Clint Pulver: Fulfillment, Connection, and Mentors
“Everybody just needs to be seen, heard, and understood in a different way. ”
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
