Clint Pulver: Fulfillment, Connection, and Mentors
“Everybody just needs to be seen, heard, and understood in a different way. ”
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Clint Pulver is known as “The Millennial Speaker,” he works with organizations that want to retain, engage, and inspire the younger generation. As one of the most sought after Keynote speakers, Clint travels the world every year, helping educators to remember the power and significance of the teaching job and that how they choose or choose not to teach in the classroom changes lives.
He has appeared on America’s Got Talent and in several different Feature Films with actors like Jack Black (School of Rock) and John Heder (Napoleon Dynamite). Clint was named one of Business Q Magazine’s “Top 40 Under 40” for his work in helping educators elevate their “WHY” of mentorship in the classroom and how connected and engaged educators yield loyal and long-term retention within the teaching job.
For over a decade, Clint has dedicated his heart to helping schools and administration understand the younger generation while helping the younger generation to understand themselves. Through his experience in the classroom, Clint demonstrates that to improve the quality of teaching, we must be willing to improve the quality of the teaching job. With a blend of humor, unforgettable stories, and actionable takeaways that stick, Clint proves first-hand to educators and administration that a single moment in time can truly change a child’s life.
Connect with Clint:
Website: www.clintpulver.com
Instagram @clintpulver
Show Notes
[00:04:29] The Undercover Millennial
“We've worked with a lot of organizations, and we've gone undercover, myself being a millennial, I would go into these organizations as someone who was looking for a job. And I being a millennial, and similar to many of the other employees who were young millennials, we got the most authentic and real data as to what was working in an organization and what wasn't working.”
[00:06:43] Why Do People Stick Around?
[00:09:24] How did Clint turn toward finding fulfillment?
“I remember there was a mentor of mine that shared with me a quote by Oscar Wilde, and the quote said, to live is the rarest thing in the world for most people merely exist.
And for me every single day I that that quote kind of somewhat in a way haunted me because I felt like I was literally just existing every day doing the same thing, nine to five, rinse and repeat, get up, do the same thing, nine to five, rinse and repeat. There's nothing wrong with that, but if that does not fulfill you if you feel like you are not living a life of significance versus a life of success, and there's that sense of like Purpose. Right?
You go back to the Mark Twain quote or, I mean, there are lots of motivational type things that kind of solidify that as well. Mark Twain said, there are two important days in a person's life, the day you're born, and then the day you figure out why. And some people might listen to that and go, Nah to motivational for me.
So for me, it meant something. It was impactful. Like, yeah, there's the day that you're born. And then when you figure out why and what can I do? What can I add value to? What? What sparks my heart on fire? What allows me on a daily basis most of the time to do something bigger than myself?”
[00:13:43] Becoming the Anomaly
[00:14:50] Getting Comfortable with Risk-Taking
“What do I want it to look like?
What do I want to become?
What do I want to be?
What's that goal?
What's the thing I'm trying to achieve?
And then designing methodically and a systematic approach to creating steps that allow you to achieve that. I believe that little by little can make a little a lot. And when we plan little steps, even though we can't always see the end result if you just go as far as you can see.Those small, simple little steps that, in reality, over time, it'll allow you to see further. Every time in my life when I've just gone as far as I can see. Usually, when I get there, I can see further. When I think that sometimes paralyzes people when trying to make a decision. When they go, I have no idea what's going to happen, or I don't know if it's going to work, and we don't see the long term result, or we don't see the security of that decision.”
[00:18:45] Board of Mentors
[00:19:53] Rookie Mode
[00:21:11] What are your nonnegotiables?
[00:23:13] To Don't Lists
[00:24:26] How do you recognize what's taking away from you?
“I think that sometimes in our relationships, we're not always willing to ask, Hey, how can I be a better friend? How can I be a bedroom? How can I be a better mom? You know the moms and dads listening to this, like when's the last time with a young child or a high school student, middle school student, and you just said, Hey, I just want to know what I can do better for you?
How can I be a better dad? You know, how can I make you feel more a part of the family? But what's getting in the way of your success? Again I think too, that everybody, every, all of our relationships, everybody's asking the question, let me know when it gets to the part about me. Oh, every person that you have a relationship with, I think in some way, shape, or form is asking you in that relationship.”
[00:28:04] Taking People for Granted
[00:30:12] People that mean something to you
“Could you tell me the name of somebody in the last month who's helped you through a hard time? Like those names come up. Why? Because they were the people that got to the part about you. I guarantee they were the person that sparked the possibility.
They were the people that communicated your potential in your worth in a way that, man, you go, I like myself best because I'm with you. They're a person. They created safety and trust, and the person that you, you can connect with, they were a person that sparked the possibility for you. That's what gets remembered.”
[00:33:27] Mentors connect you to your dream
[00:36:34] Negative Thoughts
[00:38:29] Having people that will be there no matter what
[00:39:25] A Challenge to Listeners
“I would throw out a challenge Erich, to you and anybody listening, like if you have people like that in your life, man, tell them to thank you. Like next time you see them, like hug them and just say, I just need you to know How much it means to me. I need you to know, like you, you are this type of person for me.”
[00:41:10] What do you do when you become overwhelmed or unfocused?
[00:44:14] Recommended Drummers
[00:45:04] Recommended Books
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
Other episodes you might enjoy:
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Full Transcript - Clint Pulver: Fulfillment, Connection, and Mentors
[00:03:51] Erich Wenzel: Hello everyone, and welcome back to another episode of feeding curiosity. And in today's episode, we are joined by Clint Pulver. Hey, Glen.
