Um and so we uh we. spent a great deal of time listening and. then responding. And one of the good. examples is a program called what what. West Side Works. One of the things that everybody said in. the community, we need jobs. We don't. have jobs. Uh and that affects us in a whole. variety of ways. Uh. So, we we trained we had over half the.

people living in those zip codes applied. for this program called West Side Works. We've we've taken in probably close to a. thousand have been trained. Um and the. training really is to give them the life. skills and the work skills so they can. be successful. Not just on one project. So, whether it be in construction or. food or baking or nursing or. IT, whatever whatever it may be, whatever their interest was, we did all that training. Um and then we put them to work.

So, a lot of these training programs. where they fall down is that they train. them, but they don't they don't make the. connection to it. They need a job, you. know, I really need a job. So, our notion was every single person who. graduated this program was going to. actually have a paying job and what have. you. So, you know, when whoever it may be went. back in their house and it was one. individual I remember his name was. Lloyd. It was a great story about he was. a. he was a tattoo artist and um. he had three children,

uh single father. And uh you know, because of the nature. of what he was doing, he wouldn't be. home in the evenings. So, his kids would. go to school, come home, he was not. home. He was out, you know, doing his. doing his trade. And so, he went through this, became. part of the construction crew that. helped build the stadium and now was. working with construction, variety of. other areas, but. he had a regular job, came to work at. 8:00 in the morning, worked till 4:00, 3:00, 5:00 in the afternoon, whatever. may be. Then he was home in the evening. So, he was making money. He was walking. in the door, his chest was, you know,

out, his shoulders were back, smile on. his face. His kids said, you You that. they it's not just financially, but his. ability self-confidence and his ability. to say, you know, I can make a. difference not only in my life, but now. in their lives. That story was told probably a thousand. times over on the West Side. Um, and. that's, you know, we understand it's a. long journey. We understand human. capital and human capacity takes time to. nurture and help grow. Um, but we're equally committed to that. And that's true with all this community. work that we that we do. We try to.

identify not what we see, you know, as. the needs is where the what the needs. are by the people that are living these. communities. Yes. Sometimes foundations make a. mistake and they, you know, they. operate, let's say, from Atlanta and. they throw Scud missiles here, there, and elsewhere. Good good works, I should. say, here, there, and elsewhere, but. they don't really understand the pulse. of the on the ground, what's actually. happening. What does it mean to live. that way? Um, and so we spend a lot of. time, most of our time, in uh. starting our evaluation work by.

understanding what is it that the people. that we're serving, what is it that. they're saying, not what we're saying, what are they. saying? What do they feel that they need. help and support? And obviously we're trying to, you know, teach people to fish versus, you know, giving them fish and and uh. So, that's one example of of. a beautiful story that about business. model that was fabulously successful, but a community involvement that's been, you know, incredibly successful as well. Um.

So, we make emphasis there on education, on health, on their financial services. to understand, you know, what loans. mean, how do you pay them off, how do. you. do a variety of things, financial. planning, etc. So, um. that's just one example, but there are. many, many other examples of that. But, uh and it's this connection. of between uh it's and that those kind. of things give our associates. a tremendous sense of fulfillment and. purpose in their own lives cuz they see, I'm part of an organization, it's not.

just about how many metals, how many. awards, how many wins, how many this. kind of whatever it may be. It's about. how How do we win the Super Bowl of life. every year, which I tell our football. players. So, you got 11 guys on the. other side of line. You may not win the. Super Bowl every year or the MLS Cup. every year, but we can win the Super. Bowl of life every year because nobody. is on the other side of line, you know, defending us from doing that. So, we see. the opportunities, players, coaches, staff, organization, and they have a. tremendous sense of pride in that.

