John Hall: Getting to the Crux of Leadership

Finding balance between work and life is a universal struggle. 

I’ve heard some say that balance is impossible, therefore, boundaries are a must. Others define balance simply as not falling down. In other words, the juggling act is a success as long as none of the metaphorical plates come crashing down. 

While I do believe balance requires intention to be achieved, it is definitely possible. Even after 30 years as a sports broadcaster, finding the perfect equilibrium between home and work continues to be one of my biggest projects. 

The long season, grueling schedule and heavy travel of baseball in particular makes it a peculiar beast, even within the already-demanding world of sports. Anyone in the industry - player or otherwise - can attest to that, and it’s something I touch on often in my keynote speeches.

During a recent interview on my podcast Rounding the Bases, I was joined by someone who - like me - spent his career in sports. Needing balance is hardly unique to this industry, but it does bring lifestyle vigors that can be difficult to understand unless you are on the inside. What struck me the most were the steps he took to address it…dramatic for anyone, but especially someone at the height of a star-powered career. 

His name is John Hall, a celebrated storyteller whose mission is to help others live exceptional lives. His career portfolio is stacked with years of service to some of the worlds most iconic brands and legendary entertainment venues. But his biggest successes were those realized off of the clock. 

SINGLE: On the map

These days, John is the Chief Sales Officer at Crux-Xcelerate. He’s also a former athlete who had always been driven to be involved in sports professionally. 

In his late 20s he was working as a boxing promoter. That is, until he landed the opportunity of a lifetime working for the World League of American Football.

“I ended up putting together the largest sponsorship deal in the entire league,” he said. It led to a presentation for Roger Goodell. And even though his predecessor Paul Taggart was the commissioner at the time, it put John’s name on the map. 

The Sacramento Kings hired him over the phone. Then NFL Europe recruited him once again, this time to work overseas. Finally, Madison Square Garden called him to become their Vice President General Manager, and the eventual Vice President of Marketing for the New York Rangers. 

All were tremendous strides in his career, and led to him working alongside sports greats like Wayne Gretzky. In the world of professional sports, most could only dream of such a storied trajectory. 

“It was a grind and I loved it,” Hall said of the experience. “But then there came a point when I realized I needed to make some changes. And I did.” 

DOUBLE: Balance of Business

John is the type of person who finds joy in connecting other people. It’s one of the things that brings energy to his life every day. The relational aspect of business fueled the drive of his early career, when corporate advancement was his upmost priority.

“It was all about climbing that ladder, getting that next promotion, getting that next gig,” he shared, “It was a lot of work and not a lot of balance as far as, you know, living life.” 

At 40 years old, on the cusp of his prime earning years, he decided - for the first time in his life - to put his career second to his children. 

“I decided to really focus on them and their school and their athletics. I got to coach them and go to their events,” he remembered, saying of the experience. “It was the most rewarding thing I’ve done in my life to date.” 

TRIPLE: House Always Wins

Many of the entrepreneurs I talk to left the stability of a secure career to pursue the thing they felt called to do. I love asking them what it was like to take that leap of faith. 

It’s risky, usually without a safety net if they were to fall. It’s a path that is not unlike John’s when he decided to reprioritize his life in favor of greater balance.

After years spent working first and living second, it understandably felt scary at first to consider a different way. But like so many success stories, he took the plunge in spite of his fear. 

“I’ll bet on myself every time,” he said with a peaceful confidence. “I work smarter now. I’m more efficient. And it shows up in my life.” 

HOME RUN: Presence over productivity

We live in a constant state of distraction, often multi-tasking to the extreme in an effort to maximize productivity. The harsh reality is that this also causes to us miss things in the process. 

It’s a true for people in the 20s, 30s, 40s and beyond as it is for me. And even though I’m more mindful of this now than I have ever been, from time to time I still find myself falling into the cycle of doing too much at once. 

What does it mean to pause and find balance when our culture has us so trained not to? The first step is surprisingly simple, but allows us to see life, people - even ourselves - through a more positive lens. 

“Just be more present in the moment,” said John. “If you do, you’re on the right track.” 

It’s a valuable lesson from someone who hasn’t only lived it. He knows the changes that await for anyone brave enough to give it a try. 

Listen to the full interview here or tune in to Rounding the Bases every Tuesday, available wherever you get your podcasts.

LEARN MORE ABOUT balance in business FROM JOEL 

Book Joel Goldberg for your next corporate event. He draws on over 25 years of experience as a sports broadcaster. In addition, he brings unique perspectives and lessons learned from some of the world’s most successful organizations. Whatever your profession, Joel is the keynote speaker who can help your team achieve a championship state of mind.

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Joel Goldberg 0:00

Hey everybody welcome in to another episode of Rounding the Bases presented by Community America Credit Union: Investing in You. I hope that you will enjoy this conversation and so many of the others that I have weekly on this podcast and all of them over the years. They're all there. They're on my new website joelgoldbergmedia.com. If you want to check it out there, if you know a guest, you could certainly reach out to us there. And I think really the big favor that I have is if you are following this podcast or if you're listening to this podcast, I would love it. If you would click the Follow button for Rounding the Bases on Spotify or Apple if you're watching it in those places, it certainly helps. Quick shout out to my friends at Chief of Staff Kansas City, Making Connections That Matter. If you're in the market for a job or resource, you're looking to hire someone, you don't have to be in Kansas City either. Phenomenal group of people. Check them out chiefofstaffkc.com. I always say that one of the beauties of this podcast and and my speaking business, not to mention the baseball, is the connections that I get to make and the networking. And today's guest is a byproduct of that via our good friend Howie Fleischer. I am joined today by a celebrated storyteller who is passionate about sharing winning strategies. He's just passionate, really, about helping people, which I think is amazing. Over the course of his career, he has amassed a portfolio of service to the world's most iconic brands and legendary entertainment venues, each furthering his mission to help others live exceptional lives. His name is John Hall, who is - among other things - Chief Sales Officer at Crux-Xcelerate. It's the high performance un-agency radically rethinking how businesses should operate. Using everything that you need and nothing that you don't, he coaches companies to a brilliance that is more than a professional. It's personal too. And I think that's really what struck me about John is just a just a good person wanting to help others out. Why am I saying so many nice things about you? Hi, John.