[00:03:57]Clint Pulver: Hey, how are you doing? Thanks for having me on.
[00:03:59] Erich Wenzel: Yeah, this is awesome. I really appreciate you making the time and to kind of jump into this in your bio you have on here, which is known as the millennial speaker.
[00:04:08]And I think it's a really cool title to kind of give yourself, because in. The modern world title of millennial usually doesn't have a lot of positive connotations to it, and I don't know if you want to unpack that to kind of explain your background or like what you're focusing your time most in right now, but I'd just love to dive in first starting with that.
[00:04:29] The Undercover Millennial
[00:04:29] Clint Pulver: Yeah, good question. So five years ago. Oh, I started an organization called the center for employee retention. And the whole underlying initiative to that organization is a program that we called the undercover millennial program. And so kinda thing, undercover boss, if anybody's seen that CD episode, it's like that without the makeup.
[00:04:51]and so we've worked with a lot of organizations and we've gone undercover, myself being a millennial, I would go into these organizations as someone who was looking for a job. And I being a millennial, and similar to many of the other employees who were young millennials, we got the most authentic and real data as to what was working in an organization and what wasn't working.
[00:05:17]the most compelling thing and the research that we've done, we've interviewed over 10,000 employees, is when, the worker or the staff member or the associate would say, when asked the question, Hey, what's it like to work here? And they would respond with, I love it here. I love my job. I love what I get to do.
[00:05:36] I love what we're building. I love my manager. I love the purpose. I feel like I, this is what I'm supposed to do. And it was really exciting to hear that kind of response. And the reason behind that and why employees, We're so loyal and engaged to certain organizations, certain certain people, and how these great leaders of these organizations were creating companies that people never wanted to leave.
[00:06:02] And so that's how hence the word undercover millennial came to be and supported our initiative. And, and. What we try to do is to compile and show to organizations, corporations, and the movement that we're trying to create in the world.
[00:06:16] Erich Wenzel: That's really interesting. So for some, for what your company is doing is trying to highlight within culture what is basically working or not working with this new age of the workforce that is basically radically different than how it has ever been with technologies such as the internet and things like that.
[00:06:32]For your research purposes, and I know you can't probably can't say too much, but what are some of the key takeaways that you've seen in cultures that work well for people or why people stick around.
[00:06:43] Why Do People Stick Around?
[00:06:43] Clint Pulver: Yeah. I think it's really interesting, the first note that in all of our research, you know, and a lot of what we did, it was not just simply interviewing millennials or gen Z or the baby boomers, or gen X, and the research was across the board.
[00:06:56] We interviewed all sorts of different types of employees and what we found, one of the most compelling things. Is that it was not a generational issue. I think, like you mentioned before, Eric was with sometimes millennial and the millennial generation has this bad or negative connotation where, you know, people go, Oh, they're entitled, or they're lazy, or this is the gimme now generate generation, or they're not willing to work, or all those stigmas that we sometimes hear, and we've found that it's not generational.
[00:07:24] It's not a generational problem. millennials. And the younger generation are no different than the generation 20 years before them. We found that people are people now the world, like you mentioned, the internet and social media growing up in a digital age, growing up in a world where we have cell phones, the world is changing, the market is changing.
[00:07:49] We're in a different time, but humans that are still core vital needs that work. In any, in any system or form the, and, and that was, that was what was so cool is we found these universal concepts that were not a generational strategy. It was not a hack. It was not a do this. If you have millennial employees and you're going to win, it's just not the case.
[00:08:17] There is no one size fits all strategy, but there are, there are eternal truths that are principles that work when it comes to making sure that people are seen, heard and they're understood. Yeah, and so I set that precedent because I think it's important to know, and anybody that thinks that will, because you have a younger generational workforce that you need to treat them differently.
[00:08:38] It's just not true. Everybody just needs to be seen, heard, and understood in a different way.
[00:08:43] Erich Wenzel: That's a really interesting point because what you're getting at is kind of baseline philosophical about well, wellbeing and fulfillment of the self. You know, if an individual feels like they're purpose-driven or, or mission-driven, they will put all of themselves into whatever that is.
[00:08:59] And, it's a newer, I think it's well, it's not newer in the sense, but it seems to be a newer paradigm shift within companies to kind of focus on the individual to allow, you know, the flourishing of individuals needs. And it's not something that most people kind of come by. How, what drove you into this space of trying to find fulfillment for either in the workplace or just for yourself?
[00:09:20] Is this something you do for yourself?
[00:09:24] How did Clint turn toward finding fulfillment?
[00:09:24] Clint Pulver: Yeah, absolutely. For me, I mean, I went through a period in a phase where I had a job that I hated. I had a job that I wasn't filled by. I didn't have the greatest bosses. I had horrible management. I felt like I was a number, it was a, it was literally like I was there to just fit had a need for the company to grow and like I just, I was not valued. I did not appreciate it. And not that I, I, I'm not saying like. I needed to feel like this fluffy feel, good situation all the time. But there was also that inner sense of like purpose and drive and significance and doing something bigger than myself and I, and when I was in school at the university that I studied at, I remember there was a mentor of mine that shared with me a quote by Oscar Wilde, and the quote said, to live is the rarest thing in the world for most people merely exist.