Yes. The whole issue of social justice. in the NFL. today, which is been incredibly. important. We've been very heavily engaged at both. of the legal level but at the club. level. So, at the club level, we have. 12-15 players who we spent, you know, 3. months with them listening to them. telling us, "Look, this is what is going. on in my communities. This is what I had. to live with as a child. This is what I. had to overcome. This is what my parents. still live with, my. siblings, whatever it may be." And so, then we responded, you know, in terms of.

our engagement with them. So, it's not. like us doing for them, it's us doing. alongside them, connected to them, shoulder to shoulder, where they feel. like, you know, we're in this together. And that's a beautiful thing to happen. And I think, you know, we want our associates to feel. that sense of pride and feel that sense. of. this organization really has a heart and. a soul and a purpose to it. And the beauty is you do all these. wonderful things behaviorally.

and you're going to produce the right. financial results. I mean, it's, you. know, it's important to do that because. in my case, because we want to continue. to. fund things that we see opportunities. for. So. That's phenomenal. Thank you. for sharing that. Well, thank you Chase for asking. Thank. you for listening, you know. of course. Absolutely. I could get more to the point as as you. do so beautifully in a lot of your. messages, yeah. No, but it's it's. powerful what you're doing the work. I. think detail's great when people are. able to see how deeply intention how. deep the intention is. Right. In the.

sense that I feel like when you're. explaining something, you're not just. explaining what you're doing, you're. explaining why you're doing it and how. you're doing it. It's going to take. longer. So I mean the the the what is is. you know is the easiest part. It's the. why I mean that's what's sustainable in. the heart and in the spirit and the soul. is that when we understand it, our. foundation, our associates, all of our. businesses understand why we're doing. the things we're doing. It makes a difference in their lives as. well and and they feel like because this. whole estate's being recycled back,

they're working not only to have purpose. in terms of who we're serving, but. they're working in terms of having. purpose in building the foundation which. will be you know recycled in a positive. way. So Absolutely. It's a beautiful. circle. that's very very tight and there really. no really no breaks in it. Yeah. Um so. it's it's a beautiful thing to be part. of. Amazing Arthur, you've been. incredible. We end every interview with. what we call the final five quick fire. rapid fire round. So you can only answer. the questions with one word Okay. or.

maximum one sentence. a glass of water for that. Yeah. Yeah. And so what I've done is we've created. considering your name is Arthur Blank, we've we've done this final five as fill. in the blanks. Mhm. So I'm going to ask. you. So I can ask you I'm going to ask you to. fill in the blank at the end of the. sentence. thing for me is the one word if you know. now. Yes. I tend to give a wrong answer. Right. So that's why this this section. is for that. So the first question is. the best advice I've ever received is.

blank. So what would it be? Um. Finish the sentence. The best advice I've ever Be true to my. values. Okay, wonderful. The second question is. the worst advice I've ever received is. blank. I would say you know. focus. the focus on um. you know. productivity, the focus on financial. metrics, you know, as being the goal. versus, you know, all the other things.

in terms of behavior. uh and um and changing people's lives in. a positive way. and seeing that joy in that, you know, that's been great. Great answer. Okay, question number. three. Three things I'm grateful for uh. blank. Well, I have to start my family, you. know, um. you know, six six great children, six. great grandchildren, and and a great, you know, I've been married multiple. times. uh unfortunately, but I have a great. relationship with all of my. ex-wives and they're all wonderful.

people and uh. so I'd say my, you know, my my family. and my relationships, I think uh my. um. ability as a result of our business. success to. try to have uh an opportunity to expand, you know, what service means of others, create that with our associates and who. we're serving in all of our different. businesses. Yeah. Do this one blank thing and it will. change your life. What would you put.

into that blank? What would that one thing be? Find your passion. Because I think when somebody. Can I add another word or two? Yeah, please. Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course. You know, because I think when when. people find their passion. Yes. and their purpose. um. you know, financially they're going to. do as well if not better than they ever. would have done doing anything else. And, you know, their years.

uh here. uh which are, you know, limited, they're. measured, if you will um are going to be. much more enriched cuz they're going to. feel like what I'm doing. what I'm really doing has purpose for me. and purpose for others that I'm trying. to serve and uh. so I think finding purpose which is not. always easy. I mean sometimes people. wander around a bit. You You did You. described your journey. Definitely. Um. and myself as well. I had my own, you. know, journeys there.