John Hall 2:32

Thank you, Joel. A quick shout out also to Howie introducing us. It was really fun that day that we met and got together. It was like a reunion.

Joel Goldberg 2:42

Yeah.

John Hall 2:42

We got to talk about the business and all the things that we did, and you still do. And I used to do.

Joel Goldberg 2:46

Yeah, I want to go there in a minute. But I think there's this there's something, not saying you're the only one, I think you're cut out of the same cloth as a Howie, that there are people in this world that just get joy in helping others. Connecting others. Shedding a light, maybe a little something, hey, this could help you that type of thing. And I feel like that, among other things, is some of the oxygen and energy that you have every day.

John Hall 3:16

Well, I can't say I always did that Joel. I mean, there was a point in my career where I was pretty self consumed. And it was all about climbing that ladder, getting that next promotion, getting the next new gig. And then there was a point my life just the switch went off. And I really wanted to focus more on that life work balance thing. It was a lot of work and not a lot of balance as far as you know, living life. And now it's we're living life and hopefully being a trusted adviser to others.

Speaker 1 3:42

Well,

Joel Goldberg 3:42

Well, I think there's something interesting there to me, too, because you're, you're capable, we're all capable, of doing both. But it's oftentimes, and usually at our younger years where we can't even think that way. Maybe we should I think it would bring all of us a little bit more joy to slow down and, you know, smell the roses, so to speak. What What was the turning point for you? What when did the when did this John Hall appear?

John Hall 4:09

I would say right about 40 years old when I really realized that I wasn't spending as much time with my children. And I decided to really focus on them and their school and their athletics. And I've got a whole family full of athletes. And I got to coach them and go to their events. And that was really the tipping point for me, Joel, and it was most rewarding thing I've done in my life to date.

Joel Goldberg 4:36

Right more to come, of course, but I remember when you and I were talking. You basically left a great job to get back with the kids. And I'm wondering, you know, so often I'll ask entrepreneurs, what's it like when you take that first jump, knowing that there may not be a safety net and I know you've been successful and you were I suspect doing well financially but when you're driven to work, when you are driven to succeed every single day, and you're wired that way that, that does become all consuming for I think, probably for better and for worse. And so I'm wondering in the same way that an entrepreneur takes that leap of faith, what that felt like to you to do what I know in your heart you believed was right. But what must have been, maybe not, but may have been a little bit scary to, to venture away from such a successful path, and put that career second before your kids if that's the right way to put it.

John Hall 5:29

Well, in my career, did becomes second because it wasn't, it was always first. And I hate to, hate to admit that, but I'm glad I had that life change. I've always worked, and I love working. I'm one of those guys that go to bed at night. And I'm really excited about following morning, getting up and getting after it. But it's all now it's more of getting after it both from a professional standpoint and a personal standpoint. But it was scary. You know, I'll bet on myself every time. So, it happened in my career. And I know we're going to talk a little bit about my previous career. Even then, I was betting on myself to succeed in the sports entertainment industry. And then I knew when I was gonna go out on my own, it was gonna be a new shift. But I was pretty confident was gonna work out.

Joel Goldberg 6:12

I love that too. Just the confidence to bet on yourself. And to know that that those instincts are always going to work, maybe not immediately, sometimes either, right? I mean, you learn as you're going and, and nothing is ever a finished product. But you've done so much in your career. And I want to get eventually to what you're doing with Crux, which is an amazing company here in town. But you've been all over the country, if not the world. Tell me how all of this started. I mean, I'm sitting there thinking about, you know, younger John Hall, walking around Madison Square Garden. And I know, that's not the only thing you did, but we're talking about some pretty legendary stuff there. But but go before that, where did this all start?

John Hall 6:50

Well, as a former athlete, I always had a drive to want to be involved in athletics and sports. I mean, it was just, that was something that was really important to me. And in my 20s, I wasn't I was involved in a completely different industry. And then I, the bug. And this is, I don't know if you and I discussed this, but I was actually with a partner, the youngest professional boxing promoter in the country. And that gave me the bug. And I didn't really enjoy the bit that business because it was a little sketchy. But I was in my hair. I was in my late 20s. And I was you know, promoting these these events and and I really enjoy it. And then there was an opportunity to work with what was called the World League of American football. And I ended up landing position with them. And then was very fortunate timing was fantastic. I ended up putting together the largest sponsorship deal in the entire league. And that got me a presentation with Roger Goodell before he was the commissioner, Paul Taggart was the commissioner at the time, and a series of other GMs then that put my name on the map. And then the Sacramento Kings called. And they offered me a job basically over the phone. And then the NFL Europe calls again and makes an offer for me to come to Europe. And then I ultimately get a call from Madison Square Garden to come there and originally be their VP GM of the arena football team. And then we decided to move that franchise up to Hartford. The one thing about MSG is it's not just the Knicks and the Rangers. I mean, we do all kinds of different things from facility management to theatrical productions to media. And so we were running the Hartford Civic Center rent, we sent that team up there, but at the time, Dave Checketts, who was the CEO of the Garden, asked me if I'd stay and be the VP of Marketing for the New York Rangers, which was pretty cool, because it's the time when Wayne Gretzky was there. I had the opportunity to meet Wayne and spend some time with him. And so it was a really fun ride. And it really happened really fast. But it was a grind and I loved it. I loved it. When I was at the Garden, I was one of the first two or three people there every day. I just loved it. But then there came a point when I realized I needed to make some changes. And I did