[00:10:20] And for me every single day I that that quote kind of somewhat in a way haunted me because I felt like I was literally just existing everyday doing the same thing, nine to five, rinse and repeat, get up, do the same thing, nine to five, rinse and repeat. There's nothing wrong with that, but if you are not fulfilled by that, if you feel like you are not living a life of significance versus a life of success, and there's that sense of like.
[00:10:41] Purpose. Right? You go back to the Mark Twain quote or, I mean, there's lots of motivational type things that kind of solidify that as well. Mark Twain said, there's two important days in a person's life, the day you're born, and then the day you figure out why. And some people might listen to that and go, nah to motivational for me.
[00:10:58] So for me it meant something for me. It was impactful. Like, yeah, there's the day that you're born. And then when you figure out why and what can I do? What can I add value to? What? What sparks my heart on fire? What allows me on a daily basis most of the time to do something bigger than myself? And that was kind of what led to the question that I pose to three of my buddies out of frustration.
[00:11:19] And I asked them, I said, wouldn't it be crazy if you could find a job. That allows you to do what you love most of the time, but it also provided for you financially in a way that was sufficient for your needs. And then third. What if it contributed in some way to a sense of purpose that you felt like on a daily basis, that you could do something bigger than yourself?
[00:11:44] And both my buddies kinda just, they, they responded with a little bit of skepticism and they said, I don't think that exists. I don't think, I mean, you could find one job that allows you to do something, all three of those most of the time. And I said, it's kind of, I mean, you. Kind of like exist, like living, right?
[00:12:02] Like that's a rare thing. And my buddy said, yeah. He said, what you're talking about is an anomaly and. Like I disagreed, and two weeks after, two weeks, after that conversation, I put in my resident resignation, to the current job that I had and I left and I, I left too. To live. But I also left Abbott was the day I did to kind of become the anomaly to do something that was rare, to really start living.
[00:12:31] And, and still to this day, Erich, the day I quit my job was the day I truly started living. And so I think there's that personal side of the story that it was always so intriguing to me when we're doing the undercover research when an employee was living. And I think what an opportunity, right? If you're an employer and if you influence people, if you're a leader, the opportunity that you have to provide not just a living, right?
[00:12:58] Like we call it a living like financial, like I can make a living off of this, but to really live where people feel like they're doing their best work when they're with. You doing what you do as an organization? It's fulfilling. It's exciting. That's a captivating thing. That's a cool, that's a cool, compelling movement that helps people write a better story.
[00:13:20] And that sells. And that is powerful. It's empowering. It creates a sense of significance, not just a sense of success. And it was intoxicating. Lee, fascinating to me. And it spurred on the whole research project into, you know, how were organizations doing this for people they could live.
[00:13:43] Becoming the Anomaly
[00:13:43] Erich Wenzel: Like and again, for me, like when you said the anomaly, I thought that was such an apt word cause I was thinking that exact same thing is like you decided to flip the script and say instead of saying, Oh, this doesn't exist, and being cynical about it or skeptical at the very least you said, you know what?
[00:13:57] Let's go try and find it. And I think in many ways it's that thing that kind of grabs you by your land Pels so to speak. And you're just kind of thrust upon it, whatever your direction you're supposed to take in some, in some cases, that sounds similar to your story.
[00:14:14] Clint Pulver: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:14:15] Again, like I think the more years that you immerse yourself in taking risks, right? Doing something that is a little bit different and that was, that was hard. It was scary. That was, it was difficult to leave a career in an industry as in the medical field, whether it was a great salary and there were benefits and there was security and stability.
[00:14:35] But again, everyday I was not living. And so, I dunno. Yeah. What an opportunity to, to find that and to be able to be a part of that. And that's what this career has really afforded me to do. And it's, it's been a really fun journey.
[00:14:50] Getting Comfortable with Risk-Taking
[00:14:50] Erich Wenzel: That's so cool. So for you, you just said one of the scariest words for people is taking risks or, or being a risk taker.
[00:14:58] How do you get yourself to, to be comfortable with even risk-taking or just kind of minimizing those risks because I think that's one of the secret skills for a lot of people to go out on their own path.
[00:15:10] Clint Pulver: Yeah, I do. I would a hundred percent believe that you fail your way to success, but we're afraid of failure and tell you it is hard and failure is difficult and fair failure is scary.
[00:15:20] Like nobody wants to just fail, right? Never minute. I do like I've never met anybody that's like that, but yet it's failure is a part. To success, but I also would say in the same sentence, there is a way to, I call it
[00:15:44] a situation. Because again, failure or doing something that is hard, there's a risk to that. you could fail, but there is a way to de risk the situation. It's like that old story. I don't even know if it's true. It's about Cortez and he goes to this Island and all of his troops and they go to like have war and, and, and overtake this Island, but to ensure.
[00:16:09] That the warriors and the team wins. He burns the ships, burns the ships on the shore, and he looks at the, at the, at the, the men and the warriors and says, listen, we're either gonna win. Or we're going to die. And it's kind of this like story of like, dang, like we're gonna either like we're gonna fail big time or we're going to succeed.
[00:16:33] And I do think that there is something to that when you know there's a lot at stake and there's a lot of risks and there's a lot of, you know, you're, you're putting something out there like that, that, that, that, that does help sometimes to motivate people to work a little harder to put in a little more effort to do a little bit more.