Um but when you find it, uh you need to, you know, stop and honor it and then to. move with it and and uh all good things. come as a result of that, you know, in. terms of quality of life. Absolutely. And the fifth and final question is the. one thing that you're hoping this. beautiful 4 5 days we've had here in. Montana will result in. Well, I think there are two There are. two things if I expand the question a. little bit. One is that, you know, the. great connections that you have made. with so many other people here uh and.

they've made with you and with each. other. I think so I just I think those. physical connections, emotional It's one. thing to know somebody, but when you. spend 4 days together uh in this. setting, you get a deeper deeper. understanding of people's perspectives. and their views and how can we work. together two and two equals eight and 10. instead of just four or five and myself. So I think that has been very. invaluable. The other thing is is that I. think will be a big focus for our. foundation and in, you know, Jordan. other foundations and other institutions.

that care about these things. Um you know, some really good ideas to. help support the expansion of the notion. of well-being and wellness and give. exposure to that to other populations. that don't necessarily have that or see. that uh and to uh. uh you know, to not, you know, have this. widen this gap that we have in America. today is just too extreme in my in my. viewpoint. And I think, you know, we. need to do more of this and bring people. together not necessarily, you know,

economically as equals cuz that's not. reality in a capitalistic world, but, you know, to bring people together in. terms of their well-being and their. happiness and their ability to feel. fulfilled in life. Uh so we want to, you know, get in the. canoe and paddle along with everybody. else and. paddle as hard as everybody else and. know we can make a difference uh and uh. and try to earn, you know, the respect. and the opportunity. It's an honor. really having everybody here. It's from. out my standpoint, it's an overwhelming. honor to have um.

not just the intelligence in the room, but the the commitment and the uh sense. of purpose and the sense of trying to. reach out and make a difference in the. world uh. is incredible to me. So anything we can. do. supporting the collaborations, supporting the partnerships, uh new. ideas, expanding ideas, scaling up ventures, etc., which is much. of what I know your your uh concern is. going forward. How do we impact more. people? Which is great. Uh we want to be. part of that. So it's been an honor for.

me, truly an honor for me to be here. this week and to. uh just be part of this. It's um. experience of my lifetime I'll never. forget. I've gotten a great deal out of. it. Much more than, you know, I've. gotten much more out of it than we put. into it. And that's the beauty of of. when you do things with service and. purpose, you really do get more out of. it than what you give. Yeah, well, I. want to thank you on behalf of me and. all the other participants because I. think you've allowed us to form such. deep amazing relationships. There's many. people in this room that I would have.

loved to connect with or meet and you're. so right that when you go away with. people for three, four days, you go so. much deeper, so much quicker than you. would if you met at a conference or a. one-day event or whatever it may be. So. I just want to say thank you from from. me. Thank you for all your kindness. Thank you for your encouragement. Uh. you've given me so many wonderful votes. of confidence this week and just sharing. so much support and encouragement for. the work I do, which has given me so. much conviction. And I'm very grateful. for that. Thank you. Well, the work that you do is. is incredible and it's it really has,

you know, tremendous purpose to it and. and uh and high degree of success. So I. I want to do everything we can do. um to help support you and support, you. know, uh the people you're touching and. trying to um help with their life. journeys. So, um. I think, you know, this is a great place. to do it because when you spend time. outdoors, you realize, you know, you're. kind of dwarfed. by nature and by things that have been. here for thousands and thousands of. years. And.

also, everybody puts on their pants the. same way. It's a level playing field. Nobody's wearing suits. Nobody's wearing. ties. Everybody's just, you know, being. themselves and they're opening. themselves up. And in this kind of. environment, uh it's easier to do that. And so, that's the reason we want to do. continue to do this work here. Absolutely. Thank you again, Arthur. Thank you everyone who's been watching. or listening back at home or wherever. you've been. Make sure you go and follow. the Blank Foundation on Instagram and on. Twitter and on the social media. platforms as well. If you want to find. out about the great work, not only we've.

been doing, but all the other incredible. work that the Arthur M. Blank Family. Foundation does. Uh please check out. this podcast. Share it with other people. that you feel are going to benefit from. this incredible presence around service, incredible presence around giving and. doing through our work. And for anyone. who's aspiring to be an entrepreneur out. there, what better values than the ones. that have been talked about in this. show. Make sure you share those on. Instagram so that I can share them as. well. I'm always looking through what. you're learning so that that helps me. ask better questions and serve you.

better. Thank you so much for listening. and watching. Arthur, thank you so much. Thank you, Jay. Great to have you again. It's an honor to be here. Thank you very. much. Hey everyone, my name's Jay Shetty. and welcome to my YouTube channel. Every. week, I'm sharing three videos that are. going to help you feel more fulfilled, feel more happy, and more successful. Make sure you subscribe to this channel. so that you can find out about the. videos as soon as they launch. Press the. like button and leave a comment and. let's keep making wisdom go viral. together. Make sure you subscribe.