Joel Goldberg 9:02

I want to go back to the boxing for a moment because I think and that world is different nowadays. I mean, I I know boxing still exists. I grew up, I was never a diehard boxing fan, but I grew up with boxing, you know, and you might watch it on the weekends and certainly when those Pay Per View fights would come out as a younger you know, as a teenager, all of us. Kids would pull all of our money together and hope we got more than a one minute Mike Tyson fight because it might only go you know, 60 seconds, it might go more. And then I remember, I covered just a couple of boxing events. When I was a TV intern in Memphis. I think Buster Douglas was fighting if I remember correctly, and another was in St. Louis, and some local people. I don't remember if there were I think there probably were some big names the biggest name there and this is why I'm going here was Don King. And I just remember it was such a spectacle. It almost reminded me of a political rally. It was to me it seemed like a bunch of hot air. But it certainly made headlines and it made for great sound bites, and it made for great pictures and video and it was so staged. And I think we still have those theatrics. Maybe they play out on social media. But it is a different world now. And so much of it's now you know, the MMA and the UFC stuff, which I don't understand, although my son will have me watch some of that with him, all of his buddies on to watch it. It's the same theater, it's the same production. The technology is better now, but they're selling a story. And I'm wondering what that early piece did for you. Because it's a to me, it does seem like a very sketchy business. Yet, it's a really good one in the sense that they're, they're really sharp at what they do.

John Hall 10:43

Well, speaking of Don King, he was way ahead of his time. And he knew how to work the media, he knew how to work, how to spin PR to his advantage. But for me personally, it it, it never really fit my brand. I, I've always wanted...character to me has always been really important. And it just never fit my brand. But it whet my appetite. And it was, it took me off to the next level. Now what we did, when we were doing it, we did it at in Long Beach, at the Hyatt, underneath chandeliers tight tables around food service. And it was called Boxing by the Beach. And it was very, very upscale. So it kind of gave me a little bit of that feel that it had a little bit of elegance. But it was still boxing. And but it certainly was a, it was a fun thing I did for a year. And I just got burned out NPR did a story about my partner and I the LA Times did a story about my partner and I because we were so young, we were just babies. And doing this this business that was predominantly the Don Kings of the world and the Bob Erams and all the older guys. It was good run, but it was it was a stepping stone for me. And then the next step just got better and better.

Joel Goldberg 11:55

How different were some of those leagues that you worked for? I mean, you know, whether it be your involvement with with the different football endeavors, or the Sacramento Kings, I mean, they all have their differences don't they? I mean, each organization has its difference. But, you know, I look at like, for instance right now, and I haven't worked in anything involving the NFL for over 20 years. But I I look back in astonishment, look on in astonishment all the time, at how it is now a 365 day a year, it's marketing brilliance. I mean, they'll they'll find a way to turn anything into news and people pay attention to it. I mean, your team only plays 17 games a year. Maybe a little bit more, if you're lucky. And yet we think about it every single day. And I look at some of the other sports that don't do that as well. I look at the NBA that they had. They had their in-season tournament this year. I'm not a big NBA fan. I start to watch, usually in May in June when the playoffs are coming. But I found myself watching in November because the game seemed more important. What are the differences in these leagues that you've experienced?

John Hall 13:03

Well, for me, my check came directly from NFL International. So all of the games you see like you're gonna see in Rio this year, or you see in Europe, or you see in Mexico City. That's all NFLI stuff. And so that's where my check actually came from back in the day. So everything was about globalizing the brand. And the NFL has, has for the most part saturated the United States about as much as it can get other than, obviously, there was a big bump in young women's last year for very obvious reasons. So they knew they had to go on the at the international level. And it's it was, it's interesting, because when the league owns something like that, one of the things that they did was they were allocating players. And the Chiefs are actually one of the best teams in the NFL at allocating players. All of our rosters were NFL guys. There were just guys that are you know, guys 47 through 53. So the quality of play was outstanding. And when we first started, the league was owned by ABC Sports, B Sky B, which was the big British network or global network, and the NFL. And so all these NFL players will be on these rosters. Matter of fact, we had on our team, the first team I worked for in Sacramento and that's how I got to know The Kings, and they ended up calling Billy Goldberg was our defense tackle. The Billy Goldberg, the wrestler, which you and I talked about when we met, because you get the same thing with your last name. So there were some guys that we had, we had a guy on our team that was all turned all pro in the NFL. So the quality of the play was outstanding. The coaches were fantastic. We had some really good coaches. So it was a it was a really good breeding ground. It was fantastic for the general managers. If they had a player there they had allocated to a team and they're under you're trying to figure out are they going to end up resigning an existing veteran for X amount of dollars or if they can save a million and a half dollars and play this kid that they've been watching play in the NFL Europe, now they've got, you know, maybe they're signing that player for $750. Now they got $1.25 million to play with, to for some of their area their of their roster. And back in those days, the general manager, The Chiefs, it was Carl Peterson. And Carl was very active in Europe. He was over there quite a bit looking at the players that they had allocated over there. So the leagues were different in the in from a standpoint of obviously the notoriety and everything, but the quality of play was just a step down because it was all NFL guys. And to your point on how the NFL markets, I use that when I talk to companies from a marketing perspective or a sales perspective, I use the NFL as an example and how they stage everything out on a calendar and how ever it seems like every week they've got something going on, that's going to pique your interest there. They are truly masters in marketing.