[00:16:50] But every time I've heard that story, I go, well, I mean, how can I, instead of just burning the ships, like how can I bring the ships a little bit closer to the shore? How can I, how can I bring, how, how can you de-risked this situation? Like instead of burning the ships and just swimming and saying, let's hope that it works.
[00:17:08] I just bring the ships a little closer to shore, like de-risk this situation. And so there's ways, there's ways to do that. I call it the power of, of, of, you know, living a life by design, not by default. The more specific you can get and creating a plan. That could potentially succeed. The more I believe, the more possible the reality can be achieved.
[00:17:32] So, you know, for example, me quitting my job, if I would've just simply quit my job and said, Hey, I just hope this all works out, that's, to me, that's kind of default. That's like, I'm just going to sit back and hope something great happens. Yup. Versus. Designing it, taking action and creating a plan, creating a budget, designing it.
[00:17:52] What do I want it to look like? What do I want to become? What do I want to be? What's that goal? What's the thing I'm trying to achieve? And then designing methodically and a systematic approach to creating steps that allow you to achieve that. I believe that little by little makes a little a lot. And when we planned a little steps, even though we can't always see the end result, if you just, if you just go as far as you can see.
[00:18:18] Those small, simple little steps that in reality over time, it'll allow you to see further every time in my life when I've just gone as far as I can see. Usually when I get there, I can see further. When I think that sometimes paralyzes people when trying to make a decision. When they go, I have no idea what's going to happen, or I don't know if it's going to work and we don't see the long term result, or we don't see the security of that decision.
[00:18:45] Board of Mentors
[00:18:45] And I would say just go as far as you can see. Go as far as you can see. And generally when you get there, you can see further, design it. And then also there's power in finding other people that have walked the journey before you. I call it, you should find your board of mentors. Whenever you're making a tough decision or a hard life altering the opportunity comes about or whatever, like creating a board of mentors.
[00:19:13] It's like a board of directors. Every significant or successful company has a board of directors and it's a strategic cause. Thought out decisions of people. That is awesome, things to have, that have experience and expertise and credibility and competence within the certain role or objective or goal of the business.
[00:19:35] And so anytime that business has to make an important decision or there's a sense of risk involved, or there's something that they're unsure of, they take the decision to the board of directors. Same thing on a personal basis. Create your board of mentors. I love who are the people that are doing what you want to do.
[00:19:53] Rookie Mode
[00:19:53] And that. Have become what you want to become. I believe that you should do whatever it takes to associate with extraordinary people. You are 24 hours away from anybody in the world, anybody and. Man, especially when you're trying to figure something out in your life. I call it rookie mode. You are a beginner.
[00:20:12] You are a novice. And most people, most good humans are willing to help people that are in rookie mode. And when you're willing to be taught, you're humble, you're, you're hungry, you're tenacious. You're willing to put in some work and earn it. Nan, most people will help people like that because they remember what it was like to be them.
[00:20:37] They remember what it was like when you were first starting out and you were nervous or you were unsure and things are tight and it's just a hard situation. And that was one thing that was so surprising to me is I reached out for help. How many people were willing to support me, how many people are willing to be a part of that board of mentors, and they helped me to see things and make decisions to choose a better path to.
[00:21:02] Avoid pitfalls and to really just create a better story. So find your board of mentors. Be willing.
[00:21:11] What are your nonnegotiables?
[00:21:11] Erich Wenzel: That's so cool. There's so much to impact from those stories. But like the first one would be how do you, any routines that you use for yourself to keep you on track, like little daily things that you have to not really checking the box and puts the wrong connotation, but things that you are non negotiable.
[00:21:28] You get those done on a given day.
[00:21:31] Clint Pulver: For me, I, my life is fairly busy. I'm on the road a lot, traveling as a speaker, writing all this busy. I have a family that I love. There's a lot. The fractions, the lots of things to do, a lot of responsibilities or lots of opportunities, whether it's professionally, personally, there's just lots going on.
[00:21:53] And so for me, I found that, that, that, that keeping it simple has been key for me to keep the main thing, the main thing. But we live in a world where there's so many distractions. There's so many things that that call for our attention or that we can give attention to. And for me, simplicity. It's key.
[00:22:13] So from my habits and my rituals, I keep it simple and one thing for example, for me that I've been doing consistently is just going, going to the gym. for four days a week, four days a week. And my motto, and, the, the, the, I don't know, I call a little hashtag is just get there. That's the motto. Hashtag just get there.
[00:22:35] If I can just get there and that, and that's the goal. That is, it's simple. There's nothing else. I, it's not like burning this many calories and don't take sugar and only eat these things. No, it's just getting there for me. That's, that's the, that's the one thing. What's the one thing, that you can focus on it. And I think what helped me to do that the most was to say no to a more. I think that good, good, leaders, for example, for the most part, we know they know what they need to do. They know what your role is, your responsibility is. But the great leaders we found in our research, the great leaders knew what they needed to stop.
[00:23:13] To Don't Lists
[00:23:13] Like, how can we simplify it? What are some things that we can stop? So for me, I started, instead of creating a to do list. for me when it, when it came to really creating great habits, I started to create what I call a to don't list the to don't, I think we're good at sometimes creating the to do list, like think I need to get done.
[00:23:34]but for me to create other habits and rituals, there was the power of a to don't list that really changed everything for me. What are the things you're going to start doing that allow you to give more time to the things that really matter.
[00:23:48] Erich Wenzel: I think that's really important. I think as you know, we're so bogged down and you know, being bombarded by emails or text messages or whatever notifications that are coming our way and you don't realize how much, you know, like you're saying in the positive direction, you just start chugging away and making small steps in, in a direction you want to head.
[00:24:08] And in the same way we kind of give our time to, to these devices that really don't, you know, affect us or these notifications that are just eating away at that time that we want to be stepping in other directions and yeah. And so it's such an empowerful thing to be able to have a realization for it.
[00:24:26] How do you recognize what's taking away from you?
[00:24:26] How would you recommend someone start recognizing the things in their life that are taking away time from them that they may not realize.
[00:24:32]Clint Pulver: I mean, I think there's power and listening, listening to the people that you love the most, and the people that, that, love you. I think some of the greatest, I don't know that I get the greatest insight in my life to the things that I need to stop doing, or the things I need to do better at have come from the people that I love the most.
[00:24:56] You know, my wife for example, or a great close friend, even my mom and my dad, my parents, close mentors. And I think sometimes we need to be willing to ask. Cause there's those hard conversations where, you know, there's things that we're doing in our life that are just so annoying to others, or it's not healthy or it's something that we really could improve on.
[00:25:19] And sometimes we just don't see it. I, you know, see, you know, you know, the. How it's hurting somebody else or that, you know, this thing could make somebody else jealous or this thing is, is really causing pain or whatever it may be.
[00:25:34] And I think that sometimes when we take the opportunity to go to the people that we love the most and the people that we trust, and we're willing to just ask, Hey, I'm just curious, like, what can I do to be better for you?
[00:25:50] Is there anything that I can do in my life, anything that I can do to change? Like, what can I do to keep you a part of my, my, my life? What can I do to, you know, strengthen our relationship? And I genuinely want to know how I can do better? How can I be better for you?
[00:26:09] And I think if you create, obviously a safe environment and you are a person that that person trusts. And, and truly loves like what an opportunity, what an opportunity to strengthen your relationship. What an opportunity to create a stronger connection through vulnerability and being willing to improve.
[00:26:30] I think that sometimes in our relationships, we're not always willing to ask, Hey, how can I be a better friend? How can I be a bedroom? How can I be a better mom? You know, the, the moms and dads listening to this, like when's the last time with a young child or a high school student, middle school student, and you just said, Hey, I just want to know what can I do better for you?
[00:26:53] How can I be a better dad? You know, how can I make you feel more a part of the family? But what's getting in the way of, of, of your success? Again, I think, I think too, that everybody, every, all of our relationships, everybody's asking the question, let me know when it gets to the part about me. Oh, every person that you have a relationship with, I think in some way, shape, or form is asking you in that relationship.
[00:27:17] Hey, let me know when, when what you do and why you do it. Let me know when it gets to the part about me. Hey dad, let me know when you care about what I'm doing. It's school. Or, Hey, you know why for your spouse, you know, let me know. And when you care about it, You know, the struggles that I, I've gone through all day at home when I'm doing dishes and dealing with the kid.
[00:27:39] And you've been at work all day, let me know when that matters to you. And I just, I do. I think everybody, again, wants to see her and understand. And I think sometimes it's just a simple question like, what can I do? What can I do to make sure? We get to the part about you.
[00:28:00] Erich Wenzel: That's so interesting to me cause it, cause I do believe that some people do.
[00:28:04] Taking People for Granted
[00:28:04] There's a point where most of us in our lives, we take certain people for granted, be our, our parents or significant others or even siblings. And we stopped to think that Hey, there are people too. And cause, cause since they're always around, it's like you don't realize what is going on in their life because you're always doing the things in your life.
[00:28:23] And kind of taking this stop and be like, wait a minute, what can I do for this person? You know? And just standing still for a second is a really powerful thing, I think. And it's something I never, I haven't even really considered myself. And right now I'm thinking, who can I text after this? And like legitimately as crazy as it sounds, but I think that's such a powerful change for people's, they kind of just take stock and be like, Hey, what's going on in your life? at the very least.
[00:28:52] Clint Pulver: Yeah. Yeah, and I think see, like that's what people really, truly cherish. I think it's the foundation of great connection and that foundation of great relationships in our, our research, it was always the intangibles that people talked about, not the tangibles.
[00:29:09] Yeah. When somebody loved this luck, Ray, every three months, nobody ever said, I love this place because we throw sick Christmas parties every two months. I know they always talked about the connection. They talked about the people. They talked about how they felt. They talked about just the. understood that I feel cared about. I feel like I'm doing something bigger than myself. It was an intangible intrinsic thing that just, it's so powerful. And if you think about it, like Erich, like, you know, could you tell me if I asked you, you know who the last three NFL MVPs were.
[00:29:44] Erich Wenzel: No, not even a little bit.
[00:29:47] Clint Pulver: Or what about, what about, could you tell me who the last two Academy award winners were for best actor?
[00:29:52] Erich Wenzel: No.
[00:29:54] Clint Pulver: No, mostly, yeah, like literally like 99.9% of the world. Like they would have no idea, like I could not like I am the reason why, and again, some of those are some of the most famous, popular, prestigious, wealthy, whatever you want to call it, types of people in the world.
[00:30:12] People that mean something to you
[00:30:12] But, nobody really knows why, because nobody, I want to be careful when I say there's been, for the most part, we don't really care. It doesn't mean he's acting. Yeah. But then, but then if I asked you this question, like tell me, can you tell me the name of a school teacher in your life that helped you and it was there for you?