Joel Goldberg 15:53

Yeah, I mean, some of it doesn't even look like it will be interesting, but then it becomes a thing. I mean, they are they truly are geniuses. I'm curious, by the way, I think I told you this in person, but you know, Goldberg. He's one of those, he's probably like a top 10 Bucket List guy for me because I've lived my whole life, my whole adult or professional life, with people asking are you related to the wrestler? And I'm like, look at me. There's nothing that would make you think in any way shape or form. So I've always enjoyed that and my top two favorite interviews of all time. One is Rowdy Roddy Piper, the other is Will Ferrell and some some big names drops, I know, but you know, I don't remember who I interviewed last week because there's so many of them, but you don't forget those. And, and when Rowd-, the late Rowdy Roddy Piper, who was really sweet too at Wrigley Field, says to me that we should be tag partners and I tell him I'm waiting for Goldberg and he - on live TV - I will change my name. I will become Jewish, I will put on a yarmulke, we could both be Goldbergs and so I'll forever if I hear the wrestlers named Goldberg it it brings that out in me. But you know those wrestlers, Rowdy Roddy Piper the same, like great marketers, they can sell. They can pull you in. They understand the show aspect of it. I was wondering about, I know this is modern day, but you'll have a read on it modern day meaning. What we're doing right now in sports is totally different than five years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago. And so what you're talking about with Europe, I think was the early visions. But now the these guys are going over there, and they're playing a number of games. And what I always wonder you have this strange start times. Oh, there's an NFL game at eight in the morning. Just like that The NFL has figured out a way how to bring an NFL game to you, for about 15-16 hours straight. How much of that, in your opinion, is just marketing genius here for us? And how much of that is growing the game abroad? Are they growing it here by going over there? Just from a marketing standpoint? Is it both? What are the intentions you think?

John Hall 18:01

It's combination of both. I would think that it's more heavily in the marketing here than it is in the interest overseas. Even though you go to countries like Germany, they have a gigantic following for NFL. And a lot of that has to do with the military bases over there. So you had a lot of Americans over there that were watching American football. And then as they were watching American football, more of the Germans started watching American football. One thing that is interesting about the international fan, they're a really good thing. I mean, they're fantastic fan. Now, it's not like it is here where everyone, you know, there's so many people who love the NFL. Over there, it's much, much smaller. I mean, obviously you're gonna have soccer, you know, football over there, and you're gonna have rugby, you're gonna have cricket and all those things. But it's gaining momentum. But it's, I would say primarily, it's the marketing that they do here because the league is really, really good at extending the brand and extending the shield.

Joel Goldberg 18:53

I see baseball trying to do that too. And I and they should, by the way, I mean, the way baseball is growing around the world and and was always there too, in, in a lot of parts of Asia. That's a different topic. I really, before we get to what you're doing with Crux, I want to focus on Madison Square Garden, because when you talk about a brand, well, you could talk much better than me. I told you I've only been there once, which is where I'm at. I've walked outside of it a million times. I grew up two hours away before moving to the Midwest. We never went. All I knew as a kid growing outside of growing up outside of Philadelphia was I hated the Rangers. And I hated the Knicks. Still do by the way, but not in the way that I did as a kid. I'm in the business now and so but I bring this up, John, because the other day or recently, I'm watching you know, a playoff game at Madison Square Garden. Well, there were a bunch of them for the Knicks and the Rangers. And I'm watching back in in May a a playoff game between the Rangers and I think the Panthers and the Rangers went in overtime and my initial reaction was oh, I hate when the Rangers win. So glad to have some of that. For all you New Yorker's out there, sorry, but you got enough people to support you. But then I sat there and I looked, this is like the adult, more mature version of me, if that's possible. And I looked and I said, what a frenzied scene at this historic venue. This place, they just want an overtime, is going bonkers. Enjoy the fact that one of the most historic arenas in this country, maybe even the world, was at like a 10. And so I lead into this question with that story, because you got to walk in there every single day. And it's not just basketball and hockey. We're talking about legendary performers playing there. Oftentimes over and over and over and over hundreds of times. The Billy Jones of the world. What was it like to work at MSG?