[00:30:35] Erich Wenzel: Absolutely. If you remember the name Ms. Bisnack.
[00:30:40] Clint Pulver: Boom.
[00:30:40] Erich Wenzel: She's my fourth grade teacher.
[00:30:42] Clint Pulver: Yeah. Could you tell me the name of somebody in the last month who's helped you through a hard time? like those names come up. Why? Because they were the people that got to the part about you. I guarantee they were the person that sparked the possibility.
[00:31:02] They were the people that communicated your potential in your worth in a way that, man, you go, I like myself best because I'm with you. They're a person. They created safety and trust, and the person that you, you can connect with, they were a person that sparked the possibility for you. That's what gets remembered.
[00:31:20] That's what, again, is the difference between significance and success. And I think it is. Yes. It sometimes comes across as this fluffy, motivational, heartfelt kind of a thing. But again, that's what gets remembered. Yeah. That's what you know. I guarantee that teacher of yours, Erich, was a person that you were willing to work a little harder for.
[00:31:43] It was a person that you connected with because again, they connected to you. We remember those people because they remember us matters.
[00:31:50] Erich Wenzel: I mean, it's one of the stories that I talk about a lot of times because it shows. It's almost like you're Mr. Jensen story for me, like that was one of the first videos I saw of your stuff and I just, it resonated to the core because this teacher, for me, ms was the first person to tell me I could read other books and this is coming from someone who I was taking extra reading comprehension lessons.
[00:32:13] Out of class. So I felt like others, and she basically gave me the okay to read books outside of these clastic reading levels because at that time that was like huge. So it was like, you should read you within your category. And so I was just following the rules, but I was not interested in those books for whatever reason.
[00:32:31] And then she kind of gave me a okay to explore and it opened up this doorway for me that I didn't think was possible before that. And that set me on a path to just become this voracious reader that I am today. In some ways, it's so crazy too, you know, having one moment that you could look back on and say, yep, there's that inflection point, you know?
[00:32:50] And that's why part of why I reached out to you is because you know, you have that inflection point of being able to communicate those stories, because I think a lot of times you need that spark of inspiration to say, yes, you can. do that or be ex, for people's lives. You know, it's, it's, it's not like you wake up one day and you're always like, yeah, I'm going to be that, you know, like an astronaut or something.
[00:33:10] And sometimes that is true, but sometimes there's also, a lot of times I think there's those people around you that you respect and you hold their opinion at a higher level and say, okay, you, it's like, Oh wait, you think I can do this? I didn't even think I could do this.
[00:33:27] Mentors connect you to your dream
[00:33:27] Clint Pulver: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And it's powerful when it comes from them because you know that when we called that the difference in our research, we thought we would call it mentorship versus management, where a leader or person of influence became a mentor, not just a manager, where they became an advocate.
[00:33:46] Not just someone who developed you and you know, like it was to the point where like anything they said or when they believed in you, like that meant something because they were someone that was influential, someone that was credible, some of them was competent, someone that was caring. There was someone that would be willing to be honest with you.
[00:34:04] And, and when they, when they believed in you, man, it was just, it's crazy what that can do. And you look at like, like on a like a film or a movie side of things, like any great film, there's always that mentor that shows up and, and, and, and really helps write a better story for the mentee like you, like, like genie, like the Aladdin and the genie, right?
[00:34:31] Aladdin had the genie. Simba had mufasa. Rocky. I love that movie. Rocky had Mikey. Yup. Frodo, Frodo, right. Frodo had Gandalf, Harry Potter and, just shoot. Why can't I think of his name?
[00:34:44]Erich Wenzel: [00:34:44] Dumbledore.
[00:34:46] Clint Pulver: [00:34:46] Dumbledore. Yeah. Right.
[00:34:47] Like these, these iconic characters, these iconic figures that showed up and, and the reason they became the mentor is because they were the people that could connect the mentee to their dream.
[00:35:06] Great mentors connect people to their dreams and it was always so powerful. Anytime an employee talked about, you know, Mr. Jensen or in your case, your, like your teacher, when they talked about that kind of a person, they were always in some way. They were the person that connected you to. Your dream, they helped you to find something better.
[00:35:27] They helped you to do something more. They were an advocate, not just a developer. And in doing so, man, we just love those people and we don't forget them. And to me, there's just power and mentorship versus leadership or management. They're different.
[00:35:44] Erich Wenzel: I really, I wholeheartedly resonate with this. It's like right now, as I'm like hearing you explain the stuff, it's giving me goosebumps because of how much it resonates for me because I think about these stories a lot of times.
[00:35:55] And when you hear, you know, I always think about the person who just says, Oh, I'm just bad at X. Right? And a lot of times it's like math or, or something like that. And it kind of breaks my heart inside because I think about it. You know, sometimes it's not that they're bad at that thing, it's just they didn't have the right teacher that could show it to them in a way that unlocks it in themselves.
[00:36:14] They can do that. You know, and sure, maybe it's, something will be more difficult for you, and that's, that's totally true, but I still think that we can always improve from where we're at. And I, it's always, it's always about connecting to the person and being like, no, no, no, no. Like, it's okay. Like it's going to be hard, but you're going to figure this out.
[00:36:34] Negative Thoughts
[00:36:34] Clint Pulver: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we need that. We need that. Like we live in a world. It is surrounded by negativity, a world that you're not good enough for comparison or w you just scroll through Instagram, and you see everybody's awesome lives and all the things that they're doing. And if you don't have a super strong sense of confidence, it's easy to get beaten down or to compare or to feel like you're not good enough.
[00:36:57] And I mean, like at the Hawthorn Institute, this was like seven years ago. They came out with a study and they found that, you know, a human will have anywhere from 15,000 to 60,000 thoughts in a day. But what they also found is S, you know, people were thinking about 80% of it was negative. I was like, I'm not good enough.
[00:37:16]Cool enough. I'm not skinny enough. I'm not pretty enough. I'm not fast enough. I don't sit at the cool table at lunch. I only got 56 likes on my Instagram posts, whatever it is. Like we just, we, we can bump bombard ourselves with this negativity. And if you take 80% of that on a daily base, and we compound that? what's possible? It's easy to give up. It's easy to beat yourself up. It's easy to get discouraged, and I think the more we can surround ourselves with good people doing positive things that believe in us. Man, what a, what an opportunity, to really stay on course, and, and, and, and do and be something that you're supposed to be.
[00:38:02]and again, we need people in our life to do that. It's the age old saying it is truly, it takes teamwork to make the dream work. And when we surround ourselves with great people that see that in us, because there will be days when you don't see it within yourself, and that's where we have to lean. We have to, we have to have good people to lean on because they were there they, they're really the ones that help us stay on course.
[00:38:29] Having people that will be there no matter what
[00:38:29] Erich Wenzel: It's powerful because when you take stock of what really matters in life. Like you were saying, you know, you look back on the year and be like, Oh, here's all the people that have been around me and are there no matter what. I'm really grateful to have friends of mine that I've known for basically all my life.
[00:38:46] They're basically brothers, and it's the strangest thing to be able to have people in your life. No matter how far away or how long it's been since you talked to them or how busy life gets, if you get in the same room, it's like you're able to pick up right where things left off and they don't care about what you talked about and they don't care about, you know, what's going on in life or whatever.
[00:39:05] Or even if there are terrible things happening in life. and even in those moments, I think those are the moments where they kind of show up the most because you don't realize how much it means when people drop what their busy lives see show up for you and hold space. I think that's a overlooked tenant of true friendship.
[00:39:25] A Challenge to Listeners
[00:39:25] Clint Pulver: Yeah, and I would throw out a challenge, you know, Erich, to you and anybody listening, like if you have people like that in your life, man, tell them thank you. Like next time you see him, like give him a hug and just say, I just need you to know. How much it means to me. I need you to know, like you, you are this type of a person for me.
[00:39:48] And you become the mentor. You become the Obi wan Kenobi. You that, that the, the, the Gandalf, right? Like you are that person for me. And I think that, I dunno, we, we need to be a little more quick sometimes to just express gratitude for those significant, really cool. and how fill in our lives. Like I always tell people too, if there was a teacher like, right, that teacher in a letter.
[00:40:13] Yeah, I know, you know, send that teacher a Facebook message, go back to those people and just, there's a power in that. Just appreciation and gratitude for those people and they need to be thanked more. I think some of the greatest mentors I've just never truly thanked or recognized for the good that they, they do.
[00:40:28] Erich Wenzel: I think it's one of those things you don't cause you don't realize the power that they like, bestow upon you in the moment as like, you know, a little fourth grader or something like that because it's like in the moment and you're just like, okay, well I guess I'm going to do this. And then it's not until you get a chance to look back and reflect that you're like, Oh wow, there's, there's that moment.
[00:40:47] And it's, it's really cool to kind of give that gift back because I don't think a lot of teachers, especially teachers, don't understand how much of an impact they can make or, you know, one conversation can put onto someone, you know, it's not like the pay raises, you're not going to remember a pay raise in the grand scheme of things.
[00:41:05] It's going to be those moments.
[00:41:07] Clint Pulver: You're exactly right.
[00:41:10] What do you do when you become overwhelmed or unfocused?
[00:41:10]Erich Wenzel: So we're getting short on time here. So I want to ask a couple more like targeted questions on for you to kind of, you know, push it on to other people, but for like, if you're overwhelmed or unfocused and think we might've covered this a little bit, what do you do for yourself?
[00:41:23] Is there anything you do like maybe mindfulness or deep breathing, things like that?
[00:41:28] Clint Pulver: Yeah, I played the drums. Yeah. I've been a professional drummer for 21 years. Drumming is a major part of my life. I do it on stage and my performances. I, I, yeah, I love it. And it's a great stress reliever for me.
[00:41:44] Erich Wenzel: So so for the, for the drumming, what did it feel like? What does it feel like for you to like get the sticks in your hand? Like maybe after a long day and you're kind of just, you know, beat down from the day and you just kind of sit behind the drum set. What does it feel like?
[00:41:59] Clint Pulver: It's super therapeutic drumming.
[00:42:02] It allows me to create, I love the sound of really well-tuned drums for me. So there's something I, it's weird. It's weird like a drummer thing. There's just something that just feels right when, when the drums just sound good and I love that sound. I'm a big sound person. Sounds got. It's gotta just sound a certain way.
[00:42:23] And so for me, it's a fun day and you know, wrap myself up in that sound, but to know that I'm creating that, so I get to control the sound and the flow, and that's what a drummer does, right? In a band like the drummer is the one that sets the tempo that helps with the field, that drives the Bay. You know, and it's a combination of all the instruments in a musical group.