John Hall 20:48

I remember the first time I went there, because we all know that Madison Square Garden is the world's most famous arena. And here I was coming over from the UK where I was living at the time with NFL Europe. And I remember just taking, they had a car there, a driver pick me up at the airport. I was interviewing for a job, they had a driver pick me up at the airport. And I'll never forget pulling up to the front of MSG. And I'm a kid that was born in West Texas. Now, I was fortunate enough to move to Coronado, California when I was 12. So my life changed significantly. But I was just the West Texas kid. And I, in my mind as a kid, I never thought I'd ever even see Madison Square Garden, let alone be interviewing for a job and then ultimately working there. I think what struck me the most Joel was it when you walk in that building and all the employees, we had a ton. Everyone's really, really good at what they do. And you feel as though you have to bring your A game every day. Now the irony of that is, I would see hundreds of resumes every month for my whole job, come across my desk. So everyone wants to work there. Almost. And everyone who is working there is just the best of the best. And then of course, being iconic. You know, when you're around when you're in New York and you go out you're you're somewhere in town. And they go well, what do you do? And if you say, Well, I work for MSG, that's kind of fun, you know? I mean, I'm sure you can relate to that here in Kansas City. It was it was a good feeling. But I think for me, it was just elevated my game. It elevated my professionalism. And it was one big, very big chapter in my life that help guide where I am today. Because it helped me deal with New Yorkers. As an example, I was a West Coast guy. I'm pouring my heart of hearts. And now I'm dealing with New Yorkers who have a totally different attitude than people in the West Coast. So it helped me adjust my, my compass a little bit on how to deal with people. So it was a really good chapter. But working at the Garden was certainly a great bucket list thing, and I got to do it.

Speaker 1 22:53

What

Joel Goldberg 22:53

What were what were some of the big moments for you there?

John Hall 22:57

Um, wow, let's see. The biggest moment I had was actually, some times, actually being with Wayne Gretzky. And we don't have enough time on the on this podcast to share some of those stories with Wayne. But one of the things that struck me because you know, you I've met lots of other athletes previously in my life. I met Joe Montana and Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith, all kinds of different people previous in my life. And Wayne was one of the most gracious human beings that I ever met. And while there was all the buzz about the Garden and meeting people, I do remember Ernie Grunfeld, my very first day in the job, because I was a general manager. He pokes his head through my door, he goes, excuse me, John? I said, sure. He goes, I'm on Ernie Grunfeld. I said, Ernie, I'm well aware of who you are. He goes, I just wanted to welcome you to the building. There's only four of us GMs, GMs is in this entire building. And I just wanted to welcome you. He is a class act. So when you meet those kinds of people, for somewhere like the Garden or with teams, that's what makes it worthwhile, because it really always boils down to people.

Joel Goldberg 24:00

I mean, just you know, a guy that played in the NBA and was actually played for the Kansas City Kings, Ernie Grunfeld.

John Hall 24:08

Yes, he did.

Joel Goldberg 24:08

Right? Back in the day. So you gotta you got a guy in the building, introducing himself to you. And I guess at that point, you're saying, wait a minute, am I on this level? I'm, I'm hanging with the best of the best at MSG. I mean, that really doesn't get any better than that. Right?

John Hall 24:22

Well, as confident as I am, I'm not really quite sure I ever felt I was at that level. I think part of that, you know, it's interesting, I did this presentation where I talk about doubt, and how everyone deals with doubt. And in those moments, I might have had a little bit of doubt, because there everyone deals with doubt occasionally.

Joel Goldberg 24:37

A little bit of impostor syndrome perhaps?

John Hall 24:39

Exactly, exactly. From a kid from West Texas that moved to a beach. So.

Joel Goldberg 24:43

I mean, you've been all over the world and you have, for lack of a better term, I guess settled down. And by that I mean that you have found yourself settling in Kansas City doing I think what you love not that you didn't before. Talked about the time that you spent with with your kids, and you know, they're older now too. So tell me about this stage of life and what you're doing at Crux.

John Hall 25:06

Well, first of all, I love Kansas City. And, and it's funny. I have buddies that call me from the East Coast on the West Coast. And they go, what's, what's the deal with Kansas City? How do you like it? I'm like, guys, it's cool. It really is. There's a lot of really happening things here. Since I arrived, I, it's been like drinking through a firehose. When you're meeting people like Linda Endicott, and Adam Hawley, and Rick Colley, and Jeanette, Kevin Praynor and Oren Reynolds, and the list goes on and on and on. You just meet all these people, you go to all these events. So that part of it has been fun, but getting to realize it and enjoy the Kansas City nice. Because everybody is nice. And on top of that there's a buzz going on in this city right now. I mean, you can feel it, there's just, it's ready to just take off. There's a lot of really positive things. So that part I'm loving. The personal, or the professional, side with Crux is I did a presentation in the summer of 2022 for Crux, their team, and Melea McCrae, who's their CEO, she heard my presentation. And I do a presentation called Coaching Up: Passionately Sharing Winning Strategies. And it's all about personal and professional enrichment. I know how you, I know how you're wired, Joel. If you have the opportunity to have a platform, you will talk to people about things that will help their career, but I know you're wired to help them personally, and find a way to lift them up. Well, I do the same thing with Coaching Up. And I finished my presentation, and she says, I have this sister company that sales coaching. Would you like to get involved in that? And we got, we started talking about it. And now I am. And we do this sales coaching going, going to companies and and again, it's not just about the sales process, which is a big part of it, but it's the person process. You know, nothing truly happens, both in life or in business until we start building relationships. So we talk a lot about EQ, we talk a lot about the elements it takes to build those relationships and how to utilize things like LinkedIn to your advantage, how to network properly, how to put together a sales process and sales playbook. You know, how to understand that everyone around you is dealing with stuff. And the sooner we can become a refuge for those people and a soft place to land and start developing a relationship, the sooner we'll be more fulfilled personally, and more fulfilled professionally.

Joel Goldberg 27:25

How much over the years is that changed? I mean, I think it's always been about people. I don't think that that is a secret, although I believe that we oftentimes forget it because we're too busy. We're too busy with everything that's on our plate, or we're too distracted in our phones, or whatever it is. The technology's changed, the world has changed, how much has everything that you are teaching changed?

John Hall 27:47

Wow, I started doing this in 2017 with the Coaching Up presentation. And you could see there, I think the tipping point was COVID. And some of the mental health issues that some people were struggling with. And when you look at something like Ted Lasso, and the whole theme of what Ted Lasso was, and the fact that we're everyone's dealing with stuff. And that's part of my presentation, talking about everyone's dealing with stuff. And I think now it's, it's at a forefront. Now it's become more important than the business aspect of it, even though the business aspect of it is the bottom line. That's the part that is going to help revenues, it's going to help create more profitable companies, but we can't create more revenues and can't be more profitable unless our people are feel enriched. Unless unless they feel enhanced, and understand that, that if they extend themselves out to other people and and really exercise their emotional intelligence to be that person, to be that trusted advisor for people, then then it makes it much easier to be successful professionally. But the shift has been enormous, particularly in the shadow of the pandemic.

Speaker 1 29:00

Yeah,

Joel Goldberg 29:00

Yeah, and because we still need to do all of those things. And oftentimes now do them remotely, right? I mean, it's not, it's people are still people. But we may not be face to face. I know that's not new, if anything is just a very expected norm in a lot of cases. And I feel like a lot of us are trying to figure that out.

John Hall 29:19

I couldn't agree more. You know, we one of the things that I really, really stressed with individuals is gratitude. Practicing gratitude. If we practice gratitude, it literally rewires our brain to be happier. Now, if we're happier, we couldn't ask for anything more. So if we just show a little more gratitude than what we do during the course of our day, we're happy with the things we have in our life instead of the things that don't. Aristotle said, If we ruminate on all the things that are going wrong in our life, then we'll manifest those things. But if we start looking at all the positive things that are going on, our life will manifest those things. And then we'll be much much, much richer as a human being which will make us much richer, as a professional.

Joel Goldberg 29:59

Amen to that. There's a reason why a lot of meditations, journaling all involve the word gratitude. What are you grateful for today? List three things. And so there's no doubt about it. It is a rewiring of the brain and maybe a rewiring of the brain after some really dark times, we all have them of COVID, where it felt like when is this ending? What, when? When are we getting back to, to normal? And of course, our new normal was, indeed that. A new normal. I love the topic of gratitude. I think every one of these things we could do full podcast episodes on but let me get to the baseball themed questions. What's the biggest home run that you have hit professionally?

John Hall 30:39

It's an it has to be two. One personal, one professional. And I touched on it earlier, the professional one was putting together that really big deal. And then being able to present to Roger Goodell. That was the one that put me on the map professionally. Personally, it was been able to coach all my kids. Be at all their events and watch them thrive. And, and that that would have been that was the other home run. The most important home run.

Joel Goldberg 31:04

No doubt about it. Life changing for everybody. How about a swing and a miss along the way? And what did you learn from it?

John Hall 31:12

Definitely the swinging the Miss was, was a life work balance when I was young. Being work, work, work with just a little bit of life. And now it's life, life, life, work. But I work smarter now. So I can work a little bit less, but I'm way more efficient. But I enjoy life a lot more. And it shows up in my personality. It shows up in my life. And it shows up when I'm like coaching people, because they see that peacefulness and they see that sense of of comfort that comes with having a little more focus on your life.

Joel Goldberg 31:45

And then the last one was the baseball theme questions small ball, what are the little things that add up to big results for you?

John Hall 31:54

That would have to be little things like understanding collaborative communication, listening to understand, not listening to respond. You know, to really, truly listen to what the person is saying. To start seeking out gifts in people. It can be the simplest little gift and then encourage them because of that gift. Little things like taking inventory. Like take inventory of what's going on in your life. There's a little small things. And if you do that, then you see some of the positive things you're doing. And because of that those little small things will add up to big things.

Joel Goldberg 32:31

I love it. And that's something that we all can do every single day. All right, I always like to wrap it up with four final questions. As we round the bases. I could go so many different directions here. I think I'd like to go a little bit back to that that boxing experience in Long Beach. My assistant Ashleigh always does all this research. And so she says, Well, she says I'm seeing something in 1990 about ballroom boxing and black tie affair and on the beach and knockouts and all this type of stuff. How did? How did this pop into your head? It sounds like a truly unique idea. Maybe ahead of its time.

John Hall 33:10

It sounds like Ashleigh pulled up an old LA Times story.

Joel Goldberg 33:13

She sure did.

John Hall 33:14

Yeah. At least I was vetted. And it's the truth, you know, it's not hyperbole. Now, I knew the part my partner at the time, he his dad was the was the commissioner of the boxing commission there in California. And so I had the, I had the financial resources, he had the connections, and he approached me. And so we decided to jump in and we got our, we got our our license right away. I wonder how? And then we started booking. And the, the booking part was fun, because then you have to look at talent. And but then it got little old with everybody and their dog with their handout every week, week in and week out. So but it was it was fun run. And Ashleigh, congratulations on doing some good homework there.

Joel Goldberg 33:57

She's the best. And I trust, I trust everything she finds. Sometimes you find some stuff that that you don't want to find, by the way. And some of it you're like, wait is this person? Is not? And so that's the world we live in, by the way, but it's nice to be able to go back and find a good LA Times article. And I mean, thing with you, John, as you've done so much. So here, here's another one she found, which is really cool. That's just a few years back. Navy SEAL Foundation Challenge. And it sounds like that was something that involvedd not you and your kids but you and I believe your granddaughter. Tell me about that? Is that, is that correct?