[00:42:44]But for me, it's fun to, to be able to do that, to learn how to do that better. And there's a technical side to it and there's just something to, with your brain, like you're moving multiple limbs at the same time in different ways. it's, it's, it's like exercising almost. but just done in a creative sense.
[00:43:02] Erich Wenzel: It's funny that you, you mirror a lot of the way I look at drums as an instrument. I tried a lot of instruments growing up, but then somehow the drums only made the most sense. I had always thought of myself as not a, not creative slash not a musical person. and then at some point I kind of picked up the drum set and I was like, Oh my God, this is the thing.
[00:43:20] This is the one I can do.
[00:43:22] Clint Pulver: Yeah.
[00:43:24] Erich Wenzel: And as I got more and more into it, it was like, I'm an engineer by training. and I had noticed all the overlapping patterns that fit really nicely into an engineering mindset. And I thought that was really fun. and then just as you were explaining, like how it holds tempo.
[00:43:37] It's funny, I kind of connected the dots and it was thinking of like the drummer holding space in the band. It's the one holding space for the entire, you know, as a unit. It's a really interesting thought. I don't know if you could think of anything to add to that, but just what I thought right now.
[00:43:53]Clint Pulver: Yeah, no, no, no, you're, you're 100% right.
[00:43:55] And, The rhythm, ah, that a drummer creates. You know, it's what moves people to like, there's that, I don't know that there's that sense of responsibility that when you're performing, and there's just nothing like the right groove at the right time placed, with the right set of music that just.
[00:44:12] It's magical. It's really cool.
[00:44:14] Recommended Drummers
[00:44:14] Erich Wenzel: That's awesome. So just as a side tangent here really quick, cause I'm curious, do you have any drummers that you look up to that you would recommend listening to a song or two from them or anything like that? Cause I kinda honestly want to go listen to it myself.
[00:44:27] Clint Pulver: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:44:28] So Eric, Eric Moore is amazing. He's a monster, incredible drummer. I love Simon Phillips. I love Todd Suckerman. I love, you know, Neil Peart, rest his soul. He just passed away. And so, yeah, Iconic iconic drummers that are just fantastic. Yeah, Eric Moore for sure is one of my favorites.
[00:44:49] Tony Royster jr is another one. I like a lot of gospel drummers. I love their chops, their ability to flow around the kit. Yeah. Those, those would be totally awesome. Three, four. Yeah,
[00:45:04] Recommended Books
[00:45:04] Erich Wenzel: I'll have those in the show notes for sure. So people can go check them out because yeah, it's a really cool thing to kind of learn from the great.
[00:45:10] So those who came before. And then the last question here is any of your favorite books or most gifted books that you've given to people or having a major impact on you.
[00:45:21] Clint Pulver: Yeah. 100%. I would recommend the book a million miles in a thousand years by Donald Miller. Unbelievable book. I loved it. I still love it.
[00:45:32]it's a, it's like an amazing book inspired me. and still inspires me to this day. It's all about how to make your life a better story. And, it's about taking risks. It's about taking chances. but also about designing it. It's about people. It's about connection. and really to, I mean, it's about script writing and film and again, what makes a great story and how you can take it.
[00:45:55] You know the elements of a compelling film or a compelling documentary or whatever it may be, and turn that into your life, how to write that for your life. Again, you can design it. You are the writer of the story, so write it, write it. Well. and, and, and make it something that's worth living, right?
[00:46:15] Something's not even necessarily worth watching, right? You're not living your life so that people watch it and go, man, good for like, it'll live in your, your, your writing and to live to really, I dunno, we take for granted, I think sometimes life and that we're born, and I shouldn't say it, but I'm going to say it like out of 40 million sperms.
[00:46:37] Well, you're the one that won you. I'm the one that won. Like we won. Like you won the race of life. You are here on this planet. And I know it sounds a little weird, but it's true. And, man, I, I again, I think to live is that is the rarest thing in the world. So take advantage of it and, and do it to the best of your abilities.
[00:46:59] Right.
[00:47:00] Erich Wenzel: That sounds good. And there's not an any better way to end this conversation and we can keep going for many hours at this point. How can people connect with you, Clint?
[00:47:10]Clint Pulver: Instagram is awesome. Just Clint Pulver and then also my website, Clintpulver.com
[00:47:17] Erich Wenzel: Awesome. Thanks so much, Clint. I know you've got to get going so.
[00:47:21] I really appreciate you making the time to talk to me here, and this is a great conversation. I got a lot out of this and I got some text messages to go send to people.
[00:47:30] Clint Pulver: I love it. I love it. Awesome. Well thanks for the honor. Thanks for asking and all my best, and thanks for having me on the show.
[00:47:36] Erich Wenzel: Absolutely. I'll talk to you soon.
[00:47:40] Clint Pulver: Bye.
"Everybody wants to eat, but Few Will Hunt."
Today on the podcast with Joey Bowen and Drew Beech, co-founders of the apparel brand and community Few Will Hunt.
Joey and Drew spent their daily commutes through the gritty streets of Philadelphia on the phone for a year straight.
On these calls, they talked about business and life — especially the trends of self-entitlement and shortcut-seeking they witnessed in society.
These trends made them feel alone in an ever-softening world. “Are we the only ones that still believe in the power of hard work?” Drew asked. Joey responded, “It’s like we say at my hunting cabin — everybody wants to eat, but few will hunt.”
This statement perfectly summed up their frustrations with society. It became their mantra.