John Hall 34:33

Well, it was my daughter. It was my daughter. That daughter is she was a track athlete at Colorado State University. Matter of fact, my five foot one daughter has the third longest triple jump in the history of the state. And it's all heart and grit. I mean, she's a tremendous athlete, but don't ever sell her short. She could have accomplished anything so I was approached to help the SEAL Team Foundation. If I could help them raise some funds. And I asked, well, what are you doing? Oh, we're doing this competition. And so I jumped in. At the time I was training, I during COVID I trained. So I know some people drank, some people trained. I trained. So I was in probably the best shape of my life at 62 years old, and competed in the competition, and ended up winning a watch that actually I have on right now that's got the SEAL team logo on it. And my daughter won the entire competition for all women. And we were Team Hall. And it was it was a blast. It was so much fun. We raised a lot of money. We raised I think, almost $4,500 That day, for the, for the foundation. And then it was just really fun to compete. You know, it was and then when you're competing in something like that, so physical. And then for me personally, a mentor of mine was a original. He was a UDT, which was Underwater Demolition before SEALs was SEALs. He was a UDT. And then he became a SEAL trainer. And then he was a mentor of mine in Coronado, that's where they trained. And I ran and competed in honor of him.

Joel Goldberg 36:07

That's really cool. Cool. So quick follow up on the second question, then. Give me the rundown of the the athletic history of your kids.

John Hall 36:16

Oh, okay. See, my very, very oldest was a soccer player. Played on a team as a youth team that qualified for the National Championships. And then he ultimately wanted to go play football, got a knee injury, and then he was done. Cheyenne, the one that we were just talking about. She was a gymnast. She was a track star. And she was a state champion in Tae kwon do. And at five years old she was a national champion in karate. And she's the one that has the triple jump prowess, state champion and track and then a conference track champion in the Mountain West Conference. My next next child in line is Piper. Piper was a beautiful swimmer. And dancer, very elegant. And still to this day, she does things in a very elegant way. And at my daughter's wedding, her and my daughter, Cheyenne, got into it, there was a dance competition between I think, eight different couples. And the finals were between Cheyenne and my daughter Piper, my two daughters. So that was a lot of fun. And she's just very elegant, very graceful. One that's fun to watch. And then my youngest son who was just here a couple of weeks ago, he was coaching out at William Jewell College football. He got an offer to go. And as you well know, you're gonna get an offer, it's better you go, you jump. And he's coaching at Chadron State now. He was a top high school football player in Colorado, and then played at Concordia in Nebraska. And then he ultimately ended up at Northern Colorado because he always wanted to see if you can be a D1 football player. And now he's a D2 football coach. So we've got a very competitive family. And don't get us in any competition, it gets a little rough. But it's, it was so much fun watching them compete. And the lessons that they learned all that time by the competition, by the training. Have to put in the effort. Has been something that is is really helped them as young adults to, to understand that life is always going to...isn't always going to be perfect. And just just as a couple of weeks ago, Jackson was here when I was doing a presentation. And I referenced him a couple of times in my presentation about just grit. And then he met some people there and everyone that met him. So whoa, what a fine young man. And I said part of that was because of the teamwork effort and all the things he had to do as an athlete.

Joel Goldberg 38:30

Very cool. Ok, third question is kind of out of nowhere, I think, but it just popped into my head when we were talking about the NFL and the reach around the world. And, and now they have Taylor Swift. And I don't suspect that you're a Swiftie. If you are, that's fine. I'm, I'm not. But yet, I find myself enamored. I don't mind the music. I just, I'm not going to search for it. But I'm not necessarily going to turn it off. But my point is like, it's so much bigger than that. Like I don't, I'm trying to think of who has been this big of a phenomenon globally. So you've aren't you take you take her dating a superstar in the NFL. And you're now reaching a greater audience just because of her. People around the world, not even just a world. I got a friend that I grew up with. She's been on the podcast before too. And she, she's in New York. She has never she doesn't watch football, basketball, baseball, hockey. She, she loves gymnastics. She loves figure skating. We've argued since we were teenagers and whether those are sports or not, by the way they are. I just said to piss her off. But now, suddenly, it's, I want to see what Travis did. And I just want your take on this because as big as the NFL is, I think she's even bigger. And how rare that is to have such a phenomenon globally like that in whatever endeavor.

John Hall 40:00

Well, when she started dating Travis Kelce, and started attending the games, the NFL was thrilled. It certainly opened up the league and the shield to a whole set of eyeballs that were certainly not watching the National Football League. And when you asked earlier about the phenomenon, I think the closest globally and some people would say this a sacrilegious would be someone like Muhammad Ali, who on an international level was was extremely popular. And I'm not I'm not going to compare the two because it's apples and oranges. It is. But when you look at the crowds, she's getting on an on an international level. And then the economic impact she makes on an international level in every city she goes, there's no one that's done that. I mean, it's it's unprecedented. As far as the league is concerned, she is more popular in the world than the National Football League.

Joel Goldberg 40:51

Yeah.

John Hall 40:53

But the League, that was a, that was really a big bonus for them that they weren't expecting. And now the trick is, how do they parlay that into all those young ladies primarily. And I'm not a Swiftie, but how they parlay that with all those young girls primarily, how do they get them to come back? If Taylor stops going to the games and was no longer any interest. I think she'll still obviously come to the games this year, which will help set that hook a little bit more with those young eyes. And but they're going to have to get creative. But you know what, that's a good position to be in when you've got Taylor Swift at your games, and you have to get creative, figure out how you can keep all those eyeballs because at least they're there for the time being.

Joel Goldberg 41:35

I suspect the league would would prefer marriage and extending out Travis's career a little bit longer. That might help.

John Hall 41:42

Yes. We'll see what happens. I do not claim to be an expert in really anything and certainly not Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.

Joel Goldberg 41:50

Me either, but I feel like we're watching something that's bigger than maybe even Michael Jordan was globally for sure. Although that that you know, that Air Jordan Brand, were to me, we're talking about something that's almost like at a Princess Diana level. I don't know that, that's right. I'm not gonna call her Mother Teresa. But then you throw in the politics of the world. And you know, all of it. And it's like, I think it just gets back ultimately to what you said. The NFL, which needed no help whatsoever, just stumbled into something even bigger than itself. So I find it fascinating. That's, that's what I find. I find it fascinating to see a group of people. A massive group of people suddenly interested in something that many of them, not all, many of them never had any interest in. It just it speaks to the the appeal of of those once in a generation type of figures.

John Hall 42:40

I think it is once in a generation. And I think it's really interesting when you have people that are so consumed just about the relationship. Forget about the football or the music. It's, it's, it is I believe, I agree. It is once in a generation.

Joel Goldberg 42:55

We've always had that interest, right? And celebrities. What are they wearing? Where are they going? Who are they hanging out with? Now it conflicts or merges with football at a time where social media and everything is instantaneous. And players are worried about their brand. Or interested in their brand. Used to be in baseball, that there might be some select guys that would talk and most of them would talk, but the there'll be a select number of guys that would do some of the really, really fun stuff. But most of them were guarded because hey, I'm here to focus on baseball. I'm here to focus on football. Now it's, wait a minute. It could help my brand. It could lead to this, it could lead to that. It's a really interesting time because this is a generation that has grown up with Instagram. And now TikTok and all those things. Again, another discussion. So we'll we'll wrap it up with with this. My walk off. The final question. And I think this is one that could really benefit a lot of men and women that are listening that are in their 20s, 30s, 40s, even 50s or 60s at this point. Of when, maybe not when to take that pause. But what it means to be able to kind of wake up and smell the roses. I'm thinking about your big change in life, when you said you know what, I want to go and focus on my kids. I'm not telling everybody to stop working. What I'm telling people, or at least bringing up is, in this world where our heads are down and we're distracted. And oftentimes, maybe I'm just speaking for myself and I'm working on this. If I'm being vulnerable here, I'll share with everybody, I am trying to be more present. Because I find myself trying to do 50 things at once and then missing all of it and blacking out on almost all of it. What advice you would have for for a leader, for, for, for any man or woman out there that's running a company or running wild and going crazy with, with, you know, they're successful. They're getting it all done. But yet they're missing a little something too. How do you find that balance?

John Hall 44:50

That's a great question. A couple years ago I officiated a celebration of life. And one thing that I challenged everyone in the room was, was to be more present. And when we're more present in what's going on around us, and not distracted and all the things that tug us away, when you're present, then you start your it takes your lens, and it opens it up. And you see much deeper, you see much brighter, instead of being distracted. And you think about this. We have so many impressions that are hitting us on a daily basis, with all the things that are going on, that it's really easy to get distracted, I would really go back to what you'd said. Just be more present. Because at once, when I'm doing that, I'm the my best version of John Hall. When I'm really present in a situation. When I'm not real present, I'm the distracted John. And then all of a sudden that distracted John's not thinking about the things that are important. The person across from me, right? That relationship. And then more importantly, or just as importantly, is me. So the advice I would give them would be present. And then search your heart of hearts. You know, don't....if you're really struggling with what you're doing, then recalibrate your brain on the impact you're making. Because there's a lot of ways and I do some storytelling on this, on how you can really realize, no matter what you do, you're doing some good work. And then once you realize some of the stuff you're doing really can make a positive impact on people around you, then you view what you're doing differently. And then all of a sudden, you start feeling a little bit better about yourself. And you take time. Take time for yourself. But that's that's being played all the time now. So I don't necessarily think John Hall has to share that with him. I think everybody's hearing that all the time. But going back to what you said, most important thing is be present in the moment. If you do you're on the right track.

Joel Goldberg 45:14

Yeah, it takes some effort, some rewiring of the brain as you talked about earlier and and something that we can all do. Some are doing better than others, but it's it's certainly worthy, I think, of everyone's attention. If anybody wants to find out more about John, we'll have some links in the in the show notes, but certainly his LinkedIn. I appreciate your positivity on LinkedIn. I feel like I've got it's not just me, I know. But I feel like I've got a cheerleader. I feel like I've got somebody that is that is rooting for me on the sidelines or or inside the lines. I don't know. And so I'm I'm I want to express my gratitude to you for doing that. I feel like like you're watching and it's so good to have that support from people even if you don't know them too, too well, yet I'm getting to know you better and we'll continue to do so. But people can find you on LinkedIn. I started with courage everybody to to go to Crux's website too cruxkc.com And I'm, what am I missing? Where else can people?

John Hall 47:34

They can access it through cruxkc.com.

Joel Goldberg 47:42

John, I appreciate it. Great words of wisdom, amazing stories. You are an incredible storyteller. And I know that we're just scratching the surface but really grateful for your time and your friendship and for for taking time out of your busy schedule to do rounding the bases.

John Hall 47:56

Well Joel, thank you. Ashleigh, thank you. And keep up the good work buddy.